I can haz moar tiem plz?

I have been slapped in the face recently with the evidence that I need to slow down more recently. Between Maus being the fearless little toddler she is and the Ravel Piano Concerto concert looming, everything in my life is pointing to the fact that I need to be more mindful in my life. If I can't play the Ravel cleanly at 126 it's sure not gonna work at 144. If I don't make it all the way through my workout tape with the beginner mods I'm going to have a hard time getting the workout done up to speed. My crocheted sweater will get finished even if I can only do a couple rows a week. My garden is going to grow at its own pace, not mine. It's not a big deal if Boo takes a few extra minutes to hop down from the car, or put on her shoes, or get dressed. Maus is going to go at her own pace no matter what I think (but honestly Maus tends to do the opposite of slow most days!).

What I find frustrating is that I thought I was pretty good about being patient and slow. But recently I guess I've slipped. Our schedule has gotten busier, and we have less time to get places than we used to. Between story times, swim lessons, chores and errands, it has been a very busy couple of months for us. I have deliberately chosen to cut out swim lessons for the summer, and we're gonna chill out and relax before Boo starts preschool in the fall. We're gonna hang out in the backyard and smoke stuff and play. We're gonna go to the Zoo every chance we get (Thanks Gramma and Grampa!). I'm going to try to worry less about getting chores done, and more about playing with the girls. Less tv time, more play time. More outside time. More time. Period.

Don't we all wish we had more time?

It makes me wonder how other parents do this? I mean, I feel like I'm pretty good about limiting the girls to a few activities that I know they'll enjoy. But I see kids running from one activity to another, and its just mind boggling. If I'm struggling to keep things together with the limited activities we do, how do other parents with kids more involved ever get anything done? It's all about balance, and I know this is something that I'm going to be dealing with for a long time.