Fall, Don’t Fail Me Now

Fall is my absolute second favorite time of the year! Whoops, did you catch that? Sorry. I absolutely love fall, don’t get me wrong, but you’re never going to get me to admit that I’d choose it over lounging by the pool watching my shirtless husband throw our kids in and out of the water while they scream-laugh. Nope, no, never.

Truth be told, I don’t like pumpkin-spice (please don’t stop reading) and sweater weather isn’t even applicable until November here, so there’s that let down, too. How did fall even beat out winter and spring for second place then? Glad you asked. I LOVE HALLOWEEN. As in started-planning-our-costumes-back-in-July, skulls-and-pumpkins-all-over-my-house type of love. Oh, and the many fairs, pumpkin patch visits, crockpot recipes, and the fact that every playground, zoo, and movie theater is virtually cleared out due to school starting, so this stay at home mom can let her kids run wild without losing them in what should be busy places! It gets me giddy thinking about it all.

Along with the many, many day trips we’ve been venturing on, I’ve embraced my new favorite mantra that perfectly fits all occasions — This is not an emergency. So simple, right? Not so much when you’re in the moment. So many times when the kids fight, and screaming inevitably ensues, it’s so easy to go mama-bear, fight-or-flight mode on them and contribute to the screaming. You guys, this phrase has helped me, and more importantly my family, so much. When you take the time to step back, take a deep breath, and remind yourself it’s not an emergency, you free up your brain to think of so many HELPFUL ways to contribute to the chaos. Maybe it’s just the October moon playing tricks on me, but I swear our house has been so much calmer lately, and we haven’t had any major meltdowns as of yet. Here’s to hoping.

If you try this one out, please let me know how it works for you! Kids are great at finding loopholes, so please let me know when you found this to work and when it failed miserably (I do daily.) Do you have any mantras or things you live by that help you on the day to day? Help a mama out and let me know in the comments! Oh, and October isn’t over yet so I’m also looking for more sweet pumpkin patch spots if you know of any.