Back into a routine

First off, I'll admit that summer went by way too fast. So many things went undone - my closet didn't get cleaned out, the baseboards didn't get washed, Schlitterbahn didn't get visited.

But I am so glad that school is back in session. As my husband will tell you, I'm a creature of habit and routine. Take me out of my little rut for too long and I fall apart and get cranky. B could have stayed at the beach another week, but I needed to get home to my own house and my own bed and my own shower and my own stuff. Plus I needed to get the kids back into their routines; I firmly believe kids need a set, predictable routine in their lives.

Campbell had been sleeping really well in the months before our trip, but it all fell apart while we were at the beach. One night I had to nurse him back to sleep four times. I didn't want to let him cry it out because I didn't want to wake up the whole house, so I fostered bad habits by getting him up and nursing him. Our first night home was miserable. He woke up at 4:00, but I didn't get him out of bed. I just patted him and gave him back his blanket, and he was NOT happy about it. It took an hour for him to go back to sleep, and I lost track of the number of times I went in to settle him down. But last night he went back to his old routine of sleeping until 5:00, nursing and going back to sleep until 7:15. I finally feel like I'm getting over my sleep deprivation.

Routine helps with the kids, too. We'd been lax about bedtimes during the summer because we didn't need to be anywhere until 9:00, when I took Lily to preschool. But now we need to get back to our dinner, bath, stories, bed schedule, and I couldn't be happier. I like having a plan to follow every evening. The girls are happier because they're getting more sleep at night. Which means they're easier to deal with during the day - except for Lily yesterday.

I'm also getting back into my daytime routine. I take Lily to school and then come home and straighten up the house while Campbell noodles around. When he goes down for his nap, I get work done - without having to entertain a bored, floppy Ella. Getting work done during the day means less work after the kids go to bed, which makes B happy.

A few more days, and I'll have every little bit of my day accounted for, and I'll be so happy.