Let’s get honest: my daily routine

A few weeks ago, a reader mentioned that she’d love to know about other women’s daily routines.

A few days ago, I asked the question of facebook what the hardest/most stressful part of your day is.

Alanna says: “Late afternoon. I’m usually disappointed at how much I didn’t get done and overwhelmed with getting dinner on the table. My children tend to be cranky around that time and anxious for Daddy to come home.”

Katrina says: “Mornings are toughest for us […] because I’m tired and SO not a morning person. So I’m grumpy and have no patience, everyone needs something at the same time, and it feels very overwhelming. I would love (sort of….only if I got to bed early the night before) to get up before them, shower and get ready first, but our house is old with very creaky wooden floors and everyone just wakes up even earlier if I do that, so it ends up backfiring. I’ve somehow got to figure out how to get to bed earlier consistently!”

I think there’s a lot of guilt about our routines.

For that matter, what we accomplish in a day. This is particularly true if you’re a full-time mom, at home all day.

If you’re a mom of any sort–full-time mom, part-time working mom, full-time working mom–there’s guilt. (Heck, I don’t care if you’re a mom, just being a woman, there’s guilt.) It doesn’t matter if you “work” or not (we all work!)–we have obligations, responsibilities, lots to juggle, & it ain’t always easy.

Recently I came across a blog post entitled: “10 sweet little moments (in the morning)”

I eagerly clicked on it (after all, I do love sweet little moments), read the post, and realized: I could be wrong, but I don’t think this lady has kids. I’m not saying you can’t have some special “you” time in the morning (which I try to do), but let’s get real. I want to talk from a mother’s perspective. I know not all bring joy readers are moms, but many of you are. You can relate. You know that the type of morning this writer describes, though wonderfully hopeful  & deliciously idealistic, is a little bit of a pipe dream for many women.

Our days resemble more like that of Meg’s, or Lolly’s.

I’ve shared a bit of my days before in this post.

Though my days change from day to day, especially now that I need more sleep as this pregnancy nears it’s end, they tend to have the same rhythms & rituals.

A “sample” day goes something like this:

5:00 am Lay in bed for 10-15 minutes & think (this is a really important part of my day)
note: prior to my 3-trimester induced hibernation period, I’d wake up at 4 am to work on blog stuff–crazy, I know, but I’m a morning person, what can I say

5:15 Get up, check email, work on blog stuff

6:00 A bit of cuddle time with Joseph then we both get ready for the day

6:15 Wake up kids, help girls get dressed; Joseph starts making breakfast

6:30 Our family’s morning “scripture” time; I do the girl’s hair

6:45 Joseph finishes making breakfast, I make the kid’s sandwiches & fruit/veggies for their lunch, kids eat breakfast, then they finish making their own lunches

7:10-25 Lot’s of chaos–looking for shoes, homework, papers; similar to herding cows–just trying to get the stroller, kids, & scooters out of the garage & on our way to school

7:25-8:15 Walk the kids to school, let Salem doddle on the way back as she picks up every stick & leaf she can

8:15-10:30 Eat breakfast & scripture study, do a few dishes, more blog stuff while Salem watches “Arthur” or “Word World”

Then we go for a walk, go to the park, run errands, go to the library.

Salem has a music class once a week, and I try to take her to the library’s storytime once a week as well.

Noonish: Make lunch (usually PB&J for Salem, a big bowl of greens & things for me), then a little more tidying up if I can; I often read on my Nook while I eat

1-3:30 Naptime (!!) I read to Salem until she falls asleep (usually 30-45 minutes). Once the coast is clear & she’s asleep, I either take a little nap myself or sneak out & spend some time doing blog related things &/or more cleaning (the cleaning never ends, I tell ya)

3:20 Kids get home from school. Fix a snack, have them do a few chores, homework, then they play. Then time to work on getting dinner started & doing more housework.

After this, is where it gets a little crazy. Every day there’s something different. Boys have soccer practice twice a week at different times, at different places. Hyrum has cub scouts once a week. Mali has dance twice a week. So I spend a good chunk of pre-dinner time chauffeuring (I am a bona fide soccer mom, it’s true).

Joseph gets home anywhere between 5:45-7:00. We spend a few minutes reconnecting once he gets home, which means kids jump all over him followed by kicking them out of room so we can talk for a few minutes before dinner chaos.

Then dinner.

After dinner Joseph takes over completely & bathes the kids, gets them in pajamas, helps them brush teeth. He’s been the captain of bedtime for YEARS–I love him so much for this. Then often he reads a chapter book to them while they clean or fold their laundry (it’s an amazing motivator to get them to work, incidentally).

At this point it’s about 8 pm & I get ready for bed. We have our nightly family devotional/prayer, some more reading with the kids, then, hallelujah, kids go to bed. Joseph often does dishes, cleans kitchen while I read or fall asleep. Some days we’ll stay up later & talk, read, or clean together. But these days I’m a zombie by about 8 pm.

And that’s my day.

Do I wish I had more time to craft? to get together with girl friends & go out to lunch or get manicures? to join an adult sports team or take a dance class? to have time to read several hours a day? Yes, yes, yes, and yes.

But those things, I’m sure will come in time. Once my kids are older (I’m pretty sure they don’t stay young forever), there will be time for all that.

♥

What does your day look like? Do you have routine/daily rituals that you stick to, or do your days vary from day to day?