{Fall Shifts & Our First Day of School, Soaking in the Daylight, Currently Reading & Listening, Kindle Book Deals & Pinterest Therapy}
ONE: Fall Shifts…& Our First Day of School!
We have done a lot of swapping kids with our “quarantine crew” since the end of August which meant there was A LOT of boy energy around here…even the dogs were wild! Although the end of summer is bittersweet, everyone is definitely ready for a change of pace.
During the last couple of weeks, we have been trying to get back into some kind of “normal” evening routine including the kids going to bed at a decent hour again. So far Lucas and I have been excelling at this, but with the kids…not so much…I don’t know where we went wrong but our kids have always been able to function on not a lot of sleep and we only get more tired as they get older, LOL.
Our boys started school today (2nd and 5th grade!) and our lazy summer days are no more. It has been six months since we have been ready for the day by 7:30 am and while the kids will be doing a “hybrid” schedule, I am hoping to get our remote learning days started at the same time…we shall see!
Working in the evenings this summer has shifted things for me too. I was a 5:15 am riser for years and during the last few months I have been waking up closer to 6:30 which is sleeping in for me…
(this was posted in a mom Facebook group I am in…I don’t have the link to the actual image but will add if I can find it…)
While it was nice in many ways, waking up at the same time as our kids does mean there is no quiet start to the day and I have realized this is something I have really missed. Have your routines changed during the last six months too?
TWO: Soaking in the Daylight…
(My wireless earbuds are under $10 and are awesome! I wear these when I am walking on the road I can still hear what is around me…while I will love my noise-canceling headphones forever and ever, these are great for outdoor workouts or listening at the grocery store and not running into people…)
I have been trying to get outside for our daily walk and it is getting harder and harder to fit in before the sun sets each evening…In just a couple of months, we will be walking with headlamps! 
We are so lucky to live where we have so much room to roam and this was especially apparent during the last six months. I am hoping to keep this up as we head into the winter months…I might just need to get a full-body snowsuit…
THREE: Currently Reading& Listening…
I have been reading a mix of suspense and non-fiction during the last couple of weeks and it has been a bit slow going. I had been in a bit of a reading rut and am happy to report that all three of these are keeping my attention thus far!
Don’t Look For Me came highly recommended to me by so many of you and I requested Good Morning, Monster, and A Knock at Midnight after hearing about them on the Fall Book Preview episode with Sarah from Sarah’s Bookshelves and Catherine from The Gilmore Guide to Books.
While my subscription list for true crime podcasts has gotten pretty out of control, there are certain ones that I listen to right away. I love investigation reporting and appreciate when the journalists share these stories with compassion while also digger deeper into who these people were. When I saw that both Counterclock and Happy Face were coming out with second seasons I was intrigued and I am loving them so far.
FOUR: Kindle Book Deals
There are some fantastic kindle book deals this week that are all $2.99 and under! These are some of my favorites…
Happy and You Know It by Laura Hankin
Always The Last to know by Kristan Higgins
Eliza Starts a Rumor by Jane L. Rosen
Radical Compassion by Tara Brach
A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson
Natalie Tan’s Book of Luck & Fortune by Roselle Lim
The Bromance Book Club by Lyssa Kay Adams
FIVE: Pinterest Therapy
{These images can also be found on my Pinterest boards HERE & HERE}
Does anyone else still use Pinterest? While it wasn’t around when we got married (which is probably a good thing!) I have always loved it for finding recipes, creative projects with the kids, and inspirational quotes! I love a good quote and there is something so therapeutic about scrolling though and feeling totally connected to random strangers. The images above are some of my recent favorites.
I hope you all have a great rest of your week!
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