Too Many Things to Do

I don't know how other people do it. You know the parents who have 5 children, each involved in multiple sports, scouts, piano lessons, who are involved in PTO and so forth, and they have real jobs too. There is only so much busy-ness that I can stand. I have my four (almost five) children, plus two extras everyday before and after school, and I teach only a couple of piano lessons a week. I have a guilty conscience because I don't do the whole PTO thing. I try to help out at the schools (My kids are currently in two separate schools. We will have a few years in the future when we will have kids in four separate schools.) as often as I can. But it isn't much, because I have to find a sitter every time I want to help. I've not been in on the planning / fundraising (other than having my children peddle the over priced junk that they ask us to do from time to time) hastle that PTO must be. Ross does scouts, Lydia does activity day girls & piano, and they all do Tae Kwon Do, which isn't bad because they all go at the same time. I lived through one season of kids on different soccer teams, and I hated it. The thought of driving to all of those practices and games which are never at the same time, and often not even at same location makes me feel crazy. I sometimes have a pang of guilt for not signing the kids up for baseball or soccer, but then I think that a lot of children are just too over scheduled. Plus the mere idea of three different practice / game schedules make me want to scream. I don't know. Anyway, I'm rambling. Some mothers are just tougher than me, I guess.

The reason for this rant is because it's the last week of school. It seems like they cram all kinds of things into that last week. Last night was Mark's kindergarten program, and a band meeting for Lydia at the same time. I called the band leader and got her permission to not attend the meeting, so that we could go to Mark's thing. Today was fun day at Ross & Mark's school, which I helped out at. I stopped by the grocery store, on the way home to pick up some odds and ends and some cookies to send with Lydia tomorrow for an ice cream party at her school, which I am also helping out at. I then spent about 2 1/2 hours cooking dinner for today and tomorrow, and I made muffins for breakfast tomorrow. (Why not just have cereal tomorrow? I admit, it would be easier, but then there would be more dishes to do tomorrow morning. This way, I just have a few milk cups to throw in the sink, and wash off the table, and I'm done. I'm not bothering with plates for muffins.) Tonight is activity day girls at 6:00 and scouts at 7:00, luckily Bruce is taking the kids, I think. Tomorrow looks to annihilate me. I'll have to get up early, get everyone ready to go, including myself & Justice. Load everyone up in the van, and drive Justice to my in-laws (about 20 minutes away) for the day. Then we'll go back to our neck of the woods, drop Lydia off at her school, and proceed to Parkside where I'll sit through 4 hours worth of award assemblies. Next I'm off to Lydia's school to sit through another award assembly, and then to finish the school day off with an ice cream party. The thought of sitting through all of those award assemblies makes me want to poke my eyes out with a hair pin, but the kids love to see their parents at school, and to them this is an important event. Next we pick everyone up from their various schools, drive back to Grammy and Pa's to pick up the J-Bird. Come home in time to meet Blaine's mother and get rid of him, just in time to give a piano lesson, then rush everyone through dinner and a costume change to go to Tae Kwon Do. Then home to get everyone ready for bed, read stories, tuck them in, and fall down dead.

The thing that gets me is that there are parents out there that live like this every single day. I'd die!!

I had to pass on helping out at Lydia's school's fun day, because between yesterday's piano lesson and doctor appt, today's fun day, and tomorrow's gallivanting, I've exhausted my baby-sitters. I also have miss Lydia's recorder concert tomorrow, because it's at the same time as one of those dumb award assemblies. Friday is my brother, Trent's graduation. He is going to state for track, so I'm wickedly hoping he won't be back for graduation, so I won't have to go. Graduations are boring enough without four kids to deal with. I'd be happy to miss it.