the new backpack. we had to upgrade from the junior-size to the real size. (sniff, sniff)

it’s here. summer is winding down (boo) + the re-nest house is in full prep mode for the start of first grade. and, by “full prep mode” i mean, i have seven different lists of things we need to get in order to qualify as “ready” for the first day of school. no joke, i carry around more lists and paper and things that are constant reminders to me to not forget the dry-erase markers, or to not forget to have little mr. re-nest #1 try on the gym uniforms to see if we can make last year’s still work. am i alone in this?!?! (please tell me no…for the record, the uniforms fit. for now.)

back-to-school time is actually one of my fave times of the year. not because i’m anxious for my little one to head back to school, but because i have always loved the sense of newness this time of year has always meant. i have always been obsessed with new school supplies, new backpacks, new binders, pencils, markers….but i do have to confess, this year, i am excited for us to get back to some sort of schedule that school brings us.

but….like so many of us moms, i end up using this time of the year to also put some sort of great, new thing in place which ends up in place for about 47 seconds after school starts. but it doesn’t stop me from trying! for example, here’s what is on my list for this year:

my life planner from erincondren.com. i’ve raved about this ad nauseum. see that section on the bottom? that’s the meal planning section.

1. absolutely, positively, without any concession, continue meal planning. i’ve been one thousand percent committed to this since i posted about it here. and, if i need it in the summer, i sure as heck need it during the school year.

2. set laundry days. this is another one that i have to get committed too. little mr. re-nest #1 wears a uniform to school, and since this mama doesn’t have an unlimited supply of them on hand, one dedicated day a week to do laundry is a must. my goal: don’t have a repeat of the ten or so times from last year when i realized at 7:15am that some piece of the uniform wasn’t entirely clean…(notice i didn’t say anything about getting the laundry folded + put away….baby

just a portion of this year’s uniforms.

steps, friends, baby steps!)

3. no television while dinner is being made. this creates a horrific spiral of attention deficit in our house, and then leads to the television being on during dinner. i’m praying this one shouldn’t be too difficult to accomplish. we do this about 73% of the time right now. easy peasy.

just a few of the tools in my toolbox. flash cards + pipe cleaners. oh, we’re gonna have some fun!

4. this is a big one. at least one night per week (let’s just be realistic here….i’m going for the concept of “underpromise + overdeliver”), i really want my boys to focus on something creative/tactile/fine motor skills development. yes, legos are fantastic little pieces of plastic that require fine motor skills, but i’m talking finally, finally, finally digging out a couple of those ideas that i pinned on pinterest + saved on facebook about the activities your kids should do to be creative + develop motor skills. i’m gonna try. wish me luck. (p.s. want to see some of those ideas? here they are here, here, here, here + here!)

5. enforce morning bed making. yep, and this is particularly directed at the six-year-old in the house. i will be the first to admit, i never made my bed growing up, and my mom didn’t force me to (i’m fairly certain that’s what was meant by “picking your battles.”) but i don’t think it’s a bad thing to reinforce in my child. and someday, it’ll make his future spouse very, very happy. and, he has a super cute bed that looks really awesome when it’s all made.

i think five is plenty, right? it’s a nice, round number. i’ve covered off meals, clean clothes, a chore, turning off the tube + child development. that should be sufficient, right?!?

here’s to the pending first day of school (or if you’ve already been there, done that this year, i raise my glass of skinnygirl margarita to you). for now, i’m off to target to tackle school supply shopping!