Well, Parker has officially moved to one nap (at the same time as Ashtyn!) and it's definitely summer and we're loving it! I'm pretty sure my kids would live outside if they could. Of course our routine/schedule has changed with this. I don't think there's a perfect schedule out there, because life is constantly changing and with that, routines follow. This is what our days currently look like.
Ben and I no longer wake up at six. I was reading a book about being a more peaceful parent and it talked about how if you have to wake up to an alarm clock, you're not getting enough sleep. I've heard this before, but it really hit home to me now. Ben and I changed our streak to be a bedtime streak. We're in bed by ten and try to be falling asleep around ten thirty. Then we wake up naturally (this doesn't always work, because ... kids.). We have one streak freeze a week that we can use if we want to stay up later for date night or something. I now usually wake up around six thirty or seven. I still work on my business if I have time and get ready for the day.
The girls wake up between 7:30 and 8:00 (Parker usually closer to 7:30, Ashtyn is usually closer to 8:00). I nurse Parker and then she sits in the high chair and eats her second breakfast while I make eggs and Ashtyn and I clear out the dishwasher. I've also started having Parker watch Signing Time during breakfast most days because I really feel it was beneficial to Ashtyn's early vocabulary growth. It also really helps with Ashtyn clearing out the dishwasher, because then Parker isn't trying to get into it all while Ashtyn is taking forever.
Ashtyn clears out her plates and bowls and all the silverware. It usually takes her close to thirty minutes before she actually starts (she likes to lie on the floor and tell me she doesn't want to do the dishes) but once she starts she finishes in like two minutes. Then she gets to pick out two coins to add to her money and she loves that. That also gives me a chance to work on some math with her (like identifying coins, addition, etc.).
After breakfast, we try to do something fun. Mondays we go to the library for story time and then go grocery shopping. Some other things we do include playing at the park, going to the lake (we got a pass for state parks and go up to Steineker Lake ALL the time; the girls love it), go out in the trees at Ben's parent's house, play in our kiddie pool in the backyard, or play at Melissa's house.
Then we have lunch and I put the girls down for their nap. Ashtyn sometimes sleeps and I might get two to three hours of kid free time. If she doesn't sleep, she has a "quiet time" for an hour. I try to use this time to market my blog and get other things done. If Parker is still asleep when Ashtyn comes down, we sometimes read together on the couch and then she either plays outside in the front or does stuff at the counter (playdoh, paint, markers, puzzles, those sorts of things).
When Parker wakes up, we usually have some time to kill before Ben is done with work, so we have dance parties or check on the mail or go into the backyard or read together.
Ben usually finishes work around five or five thirty. We have dinner. We've been trying to have lighter dinners (salads, soup, smoothies, etc.) earlier and then not eating until breakfast the next day, but having nice big breakfasts and lunches. We have really liked it so far.
After dinner, we do something as a family. We'll go out to the creek, go to the lake, hang out with family, go for a walk, or watch a movie (we've started a Friday movie night and it's so fun so far!). Then we do our normal kids in bed at 8:30 and have Ben and Charly time until we go to sleep.
We're loving the summer so far!
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