All the hours in the day
Lately, we’ve been experiencing some scheduling challenges here at Chez Apron. More accurately, our schedule has been in flux and I’m having some difficulty managing our time.
I am one of those mothers who firmly believes that kids thrive when they’re kept to a solid, predictable daily schedule. I’m not so militant that we can’t roll with the surprises that come up along the way, but I am pretty strict when I can be.
Henry is at an odd stage where he probably should be taking two naps a day, but will often take only one. The result is a kid with a seriously cranky disposition for much of the afternoon and evening. And, after a whole summer of attending day camp from 9:00am to 1:00pm every day, Maya is starting her second year of preschool at the end of the month and her new school schedule will be 1:15pm to 4:15pm. Basically, her day is turned upside down. We are a family in transition.
To top it all off, I’ve been making it a point to get to the gym almost daily. Which is great for my ass, but bad for our schedule. This means that somehow, I’ve got to fit an entire hour of gym time into a day that never feels quite long enough to get everything done in the first place. This has resulted in my dropping the ball somewhere - typically the laundry, the chores, my photography practice, or my blogging.
What’s a busy mama to do?
I wrote out a daily schedule today, which has helped to give me a picture of what an ideal day should look like. It goes something like this:
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6:30am - Mama wakes up, makes breakfast for Dennis
7:00am - Mama showers, gets dressed
7:30am - Mama wakes up the kiddos, gets them washed and dressed for the day
8:00am - Breakfast time for the kiddos (and coffee for mama)
9:00am - Kiddo activity (i.e. trip to the park, playdate, library, walk, or project at home)
9:45am - Kiddo snack time
10:00am - Henry’s first nap (approx. 1.5 hours)
12:00pm - Lunch time for mama and the kiddos
1:10pm - Walk Maya to school
2:15pm - Henry’s snack time
2:30pm - Henry’s second nap (approx. 1 hour) / Mama cleans, household chores
4:10pm - Pick Maya up from school
4:30pm - Prep dinner
5:30pm - Dennis arrives home; Family dinner time
6:30pm - Mama cleans up from dinner, Dennis plays with kids
7:00pm - Henry’s bath time, bedtime routine
7:30pm - Maya’s bathtime, bedrime routine
8:00pm - Adult time (reading, blogging, gym time, movie, etc.)
10:00pm - Bedtime
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I’d like to start implementing this schedule as soon as Monday. I hope it works as well in reality as it does on paper. The kids really need it. I really need it. Family life is so much easier (and everyone’s so much calmer and happier) when our time is well managed.
