Back to School Outfits (and feelings)

One week of school is down and I am feeling SO many feelings.  When am I not?  It's been five days of daycare, three days in front of students, one extended long weekend, and I can barely remember my stay-at-home days.  I spent some TIME on Saturday, going through my pictures from this summer and updating a completely shameless album called season of the stay-at-home mama.  It's basically 250 pictures of my kids, and nothing else.  Posting the pictures helped me put it all to bed, and I feel really energized about this awesome new year.

I've stepped up this year, really wanting to present myself professionally at work.  I've been putting thought into my work clothes and getting myself very prepared the night before so I can give myself time to look the way I want to the next morning.  Only once did I fall asleep on the couch before packing lunches, checking the spare clothes in the backpack, and presetting the coffee maker.  The next morning sucked, so I won't do that again.

This is what I wore the first day back to work.  The shirt is from Old Navy, the skirt is from Mod Cloth, and I probably never would have tried the belt form Ann Taylor Loft if my sisters hadn't convinced me it would look good.  I felt really cute and put together all day.  Pennants are the theme for my classroom, so my necklace was a finishing touch.  This was the first time many of my coworkers had seen me since January, so I wanted to present well.

This image quality is really, really, REALLY terrible, but there was no one around to help me capture this cute outfit.  The skirt is dark denim from Old Navy, the shirt is from Ann Taylor Loft, and the cardigan and shoes are from Target.  I love this skirt and will wear it all the time, and I thought the whole outfit together looked professional but casual.  I wore it to our district's "opening day," and a grant I had helped write and submit was awarded to us at the huge meeting, so I was glad I liked what I was wearing in front of every teacher and administrator alive.

This is what I wore for my first day with my students.  It's another grainy, before-sunrise kitchen picture, but I love it.  Eshy is the perfect picture-taking accessory.  The skirt is WILDLY comfortable and from Old Navy, the t-shirt is from Target, and the belt is the same from before.  I need more belts- this tucked and belted look really works for my figure.  I've worn this skirt two other times, to a party and to Ikea.  It's magic.

After this, life got even crazier and I forgot to keep taking pictures, but I did two dresses with cardigans for the other two days of the week.  And then, after school on Friday, I changed back into yoga pants and took the boys for ice cream to celebrate our new routines.

There's more to be said about balance and routines and how Elliott is adjusting to being out of the house, but for now I'm just celebrating that we made it through a week.  It will get harder and harder, when the novelty wears off and lesson planning gets more demanding and grad classes kick in.  Until then, I'm just enjoying my return to the world of working mamas.