Our New Routine

Now that we're settled into our new apartment, we've fallen into a pretty nice routine. Of course, there are times when we don't follow this (like this morning, when we slept in and had family snuggle time in bed, keeping Ashtyn there by letting her watch videos of herself on my phone), but I like our relaxed routine a lot.

Ben has started waking up at 5:30 and starting work right away. He really likes this, because he feels more productive early in the morning or late at night than during the day. I wake up at 5:45 and get my hypnobabies in. Then I drink my lemon water while I write in my journal and do scripture study, before Ashtyn wakes up.

I also try to get my exercise and shower in, and I like to make the bed and do the dishes before Ashtyn wakes up, but most days I don't get all (or any) of these in before she gets up because I don't push myself out of bed. I feel to lazy!

When Ashtyn wakes up, we sit on the rocking chair and snuggle or talk until she is ready to get down. Some days she wakes up adamantly asking for a smoothie, so we'll go down and do that, but most days we get her dressed and pick up the upstairs clutter. Then we head down and make breakfast.

Ashtyn starts off breakfast with eggs (scrambled with cheese, she loves them if I give them to her first), then usually has a carb (a granola bar, a cracker, a piece of bread) and peaches. Sometimes we have sausage or other fruit and if we have cookies around, she sometimes even gets a cookie for dessert. She watches Signing Time while she eats.

While she's eating, I make eggs for Ben and I and clear out the dishwasher if it still needs it. Then Ben takes a break from work and comes down to eat real quick. He heads back to work while Ashtyn watches the last of her Signing Time and I finish cleaning the kitchen. If there is food that needs to be made (like a natural yeast sponge), I'll do that too.

Then Ashtyn and I just hang out and play. We usually turn on music and just play with her toys downstairs. If it's warm enough outside, we also like to go for walks outside. Ashtyn will get her shoes and bring them over to me, saying "walking!" We also sometimes go and hang out at Ben's mom's house, if I don't have a bunch of other stuff to do (which, I admit, is rare).

Around ten thirty, we have a snack. What we have differs pretty much everyday, but Ashtyn loves snacks because we don't make her get in her high chair for them.

On Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays, and as needed, we give Ashtyn her bath, usually right before lunch. She loves baths and playing in the water with her letters. We do mornings because a lot of nights, we're out visiting and don't want to come home early enough to give her bath and still get her to bed on time.

Around noon, we have lunch. Every once in a while, I'll make something for lunch, but we usually just eat food prepped stuff and leftovers. Ben comes down again from work. One of the things I love most about Ben working from home is that we get to eat together pretty much every meal.

After lunch, we clean up the kitchen a little and then put Ashtyn down for her nap. During her nap, I make food and do food prep, do chores that are harder to do while she is awake, and relax. Sometimes Ben and I spend time together, sometimes I watch TV or read, and sometimes I do crafts. I haven't been focusing on my business as of late, because I'm not sure what I want to do with it or that I even want to do it. It's all up in the air.

After her nap, we make a smoothie and Ashtyn watches some Disney songs on YouTube. Her favorites are the ones with animals in them. A lot of times, Ben is done with work because of how early he starts, so he comes down and gets his smoothie. When Ashtyn's done watching, a lot of times we go over to his parent's house to hang out. If not, Ashtyn and I might go into the back to play if it's warm enough or we just hang out. We do dinner together and listen to more music. It's usually pretty relaxed in the evening.

At 7:45, we start getting Ashtyn ready for bed and put her down by 8:30. Then I might do a quick house sweep, if I feel up to it, and we usually jump the dishes in the dishwasher. If I need to put bread in or something, I'll do that while Ben does the dishes. Then we get to spend time together until we make ourselves go to bed. It's nice that we have that time. When the new baby comes, we probably won't for a little while, but I want to get to that point again.

I really love the life we have. We have fun doing little things and we aren't as busy as when we had school and multiple jobs and everything. I love that we can relax more together and that we can find ways to connect as a family. I feel so grateful.