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October Goals 2013!

unpacking-books

My goal for September was to live in the moment – and I’m very glad I did! We had a lovely trip across the country that lasted nearly the entire month, and now I’m living in a sea of boxes, trying to work out where to put everything in a new home with a very different layout from our Massachusetts ranch. The books are mostly settled, and the kitchen is getting there. I will be ecstatic when our living room is free of boxes!

September was not all work – we enjoyed wonderful time with relatives, and we’ve gotten together with my brother and his family (who got a job and moved here – including unpacking – within the past month. Very efficient – and lucky for us!) several times. The Bay Area is full of women whose blogs I have been reading for years, so it was fun to meet up with several of them – Chrissy, Giselle, Kim (visiting from Florida!), and Rachelle!

monthly goals linky at mama smiles

October may be nearly as chaotic as September – Mike will be gone for most of the month, and I am trying to work out our somewhat challenging school situation (our kids were overflowed from their neighborhood schools to two schools in opposite directions, but with nearly identical start and end times). Emma adores her new teacher, and the feeling appears to be mutual. Johnny didn’t want to go back to school, but clearly enjoyed his first day there. Emma’s school is being incredibly accommodating with our situation in terms of dealing with early drop-offs and late pick-ups for her, and I am very grateful for that; they have also offered to take Johnny if a space opens up in one of their kindergarten classes. I am hoping that we will be able to get the kids into a single school soon, and homeschool is still a possibility I am considering. Once we start homeschooling, we forfeit our spot in public schools for the year, so – being my “keep your options open” self – we are trying this first.

Goals for October:

  • Enjoy living in the moment. This worked well for me last month, and I think it is well worth repeating. Focus area: gratitude, simplicity, education, and responsibility
  • Come up with some fun Halloween outfits for the kids and find out what the local Halloween traditions are. Focus area: education and gratitude
  • Finish unpacking!!! Focus area: simplicity and responsibility
  • Enjoy California weather! Isn’t that why everybody lives here? Funny thing, it was cloudy yesterday for the first time since we got here (Wednesday), and it was so refreshing. I love the blue sky, but I do miss my clouds. Focus area: gratitude

What does your October look like?

MaryAnne is a craft loving educator, musician, photographer, and writer who lives in Silicon Valley with her husband Mike and their four children.

21 thoughts on “October Goals 2013!”

  1. Sounds like some great goals as you settle in. We have boxes around as we work on the scullery. I’m so ready for them to be unpacked. I know how you feel!

  2. I hope they will be able to fit Johnny into Emma’s school!
    Love your wall of books. It is one of my dream house features to have a dedicated library.

  3. Elisa | blissfulE

    Hurrah for bookshelves, and lots and lots of books!! And getting them unpacked. :) So great your brother moved at such a convenient time for you. Wow!

    What is your criteria for how long to wait for Johnny to get a spot in Emma’s school? I think you would enjoy homeschooling more than those crazy school runs!! Or maybe that’s just me. Since Emma loves her school situation, maybe you could try homeschooling out with just Johnny? I’m sure Lily would love to join the fun, too. :)

    1. Lily is adamant that she does not want to go to school OR homeschool, she just wants to stay home with me. So that’s what we’re doing, with plenty of learning, of course :)

      My brother moving out is quite a miracle, actually – I’m very grateful!

      I’m not sure how long we’ll wait. If next week is like this past week, I’ll have to pull at least one of them out!

  4. wasn’t able to read your blog for a while sincwe our internet explorer is so old, yesterday i downloaded google chrome browser, so today i wanted to check how your family is doing!! what a wise goal to live in the moment! there is loads to do with tht goal anyway.
    yesterday morning i cuddled with each child and rejoiced in the sunny morning – and it made the whole day wonderful!
    the sun is strong again (despite cool temp.) today so after finally getting out of pj’s, having a late breakfast with the kids, i want to get out and play in the woods and fields in front of our door and carve pumpkins (if we manage) today!
    i am making progress on my first foto book and should finish it next week – surprise for my mother-in-laws 70th end of the month. i feel so good about myself! a new skill! yipee!!!
    btw, nell is 8 months now, standing and very curious – right now he is standing at the piano with audrey making music. :) beautiful!

    1. It’s wonderful to hear from you! Congratulations on learning a new skill! I love foto books, but they are a lot of work to put together!

      I love the image of Nell playing piano with Audrey. Beautiful! Thanks for dropping by to say hi!!!

  5. There should be plenty going on. The mall around here does trick or treating for Halloween (I totally recommend getting into the kids club – $5/kid for a years worth of fun + discounts). We’ll also be making silly putty/goo for a Halloween themed Science Saturday (date still not firm, either the 19th or the 26th). I know we have a trunk-or-treat. I can pass along the info once details are available.

    1. Ooh, thanks for all of this local wisdom! Sounds like we need to join the mall kids club! Do send along details, and I’ll see what we can come to!

    1. The problem is, my kids go to school with kids who don’t live near us. Hopefully I will come up with a solution, soon. I’m just hoping they merge them into a single school!

  6. I really enjoyed reading this and like the way you talked about your goals for the month. With being busier at work (I’m a university lecturer and the students have just returned), I’m going to be trying to get to bed a bit earlier. Our five month son sleeps fairly well most nights, but the amount and quality of sleep I’m getting isn’t what it used to be. I also want to try to spend less time on the internet in the evenings and read more.

    1. Those sound like excellent goals! I find that blogging means I have to constantly regulate how much time I spend online so as not to cut into valuable family time.

  7. I am glad that you are finally settling down. Let me know if I can be of help. And good luck with schools – hopefully, a spot for Johnny will open up.

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