I have some thoughts swirling in my head but before I lay them out here I am looking for some feedback from my friends. What do you do all day? Where do you spend your time? What do you feel you need to do to spend your time more wisely? I am especially curious to hear feedback of mothers of three or more because that is where I am going and it is a mystery and an elusive balance to strike to me. I want to hear what you do all day--from the moment you wake up until your children go to bed at night.
I have this lovely routine out for us--it is a flexible schedule but it just keeps us moving in a good direction--however we have just been following it in a bare bone sort of way lately. Some days are better than others--you know how that goes, this is real life after all. I am not chasing after being Stepford wife perfect or keeping up appearances, this is about being loyal enough to myself to let the greatness within me be manifested. I haven't been honoring that part of myself enough as of late.
I have become bad at getting stuff done--consistently anyway, I guess you would say I am in a slump. I haven't created a good humming routine in this house and I need it. As a creature of habit who is enhanced by productivity, this is not a place for me to be. This is the place where the song---"A little less talk and alot more action" comes into play for me. I am here. It is time to get at it and shake off the shackle laden habit of laziness .
So as I begin to settle into a place of more action (can't you just hear the Rocky theme song in the backround?) and less talking about action, I am curious to know what other moms do all day and hear your stories about this topic. Until then...I am off to shower and do my hair--even if it is 1pm and we still haven't had lunch.
6 comments:
Somedays it's mostly in my car
6am-wake up and get dressed
6:15-see dh off to work
6:30-kids up dressed and fed
7:15 drop off c and m to school and home again
8:05-drop T off at school
8:20-8:30-arrive at gym and do workout
10am-back home, clean up breakfast dishes/table sort and start laundry.
12:30-pick up T from preschool, return home put S for nap and let T have some computer time. While he does computer I fold laundry and prep for dinner if needed.
2:30- load kids and pick up C and M from school
3pm-we are home and letting the kids have some down time while I check email, pay bills, any other "office" type things that need to be done.
4pm-go over school folders with kids, sign forms, return books, clean out backpacks etc.
5pm-begin dinner depending on what we are having.
6pm-dinner and I clean up while kids get in jammies.
6:30pm-s to bed
6:45pm c,m and t to bed
7pm-take care of dog clean up downstairs as needed (kids do upstairs before bed).
8pm-tim and I head to our room for some quiet and tv time. Then it starts all over again. And I got the early bedtimes from you and they are HEAVENLY!!!
I will give you my ideal schedule, but every day is a little different. I'm also going through a slump right now. I have to re-evaluate my schedule every few weeks. It helps if I write out everything I want to get done for the week and when I want to do it. I'm also a little spoiled because Josh works from home and does a lot for me. He helps out in the kitchen and the laundry. I'm trying to prepare myself for when he has to go back to an office job. That's why I want to get out of this slump and start doing more dishes and laundry.
7:00 or so, get up and have breakfast
8:00 get everyone dressed, work on picking up, especially the upstairs. Feed the baby
8:40 shower, etc.
9:15 This is when I do weekly chores, and I schedule something different for each day.(dust, mop, wash handprints off walls, vacuum, etc.)
9:45 start school. We mostly hang out together and do school for the rest of the morning. In between subjects I pick up another room, feed the baby, email, etc.
12:00 lunch and clean up
12:45 finish school
2:00 many days we have things like group co-op, piano lessons, visit grandma, or just quiet time.
I usually let them watch a movie or something when we're home. With Josh home, I get to rest (sometimes). Most days that doesn't happen.
3:30 or 4:00 some days we come back to do one more school lesson, or finish our math or whatever. I also use this as my craft time. My kids will help me or go play by themselves. It gets easier when the get a little older and do more without Mom.
5:00 dinner prep, eat, clean
6:30 family time or exercise, the kids like to join me for my exercise. I think all of them have been kicked once when the workout with me with the kickboxing video.
7:30 or 8:00 bedtime. After Josh and I put the kids in bed, we watch T.V. or play games or whatever. Actually, truthfully, since Sophie was born I've been so tired that I often fall asleep with the kids. Josh will come and wake me up to take me to bed around 10:00. I look forward to waking up a little more so I can spend more alone time with Josh after the kids go to bed.
Like I said, this is my proposed, ideal schedule. Every day brings new adventures and new messes. I have to learn not to give up on my schedule when one thing has to change. We should get together and I'll show this schedule book I've got that I've taken a lot of ideas from. It helps me to decide just what I want to get done, and what order I think it should get done. I am very goal-oriented and scheduled, and making schedules is a real talent for me. If I could follow my schedules as well as I make them out I'd consider myself SuperWoman.
No exact schedule since every day is different, but I do know that I spend too much time on the computer most days which really eats into my productivity. Also, when we have a full week with activities every morning which means I'm not home until after I pick up Bean from preschool, its not good for any of us. I have to have at least one morning a week that I just drop her off and then come home and can get caught up on the weekly chores, phone calls, office type stuff.
Part of why I have to have a morning is because I pretty much don't plan to get anything done in the afternoons other than make dinner. I'm just too wiped out by naptime to care and then once everyone is up, if its nice, we go outside, if not, we play inside, but I'm just not very productive then (I'm totally a morning person who misses having the mornings to myself). So I don't try and we're all happier that way and it means I usually do spend a little time just hanging out with the kids each day. (although if we stay indoors, I'm known to sneak on the comp. a lot).
What my goal schedule is:
Chores done by 9am
School until 12
then lunch
Anja naps
I spend time with Erin and/or clean.
I do make dinner by 5 pm and I'm out of the house by 5:15 for school
What usually happens,
I'm working so hard to get the girls to finish chores and I find its already 10:30
I struggle with Anja and doing school.
Anja falls asleep then I get lunch and make it quiet time so I can have patience to finish school by 3.
I start making dinner by 4 so we can eat by 5.
Cleaning, laundry and everything else is tough
First of all, at some point I had to let go of the notion that I was going to get everything done every day. But if I write out all the things I would like to do, then when I have downtime, I have something to do (since I'm prone to be really lazy if I don't have anything in mind, I can never think of the things I need to do in the moment.) And I change my schedule all the time (the things I can change).
7:30-8:00 Wake up and get E, K, M off to school.(They eat breakfast at school. Reduced price lunch is awesome!)
8:00-8:30 Take girls to school, read scriptures in the car before I come back in for a few minutes if John is home to watch the other kids.
8:30-8:55 Get R, L, and A changed dressed and ready for the day. Help them get breakfast.
8:55 Take Ruth to preschool on days she has it, or send her with John on his way to work.
9:00-10:45 The girls watch their morning shows. I feed A and eat my own breakfast. I also do odd cleaning things like empty the dishwasher or put in laundry. I also do indexing on the computer or read L books if she wants.
10:45-11:10 (or 11:00 if it is R's preschool day) I do my second round of changing and bottles and get everyone ready to go pick up E from kindergarten.
11:15 Pick up E(and R if applicable). I take a book or puzzle book so if I have to wait for her I don't get impatient. We also listen to the kids music on the ipod in the car and it's like taking a breath from the day. All the kids are buckled and quiet. It's nice.
11:30-1:00 We go back home and do various things. If A falls asleep in the car then he usually sleeps for awhile and I get a reprieve. Then sometimes the girls and I play DDR for a while. Then I fix lunch while E gets one show in. We eat lunch and then they go down for naps. If A is awake when we get done, then I feed him while E gets her show, then fix lunch.
1:00-3:00 This is naptime in our house. The girls all do something quietly (they don't have to sleep). I take a nap if I need to, or do cleaning chores like kitchen and laundry. I usually have to feed A for at least part of this time, so we cuddle and rest. If I'm really ambitious, I exercise or work on projects.
3:15 Pick up K and M from school. I always go a little late and take a book because they are slowpokes coming out of school. It's another breathing time for me.
3:30-6:00 The girls work on cleaning one room in our house. I take care of A or do other cleaning chores. If necessary, I think about dinner and start on it.(John usually takes care of dinner when he comes home if he's going to be home that night). Usually one day a week we go during this time up to my parents to visit. K also has Activity Days and choir during this time. If the girls get their chores done quickly, I let them play outside or do something fun. I also use this time to work on homework with individual girls if need be.
6:00-7:00 We eat dinner, read scriptures and do bedtime stuff.
7:00-10:00 The girls go to bed. The older girls do their homework. The younger girls humor me by usually staying in their rooms and sometimes going to sleep. Usually by about 9:00 they are all asleep. I feed A and read or watch shows. A few nights a week I go to meetings, clubs, or out for some breathing time, like grocery shopping or to the library, just out of the house.
9:00-12:00 John and I watch TV together or play games or eat a late night snack. A goes to bed about 10:00, and I usually relax or work on projects until 12:00.
12:00 John and I go to bed and read scriptures. We are night owls. We joke that we need a day in between when the kids go to bed and when we have to go to sleep. We need more sleep but it is hard to give up that alone time at night. Saturdays we sleep in.
You know, I read this post weeks ago and thought, I'll respond by posting a typical day on my blog. But then, I kept having typical days that left me no time to think it through and post it!
I still want to post about it -- I think it's a great question.
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