From August 16 to September 6th, earn $25 in Mabel Moolah for every $85 purchased, before taxes and shipping, after discounts. Order online or by phone today to earn your Mabel Moolah today! You will receive an email with a coupon code after your order has been completed or a member of our friendly Customer Service team will provide you with a code if you give us a call to order.

How to Collect Mabel Moolah:

• Mabel Moolah can be collected on orders placed between
  10:00am EST August 16 – 3:00pm EST September 6, 2011.
• Every $85 spent on a single order before taxes and shipping, after discounts, earns $25 in Mabel Moolah.

How to Redeem Mabel Moolah:

• Mabel Moolah can only be redeemed between 10:00am EST October 3 – 3:00pm EST October 17, 2011.
• Place an order totalling at least $65 before taxes and shipping.
• You may redeem $25 in Mabel Moolah for every $65 spent before taxes and shipping, after discounts.

School is back in session for us, so we have been spending some time getting things in order for the new school year. I have one child entering 5th grade, one in st and the other in preschool. I can’t believe how big these kids are getting!
Here is what we do to organize our school shopping experience:

Consolidate Your Lists
With three kids I was done shuffling multiple lists around so we consolidated everything we needed into one big list. Having a master list saved on time dramatically which is a necessity when shopping with the kids in tow!

Shop For Sales
The school supply circulars are starting to come out in the newspapers, so be on the lookout for the best deals.

Sort It All Out
Now sort all the supplies out for each child. To make sorting easier and to coral all of the school supplies I used a separate bin for each child. As we checked the supplies off of the lists we then put them in the designated bin. Now we can tuck them away until school starts and easily add the few extra things we need to pick up.

Label It
Now that you have all of your school supplies neat and orderly, don’t forget the labels! Every school has different rules for what should be labeled. Make sure you label backpacks, lunchboxes, clothing and outerwear too! After you make the investment on all of your back to school gear you don’t want it to end up lost forever!

School starts next week for our boys and I am getting them back into an evening routine before the big day! I am a huge believer in setting regular routines with the kids. In the long run it makes everyone happy. I’m not saying you can’t deviate every once in a while.  Although sticking to a plan allows your children to know what is expected from them and causes less arguments when it is time to turn out the lights.

Here is what a typical evening looks like in our home…

5:15-6:15 pm: Prepare and eat dinner.
6:15-6:30 pm: Clean up after dinner. Make sure lunch boxes are out for the next day. Oldest son loads dishwasher.
6:30-6:45 pm: I take the dog for a walk with or without the kids. This is much more relaxing without the kids.
6:45-7:45 pm: The younger kids play inside or outside, usually climbing on Daddy. My oldest son uses this time for homework if he did not do it after school.
7:45-8:30 pm: Shower time! The kids get showered up, stories read and off to bed.

I know exciting stuff right? I know routines don’t sound fun but I feel it’s necessary to give your family some sort of guideline to go on. Choose a schedule that works for you. You might prefer doing some of your morning chores like packing lunches the night before. I prefer to do them in the morning. I find that in this season in my life I prefer to wake up before the kids and not stay up as late at night. Believe me this has been a very gradual process, I am NOT a morning person. I have found that this just works better for us.

Do you ease your kids back into a school routine?

Summer is almost over and we have been getting the kids enrolled in their new schools. I am looking forward to spending the next school year in our new house!

With the recent move it happened to work out that my daughter will go to preschool in a different county than her older brothers. Normally this wouldn’t be a big deal however these two particular counties have different schedules. It is a little bit more to keep up with but completely manageable.

In order to prepare for the school year I always sit down with my planner and write in all of the days the kids will have off or early dismissals for each month. That way nothing sneaks up and surprises me. You can do this with any schedule you receive like sports or other activities. If you are afraid things will change and don’t want to make a mess then just pencil the times in and make changes when needed.

Besides labeling school supplies (my favorite!) this is one way we start preparing for a successful school year! Feel free to share some of your favorite back to school tips!

UPDATE (Monday July 25): This giveaway is now closed. Please stay turned for more giveaways on The Mabelhood in the future!

We have teamed up with our Friends from the children’s clothing company, Polarn O. Pyret to offer our readers a chance to win a fabulous giveaway just in time for the Back-to-School season.

The following giveaway is only open to residents of the US. Don’t worry Canada! We are going to have something exciting for you soon!

Here’s a little bit about Polarn O. Pyret:

Polarn O. Pyret makes the best children’s clothes in the world. Our philosophy has not changed since our first striped T-shirt. We believe in good looking clothes that let children be children. Clothes should withstand wear-and-tear and become part of your family; from brother to sister, cousin to cousin.

We bring the same philosophy to every decision we make. From environmental to social responsibility, what is good for children is good for adults, too.

Go ahead and check out the gorgeous collection of clothing and accessories they offer. I’ll wait here until you get back to get into the details of the giveaway!

Ok – Now that you are back and have browsed all of the beautiful clothing Polarn O. Pyret has to offer, I know you will want to get your hands on some of their gear for yourself!

The Giveaway Details:

Polarn O. Pyret will be providing one lucky winner with a backpack filled with goodies for back to school or summer fun (a T shirt, pair of pants and pair of fun socks to match). Mabel’s Labels will also provide the lucky winner with an Ultimate Back-to-School Combo to ensure your new gear stays out of the Lost & Found this school year! Total value of giveaway items: $124.00

To enter, leave a comment letting us know your favourite item on the Polarn O. Pryet website. Easy Peasy! Enter from now until Monday July 25th at Noon EST. Winner will be announced Tuesday July 26th. Good Luck!