What We Do All Day

Before I became a mom I was so excited about everything. I couldn't wait to stay home with my baby and take care of our home...but then it happened. I gave birth to my oldest son, and instead of just soaking up the time with him, I was always thinking, "What am I supposed to do with this baby all day? I mean I know he's got to be fed, clothed, and have his diaper changed but what am I supposed to do with him in between those times?"

First I tried scheduling our day: 7:30am wake up and breakfast, 8:00am take a walk, 9:00am reading time, and on and on... Well, I soon realized that I'm not a super scheduler. Some moms love a schedule, but I discovered that for me if I started letting the clock dictate what we're going to do I'd get anxious if an activity didn't take as much time as I planned. On the other hand, I'd get anxious if an activity was taking too long.

I tried the whole fly by the seat of your pants thing for a while, but instead of giving me the freedom I was looking for, I was still haunted by the question, "What the heck am I supposed to do with this child all day?" I needed structure. I needed order. I needed a routine. I have come to LOVE a good routine. My routine is just a sequence of regular activities that we do most everyday (except on the weekends and holidays). It has really helped me to be able to relax and enjoy my children, and it keeps me from feeling like I'm counting down the minutes until my hubbs gets home (though I still have those days sometimes).

I think having a set routine has also helped me accomplish long term training goals in my childrens' lives by doing a little every day. For example, when my oldest son was a baby we wanted him to be able to sit in big church with us. So for about 6 months we had sermon sitting time everyday. We sat in front of the computer, and I put him in my lap. I played a sermon for 5 minutes. Before we started I laid out some books and told him he could read but not speak. If he decided to talk he was disciplined. We  were eventually able to work up to sitting for 30 minutes.

My routine is a work in progress. I add to it and subtract from it when I see a need. During the winter I take the boys outside in the middle of the day when it's warmer, but during the summer I try to get them out early in the morning or close to dusk. Here's a peek into our current routine:

Breakfast
Prayer
Reading
Room time
AM Snack
Morning Activity
Lunch
Starfall
Nap time
PM Snack
Sit Time
Outside Playtime
Dinner
Bible Reading and Catechism
Family Hangout

I'm going to take each of our routine activities and go into greater detail about what they are and what we are doing in subsequent posts, so be on the lookout!

Details of our Morning Routine
Details of our Afternoon Routine