back to school is just around the corner (as much as i wish it weren’t true!), and i am freaking out!  we actually have about a month until we go back, but these last weeks always seem to fly by faster than i expect.  i always have several projects i want to finish, we try to wrap up our summer list, get our school books and supplies, and sometimes a few new outfits for school.

our kids dress pretty conservatively but with their own style.  i have let my kids pick out their own clothes since they were old enough to have an opinion on clothes (maybe 3 or 4?), as long as they were modest and weather appropriate, and in line with the school dress code.

allowing my kids this freedom has saved us from many battles over clothes, i’m sure!  lily loves clothes, but like her mother, loves comfort even more!  Silas is actually really similar in his love for comfort – he would wear sweatpants every single day if he had enough clean pairs!

we are huge fans of hand-me-downs, whether its from older sister to younger sister, clothing handed to us from older friends, or being able to bless others by handing down our outgrown clothes.

one thing i’ve noticed over the years is the difference in quality of clothing and how it holds up after being worn and handed down.  we have a friend a couple years older than our oldest daughter who has passed down lots of Gymboree clothing over the years.  those clothes have then been passed down to lily, then on to 2 other girls!  its so fun to see my girls’ clothes on other little girls, and have memories flood back to when my girls were littler!

but the lesser quality clothing?  it doesn’t always make it down that far.

Silas was so excited about his new outfit from Gymboree, mostly because it wasn’t jeans – ha!  you’d think i was strangling his legs or something with his aversion to denim, but soft cotton makes this boy happy.  actually, he loved lots of the active wear line of clothing on Gymboree’s website.

no, he never stops moving ;)

sweatshirt – sweat pants – socks – shoes

anyone else freaking out about how big their kids are getting?  yeah, me too.  4th grade and 6th grade for these two.  and how cute is lily’s doe sweatshirt?  i want a mommy size onesie in this fabric!

if you’re like me and don’t have a Gymboree near you, shop online!  i find so many great deals, especially in their sale section, which is huge!  the prices are really reasonable and the quality of clothing is durable to withstand taking a beating time and time again (remember, hand-me-downs?).

i can remember as a kid picking my outfit out days ahead of time for the first day of school!  i’d also make myself a list of all the things i needed to do in the morning before the first day, and even set time’s for each thing!  funny thing, lily often does the same thing!  she makes herself lists of what she needs to do in the morning and checks them off as she goes.  what’s the saying about the apple and the tree…

shirt – denim jacket – leggings – socks – shoes – hair bow – bracelets

sweatshirt – leggings – shoes

never a dull day around here!

lily has always been my accessory loving girl!  she hasn’t always been into matching (think: all the patterns together), but Gymboree has accessories to go with each of their outfits!

seriously, pizza socks.  silly socks are huge right now and silas was giddy about these ones!

Gymboree wants to give one of you a $50 shopping spree for your own back to school shopping – woohoo!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

check out gymboree.com and let me know your favorite back to school looks!

disclosure: Gymboree compensated me for this post, but all opinions are my own.  thank you for supporting the companies that support the pleated poppy!