Back-to-School

Back to School Shopping Tips for Glam Girls

We’ve partnered with KidsShoes.com for this post – we received some awesome new girl’s shoes for back to school to show you, all opinions are totally ours. As always. #shopkidsshoes #shoeuswhatyougot

Do you have a little fashionista in your life? A girl who lives for glitter and glam? A girl who’s young enough that you still have to do most of the shopping and assisting in the fitting room, but old enough to be super opinionated on what she wants to wear to school every day? Then I’ve got some tips here to help make your mom life easier. Because I love you. Keep reading.

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Posted by Meagan Paullin on August 8, 2017 Filed Under: Fashion | 2 Comments

Quick and Dirty Tips to Make Back to School Simple

Back to School Made Simple with Quick and Dirty Tips… This post is totally not compensated, I just thought the info was super awesome and helpful, and that you’d like it as much as I did :)

Free, curated collection of back-to-school tips for students, teachers, and parents – from Grammar Girl, Mighty Mommy and the experts at Quick and Dirty Tips!

Whether you’re an English teacher looking for grammar insight, a parent worried about your child’s kindergarten anxiety, or a student looking to stay organized this school year, Quick and Dirty Tips can help! [Read more…]

Posted by Meagan Paullin on August 27, 2014 Filed Under: Family | No Comments

Adorable and Affordable Back to School Clothes for Kids

Thank you to OshKosh B’gosh and The Motherhood blogging network for letting me partner with them to share some awesome kids fall fashion with you!

Ok, I mentioned yesterday in my Top 10 Trends for Kids this Fall post that I am in love – in LOOOOOVE – with OshKosh B’gosh. I’ll be honest – they sent me a gift card to go and shop. Our closest store is at an outlet mall, 2 hours away. The last time I was there, I fell head over heels with everything they had. {You can see some outfits here, here, and a post here, and a video of our summer fashion fun here. Ohmyheck.} We couldn’t make it to the actual store this time, so I had to shop online. But, they make it so darn easy, and I love the way that they match up outfits for you, to give you ideas. They rock. My package of adorableness came the other day… Then we had crazy thunderstorms, and it took me a bit to be able to get pics to share. But seriously – check out the cuteness, and get your credit cards ready to shop :)

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Posted by Meagan Paullin on August 26, 2014 Filed Under: Fashion | 7 Comments

Tea Collection KinderCone Giveaway: $4k Grand Prize!

The first day of school can be a bit nerve wracking, and to alleviate some of the anxiety and put a little fun into the day, there is a tradition in Germany where kids are presented with a large, colorful KinderCone or Schultute (“shool-too-teh”) filled with school supplies, sweet treats and small gifts. This large cardboard cone of fun helps kids feel a little better about their big first day. And is just super fun, right?

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Posted by Meagan Paullin on August 4, 2014 Filed Under: Giveaways | No Comments

How to Help & Support Your Child’s Teacher this School Year

I participated in a campaign for Mom Central Consulting on behalf of Wet Ones, about supporting teachers this school year. I received product samples to facilitate my review and a promotional item as a thank you for participating.

I think it’s safe to say that everyone’s kids have finally started school now. And in most areas – fall is in the air… The leaves are beginning to change, the air is crisper in the morning, and most important of all – Pumpkin Spice Lattes are available once again. {Yum, oh yum.} But, even though you’ve done the main back to school shopping, that doesn’t mean that your work is done – there are a ton of things you can do to help support the hard work that you’re kiddo’s teachers are doing throughout the school year.

How to help teachers all year long

We all know that for some crazy reason, our schools are almost always underfunded. Most of us would say that schools are one of the most important places for our tax dollars to go – yet unlike the DMV, the courts, or the police department, teachers buy huge amounts of supplies that are needed to do their jobs out of their own pocket. They work many hours off the clock, have to do tons of continuing education, and aren’t that highly paid. But, clearly, they do it because they love it – which is why they deserve our support, right? Here are some great ways to show support:

Teacher Appreciation Gifts that Rock [Read more…]

Posted by Meagan Paullin on September 16, 2013 Filed Under: Busy Mom Solution | No Comments

How Much Does it Really Cost to Pay It Forward?

“If you wait until you can do everything for everybody, instead of something for somebody, you’ll end up not doing nothing for nobody.” – Malcom Bane… I’m a big believer in giving back. I donate regularly to support the amazing work that Heifer International does for families and communities around the world. I’m excited to have recently been chosen as a year-long ambassador for one of my favorite charities supporting US families – and can’t wait to announce who that is very soon. And, I give back to my own local communities… Food drives, helping with our local Eagles club kids events, and other events. It doesn’t matter how little time you have, or how small your budget or resources are – everyone has something they can do to make their world around them a little brighter. So, with back to school season here, I was incredibly excited to join an awesome #payitforward event, and fill a backpack up with some fun supplies for a kiddo in need.

Back to School Pay It Forward Event – How it works [Read more…]

Posted by Meagan Paullin on August 26, 2013 Filed Under: Giving Back | 1 Comment

Back to School Tips: Fun Lunches, Fall Fashion, & More!

“When you know better you do better.” – Maya Angelou… This quote applies just as much to us moms as it does to kids gearing up for a new school year – There’s always something new to learn and discover, whether it’s a new word or skill at school, or a great tip to help calm the chaos of motherhood. So, while you’re helping your kiddos prepare to go back to school, I’m here to help you prepare too – with some super helpful ideas: Shopping, lunch prep, fashion, and more. Keep reading to check them out – and be sure to pin your favorites to refer to again later.

Back to school tips: Packing fun lunches

This will be the first year that we’ll be packing lunches. My nephews were here all summer with me – and once school starts, they’re here every morning to catch the bus, as well as each afternoon after school. Little Guy is seriously crazy-excited about getting to bring his lunch to school – he has been asking me every.single.day if I can put his lunch in his new back to school lunchbag from Marshalls! He’s so funny :) So, I’ve been looking for new ideas to make lunches fun, check out some of my favorites:

To see more cool ideas – follow my Bento Box lunch board on Pinterest. And – a couple more tips: Make lunches based on your kids favorite books, favorite movies, subjects they’re learning in school, or favorite colors. Freeze a Capri Sun or juice box to put in their lunch in the morning – it’ll keep it cold all day, and will be drinkable by afternoon. And be sure to check out your local Marshalls or T.J.Maxx for awesome lunch bags and gear at the best prices!

Back to School Tip: Have fun!

In between all of the craziness of back to school prep, it’s important to remember that it’s not just about the serious stuff like school supplies, making sure kids are at the right skill level, or ensuring you’ve bought the best supplies – it’s also about having fun! Kids can’t learn without a little bit of whimsy, right? They need some fun to balance things during their increasingly intensive school days – so brings some sunshine into their days:

Pair some fun crafty projects, cool printables, and awesome games and adventures – and have a rockin’ back to school season that’s sure to get any kiddo ready for a new year of learning.

Back to School Fashion Tips: Layering

I love fashion. You might not know it if you see me in my usual “work from home mom of a toddler” uniform of yoga pants, off the shoulder tees, and messy bun – But in a former life, I was actually quite trendy :) I worked in merchandising and fashion merchandising for over 10 years, and loved it. I’m so drawn to anything creative – design, texture, color – and fashion has always been fun for me. So I love helping to pick out new school clothes for the kids – and love being able to find pieces that mix and match easily, to create a ton of outfits from just a few great items. And one way to really stretch your wardrobe is to use layering to make the “same old” from last year look new again!

Layer unexpectedly: Most people would layer a button up shirt over a tee – but how great does this look with it layered underneath instead? You can also layer polo shirts under tees too – very fun for little guys.
Best pieces for girls: For girls, light cardigan sweaters are my FAVORITE layering piece! You can put them over a tank and cinch at the waist with a belt. Toss them over summer dresses to bring them into fall. And short sleeve cardis look great over a long sleeve top – very on trend, but still comfy for the playground.
Extend summer faves: Use basic long-sleeve t-shirts to take favorite tees from summer into fall – just layer them underneath. You can usually find basic long sleeve tees super cheap – or, buy whatever you find on the clearance rack. Even if the kids don’t like the brand/character/design, it doesn’t matter, since you’ll be covering it up with another shirt anyway. They also work great under short sleeve polos or plaid shirts too.
Accessories: Ok, this mostly applies to girls, I know. But a few fun accessories can seriously make last year’s pieces more fun. You can do it DIY style – adding patches, using fabric to extend the length of jeans – no sewing required!, or taking the kids to a fabric store to pick out ribbons, new buttons, or trimmings to add to old clothes. Or, use inexpensive pieces purchased at places like Marshalls or T.J.Maxx – things like scarves, gloves, hats, shoes, jewelry, belts, ties, hair clips and bands – they all add up to a fresh new style!

Once you start thinking about it – you’ll find all types of things to jazz up your kids wardrobe. Layering old with new, finding cool new pieces to update what you already have, or adding a cute accessory or two to make something feel new – they all save you big bucks versus buying a whole new wardrobe.

Back to school tips Saving big on school shopping

Ok – now that we’ve talked about all of the things you need to do and buy before school starts – let’s talk about how to SAVE on all of that gear! I did a HUGE shopping trip for the kiddos – My nephews – Little Guy, andBig Guy – and then my own Abby, who’ll start pre-school this winter. {See her over-the-top adorable big-girl outfit here} And, you can see our whole back to school shopping trip online, and see what sweet deals we found, and learn about my secret deal-scoring tricks. We shopped at my fave retailers – T.J.Maxx, and Marshalls, and here’s the breakdown of the deals:

Total shopping trip:
Regular retail price: 345.99
My price at T.J.Maxx and Marshalls: $161.88
Total savings: $184.11 – more than half!!!

Super cool, right? Check them out online to find where your own closest sweet-deal stores are located: Marshalls, and T.J.Maxx. If you’re ready to save big for back to school – and the rest of the year too! – Be sure to pin this post to Pinterest: Pin me here. Share it to Twitter and Facebook.

Thank you to Marshalls and T.J.Maxx for giving the opportunity to check out their new fall selection for back to school and share it with you guys. I received a complimentary gift card to help with my post. All opinions and photos are 100% my own – as always!