August was a full month in my house, probably because my oldest started school, real, leave the house school. After much prayerful consideration this is where my son will be able to flourish this year. Of course I had to sit down and review

1. Only a crazy person decides that a 2+ hour drive to a zoo is a good idea when there is an almost 2-year-old in the car! Granted there were tons of claps and shouts of joy while at the zoo.  And as a bonus lesson, it is always quicker to drive home than to drive somewhere new. 
2. There is NEVER anything good on TV in the middle of the afternoon, especially on the weekends.  Granted I am not a sports on TV kind of person, so I realize many people would disagree with this statement. And this was a lesson I knew before, which is why we have been without cable for years, but still it was a lesson relearned this month as I desperately wanted to sit still for an hour in the middle of the weekend and allow my brain a break... just didn't happen with the TV.
3. I feel like a better "school mom" than an "all the time mom" - I have struggled daily with keeping my kids going all day, on a schedule where I feel like I'm pouring the right amount into them. And by struggle I mean, my energy reserves were gone by 11:00am daily. Now with one in school for a few short hours a day (only four) I can pour into one, then pour into the other after school and accomplish what I set out to do. 
4. Boys just play HARD. ALL. THE. TIME. (Really don't think this needs explained, but if you are not a boy mama, my laundry skills are tried weekly with their stains, my furniture serves as battle stations hourly, and my level for blood tolerance has to get better!)
5. With time, you really can build up endurance.  When my husband and I were engaged we used to run together - well he would run and would struggle to keep him within site as I puffed slowly behind. After spending a full year pushing myself to run regularly, testing my speed and endurance weekly, I am glad to say that my jog matches his jog. Personally this is a big lesson, because I've been asthmatic my whole life, and never really pushed myself often because of fear over attacks... guess that fear has been faced.
6. Putting women in a room together for a day with cameras on means that most will not sing when prompted... and for the most part I was one of them... I might have mouthed along a couple of times to some, but really those cameras just make you act different!  (I had the priveledge to go to the Women Living Well conference with some close friends, and Courtney had it recorded so she could share it with her blogging world!  So check it out...) As a bonus, I will be sharing my review of Courtney's upcoming book, Women Living Well, soon!
7. Shooting manual is hard, harder than even I thought.  I've been taking pictures, semi-professionally all summer, and decided to shoot in manual to get many of the shots of kids I want.  With my kids at home I found manual to be a challenge but not too hard. Then I had a session with clients, and that manual mode almost kicked my butt!  A humble lesson in the need to keep learning your craft here.
8. Trusting God's timing is hard, really hard. Even once you've been given a clear path to flow and the command to act, there is still a challenge with trusting His timing.