First Days

*sniff* Both girls are in preschool this year and they are growing up so fast! I am loving the freedom that school is allowing all of us though.

Molly started last week at her new preschool. She's going four days a week and is really thriving. I am really enjoying the fact that I drop her off at 8:30 a.m. and she does her own thing until I pick her up around 12:30 p.m. It's a beautiful thing. Her new school is also a nice distance away to allow for a good walk. Maggie and I walked to pick her up on Tuesday and Molly was so excited. She loves walking and walked the almost 1.5 miles home without asking to sit in the stroller.

Maggie started Toddler Co-Op this week and threw herself right into the mix. I had a hard time keeping her in my sights as we were supposed to stick with our children this week. Next we'll have our work stations and I'm pretty sure I won't see Maggie most of the time. It's nice for her to have an outlet for her toddler energy. She also goes to daycare one day a week so I can get some work done. This means Maggie and I have two days a week together to hang. We've been having fun but also enjoying our breaks.

Chores, Mom Tricks and Fall Dates are This Week's Links from Around the Web

If I were a young woman now... It's good to be reminded that at some point I'm going to miss cradling my babies in my arms. That I'm going to miss them wiggling all over me when we read books. That I'm going miss all their crazy stories. One day.

Let Kids Mess Up the Household Chores They can't learn if they don't fail. I'm trying so hard to teach Molly how to do things around the house while also trying so hard to let go of perfection. It's hard because it is in my blood. My Grandmother taught me how to properly clean a house when I was 8 years old. She was every serious about it and that story right there explains so much.

Genius Mom Tricks I'm taking notes!

14 Fun Fall Dates I need to get a date night on the schedule for Scott and I. These all look fun!

Where the Magic Happens Children's Illustrators open up their studios and the photos are beautiful!

Today's the Day! A Day in the Life Photo Challenge

It's time for another Day in the Life Challenge! Today is the day! I can't wait to document my day and hopefully see your day too! I love seeing what other people do during a regular day because I'm curious and nosy. 

Starting right now when you wake up, take a photo every hour (or more) to document your day until you fall asleep that night. You can join the Flickr group and/or tag your photos #adayinthelifephotochallenge on Instagram.

1. Here are some guidelines (adjust as needed for YOU!)
2. From the time you wake up until the time you go to sleep...
3. Take at least one photo an house (but you can take more!).
4. Post your photos to the "A Day in the Life" Photo Challenge Flickr group when you can. Posting your photos throughout the day as you take them is great (so we can what everyone is doing in real time), but no worries if you cannot post until later. 
5. Your photos do NOT have to be self-portraits.
6. Include the time of the photo either as the title of the photo or in the description. (i.e. 9:45 am Hilarious Hand Holding! My friend and I had to walk really, really close to each other.)
7. Use your phone or camera - whatever you want to use to capture your day, however ordinary or extraordinary it may be. 
8. Have Fun! 

Since this is my seventh time doing this challenge, I'm going back to the basics. I'm excited to document today since it will be a normal day. I've set up a new album on my Flickr photostream for Tuesday's challenge which you can follow here: A Day in the Life 9.15.15 (I currently have a photo of a flower so you'll know you are in the right place). Can't wait to see your photos and your day today! 

Preparing for the Week

Tomorrow, Tuesday 9/15 is another Day in the Life Photo Challenge! Come join us in documenting your day! 

Now that school is back in session, we have a lot going on everyday. It feels like each activity or place has its own set of equipment needs. In the past I've spent the morning before school or our activities, running around trying to grab everything we need and usually forgetting something. This year with the increase in school time for Molly, I decided to step up my game. On Sunday afternoon, after my one-hour meal prep, I rounded up our stuff and starting putting bags together for each activity. Molly has school four times a week while Maggie goes to co-op one day and daycare another. On top of that, we have swim one night a week and dance on another. 

I started packing our biggest bag which is swim. The swim bag can easily go sideways. Inside the bag, I packed our towels, pajamas (we go to swim at night and I put the kids right into their pjs to go home), shampoo and most importantly, snacks! I usually get the kids showered and changed before handing them snacks so I can quickly change out of my swim gear. Snacks have saved me from chaos many a time so I make sure to always pack lots of snacks. 

Our next bag was Molly's dance bag. She's taking ballet and tap this year which means two pairs of shoes along with tights and a dance costume. I think she's going to need leg warmers soon too. 

Then I packed up Molly's school bag. It's supposed to be rainy this week so I made sure to pack her rain outfit along with a change of clothing and her water bottle. Her school takes care of all food so I don't need to worry about that for school. 

Finally I packed up Maggie's co-op/daycare bag. I stuffed it full of diapers, wipes, a change of clothing and some snacks. I'll add a water bottle and some fresh fruit to her bag later. 

And now I feel ready for the week! Well, at least I have our bags packed and ready to go.  

One Hour Weekly Food Prep

One of the food bloggers that I follow on Instagram recently mentioned that she likes to set a one hour time limit on her weekly food prep. I decided to try out this idea over the weekend. I often get wrapped up in prepping food for the week and end up in the kitchen for hours. I love being more efficient and getting ready for the week by prepping our food.

I wrote my list and my timer before getting to work. Scott and Molly were out at a movie. Maggie was supposed to be sleeping but decided to skip her nap. She made a great prep sous chef. 

In the end, I prepped two crockpot meals for later in the week, made quiche for my lunches, whipped up some oatmeal cups for snacks, hardboiled eggs, made meatloaf and pulled out meat to defrost for the week. Right as I slid the oatmeal cups (the final item on my list) into the oven, my timer went off. Success! I was also thrilled that I was able to keep the kitchen clean throughout the process.

I plan on making this part of my weekly food prep. I can take an hour to get ahead every week and setting the timer meant that I needed to really focus. I'm now starting to think about other areas of my life that could be improved with focus and a strict time limit.

Preschools, Aging and Toddler Manners are This Week's Links from Around the Web

Photo by Scott

Does Having Kids Age Parents? Yes...Yes and Yes some more

The Decline of Play and Rise in Children's Mental Disorders This enforces why I've decided to send my daughter to a play-based preschool. 

Preschool And Privilege: When Early Education Hinges On Parental Flexibility My children have been lucky that I am at home and can tote them around to co-op and other preschools. My friends who work full-time outside of the home do not have that option. And yet we are constantly told that it is vital that our kids get excellent preschooling. How are we able to do that if schools are outrageously expensive and non-conducive to working hours.

Top 10 Dos & Don’ts For Going Back To School Here are my Top 10 Dos & Don'ts for Going Back to School!

Laws Concerning Food and Drink; Household Principles; Lamentations of the Father This is perfect! So very perfect! 

5 Things Toddlers Do That Drive Type A Moms Nuts Maggie has memorized this list and is doing all of these things to drive her very type A Mom nuts! 

The End of 100 Days of Summer

We had 100 Days of Summer and they were awesome! We swam until our hair was a tangled mess. We played in the backyard while our garden blossomed. We went on many, many, many road trips and visited the Oregon Coast twice. We were lucky enough to go to Suncadia twice and basically conquered traveling with two kids this summer. 

We made memories until we couldn't make any more. We ate fantastic food, enjoyed our summer harvest and had ice cream for dinner more times than we could count. 

We climbed trees, road bikes, swung on swings and visited so many parks. We forgot about schedules and found relaxation. We slept in and got up early. We went to bed late and early. 

We went to the State Fair, ate our weight in corn dogs and funnel cake and blew our minds by seeing horses in person. 

This was a summer for the books. We had the best 100 Days of Summer! You can see all my pictures on Flickr. 

A Day in the Life Photo Challenge - Tuesday, September 15th

It's time for another Day in the Life Challenge! Tuesday, September 15th will hopefully be a normal day in our new routine. Molly will be at preschool in the morning while Maggie and I will be finding our new routine. I can't wait to document my day and hopefully see your day too! I love seeing what other people do during a regular day because I'm curious and nosy. 

Starting next Tuesday when you wake up, take a photo every hour (or more) to document your day until you fall asleep that night. You can join the Flickr group and/or tag your photos #adayinthelifephotochallenge on Instagram.

1. Here are some guidelines (adjust as needed for YOU!)
2. From the time you wake up until the time you go to sleep...
3. Take at least one photo an house (but you can take more!).
4. Post your photos to the "A Day in the Life" Photo Challenge Flickr group when you can. Posting your photos throughout the day as you take them is great (so we can what everyone is doing in real time), but no worries if you cannot post until later. 
5. Your photos do NOT have to be self-portraits.
6. Include the time of the photo either as the title of the photo or in the description. (i.e. 9:45 am Hilarious Hand Holding! My friend and I had to walk really, really close to each other.)
7. Use your phone or camera - whatever you want to use to capture your day, however ordinary or extraordinary it may be. 
8. Have Fun! 

Since this is my seventh time doing this challenge, I'm going back to the basics. I'm excited to document Tuesday since it will be a normal day. I've set up a new album on my Flickr photostream for Tuesday's challenge which you can follow here: A Day in the Life 9.15.15 (I currently have a photo of a flower so you'll know you are in the right place). Can't wait to see your photos and your day next Tuesday! 

Official Library Card Holder and Book Lover

Molly and I had a date yesterday while her sister went to daycare. We stopped at the library to exchange our books and I noticed that the Seattle Public Library Official was celebrating children getting their first Library cards by giving them a special "My First Library Card" tote bag. 

 We visit the library all the time and it really was time for Molly to get her own card so she can be responsible for her own books (HA!). She was so proud of getting her card and even "signed" it. I see this as the start of a great library relationship! 

If you live in Seattle, you can get your little library lover (children age 0-6), their first card and in celebration they'll receive a tote bag throughout the month of September. 

Pinterest Thursday - The Clean Car Edition

It's been a summer of awesome road trips, exciting adventures and spontaneous fun. While the girls and I have had the best time, my car has suffered. This past weekend, I told Scott that I needed a few hours to clean out my car. Armed with a great cleaner from Pinterest, I got to work.

I gathered my supplies, vacuum and carpet cleaner. I prepared myself and pulled out the car seats. Once I had the covers in the wash, I surveyed the car and made a plan. I vacuumed and vacuumed and vacuumed.

My car was seriously gross. I'm a bit embarrassed by the photo above. I vacuumed for so long that a neighbor said he was worried about me since he had left, run some errands and came back to find me still hard at work. After vacuuming, I sprayed the cleaner from Pinterest on the seats. While it sat for a bit (the site said to let it sit for at least 3 minutes), I wiped down the doors and washed the windows. Then I got out my carpet cleaner and started sucking up all the dirt. I was amazed at the difference the cleaner made after just a few swipes with my machine. 

Seriously the car looked so good! There was a bit of a vinegar smell for a few days but that is way better than the sour milk funk that invaded the car before. I re-installed the car seats and won't let the kids eat in the car for a few days. When I put the seats back in, I decided to turn Maggie around to face forward. It was a bittersweet moment. She's getting so big. It's official, we don't have any babies in this house.

Muffins, Preschool Thoughts and Rainy Days are This Week's Links from Around the Web

Cinnamon Applesauce Muffins - We having a bit of a muffin love affair at our house right now. I think we'll be making these later this week.

Preschool and Prespective Molly starts preschool next week and while there is a part of me that is so excited to have a few hours without her, there is another part of me that cries, MY BABY! STOP GROWING UP! I have more thoughts on this to share but this article says a lot of it.

Translations of Mom Footwear Yep!

Ready for Rain Well I was until it rained for like 40 days and 40 nights and now I'm back to complaining about the weather like a true Seattelite.

Support the Seattle Refined Team as they climb the Space Needle! I luckily was too late to sign up for this torture when the email was sent out to contributors and missed out on climbing to the top but I'll be cheering for my team!

Books! Books! Books!

Molly is currently obsessed with books. She likes to take a pile of them and snuggle up on the couch while flipping through their pages. She insists that we read at least 5 books to her before bed every night. Once we leave her room, she then goes to bed while "reading" more books. Maggie can often be found walking around with a book and will press it into your hand to read to her. The girls go insane with book excitement whenever I take them to the library to get more books. I think it is safe to say that my kids are book obsessed! 

My bookworms and I were thrilled to learn about Bookroo, a monthly book delivery service. For a monthly subscription fee, you receive 2-3 books (three if you select the board book option, two if you select the picture book option). Each book comes wrapped in recyclable and gorgeous paper. 

Molly ripped open the Bookroo box with glee when I told her that the package was full of books for her. She loved ripping open the wrapping paper and kept saying, "You got me a BOOK PRESENT!" It was super adorable. She then insisted that we sit down and read her new books. I love both of them. It can be hard to find good Children's books that are fun to read and entertain the kids. Bookroo hit it out of the park with both of these selections. We've added them to our bedtime routine and I often hear Scott delving deeper into the books with the girls. They like to count the sheep in Hugless Douglas and figure out colors in Pirate Nap. 

Bookroo has graciously offered a discount code for readers of ReeBeckiSuperGirl. Click here bookroo.com/ac/BLOGSUPERMOM4 and a discount of $4 will be automatically added to your on your future Bookroo order.  I know Molly and Maggie are already anxiously awaiting their next Bookroo delivery.

Sponsored Post: This post is sponsored by Bookroo but the content and opinions expressed here are my own.