My 5 mixed emotions about back to school...

You've rummaged through the bins to find the right type of markers, crayons, and notebooks. You've looked at that list 100 times only to find that you forgot the darn boxes of Kleenex! 

Clothes ironed and laid out. Check.

Lunches packed. Check

Bottle of wine chilled. Check, uh, the wine is my reward for all of the hard work that goes into getting ready for back to school. That stuff doesn't happen magically, you know. It's a lot of blood (ok, maybe not blood), but a lot of sweat and tears that goes into getting them into the right mind for school. Speaking of tears...

My tears are tears of joy, with a bit of mixed emotions. 

Even as a lover of routines, I am not looking forward to back to school routines. No more        hanging out past 8:30 pm, instead Hummingbird will be in bed by 8:30 apm. Now, this one is two fold because I will absolutely LOVE that I get free time to myself after 8:30 pm! No more "Can I watch another show", instead it will be me saying "Off to bed with you!". 

The onslaught of HOMEWORK! I would expect a pile of homework for Yogli, he was a junior last year. But, I never imagined a first grader having as much homework as Hummingbird had last year. What will 2nd grade bring? Helping with last year's homework proved to make me wanna pull each strand of my hair out, what will 2nd grade bring?!?!? I've had a sneak peek into this year's curriculum, there's a required reading list for 2nd graders! Reading isn't a problem for us, Hummingbird and Yogli love to read. It's that "new math" that almost brought me to tears. Then add projects on top of all that. "Oh, you just realized we don't have the right sized poster board. At 9 pm? 

PTA, fundraisers, open house, plays, concerts, Girl Scouts, oh my! I join the PTA every year and attend the meetings when I can. If I am unable to attend, I support in any way I can. For this brief millisecond, I wish I were a stay at home mom. Trying to squeeze all of these school activities into a schedule that's already accompanying an 8 hour work day, a 2 hour a day commute and a few other tasks is a learned art. Oh, yeah, throw in that we're juggling two different schools, high school and elementary school. Go ahead, call me Picasso! P.S., I will send email blasts for Girl Scout cookie orders.

We gotta eat, right? If you follow this blog, you have probably heard me talk about my dislike for cooking. MonkeyMan is the chef in our house and I will scream that from the rooftops "My husband is a waayyyy better cook than me!" I've been able to finagle 2 to 3 days of cooking in our house (which usually has everyone dousing everything with BBQ sauce). Back to school intensifies my 2 days because I gotta get stuff cooked, on a plate by 7 pm. Summer dinners were way more lax.

Back to school technology sometimes rubs me the wrong way. During the summer months, I didn't have to worry about my phone beeping with calls from the school or my email filled with messages. Now, I enjoy the alerts when Yogli doesn't turn in a homework assignment, messages reminding me of what to look for in Hummingbird's VIP (Very Important Papers) folder, messages about the new paper being used in the copier machine (ok, so, maybe not that one). Yes, I could probably disable the email alerts. And yes, I love being alerted about missed assignments. Why is this on my list, you may ask? It's my mixed emotions about back to school list, no other real rationale, just me venting. 

***Disclaimer: All of the above griping, ranting and venting are acts of release. I'm allowed, motherhood is a tough job. Even with all of the griping, ranting and venting, I enjoy watching my kids learn new things, grow and become everything they've been designed to be. My kids love that I am active and present in their lives, I can tell by comments they make and little glances they give from time to time. By being active and present, I am helping them be more secure and confident. Out of all the griping, ranting and venting, I still can't stand some of the things on my list! 

By the way, get ready for next year's list, the college edition. It will be bittersweet because Yogli will be headed off to college! Rest assured, I can find some things that will ramp up my mixed emotions!