September went by QUICK! August felt like it lasted a year, but somehow this month was over in a blink.

Behind the scenes, I’ve been busy working on some new partnerships with personal trainers, while Mike has been job hunting and doing some consulting work. And the school days are over so fast! I swear I drop the boys off, get approximately three things done, and it’s time to pick them up again.

In between all of that, we’ve managed to have some fun too. So here are a few of the little things I’ve been loving lately.

1. My ACOTAR Reread

Like many in the book community right now, I’m almost done with my A Court of Thorns and Roses reread in preparation for Book 6 coming out October 27. How thoughtful of Sarah J. Maas to release the next one three days before my birthday. I know what I’ll be doing that day.

Anyways, I’ve read every book in the series at least three times, but for a handful of my favorites (books 2 & 3), this was my fifth time around. This time I’ve been going back and forth between reading on my Kindle and listening to the Graphic Audio versions, which has made the reread even more fun.

And every time, I’m still kind of blown away by how completely sucked in I get.

There’s something about these books that is special. Maybe they’re laced with drugs, I don’t know. 😂 But I’ve found myself laughing and crying all over again with these characters. New pieces have stuck out to me this time, and I’m picking up on little things that somehow escaped me during all the other rereads.

I know I’m not unique in this. So many people love these books. But these characters mean so much to me. I mean, I have multiple tattoos inspired by this series, so clearly we’re well beyond “I really liked these books.”

They say you can live a thousand lives through fiction, and I really feel that. I find myself feeling more grateful for Mike. Pushing myself to get in one extra rep because Nesta wouldn’t give up on those stairs. Feeling more hopeful about what I can make of my own life because I’ve spent so much time with characters who keep going when shit gets hard.

Maybe it’s the world building, the depth of the characters, or just the way you get so invested in their lives. Whatever it is, five reads later, I’m enjoying these books just as much as I did the first time.

2. My Current Breakfast Sandwich

If you’ve been here awhile, you know I eat pretty much the same breakfast every single day. I do this for two reasons: 1.) so I don’t have to think too hard, and 2.) it fits perfectly into my macros and keeps me full until lunch.

But…after awhile, things do start to get a little old.

So I’ve switched it up a bit. I mean, not really. But now I’m eating the various components as a sandwich and on a new type of bread: English muffins. It’s different enough to keep me excited.

So, here’s my newest combo: a whole grain English muffin with light cream cheese, a bit of arugula, chicken sausage, 1 egg + egg whites, a small scoop of cottage cheese, and cherry tomatoes.

On repeat until I get sick of it.

3. The Boys Playing Independently

Lately something is shifting in our house in the sense that we’ve had several weeks now where the boys seem content to play without us for, like, HOURS at a time.

They’re 8 & 10, so this shouldn’t necessarily be a surprise, but our 10-year-old is Autistic/ADHD, so we’ve had to stay involved a lot longer than most parents and he requires a lot more support. But all kids mature, even neurodivergent ones, so it’s been so strange to suddenly get a couple of hours on the weekends to do…nothing?

Mike and I have found ourselves looking at each other like, what the heck are we supposed to be doing right now? We’ve never had pockets of time like this. Ever. So it’s actually been sort of a struggle to use this newfound time for anything productive.

My brain goes directly to “READ”, and Mike’s goes to “video games”, when really it probably needs to be, “What can we do to prepare for this massive life change we’re about to make next May?”

In any case, we are enjoying the extra downtime, if you can call it that. Each one of these independent play sessions does usually come to an abrupt end because someone got hurt or they’re fighting, but I’ll take it.

4. My Cool Whip Obsession

Y’all, WE LISTEN AND WE DON’T JUDGE. I’m being very vulnerable here putting this out there, but alas, I’m going to be brave.

I think I might have a Cool Whip addiction.

No seriously, I don’t know what has gotten into me, but for every single after-dinner treat I want Cool Whip with a side of something else. Cool Whip isn’t even real food. I mean, it kind of is, but I feel like it leans more on the side of science experiment with no nutritional value other than joy.

It started with my Berry Crisp hyperfixation and now I’m just onto the Cool Whip alone. Frozen, of course. I think I love it because it reminds me of ice cream cake icing, and that’s one of my favorite things on the planet.

Anyways, I told Mike the other day that my dream is to one day just sit and eat a whole tub of Cool Whip…and he said he could respect that, so…

5. World Market Dates with Griffin

When Griffin is in the mood, he can be the best shopping companion. He loves looking at clothes, books, toys of course, but recently one of our favorite things to do together is go to World Market.

We can spend quite a while in there looking at all the different foods from various countries and picking out things to try. We get candy, cookies, canned goods, sodas, condiments, various pasta shapes, you name it. It’s especially fun since we watch The Amazing Race as a family, so there’s some context there for him to connect with when we find foods from places we’ve seen on the show.

I hadn’t been in a World Market in YEARS until we popped in one day to see if we could find some British canned beans, and now he asks to go at least every other week. They have such fun stuff in there! Highly recommend bopping around with your kiddos and having fun trying new foods together.

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September, you were fast but you were good to us. I’m heading into October with a very full month ahead, including our Disney trip and my 40th birthday, so I have a feeling the next Little Things will have plenty to talk about.

Until then, I’ll be over here eating frozen Cool Whip and rereading ACOTAR.

As always, if you’re looking for something from a past Little Things post, I’ve organized and linked as much as possible over on my Amazon storefront so it’s easier to find everything in one place.

Here’s the link: Amber Frauenholtz’s Amazon Page