Hi Friends! Summer is coming to an end and we are fully in the swing of back-to-school around here! I’m going to be honest, I was so nervous for Brynleigh to start Kindergarten… but she has loved it!! Today was their third day of school and she is making so many new friends and loves her teacher. Brielle is loving Second Grade and was so excited to be in class with a lot of her friends from last year! Starting school is always kind of a hectic time and a huge change in the girls’ schedules from our daily Summer routine- which isn’t really a routine LOL. I’ve found it’s helpful during the week if we stick to a daily morning and after-school routine. Things run so much more smoothly!
We recently got all of our back-to-school shopping done and I’m loving the pieces I picked up from Hannah Anderson! I have been shopping at Hanna Anderson for years, it’s one of our favorite brands. I love their soft pj sets (we have all worn matching Christmas jammies from there for the past 3 years) and their classic children’s clothing is so cute and, most importantly, comfy so I know the girls love wearing it. Not to mention the quality is amazing so I don’t worry about the girls coming home from school with holes in their clothes and if they spill something on their shirt I know it will hold up in the washing machine! I’ve linked all of our outfit details from Hanna Anderson below each of the photos!
Girls’ dresses / Brielle’s cardigan
7:45 A.M.- Wake up! The girls are NOT morning people, a lot like me, LOL. I’ve found if I wake them up at least 45 min before we have to leave for school they are wide awake (and hopefully pleasant ;)) by the time we leave.
8 A.M. – Breakfast! I would love to say I make a full homemade breakfast for our entire family every morning but that’s just not realistic LOL. We definitely keep things easy in the morning. The girls love to eat oatmeal (the instant low-sugar) with a side of sliced bananas. They also LOVE cinnamon sugar toast or bagels!
8:30 A.M.- School drop-off. I take the girls to school in the morning and we are lucky enough to live about 5 minutes from their school so the commute is quick! On the way to school, we love to say one positive thing that we are excited about that day. I feel like this helps them feel happy and encouraged to take on the day with a positive attitude.
4 pm- Bus drop-off! This is the first year the girls are riding the bus home. I’ve driven and picked Brielle up from school the past two years so this is something new for us. It definitely was NOT my idea and I’m still struggling with it. They, however, LOVE the bus and are so excited to ride it home from school with their friends.
4:30 pm- After school snack! The girls are usually pretty hungry after school so I love to keep quick snacks around the house like apple slices, cheese sticks and, of course, they always love cereal. Around this time I like to let them have some down time and play on their I-pads for a little bit or play outside just to decompress from a long day at school.
6 p.m. – Dinner/ Homework time! Brynleigh just started Kindergarten so she hasn’t quite reached the homework stage but Brielle is starting to bring home work to do so we try to get that done before dinner. I’m going to be honest, I wish I could say I cook every night but between my job and Darek’s we do end up eating out or ordering in a few times a week. I do love to use the crockpot for quick meals I can throw in during the day while I’m answering emails/working on the blog so it will be ready at night! I have most of them saved to my Pinterest page!
8:00 P.M.- Bath/Reading time! The girls love taking baths at night and I love it because it helps calm them down and get them relaxed for story time and bedtime. One thing we never skip is storytime. I don’t think the girls would let me skip it LOL. It’s their absolute favorite part of our nightly routine – and mine too. I let them pick out one or two books and we read together. Brynleigh is working on her reading skills now (Brielle is an excellent reader so she helps her too) so it’s fun to see how much she’s learning and improving everyday.
8:30 P.M. Bedtime! This isn’t always the easiest time because the girls, like most children, aren’t the biggest fans of bedtime- especially Brielle! However, I’ve found when we stick to our routine bedtime goes much more smoothly! I hope y’all found this helpful and I’d love to hear any tips or anything special you do in your back-to-school routines! XO
**Thank you to Hanna Andersson for sponsoring this post!
