I REALLY DO FEEL GOOD STARTING THIS SEASON.
A started orientation yesterday, and both she and C have their official first days tomorrow! I’m somewhat happy about this gradual entrance, though note to self: four weeks with zero structure is too long for G. But I can’t beat myself up too much about that since obviously that was not the original plan!
Activities already starting: gymnastics (A), tennis (G – just once a week).
Activities continuing from the summer: guitar/School of Rock (C), piano (G)
Activities starting up next week: dance (6-7 hrs for A, 3 for G), community bball league (C)
Activities TBD: C is doing robotics team and I have no idea what that’s going to entail, and I know A is going to look into other clubs/opportunities as well. And C may do some school bball training if available.
It always adds up, but this looks manageable. (Especially since JOSH CAN DRIVE!!!!). And we’ve managed to preserve Fridays as FREEEEEE other than G’s piano lesson (and her teacher comes to us, so that’s not a big deal at all!).
For now I’m enjoying the relative calm and truly, the ONLY upside to not going to Hawaii was that the kids will not be re-entering school from a whole other time zone. (Our do-over trip for 2027 is in the planning phases — I already snagged our MIA -> Maui flights! — but this time we’re not aiming for quite so late in the summer, which I think will be a positive.)
IDEAL WEEK TIME . . .
I’m definitely going to make one. I want to see how all the pieces add up, with special attention to ENOUGH SLEEP. I’ll likely be driving two mornings/week again, and I want to make a concerted effort to “protect” those mornings for the non-driving parent. Interested to see how it all lays out on paper . . .
HOBONICHI COUNTDOWN NOTE:
Today’s cover is the first one that seems like a legit contender for me! So pretty and the Weeks version is gorgeous as well. This is the first year I have faithfully used my Weeks all year (all for health/fitness stuff) so very excited to get a new one for 2027!
WEEKLY PLAYLIST
As discussed I’m leaning into more music lately in the car (and sometimes on walks) in lieu of podcasts all the time just because there is a limit to how many words I can process each day.
(I still listen to 1-3 podcasts per day most days, while exercising or doing chores!)
Often I’ll hear interesting artists on NPR’s New Music Friday and then promptly forget about them, so last Friday I created a weekly playlist (4 albums that sounded cool from this ep) and have been letting it play while I drive. So far it’s been really fun! I haven’t felt locked in to ONLY listening to it, but it’s exposed me to some different artists and I have always looooved the concept of “full album” listening (vs mixes).
Plus I gave it a cute cover to match my monthly phone screen theme . . .
POSTS FOR LATER THIS WEEK:
- acts of kindness TO MYSELF lately
- things I am looking forward to
- July recap
- Q4 goals
13 Comments
Wait—did A quit gymnastics?? Or is dance really gymnastics?
nope – she’s doing another year of gym (Xcel – but going just 2x/week) plus a slew of dance, as she is thinking of pivoting to more dance in years to come. She’s thinking this will prob be her last gym competition season but I guess you never know!
(it might sound nuts, but last year she did ~14.5 hours of dance + gym that was 10.5 hours gym and 4 dance, and this year it’s likely going to be 7 hrs of each so same total, but more dance).
Wow! Dedication and putting in the time—good for her. It’s only nuts if she doesn’t enjoy it. If she loves it, it’s great!
Please let me know what A will be reading for her language arts class! We had a family over for dinner on Sunday and their oldest is going into 10th grade. I had so much fun asking him about his language arts curriculum from 9th grade. I was shocked he didn’t read Romeo & Juliet. I thought every 9th grade had to (I personally did not enjoy any of the Shakespeare we read in HS). I hate that your summer ended up the way it did, but an earlier trip to Hawaii sounds more ideal than coming back close to the start of school. That would be a ROUGH time zone adjustment!
Our kids don’t go back to school for 4 more weeks! Part of me is ready for them to be back in school so they are back to focusing on a curriculum, but I’m enjoying all the free nights we have. Plus I need time to find a new piano teacher (Paul’s teacher decided to stop teaching – I’m so bummed as we loved her!). When school starts, both boys will be in soccer which is probably a 2 nights/week commitment and Paul will have piano lessons. And I start traveling again. So I am happy to hold onto these August summer vibes for awhile longer!!
Well they did read Macbeth last year BUT it was the graphic novel version 😁
I might have liked a graphic novel version of Shakespeare’s works!! I’ve heard the graphic novel of The Odyssey is really good!
For activities D is still doing dog agility… and drivers ed. We hope she will join something like Model UN, student government, or debate, or something else once school starts, but no athletics or music. I’d really prefer her to do in-school activities because of the logistics, tbh. Hearing your schedule makes me feel like a shitty parent. Oh well.
if it makes you feel better I would REALLY like A to do stuff at school! she just happens to really be into stuff that the school doesn’t have! We also happen to live less than 10 minutes from the dance studio and the gymnastics gym (and I have said no to activities that are significantly farther like cheer) – so it’s logistically pretty easy . . .
I don’t think she can do driver’s ed yet but that will def be on the list! she can take some sort of written test at 14.5 and permit at 15 here.
Talking to a friend at dog agility last night, it sounds like FL regulations around getting a license are a bit more lax than MI, but hopefully that will make the logistics easier for you guys.
T went back today – P5 (so 4th grade equivalent). He was pretty ready. Poor thing had a really rough swim lessons yesterday but shook it off pretty well. I don’t start teaching til mid-September, so I’m trying to get us in a good routine before that. Not a ton of activities – Wednesday – swim lessons, Thursday – piano, Sunday – climbing. I’m trying to get him a spot in Scouts but it’s going to take a pound of flesh in terms of volunteer hours. We have early release every Friday, and I’m hoping there is a club or something as it’s a long afternoon without an activity. I’m teaching Mondays and Fridays so will be gone 7-7 those days.
oh wow Early Release EVERY friday! There are a shocking # of Early Release days on G’s school calendar this year but every week would be so hard!! YES hopefully there’s something he can just do that day as a routine.
Yeah, it’s wild. We did aftercare when he was younger but my husband is always WFH on Friday, and now that he can walk home, it doesn’t feel as necessary. But think it’ll be harder when I’m not here – my job is more flexible, I’m often over it by 3pm on Friday, and can be convinced to go and do something.