I want a routine, but maybe not this one

I know that it's only the first week back to school, and so I have to be gentle with myself in terms of developing a good routine and sticking with it but OMG are we out of practice. 

When the kids leave in the morning, it looks like we have all been abducted in the middle of a robbery.  Except for yesterday when I had to literally follow the last of them out the door and get straight in my car to go to a meeting and ran around like a fool all morning making everything look pristine and putting away 3 loads of laundry by 8 am.  (I hate coming home to a messy house). I am looking for something in the middle of these two extremes.

 I mean, I don't want housework to eat up my whole day when I am working from home, and I also don't want to have to sweat so much before school-- you know?  Mostly, though, I want to have a productive semester, not spend until December "adjusting to my routine" which is what happened last year.

On one hand, I want to be in the routine already, and on the other hand, I need the routine to look different than it does so far.  You know?

OK-- a couple other things:
1.  Harry started school!

 2.  Harry and Jack can ride the bus together!

 3.  Dorothy is all about ding her hair and wearing accessories

 4.  She is also always playing school and reading to an assembled audience in her room

 5.  I had my first day of class.

 6.  The coffee shop by my office has compliant almond milk, and we had a date!

 7.  Dorothy wore a ponytail and kept it in her hair all day!

 8.  Yesterday was the most gorgeous day of the year, and I walked all over campus for meetings, and it was lovely.

 9.  I just keep slapping weird stuff on my walls, and I love it.

 10.  Still doing the Whole30, kind of crabby about it.