Day in the Life: Ages 9, 6 and 2

I am excited to share a day in the life post with you today.  I'm a full time SAHM with 3 kids ages nine to two.  I feel like we can all say that after 9 months of living in our new city and new house that we all feel pretty settled.  Our house feels like home and we are all in good routines.  Things feel comfortable and we are all happy.

Here's a day in my life :

6:55am My alarm clock goes off and I often find an extra kid or two in my room courtesy of a storm or a bad dream.  I get out of bed and get myself completely ready for the day.

7:15am I make sure the big kids are up and dressed and I start working on breakfast.  They make it pretty easy on me and eat the same thing - toast or oatmeal - every morning.

7:30am After breakfast is served, I focus my attention on packing lunches.  Both big kids need lunches and two water bottles ready for the day.  I get everything loaded up in their backpacks and make sure Leo is dressed and ready to go for the day.  We watch TV, I work on a few chores around the house, start laundry and the kids play.

8:10am My next alarm goes off and it's time to load up the kids.  Everyone does a mad dash of grabbing their things, I rolly brush their outfits after their kitty snuggles and then I drive them to school.  Leo insists on tagging along to yell BYE at the top of his lungs at drop off.

8:30am We're back home and ready to take a deep breath for the day.  I drink iced coffee, snuggle Leo and Lightning McQueen dominates the TV.  Kevin heads into work and we make a plan for the day.

9:00am-12pm It's time to get all the things done!  Leo and I run errands, schedule appointments, go to our Bible Study groups, meet up with a friend or work on things at home.  We always plan for a long walk to get in our exercise, play outside, do chores around the house, grocery trips or pick ups and any errands that need to be done.

12:00pm Lunch time!  Leo and I usually eat at home together.

12:30-2:30pm Leo naps.  This is my power hour to get things done.  I make phone calls, work on my blog, work on projects around the house and enjoy the quiet.  If I have any cookie orders, I work on them while Leo sleeps or after the kids go to bed at night.  I pick up the whole house so that it's nice and tidy when the older kids get home.

2:35pm My final school alarm goes off and we go wait in the parent pick up line to grab the big kids.  We can get them home much faster than the bus so we are sticking with this routine.  They debrief about their days and go over their homework situation for the night.

3:15-4pm Snack time!  My kids always come home so hungry!  They just want to be fed.  I feed them and they usually watch a show or play on their tablets.  I work on dishes or kitchen stuff during this chunk of time.  We try really hard to take care of any homework during this time.  The longer we put it off the harder it is to get it done.  I usually work with one kid at a time and it goes pretty quickly.  Olive - our 4th grader - is really independent and knows exactly what she is supposed to do.  Fletcher - our first grader - wants help with every step of his homework process.

4-6pm The kids play with neighbors, we go on walks, play in the backyard, they read, we go to the library, etc.  I offer more snacks to friends and they PLAY PLAY PLAY.  I also pull dinner together during this time.  Kevin arrives sometimes during this block of time.  We tidy up whatever is out and have things picked up for dinner time.

6:15pm Dinner time!  We eat dinner together almost every night.  I cook or we Door Dash something.  Kevin keeps an eye on the kids (often outside) while I clean up the kitchen.  I prefer to pack lunches for the next day while I'm still in kitchen/food mode.  I pack two yumboxes and then close down the kitchen with a clean counter and sink.

7:00pm Family time!  We hit the showers, go for a walk, watch part of a movie together, read books, play in the playroom, do art or the kids play together.  We work together to get the house cleaned up so that it's nice and clean.  I love doing this job together because keeping a house organized requires teamwork.

7:45pm PJ time!  Everyone changes to their pjs and I put Leo to bed.  The big kids grab a snack and play a game or two with Kevin.

8:15pm I head upstairs to Kevin putting the kids to bed.  He's usually doing one of these things - telling them a story, making up a story or reading a bed time devotional.  The kids pick out their outfits for the next day.  Then I swap him places and then 1 read aloud a chapter book to them.  I read for 15 minutes or so and then stay with them a little longer.

8:45pm Kevin and I hang out for a bit.  The house is all tidy because I cleaned up the kitchen after dinner and we picked up toys before the kids went to bed.  We like to watch shows together and debrief about our days.  He usually heads to bed first and I like to watch a show by myself.  I lay out everything we need for the morning - lunch boxes, breakfast supplies, backpacks, my clothes, Leo's clothes, bags, etc.

11:00pm-ish I head to bed.  Okay maybe it's closer to midnight most nights, but I like to watch my shows or work on my blog or work on a project when the house is quiet.  The cats keep me company.  I set my alarms and we're set to do the same thing again tomorrow.

Good times!  I'm curious - Are any parts of our day the same??