First Day of School: 2022!

Aaaaaand, they’re OFF!

The 2022-2023 school year has BEGUN!

And just look at the stinking cuteness. I even caught Chicklet’s dimple:



I’ve been doing this thing lately where I’m like: the bigger you smile, the fewer pictures I’ll make you take. And it’s golden. ;)



I can’t believe my baby (who’s never really been a baby, ha)  isn’t a kindergartner anymore!! We’re on to official grades! First grade.





And don’t even get me started on this one. UGH. Fifth grade! Her final year in elementary!



I have a handful of Mama friends with kiddos starting middle school today and I am just. Not. Ready. I can’t even begin to think about that next milestone. So I’m officially burying my head in the sand and trying to appreciate this final golden year (with all three in the same school) as much as humanly possible.

I love how Chicklet and Little Man each insisted on wearing their school pride t-shirts, ha. Not the fanciest of outfits (and not even new school pride t-shirts), but it made them happy and comfortable, and that’s all that matters!



Profile shot: backpacks galore! (And new shoes!)



Let’s zoom in on the backpacks, shall we??



We typically just use and abuse backpacks for several years until they finally give out. And that’s exactly what happened at the end of last school year! 

Particularly for Chica, whose backpack was 3-4 school years old. She preferred to keep all her library books in her backpack at all times (particularly those dictionary-weight Harry books, ha), and about a month before the school year ended, the poor backpack fabric just ripped in a big way. Not even along the zipper. It just plain gave out.

We did what we could to salvage it for the remainder of the year, but it was time for a fresh one!

We’ve had a whole lotta luck with PB Kids backpacks. The quality has been great and the patterns are too fun. So we ordered from them again, and it was fun to see each kiddo narrow down their design picks. On the whole, it was a lot of celestial/cosmic preferences this year. 

Chica’s is actually a Harry-themed backpack with owls and moons and stars. A perfection selection for her, obviously. ;)



And let’s just take a close-up look at all the key chain bobbles and odds and ends she’s accumulated for a few years. I think she’s got the whole Harry cast on there at this point, ha. 



Her character “spirit sticks” (I don’t know why they call these long fabric things “spirit sticks”; it took me forever to figure out what they meant by that phrase, as I was looking for an actual stick, ha) are hard-earned through the school character awards that are granted, so it’s a major deal to show them with pride. I also let each kiddo buy a fun keychain in Hawaii to add to their collection for the new school year.



Heeeere’s Chicklet’s pile of new gear. A cool space-themed backpack—and I really love her mineral-looking water bottle and the fun floral lunch box. A fantastic, eclectic mix this year!

Now. Chicklet’s “spirit sticks” are out of control! Thanks to her 2nd grade teacher who gave gobs of them out at Christmastime last year. She loves that she has so many—plus that wonderful character award one!

Her Hawaiian selection was a little turtle and bottle of sand. :)



And now…Little Man! I found him the Sonic lunchbox over the summer and knew he’d love it. He went with a Jurassic Park water bottle (because they didn’t have a Sonic one in the brand I prefer). And I guarantee at some point this year, I’ll mix up his backpack with Chicklet’s, as they’re so similar, ha.



Again, with the character pride! And his Hawaiian surfboard keychain. :)

On the subject of keychains…this year, I really wanted to leave a little prize in the kiddos’ lunch boxes for them to discover halfway through their first day. So I got a bit crafty.

Some time ago, I bought a kit to make your own shrink art, so I did my best to draw something for each of them and give them a little positive affirmation, and they shrank right up in the oven and became the cutest little key chains!

Here’s Chica’s:



Little Man’s:



And Chicklet’s:



I think they turned out so cute and I hope it gave them a smile when they opened up their lunch today :) I foresee busting out the kit and letting them make something of their own this afternoon.



Oh! And one impulse-purchase bit of fun for our school year kick-off this year: I bought this nifty light box at the grocery store, and we plan to post new messages on it each day for awhile. :)





Now for the shoes!



I’ve learned over the years that it’s really not helpful to buy many back-to-school clothes in August in South Texas because it’s just HOT and will stay hot and it’s not so fun to buy more items that are summer gear. It’s much more enjoyable to wait until we can turn over items with a bit more Fall flair (and temps).

Of course, the kiddos have a handful of new tops and what not from our trips this summer, so they had some options, of course.

But we always indulge in new shoes. :)



In June, when we went up to Dallas, we did some shopping at our beloved outlet mall, and had a lot of luck with shoes. All three kiddos found new pairs, but Chica and Little Man each selected two (Chicklet couldn’t be bothered for more after she’s found one, ha).

So we set aside one of the pairs as back-to-school shoes and the kiddos has fun busting them out. And I washed Chicklet’s one new-ish pair up so it would be fresh and shiny for today. :)

Another cute little bit of prep for today: Chica asked to tackle a math quiz through one of the sites we use during the summer. We hadn’t completed one since before our vacation, and she wanted her “brain to be sharp.” I die.

I also die over her furrowed brow in this pic:



Hello, bento-style lunch box friends. I’m sorry to say, I haven’t missed you. ;)



All in all, it’s been a fun gear-up for this big day, and the kiddos went in to it feeling both excited but appropriately nervous. (Even Little Man admitted to nerves as we were approaching the drop-off loop today, and he’s usually a man of steel, ha.)

We experienced such a stellar last school year that it will be hard to top, but we’ve had such positive experiences with our school, that I know it’s possible.

Can’t WAIT to see my babies and hear all about everything in just a few minutes. I got this post typed up while they were away so I can give them all my attention at home, so any “after” pics below will be quick and without captions.

So, heeeeeeere’s to another AMAZING school year. And good luck to everyone else who’s launching their kiddos today, tomorrow or a few weeks from now!

HAPPY FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL, peeps!

Over and out.