Back to the Grindstone

Is anyone else finding it difficult to get back to a routine? While this is the first year I have sent my baby off to school each day, I am well acquainted with the school routine. I taught for several years before the girls were born and my husband teaches still. So each August, we have the back to school reintroduction to routine. When summer heat hits, Shan all but forbids me to cook. (I am not joking) He works in the heat all day and when he comes home, the last thing he wants is hot food, so we eat a lot of sandwiches and takeout. When I do cook, I cook large amounts to be had for leftovers, the microwave not heating up the house the way the stove does. So now that he is back at school, he is ready for more regular meals. No problem. I just have to figure out what to cook. The new element this year is bedtime. I have pretty much put the kids to bed whenever it felt right, based on how early they got up, what kind of nap they took, how active they were that day, and how they are behaving. So anytime between 7 and 9. Now Je has to get up in the morning, and is very busy during the day, with no nap. All day kindergarten sucks. So that means she needs to be in bed no later than 8 with 7:30 being better. So that means a bath at 7 p.m. and supper before that. I am pretty much not in a groove to start supper preparation before 6. If I do, its a red-letter day. Part of that is our general inclination is to eat later and part of that is because during wrestling season, Shan doesn't even get home until 6:30 at the earliest and usually its closer to 7. So I need a new routine don't I? I fear it will take a few weeks to get this routine ingrained. It's hard when school starts in August, and it feels like there are still a couple weeks of summer. I never feel like the real school year starts until after Labor Day. The weeks before are just practice. So much doesn't get started until then, Bible Study, Jo's preschool, cooler weather, etc.

Last night at church I was busy visiting away and realized that it was 8 o'clock. On a school night. It never really mattered before, if the girls were up late, they just slept in the next day, and had longer nap. I will have to learn how to think in terms of school nights.