Heading back to school isn’t just for kids

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How is school starting in 8 days? I always find it sad to look at the calendar in August.  Not only is the summer (my favourite time of year) coming to an end, but school is also starting back up. For those of you who don’t know, my husband is a high school teacher and I now work for the school board.  It’s such a crazy time getting us all ready. It’s really difficult after all of us being out of our regular routine and into our summer routine of late nights, lots of treats and incredibly busy days and weekends. So this week, we are back in the city trying to get the kids ready for school and us as well! 

First day of work for us in September 2012

First day of work for us in September 2012

It’s so easy to focus on the kids needs and to miss what we need to! To be honest, I like to treat myself to new things to start a new school year. Growing up, my mom always got us a new first-day-of-school outfit, a new backpack and made sure I had all the school essentials that I needed. Now that I’m a parent with school aged kids I want to do the same for them but I do it for me too!

If you are headed back to work/school next week, check out my suggestions, about what I’ll be packing in my bag or using to get me through the first days of being back to work (school). 

my so-called mommy life back to work essentials

1. Staying organized is so important when going back to work. To keep me organized I’ll be using a weekly planner at work. I don’t need anything fancy just something where I can write my daily goals as well as see my monthly appointments. 

2. Not only do I need to keep myself organized at work, but I need to keep my kids activities, appointments and play dates organized as well! Now that they are both at the same school, a dry erase magnetic calendar to put on my fridge to keep us all organized is the perfect choice. 

3. I stay hydrated by always carrying a water bottle with me. I usually make sure it’s large, 24 oz. and try to refill it at least once during the day. Throwing in a variety of citrus fruits, berries, cucumber or mint keeps boring water tasting better! 

4. I don’t know if it’s just me or maybe I’m allergic to work, but I find that my hands get dry often especially in the winter. So I like to always make sure my bag has hand cream.

5. For work I love to wear layers. Each building and school I work in tend to have different temperatures, and layering up means I am appropriately dressed no matter the temperature. Now that I’m not working directly with kids, I can wear dresses again. I really love weari dresses and then layering either a sweater or jean jacket on top. How cute is this V-neck maxi dress? And it has pockets!!! I’m obsessed with dresses with pockets.

6. This probably should be number 1 on my list, but an amazing, no-leak travel mug is key to my existence once I start working. There are some mornings that it gets filled twice before I walk out the front door! Contigo is my favourite brand for my travel mugs as they don’t leak and it keeps my coffee warm for a long time. Also, it can be thrown around in my bag. 

7.  I always like to carry around lip balm in my bag. I’m pretty plain and simple when it comes to beauty products but lip balm is something I always have to have on me. I’ve used Eos for years and their sweet mint lip balm is my favourite.  

8. The last thing I want to worry about my first week back to work is what I’m going to feed my family for dinner. As much as I try to meal plan I’m not the best at it. I love using my slow cooker when I know I’ll be really busy to make sure we have dinner waiting for us when we get home. Usually it’s just making something as easy as pulled chicken or shredded chicken for tacos. It’s so easy to throw everything into the pot in the morning and have a meal once I get home!

 So, are you headed back to work/school next week? What is essential for you when you go back to work? 

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links as I am an Amazon Associate. This post is sponsored by Amazon.ca but all opinions and suggestions are always my own! 

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