Day 2 of NaBloPoMo! Trying out the 5 things format today.
I just finished filling out my October reflections in my planner. I don't always do this, but I'm glad I did this month as it made me realize how many fun/memorable things happened. Especially in the little kid stage of parenting, a lot of life feels repetitive. Taking a minute to review last month's calendar and see all the fun and novel things that we did helps refocus my attention and see the bigger picture.
1. Our trip to Laguna Beach! We spent 2 nights in Laguna Beach, which is about 90 minutes from our house. It was awesome to go to the beach every day, hang in the hot tub, and see lots of family (both mine and J's). It was great to see my mother-in-law and grandmother-in-law for a short and sweet visit while they were in town for a wedding. We see my family more regularly, but it was still great to catch up with my parents, my brother and sister-in-law and hold my new niece!
2. Halloween. Our neighborhood goes all out for Halloween, and it's so much fun. We spent a lot of this month walking around and looking at decorations and added in more decorations to our house. The girls dressed up as a vet and a pumpkin seed. Our neighbors invited us for an early dinner, and then we trick or treated with different neighborhood friends. M was a little scared of the masks and some of the spookier decorations, so we went home after an hour and passed out candy.
3. Date Night. We went on a date to a new turkish restaurant and it was delicious! We hadn't been out for dinner just the two of us for a few months, and it was such a nice chance to chat and catch up. It reminded me of where we went for dinner after we got engaged, which felt extra special.
4. Volunteering in A's classroom. This month I started volunteering in A's classroom once a week while M is in preschool. I love getting to know her classmates, helping to get things prepped for the upcoming week, and working with small groups in reading. It's a chance to use some teacher skills during this pause in working.
5. New member dinner at the synagogue. We are an interfaith family and have not really participated in any religous organizations as a family. As the kids get older, J feels strongly about them having a foundation in Judaism and being connected to a Jewish community. It feels out of my comfort zone, but this dinner was great and fun to connect with other people. I'm feeling hopeful this will be a good fit for our family.
It sounds like your October was filled with lots of memorable things. It does help scribbling it down otherwise it is just a fleeting moment and we are all knee deep in the tail grind, right?
ReplyDeleteHi there, happy to discover your blog from NaBloPoMo. I am a current teacher, also a mom of two and a Russian leaving in New Jersey for the past 25 years.
ReplyDeleteI usually try do “goodbye [month], hello [month] to refocus and appreciate the small things. Those are so important.
Our Halloween was so quiet and I didn't mind a bit. My kids are older and when we realized everyone was off doing their own thing, we took advantage of the very small window. We grabbed a drink and an appetizer. I left the candy on the porch, and some of it was still there when we got home at 5:15 pm. So weird, but no other trick or treaters showed up after we got back. What in the world? And the weather was cooperating.
ReplyDeleteI love that you use a planner and that you took the time to reflect on October. Sometimes we forget to really "acknowledge" what happened in each month. I don't have kids, but I do know the feeling of "days" blurring together... so this is a great recap of really fun things in October!
ReplyDeleteVolunteering in the classroom is a priority for me in elementary school-- it is so great to see the kids and the stuff they are doing in real time.
ReplyDelete