Tell Me About Your Day

I wrote a post a long, long time ago about what I do as a stay-at-home mom. (Okay; it was June 2010, the month I wrote my very first entry on this blog.) Actually, it was three posts: Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3. (Warning: These posts suck. Seriously. This is the kind of writing I referred to in this post when I talked about wanting to go back and delete the awfulness.) Shuddering now. And digressing.

Anyway, what is it that I do all day?

Sibling love

I like to be out of bed no later than 6:00 a.m. This might be as early as 4:00 or as late as 5:57, but if I'm not awake and brewing coffee by 6:00 I feel like I slept in. I enjoy my early morning quiet time before the Agents are awake. I also find that although I don't "accomplish" much, just being the first one up and about gives me a better perspective on the whole day. This is also when I do the majority of my writing.

Not long ago I included my ideal schedule in a blog post, but that never came to fruition. I have come up with various grand plans for getting organized in the last few months. Apparently I really like talking about organization, not so much with the action part.

When I first started homeschooling, you know way back . . . last month . . . I envisioned us "doing" school in the mornings, say 9:00 to 12:00-ish with one or two short breaks, and then having our afternoons "free" for play time, outside time, field trips, whatever. Instead we tend to mesh school-ish stuff into our regular life-ish stuff throughout the day.

This is how it typically goes down:

Bike time

Usually all Agents are out of bed by 8:30. It may sound silly, but it was sort of an epiphany for me to start parenting them to sleep at the same time and having them stagger their wakeup times instead. (As opposed to trying to get the younger ones to go to sleep earlier, since—in theory—they need more sleep. Although none of that sleep stuff ever works out as planned.) Ideally they wake up in order of age: E by 7:30, J by 8:00, and A around 8:30. The girls run to Andrew as soon as they hear him stirring. I love when they talk to and coo at him using the same exact words and intonation I use when I interact with him. Our first hour or so with everyone awake is pretty laid back, but we do manage to eat breakfast and get dressed while we play. 

We like to start school-ish stuff by 10:00 a.m. We break for snacks and play time and then do more school, and then repeat the pattern a few times before lunch, usually around 12:30. (On Fridays we leave the house at 10:00 instead, as that is our park, library, errands, and lunch out day.)

I should probably mention before continuing that I follow (and I use that term loosely) a cleaning schedule each day. I wrote down what I need (prefer) to do during the week on Mondays, Tuesdays, etc. and throughout the course of the day I try to get to each of them. This is typically in five or ten minute segments wherever I can fit them in. I have pretty lax household standards; if I can manage to keep the kitchen free of ants, the laundry from walking away, and all three Agents fed, I call it success. 

And I haven't even mentioned diapers. Or breastfeeding. Or . . .

I know . . . I'm digressing again.

So . . . afternoons. On a "normal" day Agent A naps from approximately 1:00 to 3:00, although he has been known to start his nap before noon or hold out until 4:00. During nap time Agent E has some computer time and Agent J watches or wanders off to her room to flip through some books. I do some task that is difficult (impossible) to do with him awake and "helping" (e.g., clean the bathrooms). I might also use this time to catch up on housework if I'm feeling overwhelmed. Then I make tea and read. (Yep; seriously.) After an hour or so I reclaim my computer and E joins J in reading/play time. 

After A wakes up we continue our school, snacks, play pattern. Sometimes we go outside, sometimes we read, sometimes we watch a movie. Like in the morning, our "school" activities vary from a few minutes to maybe half an hour at a time. It totally depends on what we work on and our mood. We fit "learning" in wherever we can; for example, listening to Italian songs while we paint, or talking about mammals while watching a DVD about world animals, or counting and learning measurements while we cook. I previously dubbed these experiences corny and made fun of homeschoolers for mentioning them. Live and learn :-)

My sisters made a mess of this table

Around 5:00 I start making dinner, or at least thinking about it. (I did finally come up with a rotating meal plan, and so far so good.) Luckily the Senior Agents entertain themselves pretty well during this time. Agent A joins in as much as he can, although sometimes for his safety and my sanity I put him in the swing in the kitchen with me.

6:00 p.m. is dinner time. Sometimes a little earlier, sometimes a little later, but generally this is when we eat. Hubby is typically home around that time, although many nights we start (and finish) dinner without him. We eat dessert every day: a Hershey's Kiss (or similar size piece of chocolate) for everyone. Unless it's a birthday or a holiday or we've made cookies because it's a special occasion . . . like Tuesday.

Bath time for A is at 7:00. Then he and Momma chill in the living room while Dad handles bath/pajama time for the girls. After all the kids are clean and enjoying a snack with more reading and/or DVD time, Dad hangs out with the Agents while Momma showers, and then it's Hubby's turn. I've tried showering while Agents E and J play in their room and Agent A is in the pack-n-play, but the usual result is epic failure. I think it's an evening, meltdown potential is high kind of thing. They need direct supervision that time of day.

Bed time is 9:00 for the Agents and usually Hubby and I collapse soon thereafter. I wish I could say I prioritize alone time with my husband like those Good Wives out there, but the truth is I (We) are terrible about it. I think it was one of my resolutions for 2011 but it rarely happens.

What does your typical day look like?

Thanks for reading and have a blessed day.

p.s. Tomorrow I turn 39, as in one year until I turn 40, as in this cannot even be possible. Cake will be involved . . . lots of yummy, made-from-scratch cake. Mmm . . . cake.