We are back to school next week, so this week is dedicated to all the preparation for a smooth start. I nest for back to school like a third trimester pregnant woman, stocking the homework cart, the refrigerator, the pantry; organizing the drawers, the backpack closet, the desk space. We choose first day of school outfits (round-ups coming later this week), backpacks and new tennis shoes with passion, and I fuss over silly little details like finding the cutest backpack charms as if it matters because when you’re starting something new and dealing with little fears as a kid, everything matters. On Lainey’s first day of kindergarten, I scoured our entire city–all day long–for the most perfect pair of kindergarten sneakers as an emotional escape to big life transitions. We all have our way of figuring things out–mine tends to involve new shoes.

I’ve been doing the back-to-school thing now for seven years, and it never fails to excite me–the smell of freshly sharpened pencils, the thrill of Meet the Teacher night, the sight of little backpacks lined against the wall on the night before the first day. Seven years in, I’ve also acquired several hacks–tips and tricks to make the school year easier and mornings smoother as well as some products we love that we use every day for school.

1 – Continuous Spray Water Bottle and Wet Brush
This spray bottle is a lifesaver for all the kids’ hair in the morning. It wets it with a continuous spray to smooth out the flyaways and makes doing hair so much easier. I drop a few drops of lice prevention essential oils in ours (I use rosemary and lavender) which also makes it smell good. The wet brush is the best brush for removing tangles. If you do morning hair in the kitchen, store a basket of hair essentials in a kitchen drawer for easy access.
2 – Minted Labels
We buy these every year (unless we have leftover from the year before), and they are wonderful for labeling lunch boxes, water bottles, etc. They stay on in the dishwasher too and peel off easily when you want to switch them out.
3 – Fit & Fresh Soft Ice Packs
These ice packs won’t leak or break and, because they’re soft and flexible, fit into lunch boxes better than the hard bulky ones. Also–sweatproof nylon!
4 – Retro Backpack Charms
Such a cute way to personalize backpacks and add a little fun. This set comes with a bunch to choose from, so you can switch out charms as often as you like.

5 – Best Lunch Box Ever book and Little Bento Box idea book
It’s every school lunch-making mom’s dream–so many creative lunch ideas in one place with inspiring pictures and grocery shopping help!

6 – Squirrel Pocket Hand Sanitizer Holder Clip  or Barking Hot Dog Holder Clip
A cute way to have hand sanitizer close by at school as kids enter the germfest again–backpack clips that hold pocket size hand sanitizers (or “hanitizer” as Dash calls it) from Bath & Body Works. They clip right in. Back to school calls for this Fall Traditions Hand Sanitizer Set.

Colorful Ball Hair Ties – I do Nella’s hair in a lot of twosies styles–2 buns, 2 pigtails, 2 braids, etc. These are inexpensive and super cute for finishing it off.
Giddy Up and Grow Felt Barrettes – My favorite girls hair accessory splurge shop. Everything’s handmade with adorable details. We bought these strawberry clips for the school year and to add to our Giddy Up and Grow collection.
10-pack Corduroy Bow Alligator Clips – The cost of bow clips can ADD UP. This set is inexpensive and yet pretty and classic.

This sponsored post is in partnership with Stonyfield Organic, a brand we love not only for their products but for their values. They make delicious healthy yogurt without the use of toxic persistent pesticides, artificial hormones, antibiotics or GMOs; and they do it all with planet-friendly business practices–from using yogurt cups made from plants instead of petroleum, to making their own renewable energy.

I’ve admitted before that while I’m not big on getting hung up over parenting regrets, I have a few of them that are hard to live down. We moved Nella out of her crib and into a bed too quickly (her sleep has never been the same); I picked up my kids toys for them for far too long (leaving them out is a bad habit now), and then there’s the fruit before vegetables mistake. When my kids started eating solid foods, I skipped over the green stuff and went right for the applesauces and peaches because I wanted them to taste good. I missed out on the chance of expanding their taste buds early which led to a long stretch of limited things they’d eat–pasta, cereal, fruit, bread and sweets. Repeat. We’ve since introduced many new foods and are slowly growing their taste tolerance, but we still struggle in the vegetable department. It looks a little bit like this:

There are two words that work for a number of parenting challenges though, from slipping out of a room without waking up a baby to adding vegetables to their diet: BE STEALTHY.

A few sneaky ways we’ve tricked them into eating vegetables:

* Smoothies – Whenever we toss our favorite frozen fruits into the blender, I make sure to throw in some spinach. It gets pulverized in the blender, disguising the turn-off factor of unappealing leaves, and its taste is masked by the fruit.

* Sauces & Soups – If I chop them up good and pair them with the right flavors, I can slip in some veggies in our spaghetti sauce, chicken soup, and cheesy broccoli soup.

* Air Fryer – Brett bought a new air fryer last year (his Amazon picks, of course) and has made some creative options out of green beans, sweet potatoes and zucchini chips–all which the kids have tried with the selling factor of “fries” and “chips.”

* Stonyfield’s Whole Milk Yogurt pouches – Stonyfield gives moms a break and does the stealthy work for you, slipping veggies like sweet potatoes, spinach, beets and carrot in their convenient yogurt pouches and tubes.

Their new whole milk flavors include Apple Cinnamon Sweet Potato (Dash’s favorite–he says it tastes like creamy apple pie), Blueberry Apple Carrot (my favorite–so rich and creamy!) and their new Strawberry Beet Berry yogurt tubes.

My kids’ lunchboxes have come home many afternoons with their snap peas and dip untouched, but the yogurt pouches are always a favorite. Little do they know, they’re packed with carrots and sweet potatoes and beets!  Cue evil mom cackle.

Bonus – no mess, no spoons, no dumped yogurt all over the inside of their lunch box.

You can purchase the new Stonyfield flavors nationwide at Target, Walmart and a variety of other retailers.

Baby dolls are fans too!