Am I the only one who wonders what other people live like? Who wishes for a peek into another family’s day to day life?
Well, never fear. Here is a quick overview of what a day in our life looks like. (Disclaimer: I don’t only do this for your enjoyment! Time passes so quickly with kids, and I want to be able to look back and remember these days).
7am: Jesse leaves for work. It’s so sad that we don’t get up with him, but then again, maybe he secretly enjoys his quiet morning times? Neither the boys or myself are morning people, that’s for sure!
8am: Gregory wakes up, comes to my bed where we get in our morning dose of “snuggle time” (I always make him go potty first! Learned that the hard way!)
8:30: As unbelievable as this sounds, AJ does not wake up until sometime between 8:30-9am! He’s my late sleeper! When I hear him stirring, I go in and get him and we start our breakfast routine.
9am: I drink coffee leftover from Jesse’s breakfast preparation (we use a French Press exclusively) and cook breakfast while the boys play trains. We eat gluten free oatmeal with berries and almond milk, 99.9999% of the time.
9:30am-11am: After breakfast is cleaned up, I prep for my day. This usually involves daily prayers, checking/answering any emails that involve my online teaching (some kids live on the East Coast and have questions about their homework), prepping for the day’s teaching, taking a shower, making the beds, etc. The boys are really good at playing independently during the morning, and their shouts and laughter always fill the house while I’m working.
11am-12pm: Get ready for my online teaching. This involves changing AJ’s diaper (he’s, ahem, quite regular and punctual), uploading any documents into my virtual classroom, making some fresh coffee to drink during class, getting the kids a snack, etc.
11:50-12:00pm: I log in to my virtual classroom and listen to the kids arrive and start chatting. I move my computer to my office desk in the bedroom, and put a 30-45 minute show on for the boys (this is their only TV time of the day. I reserve it exclusively for while I’m teaching, otherwise they try to burn the house down…it’s like kids have a six sense about going nuts when mom’s attention is divided!).
12-1pm: I teach from my computer. I really really enjoy my job, I can’t stress that enough. Zero commute, lots of freedom to read some of my favorite poems and stories while interacting with 19 pretty awesome homeschool kids from all around the US…what’s not to love?
1-1:30pm: The boys usually interrupt the last 5 minutes of my class because they’re hungry. I sign off and make all of us lunch.
1:30-2pm: Since the boys are usually a bit attention-needy at this time, we all read books and sing songs together. We used to take a walk around this time, but we’ve since realized that our neighborhood is not very safe, so we’ve been staying indoors more. Fortunately, this part will change once we move!
2pm: After much convincing, I put AJ down for his only nap of the day. I retreat to my office to read, answer emails and make phone calls, while Gregory does a craft next to me or plays Transformers in the other room.
3pm: I usually do a few chores around this time while I’m prepping dinner. If I put something in the crockpot around this time, it’s ready around 6 for dinner. If it’s not a “crockpot” night, I wait to prep dinner until around 5 and do laundry and chores instead.
4pm: AJ wakes up from his nap. Sometimes we go to the park, run errands, or go to appointments at this time.
5:30pm: Finish prepping dinner, right about the time Jesse is walking in the door.
6pm: Eat Dinner, clean up immediately after (I get too tired later!)
7pm: Jesse and I relax in the living room while the boys go for “one-last-hurrah!” playtime in their bedroom.
8pm: Family Prayers, stories, teeth brushing and pjs for the boys.
8:30pm: Lights out for the boys, but they still chatter and laugh in there together for quite some time. Those two are the best of friends (and worst of enemies, at times!).
8:30-10:00pm: Jesse finishes any school reading/prep, while I browse Pinterest, blog, or read for my graduate classes.
10:00pm-11:00pm: Both of us watch a TV show together, depending on what series we’re into at the moment. We’ve found that 20-45 minute TV episodes are much more manageable than a movie!
11:30pm: Jesse and I get ready for bed.
There are some exceptions to this schedule. When I do yoga, I leave after dinner, around 7pm. I’ve also just started graduate school, so on Mondays I leave for class around 6:30 and don’t return until after 10pm! When we decide to attend a sporting event for Jesse’s school, we leave after dinner and don’t get back until around 9pm.
So, there you have it– our relaxing, carefree day-to-day schedule!