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These past couple weeks have been full of lots of transition for most Mothers.  With kids going back to school and starting activities, summer has been kissed goodbye and a new schedule has begun.

There is also the change of the weather that I am so excited for.  For our family, this is our last year here in Jacksonville and that means the beginning of many changes.  First off, we are starting all that needs to be done to sell our home.

We have had our family garden here and made the big step of filling it in this weekend.  My husband dug all the remaining plants and weeds up and filled it in with sod.  All those memories, work and so much more…have been covered up and only saved in pictures and memories.

Here are a few other changes and transitions that are going on in the life of this Mother;

-  Two kids in school and only one at home….huge change!!

-  Soccer schedules and evenings spent at the soccer field with kids.

- Saturdays full of soccer games.

-  Packing early morning lunches and having time to exercise again.

-  Making a schedule so I am sure to use my time wisely and enjoy every minute I have here at home with my baby.

-  Menu planning so we can have dinner between soccer practices and activities and try to keep it family time.

I love change and that is always the one thing in life that is CONSTANT!  I am ready for this change of schedule, change of pace and all the fun memories and experiences it will bring.

What are some of the changes that have come for you with the start of school?

My tween has a dilemma.  As parents we are supportive of her desire to dance.  However, she wants to take 2 different dance classes on 2 different days (which we think is fine since the studio is close to our home), but she has adamantly stated that 2 days is too much with her homework.  Her dilemma, “maybe I shouldn’t dance because the class I want to take requires me to take ballet too.”  I admire my tween for knowing her limitations.  Even watching her try to express her feelings about what she is doing this year at school was getting her worked up.  Obviously we want her to enjoy dance and we don’t want to push her.  We want to encourage and be supportive.  The age old question remains, “to be or not to be?”

I wish I could wave a magic wand and create time for my tween to relax, to have less homework, to be less of a perfectionist and to cut herself some slack.  Our tweens are under academic, social, emotional and athletic pressure.  I think I have it bad, but I’m not sitting at a desk for 7 1/2 hours a day and then coming home to another hour and then needing to sleep to repeat it again.  My tween needs down time, play time, creative time social time and learning to build that into her routine can be challenging.

When I think I have it hard or that I’m worn down, I quickly realize it is nothing in comparison to the pressures that our children are facing.  As a parent I am constantly evaluating and re-evaluating to make sure I’m not pushing, expecting or “forcing” my tween to be more scheduled than she can handle.  With the start of school I am reminded with the schedules sent out and the new grading methods of fourth grade how stressful it could appear to a tween.

Participating in activities that release energy, are enjoyable and are fun are all beneficial to relieving high stress levels.  Communication is essential.  Evaluation and Reality is important to.  Listening is essential when trying to decide what to participate in or not.

How do you help your child find balance in their schedules?  How do you teach your tween how to relieve stress in a positive and healthy manor?

My boys would not think of throwing trash out the car window or leaving their left over chip bag on the sand at the beach. As a matter of fact, if we are out and they see garbage out of place, they will often pick it up and put it in the trash can. Since they were very small we have told them that it is wrong to litter and they should recycle. Why then, can you tell me, do they leave a trail of wrappers and juice boxes behind them all through our house!

I spend a good part of my day “reminding” the boys to take any food garbage items to the kitchen when they are done. It seems no matter how many times I tell them, I still find a straw wrapper on the floor or a fruit snack bag on the couch. I suppose I should require them to eat and drink in the kitchen, but the truth is, that would be harder on me than them. It would just be one more thing I would need to remember to enforce. Anyway…as they get older aren’t they supposed to be more responsible!? (Oh wait…..my husband is 36 and I don’t think he has gotten the clean up memo yet )

I clean their rooms, wash their clothes, make sure they bath and brush…I just feel like there should be a point where they can at least clean up their own wrappers. I am still not sure what angle I will take with this……something has to change or I may lose my mind Suggestions??

Woo-hoo!  We made it through the first week of school.  My tween is happy, thriving and loving it!

I was a home school Mom this past year.  Sending my tween back to school was a big deal.  He high fived me on the way out the door and there was no looking back.  I absolutely adore his teacher…she works these kids hard and I love that!!

I love every minute of being with my tween, but I also noticed that my stress level has decreased quite a bit.  I can actually think straight and even more, accomplish a few more things in a day.

I have been teaching my tween for a year now and every spare moment of my day was dedicated to school.  I feel like I need to re-invent myself in a way.  All those things that slipped through the cracks this past year can be patched up.  I even made a little cleaning schedule for myself to keep up on my home work.

The old days of scheduling school, have been replaced by getting the kids to and from school, getting some exercise and keeping up on the home and duties of Motherhood.

I still have one little one left at home and we have had fun together.  I have so much time to dedicate to her, read to her, play with her and laugh with her.  Heck, I’m even having play group in my backyard this week…..crazy!!

Although I miss the days of schooling my tween, I have learned what works for me and what doesn’t.  I have learned how I function best in being the Mom that I want to be.

Here is to a new year and lots of new experiences and adventures…wish me luck!!

With school right around the corner, my husband and I decided on one last day trip…all four of us. We settled on Myrtle Beach since we could go and head back the same day. The difference between this and most of our trips is that we did not tell the boys what we were doing or even where we were going. We weren’t sure if we could pull it off, but yesterday, as we pulled into Ripley’s Aquarium….they were still clueless

One of our earlier trips this summer to DC

Jake has been wanting to take his dad to see Medieval Times for awhile now. I took both boys during the last deployment and ever since Jake has been asking for a return visit. Sam and I weren’t so keen on round two of the show, but Sam is never one to turn down a trip to Build a Bear. With our respective “dates” in mind, we set off for lunch in Wilmington and that was all we told the boys…..just lunch then home.

They really thought they were on their way home until we were about five minutes from Broadway at The Beach. I am pretty sure Sam got out of the car and thought he was in Jacksonville It was a fun way to end our summer and even getting home at 11PM was OK. We had time as a family and everyone got to do something they enjoy. We’ll have to make those memories last a couple of months now. School, football, tennis…….back to reality and back to work.

Did you take any last trips before school started? Have you ever surprised your kids with a getaway?