You guys, I totally missed the first day of school! OMG. Bring me my Mother of the Year Award, right? In my defense, I will say it’s preschool and they didn’t have much of a summer break so I didn’t even think about it until I walked in today and all the kids were wearing their first day of school outfits. Still, it was maybe something I should have put on the calendar?

My new plan is we’re going to pretend it’s the first day on Friday and we’ll do the whole deal with photos and a special breakfast and lots of excitement, and, no doubt, we’ll look back on those memories years from now with affection and only I (and the entire Internet) will know this dark secret.

Speaking of which, all of you have probably already started back to school, which pretty much renders this blog post useless until next year unless you’re planning on also having multiple first days, which I feel like we should totally make a thing. If that is the case and you already recorded the first day (show off), just go ahead and pin this for a year from now and I’ll do my best to remind you about it. Which is pretty much like saying Vegas is the place to put your retirement funds because there’s a possibility you’re going to get rich; not sure I’d bank on it.

If you’re like me and going with the first day times infinity route, will you please go over and download one of these adorable backdrops from Caravan Shoppe? They take your first day photos from cute to huzzah, don’t you think? And, normally, they’re a steal at $4, but right now they’re FREE! See, there are advantages to being a disorganized mess.

They also have a Back to School breakfast pack that includes: printables for their lunch, a placemat, and, my absolute favorite, a letter they write to their future self to record how they feel right now about starting school, what they want to be, and what they like most. As someone who often forgets to record these type of things (surprise!), it feels like a very doable and meaningful thing to do once a year.

So, here’s to a Happy First Day! Or a Happy Second First Day if that’s the case. May your year be filled with homework you understand, lunches that pack themselves, and lots of hugs and kisses.

Photos by Erica Bean Photography.