Summer MVPs
a good ole fashioned round-up
Where did the summer go?
This is the question I keep asking myself, halfway into August after a chaotic blur of July. Some summers crawl by so slowly, I am limping into the first week of school having aged three years in three months. Other summers whiz by like a bullet train, and somehow we’re already getting emails about teacher assignments and schedules and PTA meetings and WE NEED MORE VOLUNTEER SOCCER COACHES ASAP, even though I swear we just took our kids out to frozen yogurt to celebrate the last day of school like … yesterday.
On the one hand, I am ready to get back into the swing of things. And by swing of things, I mostly mean that one thing where the children have an actual bedtime. On the other hand, I am already grieving the loss of our lackadaisical summer schedule in which (with the exception of a few summer camps) nobody had anywhere to be. For the past ten weeks or so, the general pace of our home has been a family-friendly, PG-version of Netflix and chill.
As of yesterday, I have a 7th grader, a 4th grader, and a kindergartener. I keep waiting to get in my feelings about it, but so far I’ve been an emotional rock. I’ve heard a few renditions of, “can you believe our babies are starting kindergarten?!”—to which I have smiled kindly and said, Yes. Yes, I can believe it. I can believe it because 2019-2024 has felt like 100 years. (Just me?)
I know we still have more summer ahead of us—weather-wise—but once these kids go back to school, summer is dead to me. Alas, I figured now would be a good time to share a round-up of everything we (mostly I) loved this summer.
Summer MVPs:
Noise-canceling headphones — Do I love the sound of my children playing? Sure do. Do I also love to occasionally block out the sound of my children playing (see also: screeching) for the sake of my sanity? Sure do. I’ve had these headphones for almost a year and use them for everything: cleaning, exercising, yard work, taking walks around the neighborhood, etc etc. A year-round favorite, but especially helpful in the summer months when the children are everywhere all of the time.
Floret seeds — For context: I am the type of person who would drop $200 on plants at my local nursery in a moment of spontaneous optimism and kill them within a month. (I wish I was joking). At the beginning of 2024, I promised Brett I would prove myself responsible with the two garden beds we already have before I am allowed to buy any other plants/seeds/gardening items. AND CHECK IT OUT:
Yellow legal pads — The obsession continues. There is nothing quite like summer to take a yellow legal pad into the backyard and see what happens.
Power washer — If you know me even a little bit, you know how much I love to vacuum. And friends, I’m going to let you in on a little secret: power washing is kind of like vacuuming, FOR THE OUTSIDE. 🤯 Why is this so therapeutic? Why is this so satisfying? I don’t know, but if you crank up Olivia Rodrigo in my headphones and set me free on a grimy patio, I’ll be content for hours. Last weekend, I power washed our patio, windows, siding, and all of the furniture—and I swear I burned as many calories as a 75-minute yoga class. I was sore at the end of the day and our yard was SO CLEAN. Win on win on win.
Deleting Instagram — While I wish I could tell you I’ve written 20,000 words this summer during my Instagram sabbatical, that would be a lie. But. But! I am 12 books ahead of my reading goal schedule for 2024. I have done a lot of yoga and grown flowers and decluttered half my house. I have traveled and laughed and taken thousands of photos that only live in my camera roll for now. I have lived a lot this summer—fully present and fully undistracted. And that is no small thing.
What Do You Meme? — The best part of this game is that we let Presley play, even though she can’t read. She plays her cards at random and has genuinely won TWICE. The first time we played this game, I laughed until I had tears streaming down my face and my kids were genuinely shocked that I was even capable of such hilarity.
Disposable cameras — Ironically, I bought these for Italy and ended up taking like … four pictures? Then I brought them to Germany for the Eras Tour (!!!), only to find out you couldn’t bring disposable cameras into the stadium. That was a long preface to simply say: I ended up shooting some random pictures at home with my kids. Most were pretty meh (I should have used the flash more!), but the shots that turned out have a lovely nostalgic vibe …
Compression packing cubes — My mom got these for me a few months ago and I can confirm they are worth the hype. Pre-Italy, I fell into the Internet rabbit hole of watching packing videos on YouTube and I will never be the same.
This backpack — I bought this on sale as a Mother’s Day gift to myself and no exaggeration: it is the best backpack I have ever owned. There are a zillion pockets and the Monica Geller in me is simply delighted every time I pack it because EVERYTHING HAS A PLACE. Plus, it’s pretty! If you’re in the market for a diaper bag or travel backpack, put Azaria on your radar and wait for the holiday sales. (I also have this and wear it almost every day.)
Harvest grain salad — I have been making this salad for years and it’s still a staple favorite in the summer months. We skip the beets and add chicken.
Alani mini energy drinks — Brett and I switched to half caff this year and while the change is definitely helping our overall sleep, some days you need a little SOMETHING to get you through the afternoon. I love love love Alani, makers of my favorite PMS vitamins, and their energy drinks are delicious. However, 200mg caffeine is more than I can handle late in the day (#thisis38). The mini versions are so cute and perfect for me since I can never finish a full can of anything carbonated anyway.
My big dumb cup™️ — Laugh all you want, call me basic, but I used my Stanley every single day this summer. For traveling, I love this Owala bottle!
New beauty faves — TJ’s Brazil Nut Body Butter is the best stuff I have ever put on my body. It smells like vacation, which is my favorite thing to smell like. 10/10 recommend. Also, because I am a sucker for good branding and millennial It Girls, I most definitely bought this shampoo and am a total convert. Bit pricier than my old one, but I only wash my hair twice a week so shampoo lasts me a while. The mask was out of stock but planning to try that next.
Old beauty faves — Time for my quarterly reminder that this vitamin C serum + this (base) sunscreen + this (tinted) SPF is the summer trifecta of my daily face.
Sleep supplements — I had a big goal this summer to Figure Out My Sleep Again and after doing approximately 17 hours of research, have introduced a few new supplements into my sleep regimen. The magical combo that seems to be working: l-theanine plus glycine plus magnesium plus melatonin. The good news? I am (mostly) sleeping a lot better at home. The bad news? When I travel, NONE OF THIS WORKS. Help?
That’s all I’ve got. Your turn. Tell me all your summer MVPs! ✨
Love this round up! Our summer MVP over here has been nostalgic 90's movies and tv shows at night! My 3 girls are big fans of Full House, It Takes Two, Richie Rich, Matilda, etc! We capped off the summer with caboodles filled with butterfly clips, glitter eye shadow, nail polish, and hand lotion! Long live the 90's girls! (And now I might need to throw in a disposable camera!)
I’d love to explore the parents, like me, who have only been parents since 2019. What a time, what a time.
And deleting IG!!! 👏👏👏 YAS! I’ve been off all social media all summer and let me tell you… it has been GLORIOUS! And I find myself not wanting to return! Which is great and partly inspired by you and partly inspired by the Erin Loechner’s Opt Out Family.