Back to school

I know its been a while but I will write about all of that later what we have been up to.  

I don't know if I'm ready for back to school.  Its been a fun summer full of camping and playing.  Back to school means that my oldest goes to first grade so she is gone ALL day.  It has been weird to have her gone so long.  I am not used to that.  In a week and a half my second kid will be going to preschool 3 days a week for 2 hours.  It will be so quiet with just one little kid around for those few hours.      I have to say I do look forward to grocery shopping again.  I have just given up with three kids this summer.  Walmart pick up has been wonderful.   Also the local fruit and veggie coop .  That is how we have been eating this summer.  

So I will enjoy those few hours when we can get food and even make some good food. 

Along with going to school all day is the lunch task.   This shouldn't be too hard, my daughter is ok with peanut butter and jam/honey everyday.  She loves them.   Today she asked me if she could have something besides peanut butter so she could sit at the non peanut butter table.    I guess they have a lot of nut allergies in their class  So we did the lunchable lunch.   

Good thing for pintrest because that is where this idea came from.  I hope it works and stays dry and she actually eats it.  She usually isn't a big fan of cheese but everything else she eats.

I got some of those silicone cup cake liners and used those to separate the cheese, meat and crackers.  She also asked for cut up strawberries but not like I normally cut them.... in circles. haha she must be observing other kids lunches.    She is the funniest girl she said some people forget their lunch everyday so they have to get it at school haha.  I hope she stays that cute and innocent forever.   I am glad that she loves to take lunch and hasn't even asked to get lunch from school.   I dont want to pay for that.  Even though her school is awsome and they are able to home make all of their lunches.  So at least it would be good healthier food.   

So we packed her a goldfish pack, that was the same price as the big bulk bags at costco this week so its easier for her to take like this.  Good deal.  Then a fruit snack.  These are the first fruit snacks I have found that don't have food dye in them.  So they are a win for us.  We are slowly trying to get rid of unhealthy foods in our house.  Its been a process and learning a lot of new vocabulary.  

We got this lunch box/bag at good old Walmart because it has ice pack thingys all over it.  So you put it in the freezer the night before and then you can actually keep your food cold until lunch time.   The only down side to this is that the divided Tupperware wont fit in it with her water bottle so its not big enough.  Oh well.  its still pretty awesome.  She has been loving taking lunch and I can't wait to here about how it went today sitting at the non peanut butter table.  

One of the great things about back to school for us is that she goes to a charter school and so they wear uniforms.  I have her clothes all bought and ready until she is 8 pretty much.  I find a good deal and stock up.  I have found a lot of good deals so I get them all for pretty cheap.  Its wonderful, it really makes back to school easy because we just have to buy food and the few supplies that they ask for.   It was great.  I love her school it is great on so many different levels  

Not my season.....

I have been using this phrase a lot lately because I find that I don't have time for a lot of the things I would like to do.  This season I am in is the kid watching, teaching, laundry folding, house cleaning season.
I don't have a lot of time to read, as much as I would like to sit down and read a book for a few hours, its just not going to happen.
I don't have time or the means to volunteer at my daughters school like I would want to.  I have taken the kids and boy that was..... interesting.

Its not my season to do family history. We had a girls weekend recently and my older sister just sat and did family history the whole time.  It was cool to watch her sit down and figure out names and families.  She said its not something you can do in just an hour here and there it takes TIME.   I don't have a few hours to sit down and try to figure out that stuff.  My season is to take names that have been found by other people in their season and go to the temple once a month and do that work for them.

I know we all have things we put at a priority and maybe mine need a little tweeking but I feel pretty good about mine right now.  I need to raise my kids and teach them to be good kids. Teach them to read and play nice.  That is what is most important to me right now.
In a few years they will all be in school and I will think wow that went fast now I have time to sit down and read a book if I choose to.  I have a few hours to myself.  How would that be?
I love this season I am in and want to savor every moment as frustrating as it can be sometimes.  I know that it will go by too fast.  I want to keep those moments happy and full of love.

My season is to love my kids and show them that everyday in whatever way I can
My season is to try to get dinner on the table and have it be healthy as I can
My season is to make sure my kids learn to be nice to one another
My season is to make sure my kids have clean clothes to wear to school
My season is to try to keep the house somewhat clean and organized
My season is to plan fun activities for the kids to learn and grow
My season is to lay with my kids in their bed because they are afraid to sleep alone
My season is to have at least one kid end up in bed each night
My season is to find just a few minutes a day to give myself some me time
My season is to go outside and push my kids in the swings for hours
My season is to always have someone wanting me to help them with something
My season is to pick up crushed gold fish in the carpet and kitchen floor
My season is to teach my kids self confidence at a young age
My season is to make sure kids get in bed at a reasonable hour so they are happy the next day
My season is to make sure that kids brush their teeth
My season is to put band-aids on those scraped up knees and elbows
My season is to rock my kids to sleep
My season is to help my toddlers recognize their talents and abilities
My season is to calm my kids down after they have a nightmare
My season is to find ways that my kids will eat vegetables
My season is to answer the same question 10 times a day
My season is to interpret the toddler talk
My season is to know where everything is in the house even though it is probably a disaster
My season is to sit down and read stories with my kids
My season is to help my children come up with dreams they want to accomplish
My season is to be a loving mom and wife
My season is to be there for my kids whenever they need me

This is my season and I am happy with that.

Essentialism

As I was talking about painting the basement in an earlier post. I had a lot of time to listen to books and podcasts.   One of the books I listened to was Essentialism, my sister had talked to me about it and she really liked it.  So I put in on hold in Overdrive for like 2 months.  It seemed like forever.
   It is very similar to the more of less book but less about material stuff and more about our time.  Which as a mom I feel like my time is what is limited.  I only have 24 hours in  a day but yet I have to fit some sleep in somewhere.

One of the main things I learned from the whole book is that its ok to say NO sometimes  whether its so yourself or someone else.  Its not a bad thing, it might actually save you.  If you don't take that chance to say no then you will end up being stretched too thin and TRYING to do too much.  If you don't prioritize your life someone else will.  He says you will be doing all sorts of things that you don't want to be doing because you can't say no.  It might take practice to say no.   I think my thing is that I feel like I have to always be busy doing something, I like to be productful and see things get done.  But am I just being busy or am I actually accomplishing stuff.
My kids want me to play with them but I have to make dinner .... that is different than if they want to play with me and I'm trying to organize the closet for the 5th time that month.  That needs to be forgotten and cleaned out.  right?

This was one of my favorite quotes " Only once you give yourself permission to stop trying to do it all, can you make your highest contribution to things that really matter"  I love that.  Sometimes we have to give ourselves permission to say no.  He talked about how when we say no people may think we are mean or should say yes.   But they will come to respect us because we know what is important and we will do a good job at what we are committed to.    When we focus on one thing we do so much better at that thing.  What we focus on becomes what we succeed at.  I love this and when I heard this I thought that is so true and what do I want to succeed at right now?    Being the best mom I can be.  So that needs to be my focus nothing else.
He talked about priority and how just a few hundred or even couple decades ago what priority meant and what it means today.  How many priorities do you have today?  5....7..... Well priority used to mean 1..... what is priority?   what is that thing that needs to be the focus.   Then as we have moved forward and are able to do more and more things we have adjusted to more and more priorities.  I like going back to just one.  What is the one priority that I need to focus on today?  I can have other tasks but one priority that take precedence over everything else.
I haven't really had to say no to anyone else but me..... All of the things I want to do but its just not the time or season for it.  I need to make sure my priority is my family and raising good kids.

That is essential to me.