Holy October!

Dang y’all, it’s already starting to feel like Fall here, in Dallas! I would say bring out the pumpkin spice latte, but still love my chai so let’s get started chatting!

Honestly, it’s been such a weird September for us. In many ways it was good because we started getting into a new schedule and rhythm of things, but it was still just another hard month.

We ultimately decided to switch to in-person school. It was obviously not an easy decision, especially considering we have newborn twins at home. But we’re trying to do what’s right for each individual child. While the decision was hard, I think we feel prepared with the precautions and in place at home with immunity boosters and at school.

With the big three in school every day now, I have a lot more time to dedicate to work. There has been so much internal and back end work that we’ve been taking care of here, at Chatting with Chai.

I had a very clear vision when I started this blog. I knew my niche and was dedicated to creating content. Then we moved, had so many health challenges in the family, and when I finally got the kids settled, I got pregnant with the second set of twins. And just when I thought I could focus on this blog and work, the pandemic hit us.

I know there’s no such thing is normal now because life won’t go back to the way it was for a long time, but we recently had our first nice, normal weekend as a family of seven. We were just home, we had no visitors, and we didn’t go on an adventure. It was just a very nice experience after all that we’d been going through.

This space and time when the big three are at school has really been helpful to me in some sort of healing. The amount of noise and sensorial excitement in the house has decreased for five hours in a day; and that has been a much needed break. And the kids of course love seeing people other than me and Sanj!

What I’m Reading

So I finally finished reading this very popular book about the Holocaust. I don’t know why I expected a happy ending, as if there was going to be some closure. It was hard to get through, not just because of the subject, but I guess I knew what was coming at the end.

It’s like this book from the point of view of a dog. They actually made it into a movie. It’s such a good book and movie but when you realize the ending, you kind of just don’t want to hear it. That’s when you know it’s a good book, honestly. You get so emotionally invested.

What I’m Watching on Netflix

Did you guys see this adventure to Mars on Netflix yet? It’s like we’re watching a movie, but in segments; it doesn’t feel like a show. There’s a lot of surprising elements, suspense, drama, factual information so even though it’s a science movie, it doesn’t feel like it. I felt full invested in the characters and their development. I would highly recommend you go watch it!

What Podcast I’m Listening to

I started listening to these podcasts on helping your children. Our kids are finally back at school and it’s a big adjustment for them and I see changes in them that I wasn’t sure how to handle. This podcast is by a mom that talks about raising differently wired children.

This one is by a medical professional that focuses particularly on raising the child that’s having a tough time. It came highly recommended in the Autism, ADHD, and SPD communities, which we fall into as two of our kids have separate special needs. If you have a child that either has any of those diagnoses or you feel like they might, I would suggest listening to this podcast; it’s changed how we parent significantly.

What Project I’m Working on

Like I mentioned above, we have been working behind the scenes on Chatting with Chai, into the wee hours of the night to improve site stats and enhance user experience. I cleaned up the FREE Resource Library, archived a bunch of posts that didn’t really pertain to the brand image I am going for.

October is a big month for us. Our first set of twins will be 4 and our second set will be 6m. And in the time that I walked into that hospital alone to sitting here, on this swing, watching the big kids play with chalk and bubbles outside, I can say I am not sure how the time passed so quickly or what we even did to fill the time.

Until next month… stay well, friends.