A LOT with Audra

Ep28
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Introduction and Summer Plans Recap
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​[00:00:00]

Audra Dinell: Hey, welcome back to a lot with Audra. Okay. It has been so fun to hear your feedback on our team's summer episode. If you haven't heard it already, it's gonna be episode 19. And what our team did back in May was we sat down and we talked all about how we had planned to do are summers between work and parenting and travel, all the good, bad, and the ugly.

Well, today is the reckoning and we are going to come in and give you an update on how it's going. [00:01:00] So far. You all know best laid plans are best laid plans, and so today we're each going to chime in and give a summer update on how our big plans for this summer are going. Kendra and Kristen. Hello. Welcome.

Hello.

Kristen's Summer Reflections
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Audra Dinell: Okay, Kristen, we are gonna kick off with you back in May. You shared your summer plans. How's it going so far?

Kristen Selby: Yeah, so I went back and listened to that episode because I was just really hoping I didn't say anything that was gonna hold me too accountable today. But I was pleasantly surprised. So when you said best laid plans, I actually have that here in my notes.

I think in the last episode I said something like, I was being curious about this season because it was. A season where I felt like I was gonna continue the pace of growing and scaling my business and, you know, my kids were gonna be with my husband mostly. And it was going to be just the typical work season summer for me.

And it has been a slower, softer, more tender summer than I think [00:02:00] I've ever had. Just because of some of the personal things that I've been. Going through, so my mom is really sick and so she's in kinda her final stages of life. And so I have been traveling to Texas. We've gone six times this year.

To see her and be with her and just in that context of holding grief, I feel like I've learned. So much about self-compassion and the pace with which I run my business in my household and how, as much as we want it to be, like what we want it to be and have control over it, like, sometimes we have to just take it day by day.

So it's been so much slower than I think I had expected, but I've been so thankful for it. It's been a, a season of beauty too. And so on the business side, I feel like I've really stepped back from, you know, a lot of things and I haven't pushed, like sales and marketing as much as I thought I would in my own business.

And then with the thread, we've, you know, definitely kind of scaled back on, [00:03:00] you know, in-person meetings and even, you know, showing up to certain workshops I've really had to like, take space and honor some of the, the things that I'm, I'm working through. And so. All that to say connection was my goal with each one of my kids.

And I've been so proud of how I have connected with each one of them still through this, but I've been mostly proud of how I've connected to myself, and that was such a, it's been such a gift and a surprise. So years ago I read Kristen Neffs. Fierce self-compassion. And I like checked it off my list and I was like, oh yeah, I can give myself grace and hard seasons.

I can go easy on myself. But what I'm realizing is I don't think I've ever truly practiced self-compassion like her. She has three steps that you go through. And so I truly am waking up this summer and just asking myself like, what do I need in this season? And that has helped me kind of detach from productivity and in turn, our household we're just spending a lot of time [00:04:00] just being together.

Mm-hmm. And that has felt just really beautiful and simple and slow. So I am proud of how the summer's gone. It is not what I thought it would be, but it's been so good and, and like truly such a gift. And I think just learning about you know, my achiever brain, how to offset that when, when, you know, hard times come up in our life, how to offset that.

Like my worth is in productivity and achieving. I. And just allowing myself like a softer time. I kind of want every summer to be like this, you know? And so I'm kind of, you know, that's been a question mark too, like how can I structure my life so that summer can be soft because this feels really beautiful.

Audra Dinell: Mm.

Kristen Selby: Yeah.

Audra Dinell: Well, and I just wanna, I don't know if compliment you is the right word, but. Walking through you in this season. You just do it so connected to yourself and so beautifully. [00:05:00] So thank you. And it's not like when you say you are choosing not to like push the gas pedal on sales and marketing as much as you thought you were.

Your businesses still. Sustaining well. Mm-hmm. It's not backsliding, it's just not growing at the same rate. It grew in maybe quarter one, in the first part of quarter two. Right. Intentionally. And you're, from what I've heard from you, taking time to like work on that foundational

Kristen Selby: Right. I am excited for the fall.

I think there's a gift in slowing down so that you can speed up when you're ready really intentionally. And so we are. You know, digging into systems and processes that I, I'm excited to see, like, put into place like a marketing plan that I really haven't had anything super formal before.

We're creating a services guide. We're redoing our website, and so I think like the backend systems work feels really aligned with the softer season. And so that, that has also been good. Yeah.

Audra Dinell: I'm surprised to hear that this is your softest summer ever, because [00:06:00] it has felt to me like you've had a lot of soft, like soft summers have been what you have had, so that, that's surprising to me.

Kristen Selby: I think I'm just being more tender with myself. Mm-hmm. I think even when like, it life looks soft and, you know, it wasn't like I was, you know, doing the hustle and grind thing, I was still like holding myself to some sort of standard of like, Hey, we're gonna make this summer. You know, look really good, or we're gonna have these big trips or we're, and I've just kind of lowered the bar.

I almost feel like it's when you have a newborn and you have to lower the bar on everything. I feel like because of this grief that's running in the background, this anticipatory grief, I have lowered the bar for myself and for my people. And like the world's not falling apart. We're doing okay. We're just taking a day to day.

And I think that's what I mean when it's been softest, I've been tender. I think I'm very patient with the people in my world, but I'm, I can be very impatient with myself and in the summer I have really been trying to intentionally practice just loving myself well.

Audra Dinell: Mm-hmm. [00:07:00] You're amazing. Yeah.

Kendra Moody: It's almost like you, you've always given everyone else in your life a soft summer or your kids Yes.

That's it. And now you're finally like, wait. I get a soft summer too. So what does that mean for me?

Kristen Selby: Yeah. Like we're included. Yeah. Yeah. Moms can do that too, right? Mm-hmm.

Audra Dinell: Yeah. Okay.

Kendra's Summer Realizations
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Audra Dinell: Kendra, how about you? How is your summer going so far?

Kendra Moody: The summer's going well. I remember at the beginning of summer I spent some time in Canva and created this beautiful moody schedule.

Audra Dinell: Mom

Kendra Moody: camp Mom camp mom camp. That has been followed, maybe not even one time.

Audra Dinell: Okay. That's surprising to me. I know because your kid,

Kendra Moody: like your kids get on board with those things it seems, it seems typically, it seems typically that they do and I have tried, so my goal was to have like this schedule of the day where there's these certain things we do that are.

Hygiene focused, like brush our teeth and, [00:08:00] and that we do so relatable. So we do do those most days. But then from there it was like, okay, if you're gonna want screen time and if you're gonna want switch time, you have to read, you have to do math sheets, you then you're gonna help with chores around the house.

And I feel like my intentions were good there. I know that they were. However, I'm starting to learn that. While my boys like some structure, too much structure is really not our friend. And I think my goal also was to have a fun summer with my boys. Mm-hmm. And my boys don't view structure as fun.

And so we there's been very few days that we've followed that and I think it's been more of a, Hey, can we watch a movie? And then I would say, oh, have you read yet? No. Okay, let's all go read. So I read these three series of books this summer, which were like the kind of romance comedy, and I just really got into them.

And so I [00:09:00] noticed that Meyer would always say, I don't like reading. But now if I'm sitting down reading, he'll go grab his book and sit and read with me. Mm. And so it's kind of been fun to be like, oh, hey, I thought that I would make you all read so that I could get work done, but instead I'll find that if I'm sitting there reading, they come and read with me.

So it was just like a perspective shift on, I thought that we were gonna follow that schedule so that I could have some me time. But in reality, like we've done some of the things together more. Naturally instead of like on a schedule by routine. The other thing that I've learned is that I'm just not in a season where my boys like each other.

The big two. Yeah. And it's a lot of togetherness. The three of us, we've had lots of one on two time, so there's been lots of big emotions. Lots of fighting. Meyer ended up moving downstairs to [00:10:00] his own bedroom one day. He's not slept down there fully by himself yet. Like they, they still love each other enough to need each other to depend on one another to sleep.

But like during the day, I feel like it's been a beautiful thing for him to have his own space. And so I'm just, I think this summer has been a great lesson in being realistic about the expectations that I have for myself and my family on, I thought by the end of the summer, they're gonna be best friends.

They're gonna love each other, they're not gonna fight. Mm-hmm. And that is just not realistic. I think that they have an appreciation for each other and they've, we've, because we've had so much time together, we've learned language around. Okay. When is he about, had enough or how can we talk through things better?

This is also kind of our first summer here in this house, all together in this neighborhood. And so there's been some emotions around that. Missing old [00:11:00] friends making new friends. So it, it has been like there's been some really great highs. We've done lots of impromptu swim nights at my parents' house.

Both, both of my parents have pools and so we'll go over there one night after church, or we went over one night at like seven or eight o'clock, which is usually our bedtime. But I took the big two to go swimming. And so it's been fun to do some of those things. Last night we went over to the neighborhood, next to us, their pool with some friends, and so just saying yes to more of those.

And I've worn my swimsuit and gotten in the water every time. Has your hair gotten wet? That my question. My hair has, yeah. Well that's why I'm in a ponytail today 'cause my hair has gotten wet. Okay. Yeah. So claps to you. Yeah. Thank you. So I have noticed that like I am embracing more, more play with them and that has been a lot of fun.

I think what this summer has taught me is that.

Embracing Flexibility and Fun
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Kendra Moody: [00:12:00] The role that is most important to me right now in this season of my life is being a mom. And I think in previous seasons, I feel like that has always been important to me, but I don't know that my actions showed it.

Mm. And so in other seasons, work or other priorities would get. My attention first and then whatever was left over would go to my family and I would resent it and be tired and grouchy and just not show up the best mom. But this summer I've really been able to almost kind of flip that on its head, and I'm able to give my energy to being a mom first, which was all of our intention this summer with the kids.

And what I have found is that then they get the best of me. And when I. Feel like I'm in a good spot, being a mom, and then I'm get to shift my energy to work that I love. I'm so excited about doing it. Work doesn't get the worst of me. I'm excited and energized because I've showed up as a [00:13:00] great mom and I'm able to give my attention that I want to prioritize to my kids.

Then I get excited to be like, okay. Now I get to focus on work for a little bit because everything here feels so great and so, so solid. So I feel like that's just been something that I've learned and have really appreciated about the summer. And I too, like I can't believe we're a month away from school starting.

Like, yes, I'm excited for that and I'm kind of excited for next summer too, to apply some of these things. But I, think it has just taught me that. In this season, while the boys are young, being a mom has to be where the priority is for my energy. And then filling the rest with things that I love to do is so exciting and I feel like my cup is very full.

Audra Dinell: I feel like this is why it's so important to. Have a vocation or [00:14:00] have work that does fill you up mm-hmm. In some way or that you are passionate about or just not hate, you know, you think? Yeah. Yeah. Because it's like if you were to focus on motherhood first, you know, than work could feel like a drag.

Mm-hmm. Yeah. So I just really love the way you've said that, that your work still get, it's not hurting your work. Mm-hmm. To focus. Your best, highest energy on motherhood. Yeah. Because then you feel excited to jump in.

Kendra Moody: Yeah, and I mean just because it, I am able to give my full energy to my family doesn't always mean that like it's beautiful.

Mm-hmm. In some days it's like, mm-hmm. Oh my gosh, I am so excited. For them to turn, I'm gonna let them watch two movies today because I am so excited to go downstairs by myself and work. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. So it, it is, it's one of those things where I feel like just putting that first allow allowed me to [00:15:00] really appreciate that, but then look forward to getting able to do.

What I love to do,

Audra Dinell: and it reminds me, Kristen, of how you've typically spent your summers where you prioritize connection first in the morning and then the afternoon you are productive at work and the kids. Everyone feels fulfilled. Mm-hmm. And~ just remind me ~

Kristen Selby: ~of that. Yeah. Mm-hmm. For sure. And ~I also love what you said, you try to say yes to things.

I think that, I mean, even the small things, to me, summer feels like a great time to break some rules, right? Yeah. So we're gonna stay up later. We're going to eat ice cream before dinner, you know? Mm-hmm. And I think kids respond to that so well usually Yeah. Like, oh wow, mom said yes. So I try to keep that in my mind, like I wanna say yes to as much as I can, right?

Of course you have to say no sometimes, but. In the summer, it feels like, like a good container for saying yes more.

Kendra Moody: I feel like though if the boys were here, they'd be like, I call BS on that. She doesn't say yes, but I, I do feel like, like I have said yes to more things [00:16:00] and there are more, like, it just, it's almost like the rules, there are no rules for summer.

Like there's not the boundaries that you have to be at school. By eight. You have to do this. And so since there aren't those things, every day you have the freedom to say yes to more and do fun

things,

Kristen Selby: but do not splash my face. Right. True. Boundaries. Boundaries. Yeah. Andrew, Andrew and I went swimming with our boys.

Yes. Or at, in the beginning of the summer and it was not a day where we wanted our hair wet.

Kendra Moody: Right. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And they didn't listen. But I mean, that's okay.

Audra Dinell: No one is surprised. ~Okay, ~

Kendra Moody: ~so ~tell us about your, your summer. W

Balancing Work and Family
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Kendra Moody: ell, I

Audra Dinell: feel like I am the yes mom to a fault. Like, I feel like that's, I more leaned to, yes.

So like, even literally on Monday night, like, here's what I've loved about my kids' summer. The kids in the neighborhood have always played, but they're playing really well this summer probably because of their ages. And you know, one neighbor will travel for a week and then come back and everyone's. So happy.

And from like seven to nine, the kids have been out riding bikes, riding scooters, just playing [00:17:00] soccer this week. It's been Nerf battles in our front yard, which I love. And so we've let bedtime kind of slip back and the kids have ended up in our bed a lot of nights, and I am just the yes mom, like on Monday.

They nerfed until nine. And then we were like, okay, let's get in the bath. And then I was like, you know what, Andy's is having a special on ice cream. Do y'all wanna go get ice cream? I know. And Corey's like, what? And I'm like, yeah, it's fine. You stay here, we'll be back at 9:00 PM Yes. I know, but that's like my mom mo.

Yeah. And so for me, like your mom camp, I was like, okay, that's my stretch. Like I'm gonna have a mom camp this summer. So. What I had planned at the beginning of the summer was to really batch my W weeks, so I would have a week or two or three with them where I was essentially not working, and then I will have work weeks where the kids are in camp this week that we're recording.

The kids are in camp. I will say I have fallen in love with this system. Mm-hmm. For my brain, it's a little easier to be black and white [00:18:00] like I am working, I am on, I'm productive. I can let my ideas flow, or I'm putting that hat aside and I'm being present. Mom, I am. Helping them develop their character because I'm present.

Like I think about the times where they have had struggles and my kids go to a leader in me school and so they use the Stephen Covey principals just like in everyday school life. And so they know when I say What's a win-win, what that means. And so it's really been helpful for me as a parent. I like have language that they already hear from other adults in school, so I feel like I have been able to.

Be a mom that is able to be a little bit more slow and help them find win-wins instead of maybe habits that I have of like, Hey, stop doing that. That's annoying your brother, you know, letting them try and work it out until I feel like I need to step in and offer some, like scaffolding by [00:19:00] asking a question or whatnot.

So I've loved that system so much. In fact so much I'm like, okay, how do I do this more during the fall? Yeah, I obviously, our kids are in school during the fall, but I'm like, I really like this on off. Batch type of work. And so I wanna figure out a way to incorporate it.

Balancing Work and Summer Aspirations
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Audra Dinell: I will say though, during the summer, I had this list of things I wanted to do that were not aspirational for work, but they were more non-operational, not work that like has to be done, like social media posts have to go out.

We've been consistent for five years, three posts a week, three different platforms. That for me is operational work right now. I have been able to complete all of that. I haven't been able to get to any of that, like work on my keynote speech or finish this course that I'm taking on podcasting.

And realistically it's just not happening with the limited work that I'm doing this summer. So that is something that [00:20:00] I'm taking into consideration for future summers. But, yeah, business feels like it's surviving for sure, but we're not doing the things I want to do to be able to thrive. So that's like just a real thing that I'm giving myself grace around.

And like you said, Kristen, it's like if I want my summers to feel softer, okay, how can I structure, you know, the outside of summer more maybe so that I can just continue to make it more. Soft next year.

Navigating Summer Challenges
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Audra Dinell: I will say though, the first six weeks of summer went like so well and I was feeling so confident in this new system for myself that this week I slipped back into my lifetime habit of like overpacking stuff.

And so this week on Sunday, I could just feel it like I started prepping for the work week and I'm excited. But I'm snapping at my kids, like I'm just shorter. I'm just even like every single day. This week we're recording this on a Wednesday, there has been something, a miscommunication about who's taking the kids to camp or [00:21:00] kids fighting in the morning and me getting dysregulated, and so I'm like, okay.

The first half went so great and then this week is just feels like, I don't know what's up, but I do know that it has to do with me, like just overpacking it. So that's something I always have to be really, really cautious of. It's kind of like those, you know, people who, not those people, not like, we haven't all been these people, but when someone has a vacation coming up and they're like gonna leave on a Friday, so then they cram like 60 hours of work into Monday through Thursday, and you're like, wait, that's not.

Kind of the point, you know, that's how this week feels to me, right? So I've gotta readjust a little bit. But I do think what I have learned about myself through this experience is just that I can do this present, slow motherhood, and be a productive, ambitious. Business owner, and it's not that that's like new information to me, but it's just like that belief.

Mm-hmm. [00:22:00] I've strengthened that belief of like, yes, I can do both. And just that belief in myself of like, I get to do it my own way and if I choose to do it in a way that works for me and maybe not a way that works for most people, eight to five, Monday through Friday. You know, every week of the year, consistent.

Then it, it's more fun for my brain. So I feel like I'm always thinking about like, what is the minimum that we need to do? Like, what is that? What's our goal and how can we make it fun and simple? So it's just been, it's been a good, a really good summer so far. I will say. We have put Remy in some extra camps, my oldest because he's wanted two, so that surprised me a little bit.

But that's been great because my youngest and I have had some one-on-one time and I'm still not working during those weeks. But, you know, Remy's asking to go to this camp that he loves and so I know it's great for him. And it gives [00:23:00] Mary and ice in one-on-one time.

Memorable Summer Moments
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Kristen Selby: I've seen so much joy in you this summer.

Mm-hmm. And I know I've shared that with you offline, but I just see that having that extra bandwidth translates into just like you're radiating, you know, and like just, yeah. You just, you seem peaceful and joyful, and I know joy is one of your values, so that has to feel so aligned.

Audra Dinell: It felt a line until this week.

Kristen Selby: Yeah. There's something really like strange about passing that July 4th during the summer. Right. My mindset typically needs a

Audra Dinell: mm-hmm.

Kristen Selby: A, a tweaking. That

Audra Dinell: could be it too. Could that be part of it through Yeah.

Kristen Selby: It's not novel anymore. Right. That could, could be a part of it. I'm sure that's part of it. Our school

Kendra Moody: sent out like the school school supply list this week.

Oh yeah. So it almost feels like. It's you, you went from getting into the rest to now, like you're still wanting to rest, but then you're preparing for what's to come this fall. So it, it is, it's kind of [00:24:00] it, I can see where it would take a lot of intention to be like, wait, we are still in the resting season.

We are still in the slow summer, even though we can see the busy fall coming up or the things that, you know, we're, we're going to implement and look forward to.

Audra Dinell: Yeah. You have like one foot in both worlds. Right. I think that's a huge part of it for sure. ~We did a fun countdown with my kids where they had 83 days of summer break, and so we split it into 41 or the first half, 41 or the second half, and then, you know, there's a, there's an in between day and 4th of July was the start of the second half of my kids' break.~

~Okay. Yeah. So I do think you're right. It's like. ~When I try to mold my external factors to help support me and the goals I have, that is helpful. But I always notice the work is internal. Mm-hmm. Like the work is in my thoughts, the work is in grounding myself. It's just, you cannot get away from that internal work.

Mm-hmm. And it's like, that's not the work I wanna do sometimes, you know, I just wanna a schedule that's gonna fix things, so, what has been the most expected or memorable moment of your summer so far?

Kristen Selby: So I was thinking about this and what I wanted to share is like. Immediately what came to mind was we went to Silver [00:25:00] Dollar City and my kids loved it.

They were at the perfect age. I mean, we were there when the park opened and we stayed till the park closed, and we were on like roller coasters most of the time. They were all three of them, which was kind of a surprise. Seth kind of, it took him some time to warm up to it, but all three of them just were these little adrenaline junkies, and so we had.

Such a wild and fun day. And that whole trip was really beautiful. So that was the first thing that came to my mind. 'cause it was like a big thing. But I think when I look back over the summer, what I'm gonna remember are those slow mornings of connection. Like we've been gathering around our kitchen counter and doing jigsaw puzzles every morning.

And so we've done three now and the kids all kind of pitch in and we have coffee and breakfast and we just talk and. We have this neighborhood cat that comes and visits every morning. So the kids feed this cat and we sit on the porch and it's just slow and there's nothing that we have to do. And that feeling feels really good.

We go on, walks up to the park. My kids are learning [00:26:00] independence. And so they'll walk up to the park or they'll go get us coffee or donuts it just. Feels very it's what I wanted the summer to feel like. I think I'm gonna look back and that's gonna be memorable. Just those slow mornings where we're not like, okay, get your shoes on, get your backpack, go to school.

That's what makes it feel like a successful summer to me.

Summer Activities and Family Time
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Audra Dinell: And I will say I have to jump in Camp Weeks for me are like. Get your shoes on, get your backpacks on. My kids don't have to be at camp at any certain time. My oldest wants to be there when they open at seven 30. My gosh. Which is early.

Kendra Moody: Yeah,

Audra Dinell: like for our family school starts at nine, so I'm like, yeah, we'll be there by nine. But no, he wants to be there before that because they get like. They do a certain thing in between seven 30 and nine when camp opens. And so I do think that's one thing I dislike about Camp Weeks and when my oldest wants to do extra camps, you know, that is a part of our mornings.

And so that has, has felt, different. But when I don't have something scheduled that early, then it's like I can [00:27:00] be more relaxed as I'm getting him out the door. Even if he wants to get out early and I have to say, no, we have to brush our teeth. You know, we have to do this, we have to do that. It does make a difference.

A huge difference. Different energy. Total different energy.

Kendra Moody: Yeah. I think my favorite moments have been just us reading together. That's the one that sticks out as kind of like the thing that I feel like has shifted for our family. But I would say like the most fun and unexpected moment was this 4th of July.

So my boys are not fans of loud, big noises and love the fourth, but like poppers, smoke bombs are about the extent of our 4th of July fireworks until this year. So we have a tradition every year. We take my younger sister. And go get dinner and then go shop for fireworks. And this year they were so excited.

After that we came home and shot them all off.

Kristen Selby: [00:28:00] Mm.

Kendra Moody: And then, so we also go out to Garden Plane the day of the fourth, and our boys have never wanted to stay late for fireworks. Well, they ended up staying two nights. They stayed the night twice out there, but they were out there with their punks by themselves lighting off.

Parachutes and big fountains. And so it was just so neat to finally see them love getting to do that, and just the excitement of the smoke bomb going off or the poppers throwing them at each other. So that was really a sweet thing. And my husband and I were talking about how much like we love Christmas.

Love the season of that holiday, but now with this summer, we're like, wait a second. We love the season of the 4th of July, and I feel like the second half of June, up until then, like when you see the tent start coming up, you see like all of the America stuff everywhere. Like we just, I feel like we've finally started to be like, wait.

[00:29:00] This is our, like summer Christmas, we love to set in the 4th of July for like a full week and do festivities. And I, I feel like the boys really enjoyed this for the first year.

Audra Dinell: You know, this was my boys' first year really getting into the fourth too. Yeah. We've spent the last several in Colorado and you can't do fireworks there.

Oh.

Kendra Moody: Yeah.

Audra Dinell: Mini mountain towns have a big firework show. Yeah. But it was surprising and fun and just like a whole day of festivities. And Remy of course put a business plan together for how he was gonna, you know, raise $30,000 to buy, fireworks next year. Wow. Because Corey and I told him we'd match whatever he saved.

Mm-hmm. Or, you know, earned so $60,000 firework show next year. Okay. I mean, that is a big

Kendra Moody: firework

Audra Dinell: show, but you know, like they really

Kendra Moody: got into it and it was so fun. So, and it's really neat to see them, like it's something that they like, I mean our Meyer is nine, so he's had several fourth of Julys, but for some reason something [00:30:00] this year, and I don't know if it's like the independence, but just he was so excited and they were reading like, okay, what do these fireworks do and how loud will this get?

And does this, so it, it is something clicked. I wonder if it's their age since they're the same age. Yeah, could be. But yeah, they just finally. Really got into it.

Kristen Selby: Mm.

Audra Dinell: So

Kendra Moody: fun.

Audra Dinell: We have enjoyed many slow mornings and both of my kids are readers now, so the three of us will read.

We've been playing Uno on the porch, so I have just enjoyed the weeks where it does feel slow. The non-camp weeks. And I did try a chore chart. I wanted to tell you this. All summer, I have been so consistent with this chore chart and it has like flopped it just like I cannot get my kids.

And then they designed their own on Canva and got to pick their own chores and I was like, great, I'll give you 25 cents. Like you get points, and at the end of the day, we have just tried so many different chart situations and nothing has stuck with us. ~So anyways, that's not a, is it an ~

Kendra Moody: ~age thing? Because ~I cannot get them [00:31:00] to do chores to save their, like I will pay you a dollar for a chore, and it's just not.

I just wonder if we're just in an age where it's really hard.

Audra Dinell: Oh, I don't think so. To get them. Okay. My neighbor

Kendra Moody: kids

Audra Dinell: do chores. Do they? Mm-hmm. Yeah. So I don't, are they girls? One is a girl. One is a girl. I feel like

Kendra Moody: that's part of it too. I'm like, they don't wanna do chores. 'cause they don't care that the house is messy.

Like they don't, yeah, they, it doesn't. So it's always flopped here too. Ugh.

Audra Dinell: Well. Our screen time has always been, there's been a lot of screen time battles historically for us, and I feel like screen time has just been a non-issue most of the summer. That's amazing. It has been amazing and there's been minimal screen time.

Everyone's outside and yeah, just lots of connection, togetherness. Our big thing this year as we joined a pool, and I've told you all about it before, but it's this very nineties style pool, there's a snack shop and a sand volleyball court and. Just the lifeguards are not super strict. They just let kids be kids and there's a diving board, and so we have been there a ton this [00:32:00] summer, and so that has been a huge highlight for us is just having that pool membership and just being like, oh, yep, we're going to the pool.

Yeah. So fun.

Looking Forward to the Rest of Summer
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Audra Dinell: Okay, so to wrap up our combo, I want to know, we still do have, what, five weeks left of summer? Mm-hmm. Four and a half? Mm-hmm. What is the one thing you still want to do before summer ends?

Kristen Selby: So I think going back to what you just said, Kendra, about it kind of could feel like a limbo season right now and we're like, okay, we're seeing the back to school ads and we know teachers and open houses soon.

I wanna just be able to soak up this pace and kind of still be present. I think this back half of the summer, it's gonna be harder to continue to do that. So I just really want to stay regulated and, and make sure that I'm. Just grateful mm-hmm. For this slowness because I think sometimes I tend to rush to like the fall.

I'm so excited for the fall. Yeah. I love fall for a lot of reasons. Mm-hmm. It feels like a new start, you know, I'm gonna have like this, you know, plan for my business. Like I wanna get sweat there so fast. Mm-hmm. And I also [00:33:00] sweatpants and I also know that when I'm there I'm gonna be like. Oh, I wish it was July, whatever.

It's today. Yeah. You know, I wish I had that slow morning with the kids again. And so just like re remembering to like pace myself. And then we have a couple of like small things with the kids. I ask them like, what would would feel good for you to like do with mom before school starts?

So each one of them has like a plan. My youngest said he wanted to go see a movie with me, and so I'm gonna take him to a movie in August. And I was like, it'll be. And Anthony and Mommy date, it'll be so fun. He was like, did you use the word date? And I was like, I did. And he was like, well, okay, but no kissing my, I was like, I'm your mom.

I get to kiss you all you only nights. Oh gosh. That's so cute. But yeah, like, so there's little things we're going to do Perfect this weekend. At interest. Big deal. That's a big deal. So we have like a family like dinner and. Night out on Friday, which is fine. So just kind of some little like, connection points still, I'm looking forward to, I don't know if it's like one big thing.

Kendra Moody: I think we are. So, I feel bad because [00:34:00] Meyer, Madden and I have had like our summer together. Like we're just like the three little musketeers, like we can, we're a chaotic bunch, but like it has been us and Wes is, you know, at work every day. Murphy is in daycare, one of the things that we are planning by the end of the summer is to go on like a family vacation somewhere close, within like a car drive away.

And so I don't know if that's, we wanna do something where we can swim since the boys love it outdoors. I know we talking about maybe Great Wolf Lodge, but I feel like the three of us have had a lot of together time this summer, but not necessarily our entire family unit. So we're gonna try and squeeze in.

A little trip somewhere with just the five of us before school starts so that we can have kind of a fun, kind of tie the tie a bow on summer together.

Audra Dinell: Fun. We have a couple of road trips planned this month too, but you know, me being the maximizer that I am and the person that over schedules my life and my family's life, [00:35:00] occasionally of course, I'm like, well, I wonder if we could just, you know, squeeze in a Colorado trip before back to school.

So we'll see.

Kendra Moody: In addition to the other few that you have, Uhhuh. Oh yeah.

Audra Dinell: You are a maximizer. I know. I will say though, I'm on your page, Kristen, like, if only, what happens is what we have planned, that is totally fine because I just wanna end the summer. How I started it in that. Slowness and that connection in just that presence.

And I really want to have some slow mornings and hit those one-offs that they have wanted to do. Merit wants to top golf. Remy wants to have an outdoor movie night, so we've already done a ton of our, list, but I wanna make sure that they each get kind of like their thing that they wanted to do.

And so in the summer, how will we begin? Mm-hmm. Okay. Well thanks for being here and updating authentically and honestly and

Kristen Selby: through summer, how it's going so far. Yeah. It kept me accountable, I think. Right. It was [00:36:00] nice to like say your intention and then check in halfway. This was fun.

Audra Dinell: I know. Now we'll have to do like a back to school,

Kendra Moody: right?

Yeah. A, a winter. We're just ragged. It's like, are they? No. We'll have

Audra Dinell: something

Kendra Moody: different in our coffee mug

Audra Dinell: that day. Right. All right. Thank you so much for being here in the next couple of weeks. We have some really fun conversations coming up with some guests and some solo episodes, so stay tuned and we'll see you next week.