My morning

Okay, okay, I couldn't help myself.  I love routines, I love seeing the routines of others and I love sharing my own.  I was totally inspired to write down my own morning routine here by Steady Mom's post.  So here it goes!

6am  If I'm lucky, I'm just getting out of bed now.  Often my youngest, little Oll, will be awake before this hour.  If I'm really lucky, both little boys are still asleep and I get a bit of time to myself!  Once my baby's older, I believe I may have a "room time" for them.  Silas did at one time play quietly by himself, as long as I left him a little snack in a lunch box for him, but once the baby came along, that all went out the window.  Anyhow!

Let's say I'm really lucky and the boys are both sleeping.  I get dressed, do my hair and make up and wipe down the bathroom (just the sink, counter and sometimes toilet).  Usually at this point Silas is awake, finding his favorite toys from yesterday.  I'll start breakfast and run water in the sink for dishes, then put away last night's dishes from the rack.

645 This is the absolute latest Oliver wakes up (unless ill, off schedule or what have you - there are just no absolutes with kids, are there?).  It's a great day when breakfast is ready and I can just pop him into his seat and put some food in front of him.  If breakfast isn't quite ready, I'll make do with a bit of fruit.  Silas will sit and eat too while I wash up the supper dishes.  This is also when I become aware of Tawny stumbling around in the back ground getting ready for school.  Often she'll have a bit of whatever I've prepared for the boys.  If she opts for something else, I get it!

700 I start some laundry and get Oliver dressed.  While I'm in that area of the house, I make the beds and tidy the bedrooms, then pack the diaper bag for the day, if necessary.  I almost always have to convince Silas to get dressed at this point.  He knows I'll reserve a few minutes to help him and if he horses around too much, then he's got to stay in the laundry room until he's dressed himself.

730  By this time I try and be sitting at the computer with my own breakfast (tea and toast usually, with a piece of fruit).  I have a rule:  When my tea is done, computer time is done as well.  I turn the computer right off just to be sure!  Once it's done, I wipe the counters and table, then sweep the floor. A few days a week, I'll vacuum but only if I know we'll be home after taking my daughter to school because I often don't have time to finish before we have to go.

800 I get Silas and Oliver ready to go out.  This is easy in the summer, difficult in the winter and somewhere in between for spring and fall.  Ideally, I would have everything I need to bring with me waiting by the door, but once the boys are dressed, I remember that I need to grab the library books, or the recycling.  I should really set aside some time the evening before for this, because while I'm running around getting these things, Oliver's mad because I won't let him go outside by himself (he'll go play in the mud puddles, no question!).

815 All of us, including my teenage daughter Tawny, are in the car and heading for town. Tawny gets dropped off at the high school and we get on with our day.  Depending on what exact day it is, we either stay in town or head back home.  I just finished reading Steady Days and have fine tuned my daily/weekly routine to be more repetitive so I don' t have to refer to it constantly.  So now I know that at 830, our morning activity starts, be it Art on Mondays or Park Day on Fridays.

930 Snack time!  My boys LOVE to eat!  If I need to I prep the next activity.

945 Second morning activity, usually a continuation of what we were doing before the much needed nourishment break.  For example, more baking on Saturdays or more Strong Start on Tuesdays.

1130 Lunch time!  If we were in town for an activity or for errands, I try and be home about this time for lunch. Things go down hill quickly if we're still in town and I'm out of snacks!

1200 Book time.  We focus mostly on books Oliver would like, lots of look and say picture books without a lot of words.  If he's too tired, he'll just go straight to bed for a nap.

And that's it for mornings!  Things slow down a little for afternoons as I'm more of a morning person - and so are the little ones.  Maybe that'll be a post for next week's 30 Minute Challenge?