Back To School Is Near!

Woot!  Woot!  Monday is back to school day!  (please excuse me while I do a happy dance) Oop, I mean, jeez am I gonna miss those sweet little kiddos, and whatever will I do with myself without them here all day?  :)

For most of us, the first day back to school is rapidly approaching.  I thought I'd take a little time to dedicate some blog space to Back To School.  Here are some ideas to help you hit the road running, and get off to a great start!

PHOTO OPS:

Chalkboard Speech Bubble - This is so darling!  The geniuses over at www.makeandtakes.com have a great tutorial for how to do this.  What fun!

www.iheartnaptime.net has some great printables and a tutorial for how to make these super-cute signs for your child to hold.  I love that you tape a pencil to the back for them to hold!

Dash over to www.rocketcitymom.com for some great ideas on how to spice up those first day of school photos.  I love the idea of sticking them up against a brick wall and then adding a list of their current favorites. You truly get a snapshot of who your child is at that moment in time!

AFTER SCHOOL SNACKS:

Lest you have forgotten over the summer, when kids come home from school they are usually STARVING and insist on being fed immediately before they perish on the spot.  Please tell me this is not just me!  In that spirit, here are some fun ideas for how to feed the hungry masses.  (and NO, I will NOT be feeding my boys some sort of frog-thing made out of pickles!  LOL)

www.foodnetwork.com has compiled a list of 40 healthy after school snacks that you might want to check out.  Some ideas I thought looked interesting to try are Sweet Bagel Chips, Apple Quesadillas, and Salami Snails.

familyfun.go.com has a whole section dedicated to back to school snacks and lunches that you'll want to check out.  They have such a great website!

www.amazingmoms.com has some nice recipes.  Check out the Pretzel Monkey Bread - yummo!

STOCK UP!

A word of advice, now is the time to stock up on all the stuff you'll need for snacks, lunches and healthy breakfasts.  Since it is Back To School time, the grocery stores are all running deals on these items, and the manufacturers are all printing coupons.  Match a coupon up to a sale price and you've got a great deal.  I spent the better part of yesterday shopping for breakfast & lunch supplies, and snacks.  I took tons of coupons with me, and did my homework ahead of time (I saved LOTS of moola).  The bad news is that I spent about $250 in one day on food (yikers!), but the good news is that I am stocked up on this stuff for the next several weeks.  So while we're busy trying to get back into a school routine, I don't have to worry about shopping for a while (at least not for that stuff).

I hope you have a FANTASTIC week, and that you and your family get into a nice groove.  Hopefully you've seen some ideas here that will help you make the transition from summer to school just a little bit smoother!