Back-to-school season is a busy one for Arizona mama Shae Jones. And not only because she has 3 littles of her own (Cooper, 5, Leighton, 4, and Savannah, 10 months). As the founder and creator of Olivia J—a tights and socks company for babies, children, and adults—she’s also helping outfit families across the country with their own school-ready looks. As she shares in her Mother Essentials list, when she’s not running her 3 1/2-year-old business, Shae can be found reading, eating, traveling, and running after her kiddos! Check out her current must-haves, below.

Olivia J A+A Striped Socks. “The kids and I wear these constantly. They’re perfect for school, after-school activities, lounging around the house, dressing up for church… Honestly, you name it and they can be worn!” A+A Striped Socks, $8, Olivia J.

Ninja Blender. “Being in Arizona, it is hot, hot, hot! We use the Ninja Blender just about every day to make smoothies. They help us cool down and are always a great treat.” Ninja BN801 Professional Plus Kitchen System, $189.99, Amazon.

Stanley Cup. “I am the absolute worst when it comes to drinking water. I thought that I would try this out and I am hooked!” Adventure Quencher 40 oz. Travel Tumbler, $40, Stanley.

Historical Fiction Books. “Reading at night is my number one way to cool down and de-stress. My genre of choice is historical fiction, specifically WWII. One of my favorite all time reads is The Storyteller by Jodi Picoult.” The Storyteller by Jodi Picoult, $16.73, Bookshop and Amazon. 

Hair Ties. “I am FOREVER a fan of the scrunchie and I am so happy they are trending again and bigger than ever! If I don’t have one in my hair, they’re definitely on my wrist!” XL Cheetah Scrunchie, $6.50, Wild Knot.

Harry Potter Movies. “Harry Potter is my favorite book series and the movies are truly so nostalgic for me. They always help me to reset if I’m feeling in any kind of funk!”

The Nugget. “All three of our kids are HUGE fans of the Nugget. It’s definitely our most used purchase ever. The older two could build for hours with it and my youngest is so proud of herself simply for crawling on and off of it. Lots of memories have been made with our Nugget!” The Nugget, $229, Nugget.

High-Top Platform Converse. “I’m a sucker for a cute pair of high-top tennis shoes. Specifically, Converse and Nike brands. These are currently at the top of my wishlist.” Chuck Taylor All Star Lift Platform in Earthy Neutrals, $80, Converse.

Red Bull. “It truly does give you wings. I have a 10-month-old that is a bit of a non-sleeper and Red Bull has always been my energy drink of choice. I try to limit myself to only drinking 2 a week, but they’re always a must!” Red Bull Energy Drink (Peach-Nectarine 24-Pack), $29.95, Amazon.

KitchenAid Stand Mixer. “I’m a sucker for baking and the KitchenAid is my kitchen gadget of choice. We use it for seriously anything you can imagine, from baking to making homemade pasta to shaved ice. We use ours just about every day and I’ve had mine for over 10 years now!” KitchenAid Stand Mixer, $319.95, Williams Sonoma.

Trip Planning With My Besties. “This past year has been incredibly hard for me. My 10-month old daughter doesn’t take a bottle and happens to be allergic to a lot of different foods. Due to the fact that she won’t take a bottle, I have had to cut all of her allergies out of my diet, which has been really hard. I have four very close girlfriends that have helped me get through the past 10 months by texting me weekly and planning our ‘getaway girls trip’ once she is no longer breastfeeding.”

Cookies. “Cookies are also truly what have gotten me through the past 10 months. I bake this recipe on the weekly and simply substitute the dairy products for non-dairy items (one of my daughter’s allergies) and it still turns out delicious every time! It helps to give me that sweet fix I miss from not being able to eat dairy right now!” The WORST Chocolate Chip Cookies, via Sugar Spun Run.

Family Vacations. “I am a huge fan of traveling and giving our children experiences. We have a trip coming up to Legoland and I truly can’t wait to see the excitement on their faces. My oldest is a Lego fanatic, so he is probably the most excited, but the other two will get to experience other fun activities there, like the water park or even a day trip to the beach, which I think will be great.”

iPad. “My iPad, which has become the family iPad, is used constantly. If I’m not designing or reworking the Olivia J website on it, my son is using it to build Legos (they offer all of the instruction booklets on the app and some of them are even interactive) or my daughter is playing her preschool learning games.” 2022 Apple iPad Air, $559, Amazon.

Massages. “I think that having ‘me time’ is really important when possible. Massages always help me to escape a little and not have to think about the hustle and bustle of running a business and the kids and their activities for at least an hour!

Dance Parties. “Our days simply wouldn’t be complete without a dance party or two. It’s our family’s way of having fun and just enjoying the moment. We throw on a good song and dance away, enjoying everyone’s laughs and dance moves.”

For more Mother Essentials, peep our recent features on author Brynne Barnes, Tisha Thompson of LYS Beauty, Blueland’s Sarah Paiji Yoo, Heirloom’s Sri Bodanapu, Lady Falcon Coffee Club founder Buffy Maguire, the mama-duo behind Spring & Mulberry chocolate, Dear Bella Creamery co-founder Alice Cherng, designer Becky Hui Chan, author Jamilah Thompkins-Bigelow, ByHeart co-founder Mia Funt, Backdrop founder Natalie Ebel, Oui The People founder & CEO Karen Young, author-illustrator Grace Lin, the co-founders of ODDOBODY, Happy Family Organics’ CEO Anne Laraway, YA author J.Elle, kid-lit authors Karen Chan and Suzanne Greenlaw, the founders of EADEM, and Minimalista author Shira Gill.