Babies Got Class {Back to School 2014-2015 School Year}

It is official, the B family is back in class! Last week Belle & Peanut both were ushered off to school with our traditional Back to School Breakfast Bash. They began the very early morning (both were up and ready by 6:30...full of excitement for the day ahead) by filling out the pages of their School Years journal.

This year marks the first time Belle has listed something other than a nail tec as her career of choice. My baby girl's 3rd grade dreams include a degree in architecture  (I guess my subscription to AD paid off). And our sweet Peanut is still aspiring to be a dentist.

To mark their entrance into Kindergarten and 3rd grade, Hubby & I gifted them each with a book...Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets for Belle's collection & The Day the Crayons Quit for Peanut (a must read!). To make everything come full circle, I set the table with a book theme & scribbled out a quick note on the chalkboard "Time to hit the books".  Hubby prepared a breakfast full of the little's favorites including sausage, bacon & pancakes. 

When their tummies were filled and we could wait no longer, it was time for outdoor pictures & the walk to the bus stop. I know she is my baby, but every year I am more and more blown away by how much this girl makes my heart explode.

And this lovey...his enthusiasm for the day just leaps right though the picture. We call him the sunshine of our family and this picture demonstrates it perfectly. I miss him terribly while he is away, but he is sooooo ready to go.

The whole crew....we are still working on all being ready first thing in the morning.

It was like a scene out of a movie watching these two parade down to the bus stop. Finley has blended into the family seamlessly.

And this is photo sums up how we all felt realizing Peanut & Belle wouldn't be home all day long.

While Belle's first day started off with a trip on the bus, Peanut's first day was only an hour long. At 9am he & I reported to school to meet his teacher (fabulous Mrs.P who was also Belle's teacher) & familiarize himself with the classroom.

Once we were done with Peanut's class, I picked up Lil M and head off to his Parents Day Out preview. (He was insistent upon taking his picture here against the chain link fence and despite his expression, "my kool" is all he can talk about...lol)

Once everyone was back home, we celebrated the first day of school with a yummy treat courtesy of Finley. While the littles devoured cupcakes, doggie bags of pretzels & apples I read them the story Dog Days of School .

And incase you were curious, this is how Finley passed the day when he wasn't busy party planning. Have I mentioned he is the best dog ever!

So the school year 2014-2015 began on a very sweet note.

Peanut's first piano lesson.....few hours after school ended.

Picmonkey + Potted Mums = Present Perfection

I can hardly believe Fall conferences are upon us. Last year I whipped up a basket full of banana muffins & scarecrow crunch (pretzels, melted kiss & candy corn) for Belle's first grade teacher. 

Those were the good ol' days. I had a lot more time on my hands. The Baby Bear still took both a morning and afternoon nap plus he wasn't quite crawling. Fast forward one year, Peanut is done napping while BB is down to just one in the afternoon. This means a full day from sun up to sun down. Even with a much busier schedule, I still wanted to have something to gift Belle's teacher at our conference.

While at the grocery store, I picked up a sweet little potted mum from the floral department. It came pre-wrapped in a matte, burnt orange paper.



To take it up a notch, I designed a simple tag on picmonkey bearing the greeting "Happy Fall" and three jovial jack-o'-lanterns. I then printed my image on a piece of 8.5 x 11 card stock, cut it down to size & attached to the pot with kitchen twine. Instant personalization and pizzaz.

And since I love you all so much, here is the printable to make your own. Just right click the image and save to your computer. Then print selecting "print to scale". I set my printer to 17% FYI.

These would be a great gift for a helpful neighbor/coworker, special coach or just about anyone who deserves a little reminder that you appreciate all they do.

Belle's teacher was surprised and thrilled, just as Hubby & I were to learn that Belle 2nd grade is off to a stellar start. Here's to a "MUMerable"year.

School Photo Display

Belle brought home her school portrait earlier in the week and we had a good chuckle because in the two weeks it took to have the photos printed Belle has lost her last 2 front teeth. We are pretty certain she'll spend a fair portion of 2nd grade with a gaping hole for a smile. Good thing she's got a photo happy mommy to capture each and every toothless grin.

As far as displaying annual school photos around here we've opted to only display a 5X7 of the current year's photo. Each child has a designated frame on our gallery wall, which is at the top of our staircase & leads from the bedrooms to the kid's bath.

The littles love passing their photos on a daily basis. The wall is a mixture of baby milestone pictures, family portraits, important artwork & special notes. The majority of the frames are from Ikea but not all. 

I think as the kiddos get older, I'll end up switching to one of the school year montage frames so I can marvel at how much they've grown. For now though I love looking at their smiling faces as I walk up the steps (and let's all ignore the fact that the frame under Belle's 2nd grade pic is crooked…ummm k thanks:). 

How do you display your school/ family photos? Any other gallery wall fans?

Shark Attack: Peanut's Pre-K Celebration Lunch

Peanut has a strange love affair with Sharks. He is smitten, but only from a distance. So while browsing the Pottery Barn Kids' clearance I was thrilled to find a shark beach tote which could function as a new library bag for Peanut (now that he is reading!!!) along with two shark pillowcases to help aid in a good night's rest. Nothing like lots of sleep and reading to start the school year off right.

So while Peanut partied it up in Pre-K, I went to work creating his "Attack Pre-K" themed lunch table. 

 

Using leftover cupcakes from YiaYia Terry & Papou Yiannis' Labor Day cookout I created shark fin cupcakes. A tiny cucumber from our garden was transformed into jaws. And our whale sandwich cutter made for a great bull shark PB&Js.

Peanut got such a kick out of the lunch and is thrilled to finally be getting his own library card. As for the shark pillowcases, they were deemed "too scary" and banished to the linen closet….win some, lose some:)

Peanut's 1st day Pre-K {2013}

Peanut's first day of school finally arrived today and I had to be sure not to disappoint with round 2 of the back to school celebrations. Familiar with the routine, Belle awoke Peanut bright and early (to the tune of 6:00am) to see what breakfast send off awaited him.

Pancakes are Peanut's favorite and he found a plate full waiting for him at an apple themed breakfast table. He was quite the happy student along with Belle. 

We all enjoyed and early morning breakfast before scouring over last year's class photo to determine which familiar faces Peanut could plan to see in class. After we saw Belle off to the bus, it was time to get dressed, snap the obligatory 1st day of school pic and head out. 

Peanut quickly scurried out the car door and into school, pausing only for a moment to let me snap a few quick shots.  Here's to a fabulous year my lil man!

2nd Grade is a Hoot

Belle is slightly obsessed with Beanie Boos. On our trip to the amusement park, she fell head over heals for "Hoots" the Owl. Being the scheming Mommy that I am, I told her we weren't buying anything (despite her plea to use her own money) and promptly opened my amazon app & clicked "add to cart". Right then & there, Hoots & I were in cahoots for a fantastic Beanie Boo Back to School Bash.

For the fare, I served owl shaped Nutella sandwiches with marshmallow eyes & walnut beaks.  Along with fresh fruit cups adorned with owl punches I designed on picmonkey. To accompany our noshes, I served Belle's favorite root beer embellished with floral straws. I picked up the straws on clearance at Target last spring for 57 cents, but I've seen similar straws at the dollar store too.  

When Belle came off the bus and into the backyard to see the table, it was just like Christmas morning. She was beyond delighted to find not only Hoots, but a table full of treats. The five of us sat down together and listened as Belle recounted the days activities & events, pausing every so often to sip from her root beer bottle.

I'm not sure if Belle or the boys will remember the themed sandwiches and tablescapes; but I do hope their childhood recalls a warm feeling and the sense that because they were loved so greatly, someone went the extra mile for them. I pray that feeling builds in their hearts & comforts them on the days when the world is not so nice & an owl sandwich or a snuggly plush isn't going to make it all better.  I know that it won't belong until the kiddos themselves have outgrown these little rituals.  So for now, I'm going to keep at it and relish each and every one. And with that I'm off to dream up Peanut's back to school breakfast & bash. Thankfully, he's still home until after labor day.

Check out Belle's back to school breakfast