What We're Wearing

I really can’t believe that the summer is over! It was so short and I’m not ready to be back to the activity grind, or the miss-my-oldest-boy and the my-middle-is-going-to-have-to-get-ready-every-day and the my-baby-is-starting-mothers-day-out BLUES.  They’re too little for me to be excited about them going back yet.  I’m positive that when I have three stinky middle/high school boys who have smelly socks and wrestle (more than now) and eat me out of house and home, I’ll be ready for them to go back but I’m not there yet.

Anyhoo…there’s no avoiding it, so there’s just the back-to-school organization to be done.  Here are some of my suggestions for your littles if they’re going back to school – or just starting school (links throughout and all at the bottom)!

Clothes:

We have uniforms for my big boy and lots of hand-me-downs for the rest, so at the moment mine basically only get a first day of school outfit but my favorite online places to shop for my boys are Smocked Auctions, Cecil & Lou, and Eliza James Kids and then we sprinkle in easy places like Nordstrom, Gap, and Crew Cuts…and Marshall’s is more than a sprinkle these days with Under Armor shirts 🙂  I got this cute monogrammed apple polo for Henry (my 4 year old) and this cute bubble for Charlie (2 year old).

Shoes:

My boys basically have 3 pairs of shoes at all times so I just re-order sizes as needed.  The older two have their Natives, a pair of Sperry’s for church/dress up in the summer, and a pair of tennis shoes. I buy shoes at Stride Rite when I need them sized, but otherwise I buy whatever I can on Amazon, then Nordstrom, then the company website if I’m desperate (I like to be able to return easily…and on my crazy mom time schedule).  I love the J Crew Kids (Crew Cuts) tennis shoes for the boys – they always have fun/different colors and Tsukihosi tennis shoes for younger boys

For the “baby” (who is almost 2), I usually have a pair of “swim shoes” (Natives or Plae), a pair of Saltwater Surfer Sandals, and these adorable t-strap shoes that I think are flexible as tennis shoes or slightly dressier.  If I have to put my babies/toddlers in a real pair of tennis shoes, I like Tsukihoshi tennis shoes (my favorite is the Marina style).  They sell them at Stride Rite and Amazon, and they’re just a well-fitting shoe with a flexible sole for their little feet. And if I need dress up shoes, or it’s fall/winter, I like to have a pair of saddle oxfords.

Backpacks

Depending on the age of my kiddos, and their school requirements, we have had backpacks and tote bags.  I love the monogrammed seersucker backpacks for my babies/toddlers and we’ve had one for each of my boys – even if it’s just to pack activities in for vacations.  I usually find them on Etsy (Oh Mint is the brand they usually use) but I like the the “Large” backpack, not the small/toddler backpack – those things are miniature and you can barely fit a lunch box in them.  This year I bought a on Cecil & Lou (which I think is sold out now) but here’s another cute one and Eliza James Kids has similar options as well.  Although, when I was looking through Etsy for an easy link for ya’ll, I saw these adorable backpacks and might have bought one if I needed a backpack for Charlie.

 

For my older boys, I used a Hanna Andersson and an Under Armor backpack; both of which seem really durable and held up well enough to be used another year (Hanna also has smaller bags here).  I know lots of people love Pottery Barn Kids backpacks, but I just liked the Hanna pattern better the year I was looking.

Tote Bags

Lots of preschools like open tote bags so that it’s easier to put large papers in the bag, and we’ve just stuck with the standard Land’s End and LL Bean Canvas Totes – I have had both and think they’re both great.  I always buy the medium size with regular length handles for the preschoolers and you can choose an open or zipped top.

 

 

 

 

 

Lunch Boxes

When my oldest was starting Mother’s Day Out, the teachers asked that we pack their lunch so that they could easily open it all at once…because little toddlers maaaay not be the most patient people.  So, I went through a couple different options before falling in love with the Yumbox.  It’s worked from Preschool age to Elementary school and holds all sorts of things like hummus and ranch dressing in place without leaking.  I love them and use them for all of my boys.  I have both the Original and Panino styles and like them both depending on what I’m packing for lunch that day (Panino is better for sandwiches, and the original is better for small bites/bento style).

Insulated Lunch Bags

We’ve migrated our way through various insulated lunch bags as my boys have grown older, but my personal favorite is still their monogrammed seersucker bag that I get them for Mother’s Day Out.  I prefer the tote style that zips on the top because I can lay the Yumbox flat on the bottom and pack their water bottle and any extra necessities on top.  I also use these bags for trips to the zoo, picnics, etc. when I need a snack bag and want something a little insulated.  I’ve buy them on Etsy, though my vendor always changes depending on price, but they’re the same Oh Mint brand as the coordinating backpacks I mentioned above.

As the boys have gotten older, and they didn’t need their water bottle packed in the same bag (and as they started getting opinions about their lunch bag) we’ve used the cute Skip Hop bags, a Hanna Andersson bag that matched our backpack, and we’ve finally gotten into the character lunch bags for elementary school.  I generally don’t do character themed anything (besides toys), but since my oldest wears a uniform and doesn’t even get to pick out his backpack, this is the one thing he gets to choose and I let him go for it.

Water Bottles

I hate water bottles for kids, I’ll be honest.  There doesn’t seem to be one perfect option and every time I think I find one, I decide it has a flaw.  But, the best insulated bottles with straws that I’ve found are the Thermos Funtainers (12 oz) that they sell at Target here and Amazon here and the CamelBak Kids (12 oz) bottles sold at Target here and Amazon here.  I’ll still use these for my toddler since they don’t leak and he’ll need something with a straw for Mother’s Day out.

For my older boys, I’ve moved to the kids Polar Insualted bottles because they just have one easy screw cap (so I’m not washing so many straws and parts) and they’re easy for the boys to drink at school AND at sports practice.  The only downfall for me is that the mouthpiece isn’t covered for germs, but at this point I’ve given up 😉

Labels

Holy Moly there are a lot of kid labels.  I honestly think that most sticker labels work the same and I just tend to buy whatever pattern I like the best when they come to Zulily in June/July.  I like to have washable labels for clothes/lovies and dishwasher safe labels for water bottles, pacifiers, and lunchboxes.

Last year, I discovered that Minted has kids labels that are pretty cute and if you customize the font to be smaller, you can fit their name on the top line and your phone number on the second line.  My kiddo’s Kindergarten teacher even asked me where I bought them because she hadn’t seen phone numbers on labels and thought it was so helpful.

I bought these shoe labels last year for my kiddo who has uniform shoes because I’d heard that all of the boys would throw their shoes in a pile and it was nearly impossible to figure out whose was whose.

Fun Extras/Accessories

• First Day of School Signs can be easily printed out here for free, you can get easy pre-made chalkboards here or here or make your own here,
• If you want to look super ADORABLE, check out these First Day of School Flags that I’m in love with.
• Target has a bunch of Cat & Jack lunchbox accessories in their Back-t0-School section right now including some fun lunchbox notes, lunch decoration picks, silicone liners (if you like to separate bento boxes even more), and cute reusable freezer pouches.  I couldn’t find easy links online, but still found a ton in their store today.
• Speaking of lunch box notes, if you want to take it to a whole new level, these look so cute from Target and Cheree Berry Paper has just about the cutest things you’ll ever see including these cute notes.  But, I also just found these at Paper Source (or here on Amazon) and they’re so easy and kinda a no-brainer!  There’s a joke for every day, you tear it out, fold it in half and toss it in that lunch box!
• I let my kiddos put a couple of fun key chains on their bags for carpool – cause I never let them bring anything else unnecessary to school – and some of their favorites are these smelly (in a good way) Avenger key chains and this fidget cube.

Nap Mats <added from reader question!>

Nap Mats are hard to find sometimes!  They’re either not super cute or pretty expensive 😉  So pick what you like best but at the end of the day it’s just rolled up in your kiddo’s classroom and your toddler is usually too focused on finding his specific nap mat and laying on it to worry about what it actually looks like (unless you’re my middle child and you end up having to sleep in the crib every day because you’re that ONE kid who didn’t succumb to peer pressure and sleep on the nap mat like you were supposed to).  However, as long as it’s easy to roll up for the teachers and has a pillow/blanket, you’ll be fine.  Here are a couple that I found that I think are cute:

• If you’re in Dallas, Hip Hip Hooray sells the more expensive, monogrammed, nap mats in their store.
• This Etsy shop has more expensive nap mats, but the patterns are cute (oh, and this shop too – it has a CUTE nature’s walk pattern, construction trucks, & a stags head option)
• If you like the monogrammed seersucker bags mentioned above, there are a couple coordinating nap mats that I found on Etsy here and here (or you can order from this website)
• Here’s another cute Etsy option – and I heard that she ships relatively quickly!
• Or you can always be the Amazon Mom (it saves my life!) and order there:
  • I’ve heard this brand is good and it has lots of different patterns to choose from! The prices vary with the patterns.  I think I’d pick one of these if I were buying this year! The dinos are cute!
  • These sharks may be a little more “big boy” but are cute!
  • My SIL just bought this cute train one

Let me know what (if anything!) is new to you, or that you love, or that you think you’ll try! I’d love to hear from you!

1. A is for Apple Bubble / 2. Back to School Jon Jon / 3. Apple Polo / 4. Apple Shorts / 5. Saltwater Sandals / 6. T-Strap Shoes / 7. Striped Tennis Shoes / 8. Topsiders / 9. Native Shoes / 10. Checked Backpack / 11. Seersucker Backpack / 12. Canvas Tote / 13. Seersucker Lunchbox / 14. Space Backpack / 15. Pokemon Lunch Box / 16. Yumbox Panino / 17. Camelbak Water Bottle / 18. Polar Water Bottle / 19. Fidget Cube / 20. Avengers Keychain / 21. Scratch Off Lunchbox Notes / 22. Lunch Box Notes / 23. Shoe Labels / 24. Name Labels / 25. First Day Chalkboard / 26. First Day Flags

Hiya!!  I’m on a sale shopping high!  I have come to love the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale.  I didn’t know exactly what it was before and if you don’t either, here’s a quick overview:

This sale is all of the NEW Fall clothes that are just coming out!  Nordstrom marks them down up to 40% for little bit at the beginning of the season.  Then, the prices will go back up for the regular Fall season.  So, this is your chance to jump on the new Fall fashions, go back-to-school shopping, or just find an excuse to buy some new clothes 😉  I always stock up on some of the “bigger” Fall purchase for my kids now – things like coats, tennis shoes, jeans, etc.  The extra nice thing about this…especially when shopping for children who tend to have random growth spurts that I never seem to predict correctly…is that Nordstrom’s extremely generous return policy is still in effect.  Meaning, you can guess the size you’ll need for the Fall but if your little shorty turns into a string bean by November, you can still return it months from now when the temperatures actually cool off (assuming you live north of Texas, because it basically doesn’t cool off around here until Christmas if we’re lucky).  The downside of this sale is that everyone jumps on it and the “hot” pieces tend to sell out quickly – sometimes making it harder to find the piece in stock in the right size in the Fall, but also making you wish you’d bought that thing you were looking at when it was in stock like 10 minutes ago…I know you know what I’m talking about 😉  The extra little trick about this sale is that it started today and is only open to Nordstrom card holders through July 19th, then it opens to the general public until Aug. 5th.  Let me just tell you right now that I don’t have many credit cards, but that this sale is good enough that it made me open a Nordstrom card last year.  You can call to apply during the sale and get access to the sale even before your card ships out – and in the meantime, you can use any credit card to purchase (in fact, you can use any credit card to purchase during the sale, you just have to be a cardholder to get this early access).  I know it sounds crazy, but you should totally open a card.  Then, you can jump on all of your Fall purchases for your kids…and maybe squeeze in a few things for yourself too.

Ok, now that I’ve bored everyone with all of the intricacies of this sale that I’m (clearly) excited about, here are the top picks that I found for my boys:

Outerwear:

1. Vineyard Vines Pullover:  I love these quarter-zip pullovers.  They easily pull over button-ups for church, still look preppy for my older boys to coordinate with the baby’s cute little bubbles 🙂 and are easy for our Texas weather.  Plus, the boys feel like they’re dressing like Daddy which is sweet and sometimes the only thing that will make them get dressed for the day so win, win.  I bought one of these for all of my boys so that they’ll have something to coordinate through the season.  I like to have one new matching thing each season so that we can use all of my older boys’ hand-me-downs but they still look “matching” with a pull-over or something that coordinates.
2. North Face Heatseaker Jacket: I think this is the “coat” I’m most excited about for this sale.  We don’t need super heavy coats in Dallas, so a heavy fleece/light coat is what gets worn the most for the Fall/Winter in our house.  I look for a new coat/fleece for my oldest on this sale each year, and I am hoping this one is as cute in person as it looks online!
3. North Face Fleece:  I also tried this fleece to check the box above.  I like the full-zip fleeces that can be thrown on easily and that my kiddos can do by themselves.
4. Patagonia Down Jacket: This is a great puffer jacket to buy on sale when you can!  I am a weirdo and have lots of things that bother me about boys clothes (don’t get me started) but one of them is black.  I just don’t like to dress my littles in black.  So I’m normally disappointed if the coats on this sale are only available in black but as my oldest gets older, I may get over myself for something basic like this coat.  This is a great coat for a little bit more substantial weather.
5. North Face Vest: Vests are another staple in our house for the Fall days and crazy Texas weather that is constantly unpredictable. This is a good vest that will go with everything!
6. Under Armour Quarter Zip: I mean, this is obvious.  I swear 99% of boys are genetically engineered to love Under Armour, don’t ask me why.  I don’t entirely mind UA for the big boys but I do LOVE finding it at Marshall’s at the beginning of the season.  However, a quarter-zip like this is a good basic that I’m unlikely to find at Marshall’s and is preppy for me to like and UA for the littles so checks both of our boxes easily.

Pants:

Pants are the hardest thing for me to judge the fit on going into a new season.  My oldest get skinnier every year (a concept that I clearly don’t understand) and I’m always looking for skinny jeans that are cute on him.  I always keep my eye out for Joes, AG, and 7 for All Mankind on sale or at Marshall’s.  So, I snagged these Joe’s skinny jeans in two washes (darker and lighter) to decide which ones I like best in person.  Then, I had to scoop up a pair of these wine colored pants because I like colored stretch pants for the boys – they’re cute and comfy.  Easy peasy.

Shoes:

I know this is another hard thing to guess on the size, but 1 size up from summer seems reasonable and my kids are blowing through shoe sizes so quickly right now, that it pains me to pay full-price for shoes.  So, these three shoes were definite scores on the sale:

1. I’ve already shared my love for Natives – we live in these at least half of the year – so a cute new pair on sale was perfect…my middle just told me yesterday that his toes are hurting at the end of the ones we bought earlier this summer!
2. We haven’t tried these Native Tennis Shoes, but are due for some new tennis shoes for my middle, so thought we’d give these a try!
3. Dress shoes are also slightly painful for me to buy full price.  I usually have a pair of Natives, a pair of tennis shoes, and a pair of Sperry’s in the boys’ closet at all times.  But for the Holidays, it’s nice to have a dressier pair of shoes, and these looked cute!

Ok, I’ll stop now.  But, share your sale finds with me!  Let me know what you found – and if you liked any of the suggestions above – it’s shocking how excited I can get for someone else’s sale finds.  Ha – a deal is a deal 😉