Daily Rhythm

I promised I'd share our daily routine with you.  I know that I love to read how other Moms fit it all in.

Of course, we have to get back into this rhythm.  So, this will be a work in progress.  But, it is a start.

For as long as I can remember, our basic rhythm has been this

• Wake
• Morning Routine (dress, make bed, breakfast, clean up, teeth, etc.) 
• Chores 
• School (or whatever if we aren't schooling)
• Snack
• More of the same (school or whatever)
• Lunch
• Free Time
• Quiet Time
• Snack
• Free Time while I make dinner
• Dinner
• Evening Routine (teeth, pjs, story, etc.)
• Bed

I'd like to make a few minor changes. 

For one, I really want to make sure that we get outside each and every day ... ME included.  That is something that has not ever happened.  I tend to spend all of my free time on the computer (shame shame).  The Hippie likes to do things outside, but the Princess doesn't really.  She likes to draw and play with her horses.

I'd like to insert a time where all three of us do something active outside each afternoon.  That will kill two birds with one stone ~ get us outside and get us all some exercise.  I've been trying desperately for years now (and failing, by the way) to figure out how to schedule in exercise for me.  It finally dawned on me that even though these girls are skinny minnies, they still need exercise for health.  And, maybe the reason I have such a hard time scheduling it in my own life is because I never formed the habit as a child.  If we just all do something together, maybe it won't be a perfect work out for me, but at least we'll all be moving and we'll all be outside and we'll all be together.  I'm thinking bike rides, walk to the park, walk to and on the beach, etc.


So, that's my first goal/change.


That means I am most likely going to have to cut our Quiet Time shorter.

Ever since the girls were younger, I have always been a stickler for nap time.  Even when the naps ended, Quiet Time has continued (when we are home) ~ they read books or play quietly in separate rooms.  This is usually when I can get things done on the computer, make phone calls, clean the kitchen, once in a blue moon I might actually turn on the TV or read a book, sometimes fit in a blog post, etc.

I'd love to continue them forever, ensuring a BREAK for me.  I'd love to force myself to blog and then read and relax, NOT do stuff.

But, if I want to ensure that chores get done daily (instead of me breaking myself on Saturday cleaning the entire house at one time) and that we do school daily and that the girls have enough FREE time and that we get outside and that we eat and all of that, I think I'm going to have to shorten the Quiet Time.  Maybe I'll just have to train them to GO have their FREE TIME while I finish whatever I couldn't squeeze in while they were reading.  :)


Anyway, here is the Basic Rhythm I've come up with for our Home Days

• Momma wake earlier for tea and computer (crucial)
• Morning Routine
• CHORES (specific ~ different each day so the whole house is cleaned by the weekend)
• School Time (snack in there)
• Free Time while Momma attacks her TO DO List
• Lunch 
• Literature Read Aloud
• Quiet Time
• Tea for Momma / Snack for them
• OUTSIDE TIME
• Dinner Prep for Momma / Free Time for Girls
• Dinner
• Evening Routine while Momma & Daddy clean kitchen

Like I said, this has been the basic rhythm of our lives for a while.  The hard parts will be:

• Waking up before the girls
• Shorter Quiet Time (less break for me)
• Getting outside daily

The other hard part is that this rhythm can only really happen about twice a week!  


On Tuesdays, we have to be at Theater by 12:30.  That will make for a crazy morning!
On Wednesdays, we have to go to the Library and Handwork and I have to make dinner before!
On Thursdays, we are totally gone for the day for field trips and stuff.

You get the idea.  Nothing is perfect, but having a general rhythm to your days helps immensely.  It helps for the children to know what is next.  It helps for me to know that I can not think about such-n-such right now because I have the time allowed for it later.  If there is an allotted time for paying bills and phone calls, I don't have to let those things get in the way of schooling.  I can put them out of my mind for a while, knowing I'll get to them later. 


How do you fit everything into your day?