It's no secret I love to make lists. Every morning I make a list of what I want to accomplish during the day, these are items that go along with my daily cleaning schedule (which I will be posting about soon) and extra items that may be needed for the day. I usually try to wake up at 6 every morning, no later than 6:30, to get my work out in for the day so it's done and out of the way. Then I start working on cleaning and getting laundry going. My son sleeps till 7:30 most days so I'm able to at least get my work out in before I need to feed him. He's at the age where he can sit in his jumper and play or roll around on the floor and I'm able to get a few things done before I get my daughter up. Now most people probably think I'm crazy that I wake my daughter up but to be honest she's up by 8 most days and if she isn't up by 8:30 then I get her. I get her ready for the day and fix her breakfast (watch for a blog post coming soon about breakfast ideas for your kids!) and then we start playing. I was teaching her a few things...and I use that term loosely because she wasn't really paying attention so we started playing, using some flash cards, coloring, playing outside, going to the park...anything to keep her moving and going until 11 when we watch Price is Right. Yep, I love that show...and now my daughter does too. I have lunch ready to go around noon and then we get to watch some of her tv shows. I'm working on limiting her tv time...it's something that's hard because some mornings I'm tired and would love to let her sit in front of the tv, don't get me wrong...I've done that before but I'm working on interacting. It's something I strive to get better at every day. Now don't think I've neglected my son during this time because I feed him when needed and he still takes a morning nap which gives me alone time with my daughter. After a few of her shows it's nap time. I try to lay her down around 1:30...she may not fall asleep till about 2 but she always gets a good two hour nap in. My son has been napping around the same time as her so that helps out a lot. They at least overlap by about an hour so I've got a little time to myself. Here is what I usually do during nap time:
-prep dinner
-work on blog posts
-work out (if I oversleep)
-shower
-finish cleaning
-relax!
I found recently that by prepping dinner during nap time gave me more time with kids...call my captain obvious but I'm just now figuring this out! I do a lot of crock pot meals which helps give me more time as well. I love cooking but there are some meals that have a lot of steps and if I can save myself some time later I will do it. The other day we had sweet and sour chicken. Usually I start on dinner around 4:30 and for this meal I need to cut the chicken, dredge it in egg and cornstarch, fry it in a pan for a few minutes, make the sauce, pour it all in a casserole dish, bake it for an hour. Doesn't sound like a ton but it is time consuming. So I actually had a chance during the kids nap to do all of that and put foil on it and pop it in the fridge. It was so great to have that done at 2 and stick it in the oven later in the day instead of doing it all and missing out on time with my kids. If I have the chance I try to actually prep some food in the morning as well. I'm all about using my time as best as I can.
I love writing and wish I could write a post daily and maybe I will get to the point since I'm learning time management. If the cleaning is caught up, the dinner is prepped and I feel like my list is at a good place then I will sit down and start working on posts. I actually have a few drafts lined up so all I really need to do is proof read them and publish them in the mornings and I'm good to go. I also work on them at night after the kids go to bed. I'm finding out I can be a mom and still get some good, helpful blog posts out there without ignoring my kids in the process...I've done this before in case you didn't pick up on that. :-)
Working out is something I am trying to get into a habit of doing. As I've mentioned in past posts I am doing turbo fire and the workouts range from 30-60 minutes each day. I've found that waking up early and getting them out of the way is the best way to do it but if I oversleep, which I usually do and am trying to work on, I will do it during the kids naps. So far it's worked out well. I was able to work out today and squeeze a shower in before my son woke up. That's a big deal! There are times where my son will wake up and I'm in the middle of working out but again, he's at the age where he doesn't mind to watch mommy for a few more minutes while I finish. Plus I secretly think he's laughing at me.
If I've worked out in the morning, most of the time all I have time for is that and washing up bottles before one of my kids is awake so I never really have time to get a shower in right after...may seem gross but most days I'm home and don't need to go out till later. If my husband is home I can usually get a shower in and those are the days I usually do errands. So I'm able to shower while the kids nap which works out well.
I mentioned I have a daily cleaning schedule that I try to stick to so I will work on that while they nap as well. I'm doing laundry, washing bottles, filling the dishwasher all through the day but I have a list that I get to like cleaning the bathroom, vacuuming...things I can't do when the kids are up. I like to have all of this done by the time they are up. As you can see I really am trying to be more of an attentive mom.
And of course I try to relax if I can. I actually do more relaxing after the kids go to bed for the night because I've done all I need to during the day and I like to have my nights free. I may meet up with a friend if my husband is home that night or I will take a bath, whatever I want. It's my me time! I'm actually looking into starting a new Bible study and that may be what I do before bed.
I love getting this stuff done so when the kids get up we can go to the park, run errands if I need to and I'm not tied to staying in the house. Now don't get me wrong, if it's a gloomy day, one of the kids is sick or I'm not feeling well we call it a pajama and movie day and that's just how it goes. I'm not going to put the cleaning and laundry before my kids. Those things will still be there but my kids are growing up so fast!
We eat dinner and hang out and then I give the kids baths starting around 7, 7:30. My husband gets home from work around 8 and likes to take a shower right away, being a nurse and working 13 hours I don't blame him, so I try to have the kids ready for bed by the time he gets home. My daughter goes to bed about 8:30 and my son falls asleep anywhere between 9-10. I'm working on going to bed about 10 since I'm waking up early.
I really feel like this schedule works well for us. My husband is going to be starting third shift next week and that will be something to get used to. He will be sleeping during the day but I've told him my daily plan and he understands that he will most likely need to buy earplugs. I can only keep the kids quiet for so long.
I hope this gives you some sort of idea as to how my day goes. I love being a stay at home mom and I love cleaning, cooking and blogging! I'm still working everyday to spend more time with my kids, play with them, make time for myself and the things I love and take care of my home. I wouldn't trade any of it!
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