July flew by, and so has Anna’s babyhood – can you believe she turns two this month?! July goals were very simple, and I plan to maintain this approach to setting monthly goals for August. I had a lovely, mellow birthday, we unpacked and will be packing (and unpacking) again this month since we are driving to Vegas to visit Mike’s family. I thoroughly enjoyed BlogHer, especially meeting bloggers I have “known” online for years, and making new friends. For me, the lasting takeaway from blog conferences is the people and getting personalized advice, since you can find the content of pretty much any session on the internet somewhere.
I have a fun cake planned for Lily’s birthday – I really hope it works! In the meantime, we are enjoying lots of downtime, including piano practice with friends. The kids enjoyed some extra time with Mike while I was at BlogHer, as well as visits with aunts, uncles, and cousins. Mike’s uncle brought over some LEGO sets that his cousin had outgrown, and the kids have thoroughly enjoyed them.
The kids have learned a lot during our unstructured summer! Both Johnny and Lily’s reading has improved, and Emma has improved both in math and on piano. She is also working on French using the excellent Duolingo app, and making good progress.
August will be a busy month – three birthdays, and the kids go back to school! Here are my goals:
- Celebrate Lily’s 5th birthday. Theme: gratitude
- Celebrate Anna’s 2nd birthday – and Mike’s 34th. Theme: gratitude
- Enjoy visiting Mike’s family. Theme: gratitude
- Get the kids settled into school for the new year. Themes: responsibility and education
- Make the most of our remaining down time before school starts. Theme: simplicity
My monthly goals series is my very low-key way of assessing my life and setting priorities each month. Want to join in? Link up your post below!
MaryAnne is a craft loving educator, musician, photographer, and writer who lives in Silicon Valley with her husband Mike and their four children.
You have lots of birthdays in August! I think my goal for August is to get back in control of things, I’m so scattered right now, it’s crazy.
You’ve had a busy summer!
It sounds like you had a fantastic July. I can’t believe that we are so close to going back to school!
The summer has really flown by – but we have enjoyed it!
Wow so much travel! August weekends are pretty busy for me, and by busy I mean we have one thing to do each weekend. I try not to pack too many things in, or I make sure we only do one “big” thing a day so we’re not overwhelmed. But we’ll be going to the beach, my husband and I are going to a concert, then we’re going to a tea room and garden for our anniversary, and I’ll be meeting up with another local blogger for brunch or coffee!
Sounds like you have a fun month planned! We also try to do only one “big” thing a day.
You have a lot of birthdays to celebrate this month! Can’t believe she is turning 2!
She has grown up so quickly!
Being simple is a nice way to look at things!
It sure simplifies life!
No, I can’t believe Anna’s almost 2!! Wow… Great goals! I need to think about mine.
Can’t wait to see the cake! I go back to work and J starts kindergarten. This summer has flown by.
You will be busy!
So glad you got to go to Blogher. Happy Birthday! And I think I will check out that French app for my daughter.
I really enjoyed BlogHer! Duolingo is an awesome app – Johnny and Emma both enjoy it.
What a difference a year makes! I remember your last summer with the big move and I’m glad this summer is more mellow and you are all nicely settled in!
I was ready for a mellow summer! We have really enjoyed it.