Tuesdays are going to be tough

Even leaving work at 4:45 today to get a jump start on things didn't seem to cut it. Now that soccer season is in full swing and as we have practices on Tuesdays and Thursdays, I'm trying to find a groove for the new schedule. We're playing a different soccer league this year compared to years past, so to a significant degree I can't leverage past experience. And I'm not making sob stories here, I know it can be much worse...

Soccer practice is three miles north of my work. Which might seem cool. But I must first travel 8 miles west to pickup the kids from school. Only then can I head back the roughly 6 miles to the practice site. None of that sounds very far, but you know how it is with rush hour traffic and city streets. Anyway, on the way to practice both kids have to change in the car. Darby has to change into non-school clothes regardless of the Tuesday/Thursday factor and put on her shin guards and cleats. But on Tuesdays even Shelby has to change because Tuesdays are chapel days at school, and I don't want miss clumsy-like-her-father Shelby to mess up her chapel attire. (Ironically I learned after we got home that Shelby had a nose bleed today, so there was blood down the front of her formerly-nice chapel outfit.)

Soccer practice starts at 5:45 (we barely made it on time), and while Darby was practicing soccer, Shelby was doing homework in the car, and I was reading a prep guide for an upcoming class. An hour later it was time to go already. Time to make the approximately 7 mile trip home. But on the way home today we stopped by WalMart to look for a red cowboy hat to no avail (Shelby needs it for a school activity). After leaving WalMart empty handed (usually difficult to do), we swung by Little Caesar's for the $5 large pizza anytime deal, since we hadn't eaten dinner yet and it was already 7:30.

Once we were home, we had to scarf a couple of slices of pizza each, and then Darby had to do homework and practice piano while Shelby was in the bath. Following her home/piano work, Darby got her bath and I think we made it to bed by 9:30, which is later than normal, but not bad all things considered.

But I still have so much to do before I can even think about bed. Blah.