The Last Pieces of the Puzzle

This is an advanced warning that this blog entry will be quite boring for most of you.  Definitely a record for our family, if anything!

I've spent hours over the last month trying to solidify our fall schedule.  It is amazing how much time this takes, trying to coordinate kids' activities with my work schedule, based on what is available.

The first step is to ask the kids what they want to do.  This fall, it was piano and gynamstics for Luka, and basket-ball for TJ, and Cub Scouts for both. Oh, and Mikayla started one day at Spanish School.

Step two is to start researching when and how often these things occur, to see what flexibility there might be to accommodate all the activities.  This alone takes a couple of weeks, waiting for folks to return calls, creating new accounts on websites, filling out forms, etc.

In the midst of all this, one of the most interesting 24 hours was when 1) the family we nanny share with decided they don't need her anymore and 2) my manager at work announced that the person I job share with was being moved to another team, and 3) Spanish School called to say they wanted to put Mikayla in a different class, but didn't have Thursdays available, which of course I had been counting on for months.  For Regina, it meant I needed to start making phone calls to help find her another family.   For my job, it meant that the new person I was to job share with may have a different work schedule.  Ok, let me start to put those feelers out there.

At this point, the only thing I knew for sure was that I would have some flexibility to change my work schedule around, and that TJ's b-ball practice would be on either Tuesday or Thursday.  So, that left Wednesday open for gymnastics.  Check. Called the Spanish school and confirmed they had any day available except for Thursday.  Check.  New person to nanny share with called back and said they could be flexible with days.  Check.  Luka's Cub Scout Den Leader confirmed that pack meetings were monthly on Tuesdays and every other week on Sundays.  Check - except that IF TJ's practices were on Tuesdays, that would be a conflict.  TJ's Den Leader never called back...cross your fingers.

I got an email last week from Spanish Schoolhouse reminding me to sign the boys up for after school Spanish.  Oops.  I had totally forgotten about that, and that is very important to us.  But, it depends on basketball practice...

All the pieces of the puzzle fell into place this week. TJ tried out for basketball and got on a team that practices on Thurdays.  Check. Spanish school after school on Wednesday.  Check.  AND I got an email saying that church playgroup will meet every other Friday, which is perfect for my (new) day off on Friday with Mikayla.  Check!  Finally, at our first Cub Scout gathering last night, TJ's Den Leader confirmed they meet every other Friday.  Check!

One last call to the piano teacher, because if Scott is not home on Mondays, then I will have to leave work early to get Luka to piano.  Alas - she has no openings that are later, but I will just need to leave early, and if that is the only glitch in the schedule, I will take it!

For the record, here is the schedule:

Monday - I work a full day, Regina is with Mikayla, and piano at 4:00
Tuesday - Mikayla goes to school 9-2, while I work, and Cub Scout pack meetings once a month
Wednesday - I work a full day, Mikayla is with Regina, a friend will take boys to Spanish School after school, and I will pick them all up.  Then, gymnastics at 6:30.
Thursday - I work a full day, Regina is with Mikayla, and basketball at 6:00
Friday  -Playtime with Mikayla!  Playgroup every other week, and TJ has den meetings every other week
Saturday - basketball
Sunday - church and Cub Scout den meetings every other Sunday

You know, I said I would never be one of those moms constantly running from activity to activity.  Look at me now.  Quite frankly, my kids don't do very well at home without constant entertainment, and they never have.  They need the structure.  And there is really something magical about seeing your kid's face light up every single time they get ready for an activity they love.  When I say "Luka, we need to get ready for [piano, cub scouts, gymnastics]" he starts jumping up and down all excited.  Watching TJ put his heart and soul into basketball is so rewarding!

Where is Scott in all this?  He is working hard, and then home to participate with whatever is going on, and he gladly and willingly picks up wherever we are and joins right in.  He mostly has weekends off, and is home at random times during the week, so I have to make sure that I can manage the weekly schedule without him.  And when he is here, super bonus for all of us.

Now, I wonder if there is a gymnastics class for Mikayla that might happen to be at the same time as Luka's and could I possibly try to coordinate that...?

And, looks like the Cub Scout meeting for this Sunday may be moved, which means Scott could squeeze in a trip to Palo Duro Canyon with the boys, without missing any activities except for two birthday parties!  Guess I might have to change those RSVPs...