Adjusting To Summer Break

School's out for summer around here and there's just something about that loss of structure and schedule that makes everybody a little bit batty the first week in.

The kids expectations meet the parents expectations. Or something like that.

Now that we're nearing the end of the week I think we're finding a groove that we can all agree on but I've declared the first week of summer, the week of adjustment.

Monday night by the time my husband got home, I was spent, I couldn't even fathom getting dinner on the table and we didn't even do anything, it was just the constant barrage of requests and messes and friends and snacks and it was too much. "MOM" being yelled through the house, doors being left open while going in and out, yard toys throughout more than just our yard. I was spent.

Tuesday morning when it wasn't even 8 a.m and one of my children was already asking me when they could use their iPod, I lost it. Like "go plug the iPod on to the charger and don't even think about asking me about it again" kind of lost it.

I joked to a friend that I liked it better when my kids couldn't tell time because I determined bedtime and there were years, literally years where my little ones were asleep in their beds before 7 p.m. With an aware, time-telling 8 year old, that will likely never happen again.

In the school year, I depend on those hours after bed to tackle my own projects and to-do lists, summer means juggling all that with kids up later.

I've reminded myself that this week is the week of adjusting expectations. For all of us. From the realization that having 3-5 kids home all day will inherently mean we'll go through more groceries and there will be more cleaning {that they are home more to help with! WIN!} to less work for me and a lot less personal time, I know that it will be a lot of fun.

Even if that means a little bit of forced family fun, like a bike ride to DQ. Gotta grab those moments when we can!