NEW NORMAL

Each new school year brings a new schedule, a new routine and a new normal.

I am still off to work, during the week, at 6:00 a.m., but I do not bring any work home with me. If it can't get done between 6:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m., it ain't getting done. The school day has it's own routine. I am putting less pressure on myself to do it all. I know I'm a good teacher, but I have to work with what is given to me....and that post (rant) is for another day.

Richard gets the kids up, ready, fed and out the door to meet the bus by 7:00 a.m. (which is just across the street...nice) and then he goes home and walks the dog, showers and does some home chores before the nanny, Penny, (whom we've been lucky to have since Sam was three months old....) arrives and he's off to work around 9:00.

Sam is at kindergarten until around 2:00 p.m. Penny meets the bus and Sam has about 2 hours to play before I get home.

Andrew spends his day with Penny, until I get home around 4:15ish. Occasionally, I'll run a short errand (like going to the bank), on my way home too.

I change, give Andrew a bottle and then while he plays, Sam and I do homework. Last night it was writing his full name 3 times. Then it's dinner time. It's usually just the boys and me as Richard doesn't get home before 7:00 p.m. While the weather is nice, Sam usually plays outside after dinner and then around 6:30 we go for a walk with the dog.

Then the bedtime routine starts, baths, Sam gets to watch a Disney show, reading books and then lights out by 8:00.

On the weekends we are more relaxed with time, but I also get by grocery shopping done, we go to yard sales (Sam loves this, because he can get a toy.), attend church, do yard work and laundry. Since Richard is off on Sundays, we are planning on fitting in an, every other month, date night too.

Our bodies have adjusted to less sleep, so the fact that Andrew is still up twice a night for bottles (We have tried everything to get him to sleep through the night, but nothing has worked.) is just part of the new normal. Richard does one shift and I do the other. It's really rather quick and I can keep my eyes closed during most of it anyway. I'm usually back in bed after about 20 minutes. Shutting off my brain again, so I can fall back to sleep doesn't always work (I'm typing this after the 3:30 a.m. feeding.), but as I said, I'm kind of used to it by now.