Our family vacation was so much fun that I forgot one of my work passwords.
1. Back to school. Back to school. Back to school.
I’m trying to prepare. I’m trying to brace myself.
One of the pitfalls of having a nanny during the summer is that it makes me complacent. I come home expecting meals ready and the house picked up. Instead, I’m going to have to go back to cooking, homework, cleaning, violin practice (possibly times two), bathing, bedtime.
And I haven’t even figured in extra curricular activities (soccer? pep squad? another instrument?).
Chore parenting, in other words.
I’m trying to mentally prepare.
2. We’re going BTS shopping this weekend. I think. I hope. I would prefer to go to Target, but the girls want me to take them to Office Depot (nice commercials, Office Depot! Well done!). Someone else suggested Staples.
I don’t have time to go three places. Have you gone yet? Where would you go?
3. Clothes sorting.
I loathe this chore. I tried to outsource it this summer (for the spring to summer transition), but I didn’t do a good job, and it didn’t get done well or completely.
I need to go through the closets, see what needs to be donated, see what uniform clothing I need to procure (in short order), update the fall wardrobe and sizes, and see what else I can pass along. For three children.
Who wants to help? I’ve already enlisted my MIL, and offered to pay in wine.
Also, if you have girls under 6 or boys under 2, I probably have some clothes I can give you! Kate’s rapidly outgrowing six 6 (in length, especially). Give me a holler. (Not you, Jen Z. I already have piles of clothes for your little miss.)
4. I will miss summer. It saves my sanity, having a nanny, having long evenings where baths are probably necessary, but early bedtime is optional. I *hate* chore parenting — I like summer time parenting better. I suppose I am not alone in this (am I?). Is it a work-outside-the-home-mom thing, or do some of you SAHMs feel this way too?
5. Although, in good news, both Flora and Kate are looking forward to going back to school. They like to learn; they like their friends (mostly); they like their teachers.
They are really looking forward to going BTS shopping. Which was always one of my favorite parts of BTS, too (still is, to be honest).
6. On Monday, of course, I went back to work. After spending more than a week in my company, M was a little confused. When I came home yesterday, he climbed up in my lap.
“Where did you go, Mommy?”
“I had to go back to work.”
“Did you pay the bills?”
Yes, baby boy, yes I did (well, helped pay them, anyway).
Red Pen Mama 