A Day in the Life of Us (And the End of July)

It's been awhile since I've done a day in the life of us. It's fun to record what we do all day and then look back to see how that changes. Here are the last two posts about a day in the life of us: here and here. Because it's summer, we are often doing different things depending on the day; but, our rhythym and routine stays pretty consistent. Here is what a day in the life of us looks like with a 3.75 year old and almost 2 year old in the middle of July:

I wish with all my heart that I was a morning person, but I am not. So my day usually starts with whoever wakes up first waking me up, somewhere between 6:00-7:00. Ewan usually starts talking in his crib or Isla will come into our room (or scream "mommy" until I go upstairs). They immediately both want food. So we start our day with a big hearty breakfast (typical breakfasts include: yogurt with all the mix-ins, smoothie and toast, cereal, oatmeal, eggs and bagel, or an egg/banana pancake). On this particular day, I stepped away to do something and came back to a yogurt painting all over the counter.

Somewhere in the middle of the breakfast chaos, I try to make coffee and eat something for myself too. Michael usually heads to work (a.k.a. goes downstairs) about 7:00. So if the kids are up before he leaves, he will help this very tired mama get the kids dressed and eating. Sometimes he gets bonus points and even makes my coffee!

After breakfast, we get dressed. This includes me too. Sometimes Isla likes to get dressed before she goes down to breakfast, but otherwise we all get ready for the day after we've cleaned up the yogurt from our faces.

I've started "strewing" (a homeschool technique/term) items of interest for Isla to find the next morning. They include hands-on activities, art projects, books to look at, puzzles, or a set goal. On this day, Isla was using scissors to cut pieces of clay. Great fine motor work!

Usually once we all get ready and I clean up the breakfast dishes, we do one of two things. We head out for the day or we squeeze in a little school time. We had a full day here, so we got ready to head out the door. Isla loves to help Ewan put his shoes on.

If we are staying home for the day, the kids will start playing while I try to squeeze in as many chores as I can. To be honest, the house isn't as clean as I'd like because we are always busy doing something in the summer. Oh well.

I do my best to leave a clean kitchen so I don't have to come home to a mess ;)

I always make sure we have waters, snacks, and whatever else we need for the day's adventure. Today, we were returning library books and picking up new ones.

Got our books and now we are heading to Mimi and Bupa's house, just down the road!

We got in our outside time at Mimi and Bupa's house. They love playing in their backyard. We try to get plenty of outdoor time each day. We are WAY behind in our 1,000 hours outside challenge, but still find it important to soak up that sun and fresh air.

Other morning adventures we typically have are playdates with friends at the park/house, swimming at State Farm Park, picking up groceries, time at the nature preserve, mom's group at a park, music/plays at the ampitheatre, going to the zoo, taking a class (at the zoo or nature preserve), or just playing in the backyard.

Then it was back home for lunch! Sometimes we take our lunches with us (I always pack them the night before if I know we'll be out). It just depends on what we are doing. Today, it was lunch outside.

After lunch, we clean up for naps (around 12:00/12:30). Sometimes this means picking up our toys if we've been playing inside. And we change clothes if we've had an especially dirty adventure in the morning. Everyone goes potty/gets a diaper change and we start our naptime. They each read one book and then it's lights out. Isla is currently transitioning to more of a "quiet time". Some days she needs a nap and some days she doesn't, but we all need a quiet time by ourselves (mom included). So she is required to stay on her bed until her bluetooth-controlled light comes on. She sometimes falls asleep and sometimes just plays on her bed. When the light comes on, she is allowed to open her curtains and spend time playing in her room or looking at books. Eventually, I get her to let her know quiet time is over. We are very slowly working on this process. Ewan, on the other hand, falls asleep before I even shut the door. He sleeps a good 3 hours and I usually have to wake him up.

During naptime, I eat my lunch and pick up the house. If I'm extra motivated, I might throw a load of laundry in or mop the floors. But these days, I've been taking naps too. I consider naptime my union break :) I relax, nap, read, online grocery shop, or catch up where I need to.

After nap, they get a snack. On this day, apparently Isla wanted an entire sandwich for snack haha

After everyone is awake, fed, and diaper changed (Ewan) we wait for daddy to get off work (a.k.a. come upstairs from the basement). Sometimes we spend the evening at home having family time, where we might play outside, go on a walk, or play together. Other times we go do something like head to Nana and Pop Pop's pool, go to a store/restaurant, or some kind of activity together. This summer, Isla had dance on Tuesday evenings. So one of us would take her to that. On this particular day, it was dance night. We have signed her up for a fall class too and that will resume in September!

When we get home (or around 5:00/5:30) it's dinner time. We make it a point to have dinner every night together as a family. We share our highs and lows and talk with one another. Usually one parent makes dinner while the other one plays with the kids. Then the parent that didn't cook has to do dishes.

After dinner, we spend time together as a family. Daddy and the kiddos love to have dance parties or wrestling matches. I just watch usually :)

Around 6:45/7:00 we start getting ready for bed. Every other or every three days is bath night. Dad is in charge of baths. Otherwise, it's teeth brushed, pajamas on, 2 books, prayer, songs, and snuggles. One parent lays Ewan down and one parent lays with Isla. Somehow it ends up being me for both of those...

Then mom and dad veg on the couch with dessert before eventually heading to bed. I always make sure to pack lunches if we need them packed for the next day and set out a "table activity" for Isla in the morning. If I have anything to prep for school I do that now too.

And that's a day in the life of us, currently.

Like I said, every day in the summer looks a little different. Here are some of the other things we've done this July:

We love our monthly zoo class. This month we learned about the desert boa snake:

The kids love the garden now that it's producing something of value :) Isla goes out every day and picks tomatoes. She usually eats them all before she makes it inside.

We recently discovered we love State Farm Park. Since the headquarters is here in town, the company offers a huge park for State Farm employees and their family. It includes all kinds of sports (tennis, volleyball, etc.), playgrounds, mini golf, walking trails, a big pool/splash pad, and much more. I've always been intimidated to take the kids, but we finally went with both grandmas and had a blast! Now we go as often as we can. The kids love it :)

I recently started up a play group for homeschooling families of littles. The hope is that we grow as a group as our kids grow. I'd love to turn it into an official co-op someday, but right now we've had fun getting to know other families in the area that are also interested in homeschooling someday.

For some reason the ampitheatre has not offered very many music nights this summer. That was our favorite thing to do as a family last year. We did manage to make it to one of the few that were offered. Both kids love music!