Short Attention Span Theater

Or our house it should be named. Everyone from Hadley (who let's face it is two, and should not be able/willing to focus on one thing for more than a few minutes) to me seems to have trouble remembering what we need to do, and when.

I think there are just so many new changes with the start of school and the plethora of activity schedules, that none of us can focus. I find myself using any time that I can't seem to care about the task at hand making mental checklists of what I need to be doing. For example, when the leader of Women's bible study had all 100+ women go around the room and give their name, and the name of the study they had chosen, I zoned completely into a calendar making trance to the point that I had no idea what I was supposed to say when the lady next to me gave me the elbow and the microphone. (I have stopped worrying about stuff like that at church, as I think most of the women there see me as the poor old woman from the shoe rhyme-- no fault of mine that I am out of it right?) I packed my bag for the gym with everything except a hairbrush -man did I leave looking pretty that day. Oh, did I mention that I forgot to send Ian to chorus today?

The other day we went to the grocery store, and Holly forgot to wear shoes. Kind of important, but they have putting them on for so long themselves, that I don't check anymore.

Ian has spent the past two Tuesday nights learning to spell BIG words for a spelling test that he has been able to prepare for since the previous Thursday. He goes to football almost every time with the water bottle he filled so carefully on the counter. We have to check the swimming schedule daily to see when/where practice is (changes every single day of the week) And please don't get me started on how many times a week he loses his cup (not the kind you drink from...)

Ella goes upstairs for shoes this morning, and comes down with a random toy that caught her attention instead.

Jilly seems surprisingly unaffected by all the changes. She still manages to sneak toys into the car, remembers to ask to pick the movie first every night, and plans her after school snack the morning before. I am certain that she is going to come out of school today asking for the backpack replacement I was supposed to remember to buy today while she was at school.....

I keep telling myself that with all of the time I spend writing things in the planner/calendar, and the routine that stays nearly the same week after week, we have to catch on eventually. I wish I was a math person, I would figure out the amount of chaos it is when you take 5 kids and their activities to the billionth power... I am sure that it is an exponential formula right?

Edited to add: As I was writing this post, Kevin calls from the football field where he was stranded with Ella, Holly, and Ian. I took his keys to switch carseats, and rather than taking them back, I drove off in the van leaving him with only a van key to drive his car. Do you think it is alzheimers?