I've been obsessed with schedules this summer. No lazy, unplanned days in this family!! Mostly because lazy, unplanned days turn into warfare between my kids while I hide in my closet taking deep cleansing breaths that only seem to make me more irritable. So my goal this summer has been to have an answer every time someone asks, "What are we doing today?" And I have been, for the most part, successful.
I think this kind of freaked out my kids at first. In the past, they would ask, "What are we doing today?" and I would bark, "How should I know?! Go play with your toys before I take them all away!!" Now they ask, "What are we doing today?" and I shoot off a list with more items than they have fingers, leaving them wide-eyed, bewildered...and happy. (Heaven forbid they have to think of something to do on their own.)
Here is a peek at our schedule the last couple of weeks. Almost everything was planned in advance. This is not the summer of spontaneity. I think we all have found comfort in having a plan every day, especially Greg, who is swamped with schoolwork and knows that the kids and I are more likely to leave him in peace if we know what the heck to do with ourselves hour to hour. I know I'm weird about recording daily schedules. It's just sort of fascinating to me, to look back and say, "Oh. So that's what we did all day last summer/when David was a baby/after Mary was born/once David was school age etc." It's so easy to forget what day to day life was like during a certain period of time.
Here it is:
My schedule, my friend.
Monday
Laundry
Clean house
School work
11:05 Swimming lessons
Sonic slushes
Lunch
Quiet time
Afternoon schoolwork
Watch TV and leave Mom alone
Dinner
Family Home Evening
Tuesday
Schoolwork
9:30 Gym
11:05 Swimming lessons
12:30 David to Jack's house for play date and lemonade stand
12:30 Mary to Lea's house
4:30 David to gymnastics
Dinner
Wednesday
Schoolwork
9:30 Gym
11:05 Swimming lessons
Sonic slushes
Lunch
2:00 Sariah over to play with Mary
2:15 Bailey over to play with David
4:15 Mary to gymnastics
Dinner
Bike ride with Dad
7:00 Mom to Young Women activity
Thursday
Schoolwork
9:30 Gym
11:05 Swimming lessons
Sonic slushes
Lunch
Quiet time
Afternoon schoolwork
Play in the backyard
Watch TV and leave Mom alone
Dinner
6:30 David to swimming lessons
Friday
Schoolwork
9:15 Gym
Early to swimming to play in sandbox
11:05 Swimming lessons
Sonic slushes
Lunch
Quiet time
Afternoon school work
Library
3:00 Presidency meeting at the twins' house
Watch TV and leave mom alone
5:30 Missionaries over for dinner
Saturday
Cornwall
Sunday
11:00 Church
3:00 Home teachers
5:30 Dinner at Baby Emmeline's house
Monday
Laundry
Clean bedrooms
11:05 Swimming lessons
Costco
Quiet time
2:00 David to Bailey's house
2:15 Mary visiting teaching with Mom to Baby Jacob's house
Mary plays at Bailey's house too!
Watch TV and leave Mom alone
Dinner
Family Home Evening
Tuesday
Schoolwork
9:30 Gym
11:05 Swimming lessons
Lunch
12:30 Big playdate (Lea, Ellis, Jack, and Owen) here
4:30 David to gymnastics
Dinner
Wednesday
Schoolwork
9:30 Gym
11:05 Swimming lessons
Sonic slushes
Lunch
Quiet time
2:00 David to Bailey's house
Mary with mom on errands
4:15 Mary to gymnastics
Dad picks up a pizza
7:00 Mom to Young Women activity
Thursday
Schoolwork
Gym 9:30
11:05 Swimming lessons
Lunch
1:00 David to Michael's house
Quiet time
3:00 Mary visiting teaching with Mom to Molly's house
5:15 Pick up Dad for dinner at Culver's
6:30 David to swimming lessons
Friday
Schoolwork
Gym 9:15
Early to swimming lessons to play in the sandbox
11:05 Swimming lessons
Sonic slushes
Lunch
Quiet time
1:30 Bailey comes over to play
5:00 Bailey goes home
Watch TV and leave Mom alone
Dinner
Saturday (today)
No plan! Yikes! (It's too hot for the county fair--our original plan--so I offered to take David and Mary to a movie. They CRIED at the mere suggestion! What is wrong with my children???) As it turned out, I spent the morning playing Wii with the kids while Greg studied, and then Greg took the kids swimming for the afternoon while I cleaned the kitchen.
Here is what I have written on our calendar for the next few days:
Sunday
11:00 Church
3:30 Dad goes home teaching
Monday
Clean bedrooms
Schoolwork
Gym
Lunch
Quiet time
Afternoon schoolwork
Haircuts
Library
Watch TV and leave Mom alone
Dinner
Family Home Evening
Tuesday
Schoolwork
9:30 Gym
11:15 Mary to gymnastics
12:30 David to play date
Quiet time for Mom and Mary
Packing and organizing
4:30 David to gymnastics
Dinner
Mom to Target
Wednesday
Laundry and packing
Schoolwork
10:00 Playgroup at the splash pad
Lunch
Quiet time
2:00 Bailey to our house
4:15 Mary to gymnastics
Dinner
7:00 Mom to Young Women activity
Thursday
Drive halfway to Texas
Go swimming
Hmm...looking over our schedule, I notice that it fails to illustrate how much time I spend in the car shuttling people around. It also fails to show how wiped out the kids are by the end of the day. The fact that David and Mary fall asleep instantly at bedtime is, I think, a sign of a fun summer. The only problem is that I want to fall asleep when they do--these fun summer days leave me pooped!--but after waiting hours and hours for some peace and quiet, there's no way I'm going to bed when they do. The silence is much too blissful, even though morning comes all too quick. The life of a mom...
Anyway, as you might have noticed, I'm driving to Texas on Thursday (with David and Mary, of course). We'll all be back in Wisconsin on August 11. My posting might be erratic for a while--or more regular than it's been all summer. Who knows.
What I do know is that I hope you're having a wonderful summer (or winter, depending on where in the world you are).
