I tell you one thing, life is really busy once school starts.  By the time we get the backpacks unloaded and the homework done, it is usually dinner time in our house.  Unfortunately, our nights aren’t that simple like many of you!  Two nights a week it is off to soccer practice for the evening, for two kids.  That means by the time we drive home it is time for baths and bed.  Oh great, where the heck were we supposed to eat dinner in that time frame.

I have found a great solution that works most of the time.  I pack a cooler and we eat dinner at the park after soccer practice.  The kids can play and we can be together as a family for a little while before the chaos of bedtime begins.

On those nights that we are home, I work really hard to have a family dinner.  It is important to me, and while it is not easy, I know that someday it will matter.

I recently found an article on this in Time Magazine entitled, The Magic of the Family Meal by Nancy Gibbs –  here is a quote from her article,

“In fact, it’s the experts in adolescent development who wax most emphatic about the value of family meals, for it’s in the teenage years that this daily investment pays some of its biggest dividends. Studies show that the more often families eat together, the less likely kids are to smoke, drink, do drugs, get depressed, develop eating disorders and consider suicide, and the more likely they are to do well in school, delay having sex, eat their vegetables, learn big words and know which fork to use. “If it were just about food, we would squirt it into their mouths with a tube,” says Robin Fox, an anthropologist who teaches at Rutgers University in New Jersey, about the mysterious way that family dinner engraves our souls. “A meal is about civilizing children. It’s about teaching them to be a member of their culture.”

So there you have it, the statistics are there, it is not easy but OH soooo worth it!!

What are your thoughts on eating together as a family?

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?

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!!

I think I had grand plans to have some type of schedule this summer!   My kids really do thrive on a schedule.  Unfortunately, it seems that every other week we have visitors or are traveling.  By the time I get us all ‘back to normal,’ normal is thrown off another week.

I am a very scheduled mother.  Unfortunately, I am learning otherwise.  I think being a mom teaches you to roll with the punches.  Maybe I have this perfect week planned out, then someone gets sick or just needs time at home.  Whatever the case may be, I am learning to take things a day at a time.  I am learning to chill a little more and listen to the needs of my kids.

An example of this was last week.  My husband signed our tween up for baseball camp.  It was hot as blazes and he was one of the older boys at the camp.  He wasn’t learning anything new and was bored learning to play baseball when he already plays quite well.  I listened to him explain how he felt about this and didn’t make him go back.  I totally understood where he was coming from.  I ‘rolled with the punches’ and made the best choice for my tween.

Learning to be a little more laid back has definitely been a learning process for me as a mom.  Like anything else in motherhood, each new day is an adventure and a learning experience AND a marathon to keep up with it all.

Is your summer turning out just how you expected it or are you having to step back and just relax a little?