It’s officially that time of year: back-to-school season! Between shopping for clothes and supplies, navigating new schedules, and meal prepping lunches, there’s a lot to keep track of. We’re kicking off our first episode of season five by digging into all things back-to-school and sharing some of our knowledge about making this transition easier.
It’s officially that time of year: back-to-school season! Between shopping for clothes and supplies, navigating new schedules, and meal prepping lunches, there’s a lot to keep track of. We’re kicking off our first episode of season five by digging into all things back-to-school and sharing some of our knowledge about making this transition easier.
Welcome to raising healthy families with Moms Meet and KIWI. We're giving you the tools to enjoy the beauty and chaos of life with little ones in the healthiest way possible.
Maureen:Hi everyone, I'm Maureen Frost editorial director of KIWI magazine and one of your Raising Healthy Families hosts, and a mom of two.
Chrissy:Hey everyone, I'm Christy Kissinger, Chief Mom Ambassador and a mom of three.
Becca Slocum:Hi everyone. I'm Becca Slocum, one of your new Raising Healthy Families hosts and a mom of two. And I'm so excited to join you guys today.
Maureen:I can't wait to jump into this conversation or we are going to be digging into all things back to school and sharing some of our knowledge about making the transition easier.
Chrissy:This episode is brought to you in part by Zulily. Gear up for the new school year with Zulily, the one stop online retail shop for all your fashion family finds and home decor needs. From the cutest kids clothes to lunchtime and backpack essentials, you'll be treated to fresh finds and daily deals up to 70% off from big name brands and new unique products. You can even score free shipping on additional and future purchases. So while mom life may send you all around town, Zulily is the only place you'll need to visit to find the must haves to make your back to school shopping a breeze. Oh my goodness, I cannot believe that back to school season's already here. Like where did summer go. It flew by I have no idea where it went. My oldest is getting ready to go back to school into fourth grade, which makes me feel really old. And my second is going to start her first year in kindergarten. So it's super exciting, but also really crazy.
Maureen:Oh my gosh, I can't believe that Owen's that old.
Chrissy:I know my gosh.
Maureen:Yeah, it's so crazy to think that our kids are getting to this age My son, so my oldest is going back to preschool but this year, he's going to do three half days instead of two. So that'll be like a second year of preschool and you know, just mentally preparing for everything that we have to do to get to get him all already.
Chrissy:Yeah, that's crazy. That's-that'll be good for him though. To like for an adjustment kind of ease him you know, starting he- he did two two days last year. And now he's gonna be doing three. So that'll be helpful.
Maureen:And maybe five next year. So I'm like, Alright, let's like ease into this. And then yeah, so we'll see. But yeah, yeah, it's good. I love the three half days. It's such a nice little compromise. He gets to go be with other kids and then come home to me because I miss him.
Becca Slocum:I don't have to worry about that just yet. My two are not actually in the back to school age yet but I have so many questions about it because I know it's going to be here before you know it, which is terrifying. One of the big things that I always see this time of year is shopping. Looks like all the stores had back to school stuff out months ago already. And it seems like there's so many things that these kids need for school. So Chrissy, can you share some of your back to school essentials?
Chrissy:Yeah, there - first of all, I love back to school shopping, I love getting all the new supplies and it's just a fun time you know, to gear up on everything you need. I so one of the things that's really nice about the school where my kids go, they will actually the prior school year before it ends, you can actually order like a whole back to school supply kit and they have it ready for your kid on the first day of school. Now I will say that I am not organized enough to submit my form in time. So it is really nice, but I never get to take advantage of it so but I would definitely say you know like I always try to get a new backpack because those of you that have school aged kids or even kids in preschool like their backpacks get trashed from you know from one school year to the next so always get them a new backpack and then you know obviously following the school supply list because each year it's different and then I try to get a new lunchbox to that one always is is needed after a school year and then sometimes I'll do clothing um it depends like with Owen he keeps hitting these really big like growth spurts so I keep having to buy new clothes for him but with Olivia I probably won't need to buy too much because I have a ton of clothes for her already. But you know anytime I'm looking for back to school supplies with like backpacks or you know lunch boxes, I always do try to spend a little bit more money just to have that durability because if you don't you know if you buy something cheaper, likely it won't last the whole school year. One of the other things joy we struggle with our sneakers my kids, I don't know what it is my kids like go through sneakers like their candy. They like destroy them after the first time wearing them. So I always tried to buy them a nicer pair of sneakers as well. But I also really liked to get my kids involved in picking stuff Because I know like, you know, they're having such a fun summer and they sometimes are a little bummed about going back to school. So I always try to get them involved in getting their supplies. Good to help them get motivated to go back to school. What about you, Maureen? Do you get like a whole slew of supplies for Declan when he goes back to preschool?
Maureen:Now he doesn't really need to bring, like, you know, pens or crayons, or they they supply all that stuff there. But like backpack, he probably needs a new one. Something that I like meant to do last year, and I just never did, was to label everything, get those cute little labels with their names and like, I'm gonna be that mom this year, I'm gonna do it. hold me to it, like I'm gonna be organized, you're gonna know which water bottle is his. So that's like an essential that I think is really important. Especially because we don't want our kids sharing, like accidentally taking someone else's water or something like that. So I'm going to be doing that. I agree with the like, the shoe thing is like the big thing for me, I want to set him up. He needs to have good school shoes. And then you know, I just buy new clothes when he grows out. So it's not necessarily like I grab a ton of stuff at the beginning of the school year. I just like we I go digging for whatever he needs and then whatever he he's missing or he grew out of that I just go shopping. So I just Yes, shoes, though. That's a must. And let me get my labels.
Chrissy:Yeah, the labels I'm so glad you reminded me because I like you, I always go into the school year. I'm like, I'm gonna be really prepared this year. And I'm gonna label everything. I don't think I've ever done it. But it is really important because you will soon realize like things just, you know, I can't tell you how many water bottles I've had to buy because they just get left behind places. So maybe if I had labeled them I wouldn't have had to buy them.
Maureen:Exactly. And like you know, as it gets colder like maybe you're even like putting the label in like their gloves or, or something like a hat or something like that. So that you know, when they like take them off and they fall on the floor. You'll get them back. Yeah, so that's my goal.
Chrissy:Yeah, yeah, Becca, are you, so your kids aren't going to preschool yet? But do you - are you good good at labeling your kids stuff better than Maureen and I are apparently?
Becca Slocum:So I am terrible at it. And I have I have identical twins. So we like coordinate things we don't match. So like one girl gets all polka dots. One girl gets all purple. Like it's very coordinated in that sense. In terms of leaving the house and having things labeled, it's all bets are off. So that's that is definitely something that I need to like work on in that sense of preparation. But Chrissy, I know you mentioned like, your kids have been having such a fun summer. What does it look like? Like, how do you prepare them for that transition from you know, their fun, summertime and then having to head back to school and getting back on a schedule and everything?
Chrissy:Yeah, that's a really great question. I think what helps with my oldest is so at the end of August, so we start back to school that day after Labor Day around here. So at the end of August is usually when we get like our teacher assignments. So that is actually a really exciting time for my oldest because he just wants to know what friends are in his class. So he always looks forward to that. So we kind of you know, I try to make it exciting for him in that regard. My daughter has been excited to start kindergarten since she's been like three years old, so I'm not worried. I'm not she asks me every day, it's really cute. She asked me every day, you know, is kindergarten tomorrow, is it tomorrow? And then of course, she doesn't understand like no, and a couple of months, but so I'm not worried about you know, getting her excited for it. But I do like try, especially with my, you know, Olivia going into kindergarten, I do manage expectations in terms of what the day will look like, because right now she's in daycare. So her day is definitely a lot different than it will be in kindergarten. So I'll try to walk her through what the day will look like. You know, I we're gonna, like walk through what it's like getting on the bus and things like that, because that's all new for her. Now, it is nice that, you know, my oldest will be there to help her with those kinds of things. But yeah, I mean, we just try to get them as excited as as can be. I mean, my son right now is having probably the best summer of his life and I'm really jealous about I mean, he's like at the pool at the beach. He's taking trips, places like he's living the life and so it definitely will be a transition, you know, to go back but one of the things that I thought was really cool, that's a mom at our school. She's She has a kid that's in school already but a daughter who's starting kindergarten such you know, like myself, and she actually Like randomly set up with a couple of other moms just like a local playdate and she was like, hey, spread the word anyone else that you know who have kids going into kindergarten this year? Let's do a playdate let's you know meet up at a local playground so they can all meet and that way, there's some familiar faces before the school starts. And we did that. And we showed up and there was like, I don't know, 20 to 30 kids there, and it just keeps growing each time and we're doing a pool party. And so by the time they start school, they're all gonna already have some friends. So that was a really cool idea. And Maureen, I think you said you started getting connected with other parents at your daycare, right?
Maureen:Yeah, so it took like, through to like, the second half of the year for us all to kind of connect, just because it's such like a unique time right now. Like everyone is, like, varying levels of like, your safety precautions, and we're all just kind of like, it's hard to do things together. But, you know, we, we finally have a mom group chat for the preschool, which is so nice. It's hard, and I didn't grow up where we live. So it's like, my connections are not like, as local or, or friends that we do have here. Their kids are younger. So it's really nice, because I feel like it's kind of a challenging time to like start and get that community feeling from the school. And like, we actually have Jacqueline's first like school friend birthday party tomorrow, which I'm so excited about for him. It's just cool. It's fun to we did some, some fun, like end of the year stuff. You know, which feels like a minute ago, even though we're talking about back to school, we like went to a playground and, and had like a pizza party, and they played on the playground and stuff like that. So just those little things like actually means so much. When you're getting your kid into the school community and helping them feel comfortable. And like the the walking through helping your kids like, understand what's going to happen that day, I think is so important. I've been trying to do that with Declan because he's going to the same school, but he's so little, he doesn't understand like that. It's not going to be the same thing as last year. So trying to talk to him about you're going to this teacher now and you know her and she's so nice. You've been in her classroom before your son has some of the same kids in your class, mom and dad are still going to drop you off, and we're going to pick you up. So like giving them like an outline of their day, I think really helps to calm their nerves so they know what to expect and who's picking you up and who's dropping you off. And, and then, you know, giving them little things that that comfort them throughout the day, like something they like in their lunchbox, especially if it's the first day or something. So just taking care of like, what could potentially be a little scared them. carrying them is super important up front.
Chrissy:Yeah, yeah, I love you know, being able to connect with other moms too. I always say I feel like we're gonna have like a whole separate podcast episode on making mom friends because it is really hard. Like I always say it's really, it's, it's pretty well, it's not rare, but it is hard to find a parent that you get along with and then also that your kids get along with each other. That definitely like I remember when Owen was Oliva's age, I just remember thinking like, oh my goodness, like that I'm never he's never going to have like friends have played it to the kid has more playdates than I care to even mention because he's like it just, but it's awesome. Because he's now at that age where he can like ride his bike down to a friend's house and you know, hang out or whatever. But it is so invaluable to have that community of moms like within your network of of your school or preschool, or whatever the case may be. Because I can't tell you how many times where Owen has forgotten what his homework is for that day. And I'll text my friend and ask, you know, to for them to tell me what it is or things like that. Like carpooling like thing. It's just it's really helpful. And then also, like I met, like I said, it's great for the kids too, because then they have familiar faces when they're going to school, you know, to be able to see each other. So Becca, do you are you experiencing like the mom dating game where you're trying to make friends and and have your two daughters and your daughters have each other? Right? That's a unique opportunity with having twins,
Becca Slocum:They do. They're so lucky in that sense, but they're polar opposites, opposites so they could use some outside friends. It's funny though, I'm like taking notes as you guys are talking through this because these are all things that I have been like, thinking about, like the girls are very young, they're their own, they'll be two in November but it's one of those things where it's like, okay, how do I make other mom friends and in this situation, I was very fortunate that one of my closest girlfriends had a baby the same time that I did. So our girls are kind of growing up together. But we won't be in the same school district. So like it's it's fun to hear that you know, you've had these, these park playdates set up so that you can meet some of the kids that are going to be in your Her kids classes like like I, I'm going to be the, the the parent that coordinates that because I'm going to be like panicking over like, Okay, I need to meet friends and my girls need to have friends and I have to orchestrate all of this. So it's nice to hear that it happens.
Maureen:Yeah, it's also nice to hear that you'll do it because like, I won't do it. I want to I want it to happen. But I'm not like, that's just not my personality. So like that now, we made the use of the world.
Becca Slocum:We'll see what happens when they're actually school aged.
Maureen:Yeah, no, I love that it you know, I think that like, we all want it so bad. And then realizing that it happens bit by bit like, a little bit at a time, it gets a little bit easier, although I do have this one friend who seemed to become best friends with all the people at our school. And I'm like, How did you do that? And she's just like, oh, we all just like text. I'm like you but like, how?
Chrissy:What you said, it's like, I'm telling you, I'm not kidding you. It's like dating. You're like trying to figure out how to like, not be a creeper. But also like, Can I be your friend?
Maureen:Yeah, like, shall I follow you on Instagram? I don't know. Is that right?
Chrissy:I asked for your number without being weird about it. Yeah, it's a whole thing. I know.
Maureen:It seems like we need to turn this into an episode. It's someone, I'll have my friend who's really good at it. Come on and teach us how to be mom friends.
Chrissy:Well, so one of the other things too, with back to school season, which I think everyone is kind of just used to at this point, like teaching our kids healthy habits before they start because you know, back to school is like all the kids are converging together. And there's just so many germs and it's just a whole thing. So Maureen, like what kind of stuff do you do to kind of help Declan out with teaching him you know how to how to be healthy before he goes back to preschool?
Maureen:Um, you know, they I think they do a good job at school with hand washing, I think they'll wash their hands when they get into the classroom, his classroom small. So I'm sure that's not like plausible in all classrooms. But they do that, you know, making him cover his mouth, like cough into his, into his elbow. Who knows what will go on, like,
Chrissy:Yeah, I know, we're in the same boat to where I just this year, as far as masking goes, but one of my big things is like making sure that like if he's sick, like I keep them home, because I want everyone else to keep their kids home if their kids are sick. I take it to heart. We do health screening at the beginning of the school, like everyone, we have to answer questions every time we drop them off on our app and everything. I take it to heart because like, I mean, he's he'll be fine. If he misses a day preschool. It's not the same for everyone. I have a good childcare system set up at my house. And I know that that changes a lot. But like, you know, he comes home once a month with something so I'm like, let's just like, try to keep them home. I don't know what to do. They're all gonna get sick so much. They just do. Yeah, time and then we all get sick. And then it starts over again. I know. We struggle with it. We're you know, we're in and out of sickness all the time at my house. feel like it's it's a vicious cycle where you know, someone brings something home, and then we all get it. And then it starts up a couple of months later. And it's a whole thing. So I totally understand that. One of the other things too, oh, sorry. Go ahead.
Maureen:No, I was just gonna ask if you do anything else, because definitely need help in this area.
Chrissy:Yeah. So one thing I do say is because your kids are a little bit younger, one thing I've found now that Owen is nine, like, he rarely gets sick, right? Like as they get older. I feel like because they've been through daycare and his years of germ exposure, that their immune systems are like, okay, I can handle this. So he doesn't get sick as much but like Olivia is and she's just starting to get out of that like, phase of getting sick all the time. Now, they still bring stuff home to me, which is so lovely of them and kind of but like I'm definitely dealing with it with Charlotte, like in the first year of daycare, she's just constantly getting something or bringing it home. So they're there. Unfortunately, there's like not much you can really do. It really is it's kind of just a fact at this point. It's just gonna happen, unfortunately. Yeah.
Maureen:Yeah.
Becca Slocum:I feel like I'm prepared to go to battle when my kids are finally in school because we're fortunate enough that they are-they stay in our home. We have a nanny that comes and watches them and you know, they haven't really been exposed to a lot. They were born preemie so they were in the NICU. So when they first came home, I was like crazy about anybody visiting and anybody holding them. So their little immune systems probably don't exist yet. So you're in for it when they go Back when they start going to school.
Maureen:Yeah, yeah, I mean, they'll be okay. They'll just be like everyone else. I mean, Declan, you know, our kids didn't go out that much either because our childcare is in the house until Declan start to go into preschool like they weren't exposed to anyone, either. I don't think he's more sick than anyone else. But we do get sick a lot. So, yeah, let's get ready for it.
Chrissy:Well, one of the other things, too, that's important with keeping kids healthy is, is this sleep aspect too. And I know, at least from my perspective, I know how hard it is when you're on a summer schedule, to shift back into, you know, the school, the school sleep schedule, like now my kids will go to bed later because, you know, they're still getting up for camp, but it's not like they're using their brains to the capacity that they are when they're in school. So it is really the it is a struggle, honestly, to get everyone back into the routine of you know, both bedtime and then also the morning routine. That's a whole thing. I don't know like I've heard you know, people sometimes to prepare for back to school, they'll start I don't know, like a month before and just kind of keep moving the bedtime time back. But I'm again not prepared. I feel like that's that's the theme of this podcast episode is how Chrissy is unprepared. I don't I don't have you know, the time to do that. So I'm always struggling during back to school. I don't know about you guys with an Yeah, like daylight savings, too. Right? Like, yeah.
Maureen:It's kind of like the same concept. Yeah. So like what my, my mother in law was like, because I was talking about that I'm like, Oh, definitely worried about so late these days. And that's because the sun is still out. She was like, you know, the sun's gonna start setting earlier, and it's just gonna naturally be easier to go to bed earlier because it's gonna be dark. And I'm like, Okay, thank you, I need that. But it depends on how long in advance you want to start. If you have to get your kids to go to bed like an hour earlier. You know, you say you have a week in advance, you want to do 15 minute increments or, or you, you know, say you want to start like a couple nights before, you might have to do something like okay to every every night, we're going to go to bed like 20 minutes earlier, I'm the math is not right here. So don't hold me to that. But but you know, the closer you are to the day that you want them to go to bed earlier, you'll have to be a little bit more aggressive. That's the amount that you'll have to like, it won't be as gradual, or you can do nothing, which is probably what I will do. Yeah, and just you know, they'll just be a little tired that first day. And that's probably what's going to happen anyway because everyone's going to get used to the new transitions and their energy is going to be high and they're going to be exhausted from all the new stuff that they're taking in. So I don't know I sleep is so the I think just the key is like making sure that like you do get them on that schedule. And sleep is prioritized, because that is the most important thing, especially for their little bodies to like fight off any colds that they're gonna get in the beginning of the school year. Sleep is so important. So I do fully prioritize sleep but like I don't know how good I'll be at like doing 15 minute increments. Yeah, also Declan tries to come out of his room about 15 times a night right now he's at that age.
Chrissy:Oh, no. That's really hard. Yeah, I don't know. I don't know what's worse, like the bedtime routine or, or the morning routine, but especially like back to school because like you're adding in making school lunches and getting backpack backpacks packed. And then you know, getting yourself out the door and getting to the bus stop in time and you don't like your kids don't want to wake up early so you have to leave enough time where they're not rushing around because then they just start off their day in a rush so.
Maureen:So do you do that stuff at nighttime? Or do you do that stuff in the morning?
Chrissy:If I'm like really on top of things and you know actually prepared I will I at least try to make them lunches the night before because that does take some time. But the morning usually their backpacks are like mostly packed like but the first day of school I'll definitely do everything the night before but I would say the first month of school I'm like really on top of my game and then it just slowly slowly fades away. But it does really help like if I go into the into the morning not rushed around, not rushing with my kids to get eat their breakfast and make it to the boss like we all are calmer. Everyone is good has a better day. But sometimes it's not you know, that's not the case. So we just try to try to make To get work with what we can. The other thing that's killer, too, that I've been finding now that is a little bit older, are the like back to school timing of extracurriculars and sports and things like that. Because literally every single night we have something after school. So we're trying we're trying to run to and from soccer practice, or baseball or whatever it is, it's just it's and then also doing homework and making dinner and it's just, and then all of a sudden, like getting them to bed at a decent time. So that is definitely because the summer everyone is more, you know, laid back, there's not a ton of activities going on. So it is jarring to switch into just like a zero to 60 in terms of schedules. So I don't know do either do any of your kids. You're so they're so really young. But like, do you guys do any extracurricular stuff like library stuff or anything like that?
Becca Slocum:So I I'm not there yet. But I think about this all the time. And in the sense of like, I look back on when I was a school in school, and like, in middle school and in high school and the amount of extracurriculars I did and how my parents were able to stay on top of all of it. I would be doing homework in the car while I ate a peanut butter and jelly sandwich on my way to my next dance rehearsal. And it was just like, I like say that to my mom all the time. I'm just like, Okay, well, apparently you are superhuman. So it's something that I love listening to other parents talk about, because I know that it's coming for me, and I'm just like, well, I just, I don't know how to prepare for it, but you just figure it out as you go.
Maureen:Mm hmm. It's hard because like, I feel like when they're in the younger grades, they're you want to sign them up for stuff because they want to you want to have them exposed so they can figure out what they like best. And then they'll like weed through it. And they will be in seven sports by the time High School rolls around. But I was way busier when I was younger, like, you know, I would have like one sport after school then then all the girls who did that sport and then the next sport practice that started after that someone's parent would bring us like Chick fil A or something like in the middle. It's like I was at school to like nine o'clock at night, like, in seventh grade because I was doing all these sports after school. But then. So in one hand, it's good because they can figure out what they like. But on the other hand, like you really need to be able to like schedule out blocks of time for them to like rest and recharge. Which is so important that I don't know how you find that balance. Chrissy like what what do you guys do? Like do you like other than like, it sounds like Oh, one's gonna have like the busiest time ever? Like between? Oh my gosh, I'm sure he's getting more homework this year, which is like a little scary for me. I feel like homework is scary.
Chrissy:Homework is the worst. Yeah. It is. It's a lot. But one thing I told myself last year at the end, maybe it was at the end of the school year last year. I made a like a pact with myself to I have to start saying no to things and it is really hard as a mom because then you start to have that mom guilt like you're saying no, and your kids are missing out on these things. But ultimately, if I'm saying yes to everything we're so stretched then that no one is enjoying themselves, you know, so I I do say and this it is a little tough now that owns older but like I say one sport per season right now. Now Owen is doing travel soccer, which is fall and spring. So then he does end up doing to sports, but it's just you know, we try to figure it out and make it work. And it is a lot though. And to your point with like homework. I it's it is. That's also if there's any moms out there with great advice, I'd love to know because I always struggle with when they get home school, do you make them do it right away? Or do you let them have like a brain break, essentially, because they've been in school all day and let them have a moment to decompress. But they don't really have that time because practice is an hour after they get home. So it's no I always struggle with that of whether to have them do their homework right away. And I mean, this will be the first year I have two kids with homework. So I don't even know we might not survive.
Maureen:Okay. It's such a daunting idea that after a long day of concentrating and learning, you have to come home and do more of it. It's just now it is it's a lot but deciding like I've read you know, I think I used to get it done right away because I just wanted it done. I didn't want it hanging over my head but like I have read like, you know, allow them time to just take a break before they have to get back into it. So there's definitely arguments for both and your kids might have a preference and that might lead your decision.
Chrissy:So yeah, I'm seeing for sure I know. I mean If it were up to my child, he would never do homework at all.
Maureen:Yeah.
Chrissy:So we briefly touched on, you know, like the meal prep and or the lunchbox prep like doing the night before. But this is also another conversation I could talk for hours about is like prepping the dinner rush and like the lunch preparations are always they add like want to pull my hair out for those. So I know we have some really great KIWI recipes, right Maureen, that that are helpful with that...?
Maureen:Yeah, for sure. We have a whole lunch section on KIWI and you can just go in there there's a lot of kid friendly stuff that you can find like we have these like better for you chicken nuggets and sweet potato fries. If you wanted to make batch cook those and then you can dole them out for a couple of days. That would be a really fun food for your kids. And there's you know, we have different different wrap so crunchy Asian chicken and veggie wrap. We've got stackable sandwich kebabs. And these are all like made with the idea that a kid would like avocado egg salad sandwich. You know, there's tons of stuff if you're if you're like a little, you don't want to just do the like sandwich every single day. There's some really good ideas and some stuff that you can like batch cook to. So like you'll have it for a couple of days. But I feel like you're the pro at meal prepping. And also, I want to talk about your newfound bento box love to so can you
Chrissy:Oh my gosh, yes. So I Okay, the past year and a half, share? I've been really spoiled because our school had some like COVID relief funds where they basically were providing free lunches to every student. So I didn't have to pack a school lunch. And it was beautiful. But I think that they're getting rid of it this year. So. So what I ended up doing was, every year at the beginning of the year, I always said, I'm going to try the bento box, I'm going to try the bento and I never did. But I finally like I was like I'm doing it this year and I bought one for my daughter. And because we have to pack lunch for camp, so it is life changing. And I have so much fun doing it my daughter gets involved and she loves it. It's it allows us to get really creative with what we pack and how we pack it allows me to pack healthier things like for instance, like my daughter loves carrots dipped in like Ranch, but I could never really pack that because I can't really pack like a ranch packet, right. So I can do a lot more veggies like today I packed her some red peppers and carrots with some ranch dip and she loved it. She was so excited. And actually, my son, you know, was watching what I was doing for Olivia and he was like, I kind of want one of those. So I ordered one for him as well. So I'm really excited to to start that because it does give me the the opportunity to get more creative and give healthier food too. The other thing too is I feel like it's gonna save me money in the long run. Because if you go to the grocery store, and you buy like those, you know individually packaged snacks versus just the box where you can just put it in the bento box, you're definitely going to save money over the long run. So I I'm telling you, I'm like a brand ambassador for bento boxes because I'm on it.
Maureen:And you're wasting less because you're not buying individually packaged things, which is super important too. Yeah, kids love variety. Like they want a little teensy tiny little section for like they get one, you know, a couple m&ms or something like that, you know, I always see like cute like, okay, and then we put like a little dessert in here or like the ricotta grapes, or something like that's good enough for a kid and they want to move on to the next food. Yeah. Becca, what do you do with with your girls for lunch at home? Do you meal prep before the work day? Or do you take a break? What how does that work?
Becca Slocum:So I am one of the worst meal preppers in the world. I deserve an award for that. I am one of those people that like I I go in phases. So there's times where I'll watch like a ton of YouTube videos or TikTok videos of people that like meal prep and then I'll go to the store and I'll buy everything and I'll prep and it'll last for like a week and then I never do it again. We are definitely a family that flies by the seat of our pants and I'll wake up one morning and be like okay, my kids still need date today. So I'm gonna go to the store really quick before the workday starts and they are like nonstop berry eaters right now. So I've just been stocking up on fruits about like three times a week probably. So hearing this and like you know, watching some other moms on the internet, preparing their meals for like the entire week. It's one of those things where I'm like, this is a daunting task, but I'm going to have to get behind this because I know that going to the store multiple times a week just like is not sustainable. And in terms of what they eat, it's funny because I feel like my girls eat pretty, like consistent meals. Like they're eating a lot of the same foods. And you know, they're not talking back to me yet and telling me that they don't like it. So I'm interested to hear I mean, I'm sure Christy for you when probably is like, Mom, I don't like this. I'm tired of having this in my lunch every day. How do you how do you like spice it up for him? What kind of like, what how do you include variety in his lunches?
Chrissy:Yeah, I don't. It is so so hard, like the kid eats the same thing. Because what I was saying, like what I tried to do for a while was like I would I always pack a fruit and veggie. But literally every day, like it was like battle of like stubbornness, because every day it would come home not eaten, like rotten and gross. And I'm like, well, now this food is just being wasted. Like I don't, I'm not gonna keep packing it. It's gonna go to waste. But then, like, I'm just packing him junk food, right? So it's like, it's really hard also, like buying school lunches, I have no idea what he's getting there. So, I mean, it's, it is definitely a challenge. That's why I'm really excited. I think the bento box is gonna be good for both of them. Because it'll be it'll be that good balance. Like sometimes, for instance, like he loves cucumbers. But when I would pack them in like a Ziploc bag, they they are kind of gross. Like they get like mushy and gross. So hopefully the bento box will help with that. But it is it's so hard to find something like to find that healthy balance of giving them like treats, but also having them eat something healthy. And also, you're not there to oversee it, too, right? I don't know, he, he told me yesterday, he like treats his food with other kids. I'm like, What in the world is happening? Yeah.
Maureen:Yeah, I have seen like this from many like, nutritionist, that like your job as a parent is to provide them food, their job is to eat it, you are not in charge of them eating the food, like that's up to them. And it takes the onus off you like that, you know, you want to expose them to healthy foods, they still think it's a good idea. Even if maybe he's not eating it, it's going to take 20 times or something like that. Consistently exposing them. Because if we, if you decide, oh, they don't like this, I'm not putting it on their plate they're never going to eat at because you've they don't have an opportunity. Yeah, so it's like a balance. It's a balance there, though, because like so right. You feel wasteful, like I, I bought this whole cucumber and no one's eating it and like,
Chrissy:But also like, I remember I had a conversation with a pediatrician who suggested like, bring your kids to the grocery store, and they can pick out produce. And actually, I always laugh at that because I'm like, I'm not bringing my kids to the grocery store. But it actually worked out this past weekend. Olivia came to the store randomly. She was like, Can I get a red pepper and I said, Okay, now I don't like raw peppers. I'll eat them cooked. I don't like them raw. So I don't ever give them to my kids. We're all to your point, Maureen. Like if you don't give it to them, they won't like it. Well, in comes a bento box yesterday, she was like, can you pack me raw peppers? And I said, Sure. And she loved it like, but I never would have done that. Right? If she didn't go to the store with me and pick it out. So that's a good tip. It's a little like that, that you can do. But that was like the first time that that's ever worked out for me. So I'm definitely no expert in this.
Maureen:Yeah, but that's a really, I forgot about that one that's really good tip. Take them with you get them involved, always getting them involved, makes things easier. They want to have some sort of a say in things gives them like a sense of independence. So yeah.
Chrissy:And the other the last piece I'll just talking through the kids lunch thing that I always struggle with is like the whole allergy thing because I don't want to pack like peanut butter and jelly because you know, there are kids that have allergies now, in public school, they are really good about like those kids with allergies sit at like a different a different lunch table. So you could send it in but I also want to try to be you know, cognizant of them and not you know, putting them in that situation. So that's always hard too.
Becca Slocum:Yeah, that kind of makes me sad. I have a - I have a peanut daughter, peanut allergy daughter and she's gonna have to sit at a designated table that like it's hard.
Maureen:I appreciate it being considered and we're actually in the in the Fall issue of key we were gonna have some like school safe lunch ideas that like don't have any of the top nine allergens in them especially if like one of your kids friends like your kid might not have the allergy but their friend that they want to sit next to at lunch might have the allergy so having options that you know, like if they don't know ever like touched it or cross contamination or had or had a bite when no one was looking like you would be okay. So it's something to think about for I know a deck unschool like, it's a peanut free school. So you're not allowed to bring peanuts in no matter what. And then if there's someone in the class who has an allergy to something, then any, any treat that you send in can't have that allergy in it, which, you know, that's just like, it's just the way it is now, and I know that I would get part of it as a mom, but I appreciate it when everyone else understands that, like, you know, for my daughter, this is a huge safety issue and then might be a mild inconvenience but, but if you could just, you know, take one extra effort to think about their safety, if they're going to be around you. Around the kids like it really is appreciated as an allergy mom that now I have to deal with, like she's not out of the house yet. She's only one and a half. But I'll have to deal with that down the line. And like just being like loud about it to people like it's, it's weird. It's a weird thing to have to have a say over what other people are eating around your kids.
Chrissy:Yeah, it is really hard. It is. Yeah. So the other piece, too, is just like, general parenting kid burnout like it does. And I think I touched on this earlier, like, the summer is super chill and calm and no, you know, commitments. And then it's just, it just gets crazy immediately getting into the new school year. And it does really quickly by the time like November rolls around. I'm ready for a break. I don't want to sign any more sports out for any more sports. It's every single night. It's a lot. So I don't know, I mean it from I guess from both of your perspectives not being in that like sport world yet. Like what do you guys think about it?
Becca Slocum:I so to your point earlier that you made Chrissy about being able to say no, I mean, I think that that's huge across the board. Not even just in sports, but any kind of extracurricular outside of school and work activities. Just being able to recognize everyone's load at that time and being able to say, No, we need to, we need to take a moment and like step back from this. And we really need to slow down a little bit. Because you know, your kids are never going to come to you and say, I think I'm really burned out. They don't recognize that. So. So you being able to like help them through that and just putting a stamp on things. And sure I know you said like, oh, you know, there could be some mom guilt behind that. I think you're absolutely right, though, in saying that everybody's going to appreciate it in the long run. Just not overbooking yourself with 900 different activities every day.
Maureen:Yeah, I totally agree. I mean, it's the weekends are a good time to recharge too. If for some reason you get like super scheduled out during the week. And then like, I just I don't know, now like when my when if we've had like such a busy day and Declan's like can I watch TV? I'm like, Yeah, go ahead. Because you you need just to sit there and chill out. Like, that's fine. If that's what's going to help you relax, like, so be it. So just like be understanding that, you know, think about think of them, just as we think about ourselves, like, we want to relax too, if we, if we've had the busiest day, like, you want to just lay there. So, you know, there are people too, and they deserve some downtime. And it really, really will help throughout the school year to avoid burnout and everything. So here we go another school year.
Chrissy:I know, I know. It's exciting. Now I always try to get them. I love the start of the news of the school year. I mean, it is really stressful, but it's like a new start. It's just, it's exciting. It's exciting to see how your kids are gonna grow for that, you know, going into that new year,
Maureen:Definitely, definitely. So it's all good things. And you know, we'll all get there and it's a good season to be in for sure. This episode is brought to you in part by School Safe Snacks. If you're like me, and someone in your family has a food allergy, we have just the snack for you. Dairy free, peanut free, and tree nut free, School Safe snacks are what you've been waiting for. These individually wrapped snacks have a bakery soft, moist texture that kids love and parents trust. Plus, they're perfect for any nut free school. Next time you're packing lunches, you'll want to reach for a School Safe Snack that's not only low in fat, sugar and sodium, but also made without the artificial colors and flavors often found in conventional snacks. Healthy, satisfying and allergen sensitive. Who could say no! All right, guys, I feel like this conversation could go on for hours when we could talk even more about how we're not that organized. Yeah. But you know, I think we covered a lot and I'm sure all all the moms listening are going through the same exact things too. And if you have any tips, send them to us on how we can be more organized. If you See a water bottle in my house that is labeled just know that I feel like I have one this year.
Chrissy:Yes, I feel the same way. Well, we'll have to definitely go and label all of our stuff immediately. Well, thank you to everyone for listening. Don't forget to hit the subscribe button so that you can make sure you don't miss the latest podcast episodes.
Becca Slocum:Well, I will be leaving today with about six pages of notes. I know what to do when my girls go to school. Thank you everybody for joining us for this season. We can't wait to continue helping you raise happy and healthy families.