Floundering - Time to Let the Hair Down

I'm floundering here.  I have a to do list a mile long for the girls after a week down with some weird funk the girls picked up in the local school during their scout meeting or in the community at large which all appear to be coming down with the flu.

I'm tired of being driven by the books, and the to do list of school work.  I'm ready to let down my hair and have some fun with all three girls not just the older two.  I'm afraid my littlest one who should be getting the most attention is getting the least attention due to the amount of work the older two need to put out.  I just want to sit down and enjoy the girls for who they are today - because they are so rapidly changing!

I'm reading up on the new "Common Core" that is being foisted onto our local schools and find myself wondering what the heck it really is.  Should I be taking it seriously, can I safely ignore it, or should I be steeling myself to fight against it.  I'm finding my 11 yr old is slammed with school work and projects for girl scouts.  I'm finding that the school work is standing in the way of her actually completing girl scout projects that would be of benefit for her and actually put her in a good place to pursue her other interests.  She has gifts to make for the holidays and no time to actually get them done.

I just want to sit down and go back to the basics.  Find out about our family customs - since DH's and my parents come from a totally different backgrounds.  Neither of us really paid attention to the things our families did growing up but suddenly this year it seems important to investigate the traditions and customs of our families.   It seems important to find out why our holidays happen the way they do before we run off and learn more about other cultures and customs.

In the spirit of the season, I think I need to lighten their schoolwork load and have them search out some fun.  Cause right now none of us is having any fun!  So without further adieu... the girls and I are lightening up our calendars and getting down to some real research - research that tells us what we are really made of.