Lynda Loveland: Here, there, everywhere!

My kids are in year-round school so they’re already pretty well adjusted to the schedule. But with the recent start of extracurricular activities, AKA soccer, things are starting to come apart at the seams.

My youngest plays Y soccer. That means practice on Thursdays and games on Saturdays. My two oldest play with the Triangle Futbol Club, so practices are Tuesdays AND Thursdays plus games on Sunday. The oldest also has karate on Wednesdays and the youngest is begging me to start gymnastics. That translates into kid “stuff” five days a week, so far.

Until now I considered it an accomplishment to organize a meal plan for the week. Now I gotta throw in carpooling, kids eating dinner at different times and making sure the kids get their homework done when they’re barely home!

I know a lot of you have been doing this for years and you have it down to a science. Science wasn’t my strong subject.

It’s taking some time and hair pulling to work out a system. I’m a couple of weeks in and I think I’m getting close … or not.

Dinner-wise, I’m trying to make casseroles and Crock-Pot meals. Trying to make extra and freeze it. I hate the days when we can’t all eat together.

Thank goodness for carpooling! But there’s still a lot of extraneous running around.

And the homework thing, which is the most important thing, is killing me! There’s no time Tuesday and Thursday after school for the kids to get it done. It’s 7:30 p.m. when they get home and then it’s dinner, bath, book and bed. I’m trying to get them to do it after school while they’re waiting for the bus.

It’s just crazy! It feels like everything is rush, rush, rush! I told them if they can’t get their homework done or they get cranky because of their schedule, soccer will have to go. After school activities are important, but not at a price.

So many families seem to have a similar schedule or one even crazier. How do you keep your sanity and make it all work???