Welcome back for another day in the life of us! I have done these a few times and I always enjoy looking back on our routines that have stayed the same, but also the things that have changed as our family has changed. I love staying home with the kids and I am grateful for the chance to do that. I never miss the important things and I get to be a part of the growth!
Our days usually look the same. Once a week we have co-op and once a week we go the library, but otherwise our days look something like this:
Between 6:00-7:00 the kids wake up. They have been sharing a room for awhile, so they always wake up together and come barreling into our room. I'm usually nursing Eleanor who is still sound asleep, so Michael gets up with them and starts their breakfast. I'm mostly awake, but have to stay in bed with Eleanor until she wakes up because she nurses in her early morning, half-sleep.
Favorite breakfasts lately have been yogurt, bagels, or cereal for Ewan and bacon and egg wraps or bagels with salmon for Isla.
When Eleanor gets up, I head straight for the coffee maker. She either wakes up on her own or the big kids wake her up with their noise when they are left alone after Michael "goes to work" (in our basement). By 7:00 he heads downstairs and we're usually all up and out of bed.
I wouldn't call it chaos, but between 7:00-8:00 there is a lot happening. Around this time, I'm starting second breakfast for Ewan (let's note how often he eats throughout the day) and first breakfast for me and Eleanor. Also during this time, kids are getting dressed, teeth are getting brushed, beds are getting made, and we just generally are all aiming to be the first one ready for the day.
Today, I had a loaf of bread that needed baking. Just in time for my own breakfast!
I eventually get to my breakfast (and now-cold coffee) after everyone is somewhat ready for the day. And Eleanor comes back and finishes up her breakfast. She's a grazer.
By 8:00ish the kids go off and start their job, which is to play! I totally count this as the start of the "school" day. Isla is always involved in some kind of art project or workbook and Ewan is usually building something. Unless they are playing "puppy" (their made-up game), which trumps everything else for them.
Around 8:30 I begin my morning chores. I have adopted a new laundry routine that has changed my life! I do all the laundry from the day before, which ends up being one outfit per person and maybe some random stragglers like a towel. I throw it all in first thing in the morning, dry it midday, and by the evening it's ready to be put away. Since it's only one outfit-ish per person, it's easy peasy! Much better than my old way of doing 5 loads of laundry once a week that never ended up getting put away.
Chore #2, I always clean the kitchen up from breakfast. It's amazing how much better a clean kitchen feels.
Chore #3, I get ready. More dry shampoo, sweats, and a ponytail and I am good to go! Note the face steamer in the picture because my sinuses are literally killing me.
Chore #4, make the beds. I try to have the kids make their own beds, but sometimes it's just easier for me to run up and make all the beds.
By 9:00 we are finally ready to get on with our day. 1-3 times a week, we leave at this time for something (co-op, library, playdates, class, stores, etc.) and 2-3 times a week we stay home and do a more formal "school" or playtime. Today it was beautiful (almost 70 degrees in March), but because we had fertilizer down we decided to head to the park! So, first things first we all have to put socks and shoes on. Because there is only one me and three helpless children, it takes awhile to get out the door. I will never understand how people make it to school or work early in the morning.
I usually plan about 20-30 minutes in our schedule for loading into the car. It takes us all a hot second to go potty, put shoes on, get whatever we need for the outing, get buckled, pack snacks/waters/lunches/etc. It is not an easy feat for us. Waters, coffee, snacks CHECK
In the car, we like to listen to one of our podcasts. We love a science one called Brains On and a history one called Anytime Now. Or we listen to Bible stories, chapter books, or music. Today we learned about cavities. Totally counts as science class.
By 9:30 we made it to the park. And almost immediately the snack requests began. Good thing I came prepared!!
I try to leave wherever we are by 11:00ish to make it home for lunch around 11:30. Unless we are doing lunch out somewhere. Today, we had charcuterie lunch on the driveway. I love serving them lunch like this for them to pick at things that they otherwise wouldn't touch.
I am always forcing my kids outside to collect those 1,000 hours outside; but, I run in and out all day long. Today I made Michael and myself lunch while Isla read to me. This was her reading practice for the day. I didn't even ask her, she just loves to do things like this.
Let's take a short break for a potty accident! So while the taco meat cooked, I dealt with pee pants and Isla scream-read at me.
I get to eat my lunch between potty accidents and reading children. But eventually, I do eat lunch. I love salads or brussel sprouts, but today we had some meat that needed to be cooked so tacos it is! I don't always make Michael lunch, but sometimes I'm a good wife and include him in whatever I'm eating. He usually runs upstairs for a quick hello and potty break for himself :)
There's always someone at my feet.
Another quick interruption for my midday laundry chore of switching the load over to the dryer.
Finally at 12:00 the kids head upstairs for rest time. Isla and Ewan usually go without much of a fight and spend an hour or two in Isla's room. She listens to audiobooks and he destroys her bedroom. Every stinkin day he pulls all the covers off the bed, throws all the stuffed animals all over, and pulls every book out. I don't know why... it's how he rests I guess. Neither one of them nap anymore.
Eleanor gets a diaper change and a song and sleeps for 1-2 hours!
Somehow, all kids went down peacefully! Many days, I have to convince Ewan to have a rest time or Eleanor cries and fights the whole way to sleep.
12:15-1:30/2:00 is my union break :) I do many things. I might finish up my half-eaten lunch, clean, make calls or emails, menu plan, lay down, read, plan school, pick up the house, etc. Lately, Ewan has been refusing to leave my side so he's sometimes with me. Today, I worked on a sourdough loaf, called my mom, and made myself a coffee to get through the rest of the afternoon.
Eleanor wakes up an hour or two later and likes to nurse until she's fully awake. Somedays, this is her first nursing session all day. We are s l o w l y weaning, but I'm going at her pace.
The kids kind of play or listen to stories until we all slowly make it downstairs about 2:30. If it's not nice out and I have the energy, I like to strew activities for the kids to do in the afternoon. It could be a craft, project, book, science experiment, forgotten toy, etc. But on nice days, we all go outside. Of course the snack requests have started back up again.
Oh look, more reading practice on the driveway. This is how we do school.
Our neighbors get off daycare/school in the afternoon and the kids like to play together. At least once a week, we all see each other. I love living in a neighborhood where the kids have access to friends.
Michael gets off work around 4:00 and he joins the kids in their play. We headed back home as it started to get chilly once he was off work.
I totally forgot how many baths we take when it's nice out. The kids were filthy and we couldn't wait until after dinner. So into the bath they all went while Michael made dinner. That's usually how we do dinner. One parent makes dinner while the other parent does whatever they need to with the kids.
It is a family value of ours to have dinner together every night. We have good conversation and it's a nice way to end our day. Although I'll be the first to admit it's not always a peaceful experience with whining about what's for dinner and toddlers refusing to sit still, but we still think it's important.
Wednesdays are a little different because Michael climbs after dinner, so he doesn't eat much. So tonight we ate at the counter and made a quick night of dinner. We always eat between 5:00-5:30.
After dinner is usually time with daddy. Michael and the kids play, have dance parties, take baths, clean up, etc. And I spend my time cleaning up the kitchen (again), putting away everyone's clean outfit, picking up the house, and getting things ready for the next day.
After baths, the kids always get to watch a 10 minute show. It's when we clip nails, brush hair, and put on jammies. They don't take a bath every day, so I'm ok with this small amount of screen time.
We always do a little clean up around 6:00 before starting our bedtime routine. Apparently today, the cleaning turned into playing instead ;) Michael leaves around this time to climb on Wednesdays. I always nurse Eleanor one last time for the day.
Between 6:30-6:45 we start our bedtime routine. The kids brush their teeth, go potty, take their magnesium gummy, and pick out books. Most nights, I sing to Eleanor and lay her down before joining the big kids and Michael, but because it was just me tonight all the kids joined for stories. Each kid picks out two books and we all listen to stories. Then it's a song and a prayer before lights out.
By 7:15 they are in bed and because they don't nap anymore, they are usually asleep within a half hour. I then finish up my daily chores. I feed my starter, get outfits ready for the next day, pack lunches for tomorrow if needed, put away clean dishes, and do any other picking up. I always like to start the following day on the right foot by being prepared. The outfits get lined up in the kitchen and I pack the car with anything we might need tomorrow (jackets, snacks, etc.). I'm just never going to be a morning person so this helps me be successful.
Tonight, I made dinner for a friend that just had a baby.
Lights are off in the whole house by 8:00 and I hibernate in my room. Michael watches something in bed and I take a bath. Then I journal and read a little before lights are out between 9:00-10:00. We are getting so close to me sleeping through the night, but not yet ;) Eleanor wakes up and feeds around 3:00 or 4:00. Sometimes she goes back to sleep in her crib, but most of the time she cries until she ends up in our bed. So I basically wake up at 3:00 or 4:00 for the day. I'll sleep someday, I know I will.
And that's our life. It's busy, it's fun, and it's full! Each day looks a little different in what we are doing, but our rhythms stay pretty consistent. And I love this life we've made :)
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