Daily Schedule

I had a friend ask me to give her my schedule and it was interesting to think about what I really do every day. So I copied it and here it is.

First of all, at some point I had to let go of the notion that I was going to get everything done every day. But if I write out all the things I would like to do, then when I have downtime, I have something to do (since I'm prone to be really lazy if I don't have anything in mind, I can never think of the things I need to do in the moment.) And I change my schedule all the time (the things I can change).

7:30-8:00 Wake up and get E, K, M off to school.(They eat breakfast at school. $.30 Reduced price lunch is awesome!)

8:00-8:30 Take girls to school, read scriptures in the car before I come back in for a few minutes if John is home to watch the other kids. It's nice and quiet out there.

8:30-8:55 Get R, L, and A changed, dressed, and ready for the day. Help them get breakfast.

8:55 Take Ruth to preschool on days she has it, or send her with John on his way to work.

9:00-10:45 The girls watch their morning shows. I feed A and eat my own breakfast. I also do odd cleaning things like empty the dishwasher or put in laundry. I also do indexing on the computer or read L books if she wants.

10:45-11:10 (or 11:00 if it is R's preschool day) I do my second round of changing and bottles and get everyone ready to go pick up E from kindergarten.

11:15 Pick up E(and R if applicable). I take a book or puzzle book so if I have to wait for her I don't get impatient. We also listen to the kids music on the ipod in the car and it's like taking a breath from the day. All the kids are buckled and quiet. It's nice.

11:30-1:00 We go back home and do various things. If A falls asleep in the car then he usually sleeps for awhile and I get a reprieve. Then sometimes the girls and I play DDR for a while. Then I fix lunch while E gets one show in. We eat lunch and then they go down for naps. If A is awake when we get home, then I feed him while E gets her show, then fix lunch.

1:00-3:00 This is naptime in our house. The girls all do something quietly (they don't have to sleep). I take a nap if I need to, or do cleaning chores like kitchen and laundry. I usually have to feed A for at least part of this time, so we cuddle and rest. If I'm really ambitious, I exercise or work on projects.

3:15 Pick up K and M from school. I always go a little late and take a book because they are slowpokes coming out of school. It's another breathing time for me.

3:30-6:00 The girls work on cleaning one room in our house. I take care of A or do other cleaning chores. If necessary, I think about dinner and start on it.(John usually takes care of dinner when he comes home if he's going to be home that night). Usually one day a week we go during this time up to my parents to visit. K also has Activity Days and choir during this time. If the girls get their chores done quickly, I let them play outside or do something fun. I also use this time to work on homework with individual girls if need be.

6:00-7:00 We eat dinner, read scriptures and do bedtime stuff.

7:00-10:00 The girls go to bed at 7. The older girls do their homework. The younger girls humor me by usually staying in their rooms and sometimes going to sleep. Usually by about 9:00 they are all asleep. I feed A and read or watch shows. A few nights a week I go to meetings, clubs, or out for some breathing time, like grocery shopping or to the library, just out of the house.

9:00-12:00 John and I watch TV together or play games or eat a late night snack. A goes to bed about 10:00, and I usually relax or work on projects until 12:00.

12:00 John and I go to bed and read scriptures. We are night owls. We joke that we need a day in between when the kids go to bed and when we have to go to sleep. We need more sleep but it is hard to give up that alone time at night. Saturdays we sleep in.