Seriously desperate for a REAL routine

This summer is kicking.my.butt.  Badly.

I have no discernible bruises, but psychologically I am battered.

I am oh so tired of trying to be concierge to my 3 children....all of whom are on totally different schedules and find totally different things entertaining.  I keep telling myself that next summer, assuming I live to see the end of this summer, will be better when I will only have to contend with afternoon naps, and our mornings are easier to manage.

We have reached critical mass, and Momma is about to blow.  N is officially bored to the point that she has admitted being ready for school to start back.  G, I think, is ready for N to be gone for awhile.  Like me, he is tired of watching Hannah Montana Season 1 over and over and over and then listening to N complain when he wants to watch a Diego Halloween episode repeatedly.

I have tried to keep the kids sufficiently entertained.  Setting up playdates for N.  Attending weekly playgroups with G's little friends.  Taking them to the pool and zoo when it is not 300 degrees with 200% humidity.  We've done 4 summer reading programs and visited the library.  We have painted, played in the wading pool, baked zucchini bread and stirred jello.  Made tents.  Destroyed tents.  Eaten at iHop.  Played games at Chuck E. Cheese.

And, of course, there have been the doctor visits and various weekly errands.

N has almost completed her SummerBridge workbook without too much complaint.  She has written and mailed postcards and letters to friends and family.  She has learned to tell time on an analog clock.

I decided after reading this post, that I would require N to read or do workbook pages to earn time dorking around on Barbie.com.  She earns 5 minutes for every book she reads or I read to her and 1 minute per page in the workbook.

But the novelty of that, all of that "forced" summer activity, has worn off.  Having endless time has become stifling.  I can understand the drudgery of living forever.

As a stay-at-home mom with a baby, I cannot have a set-in-stone schedule, although this would be nice at times.  A day-care like structure to the day.  We live by ebb and flow.  The ocean does it marvelously, but me?  Not so much.

Which is why the routine of N being back in school--the bus arriving at 8:25, fitting naps in before school lets out, finishing snacks by 5:00, in bed by 8:00--is very much desired.