This year marked the start of preschool for my younger son, Holden, for three mornings a week. My older son, Cooper, started Kindergarten this year as well, but at a different school. I had absolutely no idea how much these heart-melting milestones would turn our day-to-day life management completely upside down, and require triple the Mom Memory Capacity. Now, along with my own schedule (the vast majority of which is work-related, because, really, who has time for anything else?!) I painstakingly need to keep track of the never-ending list of requests, responsibilities, and volunteer opportunities from two different schools — and attempt not to screw it all up.

This week I almost did just that, by nearly forgetting about Holden’s first parent-teacher conference. I jokingly blame it on the fact that he’s the second child, but there actually is some truth to that. It’s not that he’s any less important, of course, there’s just infinitely more to think about now than there was the first time around:

- Which photo package should we buy for picture day?

- Hurricane Sandy relief drive money due Monday!

- On which day, and at what school, did I volunteer to bring snack for the entire class?

- PTA donation due Tuesday! (Where is the checkbook?)

- Pizza lunch volunteers needed on Wednesday!

- PTA Meeting on Thursday!

- Who is taking Holden for his final check up after the broken arm?

- Book Fair on Friday! (I would just write a check for this, if I could actually find the checkbook.)

- Pajama Day next Monday!

- Shepherd’s birthday party! What’s his address again? And, oh wait, he’s a twin. Do I need two gifts?!

- Oh no, did we miss a playdate?

- Where is that invoice for preschool tuition for which I’m likely late on payment? (I still can’t find the checkbook.)

And the list goes on….

Even with all the calendar apps, post-its and reminders in the world, I don’t think I’ll ever feel completely on top of everything going on in our family’s busy life — but I also don’t think it’s possible to be, so I’ve decided I’m not going to beat myself up for it.  From time to time, I’ll screw up… even moms are human, no matter how superhuman we try to be.

How do you keep track of everything?