Schedule!

Maria started ballet and gymnastics this week. She takes both classes at the dance studio, and they go all year round until the recitals in May. I always like that these classes don't start until the week after Labor Day, so there are only 6 weeks of overlap with Ben's marching band schedule and Sam's soccer practices. Planning around all of these and still trying to have dinner as a family has been stressful and we have had to be creative, but we had a plan for the entire week - even able to cook at home Sunday through Thursday. Here's what our week looked like:

Monday - Band after school (Ben) and Book Club (Lisa)
Tuesday - Paino (Maria) and soccer (Sam) at the same time
Wednesday Band (Ben), Ballet (Maria), and Band Boosters (Ben)
Thursday - Soccer (Sam), Gymnastics (Maria) at overlapping times

I was looking forward to getting into the routine of what a real week would be like, but the reality of the craziness has left me (and Ben) exhausted. It really takes two parents on Tuesdays and Thursdays to get both kids where they need to be, but it's only for a few more weeks.

When I picked Maria up from ballet today, Miss Krista told me that she would like to split the ballet class to "allow the girls to grow more." Apparently there were several girls in this class who are behind and Miss Krista would like to pull out Maria and several others into their own class. Good news - new class at 6:15 on Tuesdays, which is right after piano. Also, Maria could switch to a Gymnastics class that backs up to ballet - 7:00-7:45 on Tuesdays. This means that Maria could have all of her activities in one night. She is excited about it, but I am afraid it will be exhausting for her. Then again, only having to go out one evening in the winter when it's cold and rainy or snowy sounds much better. So we're going to try it next week and see how it goes.