Somehow I blinked and another summer is wrapping up as our two older kids start school this week. We have a first grader and a second grader; which I really can’t believe. It does not feel like four years ago that our son was starting preschool, but somehow we are here.  I am writing this because if you are anything like me prepping for a school year can feel very stressful. When Jack started kindergarten and Eva was in Pre K getting supplies, lunch boxes, clothes, etc all felt stressful yet manageable. Last year though was totally different. Having one kid who was going into kindergarten (Eva) and another starting first grade (Jack) crept up on us. It felt like all of a sudden the summer was ending and we needed to get supplies, uniforms, shoes, socks and any other odds and ends that you always forget. Our school does offer a a box you can order that includes all of the school supplies but we hadn’t budgeted for it last year and thought that buying supplies wouldn’t be too hard. Well getting the right brand for all of the supplies became overwhelming. And before you start thinking “Does it really HAVE to be the brand on the list??” I’m sure it doesn’t, but my nature is to be a rule follower and I assumed it’s easier on the kids and teacher to just stick to the list as close as possible.  Our kids go to a charter school so they do have specific uniform shirts we need to order and I had not thought about the shirts going on back order in the three weeks before starting. A blessing is that the school does used uniform sales so we were able to get things while waiting for the new ones to come. Their shoes have to be all black or all white…they can wear crew socks or ankle socks…just a lot of little details to all keep straight. And some moms might be reading this thinking that these are all things we should have known, however I felt so unprepared. I felt like everyone warns you about the newborn nighttime, the diaper changing that doesn’t end or the struggles that come with a toddler. But no one said to me “Prepare yourself to get ready for school, budget extra for all of the odds and ends!” You may not realize that a backpack doesn’t zip correctly, or the lunch box is all stained. I did not think I’d left things to the last minute but in the moment I was scrambling and did not feel prepared budget wise. We took that experience and how we felt last year so we could prepare better this year. We set a reminder in our calendar for this June to budget for the school supply boxes. I had the kids try their shoes on in June as well so we would know if they were growing out of them or not. I also pulled out all of their school shirts in the middle of June to look at which ones were too stained and if sizes still fit. Another thing that I planned ahead for was the list of books or paper that the kids needed; each class has books that we purchase for literature and Scholastic paper. Most of the books aren’t too expensive but when you add up how much you need combined, it certainly can add up. Doing it early allowed us to order everything chunks rather than all at once. Again, this allowed us to budget accordingly and not all at once.  It has still felt a little stressful getting everything ready for this coming Thursday but compared to last year, it’s been a breeze! The one thing I did forget about was that our son needs a belt so I am sure there will always be something that comes up. I will say having less stress about all of the necessities has allowed me to reflect more about how quickly it goes. I can very clearly remember the days right after the twins were born when Jack was just starting preschool and here I am just a year away from all four kids in school. There are days when it feels like a lot, there is so much to make sure gets done and so much to organize, but the time really does go by quickly. When I am seen in public, the thing I am told most by other moms is how quickly it goes and I am starting to feel that more and more.  So if you are a mom who’s in the thick of getting school supplies and uniforms or clothes ready, I see you. If you’re the mom who always plans ahead and has this process nailed down, I applaud you. If you’re like me and still adding these tools to your belt, I am here cheering you on. 

Blessings, Ellen