Let the madness begin...

Sometimes you just gotta take a deep breath and hold on for the 'ride'...that is how I am feeling at this point of the year...

  Back to school time with all of the busyness that it entails is enough to make any mother question their sanity, but then you add on to that 4 piano lessons, young women's, 2 scout meetings, and of course, FHE every week. Oh wait, there is also the occasional shift that I pick up at work (which lately have been 2-3 a week it seems). Add a SUPER BUSY preschooler who never ever stops, and a barely ONE YEAR OLD baby who can open and completely empty an entire kitchen cupboard in a few minutes flat......and I am supposed to do homework help, reading, cleaning, laundry, cooking, and dishes for 8 people every day??

PHEW.... I am tired just writing about it...then somebody please tell me WHY oh WHY did we decide to let each child do just ONE extracurricular activity? We have been busy enough with all of the regular church/life activities as is.  But then Maelynn who is such a good, hardworking, helpful person really wants to continue Ballroom dance. How do you just tell her "no" when it is a good thing and she totally deserves to do it? And well, Sadie, who is nearly 8 (oh great, we'll be adding Activity Days to the mix in a couple months) has not had the opportunities like Maelynn did to do dance or gymnastics from a younger age...and she really wants to do a dance class.....yup, you get the picture, we can't exactly play FAVORITES and just let ONE kid do a class...so now it's looking like Karate for Seth, and who know's what Landen is going to chose!

(No joke about this, the initial sign-up fees, costume fees, registration, etc. for all 4 kids will be somewhere around the 800 dollar range. I'm feeling the nausea creeping up on me.  This is why my kids will always be allowed to only do ONE extracurricular activity each...I have absolutely NO IDEA how some kids out there are involved in so many activities...I once knew a girl who was doing competitive gymnastics, competitive ballroom, and cheerleading at the same time!! Is there a magic key somewhere that parents have that when turned, slows down time or gives you 32 hours a day or something? Cuz I just don't have access to that one apparently.)

So, throw another 4 classes a week in there...loading up Miles and Lane and filling the car up with gas more frequently... and don't even get me started on what the monthly rates are going to do to our budget. I sort of want to scream, yet I really am happy for them to be able to at least experience some extracurricular stuff and develop talents, and make new friends, etc.

Then comes FALL/WINTER right around the bend (OK, let's face it, we are in Idaho, Fall is pretty much here already)...but along with my favorite season (see my older post here about why)....comes all of the following:  Our anniversary (and trip to Vegas); Groberg Sister's Getaway weekend (anyone in Idaho Falls want to watch my kids for a few days so I can go???);  Fall Break (a whole week without school in the middle of October); Halloween (and costume-making chaos); Sadie's birthday; Sadie's baptism (did I mention I made a silly promise to her that I would sew her baptism dress?); Maleynn's birthday (officially a teenager); Thanksgiving; Lane's Birthday (the big 5!!); Christmas; New Year's; Landen's Birthday (turning 12, young men's, priesthood, etc.); have a baby; Seth's birthday (double digits...wahoo)... etc. etc. etc. etc.....

So, I guess that what I am really saying here is this: SORRY IN ADVANCE if I somehow fail to find time to blog much in the next few months...I will give it my best effort, but just in case......

Aaaaaah, at least there is something to look forward to that will help me through it all....PUMPKIN CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES!  How do I love thee, Fall? Let me count....