Nostalgia season

 The kids we still have at home are all (ALL OF THEM!) old enough that when they have a day off and I do not, the world does not come to a screeching halt.  Ahhhhhh, what a feeling. 

UW state universities do not have fall breaks. **whomp whomp** for me and Harry. But! Our public K-12 schools in Madison DO have a fall break. It is yesterday and today. Cushy private college Jack had his break last week, and Ben works all the time no matter what. Which is how come he was in P-town, and I still had to go to the office, and Dorothy, Minnie, and Cooper just Lord of the Fliesded it up at home. AND THAT'S FINE. Good actually because it meant I only had to pack 6 lunches and 6 snack boxes FOR THE WHOLE WEEK (and two dance dinners, but who's counting?) (Me. I am counting).

she even gets her own snacks.

In the live version of this photo, Minnie is elbowing Ben out of the way.

IT IS FALL! Like, gloomy, chilly fall! I love it.

Fall is the season that makes me nostalgic for my childhood AND ALSO for the life I am living right now. I know I am not alone in this because of all the crappy AI videos about Halloween in the 1990s that start with a shot of a golden-lit, leaf-strewn colonial on a perfect suburban street in the rain. **chef's kiss**. Add in the smell of some idiot's driveway fire, and I am suddenly thinking of the scene in Blubber when the mean girls have to rake leaves, and when Anne Shirley waxes poetic about October, and when I took tiny Harry and Jack trick or treating in our brand new neighborhood with brand new baby Cooper in a banana suit.

Minnie and I are reading the Little House books at night and listening to Anne of Green Gables in the car on our afternoon drives-- peak nostalgia. I am already thinking ahead to Anne's early house of dreams on the beach and her perfect, kid-filled Ingleside.

Annabel barks at this witch for about 6 hours a day

fall micro-perfection

A good **terrible** fall spooky book

And! Fall is Lifetouch school picture season-- we only have THREE this year!

9th grade

8th grade

1st grade

Fall Food: 2 cozy things I have made + 3 on my wish list

 I have already made PUMPKIN MUFFINS so we could bring some to Jack, and they were as delightful as I imagined they would be-- hot take: THEY MUST HAVE CHOCOLATE CHIPS.

I also ADORE this salad, and it was perfect with arugula and chicken mixed in the next day and as a stand-alone side dish the first day. I think beets would be an excellent addition.

I have big plans to make these pumpkin oatmeal cookies from NYT cooking

I also really want to slot in these enchiladas

And! For some reason, it does't really seem like fall to me until I make spicy chicken and sweet potato stew with apple bread.

Dorothy and I have big plans to go to Trader Joe's and buy a bunch of pumpkin and fall things for a big snack board dinner on Saturday, so we can watch Toy Story 5 with Ben and Minnie while Cooper and crew goes to HOCO. SO COZY, you guys!! Will report back on fall treats.

What food screams fall to you?

(Minnie's class can finally bring books home from the library-- kindy has to leave their books at school-- and Minnie snagged a cookbook with big plans to make the cake below).

Fall "fashion"

 I did not have to buy ANY fall clothes because! I have lost weight and my old fall clothes look totally great again. BUT, I did need to buy a new jacket. (Also I have now bought THREE pairs of jeans--- none necessary).

HOW CUTE IS THIS?

I wanted something cropped at the waist and also fluffy and beige. Quince was sold out of the coat I really wanted, but I found a pretty good copy at Athleta. AND THEN I found one for EIGHTY DOLLARS CHEAPER at Athleta Girl. I am an xxl child, apparently. That tracks. In all the ways.

And! Because this a coat for a child, it has a little beaded fidget sewn into a pocket-- so awesome.

I immediately took it out for a latte

SPEAKING OF FASHION. LOOK AT ME WHEN I WALK MINNIE TO SCHOOL. AM I A DREAM OR WHAT? (def did not brush my hair).

Dorothy and Minnie, though, have their fall fashion on lock

That pic of Minnie is of her getting her pre-vaccine treat-- a surprise stuffed animal pet for her doll that she opened immediately after her shots, and the anticipation of the surprise stuffy (WHICH ONE WOULD IT BE?!) worked pretty well.

On a random day off school last week, all 4 kids got flu and covid shots. Then they got a post vaccine treat (Coop had a separate appointment because he had PLANS on vaccine day). (yes, Minnie had a pre and post shot treat **shrug**).

Minnie also came to my weekly meeting with me last week because Ben had a dentist appointment. She was DELIGHTFUL (and made a rare fashion miss in an old Easter dress that's not a shirt and non-matching leggings, but when you're five and dress yourself, you're always taking risks, you know?)

Speaking of delightful! Fall dog:

Fall Rhythms

 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 it

quick 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?