Sometimes, no matter how hard you try, things just don’t work out. For the longest time I’ve held on to and harbored resentment to this fact, especially since I’m your typical type-A planner freak. I love to organize and plan the details of our day, including all the food we will eat and what time I need to start preparing it to make my life as easy as possible.

But lately things just have been all wrong.

I have decluttered and minimized our belongings. I have taken away the playroom and setup a more Montessori styled activity structure. I have increased outdoor time. I have upped the health factor of their daily snacks. I have done all the things to ensure a more calm, easy-going day-to-day routine amidst the constant movement we feel in all other areas of our life. But maybe it’s just me. And you know what, everything I’ve done HAS NOT WORKED. So where does this leave me?

Besides feeling pissed off and like I’m losing my mind on the daily, I’m left questioning if this routine that I’ve been trying to hold on tois serving us well anymore. While I’ve made changes to our surroundings in our home—where we tend to spend a lot of our time each day—and I’ve focused on dietary needs to lessen sugar intake, I’m still sitting here in the same frustrated boat I’ve been paddling for months now. So I think the only thing to do is to completely overhaul our routine in prep for the summer (when Hailey is out of school for a few months) and then reevaluate again in a few months once she’s back in school for all-day Kinder.

I am already exhausted thinking about the idea of being out and away from our home more regularly than we are now; however, I’ve recently caught myself telling friends (who cannot fathom how/why I go out of the house with all of my children) that it’s easier when we’re out of the house. They aren’t destroying our home, asking me for a snack every 4 seconds, and they are stimulated by whatever surrounds us at the time. Admittedly this is usually Target 1-2x a week, in which they now expect a free cookie from the bakery, but at least they no longer ask to BUY toys. We just look with our pretty eyes and move on to the bakery….if they’re good the whole trip. Everyone laugh with me now: “hahahahhahahhaa”. But really, they’re better than I give them credit for most days. Other days, though, there are the epic Target Tantrums that we reminisce on over adult beverages…confirming that we are still good parents, despite the asshole-ness the children exude that day.

I digress.

Getting out of the house with 3 kids who are all still in car seats, and cannot buckle or unbuckle themselves, is a real chore. There is a lot of planning. I can’t just grab an applesauce pouch and a bottle of water and call it good. Well, I suppose I can if I’m gone for no more than 20 min, but beyond that planning must be considered. Drinks, snacks, diapering needs—because 20 month old + my 3.5 year old suddenly doesn’t like to be potty trained anymore—wipes for the inevitable car mess, car books/activities because it takes a min of 20-30 min to get anywhere in the PHX area, and toddlers have the attention span of gnats. We also live in the Earth’s epicenter and must apply 4 gallons of sunscreen before departing the house in Spring/Summer months (basically 80% of our year). Have you ever tried to sunscreen 3 toddler/kids every single day as you’re trying to hustle out the door? Add at least 15 min to your departure time.

But what is left to do? Nothing. We are at the point of no return and something has to give. If I’m going to avoid checking myself into the looney bin for my inability to control the chaos within my home, I’ve got to get OUT of the house a little more. So, do share: where are your favorite places to visit with your children?