This year we are having an exceptionally excellent transition into fall. There have been clear blue skies and leaves are changing and we haven't had the relentless endless days of rain.
I don't know if it's the blue skies or the right cycle day, but here are some things that are working for me right now.
1. Having a Cleaner AgainI said I was basic right?
I randomly found a cleaner and she has come three times and she seems nice and normal. She came on Wednesday and the house is still clean this evening and it means that my Rachel time tomorrow doesn't need to be spent cleaning the house! And I find that when my house is not a total dump I don't mind spending an extra 5 minutes organizing something small or wiping down a windowsill.
I missed having a cleaner for the last two years.
2. Writing Texts on Apple Notes
I hate texting on my phone and typing on my phone.
At night I will sometimes write a batch of texts out in Apple Notes on my computer and then transfer them into texts using copy and paste for quickness. I realize I could use whatsapp web the same way but I still despise whatsapp and prefer text.
It's also good for when I am up at very early o'clock in the morning but don't want to actually send someone a text at 4:30am, I put it in notes and send it at a human hour instead.
3. Cottage Cheese
I know I'm so so basic, but I have always loved cottage cheese.
Recently Waitrose put this cottage cheese on sale and it was so good! I haven't found a UK cottage cheese I like so I was excited to finally find one. And then I learned that cottage cheese is high in protein and it's a US obsession at the moment and I can see why because it's so tasty.
4. Tofu and Tempeh
I am a little obsessed with tofu and tempeh. Maybe it's my perimenopausal protein addiction, but I've also maybe started thinking about being a vegetarian and it seems I should probably learn to eat good veggie food and not just "not meat". We'll see what happens.
5. Kids in Costumes
6. Library Holds, Reading, TBR
I was excited to learn that Emily St. John Mandel has a new book out!
But 228 people got there first:
It's just a great show! Andy and I have been watching it in chunks in the evenings while doing stretching. British celebrities are so... odd.
Once or twice a week I've been going to bed at 8:30pm and waking up at 4:30am and it's made mornings feel delightfully long and lovely. I've mostly used it for sport, but I'm also still working through photo album project and just enjoying a cup of coffee before the twins wake up.
9. Twins being almost 3.
I had been so excited for the twins to turn 2 for that same sense of relief... and then they turned 2 and relief didn't come. I am hopeful that twins at 3 is what a singleton (that's what twin moms call single/non-twin kids... it's a word I did not know before) is at 2. I think it's getting easier. Finally.
10. House goals
Something about fall always makes me want to cozy and improve my house. The next big purchase is single beds for the twins so we can finally get rid of the cotbed once and for all! I sense an IKEA trip in the future. I also have dreams of putting an accent wall in the lounge... stay tuned. I love cosyfying the house for fall....
What's working for you this October?
I love all things Traitors! I've seen the first two seasons of "normie" UK Traitors, and Hubs and I started season 1 of Celebrity Traitors. We've seen a few of these people on 8 out of 10 Cats, and it's hilarious to see them on a "professional" show where they don't get to say inappropriate things. Though I would love to see an 8oo10/Traitors mashup.
ReplyDeleteYay for a cleaner! I don't need one since I'm living by myself in a smaller house now, but if money continues to go well then next year I'm going to pay someone else to mow my lawn. It's such a thankless, unrewarding job.
I fully support lawn outsourcing! What a thankless job that also needs to be done. Perfect for the outsourcing!
DeleteI think if I lived alone I would love to have a cleaner maybe 4 times a year just to do all the really grotty stuff. Unless it turns out I am the major grot-maker.
I've just got the one 2-year-old, but I am really hoping that Arden turning 3 will make life easier. She is a lot right now. I could tell her she has to eat a cookie and she would say no just to disagree with me. - Kat
ReplyDeleteMaybe I'm just deluded to think two is any easier than the ages before two. I probably don't remember Ezra at 2 because Lily was 6 weeks old, although I do know Lily at two was easy enough that we decided to go for a last kid when she was nearly 2.5 and we all know how that turned out.
DeleteHouse cleaners for the win! Ours comes every 4 weeks. My husband was always opposed to spending the money. Then we were gifted house cleaners when I went through that fire injury last fall and when we used up the gift certs, I asked my husband to please let us keep them because his job has gotten more intense in the last year and he conceded. He doesn't love the prep process of preparing for the cleaners, but he doesn't hate it enough to stop having them come.
ReplyDeleteI hope things get a little bit easier for you when the twins turn 3!! Fingers crossed!
My mom gifted me a fortnightly cleaning service when Ezra was born and we kept them through covid, but we haven't' had someone reliable since the twins were born so it's amazing to have someone come again.
DeleteRight now she's coming weekly which is awesome, although I think at some point we will switch to fortnightly again. She doesn't do the bedrooms so that makes the prep a lot easier since we can just shove stuff into bedrooms.
The kiddos are SO cute in their costumes.
ReplyDeleteHooray for having a cleaner! I love having a cleaner even though I feel guilty about having one. Although... we have a new-ish cleaner and she is nowhere near as good as her predecessor. To the point that I think we may need to say goodbye. Yikes. I am not looking forward to that.
Good cleaners are so hard to come by! And I can see why because I am terrible at cleaning my house... when we had a not as good cleaner before I was honest once and then the second time I had to have that awkward conversation I just told her it was financial and I think everyone felt fine about it. Basically, when it comes to the awkward convo, I would recommend untruths.
DeleteI'm reading the new Emily St John Mandel and it's been slower to grab me than Sea of Tranquility, Glass Hotel, or Station Eleven. It reminds me a little of her earlier books. I'm trying to give it a fair shake, though. Hope you enjoy it once 228 people get through it!
ReplyDeleteI think I've read Station 11, Sea of Tranquility, and The Glass Hotel. I can't remember Glass Hotel as much.I liked Sea of Tranquility and Station 11 a lot.
DeleteIt took until about halfway through, but it finally hooked me. Plus there's some decent philosophical one-liners sprinkled throughout.
Delete(Apparently this is where I put reading updates.) Got through the book. It was...fine. disappointing. I'd recommend re-reading one of hers you already love over trying to get through this one.
DeleteSeparate reading rec, I found "The Ending Writes Itself" loads of fun.
Hooray for a cleaner. I was always afraid to use one, knowing my kids would trash the place minutes after the cleaner left and that would make me crazy.
ReplyDeleteI have 12 mo old twins in my daycare and I can only imagine that hitting 3 years might be when things settle down . . . a touch? I hope so.
What's working for me in October? Well the weather has been so sunny and beautiful, that I've been sitting on the deck during naptime with a book. Soon, it will no longer feel like summer and I'll probably start using naptime to get things done.
Love the Halloween costume pics. When the kids were little, it was always such a fun time.
Little kids in Halloween costumes are adorable. I don’t have twins but I found that at three things tended to get easier or maybe I’m deluding myself since my first kid was three at the start of the pandemic.
ReplyDeleteMy October wins are my kids really enjoying their chosen after school activities and choosing easy to find Halloween costumes ahead of time.