Looking Forward to Fall...

I love Fall, Autumn, the season after summer, etc, etc. It's my favourite. Always has been.

Though as a mom I have gained a serious appreciation for the other months, especially summer, and though I'm not wishing it away at all...(in fact we're squeezing as much summer fun in as possible), still... I'm really looking forward to fall :)

Firstly because my baby girl is due to arrive in early October and I'm so excited to be having a fall baby (the boys are all winter babies). As much as I'm trying to enjoy this last pregnancy, it's been one of the hardest. I had more morning sickness than the 3 boys combined, I've had serious swelling from the summer heat, which has left me with gestational carpel tunnel in my arms and hands (I had never even heard of this until this summer) which seriously interferes with my sleep, and I've had a couple serious infections requiring antibiotics. I have been and continue to TRY and enjoy this beautiful season of my life, but it's a serious effort some days, especially during the blast of heat we had for a chunk of the summer. So in a sense, for me fall is the season when I meet my girl and when this discomfort will start to fade too :)

Another reason I'm looking forward to it is because we started school today, and it's always a bit of a challenge with the boys when they know it's still summer. In the fall, the cooler temps and shorter days seem to make the transition easier, for all of us.

Finally, I'm looking forward to it because I adore the season. The smells, the sounds, the colours, the temperature, the fact that kids go to school, the school buses, the start of the hustle and bustle of all the special holidays that we celebrate in the last 1/4 of the year.  This year I hope to be on the ball in September so I can participate in this...

For the past 3 years I've enjoyed this series from the inspired room, and hope to partcipate in my own way even this year, though it will probably be a challenge.

This Fall nesting party inspires me to get started (at least to come up with a plan). I love decorating my house all year to highlight the seasons and celebrations around us, but I'm especially inspired in the fall. This year I am super excited to figure out how to use these babies in my decor... 

Ii found a whole basket of them on the side of the road in the trash - SCORE.

I like to ease into fall decor Sept. 1st by taking down the summerish stuff, clearing out the dying vegetation on the front steps (etc), dusting and de-cluttering the inside of the house, and putting out a few pretty things to start. Then I add in the hardcore fall stuff, in Oct I add the pumpkins, near the end I add in a few spooky things for Halloween, and then gradually take it all down as I start the Christmas decor by mid  November... that's how I roll. With a new baby in our Homeschooling House, I'm expecting some delays and hiccups, but if I'm organized, it should still be manageable, maybe? 

Anyways, I'm looking forward to fall... are you?