My dysfunctional family

Sometimes families are weird. Do you ever have certain moments in your life when you question if you are really related to these people?
We took a loooooong road trip this past weekend for a reunion of sorts. The goal was to have the kids spend time with Grandma and Grandpa. We only had 3 days but I think everyone had a good time hiking, trick or treating, and hanging around the campfire. The weather was spectacular and it provided us plenty of opportunity to explore the many trails of the Hocking Hills area.



I feel exhausted! When I pulled the kids from school 3 years ago I felt it was the only way to insure the best education possible. I didn't fully realize how difficult it would be to coordinate everything. I have to be a daughter, wife, mom, and teacher. I guess I'm having a hard time enjoying any of these "roles" as I'm struggling to do any of them very well. When we have school going well then housework suffers and dinners are lacking. When I get to the housework and shop for meals to make then I don't have sanity for schooling. There's doctors appointments to keep, bills to pay, piano lessons and piano practicing, taekwondo classes, and a puppy to exercise. I've had a headache every night for the past week thinking about how much more I have left to do that will have to wait until another day.
As the holidays are fast approaching I need to take more time to breathe. We added read alouds to our after dinner time. Last night we finished up Twenty-One Balloons by DuBois. It's nice to sit around as a family and listen to a good book. (I like it because husband relieves me of the read aloud duty!)
I need to remind myself often that kids grow up fast. The time I spend with them watching them learn is truly priceless and I'm so thankful to be able to put "work" on a rear burner.