the take home folder vol 117
do this now to make summer smoother // the power of a reread // you're doing great // + more
welcome to the take home folder
This week brought the first whispers of 5th grade graduation for our oldest and it’s been emotional for me. On one hand, he’s so ready and excited for middle school. On the other hand, I’m wallowing in my own feelings about the change and a true new chapter for our family. I know it’ll be ok. Great, even. But that doesn’t mean I can’t be a little sad as we turn the page. Because wasn’t he just in kindergarten yesterday?
“Life is in the transitions. We can’t ignore these central times of life; we can’t wish or will them away. We have to accept them, name them, mark them, share them, and eventually convert them into fuel for remaking our life stories.” - Bruce Feiler
my sunday questions:
What is something I can do for our home?
What is something I can do for/with our family?
What is something I can do for myself?
Today for me it’s cleaning out the fridge, going to the Twins game as a family, and starting to think through some nuts and bolts of summer as we enter the last weeks of the school year.
here’s this week’s take home folder, enjoy!
one // the countdown to summer is on
Our kids only have 3 weeks of school left until summer vacation. (!!) I’m excited, I adore summer home with the kids. It’s also a definite change of pace and routine. Here are a few things on my mind that may be helpful to consider if you’re also wrapping your head around the shift to summer:
treat myself day - I’m considering taking a day the last week of school to treat myself - maybe use the gift certificate I have for a massage? Get lunch out? Browse an indie bookstore? I’m really good at talking myself out of this kind of thing ha but I think it’d be good to fill my cup a bit ahead of summer break.
stocking snacks - allll the meals and snacks will be eaten in our kitchen. Lots of kids will be around. What can I start stocking up on?
can play/can’t play - there’s a reel circulating right now with a clever “available to play” sign someone posted on their door for when the neighborhood kids come rolling by. Could something like this work for your family?
chores - what do we expect from our kids over the summer? Last year we did a simple list of daily and weekly chores and that worked well. This year I’ll peek at those and adjust as needed.
screen time - would it be helpful to set boundaries for your family (/yourself) around screen time? Ours are that the TV doesn’t turn on M-F until 4ish pm or when I’m making dinner. They can play the Switch ~30 minutes in lieu of watching TV a few afternoons a week. They can watch TV on Saturday and Sunday mornings.
quiet time - my saving grace when the kids were little but no longer napping, and we’ve loosely continued it as they’ve gotten older. This summer it’ll probably look like an hour after lunch of chill time (boys in their rooms playing/reading/listening to audiobooks) on the days we are home midday. Sometimes last summer they asked to play outside during quiet time and that was fine! I like to keep quiet time in my back pocket but it’s not essential to our days like it used to be.
work time - when am I going to get my work done and what will that look like? I have to figure this out.
What am I missing? Are you feeling ready for summer?
two // protein
Hate to break it to you, but when I get enough protein I do feel better and stay full longer. Sigh. I’ve realized that to reach my goal of 100g+ a day, it’s prudent to have a helper like protein powder. I’ve never been a huge protein powder person but I get it now. I usually drink it in a shaker bottle with almond milk or add it to a smoothie.
I’ve been using this protein powder (I’ve tried the vanilla and the strawberry, both are good) - I appreciate that it has 26g protein and 6g fiber.
Angelina from The Family Table has been inspiring me with her smoothies! Here is a post she did with 9 recipes.
three // open tabs
Be the Reason your Neighborhood is Friendly
Using ground chicken to make a massive chicken cutlet? This video has been living rent free in my head since Paige shared it. I must try!
The Science of Less - Why Subtraction is the Ultimate “Less is More” Strategy - Inside Out Money podcast episode. I love Maggie’s podcast and listen every week.
four // the power of a reread
A collectors edition of The Wild Robot was recently released and I knew my son would be excited to have it on his bookshelf - the series holds a special place in our hearts as one of the first chapter book read alouds we did.
What I didn’t anticipate is that he’d want to reread it together. So, he’s reading a few chapters to me each night and it’s been the sweetest.
I am a staunch believer that reading at home be for enjoyment. My kid wants to read a bunch of graphic novels? Cool. Rereading favorite books? A-ok. Audiobooks? Sign us up. Excited for a new book release? I’ll preorder it. Reading at home shouldn’t feel like another thing to cross off the list. Figure out what your kid is interested in and let them enjoy it.
five // you’re doing great
I never got around to cleaning the bathrooms last week
But I got to attend three school events for my kids
The laundry piles up faster than I can get it washed
But I got took several long walks in glorious spring weather
That wall still needs to be repainted
But I got to spend a day with my mom
I haven’t found a cleaning rhythm that I can stick to in this season
But I get to partner with a dream brand this month
The kids had hot dogs for dinner
But I was present for their baseball games
I still haven’t gone through that stack of papers
But Todd and I sat on the front porch and chatted and laughed
Is anyone ever truly caught up? Eh, probably not. But we’re living a pretty beautiful life.
see you right back here next week,
recent favorites
I’ve been reaching for this support bralette daily. It is comfy and supportive (even as a person with a larger chest) and the mesh back will be super nice for summer. I also love their relief bra. I asked for a code and they delivered: use NICOLE15 for 15% off.
Spectacular Things - got the audiobook on Libby and I really enjoyed it! A story of sisters, loss, impossibly difficult decisions, grit, and love.
This vintage tee is part of my summer uniform. It’s thicker, not cropped, relaxed fit. Tons of colors. On sale for $9.99.
Bought this rug for our basement bathroom but couldn’t resist putting it in our main floor half bath instead. Code NICOLE15.
You can always find our freezer stocked with ButcherBox meat and salmon. Right now they’re doing free sirloin tips, chicken wings, or ground beef free in every box for LIFE and $20 off of your first 3 boxes for new members. They rarely do the for life promos anymore so I like to highlight it when they do. This deal ends tomorrow, 5/18. Learn more here.
Sea Salt Popcorn from Costco. I bought this knowing it’d be a great little snack for myself but it’s also been popular with our kids and their friends.
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Love Love Love the paragraph in section 5! I was just inspired to write my own version! Feeling behind but choosing to focus on the joys of things I DID get to do instead of all the tasks I "should've" done!
One thing I did to prep for summer was to go through and put potential pool visits on my calendar. I still work full time in the summer and the kids are in daycare/camps, plus still have some of their normal activities, and my oldest is doing the summer swim team. We are just as busy in the summer but I want to make good use of our pool membership! So I went through our weekly schedule/routine and identified days that would work for us to visit the pool regularly and ADDED THEM TO THE CALENDAR. Each week I try to invite a mom friend and her kids to come to the pool with us one evening; we will eat dinner at the pool, hang for a few hours, shower/change into pjs and go straight to bed after. It’s the best! But if it’s not on the calendar I will forget to schedule it!