I am NOT going to lie

That's right, I am NOT going to lie when I say I am ever so relieved that my kids are back in school.  For a while there, long about the beginning of August, my sanity was in serious jeopardy of leaving and never coming back.  Don't get me wrong, I love my 5 children.  A lot.  But they are driven by drama and tattling and pushing each other's buttons and mimicking and whining and figuring out the hardest way there is to NOT get along.  Walking away and biting their tongues is simply NOT on their agenda. I am hopeful in my old age that God will grace me with the peace of mind and full understanding of exactly WHY we thought having 5 kids was a good idea, but until then, I claim ignorance and lack of forethought!

 While Gregory and Jacob settle in at the top of the food chain (also known as 8th graders) at their school and on the school bus, Luke, Laurel (2nd grade) and Eric (5th grade) are settling into a brand new school, filled with new expectations, new friends, and new teachers.  So far it has been a relatively smooth transition although Luke is feeling some trepidation and springing a few tears about going to school each morning.  We're going the sticker chart route with a Jack Sparrow Lego alarm clock out there in the distance somewhere! 

As for me, I can finally think straight for at least 6 hours a day.  And while I have no PTA president, PTA yearbook, PTA communications  or PTA expectations*period* to fill my days with this year (whew!), the house is overflowing with signs that the past 3 years have not been kind to it.  My job this year is to get some of it under control.  Why say all of it since that'll never happen?!  There are years worth of art projects, school reports, science fair projects, reports and report cards that need to be filed, closets to tend to, twins club garage sale items to tag, photos to be framed and hung, and the list goes on and on.  Blogging is also on the list.  This past year has been awful in terms of me documenting all the family has been up to (and it's been A LOT!) and I really don't want it to get away from me again.  So fingers crossed, I'll be around more often. Of course...there's also 'the schedule' to get right every week

Monday: CCD and Boy Scouts
Tuesday: Soccer practice for L and L, Tuba lesson for J
Wednesday: Soccer practice for L, Cub Scouts for E and L
Thursday: Gymnastics for L, Trumpet lesson for G
Friday: occasional cub scout pack meeting, getting our rears in gear for weekend events
Saturday: AJO/AJS rehearsal for G and J-60 minute round trip drop off/pick up, soccer games and soccer reffing
Sunday: Church, work around the house, yard, trombone lesson for E, getting our rears in gear to start 'the schedule' all over again.  Thankfully my parents cover the school drop off for the boys and G's trumpet lesson and other stuff in between!  It is also nice that the older boys are old enough to 'manage' a sibling or 2 for a little while (of course it all depends on what sibling and what mood everyone is in!)

*add in homework, instrument practice, merit badge work, and the grind of daily life and after about a month or so, I'll be ready to take on summer again!!

We are smack dab in the middle of the zaniest times of our lives, that I have no doubt of.  Days when nothing gets done at home, piles are overwhelming, dinner choices aren't the most awesome, laundry sits in the washer a day too long and I have to rewash it, my parents know we live next door but think maybe we don't because we're never home....but I have to say that our kids know we are there for them and we do whatever we can to live in the moment with them.  Whether it be Bill going scout camping with them what feels like weekend after weekend after weekend, or me delivering a forgotten instrument to school or packing lunch #18,432, I hope they remember the goodness of it all and not the nuttiness/grumpiness of the individual moments that make up the goodness.  And maybe when we are old and God grants us that 'Ah-Ha' moment, that'll be what we remember too, not the fact that if one of my kids slams their bedroom door one more time it's probably going to fall off its hinges and if I have to walk through any of their rooms at night, I better shuffle my feet so as to not trip over something and break my neck.  Good times, fun memories!