Lifestyle Changes

A few days ago, StuntMom asked me if I was finished with StuntMom.com. The question saddened me, but at the same time, it was a pretty legitimate one. I've been mostly quiet all summer, but for good reason. In Maine, at least if you live on the coast, it is non stop visitor time. Almost every week end, and some week days, we've had visitor after visitor. And if we don't have visitors, we're out and about visiting. Don't get me wrong - we LOVE it. But it makes the summer fly by in a crazy sort of way. And when we had any down time, I was spending any extra time at my parent's house, picking wild blueberries. It was a bumper crop this summer, and I now have 25# of the sweet tasty berries in my freezer. Thank goodness the blueberries are now finished!

So anyway, I don't think I'm done with writing, but I do need to make some big changes in my everyday schedule. I know, it wouldn't be a StuntBec posting without the word schedule in it. You see, my eldest, Beatrice, started kindergarten this past week. Oh, I miss her something fierce. But she's having a grand time. I really felt her absence yesterday, when I took the boys to storytime at the library. BK (before kindergarten), Bea and Jimmy and Henry always sat together on a bean bag chair, and quietly listened to the stories. Without our anchor, Henry just wants to play at the train table (why do libraries have toys, anyway?), and Jimmy doesn't want to sit by himself. We had to leave, just 15 minutes into stories. Sad.

About a week before school started, we began a new routine. All children need to be in bed, teeth brushed, bathed (if necessary), and stories read, by 8 PM. No easy task. So here are the changes we made: Dinner must be on the table by 6 PM. Toy clean-up is to be done before supper. If supper's a bit delayed, I've been putting jammies on/doing showers before supper. And amazingly enough, kids have been going to sleep on time, if not a little bit early!!

Another big change for us is that we're not driving to my parent's house at the drop of a hat during the week. We're saving the visits for the week end, and spending more time just walking around Rockland and doing local things. It's a good change, although I miss seeing my parents less often. By not running around so much, I'm finding that laundry doesn't pile up, and the housework is not being as neglected as it used to be. I'm trying to have supper ready, or at least prepped, before the boys and I walk to Bea's school to pick her up. If I do this, I tend to be much less cranky. When we get back from picking up Bea, we all sit down and have a snack and a cup of tea, and talk about our day. We hear what's been going on in Mrs. Conover's class, and Bea hears what's been happening at home. It's a really great way to reconnect. I have my friend Donna to thank for suggesting this ritual.

Anyway, I have much more to write about lifestyle changes...but I've talked your ears off enough for today. Time to change Henry's diaper and put him down for a nap. Sorry for being so absent. I'll be posting more often, now that the leaves are starting to drop and the weather gets cooler!