Hello everybody. Melissa here late with the Weekly Wrap Up (what’s new, right) since I’ve just dragged my behind out of what I should call the “soccer mobile.” Yup, fall is here and we’re back in the swing of soccer, ballet, homework, and school.

Yet this past week was like none other before for me as a mom since for the first time, all my ducklings were going back to school and were gone all day, Mrs. Mallard here had no one to have lunch with. Bittersweet, as I wrote about in this week’s Reflections Thursdays post. If you’ve had to confront the daily empty nest, please read the post and tell me what helped.

OK, let’s think positive. Here is Beckett dropping off Marielle is her pre-K classroom. As an alum, he knew what to do and showed her around.

Hedley, Beckett and Lachlan headed off to 6th, 3rd, and 5th grade respectively, which makes for two Middle Schoolers and one Lower Schooler. You might be asking yourself if Lachlan is headed off to board a flight since he seems to be pulling a suitcase, but no, that’s just his daily backpack, filled with binders. We’re working on “backpack courtesy”, i.e. not tripping other people.

Here’s big girl Annaliese ready for 1st Grade. On days when she takes the bus home, she arrives chez moi at 4:30pm. She awakens at 6:45 to start her morning routine and departs on the bus cross-town at 7:30am. So bedtime is 6:45, not kidding. That’s what working for her so I’m sticking to it. Annaliese had a super first week and loves her school and her teachers, for which I’m so grateful.

So there you go. We have the kids back to school, back to real life, and we’re just trying to embrace it all, keep everything moving according to plan, and enjoy a little bit along with way.

Here are Mom’s goals for the week:

Pack. Tomorrow, I am off for a two day conference sponsored by the Similac Sisterhood of Motherhood campaign. So excited to meet the other bloggers involved in this campaign and to don a few fun outfits! Stay tuned for my updates via Twitter and Instagram.

Pump out the content. This last month was less consistent than I would like. Want to get back to our regular content with a Wednesday Mom Fashion post, a Reflections Thursday post, and to regular “answer your questions” videos, which I hope to film next week. I also have two fabulous sponsored posts coming up with children’s educational toys. Stay tuned for those.

Go to yoga at least twice. Made it once last week. Happy day because one of the founders of Onzie one of my favorite yoga lines was in my Bikram class and we chatted!! Lucky day for me as I am working with them on a regular series featuring their glorious outfits.

Finish the Roosevelts series. Marc and I have now fallen asleep twice during the final episode. Hoping to watch that this week to learn more about the twists and turns of Eleanor Roosevelt’s life once a widow.

Bake a double batch of oatmeal chocolate chip cookies for snack. Relied on sandwiches last week. Sometimes ham, sometimes cheese, sometimes Nutella…

Make some plans with friends for October — September is “buckle down” time as sad as that sounds. We’re so not into a groove with the fall schedule that I want things to calm down before adding anything else.

Here’s a little healthy fun recipe for y’all: garlic beans. Steam your green beans. Place fresh garlic in a dash of coconut oil to sauté, and throw those babies in there to get crispy for just a few minutes. Make sure not to burn the garlic. My kids love this as they grow tired of vegetables prepped the same old way.

Sending love to you all and make sure to enter our weekly giveaway tomorrow and please tell me your ideas for how to cook vegetables to keep them interesting!

xo Melissa

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