The summer than never was

Okay, so the high today was 72 degrees. In August. In the Midwest. Where did my summer go? We maybe got two days over 90 degrees -- it was barely warm enough to swim half of the time.

Alright, maybe I'm just sore because school starts next week. And while the kids are excited to see their friends, I'm dreading the school year routine. Staying organized and on top of homework, permission slips and school activities is a full time job. A job that would be perfect for a wife, if I had one.

Even though I complain A LOT, I'm actually kind of proud of how organized I've become during the school year. My tools: a planner, a three-bin office inbox and a kid-friendly to do list.

The planner is for me to try to stay on top of picture days, teachers' conventions and days off. As soon as the school publishes its calendar, I'm transferring important dates and deadlines into mine, making sure to plan my vacation days to coincide with the kids' scheduled days off. I hate surprises and if I'm disciplined enough, my planner eliminates most monkey wrenches.

The office inbox is to manage all the paper. HOLY SHIT, THERE'S SO MUCH PAPER! So to keep on top of it all, each kid has a bin and so do I. Each one of us is responsible for taking care of the stuff in our own bin. The kids' bins have assignments and mine is typically full of permission slips and book orders. The kids know that if they don't put it in my bin, mom won't see/do it.

"Sorry, honey. Didn't you put the book order in my bin? No? Guess we'll have to wait for the next one."

While the inbox is actually a pretty sweet system that makes my kids accountable for their own activities and school work, it's got one tiny drawback. I HAVE A DAMN OFFICE INBOX ON MY KITCHEN COUNTER.

I've never seen an office inbox on any of the kitchen counters in Real Simple. I only see beautiful vases filled with limes. Anyhoo, back to organization...

The morning to do list is the most brilliant thing I've developed since my Three House Rules. Ever since the twins could read, they've been responsible for completing a very basic, but super-awesomely comprehensive list each morning. (Yes, in my world, "super-awesomely" is so a word.)

It reads:

• Get up.
• Get dressed.
• Brush teeth.
• Brush hair.
• Load backpacks.

They can read. They know what to do. And most importantly, they know I'm leaving promptly at 7 a.m., no matter if they've finished the list or not.

Well, those are three major elements to my back-to-school organization. There's actually a fourth: Meal Planning. But I'll save that for another post.

Oh, and in case you're wondering, my Three House Rules are as follows:

1) No lying.
2) Treat others like you want to be treated.
3) Take care of your things.

These rules were developed when The Deuce, who was five at the time, complained that we had too many rules. When I thought about it, I realized she was right. Simplicity is key. And these three rules, pretty much cover everything.