A solution for the over-scheduled household

Finding yourself a little frazzled during the witching hours? 

You know, those hours after school and before dinner (generally speaking) where you have too many kids with too many places to be and many at the exact same time?

Cross country 6 days a week, music lessons (2 kids in piano, 2 in viola), orchestra rehearsals,  swimming lessons twice a week, dance twice a week, cub scouts, boy scouts, girl scouts, activity days, not to mention the additional activities that go on, like orchestra fundraising car washes, concerts, additional invitational cross country meets, etc. 

That's just an example.  Schedules and activities may vary.

And that's not even taking into account eating, homework, chores, or practicing.

Well, I have found a sure fire way to thin out that crazy schedule for 4-6 weeks at a time.

Invite some friends over for dinner (if you get really lucky they will offer to bring dinner, and then you are free to do what you do best- dessert).  Then when everyone is full to bursting- send all 7 kids and 2 dads out to the back yard to jump on the trampoline.

Odds are someone will break their arm, thereby lightening your load considerably. 

As long as you don't mind shelling out the dough for an ER visit, a visit to an orthopedic surgeon because the ER won't put hard casts on broken bones any more, buying clothes that will fit over the cast because she refuses to wear her older brother's old discarded t-shirts to school picture day the next day because that's all that will fit over the cast, and having to deal with the emotional side of a very disappointed little girl who is loving her ballet and jazz dance classes, auditioned and made it into the East Valley Youth Symphony, and also enjoys playing the piano along with her viola and now can't do any of them.

Of course all that free time just means that she has more time to do her homework now that it takes more than twice as long because she has to use her left hand for everything.

And just for the record the score stands as this-

Boys team (3 active boys)-  responsible for zero holes in household walls,  zero broken bones, but 1 set of stitches .

Girls team (1 girl) - 2 holes in walls (cartwheels and rollerskating), and 1 broken bone. Zero stitches.

I'm not sure who's winning. (definitely not me)

Of course my boys are giving it their best- just the other day I came home to find the two younger boys racing each other down the stairs in sleeping bags.  That slippery material sure goes pretty dang fast.