School in Session Means Back-To-School Madness

School is back in session. It was madness on the morning of the first day of school, in a good way. 

Since Tuesday, I have no kids in the house until 3:30 p.m. This is the first time I have both boys on the same full-day schedule at the same school. I was hoping to actually relax this morning, clean the house a bit, have lunch out with my husband, and maybe watch some Dr. Oz or Ellen on TV while folding laundry. But relaxing just isn't part of the September plan.

Are you feeling the same madness in the first week of school? 

I have a list that I know most of you out there can relate to:

First – and most importantly – I must contact and and get those medical forms filled out before our dear school secretary gives me the evil eye. Does anyone do this during the summer when you are supposed to do it? Am I the only one not on time?

Second – I have to run the missing things up to school before the kids or teachers know they are missing. I ran to earlier to pick up the mandatory summer pictures that I was able to get in an hour but, alas, still too late for the boys to actually have them in their backpacks. 

Third – Activities. Like I said, parents were talking on the morning back to school about what sports we were signed up for. My boys like baseball, and swimming, but I'm always trying to get them to try something else. Here are some options for local sports that are currently open for registration:

• – starts September 9
• – starts September 16
• Junior Tiger Football & Cheerleading already started, but has Oben Flag Football (starting September 22) and cheerleading (ages 5-6) starting October 4.
• MN Soccer Association – registration closed on September 4, but if you still want your kid to play soccer, the recreation center has a couple of soccer programs: Soccer Shots (ages 3-8) starting September 22 and Elite Petite Soccer (ages 3-5) starting September 19.
• Boys & Girls Pre-Season Basketball Clinics (grades 5-8) – starts October 6
• Scouts – there are a number of local boy and girl scout units in the area. Check out local Cub Scouts and Girl Scouts online for information on your local meeting date and time. September is usually the time of Open Houses for these clubs and they always welcome new members.

Between the recreation center and local sport clubs, there are so many options. Karate, bowling, chess clubs, zumba, and more – all of these are offered locally. It's not all about homework.

Fourth – Clean the house. This is one of those constant struggles. I clean, they mess it up. We have so many toys that aren't played with, so many clothes that no longer fit, so I signed up for the .  Half my basement is currently a home to items that need to be tagged for the big sale that is in a couple of weeks at . I need my basement back, so time to tag and box for the big day.

Fifth – Did I mention that I'm co-PTO President at this year? Sometimes my friends laugh at me (okay, they laugh at me all the time because I deserve it) but I I will be talking more about it this year than ever before. As I told new parents a couple of weeks ago, being involved in the PTO is the only legal way to spy on your child at school, and as a that is what I do.

Sixth – I do have a job I get paid for as well. I work for  and I love this job. I have this column, I try to keep the calendar up to date, and write weekly columns for 15 local Patch sites.

Somewhere in all this, I have to go grocery shopping, clean the house, make meals, socialize and do the laundry. And hopefully I'll even get to spend some quality time with Dr. Oz too.