ACK! The stress of coordinating schedules

I am very thankful that we are a homeschooling family. This gives us a lot of flexibility with our schedules and activites. Only one problem, the activities in which we would like to participate are not so flexible. 4:30 is when you need to be there. 5:30 is when you leave. No flexbility there.

Anyhow, I've double-booked my taxi cab service again. Everyday we pick up Jill at the bus stop around 3:45. We then take her to her babysitting job. We are typically home around 4:15. Jill gets off between 5:15 & 6:30, depending on which day it is. I try to schedule around those times. As I mentioned a moment ago, some activities don't have flexibility built in.

Soccer. I gave Rebekah & Neleh a "list" of activities from which they could choose their favorite. This would be the ONE they participated in. Becka chose soccer. We'd missed the LYSA deadline, so we signed up for a team with the YMCA. Last season, we practiced twice a week with 2 games on the weekends! This year, one practice a week, one game a weekend! AND it's a lot closer to the house!! I thought I had chosen a team with a Friday afternoon practice.
Swimming. Neleh chose swimming as her activity. I wanted them to be able to participate in the YMCA's Homeschool Gym & Swim program, but it overlaps the Jill transportation time. So I signed her up for swimming lessons. Now that she is 6, she has to participate in the afternoon lessons. No more school time lessons for kids who should be at school. So I went online and registered her for Tues/Th lessons from 4:45 - 5:30.

PROBLEM! I email the soccer coordinator to make sure I know when Becka's practices are. I learn that they are on THURSDAYS AT 4:30-5:30! Hmm...this is a problem. I could drop Jill off at babysitting around 4:00, make it to soccer in plenty of time, but then have to rush down the street to swimming lessons and be a few minutes late. THEN, having to leave Neleh at swimming lessons to go back to soccer to get Becka early so we could go back to the Y and pick up Neleh. *whew* I'd asked a few friends if they'd be willing to help, but I hadn't heard anything back. STRESS OUT TIME!!!

The more I thought of this situation, they more troubled I became. I looked online and there aren't any open soccer teams at feasible times. The one available team practices during the Jill transportation window. What am I going to do??

*light bulb above head* Maybe I could change swimming lessons? So I go to the website and discover one lesson block that might work for us. However, it is during the Wednesday Jill transportation time. Hmm...on Wednesdays Jill can go to church with her client's family. We were planning to go to Mass all together. BUT since it looks like we have no other option, everybody wins. I think Jill wants to still go to GROW to see her friends.

Jill gets to go to GROW

Rebekah gets to go to soccer (without just being dropped off and picked up in a hurry)

Neleh gets to go to swimming lessons (without Mom abandoning her for a while!)
And I don't have to drive myself crazy!! Just a lot of driving...but not totally crazy.