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Free Back to School Printables

For the past few years I’ve been capturing the first and last days of school with printables. I enjoy looking at the difference in their height and look from the beginning of the school year to the end. To get ready for Monday, I decided to create my own first day printables.

I made them into free back to school printables in the event you wish to capture those first day moments with your little ones. I only did through elementary school, I mean based on what I heard it would be extremely hard to get a middle or high schooler to pose with such a sign!

Please free to  download and share on you social networks!

printable graphic

Click the links below to print the ones you need!

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.

Starbucks Refreshers Strawberry Lemonade

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.

Starbucks Refreshers Logo

Jekyll Island Club Hotel
Featured Living travel

Girls Weekend | Jekyll Island Club Hotel

I was provided a complimentary stay at the Jekyll Island Club Hotel for review. All opinions are my own.

Schlepping kids to and fro, breaking up fights, late night trips to Sonic for half off milkshakes and squeezing in work where I can, pretty much sums up our Summer vacation thus far. When the tragic but beautiful reality hit me that the first day of school was just a little over two weeks out, I starting scrambling to  schedule a last minute getaway without the Mr. or the children.

My SILs and I thought it would be a great idea to do a Girls/Sisters getaway, our cousin Tosha tagged along and we had the most epic girls weekend EVER filled with laughter, shopping and fun.  Jekyll Island Club Hotel was just what our nerves ordered. Between us there are 11 children, new demanding positions and busy kids schedules so breaking free for a few days was just what we needed.

Jekyll Island Club Hotel is a National Historic Landmark listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and is located on Jekyll Island, which is considered one of the Golden Isles of Georgia. The property has been tastefully restored retaining many of its historic southern qualities while offering modern amenities.

 

Jekyll Island Club Hotel

Jekyll Island Club Hotel

Jekyll Island Club Hotel

Our room was exquisite. Old world charm with free WIFI….yes please.

Jekyll Island Club Hotel

Couldn’t truly enjoy the beauty of the plantation shutters that blocked out the sun because cousin Tosha rang the alarm at 6:30a our first morning there laying out our itinerary for the day. While I did issue her the most epic of all side eyes I’m glad she did, otherwise we would’ve never been able to experience all the island had to offer. By the time most people were just getting up we had eaten breakfast, shopped and were headed to the beach.

The hotel offered free shuttles to their beach pavilion which provided us with complimentary beach chairs, umbrellas and towels.

Jekyll Island Club Hotel

Jekyll Island Club Hotel

Jekyll Island Club Hotel

We walked the sandbar talking and laughing, the weather was overcast and the breeze off the water made for one perfect early morning beach stroll.

Jekyll Island Club Hotel

Jekyll Island Club HotelJekyll Island Club Hotel

When the heat got unbearable and the storms started to roll in, we retreated to the club house for lunch and frozen libations before heading back to the hotel.

Jekyll Island Club Hotel

Jekyll Island Club Hotel

Jekyll Island Club Hotel

After giving our dead phones a little juice we journeyed back out to the lobby of the hotel to rent bicycles for a whopping $8 for 2 hours. OMG! We had so much fun. The sun was setting and the breeze was everything so we set off with property maps in our bike baskets and we rode….

Jekyll Island Club Hotel

We stopped along the way to admire the property and the Spanish Moss that hung eerily in the prettiest way from hundred year old trees.

Jekyll Island Club Hotel

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Then we found our way into town and parked our bikes and went in little beach shops and looked around

Jekyll Island Club Hotel

….and we stopped when our legs got tired and enjoyed the breeze

Jekyll Island Club Hotel

….then we got lost and our booties were hurting and we needed to check our social media. It was then that we realized we had biked nearly 7 miles. S E V E N miles.

Jekyll Island Club Hotel

We finally found our way back to the hotel and we had jokes with the friendly staff when we were walking like zombies….but we did that! Now I want a bike.

W E D N E S D A Y

Cousin Tosha allowed us to sleep in and we had a little girl talk before venturing out to a local Mexican restaurant on the beach for brunch. After brunch we headed back to the property to admire some of the historic homes on the property that also housed quaint little eclectic shops where we gathered souvenirs for our babies

Jekyll Island Club Hotel

Jekyll Island Club Hotel

Jekyll Island Club Hotel

These few days were much needed. It’s so cliche, but I’m going to repeat the obvious. As women we spend so much time nurturing everyone else that we really need to make it a priority to nurture our own relationships with the people that we love. We are already planning our next trip back.

If you are looking for a great place to host a girls getaway weekend, or a weekend with “bae” take a peek at all that the Jekyll Island Club Hotel has to offer. There was so much more to do and explore that we didn’t touch. Truly a resort where everything you need is within reach.

When was the last time you took a quick getaway?

Boys Room Makeover
DIY Living

Boys Room Makeover Progress

So I’ve been really focused on getting my son’s room done. I bit the bullet and went in there and got the painting done. First, I had to do so much sanding it wasn’t even funny. I mean it low key looked like a dust storm in there while I struggled and gave it all of my puny muscle strength to make sure the walls were really smooth. One might’ve though the prior owners were using the wall as a dart board there were so many holes, and dents. Here is a true peek at the before of this boys room makeover.

Boys Room Makeover

Boys Room Makeover

Glad I chose to go with low VOC Behr paint because I didn’t feel bad about letting the children get in on a little painting fun. They didn’t have time to get in the way, after 20 minutes they were ghost….

Boys Room Makeover

Boys Room Makeover

…leaving me to finish up the 2nd coat by myself

Boys Room Makeover

Then like clockwork, after all of the hard work had been done here he comes wanting to brush up the trim and baseboards. The gray is Behr Dolphin Fin and the blue is Behr Star Spangled. I really love how the colors came together.

Boys Room Makeover

I have about 3 DIY projects going on right now. Here’s a sneak peek at the start of my daughter’s closet makeover. Look for the reveal early next week!

Gold Hangers

How was your weekend? Any home improvement projects happening?