Back To School with Nordstrom

I’m super excited to be teaming up with one of my favorites, Nordstrom for today’s post! I love shopping their for everyone in our family! They have some of the cutest pieces right now for the kids! I love stocking up on back to school clothes right now because they start to come out with hints of fall items and things that will last us into the winter! Also, we love going to the store at Nordstrom the sales people are always the nicest, give my kids balloons, and coloring sheets while I’m picking clothes out for them! I’m worried that my babies maybe liking Nordstrom more than I do!

My outfit

I absolutely love jeans. Seriously. I cannot get enough of them. As a mom, I feel like jeans are a perfect way to dress up an outfit without going too over the top for everyday activities. These Free People jeans have been my go-to for the past couple of months. They are stretchy and super flattering, which is always a plus! I also love a great chambray shirt. Denim on denim is my jam. It always looks so cute and put together, win-win for me!

Mason’s outfit

Mason is pretty particular about his clothes! He loves to help pick his outfit out for the next day. Guys, he’s really good at putting pieces together! It impresses me. He is growing up so fast, sometimes I just take a step back and look at him and cannot even believe how big he has gotten in the past few months! With that being said, it seems like clothes only fit him for a few weeks, so I always order a few sizes up for him! We’re really loving this long sleeve shirt for him! Tucker and Tate’s clothes are great quality and last a really long time! Mason is also SO proud of his lunchbox and who can blame him! It’s the cutest, ever!

Monroe’s outfit

All I can say about Monroe’s adorable outfit is that this purse is EVERYTHING to her! She has not let it out of her sight since we bought it. She is adamant that it is by her at all times! My sassy little girl. She is the life of the party! Since her hair has grown out a bit, I have been putting the top part in a ponytail and I always put some kind of clip or bow in! We’ve loved these super cute pompom clips! They come in a pack of 6  which is really nice because we tend to lose at least half, lol!

4 Ways to have the Easiest Morning!

I’m excited to share this post with you guys because this is something I’ve been working on ever since Mase started school a couple years ago and feel like I’ve finally gotten the groove of. That does not mean we don’t have a crazy morning here + there but they are far & few between! Each morning we have the power to set the “mood” for the day. I know the more prepared I am the better “mood” I’m in and the better day we have!

1. Make a to-do the night before of things you need to do the next day. Now, this might stress people out because it seems a little counterintuitive to make a list of things that need to get done right before your laying your head down on your pillow. Aren’t you going to have a hard time sleeping or want to get out of bed and get all that done? NO, no you’re not. Let me break it down for you. We do better with knowing what is coming. Just like kids do better on routines. Well if you make a list of the things that need to get done the next day it gives you more direction in the morning for the day to come and what to expect and how to manage your time. I sometimes go as far as to make lists for time periods throughout the day.

Morning:

Get 2 loads of laundry don’t

Empty the Dishwasher

Go through Monroe’s Clothes that don’t fit her

Order Pictures from Costco

Text back any unread messages

Lay Chicken out to thaw

Day:

Lunch Date with the kids + friends

Run to the store for Bread, Cheese, Cereal, and batteries.

Carwash + Cleanout car with Mason

Night:

Dinner – Chicken Enchiladas

Put Laundry Away

These lists help me so much and I actually write them on index cards with little check marks by them. I love to physically write my lists + extra love to the check marks next to it that I get to swipe when I’m done! But doing these the night before will help so much and that way when you have morning fog brain you aren’t thinking of 50 million things to get done.

2. Tidy up the home. I once read this article on the 5-minute rule. I’ve shared it before with you guys in this post. But here is the gist. Take 5 minutes throughout the day (so a couple times a day) to tidy something up. Whether that is your room, the kid’s room, your car, the dishes, kitchen, whatever it may be simply give it a 5-minute checkup. Chances are you can get tons done in 5 minutes and if you aren’t done you won’t want to stop so you finish it anyway and will be so satisfied. Same goes for nightly clean up. Honestly, it’s always the last thing I want to do at night but I guilt myself into the 5-minute rule + boom it’s pretty tidy and I wake up in the morning to a clean home. Otherwise, it takes me 10 times as long to clean it up in the morning and I don’t quite know why that is.
3. Get Up before your kids. This always seems crazy because Mason wakes up around 6:30-7! Which is so early for me! But honestly the days I set my alarm around 6 and get up to simply wash my face, change into workout clothes, and put my contacts in before he walks into my room go so much smoother. I cannot tell you how many times he’s woken up before me and I end up staying in bed watch cartoons with him and have a sluggish of a morning. Not only does this benefit me by giving me a little jumpstart on the day but it also helps my kids by knowing I’m already up and ready for them. They aren’t going to wake me up and have the chance of me being extra grumpy.
4. Be prepared by having backpacks ready to go, already know what you will have for breakfast or the options you can give them (most nights I get my toaster out the night before and butter and bread, leave it on the counter so I’m ready), and eliminate tv as much as you can about an hour-45 minutes before you leave. Now, I’m not going to lie my kids love their shows! With Mason waking up around 6:30 and still groggy all he wants to do is watch Arthur or Curious George snuggled in bed for an hour and guess what, I was the same way as a kid. But as soon as he’s fully awake we turn off the tv, have the kids tidy up their rooms, get dressed, eat breakfast, and read books. Often times I will choose 5-7 books and lay them on the floor in my room for them to enjoy a little background piano music. Sounds weird? Guys, it totally helps my kids relax to get ready for the day and start off on the right foot.