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Originally Posted by kellid  Ok, I have 3 kids now, 4.5; 2.5; and 1mo. i have no rhyme or reason to my day. i know i am not nearly as productive as i should/could be and i find myself stressing over housework instead of spending time with my kids. i know there are those of you out there who enjoy the best of both of these worlds.
i want to schedule my days with daily maintenance to keep on top of the house, plus mealplan-cook-craft with my kids-read/learn with them-and have outside/excersice time-pay bills..........well everything that goes on in a mommy/wife world.
i am having a time getting a grip here. thanks in advance.
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I have one child who is 7, so my routine may or may not be helpful. Here goes:
When DD is in school (she's on a year-round schedule and is currently on Winter Break for 4-1/2 weeks), we have a productive working schedule. When she is on break, things get more haphazard. Winter Break is the most challenging due to the holidays and DH's change in work schedule and houseguests, etc. Like a PP mentioned, I also find that having a scheduled activity a few days a week really helps develop/maintain routines.
Mornings:
~ DH is the first one up. He gets his quiet time this way each day.
~ DD is next up.
~ They eat breakfast together and DD follows a morning routine to get ready for school (potty & wash hands, eat breakfast, brush teeth, get dressed, make bed, brush hair, get backpack and shoes on and a jacket when needed). They also finish preparing her lunch (see evenings).
~ I am up last and follow my own routine that is not intertwined with DH & DD. This is their special time together. My routine is meditate (5-10 min), yoga (4 poses), shower, brush teeth, tone & moisturize face, body lotion when needed, get dressed including jewelry and makeup when warranted, make bed, take the fullest load of laundry out of the 3-bin sorter and toss it into the laundry basket and take it downstairs, put on jacket and shoes (I meet DD in the foyer).
~ My dad lives really close and he comes to our house each school morning and he & I walk DD to school.
~ When I get back home, DH is usually in the shower.
~ I fix and eat breakfast, then start the load of laundry I left. (If DH has already showered, then I start the laundry first.) DH finds me when he is ready to leave for the day and we chat for a few minutes before he heads off.
~ From here, it depends on what day of the week it is...which I'll discuss later. I try to finish the load of laundry during the day, too, and have DD's clothes on her bed ready for her to fold and put away when she gets home from school. I put away DH's & my laundry. I also have a few classes I go to during the week and volunteer days, etc.
Afternoons:
~ I have an alarm set on my phone for picking up my DD from school. If I am out, it is just enough time to finish up whatever I am doing and drive to get her. Usually, however, I am home when it goes off and I have time to finish up whatever I am doing, go potty, wash my hands, drink a glass of water, put on my shoes, and take out any trash/recycling on my walk to pick her up.
~ On our walk home, we discuss her day and transition to home life.
~ Once home, she gives me anything necessary from her backpack, empties her lunch box, and puts away her backpack and jacket. I am preparing our snack during this and we continue talking about her day and/or my day and/or our afternoon/evening plans.
~ Her school has a Monday folder that is full of paperwork, homework, etc for parents that goes home every Monday. On Monday afternoons, she starts her homework and I go through the parent portion of the paperwork. I act immediately on every item or I would go crazy! LOL We recycle the stuff that is not pertinent to our family immediately, but the rest sits on DH's placemat until he has a chance to go through it then he recycles it or I snag anything special.
~ At different points in the school year, she has afterschool activities certain days of the week. Whenever possible, I choose times that end before DH gets home from work and times that start at least an hour after she is out of school UNLESS the activity is held at her school. This provides the least interruptions to our daily routine and is easy to build in for 'x' number of weeks. DH & I are big on not overscheduling DD or ourselves, so her limit is two activities a week.
Evenings:
~ DD & I both tend to do best with downtime in the late afternoons/early evenings, so I pretty much make it a point whenever possible to be home before DH gets home from work.
~ Sometimes I cook dinner, but mostly DH cooks. He enjoys cooking far more than I do and he is a far more picky eater, so it works best for our family. He calls when he is leaving his office and I will start any prepwork, when needed. He generally changes clothes when he first comes home and relaxes a bit before starting dinner. He has a 35-40 minute commute, so this is his transition time.
~ We feel dinner time is sacred family time and do our best to eat dinner together most of the time. I often have evening meetings and events through my volunteer/personal pursuits, so we just do our best.
~ I clean up the kitchen after dinner. Sometimes DH & DD hang out with me and other times they play in the other room. DD prepares her snacks and for the week on Sundays and we discuss her lunches and she prepares parts of it each night. Sometimes dinner is later than usual and DD gets ready for bed and DH will help me.
~ After dinner (kitchen is clean) and before DD's bedtime is family time. We play games or chat or look things up online or read or, lately, work on her dollhouse.
~ DD follows her bedtime routine, which consists of potty, wash hands, brush teeth, floss teeth, change into jammies, and brush hair. This has evolved over the years and we used to read to her, but now she reads to herself between giving us hugs and kisses (cuddles and snuggles included) and lights out.
Nights:
~ This is free time. Sometimes DH & I will work on a project together or separately. Sometimes we will watch a movie or TV show (he more than I). Sometimes we'll read separately in the same room. Sometimes we'll be on our respective laptops in the same room or in different rooms.
Usually on Sunday afternoons, DD chooses her outfits for the week after one of us checks the weather for her. She keeps them in a stack on top of her dresser.
I focus on a main goal each day of the week for my daily daytime activity.
Mondays - I spend one hour paying attention to an area of the house that needs my love and attention.
Tuesdays - I spend 15-60 minutes on our finances.
Wednesdays - This is usually my project day and can run the gamut. I often volunteer a few hours this day, also.
Thursdays - This is DD's short day at school, so we spend the extra time together doing whatever strikes our fancy. This varies widely.
Fridays - I often meet with friends this day, even if just a longer walk before picking our children up from school. Once a month, my playgroup meets for a Mom's Morning. And so on...
Best wishes in finding what works for you!!!
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I want to make a price book and master shopping list so that I can get the best deal on groceries and stock up my pantry. I also need to think of more arts & crafts ideas for the kids because they seem to be getting bored with the same old stuff we've been doing for while.
.. so use the minutes.
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