First Day of School 2008

Believe it or not my girls went back to school today ... it's August 4th in case you missed it ;) It seems so early for them to go back and yet when I taught school in Utah we went back the end of July with our year-round schedule so I'm not sure why it seems so strange. They have what they call a "modified year-round" schedule here and I actually like the spacing of the breaks and the shorter summer - my kids were beyond ready to go back to school and we've actually had a fairly busy and eventful summer!!

Brinley started 4th grade and Ashton started 2nd grade. It is unbelievable to see Brinley as a 4th grader when I taught 4th grade back in the day!! I was up late last night (or should I say early this morning) working on gifts for their teachers. I love to do a little something for them on the first day of school to let them know how much we appreciate all they do for our children throughout the year - and, of course, for more selfish reasons, I want them to like me :) I decided on goodies this year ... again for selfish reasons. I've been craving Chex Muddy Buddies (aka Puppy Chow) for a few days and thought it would make the perfect treat for back to school. I would load up some bags for the teachers and then have leftovers for us!! Ended up being a great solution! I made some cute tags to dress them up and ended up with this:I then decided to make some cute labels to cover Hershey's Nuggets that I had on hand to fill some clear top tins. I created 4 different labels, wrapped them around the nuggets, and filled the tin. The polka dot ribbon I had on hand was the perfect finishing touch for this simple gift!I think they went over well with the teachers ... I was happy with the way they came out!! Both of their teachers are fabulous and we look forward to a great year with them :)The first day of school is always hectic - hair has to be just right, the outfit has to be new and perfect, the backpack needs to be ready, etc. We do fairly well on most accounts but the dynamic of having 4 kiddos ready to head out the door (since Steve has to work early on Mondays) adds a bit of chaos ... especially when Cougar decides he needs a little extra sleep on the first day of school! We made it to the school on time but the traffic was unreal - as is the norm on the first day of school. I used to get so stressed about it but now I figure I'll find a parking space when I find one and they'll get to class in plenty of time. We made it to their classrooms before their classes had even come in from the playground (and we didn't have to stand in the 95 degree weather that is 7:30 A.M. this time of year)!!

It was so nice to pack only 2 kiddos to Target this morning to run errands and continue the hunt for school shoes for Ashton. We got our running around done with just enough time to come home, have lunch, and get Cougar down for a nap. The best part was the quiet time I had to scrap this afternoon while he was sleeping and Kendyl was playing on Barbie.com on the laptop. It's fun to share the space with her, talk, laugh, and watch her explore ... all while I'm getting to play myself! I haven't gotten to scrap in AGES so I felt pretty rusty but I was happy with the outcome. I've got so many albums I need to be working on from this summer that I will hopefully get to fine tune my skills again before my next digital scrapbooking class in October ;) Here is the outcome of "my time."

Credits:
Back 2 School Kit by Shabby Miss Jenn
Photo Edges & Frames by Rhonna Farrer
2Peas Stop Sign Font from 2Peas in a Bucket
Century Gothic Font

Yes ... those are the same backpacks they have had for the past 2 years. I just can't make myself buy them new ones when these have held up so well!! I know they're dying to get something different but that's what clothes and shoes are for, right? A backpack is all about function. Nevermind - if I use that reasoning then Steve will NEVER agree with my argument for wanting another purse ;)