Morning Routine

I really love a good routine. Something deep in my DNA craves order and scheduledness (is that even a word?). And I've found that my kids function well in a routine too. Now, don't get me wrong, I am not a time nazi barking out orders and scheduling time for "fun". I can be a flexible, go-with-the-flow, carefree mom too. I do believe in balance, but for the most part I like knowing what to expect. One of the things I'm looking forward to as I count down to summer is a chance to start a more consistent routine at home. Right now our week looks like this:


Monday: 9:30 to 2:30-- girls at school; 3:00 to 8:00-- me at work
Tuesday: 9:15-11:15-- girls and me at my women's Bible study; 4:00-8:00-- me at work
Wednesday: 11:30-12:30-- girls to ballet class
Thursday: 9:30-2:30-- girls at school
Friday: FREE DAY

It seems like our mornings are a little crazy these days with having to be somewhere at a certain time. So I'm ready to have more days like Friday-- completely open and free! Even with no set place to be, I'm a fan of making the most of your time at home. I have found one thing that works for me is to make myself get up before my kids so I can take a shower (equivilent to morning coffee-- can't function without it) and have a little quiet time to myself before those sweet little voices say, "Good-morning, Mom!!" The girls usually either help me make breakfast or watch some cartoons while I make breakfast. Then we sit down and eat together. At this point, I usually start them on some sort of project. Watercolor painting, play-dough, or simply crayons and blank sheets of paper are popular around here. So is "playing office" which involves a notebook, pencils and pens, a calculator and an old cordless phone. Whatever the project is, the girls dive into it which gives me a chance to clean up the kitchen and maybe fold a load of laundry (maybe). Afterwards we are usually ready to either go outside if it is nice or use this "before lunch" time to run an errand or meet up with a friend for a playdate. The girls' overall attitude is much better at this point in the day than say around 4:00 when the tiredness starts to settle in.

Some of the girls watercolors during a recent morning painting session.

So this is the usual morning routine that we enjoy when we don't have to be somewhere. And I'm really looking forward to having all of our days be "free days" soon.