Do You Have a Schedule?

[happyhippie]

How do you stay organized?

I am fairly new at the "mom" part of this. 

I really want to get dinner and cleaning and errands and all of the other joyful aspects of being a stay at home parent done. 

Do you have a schedule? Do you have tricks? I usually can wear my daughter in a sling while I clean kitchen but she is getting older now and wants to play a lot more. 

Do you have days for certain things? Do you let some things go?

Sorry that was a lot of questions. I am searching for that cozy place called "balance".

[mommariffic]

We have a rhythm 

Right now our spring rhythm is going to hopefully go like this

rise and shine

breakfast followed by momma morning chores (I let DS play on the floor and DD can do whatever she likes..)

get dressed/brush teeth

Craft for DD and I let DS play with safe bits of what we are doing 

Nap and quiet time (creative time for momma) 

We try to go out each day, even if it's just for a walk down the block to the park. I think that helps, and it's especially nice outside! My son HATES to be worn so I have a great stroller I invested in that can go over lumps and bumps on nature trails, but is also small enough for the city. We go to national parks, play dates, museums etc. 

In the afternoon there's quiet time. I let DS either nap/crawl around and I set DD up with play-dough or moon sand. The biggest thing for me is taking time outs throughout the day for myself - I may let things go but I can pick up a book or come on Mothering : ) Slow cookers and pre-planned meals are my friends (although lately I'm slacking on this!) and to make my life easier sometimes I order grocceries. I try to get the kids involved (DS has a low cabinet he can tear apart while I'm cooking..) 

I have a messy house and sometimes we eat more pizza than we should but it's slowly working! 

[happyhippie]

Nice mommariffic! Thank you. That is a great idea to give a specific cabinet just for your little one. I can be really bad about leaving the house and we end up staying in all day. Most of the time we have a nice relaxed day, but sometimes I can tell that my girl is a bit flustered. 

[mommariffic]

Hey! I don't want to seem like this goes smoothly everyday, it doesn't! Some days we totally don't leave the house : ) 

[Jenni1894]

I've been home w/my kiddos for 5 yrs now, and I found a schedule is a must have.

Ours is like this.  My kids are 6, 3 and 1

7 am wake followed by breakfast for all 3. 

DS gets ready for school at 8 and is out the door at 835

About 9 is ydd nap. 

It's then I craft, play..etc w/ DD 3 yrs for an hour.  

I'll clean for a bit before YDD wakes and then it's on to lunch and ODD has preschool 5x/week for her speech delay.   When she's in school I'll run my errands with one kid. 

I pick up ODD at 3, get home put ydd down for a nap, go thru her back pack she has a snack and I then make one for DS who's home at 345.  I start dinner about 430-500 and we eat about 6.

Bed and bath at 730

I also found it very helpful to take a week and record every cleaning task that needs to be done.  I then made a list and a schedule.   Like Monday's I clean the u/s baths and the mirrors/frames...etc.   do garbage, sweep, a load of laundry.   Tuesday d/s bath and mirrors/glass patio doors.   etc.   And then I don't stress that I have 5700000 things to do.  I only have 5.  lol  And if I don't get to cleaning the patio door on the scheduled tuesday, well then oh well, guess it will have slimy 1 yr hand prints and doggie nose prints for another week!!

When I'm cooking I have a fridge and d/w full of magnets for YDD to play with.  but she prefers to tear apart the tupperware or pot cabinet instead.  

I make DS do his chores (homework, take out garbage) before he can play.  And ODD usually helps me or does her own thing.  

ETA that YDD prefers to "explore" rather than be worn.... so I let her.  :)  But when she was younger she was in the sling or the bouncy watching me prepare dinner.

[megannt]

I read somewhere that putting a schedule together can help little ones with naps/night time sleeping, so that's what made me do it. It has been going pretty good. This is what our schedule looks like:

Wake up
Play with dad
Cuddle with mom in bed
Nap
Eat 'lunch'
Play time
Get out of the house (if I don't, I go crazy!) Errands, playdate or outdoors time
Nap
Play
Dinner
Bedtime Routine

Depending on how the night goes before, I use that time to do chores or take some rest time for myself. I also do chores after my baby goes to bed. I know some people have found great success is designating certain days for certain chores (i.e. mondays are laundry day, tues. clean the bathroom etc.) but I haven't done this, although I want to. I know one thing that helped me with cleaning is doing enough, and not trying to be overly thorough. I would much rather have a picked up bathroom and bedroom everyday, rather than a perfectly pristine, scrubbed down bathroom every day. I figure i won't have a clean house for a long, long time. :)

I also try and focus on the little one when she is awake because I know I would much rather spend my time building memories than cleaning. We play when she is awake, than I work hard when she is napping (if I've gotten enough sleep the night before) so that I can play again when she wakes up. Same goes for at night when she is sleeping. I have to 'let go' of my vision of clean house, but still do the basics so that we aren't living in a total mess.

[heybabyquepaso]

I think it's me. I just can't schedule. And I feel like that is making my job harder? But I really like the explanation of a rhythm (Thanks, mommariffic!) Even though I can't express exactly what we do all day, we do have a pretty consistent rhythm. That is the best way I've heard it described ever and I think I'll use that when I'm attacked by all my baby-wise friends.
 

Really. I tried typing out our day. It just sounds really awful and unorganized. And pretty much like I don't do anything even though I know I/we do! He wakes between 8 and 10, naps at around 11 and again around 4, and his bedtime is really random (he went down at 8:30 tonight but at 11 the night before, not that we didn't try for earlier).  I try to fill the day with things to do for myself so I don't go bonkers- errands, cleaning, meal prep. I used to take him for daily walks and then it got rainy and I got lazy. I need to do that more often- I know it would serve as a signal for the time of day for my son. 

[aHikaru]

I myself am extremely organized in comparison to most of my friends. I guess you can say I have always been a minimalist, but as soon as the babe arrived I let go of trying to organize anything. Now she is 25 months and has preferences for certain toys and is assisting me with everything I do, such as scooping the rice into the rice maker, putting the potatoes to soak in water and even getting my toilet paper for me :) I was almost always practicing child led parenting and now we are currently transitioning to a Waldorf style activities and schedule. I always set a goal for what our rhythm of the week will be and make slow transitions for each activity, if we don't get around to doing something I schedule it for later in the week, or even later in the month.

Here is our rough schedule:

8-9am wake up and lay down for a bit (we cosleep in the same room)

Take off her diaper (i only use them during sleep, to conserve)

10am make breakfast together or make what she wants

change clothes/ maybe take a shower

10-12 run errands for the day (including shopping and being outdoors)

12-1230 make lunch together

100pm clean up toys together

130-400 nap time (i'll knit, take a nap or schedule things)

400 look at books, puzzles, play on patio

500-530 start making dinner

600 sit and eat dinner

maybe take a shower or visit a friend or relative til "quiet time"

730-830 "quiet time", relaxing on bed, looking at books singing

830 change into pjs and go to bed

[BellyBean]

We had a great schedule till a few weeks ago.  DD is transitioning to 1 nap and it has us in total chaos!  Once we find our new groove I expect our days to be much calmer and "happier" again.  We both love knowing what happens next :)

Our schedule for the last 6 months has been:

6:30 am: wake up

Quiet time reading with a light snack

8 am: bath

8:30: Breakfast

unstructured play time, reading/puzzles/toys

9:30: nap

11:30 wake up/Lunch

Outings: Library, Park, Children's museum, Zoo, Walk, etc.  If we have to stay in, we'll do play doh, drawing, or another craft.

2:30 snack and nap

4:30 Make dinner together

5:00 Eat dinner

Family time

7:15 Bed time

[MrsBone]

a schedule...Finally, yes. DS was weaned at 20 months before I was able to have a schedule though! I expect the next 12-24 months with new babe due anytime will throw all that off though. Here's my current schedule with DS.

Daily:

8-8:30 wake up

9 breakfast

10-1 playdates, grocery store, errands, etc.(lunch out sometimes)

1-2 lunch

2-4 household chores

4-5 playtime

5-start dinner

6-eat dinner

7- bath, books

8-8:30-asleep

Notice no nap anymore! *tear*

This schedule does change some every day because DS is pretty adaptable to change and does well with it, so if he doesn't get to sleep until 10 one night it's not the end of the world. Some days we're literally gone ALL day(every other tuesday) and he falls asleep in the car on the way home. I love the idea of having a schedule with the newborn baby, but I know it's hard to develop that when their needs are constantly changing. I fully expect to just be attached to the baby for about a year and will try and just go with the flow with her needs.

[happysmileylady]

I WISH I could have a schedule or a rhythm, it's just not possible for us.  DH works full time and is in school full time, so his schedule is different each day of the week.  I work part time, around DH's schedule, but not necessarily the same days each week, because I only work like 15 hours on average-some weeks more, some weeks, less.) 

Then, there's always errands and appointments that I can't seem to avoid.  There's doctor appointments, and dentist appointments and DD1 has choir concerts and she has work and then there's things like meeting with the insurance agent to get my insurance straightened out, or to get to the bank to discuss a mortgage issue.  Then there's grocery shopping, which I can't always do all at once because with DH's schedule, I usually have to have both the young ones with me, and if they totally melt down, that's going to warrent another trip...not to mention that becuase I shop deals there aren't always all the stuff I am getting in stock.  Plus sometimes I shop with my mom because we might be buying in bulk and splitting.

And then there's things aroudn the house, like setting up my garden, which has to be done around the baby's nap schedule and she doesn't have much of a schedule it's kinda random despite my wanting to set one up...because we don't ahve a schedule!  I tend to start the week with no plans to do anything specific...no appointments or anything scheduled.  Then on Monday, I will get something in the mail that necessitates me going somewhere to speak with someone in person.  And then a small appliance will crash and I will have to make an extra trip to the hardware store and then one of my teeth with chip and I need a special trip to the dentist...it just seems never ending.

If anyone could figure out how to set up a schedule among all that, I would love to hear it! lol

[MamaofLiam]

Originally Posted by heybabyquepaso 

I think it's me. I just can't schedule. And I feel like that is making my job harder? But I really like the explanation of a rhythm (Thanks, mommariffic!) Even though I can't express exactly what we do all day, we do have a pretty consistent rhythm. That is the best way I've heard it described ever and I think I'll use that when I'm attacked by all my baby-wise friends.
 

Really. I tried typing out our day. It just sounds really awful and unorganized. And pretty much like I don't do anything even though I know I/we do! He wakes between 8 and 10, naps at around 11 and again around 4, and his bedtime is really random (he went down at 8:30 tonight but at 11 the night before, not that we didn't try for earlier).  I try to fill the day with things to do for myself so I don't go bonkers- errands, cleaning, meal prep. I used to take him for daily walks and then it got rainy and I got lazy. I need to do that more often- I know it would serve as a signal for the time of day for my son. 

I'm with heybabyquepaso - I cannot schedule either. (High five heybaby! ) To me a schedule feels constricting and I'm just not comfortable with one. That's not to say we don't have a rhythm, we do. I don't think there is anything wrong with scheduling or not scheduling. I think people need to do what works best for them. Mornings for us are usually spent at home, when we have nap time, some cleaning and exercise time. Playtime/explore time happens throughout the day. Afternoons are usually the time we get out of the house, if we get out of the house that day.   But even our rhythm can get changed up from time to time depending on what's going on in our life atm. I'm sure when my little guy gets older and/or we add more kids to the mix, it will be a little more useful to add some structure. But for now this works for us.

[happysmileylady]

Originally Posted by happysmileylady 

I WISH I could have a schedule or a rhythm, it's just not possible for us.  DH works full time and is in school full time, so his schedule is different each day of the week.  I work part time, around DH's schedule, but not necessarily the same days each week, because I only work like 15 hours on average-some weeks more, some weeks, less.) 

Then, there's always errands and appointments that I can't seem to avoid.  There's doctor appointments, and dentist appointments and DD1 has choir concerts and she has work and then there's things like meeting with the insurance agent to get my insurance straightened out, or to get to the bank to discuss a mortgage issue.  Then there's grocery shopping, which I can't always do all at once because with DH's schedule, I usually have to have both the young ones with me, and if they totally melt down, that's going to warrent another trip...not to mention that becuase I shop deals there aren't always all the stuff I am getting in stock.  Plus sometimes I shop with my mom because we might be buying in bulk and splitting.

And then there's things aroudn the house, like setting up my garden, which has to be done around the baby's nap schedule and she doesn't have much of a schedule it's kinda random despite my wanting to set one up...because we don't ahve a schedule!  I tend to start the week with no plans to do anything specific...no appointments or anything scheduled.  Then on Monday, I will get something in the mail that necessitates me going somewhere to speak with someone in person.  And then a small appliance will crash and I will have to make an extra trip to the hardware store and then one of my teeth with chip and I need a special trip to the dentist...it just seems never ending.

If anyone could figure out how to set up a schedule among all that, I would love to hear it! lol

Today is an example of what I s talking about.  My original plan for today was to take my oldest to work, she had to be there at 10.  Then, come home, do some sewing, then my Dad was to come over around 3 to work on DH's motorcycle, because DH was supposed to spend the entire day at the school doing homework and he hasn't had time to fix his bike.  Then, at 4:30, I was going to go pick up DD from work, make dinner and watch Amazing Race.

Instead, I wok up at 5am, to nurse the baby, and discovered that my fridge quit.  So I spent part of the morning looking around for a new fridge.  Because we needed the fridge and DH needed to be the one to move it around, he stayed home.  I took dd1 to work, left 2 and 3 home, and then when I got back home we called around to find a truck to borrow.  The ILs showed up with their truck and we got in touch with someone selling a fridge, so then we had to go load it up, which meant stopping to buy a dolly to load it with because we didn't have one and DH "could use one." anyway.  Then we had to unload the old fridge, clean out the new one, then load it back up (it's too small) and now it's time to pick up the oldest from work, DH is working with my dad on the bike, and in the middle of all of that, my mom wanted to plant in her garden...I have the plants. 

There's just no way to schedule my life.
 

[Sorilla]

I am so needing the schedule!!! I leave without it, I do not know how I survive, lol.

[les_oiseau]

I have been working on a schedule for about..... ummm.... 4 years!! I would love to have the kids and I in a schedule but I think I'm at the point of giving up, and accepting that it's not going to work for us! lol

Anyway this is about how our days work.....

6:30  I try to get up, maybe take a shower, have coffee, read my Bible

7:30-8  kids wake up, we talk, snuggle, maybe read

8:30-10  my kids are sporatic eaters so when they are hungry I make them breakfast.  In this time the kids play and I maybe read or put laundry away, maybe prepare mail

10:30  ish the kids and I work on puzzles together or the kids work on a craft... painting, play doh, crayons, sticker. or we might play a game

12  ish lunch

12:30  if my dd is going to lie down for a nap it's usually about now. and my ds might play with trains, games, books, etc while I do chores

3   dd wakes up and we have a snack then we might go outside and play or read, make something together.

4:30  start dinner

5:30-6  eat dinner

6:30  kids play with dad while I clean up

7   kids and I take a bike ride, read or bath, or play outside

8:30-9:30  bed

This is kinda close to our average day!  Trying to do this is crazy because we have so many things that cause us to deviate from this all the time, like, lately we have been running errands on Tuesdays, leaving the house about 10 and getting back around 1. So on those days the kids have a late lunch and if dd naps it will be later than normal. Also my dh has been golfing once or twice a week lately and that throws us off, as well as keeping my aunts 3 kids sometimes twice a week.