There is no more certain way for me to acquire a quiet afternoon than for me to stick a sign on the TV saying “Chores First.” Like magic, the kids will scatter to go play at their friends’ houses rather than be stuck here where Mom might enforce that sign. So I had a quiet afternoon today. Unfortunately it was not a relaxing one. Every minute of the day was scheduled and most of it was focused on clearing the way for an early bedtime. This morning was incredibly cranky because all the kids were short on sleep. I don’t want to do that again. But moving bedtime earlier means snack has to move earlier and so do Family Home Evening, homework, dinner, fixing dinner, washing dishes so I can fix dinner, etc. It feels like I started preparing for bedtime at around 3 pm. Add into the mix the fact that all the kids had heavier than usual homework loads, and I am now very tired. This year is going to be homework heavy. Fortunately all of my kids are currently focused on being responsible about homework, so it is not an uphill battle. The nice thing about early bedtime is that it is now 9 pm. All the kids are abed and my bedtime is an hour from now. Tomorrow will be better, because the second day of a new schedule always is. Also, the kids will be less cranky because they will have gotten enough sleep.