Fall Planning/To Do

Years ago I stumbled upon a blog by a mom in Massachusetts and I was instantly taken with her writing style. Here I am several years later still reading and enjoying her daily musings. Weeks ago I made a mental note to go flip back in Dawn's archives to find a 'Fall Checklist' that she had posted a few years back. Yesterday, I started flipping back and had to stop to attend to the kids. I made a note to come back to it when I had a few minutes uninterrupted. ;) Ha, uninterrupted time...what is that?!?! Anyways, today I happened to check her blog only to find out that she decided to repost that list from a few years back. Perfect timing! If you want to see Dawn's list click here. Below is my list that I've tweaked to fit my needs. A few things have been changed and several things added...projects I've already started will have notes in red. In no particular order here we go:

* Launder down comforter, autumn duvet and shams. Pulled out the fall/winter bedding for the master bedroom today and started washing it. Putting it on the bed tomorrow since I always change our sheets on Fridays. I love having a clean bed heading in to the weekend. 

* Buy new flannel sheets, Christmas sheets for the kids beds. Waiting on a good sale...hopefully, in the next few weeks. We had worn out all our other sheets and so it's time for some new ones. Plus, I'd love to get some Christmas themed sheets for the kids.

* Review housekeeping routines; adjust as necessary.

* Check on snow gear: boots, jackets, pants, hats, gloves, etc. If anybody needs new things, purchase or order them now. (Not a huge priority but it doesn’t hurt to have stuff on hand in case we get snow.)

* Same goes for winter pajamas and slippers.

* Tweak the menu plan to reflect the season - heartier meals, fall fruits and veggies.

* Schedule a work-in-the-yard Saturday to rake, clean up garden debris, store outdoor furniture, etc. Might have to be little by little due to the craziness that is football season...should be done by Mtn. Day Weekend.

* Plant spring bulbs (snowdrops, crocus, daffodils, tulips) before the ground freezes.

* Plan a fall foliage jaunt for one Sunday afternoon to Berry.

* Prepare homemade cocoa mix, mulling spice bundles and replenish tea drawer as necessary.

* Visit the farmers market for autumn keepers: apples, onions, potatoes, squash. Berry usually has one in the fall.

* Plan Fall Break Trip. Planned...Disney for at least 4 nights possibly 5.

* Schedule cars for regular maintenance. Acadia is due for a tune-up...will be done before we head to Disney in a few weeks.

* Plan out football game weekend plans for UGA homegames. Finalized for the most part.

* Plan a night to visit the county fair. Coosa Valley Fair runs October 2-6 this year.

* Stop by Starbucks for a fall treat. :)

* Head to Starbucks the week before Thanksgiving to buy 2012 Holiday ornaments.

* Put away summer outside activities. (Pool, water table, etc. Winterize sandbox)

* Inventory craft supplies and note what needs replenishing. (Keep in mind holiday projects with the kids and long dark winter days ahead.)

* Stock up on cold and flu season necessaries: vitamins/supplements, herbal teas, honey drops, medicines.

* Make birdfeeders with the kids to hang in the tree out back so they can watch the birds from the big window in the den.

* Arrange fall mums, asters and pumpkins around front steps. Needs to be done before Mtn. Day Weekend.

* Begin a holiday planner - assemble Thanksgiving and Christmas lists, etc.

* Fall family picture session. Planned and booked with Carrie Jo.

* Fresh pinestraw for the outside beds.

* Launder cozy throw blankets; store in large basket handy to gathering areas.

* Set out fall book baskets. Pulled these out today and began brainstorming where I want them to go this year.

* Set out autumn decor including table linens, candles, garlands and candles with seasonal filler. Started working on this last week...pictures to come.

* Decide on Halloween costumes early, allow for any orders/delivery time. AG has requested Peter Pan and Tinker Bell for this year...I'm just waiting to find a good sale but in reality I need to order them and soon. We leave for Disney in a month and they get to trick or treat while we are there.

* Set up a gratitude tree ahead of Thanksgiving. Been mulling how I want to do it this year...still thinking this one out. 

* Make and freeze pie crusts and sugar cookie dough for the holidays.

* Buy Christmas stamps at the end of October.

* Fall toys rotated out of the attic.

* Find a skinny, pre-lit alpine tree for our Jesse Tree ornaments. Must have by Thanksgiving so that we can start when return from Disney on time.

* Start decorating for Christmas before we head to the farm for Thanksgiving since we will be gone to Disney on vacation. Crazy but necessary this year. It won't be all done but there is a huge chunk that I can start on before we leave. That way when we return we can get our tree and do the outside that first weekend back. 

* Visit Bath and Body Works to get hand soaps for all the sinks and a fall candle. Hand soaps purchased already and put out. Candles I've been waiting till September because I have a coupon. :)

* Inventory food and organize the freezer. Done. 

* Map out fall semester Family Dinners with the college family. Done and I've already got tentative dates for a few of them. 

* Prepare for Mtn. Day Weekend (Berry’s Homecoming of sorts.) Mtn. Day plans are in full swing since it is a month away! We are hosting a party here on that Saturday night...I'm really excited about all the people coming up/back this year. Should be a great weekend.

* Make pumpkin seeds after carving pumpkins in late October.

Random Saturday Musings...

...lots of things rolling around in my head at the moment. This is the start of my favorite time of the year. Don't get me wrong as a gardner I love all the promises spring brings us each year. I also love spending time in the pool and at the beach each summer. However, with the arrival of school we have football season gearing up, the arrival of cooler temperatures, fall colors, and a season of Thanksgiving as a segway in to the Christmas season. Lots of excitement for the coming months and all that they will bring.

-In a few weeks, most likely around Labor Day, I'll start pulling out my fall stuff for the house. I need to swing by and pick up my favorite hand soap of all time from Bath and Body Works...Sweet Cinnamon Pumpkin. Also, need to pick up a new fall candle to burn while I am there. In addition, I need to switch out the bedding in our room. (Post on that to come.) This also gives me time to finish my fall wreath I'm working on that I've put on hold the last few weeks.

-AG's first week of school went great. He LOVED it. We had no issues with him crying or being upset...clearly a sign that he was ready. This week was a little crazy and I didn't get much done around the house while he was in class BUT I can see that I will be able to tackle several projects in the coming weeks with just Avi-Kate to look after.

-Avi-Kate is enjoying having one on one time with us while AG is away. I'm grateful she gets to have this time.

-My goal this week is to really tackle the chaos in our bedroom...it's driving me nuts. I've started working on it today, actually, so we'll see how it goes.

-I went dumpster diving this week at Berry. Correction. I found a bunch of loot in a dumpster and Andy went in to retrieve it for me. :) Found some patterned metal for a project I've been mulling for the kitchen window for over a year now. Also, came up with two old doors. At the moment they are going to be regulated to the cellar but I'm trying to figure out a plan for one of them to be used in this house. The other door will just be held on to for the time being. Poor Andy he smiles and appeases me but I do think he shakes his head sometimes when I find my latest 'treasure'. Ha. I promise there is a method to my madness!

-Christmas. Yep, already started jotting down gift ideas for the kids. I've got a few things already that we've decided to do and I plan to start shopping slowly over the next few months. So as to space it out and be budget conscious. A few things we'll bring back from Disney...I'll space those out too. Buying some in October and some when we return for our Christmas trip.

-Andy has been working hard around the yard. Pressure washing everything. He's almost done and then we'll move on to some other yard projects that are season related.

-AG had another laser treatment on his hemangioma yesterday and it went well. He's happily running around the house and chasing Avi-Kate. You'd never know that he had surgery yesterday.

-I'm working on coupons and grocery lists for today. I'm trying to find a groove/rhythm for our new routine with AG in school. This includes grocery shopping, cooking, meals, etc. Over the summer I slacked in my couponing and freezer stashing of meals. I'm in the process of getting back on the bandwagon for both. I am planning to cook several things this week and stash half of it in the freezer.

There you have it...a little bit of what I'm mulling and pondering as I go about my day. Happy Saturday.

Housekeeping...

Oh, the adjustment. I knew that adding another child to the mix would take some adjusting when it came to getting back in to the swing of things...and I finally feel like I'm at a point where I'm regaining control of the house. Hallelujah!

We are finding our daily rhythm and I'm finding some comfort in that and being able to make the house look better. It can be so challenging when they are so little and on two different routines. Thankfully, Avi-Kate is now in a more predictable daily schedule...the perks of being on solids now. The biggest thing I'm trying to map out at the moment is a weekly cleaning schedule. I already have certain tendencies like changing the sheets. I prefer to do this task on Friday, so that we have clean sheets heading in to the weekend. Growing up my mom changed our sheets every two weeks, however, due to my allergies, that I developed in college, I now change my sheets once a week. Or vacuuming...I vacuum the floors almost every day. Now, keep in mind, we have a ranch so I don't have to mess with stairs, we have a large inside dog, and due to the fact that almost all of our rooms are hardwoods/tiles vacuuming is much faster than sweeping. So, I'm trying to see what else I want to do and where it fits in with what I'm already doing.

I'm hoping to get things in place and have my improved routine in place in the next week or so. I'd love to have a few weeks under my belt before we leave town and head to Disney at the first of March. I'll post my plans once I finalize them. :)