The insanity has hit. School and new schedules throwing a wrench in any semblance of sanity and the impending doom of circular sickness is looming like a dark cloud over your head. How can we possibly get ahead of the curve? How can we help ourselves and our kids stay on top of our collective commitments? Careful planning and the acceptance of early failure is key.

 
Let’s focus on being healthy. We all know as school starts, kids bring home all kinds of new stuff. Hand washing is easy to brush off, but please for everyone in your house, wash them. Buy a few of those antibacterial bottles and the fancy keychain clips and give one to each member of your household to use as often as they like. Sanitize doorknobs, handles, and anything else that gets touched regularly. Change your sheets, vacuum, stay on top of filter changes. Open your windows as often as possible. Even if you have the heat or the AC on designate a time at least once a week to put box fans in the windows and attempt air purges.

 
Sleep, make sure everyone is getting enough hours of recovery. Create a schedule and stick to it. In bed by and awake by. Kids need at least 8 hours of sleep at night; most don’t get it.

 
Eat and stay hydrated. Give everyone fuel to stay strong. Lunchtime at school is a disaster, we all know it. Give them fast fuel they can eat quickly and get out to recess. Force fluids, water first. When kids get home from school have snacks ready, eliminate their waiting time by prepping it the last ten minutes before the bus gets home. If you are picking them up, use those fantastic, sectioned plastic Tupperware and hand them a mini meal on the way to practice. A ‘hangry’ kid is a force you don’t want to mess with.

 
Try and keep your schedules simple, squeezing in little errands or outings into an already packed day is not the best idea. Granted sometimes you are out of a necessity and absolutely must squeeze in a grocery run. Don’t wait until the last minute to look at your day. Do it the night before. Yes it can add up to a good amount of work but time management for a busy family is an essential skill to possess. Account for traffic in your commute times and know that perfection is a myth. Give yourself a break and don’t take it out on the kids when things don’t go as planned. It’s just life and everything will be fine. Possess the ability to just let it go.