Back to School – Unlikely Martha

Starbucks Refreshers Strawberry Lemonade

Featured• Living

{Starbucks Refreshers} Mommy’s Back to School Routine

This post is sponsored by Starbucks Refreshers

Monday, August 3, marks the beginning of a new school year. I won’t fib and say I am not in the least bit excited about re-enforcing bedtimes, meal plans and no screen times but with this liberty comes the wave of birthday parties, ballet lessons, soccer practice, baseball practice, piano lessons, hair washing and just overall chaos…and no, that doesn’t include my personal/home obligations, exercise and work. Ugh. I’ve been giving a lot of thought to planning how my days will go once the whirlwind begins in T-7 days.

Normally by 4p I experience a dip in energy which I am sure y’all know about. If sitting for an extended period of time, it is that energy dip that will find me with my chin to my chest, waking up not realizing that I had dozed off. I mean, I’ve almost face planted on my computer a few times. The “dip” struggle is so real.

Now that I am adding on my daughter’s activities there will be a new level of after school running around that is going to require me to stay refreshed at a whole new level. Here are a few tips I plan on implementing to make sure I am operating at my best throughout the day.

1. Get at least 7 hours of sleep: *sigh* I’m a night owl so I plan to move everything important to daytime hours and leave the evenings only for homework, meals, and nighttime routines to make sure I get in the bed on time.

2. Plan. Plan. Plan: Taking the time to plan my day down to the hour helps me tremendously. No need to sit and watch every soccer practice. I can easily use that time to take a brisk walk and get my exercise in.

3. Avoid mid-day coffee breaks: In the past I’ve been known to grab a coffee to keep from crashing and then that cup keeps me up in the evening which will thwart #1 on this list. Nixing the coffee and grabbing a Starbucks Refreshers for a boost of energy without sabotaging my sleep is a win.

I’m excited for what the next few weeks will bring because with every passing day fall gets a little bit closer and the hustle and bustle of the holiday season will be here before we know it! Hopefully you can implement a few of these easy tips to make your life a little easier as we enter the very busy second half of the year. With a revitalizing blend of sparkling fruit juices, b vitamins, and ginseng Starbucks Refreshers™ has all the goodness you need to get the most out of today.

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Children• Living• School

Back to School Days

August 4th and August 5th symbolized the first day of 3rd grade and Pre-K for Adrian and Addison. I would be telling a huge tale if I didn’t disclose the fact that I walked Adrian to the bus stop with a smile on my face and and nearly skipped while walking Addison into her classroom for the first day.

I love my children and we had an amazing, action pack filled summer but it is time and I am happy that they are back in the classroom challenging their little minds!

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Décor• DIY• Living• Our Home• School

Homework Station Design in Process

Last week it dawned on me that we are nearly half way through Summer Vacation and before I know it the school bell will be ringing again. We’re headed to see the “Mouse” in a few weeks and when we return there will only be 3 weeks left to get school shopping and all of those things done.

I won’t say anxiety set in but let’s just say I’m tired of the clutter that comes with school and I need a solution to keep their artwork, school work, permission slips, book bags, markers, pencils, pens, flashcards, paint brushes, paint and folders off my kitchen table. After being in the house nearly a year we I’ve concluded that the workout room will be turned into a homework station /craft space for the children.

This wasn’t an easy decision to make. There is equipment in there that the previous owners left and while I’m not saying we don’t need a space to workout, I’m thinking the wine room will get refitted with less bulky equipment. My husband recently went and got a gym membership, I took that to mean he was throwing in the towel. It’s now time we I make the space useful….cause there are cobwebs forming in there. Wasteful.

Looking from left to right in the room this is what is currently there

I’m not saying it will be completely done before school starts but by the first day I hope to at least have desks, chairs and lamps in there for them. Funds will be low. I did say we are going to see the “Mouse” so there will be some Craigslist’ing, Ikea’ing, Goodwill’ing and DIY’ing going on. I do like the paint color and may leave it just making that entire back wall chalkboard…or maybe everything above the beadboard will get chalkboarded out. We’ll see.

Here are a few inspiration photos:

Source

Traditional Kids by San Francisco Closet & Home Storage Designers San Francisco Organized Interiors

Source

Do you have a designated space for your children to do their homework? Should I leave the wall green?

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Children• Random• Weekend

Randomness and Weekend Wrap Up

This is the beginning of our last week of summer vacation. Next Monday my son will be in a new classroom, and the following day Addison will be starting her preschool experience. This summer really flew by and I feel like we got cheated.

I had so many plans and things for us to do this summer, but due to money constraints required to save for moving we were forced to stay in and close to home. I don’t feel too bad because it practically rained the entire month of July, so the kids didn’t seem to mind staying indoors. We made the best of it, but as I start thinking toward fall, and the chaos that it will bring with homework, school functions, football etc. I probably needed this time to rest. My husband has signed on to be the coach of my son’s football team, I suppose with his position comes my responsibility of being the team mom. Ugh. Seeing that he is from Miami take a wild guess on who their team will be..I wonder what strings he had pulled to arrange this!

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