This & That

Since school has been in session I feel like my days are filled to the brim. While the actual book work with little ones is just an hour or less a day, there are activities throughout the day which keep them (and therefore me) busy. It's a good busy but at times lately I have felt my brain go to complete mush. I feel my brain is screaming at me *Circuit overload, must shut down*. Maybe it would help if I would write things down instead of trying to keep my to-do list, school lesson plans, appointments,what to have for dinner, etc. running through my head. After all, isn't that exactly why they make To-Do List notepads?!

Fall is in the air. Leaves are turning colors and the air in the morning is crisp and delicious. I love fall, I truly do, but it is a reminder of what is yet to come - winter - which is a season which I dread. I'm not hyperventilating about winter so much this year as I have grand plans to head to a warmer region in the middle of winter. Let's hope those plans can become a reality.

You know it is lovely weather when the blankets and sheets are flapping in the breeze...

and the boys are building forts (of some sort) in the backyard.
We spent much of the afternoon yesterday at our homeschool meetup. We are lucky to be able to meet at the perfect park which is all-age friendly. There aren't many around here that aren't death traps for a toddler so while scouting parks out this summer I was thrilled to find this one, which is just 10 miles away. I had every intention of snapping some photos of the kids at the park today and completely forgot about my camera in my purse when I left it in the van. Just another sign of circuit overload!

The kids had a blast. It seems that there are new kids at every meetup and everyone meshes so nicely that no one is left out of any of the activities. Whether it is playing board games, playing a game of ball, or playing on the playground equipment - they do it all.

I finally received my other two ThredUp purchases late last week. I've written about ThredUp here in detail. Basically, you trade clothes through this site and pay just $13 shipping for a box of new-to-you clothing. I'm a bit torn about the site as of late because I found out that they are raising the "cost of a box" to $15.70. I don't know if trading a box of my own children's clothes and paying $15.70 for a box in return is such a good deal. Some of the boxes people receive are great and would be totally worth the $15.70, but some boxes are not worth that at all. I can get a lot of clothing at a garage sale for less than $15.70. When the price increase happens (Sept. 24th) I doubt I will be doing any trading, unless I am looking for something very specific that I can't find elsewhere.

The boxes I received were worth the $13 this time around. The picture below shows only half the stuff that was in one box, the rest is in the wash for Becca to wear. Nice brands such as Cornelliki, Gap, and Children's Place:
This box was stuffed with 11 pieces of Gymboree:

I have one credit left and will be saving it to find a box of 5/6 boys tops as Jacob is in need of those for this coming winter. After that?! I won't be jumping at a chance to get a box when it is raised to $15.70.

I am preparing for a garage sale next week and have been clearing out dressers, drawers, closets, and bookcases. I am also looking forward to some city-wide garage sales in the upcoming weeks. These are the last of the season so I better get my fill now!

What have you been up to this September?