I wanted to squeeze in a day in the life post before the school year finished up. It seems like just when we are hitting our stride and feeling comfortable in our routines, they change. Is that true at your house?
Summer is almost here and a new routine will need to be established for June and July.
Our school year routine for 2022.
6:45am My alarm goes off. I get up, get ready and get the kids up by a little after 7:00. Many days the big kids wake up first, get themselves dressed in the clothes we've picked out the night before and they have a little tablet time.
7:15am I make the big kids breakfast and do all the things to get them ready for school. Lunch boxes are assembled. Water bottles filled. Check my planner to make sure that all the school things are done. They request nearly the same breakfast every morning - peanut butter oatmeal for one and cinnamon toast for the other.
7:30am Leo usually wakes up on his own. He gets some milk, gets dressed for the day and then goes around to do his good morning greetings. The big kids are more excited to see him than anyone else in the mornings and they compete for his snuggles.
7:40am We do all the things to get out the door - teeth brushed, hair done, grab jackets/lunches/backpacks and give kisses as we head out the door. I take them to school. Kevin stays behind with Leo to get ready for his day.
8:00am I'm back and Leo has my full attention. Have you seen the "Find Mom. Sit on Mom." stories that I post some mornings? That's our routine. Hang out together at home. I grab his breakfast and he watches a show. I catch up on blog things, email and social media.
9:00am We often head out of errands, a walk or just play outside. We try to get all the things done during this morning chunk of time. Some days it's all at home - laundry, cleaning, etc. and other days we are gone all morning.
11:30am Prep lunch for me and for Leo. We almost always eat together.
12:00pm Leo heads to bed. I rock him and snuggle him and then he naps. I do all the business things of the house, cleaning, cleaning up, organizing, blogging and such during this chunk of the day. It's quiet and calm. I usually listen to my Spotify playlist and do jobs that are hard to do with a toddler around.
2:30pm Wake up Leo and head to school to get in the car line. We grab the big kids and head home.
3:00pm Snacks for everyone. The kids come home starving and a little cranky from all the hard work at school. I feel them for a while and then once their bellies are full they love to chat about their days. I try to do dishes and unpack all their backpack/lunch boxes during this time. Sometimes I prep last minute dinner stuff now if I didn't already do it during nap time.
4:00pm We turn off all screens and usually head outside or to the playroom to play. The big kids like to play together most of the time and Leo likes to do his own thing. I like to read a book (or sometimes my phone) while they play. If the kids have homework we like to take care of it during this time.
5:30pm We like to squeeze in a family walk before dinner when Kevin gets home. If that doesn't happen, we like to hang out on our patio or play outside before dinner.
6:00pm We almost always eat dinner together. We chat about our days and eat good food. We also watch an episode of Family Matters. We have watched Full House, game shows and are currently going through Family Matters right now. Those vintage shows are gems!
6:30pm I clean up the kitchen and Kevin is on kid duty. Sometimes that's games, sometimes it's bath time/shower time and sometimes they go back outside and play. I clean up dinner and then pack lunches for the following day. It's so much easier to do this now then at the very end of the night.
7:00pm Everyone in their pjs and they we hang out. We often end up in the playroom watching a show together or playing a game.
7:45pm Leo heads to bed & Kevin and the big kids hang out. I join them when Leo gets to bed. We tidy up the toys and the house so we can all relax together. Team work makes this easier!
8:30pm Big kids to bed. Sometimes Kevin reads a book out loud, sometimes we chat and sometimes silly stories are told. He says goodnight and then I stay a little longer to snuggle the big kids. They are always chatty at the end of the day. They fall asleep and I head to hang out with Kevin.
9:00pm We like to hang out or watch a show together or debrief about our days. I'll show him cute pictures of the kids from our days and we have a snack. This is the last chunk of the day to get things done. I set out all the things that we will need in the morning to make that go smoothly. I make sure everything is finished and try to head to bed around 10:30/11pm.
11:00pm Make sure everyone and everything is all tucked in and go to bed.
Do our days look similar??
A few snapshots of regular moments in our days:
Cheers to figuring out our new Summer routine :)