September - it's such a beautiful month. It (usually) cools off, the sky changes, and the leaves start to change. I used to say winter was my favorite because I love the beauty of the fresh snow and how crisp and quiet everything is after that fresh snow but really, fall is my favorite. The sights and smells are so unique! The crunchy leaves and the crisp air; the smell of burning leaves and bon fires; hot chocolate and soups. It is all so good! It's all the time of fresh beginnings as we start another school year and I try to pick back up on some goals. (Or as my brother recently called them - Suggestions HA!)
September will be a little different this time around though because, well, it's busy. I was thinking the other evening what a difference a year makes. Last year, 2020, at this time we had nothing planned. nothing on the calendar, just school. This year I feel, well almost overwhelmed a little. Despite my best efforts to keep our calendar "simple" we still seem to have a super busy September. There isn't anything that is on their that I didn't really think about before adding, it just is that feeling. Maybe because we are going from doing "nothing" for a year and a half to do "lots".
This is also impacting how I plan my goals for September. Personally I am being very specific in choosing what needs to be done and what you won't see posted here is how I have it set up to get certain things done each week. Well, for the most part you won't - it will be loosely broken down into weeks. Instead you will see the basic overview and (hopefully) I can "tick" those items off the list before the end of the month!
This is week 1 because September starts this week! This is our last "vacation" week at home where our friends are in school and we are not.
1) My main goal this week is to get all of the paperwork done for Apage, our Co-Op, that I have to do. This includes family folders, printing a lot of things, name tags and more. We have a meeting Friday and I plan to take it all and leave it at the church (check-mark!)
2) My other goal this week is some cleaning. Or maybe "picking up" is better for this time around. Josh and Nate have some things in their rooms plus their school desks and I've been just trying to "undo" the piles that have sprung up this summer. The master bedroom is already done and the living room is partially done.
3) Get ready for camp! Next week we are going camping. This weekend we will gather our stuff and make sure we have all that we need so we can load up on Monday and head out for a few days of family fun before school really starts.
4) One last goal - finish the trampoline. We just need to put the enclosure on it and I think we can do that this week. Then our garage will be ready to be parked in once again!
That brings us to week 2- Labor Day Week. Camping is our focus.
1) There is really only one goal this week - enjoy camping and then, when we get home, take time to put everything away!
2) Ok a tiny #2 goal - just make sure we are ready to start school Week #3!
3) Oh wait, a #3 goal - it's virtual scrapbook weekend and I'd really, really like to scrapbook! This one starts Thursday even and goes through Saturday evening so I hope to spend some time preserving memories!
Weeks 3 and 4 go together. This is where things kind of pick up! Everything begins: School, Running Club, Piano Lessons, Drum Lessons, Guitar Lessons, Youth Group, AWANA, and our Co-Op. I'm' already tired.
1) Decorate for Fall Ya'll! Yes, that's right! It's time to get all the fall decor out both inside and out!
2) De-flower my summer pots. I loved my flowers all summer until about mid-August and then they died HA!
3) Pack for vacation :-)
4) Make sure the house is ready for me to be gone - general cleaning and making sure everything is put away. I just like to leave with it all done so I can come home to a clean house!
5) Have a successful first two weeks of school! It's always hard to get back into the groove so I want to make sure we start strong.
And that's all for those two weeks. I know there will be other things that I find that need to be done and such but with a busy month, these items are top on my list!
Week 5 -- Ready? Darryl and I take off on a much needed, much planned for, much anticipated 20 year anniversary trip! We've been looking forward to this for . . . .well, 20 years! I'll be honest, we are both holding our breath and won't believe it actually happens until it does. Why? We planned a trip for both our 5th and 10th anniversaries and both times they had to be cancelled for various reasons. We are in the countdown now so hopefully no more hurricane's blow into the Gulf of Mexico!
