fall + our new routine + life lately

Happy Thursday! It seems like the past two weeks have flown by and here we are, almost done with September. We are getting in to a new routine, which has been such a nice change of pace and one of the many things I love about Fall. In addition to the leaves changing & apple cider-everything!

Olivia started school two weeks ago and goes 3 days a week, one half day and two full days. Her Fall session of swimming (one afternoon a week) kicked off this week and AWANA started last week as well! This is her first year attending AWANA and so far she is loving it. If you aren't familiar with it, it is a weekly group for kids ages 3 and up that meets in local churches (ours is where she attends preschool and where I attend MOPS) for one hour each week (usually on Wednesday nights) and teaches kids about the Bible, works on scripture memorization and includes a workbook plus games & activities. Last night as I was tucking her in she quietly said, "First John four ten. God sent His son" -- It totally took me by surprise and melted my heart; that was the first scripture she has ever memorized and after only one week of AWANA. Watching your child learn and make connections is such a good feeling!!

Both my Mom groups have also kicked off this month; I attend one at our church one morning a week and then I have MOPS every other Friday morning. I find staying connected with other Moms in similar seasons of life is a huge key in my well-being. Getting out of the house, even if I am tired, and bringing the girls along to the childcare to play with their friends is so important. It gives me a break from them, gives them a break from me and creates connection & builds friendships. If you aren't involved in any Moms groups like that, see if you can find one in your area. I look forward to them every week!! 

Having Olivia in school three days a week has been a total change for me; some mornings when Olivia is at school and Della is napping, it's just me & Poppy and it feels like I have just one kid again! I can't even imagine how I will feel when all 3 are in school and how much I will miss them. But soaking up that one on one time with Penelope has been one of the most special parts.

Outside of that, we have been enjoying the gorgeous Fall weather we've had lately. We've made multiple trips to our local orchard, been cooking & baking all our favorite Fall dishes and getting outside as much as possible. Della is so quick and tries to eat just about every leaf she sees whenever we're outside so I have to be on my game with her!! She is crawling at lightening speed and pulling to stand (cue the tears). We also witnessed earlier this week as she climbed up stairs! I don't remember Olivia or Penelope being this active at such a young age, but my guess is that she is just trying to keep up with her big sisters!! 

Finally, if you follow along with me on instagram @blessednestblog, you have probably seen that I recently started a new account for essential oils! We have been using EOs for just over two years now and they have made an incredible difference for us in our home, family and overall health. I've gotten so many questions about them and how they've changed our life so I thought it was about time to start sharing!! I'll be starting to post regularly on there all about how we use them, what my favorites are, how you can get your own & more. You can follow along @blessednestessentials and I'll be adding helpful information & regular blog posts on the topic to my essential oils tab here.

So that's all for now. Hope you are having the best week and a wonderful start to Fall!! We've got our windows open, the girls are napping and Dustin is picking Olivia up from school. We're throwing garlic chicken on the grill tonight and baking some acorn squash and then planning to take a walk after dinner with the girls in their new pajamas, a favorite tradition of ours year round!!

So far I'm loving Fall, Olivia is loving school, Della is loving to climb + crawl & Poppy just loves playing with all her big sisters toys when she's gone!! :) As always, thanks for reading & following along!