30
Sep

September in Review

September flies by like a whirlwind every year. Two daughters have birthdays. Back to co-op. Our church children's ministries start again after a summer hiatus.

September is Real Life at breakneck speeds.

And this year we added twice or thrice (great word) weekly ballet classes for Daughter #3. We drive 30 minutes one way for her classes, because her teacher is a treasure and it's worth it. (Sometimes I have to remind myself...)
blog life september

Where We Went in September

Ballet, a lot. (See above)

Our last Reds game of the season.

Our church celebrated our "Homecoming" (think: church birthday party. Our church is 118 years old now.)

The kids started the month with a cousin sleepover at my parents'. We observed Labor Day by hanging out with my grandparents, my parents, my brother, and his fiancee. (!)

We started back to our co-op. So, if you're looking for us on Mondays, that's where we'll be.

On Daughter #4's birthday we had a Family Fun Day in lieu of a party. This included a trip to the zoo (complete with train ride & carousel ride), a lovely family lunch at Don Pablo's, a trip to our favorite "local" toy store (not in our neighborhood, but worth a drive!) where the kids spent some saved up birthday & Christmas money on Legos, Playmobil, and various other things.

We finished the day with Orange Leaf (frozen yogurt where you add in whatever toppings you want). Well, we "finished" our outings part of the day, but Daughter #3 still had a four hour ballet practice / party after all that. And yes, she did almost fall asleep in the car that night!

september life instagramWhat Happened in September

We took part in a huge city wide yard sale. We sold quite a bit of stuff and donated a bunch more. Hooray for decluttering!

Daughter #1 signed up for a practice ACT at our library. It was cancelled.

She signed up for another practice ACT at another library. It was cancelled.

We've decided to skip the practice and just sign her up for the real deal. It will be her first standardized test, ever. So, we'll see how it goes. We're probably aiming for the December test. (Prayers and good thoughts appreciated!)

I've started giving piano lessons again. Just one family right now, but the whole family sits in on the lesson, so that's like four or five students. {wink}

And, as you can see from my instagram, I bought some Fiesta. (Some new from Macy's and some thrifted. Plus, I found out that Wayfair has Fiesta, at great prices. Which is a challenge for me because I tell myself to try to wait and find pieces at thrift stores and yard sales, but really, waiting is hard!)

What We Watched in September

Philip and I watched the latest series of Great British Menu. We missed Prue (gone to judge the re-worked Great British Bake-off) and we were disappointed a few of our favorites didn't make it to the banquet, but it's a relaxing way to spend an hour each evening. (Although cooking shows inevitably make me hungry!)

We watched and highly recommend A United Kingdom especially if you're interested in history or Botswana (from reading The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series, perhaps?) Note: not appropriate for children, although I would probably let my teens watch it.

Here at the end of September we've started watching Ken Burns & Lynn Novick's The Vietnam War. It is, of course, incredibly moving. (And I thought of a couple books you might want to read while you watch.) Definitely not suitable for children, of course.

Tonight we're having Family Movie Night and we're watching Lego Batman, which everyone else saw in the theater, but I didn't get to, because Pip doesn't do movies yet. I'm pretty sure my other children have already quoted all the lines to me, but I'm looking forward to seeing it anyway.

On the Blog in September

(Blogger's request: if you enjoyed any of these posts could you share them on your favorite social media? Blogs need views to stay alive.)

Post with Most Traffic: 4 Things Children Don't Need (this post is the most popular thing I've ever written!)

Most Popular Post Written in September: Meet the Students 2017-18

One year ago: Student Interviews 2016-17

Two years ago: What Marie Kondo and L.M. Montgomery Taught Me About Homemaking

Three years ago: 3 Simple Ways to Save a Bad Day (plus one more way, if the other 3 don't work!)

Pinterest Board inspiration for all your Fall events:

What did you see, do, watch, or write in September?

Top affiliate for September:

New affiliate for September (because I really believe in Sheila and her daughters!):