Woe is Me

**This post is completely whiny.  If you don't want to hear it, don't read it.  And, I realize everything I'm whining about is self-inflicted, so please do not feel the need to point that out.  That being said, when it comes to planning family activities, I am but 1/4 of the vote.**


We are busy.  I know I've said that in previous posts, but I was just being a big ol' whiner then.  I know someday I'll look back at this post and think the same thing.  But, let me list our winter activities for you, by kid.
Elise:  ski racing team, piano, Girl Scouts, gymnastics
Jerod:  basketball, piano


I realize that may seem a little underwhelming at first glance, but this is what our weekly schedule looks like:

Monday:  Ski practice from 6-8p, Basketball practice for an hour, starting at either 6,7, or 8p depending on the week.
Tuesday:  Elise's piano lesson 5:15-6:15p, and, if it's the 2nd Tuesday of the month, Girl Scouts from 4:00-5:15p
Wednesday:  Ski practice form 6-8p
Thursday:  Jerod's piano lesson, scheduled for 4:15 (but with weekly texts from his teacher asking to change it... to 5, or 6, or  6:15, or 6:30, depending on the week), Basketball game at 6,7, or 8p... ya know, depending on the week, and gymnastics from 6-7p.


Other interesting facts about our lives/schedules include the following:

• Both kids also go to school.  Including bus time, this spans from 9:00a-4:15p, M-F
• If the above mentioned piano lessons are going to be worth even a small part of the cha-ching cha-ching ching we're dropping on them, both kids really need to be practicing on a daily basis.
• Chris has already started training for next summer's marathons, and he's doing it in true Chris fashion:  full-throttle.  He has an online coach who prescribes each week's mileage for him.  By this time on Sunday, he will have run 50 miles this week.  Next week's schedule calls for 54.  
• Not long after we moved into this house (7+ years ago), Chris decided he was done driving to work. Coinciding with that decision was the thought process that he no longer had need for his own set of wheels, so we are a one car family.  
• Chris has started a side business (patentcore.com) which, not surprisingly, takes a lot of time.  In addition to that, he is busier in his day job than he's been in the 11+ years of his career. Back in the day he was typically home by 5:00.  Reality has slapped us in the face.  He's now typically out of the home life equation until 6, unless I hound/guilt him into catching the early bus home. 
• This past fall I decided that I wanted to become a mentor with Bolder Options, thus committing myself to spending a couple of hours a week with a 13 year old girl who is 'at-risk.'  This part of my crazy schedule I really enjoy, minus the transportation challenges created by only having one car.

As is the case with pretty much any topic, I have lots of opinions on all this.  Since I've been more than a little trigger happy with the bullets lately, and since I can barely string together a coherent thought, I'll use them again here.

• We have become the hyper-scheduled, over-extended family that I really never wanted to be.
• My kids are being exposed to a wide array of experiences, hopefully developing a life-long appreciation for arts, sport, and an active lifestyle.  
• Something's got to go.  If not, this family needs a second car.
• As the stay-at-home mom in this convoluted equation, I'm wearing quite a few hats (lunch assembler, launderer, bookkeeper, piano practice facilitator, homework assistant, and shuttle service provider, occasional classroom volunteer, to name a few).  Trouble is, you see, I'm not doing any of them particularly well.  
• On Mondays and Wednesdays, and frequently Thursdays, kids are waking up anywhere between 7 and 8:30am, hitting the bus at 9am, coming home at 4:15p; and frequently needing to be out the door for the evening activity (which, let's face it, should usually be plural: activities) by 5:30.  On ski nights and 8p basketball nights, nobody's realistically getting to bed before 9:30.  Heck, last night was a 7p basketball night and the kids were still up well past that 9:30 mark.  
• I guess it's just due to the fact that I've always had piss-poor time management skills, but we are typically not getting to piano practice.
• On Tuesdays, where all we typically have is a 5:15-6:15 piano lesson, I feel like we're on vacation.

The good news, at least for the next few weeks, is that despite this weekday craziness, our weekends are pretty much free.  The bad news is that my attitude is in the toilet.  I'm tired of having to figure out transportation when our one car can't get us to two places at once (despite the fact that we have awesome friends and family who frequently help-- shout out to the Klukow family and Donna).  I'm tired of feeling like I dropped the ball when we don't get to piano practice in a day.  I'm tired of taking 10 minutes out of the already harried morning schedule to rush Chris (who is frequently running late due to the enormous amount of miles he's logging on most mornings) to the bus stop. I'm tired of having to pack lunches because the school lunches are complete crap.  I'm tired of putting meals on the table that my kids won't eat.  I'm tired of requests to change J's piano lesson.  I'm tired of being the person that's never supposed to be tired because she doesn't have a wage earning job.

In short, I guess I'm just tired.  Winter break is upon us, and we'll have a nice little break from many of these activities.  Hopefully the new year will recharge me.  Let's hope.