Hi!

So, Amazon may have absolutely demolished my wholesome back-to-school shopping dreams, but to be fair… they always make up for it by luring me in with shiny new gadgets. New school year, new stuff? Yes, please.

Let’s talk gear. My girls are all about the giant reusable water bottles for workouts—those “I could survive a desert trek” 40-ounce monsters—but for class, they’ve finally realized maybe hauling around a water-filled dumbbell isn’t ideal. I mean, they’re already carrying their entire academic existence in their backpacks. And water is heavy. (Shocking, I know.)

Some MVPs in our house:

• Owala FreeSip – 24oz for everyday hydration, 40oz for the “I’m at practice forever” days.
• Ello Cooper 18oz – Slim enough to fit in backpack side pockets, leakproof (teachers everywhere rejoice), and quite possibly indestructible because one survived an entire marching band season (but it’s the half-gallon size).
  

Now, on to clothes. My daughters have stopped growing like sweet little garden peas and are now all almost the same size! I knew this day would come! Which means… they’ve unlocked the magical but dangerous world of clothes-sharing. Cue the “do as I say, not as I do” parenting moment. I preach quality over quantity—timeless staples over cheap thrill buys. (White tanks are still a constant re-buy thanks to stains, because my chest is the quintessential crumb/drops catcher.)

So this year, we Marie Kondo’d the closets—kept the fan-favorites, replaced the worn-out basics, and invested in pieces that won’t fall apart after two washes. Still sad I didn’t get pics of our annual fashion show tradition because apparently they’re allergic to mom’s camera now. (Ok, so I also forgot to catch them this year, might be my bad, I am just so darn tired suddenly.)

Our go-to basics are from The Gap, Old Navy and Khol’s this year. Khol’s has some great basic black pants, jeans, and workout gear my girls liked. 

School supplies? My youngest went old-school. Yellow pencils, a cheap plastic sharpener, and a phone charger. That’s it. She’s still rocking last year’s notebook like it’s a designer bag. And honestly, high school these days = 90% laptops, 10% spirals for the rare “we’re doing this by hand” moments.

Middle kiddo is waiting until she figures out the way of the land before getting new stuff. Don’t blame her one bit! As long as the request come at a decent hour, not at 11 pm the night before it’s needed. Our closest 24-hour CVS is two towns over… because yeah, we have all had that fun run! 

The wild card this year? Watches. You know – the old-school, battery-operated, can’t-send-a-text kind of watches. Texas decided to ban phones – which also means no smartwatches, pagers or any communication device. Not even flip phones. Nada. And since half the classrooms don’t have functioning clocks anymore (because everyone’s been telling time on their phones since 2008), so we’re officially in the market. I’m seriously considering a Swatch Watch comeback—who else remembers stacking two, three, even four watches on your arm like it was jewelry? I feel a movement coming.

Anyway—what about you? What’s on your back-to-school shopping list this year? I kind of miss the elementary days when we needed crayons, glue sticks, and 47 folders. Now it’s all chargers, water bottles, and emotional resilience.

PS – Funny moment time: Today’s shock. I am *really* mid-life old. As I entered the refrigerator room at Sam’s Club where you buy milk, eggs, and coffee creamer, I FINALLY felt a normal temperature. I had no idea how bad it had gotten until I was shopping today. I literally stood inside there scanning on my phone (I LOVE SCAN AND GO!) all my groceries trying to take my time. It felt so perfect. Yea, I am that old now.