We’ve just started my favorite month and I am SO excited for fall!!! So many fun things to share this month, but first here’s a recap of my September tending list and what I’m focusing on in October…

September Monthly Goals:

One of the best things about creating school routines and leaving margin in my calendar is the ability to let my kids run around with their friends, screaming with joy for 10-15 minutes after school

*Settle into School and Household Routines: Hit and miss here. but overall there was definite progress. This summer my husband and I felt like we could barely get the house put back together each weekend before the week ripped it apart again and then this month we started feeling like we were taking a step forward each weekend and getting a bit more of a grasp on our routines.
*Time Block Schedule/Batch Write: This was the monthly goal that just didn’t happen. And I’m not sure if I want to try it again or not…
*Finish Planting Fall Garden!: YES! and we are seeing some sprouts and getting excited about the fall. Hopefully we get a good amount to grow this season.
*Begin Fall cleaning/minimizing: YES! Just had a big swip/swap day at my MOPS group and it felt so good to get rid of two boxes of stuff and to reorganize certain spaces.
*Bulk Cook: This was the most successful monthly goal for September and we are well stocked with yummy food going into rehearsals and busier schedules this month. Good for our health and our budget! No wonder I was so motivated with this goal (also, my husband helped a LOT so good thing it was a big goal for him too!)

September Weekly Goals:
*Random Re-Set Area: Did this all but one week and planning to keep this going in October. By far my favorite space I tackled was the coat closet in the front room which had become a random catch all place- I organized our cooler weather clothes, my baby carriers, and a dress up spot for the kids! I also purged shoes that didn’t fit the kids anymore. I also tackled the office closet… but I’m not counting that totally yet because I left the “photo corner” in that closet for a future date…
*Move my body: This started off slowly but I felt more active by the end of the month (pretty sure this had to do mostly with the weather cooling off!) and hoping to carry this into next month but in a different way…
*Family/Household Management Meeting: Yes. I honestly could take this off the list at this point, it truly has become a habit, but it is also the key component to us having functional weeks each week and we are still tweaking our family meetings so it will probably remain on until the end of the year…
*#onsundayswebake: again, this happened the second half of the month once the weather got cool and I definitely plan to continue in October. My son was especially thrilled this made a comeback.
*Kid quotes/observation journal: Did not do a great job with this but I think I need to come up with a better system. going to make this a monthly goal for November after I take a few weeks to reconsider format and routine.

September Daily Goals:
*Morning & Evening Routines: hit and miss, but my evening routine completion rate is finally catching up to my morning routine so I’m taking that as a good sign.
*Pre & Post School Routines: Definite progress not perfection situation here. The hardest part of this goal happens on the days my kids get out of school at different times. So still figuring it out but making progress and we are all feeling more confident with this.
*Hydrate/track step count: I won’t lie, this was not super until the second half of the month. Hopefully October will be even better!
*Sleep Hygiene: Insomnia is here with a vengeance and this was definitely my least successful daily goal. Rehearsals and other things on the calendar in October won’t help this, so I’ll revisit in November.
*Novenas: When I was in the midst of doing one, I did really well with this goal… but I definitely had some lag time in between starting them. I think I’ll switch back and forth between Novenas and Write the Word in the future.

On to October! Fall is my favorite season so I’m really looking forward to this month…

October Monthly Goals:
*Prep, Rehearse, and Open Alphabet Shakespeare Show!: I’m looking forward to having a theatrical endeavor again. Directing a show my hubby and I wrote about Shakespeare characters who only appear in one scene in their respective plays. If you live in the Phoenix area and want to check it out, you can click HERE for more information.
*Halloween JOY: We have so many fun family traditions around this time. I’m so excited to decorate pumpkins, go to some of our favorite Halloween events, read and watch fun Halloween movies (horror films are NOT for me. Give me It’s the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown with my kids any day…) and figure out costumes for the kids’ school parade.  
*Fall Cleaning/Bulk Trash Time: I know most of the country focuses on Spring Cleaning after the hibernation period of winter, but here in Phoenix our hibernation comes during the grossly high temperatures of the summer. I’m so ready to reset and clean out and it is perfect timing as midway through the month we have a bulk trash pick up so it’s great motivation to make decisions about clearing away clutter.
*Set Holiday Budget: Anyone else feel like as soon as Halloween hits it tends to be a blur of activity until the new year? That phenomenon is why I want to plan ahead and set a budget and priorities NOW instead of waiting until suddenly we are in the thick of it.
*Create Fall/Holiday Bucket Lists: Tied to some of that Halloween Joy, but lasting all the way through Thanskgiving and deciding what holiday events we want to be sure not to skip this year as I think we need to focus on keeping things simple so I don’t lose my mind during Christmas time… I want to keep the holidays JOYFUL and I know we can’t do that if we over-schedule.
*Plan Dates with hubby and kids: Aside from regular date night with my sweet hubby, I’m LOVING my mother/daughter dates while my oldest is at school. I don’t want my son to feel left out so I want to plan a special mother/son date with him as well.
*Enjoy the garden/tend our plants: Part of what makes this my favorite time of year is watching everything grow in the garden! It has become a joy for our whole family and I LOVE  our time watching how the plants change and grow and give us food.

October Weekly Goals:
*Opt Outside Twice a Week: It’s hiking season! And park season! And running/walking outside again instead of on the terrible treadmill season! I want to make sure I’m taking advantage of the lovely weather at least twice a week.
*Budget/Family Meeting: Truly what holds our family together. Especially now that rehearsals and busier schedules are coming into play.
*Project Life/Photo Routine: It’s almost time to print out another batch of pages for our family year book so I want to be sure I’m keeping up.
*Miles Managed: I have a virtual race I need to do and also want to make progress on my mileage goal for the year so I have a weekly mileage goal I’d like to hit- this could probably be part of my opt outside goal, but I wanted to keep track of it separately.
* #onsundayswebake: What is better than fall flavors?! I love being in the kitchen with the kids and we already have pumpkin and apple favorites that have been requested, as well as a few new recipes I want to try…
*Random Re-Set Area: This ties in with my monthly goal of Fall cleaning, but working my way through the list of those random areas that I don’t think of right away when re-setting the house.

October Daily Goals:
*Morning/Evening Routine: Progress not perfection, right?
*Quality Time with Kids: This is needed for both my kids, but especially for my son. My oldest has reading and school work I want to be sure I’m reinforcing each night, but he also has a desire to do crafts and drawing with me and I want to be present with him while he still thinks I’m cool/wants me around!
*Write the Word/Bible Study: I think I’ll do a little #NovenaNovember but in the meantime, I’m SO CLOSE to finishing one of my write the word journals and am looking forward to starting a new one.
*Yoga: I can really feel all the flexibility I’ve lost since I stopped regularly attending yoga classes and so this month instead of committing to hitting a step count as my physical health priority (since hopefully my weekly goal of getting outside a few times will help with that anyway), I’m going to focus on getting back to a daily yoga practice- whether that be some slow restorative yoga at bedtime or some good morning vinyasa
*Peaceful Introvert Time: It’s surprising to some people who mostly know me from my performing arts background, but I’m really an introvert. It’s just that I’m an outgoing introvert. As much as I love being around people, it doesn’t energize me- it drains me and so I want to commit this month to taking some time each day to recharge and to use my alone time to do that instead of ALWAYS looking at the next thing on the to-do list or feeling guilty if I’m not being “productive” enough.

And that’s October! My tending list seems VERY full this month so I’m approaching it with the knowledge that any progress I make is moving me closer to where I want to be. I do not expect to get everything done by the end of the month/every single week. I do expect that I’ll be able to focus much more on what matters since I took the time to put in the work to think about what really matters most right now before the busier schedule really kicked into gear.

If you want to try this kind of grace filled goal setting with me next year- good news! 2020 Powersheets go on sale THIS MONTH. They are beautiful on the outside, and filled with so many good thought provoking questions inside.