Author: Rebecca Cuneo Keenan

I only got half my Labour Day to do list completed. But that’s to be expected. The kids took forever going to sleep. That’s also to be expected. And the new lunch containers I bought are too big to fit in a standard lunch box. That one was a nice surprise.

BUT, I did find out that Mary’s first day of nursery school is today and not tomorrow which (given how much work I’ve put off until this week) is a saving grace for me.  I found a couple lunch bags that are stretchy enough to work. I even started packing school lunches by 10pm. A reasonable bedtime seemed to be within reach.

Summer is a season of contradictions for me. By May, I can barely wait for to indulge in lazy mornings and late nights with the kids. I entertain visions of far-flung picnics and afternoons at the pool. I imagine days whiled away at our neighbourhood park, an abundance of fresh local produce, and quick meals prepared on the bbq and enjoyed in the backyard.

I guess there is a little bit of that. But mostly it’s just chaos. I tried to save the cost of camp by keeping the kids home with me, figuring I’d lighten my work load and stay up late. Right. Throw a family wedding, my husband’s inconsistent work schedule and a couple getaways into the mix and I’ve barely been able to keep on top of laundry and meals, let alone work.

So, yeah, by mid-August I’m barely keeping up with the bare essentials of what I need to do, the kids have utterly trashed the place and I’m jonesing for that September routine so bad. Until the very last week when I suddenly fall prey to now-or-never-itis and plan a million day trips to try to salvage what’s left of the summer.

And now it’s Labour Day weekend and, if you’re anything like me, you suddenly realize you’ve done hardly anything to get ready for the school year. PANIC! No, don’t. It’s okay. You actually don’t have to start back-to-school shopping in July, despite what the advertisers tell you. It can be done in a day. And that day is tomorrow.

Here’s my plan.

School supplies: You can’t beat Staples for school and office supplies. They’ve got a huge variety of supplies at great prices and lots of everything. My kids don’t actually get a supply list until the first day of school and last year I was able to get everything on my son’s list at Staples for a very good price during the first week of school. So I’ll probably just wait until next week for these, but you can go ahead and buy yours tomorrow if that works for you.

We went out for dinner last week and because I’m a seasoned and experienced mom of three, I brought exactly nothing to keep my kids occupied while we waited for our food. The number one tip I give to people going out for dinner with young children is to bring an activity for the kids; books, crayons and paper, small toys or games, that kind of thing. In actual practice, I’m never organized enough to grab that stuff.

But I also don’t like handing over my phone because of my high parenting ideals. Hahahaha. No, it’ s because my phone is an expensive piece of very nice technology and it’s pretty much the only thing I have that’s off limits. Besides, they’ve already smashed two of them. And they’d fight over it.