After school snack spread featuring pumpkin muffins*, The Week Junior, and National Geo Kids magazines

We are over a week into a new school year and it's going okay. One kiddo initially had a hard time with the transition but is doing really well now (I'm so thankful!). We are far from being in a solid school-year routine but we are on our way and that feels good.

This month we keep straddling summer and the school year. It's still soo hot and our options for weekend family fun feel really limited, especially if you don't want to spend all the money or give your kids all the sugar. I can't wait to enjoy being outside as a family again at any time of day. At least inside we are keeping company with lots of Olympics coverage! I was just a little older than Dash when I watched rowing during the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. I told my parents, "I want to try that!" and went on to row all four years in high school and in college. So you never know what your Olympic viewing might inspire!

Olympics rice crispy bars for the opening ceremonies / A requested library date with Cedric (love!)

August is a nice grace period to find our school-year rhythms again. Each of the boys will play sports this fall but they don't start until September. This month I want to make our way back to routines: more structured family dinners, less screen time for the kids, and regular house tidying (including as a family). I'm also working my way back into my work rhythm now that I have quiet days at home again. I have a backlog of little tasks that I want to check off this month so that I have mental bandwidth for deeper work.

With the heat, August can feel like a slog. At the same time, I know that by the time the nice weather hits that the pace of the year starts increasing. If I can rise above the mood-dampening heat, this month is a perfect time for readying for fall and even the holidays beyond.

A fresh trim for me, and look at my French braid progress! I just started French braiding Maeve's hair this spring.

Big things this month:

+ Family trip to Karchner Caverns. Chris booked this trip for us nearly a year ago so that we'd be under dark skies for this year's Perseid meteor shower! Plus we'll tour Karchner Caverns, the kids' first trip into a cave, and try out an Arizona state park cabin for the first time.

+ Book club retreat to Sedona! Right on the heels of our Karchner trip, I'm heading back out for my annual book club trip. We bring all the snacks from Trader Joe's, laugh until it hurts, and enjoy gorgeous views.

August goals:

+ Continue advertising my workshop Everyday Habits, Routines, and Rituals. I'm so excited about this workshop! I'll be continuing to work behind the scenes to get everything set for the September 9th start date, and will continue to advertise the workshop. Marketing and selling is not my favorite aspect of my work but I do believe in the content and value of my workshop and hope to reach lots of people. Thank you so much for your warm reception after my announcement this week!

+ Kick off a blog overhaul. I'm working with Amanda, (hi Amanda!) who redesigned our Girl Next Door Podcast page so beautifully, to completely redesign RISING*SHINING. I'll also be switching hosts which I've felt that I need to do for a while. I'm so excited for this update!

+ Paint my nails every week. I used to be really consistent with painting my nails and want to get back to it. I like the way my hands look with painted nails and it keeps my cuticles looking beautiful.

+ Make our way back to school-year routines. On my mind are routines around screen time, our Saturday Sweeps (where we clean together as a family), and the after school routine.

+ Decide on Chris's birthday present and plan how we'll celebrate. His birthday is in early September!

+ And finally, watch a lot of Olympics! Having a TV in the house is still relatively new to us and I'm definitely loving it for watching a lot of Olympics coverage.

Happy August, friends!

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*I reduce the sugar to 1/2 cup and bake the muffins for 20 minutes.