Currently: September 2021

And just like that, September is almost over. There are less than 100 days left in the year - can you believe it? My husband HATES comments about how fast the month went or year is going but it's really true isn't it? As we get older, our perception of time really seems to change. I remember thinking it took FOREVER for Christmas to arrive. Now it comes shockingly fast!

Here's what is currently going on in our lives!

Reading: The Reading List by Sarah Nisha Adams. I started it last night and got 1/3 of the way through before turning out my light so that tells you how good it is so far. It's partially set in a library and is about this mysterious list of books that different people discover. So it's basically a book about books, which is one of my favorite sub-genres!

Loving: The weather we are having this week. It's in the 70s and sunny during the day but the air is dry and it cools off at night which is the perfect combination! If it could stay like this for months, I'd be so happy but that of course is not how the weather works here in Minnesota.

Feeling: ready for our family to all be back to 100% health. We are mostly better but there is a nagging runny nose that we are all dealing with. I just hope this isn't a bad cold/flu season but I'm not optimistic. I know RSV has been running rampant in the Twin Cities - and more broadly in the US in general - so I am just hoping my boys avoid getting it, or get a mild case. I do wonder if they had it this past week or so, but if so, they didn't get a terrible case of it.

Anticipating: my 10 mile race this weekend - and seeing my parents! They are coming to the Twin Cities to watch my nephew's football game on Friday night and then will come to our house on Saturday and spend the night. I'll be up and gone before they wake up on Sunday (most likely - there's a chance I will see my mom on my way out the door) but I'm sure Phil will appreciate having their help with the boys. I'm feeling very ready for the race. I'm excited to run a race but also excited to have it behind me. This is typically how I feel when preparing for a long distance race. It's been extra challenging to train for it with 2 young kids, but I made it work and am proud of myself for tackling this big goal!

Struggling: with toddler behavior - still. So this is a repeat from last month. Most of the time Paul is a delight to have around, but when he has a tantrum, oof it is bad. Phil and I did an online course on emotional regulation and meltdowns and it has been helpful. 

Grateful: that Will continues to be a very chill and easy-going baby! He is rarely fussy. As long as he can watch what his brother is doing, he's pretty darn happy. 

Working: out very consistently which feels great. I'm averaging about 5 workouts/week (2-3 runs mixed with workouts from the Morning Meltdown Beachbody program). It will be a bit more challenging to fit workouts in when I return to the office in 2022 but hopefully I can still average around 4-5 most weeks.

Listening: to the newest season of The Drop Out which follows the trial of Elizabeth Holmes of Theranos. They do a great job covering the trial. I'm very behind and I just found out about the new season but have been really enjoying it - but feel outraged when I listen. I really hope she is found guilty!

Watching: the new and final season of Goliath on Amazon Prime. We really liked the first season of this show. The 2nd and 3rd seasons were a little meh but still good enough to stick with it. Hopefully the 4th season will be good. On my own, I'm watching the 2nd season of Making the Cut on Amazon Prime and Million Little Things when new episodes become available (the fall season started last week).

Wishing: for more beautiful fall weather and that the leaves are still on the trees when we take family photos on October 15th! So far it seems like we will still have leaves on the trees as our leaves are JUST starting to change here. We haven't had family photos taken since March of 2019 so are very overdue! 

Bonus Paul and Will Photos:

Will's first pickle! Don't let his facial expression fool you -  he really liked it and kept sucking on the dill pickle slice!

Paul working on his golf swing. He's a tiny bit more coachable than he was last summer, but still not super open to instruction.

The typical scene at dinner in our house. Paul always pulls Will over as close as he can get him. In this pic they are post enjoying a post-dinner graham cracker.

Playing memory with Paul. He's pretty good but is a little prone to cheating (he wants to peek at the card before turning it out!).

Brother bath time! Lots of giggling happens during these baths. I hope these 2 continue to love being together as they get bigger!

What are you reading, watching and anticipating?