3 Steps to Crushing the Month of May

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April showers bring May flowers, but also mayhem, chaos and pandelerium. Can you feel the wave of CRAZY beginning to rise, as May edges a little closer?

From graduation parties and sending out invitations, to teacher appreciation luncheons, tea time with mom, athletic events and those last minute birthday evites. How can we handle it all? My google calendar is definitely the most utilized tool, working night and day to keep this crew organized. If I lost my phone, the world better stop, cause mama ain’t messing around.

I’ve passed myself on the 101 on numerous occasions. Great job, sister. You’ve got this!

But the month of May, calls for an extra glass of wine. May is DEFCON 5. We map out, strategize, executive, formulate, conceive, achieve, arrange, plan, recalculate, perform and produce more than any other month of the year. It could actually rival Christmas.

If the productivity level of women could be captured, it would surely produce enough energy to power the city for 6 months.

A typical May evening is filled with signing homework folders, buying poster board at CVS, helping a child with an Algebra assignment that is surely over my pay grade, registering for a field trip and: Oh mom, don’t forget you’re decorating the teacher’s door on Friday and you can only use the resources from the room on the left with a code that I forgot to bring home, but you can call Janie’s mom, who said she’ll be home after 5 pm on Tuesday. What the what?

We’re in survival mode. Within a few years, all this will be gone, the kids, the graduations, the luncheons, the track meets and ballet recitals, gone. It’s time to make the most of the mayhem.

3 Ideas to Crushing the Month of May

1. Plug everything into the calendar.

The event, the time, the address and estimated drive time. Do you ever jump in the car and can’t find the address or forget it takes an extra 15 minutes in rush hour? Organize ahead of time.

Solution:

We hold a family meeting every Sunday evening to discuss the upcoming week, expectations, who’s doing what, who’s driving who, pick up times, mandatory meetings, track meets, homework projects, school supplies. It’s all in the calendar, to minimize surprises.

Google Calendar and the Cozi App are great scheduling tools.

2. Build a surplus of gifts, snacks and wrapping supplies

Create a stash box full of of birthday gifts, fun bags, tissue paper, coffee mugs, and snacks for those spur of the moment birthday parties and teacher appreciation luncheons.

Solution:

I run to one of the box mart stores and load up on $1 gift bags, thank you notes, colorful tissue paper, water guns, nerf guns, barbie dolls, gift cards and baked goods for those eleventh hour events. It will keep you from skidding into the grocery store, 10 minutes before carpool, saving you time, gray hair and a better attitude.

Amazon.com is your friend and Amazon.com/prime is an even better friend.

3. Savor the moments.

It’s all about the Journey. You can’t do everything. You’re only 1 person. That’s it, just one. The super hero cape and Calgon won’t save you. Focus on what’s important: making memories, having fun. Enjoy the moments, for you won’t always be running from here to there, attending graduations and teacher luncheons. It will be all over before you know it. You will live a smudge free, non-hurried life. So savor it all.

Reminder:

We’re not just drivers, rushing our kids from preschool to productive citizen. We’re family and it’s about the adventure, the ooey gooey goodness in the middle. Enjoy the journey. Here’s to Crushing the Month of May.