As much as every IG influencer posting behind-the-scenes footage of their Halloween spon con set up makes me want to plan for fall, I really canNOT until Dorothy’s dance team placements come out, Coop tries out for hockey (my family mocks me incessantly when I call sportsball try outs auditions), and we find out when his diving practices will be. BUT, I can make some larger goals and think about some rhythms I hope to create.
Minnie has no barriers to fall planning, though, and when she found the perfect costume at Costco the other day, she made sure to bring it home:
(ALSO, listen, I am SICK of IG influencers showing me how the sausage is made. Like, I get it, you have to make a bunch of videos, and it can be hard to actually live your life around the filming. But I can either like someone’s brand because they keep it real (which means I am not a huge fan of their staged content) OR I can watch them because everything is perfect, and I want their whole life. NOT BOTH.
(And middle school is the very hardest in terms of being booked solid with sports and practices, so it makes sense to center Dorothy and Cooper’s activities in terms of family calendar planning, but Jack will have a bunch of stuff he needs rides to also— excited for him to get his license. In April. **whomp whomp** I am really careful to keep Minnie's activities to non-preschool days-- emphasis on DAYS-- not evenings or weekends for her my goodness can you even imagine scheduling THAT in????)
ANYWAY.
I have done a way better job of using my planner this summer, so I am hoping to roll into fall feeling already productive. Usually, I have to remember how to be a human who does things for a few weeks/months. I think not going on vacation (while supremely shitty) helped in this regard since I have had one foot in the work world all along (and we are planning 2 vacays in the next 6 months, so all is not lost).
Some things I want to do this fall:
1. Take advantage of the one precious day a week I have Minnie all to myself and stack her activities and as many errands as I can into this day. Since I am hands-off for her activities starting next month, I have 30minutes of work time while she swims and an hour while she gyms, plus another hour while she dances (although I can’t squeeze all 3 into one day).
2. This leads really nicely into another goal, which is to eat more fish. We don’t eat a lot of fish but only out of laziness. The grocery store closest to us where we always get our grocery pick up orders has a yucky seafood counter, and the mom and pop store where we buy our coffee, cheese, and wine got rid of their seafood counter altogether after the panny. We don’t eat Costco-sized quantities of seafood those are the 3 places we regularly shop. BUT! Right by The Little Gym is an excellent co-op where we have a severely underutilized membership, and it has a wonderful fish selection and great local veggies. SO. Minnie and I are going to start hitting it up every week, and we will do seafood Wednesdays and maybe add fish tacos to our Tuesday rotation.
3. Speaking of themed food nights, I want to give each weeknight a loose theme like the ones above and then rotate easy recipes weekly for each theme. Slow cooker Monday, pasta Thursday, etc.
4. Refresh my water bottle supply and buy more Bentgo snack boxes/lunch boxes. I have been a Planet Box loyalist, but they are so leaky. I got Min a Bentgo for the one day a week she’ll stay at nursery school for lunch (heart eyes), and I noticed that Costco has them in 2-packs right now. I think Dorothy could use one for dance dinner nights, and Coop might also need one to eat his dinner between diving and hockey some nights.
5. Buy myself some sweaters and sweatshirts. I cleaned out my closet, and this category is lacking. And also! Buy new shoes for myself. I only have Birks, Rothy’s, Tieks and Uggs. Must diversify.
6. Find a library story time that fits Minnie’s schedule so I have a weekly library day. This is the best way for me to stay on my reading routine.
7. Remember to get gas when I am at Costco. I mean, duh.
8. Figure out how to give Dorothy and Cooper later bedtimes. THIS IS TRICKY. We always hang out with Harry and Jack after the 3 little kids go to sleep, and we actually do not want to hang out with the little kids at all after 8pm. BUT Coop sees middle school as his time for a later bedtime, which will mean Dorothy also wants to stay up later, and UGH.
9. Schedule weekly coffees and lunches with friends and monthly (at least!) date nights with Ben.
10. Get back on the yoga mat.
Anyone else taking advantage of September as the other January to build new routines?
Your life is so busy and interesting, and I love reading about it. I have a crazy story about sweaters and the move but I shall save that for my blog. Since the move has been in the works I have been really good at scheduling time with my friends, and now that I'm here I am saying yes to everything, because I want to build my social circle! Oh, and to the themed dinners, I did that for years and years, pretty much all the years my kids were in school. Monday was pasta, Tuesday stir fry, Wednesday pita pizza, etc. I've abandoned that now since our lives are different but it worked so great.
ReplyDeleteI think I have started-- but failed to commit-- to themes before. This school year, I am going to throw myself into it
DeleteSeptember is one of my favourite months of the year (I think October is my absolute favourite). I LOVE the weather in my part of the world but mostly the return to structure and routine MAKES MY HEART SING.
ReplyDeleteOh, October's bright blue weather-- love it so much
DeleteWhen I read about influencer content, it makes me all the more glad that I'm NOT on social media! I still have one foot in summer and one in fall. Paul doesn't start until 9/7 and his summer program ends next Wed so I'm thinking about the gap in coverage. He'll be at my parents the last week of August so that takes care of a chunk of the gap. We haven't registered for any other activities for the fall, though, besides gymnastics on Saturday. He'll have spanish classes at his after school program on Tues/Thur so I figure I'll give him a month to adjust to school and then he'll probably start Karate!!
ReplyDeleteThe gap starts earlier here-- usually the last 2 weeks of August are camp-less, and kids don't start school until the tuesday after Labor day-- it makes no sense.
DeleteI love the school year as a natural point for resetting my schedule. However... this year, things are going to be pretty wonky until I'd say October. Hopefully by then all my kid's activities will be revved up and we will be settled in the new house. WE'LL SEE.
ReplyDeleteYou are in the home stretch!!
DeleteI don't actually find the Costco gas prices to be all that much lower than Woodman's gas prices (maybe a penny or two, but I'm not desperate enough that saving a dime is that relevant) and I go by Woodman's about ten times as often as I go by a Costco, so maybe just give yourself grace to go to either?
ReplyDeleteI'm still refusing to think about the semester starting. My husband just finished his summer class, but next week his stuff for fall is ramping up and I'm sad. I like Summer Husband. He's more chill.
oh yes! woodman's gas! I always forget about this/
DeleteAlso? Kwik Trip has had prices close to Costco's recently. Not all the time - but maybe 50%? (STILL have never been to Woodman's... clearly not a real Wisconsinite yet...)
DeleteWhen Eve was doing school plays I had a terrible habit of always asking Angus what time he had baseball rehearsal.
ReplyDeleteThe themed food night is brilliant, but I just realized I'll be on my own for much of the fall with kids gone and husband traveling a ton, so maybe themed food weeks will be more in order.
I usually do like getting back into the routine in the fall, but I'm balking at it a bit this year. I think I need my meds adjusted.
baseball rehearsal LOL LOL LOL-- love it.
ReplyDeleteEnjoyed reading about your fall goals very much. If you have time here is a post I wrote laying it all out for myself: https://momofchildren.wordpress.com/2023/08/15/goodbye-q3-hello-q4/
ReplyDeleteI am craving to start investing more time and money into mySELF, i.e. go see a concert in NJPAC in Newark (NJ Symphony orchestra) or go take a clay class at a local art school by mySELF.
These are Goals with a capital G, for sure. I hope the scheduling works out!
ReplyDelete