Catch Up to Keep Up!

Okay, peeps.

It’s a truth universally acknowledged that most families…

Spend their school year whining and pining for the freedom of summer.

And then spend the summer whining and pining for the structure of the school year.

It’s a conundrum, yes?? 

So much to love—and loathe!—about each season of this cycle, but I must admit: this stretch, right now, from about mid-August through mid-September is one of my very favorites.

It’s that sweet, in-between spot.

That return to structure without the burnout—yet.

It holds the promise of autumnal vibes and witchy decor (even when the weather doesn’t comply).

Every moment of daytime silence (even when it’s bustling silence) within my household feels like a gift.

And…August is my birthday month. ;)

So even though it’s quite literally as hot as Hades here in South Texas this time of year…

And I’m now spending approximately 2,748 hours each morning to get my kiddos to their three separate schools…

And I’m emptying my wallet for supplies and enrollment fees and booster club donations… 

Plus navigating hours of nighttime, school-related meetings, To-Do’s and homework (yes, homework, from the very first day!)…

My mood still feels LIGHT and BRIGHT as my kiddos launch a new school year that’s brimming with promise and possibilities. :)

That said:

It takes a bit of time for me to recalibrate when the kiddos return to school. 

And that recalibration involves tackling a backlogged To-Do List about a mile long.

Things that need to be wrangled before we can well and truly hit the ground running with the onslaught of full-steam responsibilities.

But…this year, I’ve got a clutch bit of assistance that’s my new favorite thing in the whole, wide world:

Our new, digital, wall-mounted calendar!

Okay. So. To rewind…

I can’t believe that, once upon a time, I was a person who could keep track of life without some sort of massive, collective family calendar. Insane. And so risky!

But then, Chica hit middle school and I quickly realized we’d leveled up, activities had become more plentiful, and we needed to keep track of things in a more visible way—for the benefit of the entire family.

Enter: our family whiteboard calendar years:

https://delappenings.blogspot.com/2025/03/big-picture-posts-family-schedule.html?m=1

It was so lovely to utilize a calendar that was located right inside the back door, that the kiddos could see and manipulate at a glance, and that was gloriously color-coded and organized.

Now, hysterically, it took the hubby about a year or so to actually pay attention to and utilize said wall calendar. But when he finally got on board and realized it was full of all sorts of useful and mission-critical information, it was the easiest sell in the world to make the recent decision that we needed something even more sophisticated and useful.

Yup. That’s right. We realized that three kids in three different schools required a super-boosted calendar and made the investment this summer to call out an electrician to hook us up with a new outlet so we could purchase and mount our absolutely fantastic digital calendar:

As kind of an old-school, analog person, I both recognized the necessity of such an upgrade—but felt quite anxious about the change.

I was certain I was going to loathe it.

That I wouldn’t make friends with the digital nature.

That the software might be too complicated or that I’d regret the decision and pine for my simple white-board days of yore.

Yeah…NOPE.

Within about five minutes of playing around with the thing, I knew it was a game-changer.

We can see everything at a glance, color-coded by profile (family member) and broken up into any block of time.

I can book things an entire year (or more!) out, add meal planning, and even take a picture of a paper full of dates, e-mail it to my device and watch all the commitments on said paper magically load onto our master calendar—in seconds.

The corresponding app is now on all family members’ iPhones, and it’s just…amazing.

I’m in love.

Mostly because…life is insanely fully for us in this era and anything—and everything!—that keeps us organized is a GOOD THING.

It well and truly takes me a solid two weeks after the launch of school to clear that backlog of To-Do’s, level up and get my game face on for the year ahead, but…one week in and I already feel like I’m nearly there!

It takes a lot of thought and planning—and sometimes money—to help our crew operate at maximum efficiency. And even then, we sometimes flail or outright flail. That’s just life.

But, every time we level up (like this), I feel a little more capable.

And, let’s be honest: that mental fortitude is more than half the battle!

Happy Monday, peeps!

I’m channeling positive, We Can Do This Vibes and feeling so grateful to have that first school week under our belt.

More catch-up posts, soon!

Over and out.

 

First Day of School—2026/2027!

Okay, peeps.

You know what this means:

We’ve sharpened those pencils, labeled all the folders and organized the crap out of everything we can. Now, all that’s left is to BRACE FOR IMPACT because…

They’ve launched!

One, two, three…all my chickadees made it to school with fresh attitudes and smiles!

Day 1 of our Elementary, Middle and High year is in the books (well, it will be, in about 90 minutes!).

I can’t WAIT to get the unabridged download from all three of them when they make it home! But at least they left my tender, loving care with relative stability, this morning, so…here’s hoping we can keep it that way!

Though, if we’re aiming for stability,  maybe, I shouldn’t have done this:

I’m not crying, you’re crying.

We’ve set such positive intentions for an amazing school year. Here’s hoping we can keep moods light and bright—or, at least, wheather the ups, downs and all arounds with a bit of grace.

Happy First Day of School, peeps!

Over and out.

P.S. Some bonus pics for funsies:

Elementary, Middle & High--Oh My!

Okay, peeps.

Once upon a time, circa 2017 or so, I did some rough calculations and realized two things:

First: I would have two, glorious golden years when all three kiddos would be in the same school!

And, second: I would have one, heinous year when all three kiddos would be in different schools.

Thanks to that realization, I lived up the golden years of the same-school situation in a BIG way. I volunteered a ton. I was present and grateful for the simplicity of the situation and it felt easy to dig in and be really involved and invested.

It was a joyful, elementary time, truly the prime years of my kiddos' collective elementary journey, and I have so many fond memories of that era.

And, now.

It's hard to believe, but we're on the flip side.

Back when I did the rough calculations, this time of life felt so very far away. Eons and lifetimes away. But....you know how it goes: even when the days are long the years are short, and we've already made it to that point. Wild!

So...

Elementary, Middle and High School all in one year...here we come!

I'll share a larger post as we dig into the nitty gritty of Chica launching her High School Journey, but for now, let me just say that our Back-to-School day felt like a whole 24-hour event, ha.

(Not really, but...kind of.)

We started in the morning at the High School with an Orientation Presentation, a Tour and some individual time spent hunting down classrooms.

Then--as terrible luck (or planning, on my part) would have it--we had to race to a Passport Renewal appointment for the whole fam, ha.

Then we rounded out the late/afternoon and early evening with a round at the Elementary School, before popping over to complete the day at the Middle School.

Whew!

That said...we managed to keep moods stable throughout the day and I felt pretty peaceful about it all by the end of the night.

For starters, I'm so proud of Chica and her attitude heading into this big High School transition.

She's exhibited the appropriate amount of excitement and anxiety, and I think it's certainly helped that she's been in steady contact with her friends this summer--and that she had to be on the High School campus for both Choir and Orchestra camps in July. That definitely helped to rip off the bandage and make the process of acclimating to the new school a bit easier.

In fact, she was steady enough after our Orientation and Tour on Thursday that we had a--dare I say?--joyful time trekking all over the academic buildings and learning the lay of the land.

She even approved some fun pics of her in the hallways, and we both enjoyed all the natural light and the windows of the lovely campus.

Thank goodness, Chica has her father's directional capabilities (translation: she can track where she is and read a map, ha). Even when I was all turned around in the hallways, she had it all figured out fairly well--and she's not overly stressed about showing up on Monday and making it to where she needs to go.

Like all my kiddos, I'm absolutely expecting a delayed meltdown in a few weeks' time. That's how it always goes for my crew, when reality sets in and the manic emotions of the school year launch have dissipated a bit. But...we'll handle it as it comes and just stay grateful for the positive momentum we have going!

Next up...Little Man!

Now, he's been a bit interesting this summer (again, a larger post for a later date). Definitely going through some of those mental and maturity growing pains of the early tween years, so his manifestation of school year anxiety has presented as moodiness. :(

Sometimes, I don't quite connect the dots when I'm wondering why he's high, low or somewhere in between, and then, I realize that the root of it has to do with a bit of fear and uncertainty heading into a new school year.

My boy always seems so unshakable and confident and ready to dive into whatever. But he's actually quite a soft soul who feels these transitions just as deeply as the girls.

Needless to say...he had a bit of a moody episode in the hour leading up to his Back-to-School event. And then, once we'd made it to campus and we'd connected with his friends, he was like a whole different child and vibe, and I realized all his crankiness from the hour prior was really just bottled up nerves.

I love my boy and all his moods--even the increasingly challenging ones--and I'm so looking forward to this milestone, 5th-grade year of his. Not to mention, our final child and final year of Elementary! (Again, a whole post for another day!).

And, last, but certainly not least: Chicklet!

Goodness, what to say about my beloved and challenging (these days) middle born????

She had a fantastic academic 6th grade year, but a more complicated social one.

She's grown more in the past 10 months--physically, mentally, and emotionally--than it feels possible for a single child to grow.

It's insane to have pictures appear on my phone that are exactly one year ago today and to acknowledge, right there with photographic evidence, how much she's changed.

I'm not gonna lie: I've earned a lot more grey hair and wrinkles this year as I've navigated Chicklet's growth (again, something for a whole separate, Big Picture post at some point in the near future).

But my hope--and the source of all my prayers--is that Chicklet will vibe and thrive in 7th grade!

In my personal opinion, 7th is the best of the Middle School years, and I have high hopes that it will be a lighter and brighter year for her.

If her own Back-to-School vibe is any indication, we might just have luck on this front.

I didn't even go into the building with her.

I sent her in with Chica and the two of them briefly walked the halls to find some classrooms, and Chicklet's mostly okay with winging it on the first day of school.

She's mastered her contact lenses, she's settled into her (current) sense of style, and she seems more at ease  than even a few months ago, but...if there's one thing I've learned in my journey (so far) of raising tweens and teens, it's this:

Change is the only constant.

So I'm going to do my best to support her and ride out all the changes still to come.

And, hopefully, maintain a shred of sanity while I'm at it!

I love these three crazies of mine SO MUCH.

In fact, I feel like these days, I love them harder than ever--because parenting is so hard.

Not to put too fine a point on it, but...we're definitely not in the golden years era any longer. We're in that long and slightly depressing march toward our children's independence and are focused on instilling morals and strength of character that can withstand the eventually fleeing from the nest.

But I'm a BIG BELIEVER in finding the joy in every season. In appreciating my children for who they are, today, and learning how to bob and weave with the incessant demands of parenting these ever-evolving humans.

We're all a work in progress, amiright?

But I have HIGH HOPES for this landmark Elementary, Middle & High School year.

We're launching with positive 2026-2027 vibes and we're going to do our best to keep things light and bright!

Happy Final Weekend of Summer, peeps!

Over and out. 

P.S. For anyone who's counting, I need to eventually do a post about:

How it feels to be wrapping up Elementary--FOR GOOD.

How Chicklet's growth and change has demanded so much from the entire family this past year.

How Chica is mentally prepping and navigating this big HIGH SCHOOL life transition.

I'll get to all of that...sometime. ;)