Resolutions for the New School Year

Ahhh, the start of a new school year. (Mommies and Daddies everywhere rejoice!) Not that I don’t love my children, because I obviously do, but this tired mama — with a newborn mind you — needs a little break. You feel me? Because I am a glutton for punishment, I put together this small list of back-to-school resolutions that are sure to win me multiple Mother of the Year awards. (Obviously.) My main goal is to make it past October 31…That will be my measuring stick for success. I’m just being honest here. I predict I will fall off the wagon before the holidays, and then charge into the New Year with renewed zeal. Check out my (optimistic) list below. 

1. All clothing and accessories will be picked out the night before, in order to avoid chaos and (hopefully) avoid arguments in the morning. This goes for everyone, including mom and brand-new baby. I have entirely too many people to dress.
2. I will do my best not to wear the same pair of yoga pants more than two days a week for school drop-off — sometimes a girl’s gotta do what a girl’s gotta do.
3. All backpacks, lunches, and snacks will be packed and waiting by the door.
4. Everyone will eat a healthy(ish) and nutritional(ish) breakfast before leaving for school. And yes, cereal in a snack pack cup FTD (for the drive) totally counts. It’s Cheerios, people. Not Lucky Charms.
5. We will leave for school no later than 30 minutes before school start time. We will leave even earlier than that on Thursdays (because of public school delayed start), and that massive high school we have to drive past.
6. My children will get no less than eight hours of uninterrupted sleep every school night. I will try my best to do the same — minus the new baby thing.
7. I will try to remember to turn in the money for Pizza Day long before the day it actually occurs, so that my daughter’s teacher doesn’t have to send me a text message reminder every month. So embarrassing.
8. I will not scream, yell, or mumble obscenities under my breath while loading (herding) everyone out the door and into my SUV. This is going to be a hard one…I will be freaking Mary Poppins in the morning on uppers.
9. I will keep up with (and squash) the clutter. Anything that comes home from school and does not need to be kept will go straight to the garbage bin. Anything that needs to be saved will be put up (immediately) in its appropriate place.
10. I will read to my children every night before bedtime, and will even try to reinforce the lessons and concepts taught that week at school.
11. I will try to pack something other than peanut butter and jelly sandwiches in their lunches. But they really like peanut butter and jelly, so we’ll see how this one goes.
12. I will try to make something other than mac and cheese for dinner every night.
13. I will relish in the fact that for one more year I only have to drive to one location for drop-off and pick-up.
14. I will shower my daughters’ precious teachers with gifts, prayers, and words of encouragement, as summer was very long, and they are basically saints. I am certain of this fact. Just saying…

What are your back-to-school resolutions? Have I left off anything good? We’d love to hear! Feel free to share in the comments section below. Happy back-to-school!

About the author…After three blissful years in the Treasure State, Jessica recently moved back to Houston, Texas with her hunky husband and her three precious little girls, Savannah Leigh, Emma Kate, and Brooklyn Olivia. Jessica is a small business owner with a degree in Broadcast Journalism, and a nerd-like love for political science. She is passionate about writing, marketing, social media management, and this wonderfully beautiful mess we call parenthood.