Now that Oliver is sleeping through the night again, we have a new routine and I've been loving it. We have family visiting out of town right now, so our days have had a lot more family time in them recently, but this is what I'm aiming for on a regular day.
I wake up at 6:30 right now. Even when I've been up late, I've been able to easily stick to this because of my new system--I keep my phone away from my bed. This helps me to actually go to sleep at night instead of getting on Facebook but also gets me out of bed to turn off my alarm. Then I immediately go use the bathroom out of my room and wrap myself up in my blanket in the living room. This makes it so I don't just roll over and go back to sleep. I don't even have to think about getting up, I just automatically do.
Then I spend about 20 minutes on Morning Pages. Morning Pages is a creative exercise from the Artist's Way. It's basically a brain dump to help unblock your creativity each day. I love it because it is easy to get started, so it's a great thing for me to do each morning.
After Morning Pages, I put hot chocolate for the family (we make it with maple syrup and collagen) in the hot chocolate maker and clear out the dishwasher. This takes me about 10 minutes, so I usually finish around 7:00.
The kids get up at 7:30, so I get to then spend 30 minutes writing on my novel. The last couple of weeks, I was working on some final edits for my Rapunzel retelling and moving forward, I'll be working on finishing the first draft of a Cinderella retelling. I can usually write about 500 words in 30 minutes.
I absolutely love this morning routine because it is easy to start (so it feels sustainable), it gets me going, and it gets something really hard but also really important (my writing) done first.
The girls get dressed at 7:30 and come down to get breakfast. For the most part, they are fairly independent about breakfast. Then they have a morning list they are supposed to do, though we're still working on independence with that. Their list consists of getting dressed, eating breakfast, clearing their dishes, and hugging mom. Parker and Rylee's last item is to sit on the toilet and Ashtyn's last item is piano. She also often does typing practice and working on a story she's writing as soon as she's done with piano.
While they are doing all of that, I feed Oliver at 7:30. While I feed him, I read scriptures on my phone and say my morning prayers. Then he gets floor time while I drink my hot chocolate and write in m journal. That has recently become one of my favorite parts of the day.
Then I put him in his exersaucer with Signing Time for a few minutes while I either shower (Mondays and Wednesdays) or make eggs and spinach for Ben and I. Usually Oliver ends up getting fussy by the time I finish and I end up holding him while I eat. On days that I shower, I often put Oliver down for his nap before making breakfast for myself.
While I eat, I can watch some YouTube videos. After eating is usually when Ashtyn practices piano. She's still young enough that I need to be right with her to make sure she actually goes through each song. While we're doing that, I do my five minutes of exercising and stretches. Once the kids are done with their list, they can play.
Oliver is down for his morning nap at this point and the kids are usually pretty good about independent play in the mornings. I finish eating and exercising and then finish up my own morning list. I get ready for the day, make my bed, start laundry, make bread, and do the girls' hair.
If I finish my list before Oliver wakes up, I start doing an activity or workbooks at the table with the girls. When Oliver wakes up (usually between 11 and 11:30), I sit on the couch and read to the girls while I feed him. Then we do our homeschool stuff. Ashtyn does Duolingo and (if she hasn't already) practices typing. Parker works on reading and Rylee watches a video to teach her the alphabet.
At this point, it's lunchtime, so we all get some food. I also try to switch the laundry over to the dryer around this time as well, and I get to do the daily Wordle. Oliver goes down around 1:00 or 1:30 for his second nap. This is the point where our days start to look a little different depending on the day.
On Mondays, I go grocery shopping. I've recently started doing grocery pick up and it's the best thing ever! It is super easy and fast, so I usually have time to take the trash out to the road and put away the groceries while Oliver is still asleep. After I feed Oliver, the girls and I can do an activity together and I can start making dinner. Ben practices Super Smash Brothers with some friends Monday evening, so the kids and I have a "no Dad party" together.
On Tuesdays, Ashtyn has her piano lesson. Ben puts Oliver down while I take the girls over to Lindi's for her lesson. We are usually gone around an hour. As soon as we get home (Oliver is supposed to still be asleep at this point), I clean the bathrooms (the main bathroom and the master bath). If I don't do it right when I get home, I often don't get to it, so I really try to do it immediately. Similar to Monday, after I feed Oliver, the girls and I can do an activity together and I can start making dinner. Tuesday evenings I sometimes have a meeting for my church calling and Ben and I are reading the submissions for our writing group (which meets Tuesdays after the kids are in bed).
On Wednesdays, we don't have anything planned for the afternoon. I try to pick up the floor enough to vacuum and, if the floors need it, run our carpet cleaner over the carpet. I try to do an activity with the girls and give Oliver a bath. I also like to work on my bullet journal or other projects. I try to do leftovers for dinner on Wednesdays, so I can have a break from making dinner. Then I have Young Women's on Wednesday evenings, so the kids have a "no mom party".
Thursdays are usually pretty laid back. We don't have anything planned in the afternoon this day either. I try to mop on Thursdays (though I honestly feel like we need it more than once a week, but since it's not my favorite chore, it gets put off). Ashtyn makes dinner on Thursdays, so I usually spend more time in the kitchen helping and teaching her. I like to try to use Oliver's second nap for my own projects since our schedule is so free. Often on Thursdays, Ben and I will do a date night (we do our date Thursday or Saturday depending on what we're doing). Right now, we're actually taking a dance class together that is on Thursday evenings for an hour, so that's really fun!
Fridays look a little different than Monday through Thursday. Instead of doing homeschool stuff after reading aloud, I help the girls do their chores and clean their rooms and the upstairs bathroom. I also want this to be the day we clean the car. Then in the afternoon, I try to do a science experiment with the girls and let them watch some science videos I'm subscribed to. In the evening, we have movie night! We've started doing Breakfast for Dinner instead of pizza and are really loving it.
Saturdays are my planning and preparation day. I have a long list of things like going through online coupons, making my daily to-do lists for the week, blogging, baths/showers for the kids, ordering groceries, pulling out a freezer meal for Sunday dinner, and picking up the house for Sunday. I like to wipe down the mirrors in the bathrooms and run a vacuum through the living room (as long as I'm not feeling too lazy) just so our house feels restful for the Sabbath.
I try to finish my Saturday list in the morning/afternoon so that after Oliver's nap, we can spend time as a family and go do things if we want. Sometimes, Ben and I will do a date or we'll go visit Ben's parents. In the mornings, I will let the kids play, turn on a movie for them, or Ben will spend time with them since he doesn't have work.
Sundays are pretty busy for us. We have 11:30 church this year. We wake up and get everyone ready for church right away. By the time we're done with that and breakfast, we don't usually have much time. I have a few things I try to do, like printing anything I need for the next week and doing a Come Follow Me activity with the kids. We wake Oliver up early from his nap and try to get to church early for Ben's calling. When we get home from church, we get the kids a snack and call my mom to talk with her. Then we have a little while to relax until dinner. After dinner, we go visit family for the evening.
The endings of our day are very consistent. The kids' bedtime is 8:30. Around 7:30 (or around dinner time), I like to do a five minute pick up where everyone in the family helps clean up the house. I also like to fold the laundry and have everyone put away theirs, though I don't do this everyday yet (I want to make it a daily thing!). At 7:45, Ben and I take turns each day brushing the girls teeth and getting on their pajamas. Then the girls get in bed for family prayer and scripture while I feed Oliver. Whoever didn't brush teeth then reads to the girls until about 8:30.
Once the kids are all settled, Ben and I have a treat (ice cream, strawberries, etc.) and watch a television show or talk until bed. We try to be in bed by 10:00 (we usually read) and I try to be asleep by 10:30.
I am loving our new routine. It feels like we're finally out of survival mode, though having a baby can still disrupt our schedule sometimes. Not everyday looks like this, but the way it's set up helps me to get the most important things in everyday and is helping me build daily habits that I really like.
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