Just Routine

So, it's Friday night. We survived the first week of school! Charlotte has adjusted very well, though she is one tired pup. Thank goodness for a long weekend.

I admit I'm chafing a smidge with the new routine. I'm not used to so little flexibility (i.e., bus schedule/school schedule), and seeing the girls off in the morning at two different places is a bit trickier than I'm used to, especially on days I go into the office. On telecommute days in particular, I'd let the morning take its own shape. So long as I had the girls dropped off by 9:00 a.m., all was fine. We could eat breakfast, read stories, get ready for the day, watch some cartoons. If everyone was ready to go at 7:30, fine. Off we go. If it was 9:00 a.m.? Well, that was fine too.

And let me tell you: 3:30 comes a heck of a lot earlier than 5:00 or 6:00.

So, the rhythm of our days is trying to find its groove. On telecommute days, I live in constant terror that I'll just be working away, caught up in whatever project, and miss the bus pick-up. I'm told Charlotte will not be let off without someone there to retrieve her. I should probably set a few alarms or something.

For days I go into the office, we have a nanny who is proving to be FABULOUS. She picks up Charlotte from the bus stop and also gathers Lorelei to reunite the two sisters. With the nanny, I'm able to let go of far more than I expected. I'm so used to coming home to chaos and with a trillion tasks ahead of me. This week, I came home to happy kids playing, freshly bathed. And, I don't think it's in my head: The house is always slightly cleaner than I left it. Even Emma is happier. (Why? Because she gets liberated much earlier, that's why.)

To boot, we no longer have to play beat the clock to get to daycare by 6:00. Because the nanny picks up Lorelei, Chris can come straight home. (I get home last--as is expected when the freaking school bus doesn't come until 8:42 a.m.!) Chris was able to squeeze in some exercise and get dinner rolling before the nanny left. And did I mention my kids were already bathed and happily engrossed in some sort of make-believe when I arrived home, rather than screaming at me to free them from their car seats and when is dinner and I want a snack and yes I did indeed take off my shoes and socks during the two-minute drive home and oops I spill my water and mommy can you carry in my four thousand craft projects and lunch box along with your work stuff and coffee thermos?

And, let's face it. I love being right. Chris was hesitant to hire a nanny, wanting to do after care at the school. I dug my heels in and refused. I made calculations and arguments and finally won. Oh, the man is convinced. The quality of our family life, particularly as we transition to Charlotte going to school, has improved thanks to this woman. More breathing room, less chaos, more hang-out time at home for the girls to offset the increase in structure.

Despite the busy week, we've still been busy in books.

We recently finished Bears on Hemlock Mountain, which was wonderful. Charlotte absolutely loved it and was at the edge of her seat (bed?) the entire story. She was so bummed when I returned it to the library that I'm toying with just buying her her own copy.  This is a fabulous read-aloud book, and you can finish it in two nights, easy (and ham up the reading to crank up that drama). Of course, Charlotte was so caught up in the story that I caved and powered through the whole dang thing in a single night. Totally recommended.

Also, this being Charlotte's first week of kindergarten, we launched the first book of the Junie B. Jones series. Charlotte love love loves Junie B. Me, I have mixed feelings. On the one hand, I find her train of thought utterly adorable. On the other hand. .  . Junie has a strange redneck streak with her language that is sort of off-putting to me. Oh, well. I should probably just make friends with Junie, because I suspect--with dozens of Junie B. books on the market--this girl is here to stay.

Besides reading aloud Charlotte's books, I have my own stack. I recently finished George Eliot's LONG Adam Bede, and I liked it so much that that I tried to fill the George Eliot-sized hole in my heart with her Silas Marner. I'm digging Silas less than Adam, but I'll see it through to the end.

I'm also reading Hausfrau, which is boring me to no end. Anna Benz is no Emma Bovary, as the book's marketing material would like you to believe. Anna and her constant psychoanalysis is tedious. Every other sentences has Some Grand Statement. Metaphors and symbols are laid out, the pointed out, then beaten within an inch of their literary lives. I'm three-quarters of the way through it. I'm ready to be done. Not recommended.

I've been reading Creativity, Inc., the aptly titled business/management/workplace dynamics book written by the CEO of Pixar. Of these types of books, this is one of the best I've read. In fact, I found it so smart that I told Chris about it (which piqued his interest, seeing as how he REALLY needs to engender and foster creativity and good dynamics among the teams he manages). This led to me returning the library copy and him ordering one for the two of us. And, um, Chris ain't gonna be able to abide by any checkout due date.

I'm still chipping away at the Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up, with which of course I'm pacing myself, Kodo-tidying along as I read. I love this book so. If only I didn't live with other people who haven't read her book . . . . (I kid! I kid! Sort of.) I'm also chipping away at Mr. Emerson's Wife, though it has been a bit back-burnered as I try to get Hausfrau out of my reading life.