back to school

Well, my kids have all officially gotten back to school!

Kara started college classes a few weeks ago, followed by

Alex & Megan in 7th and 3rd grades, respectively.

Yesterday was Brooke's first day back to p r e s c h o o l !

So back to school really means back to routine in my house. The lazy days of summer typically lead to thrown together dinners, or more realistically, dinners at the baseball field. Of course the bedtime routine goes from a very efficient dinner, bath and bed in an hour to a very INEFFICIENT swimming pool shower, camp out in each others room, maybe lay down with the lights on fiasco. It literally takes me a week or two of strict routine to get everyone back on track once school is back in session.

As much as I enjoy the relaxed, slowed down pace of summer, I also love the school year routines. I like that my kids know that when dinner is over, we head right upstairs for showers or baths. I love that they know to brush their teeth while the shower warms up, and to lay their clothes out for the next day to save time in the morning. I love that they know that after baths and showers, we brush hair, put on PJ's and hop into bed. This has always been the way, so there are no tantrums, no messing around, and rarely any bumps in the road.

In our house, Mommy is off duty at 8:00 pm, so the kids know that unless we have one of the three B's (Blood, Barf or Boo Boo), I don't want to hear from them, and they pretty much respect that. I make sure everyone has what they need (water, potty break, tissues, book, etc) before I go back downstairs for some quiet time. Alex, who just turned 12, gets to stay up reading or quietly playing in his room til lights out at 9:00. Meg, who is newly 8, gets to read with her nightlight til 8:30, and Brooke, who just turned 4, gets to listen to a book on tape til its over. Everyone goes to bed happy, and I get to veg out and flip channels, surf the web or read.

Ahhhh... I love back to school.