A really sweet and lovely dance mom whom I have apparently known for years (I introduced myself to her in the hallway outside Minnie's jazz class, and she was like oh we know each other from the little gym; you shared your pearls of wisdom and then I felt like a total tool on at least 2 levels) was talking about the fall busy season (she has 4 kids elementary school and younger) and said something so wise: we need to live our schedule for a couple of weeks before we figure out what's working and what's not.
Well, I am impatient, so I am writing this after living our full schedule (school plus gymnastics for Min plus dance for Dorothy and Min plus diving plus crew for the fall play and speech season prep work and fall work schedule for Jack) for just one week, and right away, I can see that I need to spend less time putting food in boxes. OMG.
this is the kind of after school snack I bring Cooper 4 days a week and Dorothy twice. it is a meal.
A few things that are working well:
Making Friday night fun! So far we have done a movie night (K Pop Demon Hunters, natch) and a stuff-your-stanley ice cream event
Therapeutic coloring: In an effort to make the house a cozy place that the kids feel like they can totally relax and unwind on because they are so busy these days outside the house, I bought a bunch of color-on table cloths and leave them out with baskets of crayons and markers, and we pretty much all love it. Everyone stops by the table at some point to do some coloring. Minnie also likes access to workbooks and markers after school, which buys me some much-needed catch up time before the pick up/drop off onslaught
Making weekends as fun as possible. YES we do tons of chores and weekly prep, but we also have so much downtime, thanks to dance and diving being low weekend commitment sports. We have been trying to go out more as a family and also to make errands fun by pairing them with a treat of some kind. Ben and I have started going to Costco solo after we run on Saturday or Sunday because if we are going to spend that much cash at a place, we might as well enjoy ourselves.
Don't remember where we were going, but we looked happy about itquick trip after school to grab bread for grilled cheese sandwiches for dinner turned into a junk food binge and Dorothy having a friend over to make frozen gummy bears (frozen in sprite)
Making sure the activities are darling
Appreciating the sunrise, as long as I have to be up walking the dog and starting my day
Leaning into carpooling and also the sun setting after dinner
our leg of the car pool is always better with baked goods. my car is a mess.
Working from couch with my stuffed animal come to life
How is the new season treating you so far?
I feel like our schedule hasn't fully settled out yet but I'm just so relieved both kids seem happy and content at school this year. I know there will be moments (probably lots of them), but it feels like such an emotional win to have had a peaceful start to the academic term after all the drama and challenges of middle school!
ReplyDeleteI am already tired of cooking meals for people and thinking about meal planning. Why must we all eat so many times each day, but aside from griping, I am leaning into the beauty of fall. It's just so gorgeous out!!!
Awww those colouring tablecloths are such a great idea! I am always impressed by how you navigate such a busy schedule Sarah!
ReplyDeleteWell, you're definitely having a lot more fun than we are but we've settled into a good routine. Wait. Why aren't we having more fun??? I need to channel some "Sarah" vibes and correct that!
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