Let the Games Begin!

Well, here we are... Fall. The air becomes crisp, the leaves are changing color, the fruit stands now have pumpkins for sale... I love fall. I love to take the kids trick or treating, walking after dark, door to door, leaves crunching underfoot. I love the smell of apple pie baking, or applesauce cooking. Carving pumpkins for Halloween.

If I love fall, why am I so crabby? I'll tell you why... routines. I know, routines are good. Everyone needs a good solid routine. Whatever. I pretty much laid down the law early on, there would not be a gazillion activities. I would not be running from soccer to gymnastics to dance to scouts to whatever the next can't miss thing is. I would not be a slave to my children's busy social lives.

So, slowly, as is so common, it snuck up on me. We're in our second week of school... Homework is in full swing. Both girls have homework for everything every night. Kyle's is math and spelling. Oh, and reading. Every night.

The kids go to my mom's after school... except for Kay. She heads to a friend's then home. They do not do homework there. So, last night, Nikki had confirmation class. StupidX picked them up. You would think that knowing that they would not be home until Kyle's bedtime, that he would have had them do their homework. Nope. Kyle had to get up early to finish his spelling. He had to do the math last night before going to bed.

Tonight, Kyle's homework is to write 5 sentences using 5 of his spelling words. He has to study for a math quiz tomorrow. And read for 15 minutes. I had him start his sentences this morning. Why? Because tonight is scout night. I won't get home until 6, we have to get dinner and be at scouts at 7. There is no time in there for homework. We won't get home until a little after 8. Then it's bedtime.

Luckily, the routine for the rest of the week is just home, dinner and homework. Now that the seasons are changing, and Kyle isn't running around outside, getting all sweaty and dirty, and the air is drier (humidity-wise) he only gets a bath every other night.

Weekends are just as busy. Girls are at dance all day on Saturday (Nikki from 10-12 and Kay from 1-4). Sunday is Church and Sunday School.

And you know, I really don't mind doing the running for my kids, but I just wish there was more time to do homework. I really don't like that it's rushed or that the math or the spelling has to be done in the morning. It would also be really helpful that on the days that they are with StupidX for dinner, he could do homework with them. That might be too much to ask though. Why should he want to work with them? Isn't it enough that he picks them up to "spend time" with them? Right... we've been there before, so I won't even say it.

Routines, we all need them, but sometimes, they aren't always a good thing if they get to be too cluttered.