6 AM. My alarm goes off. I turn it off and sleep for another hour. True story! I usually don't do that, but in this season of life I've been enjoying it. Gary doesn't go to class until later in the morning and the boys aren't up until 7. What's the rush?
7 AM. I sneak upstairs to take a shower, hoping the boys will sleep another 20 minutes. When they wake up they take turns in another bathroom, get dressed and make their beds before venturing upstairs. I look like this fresh out of bed:
Just kidding, but that's all you're getting.
My bathtub is in desperate need of a scrubbing. You can see baking soda and vinegar in the picture--I was trying to make the drain work better. It half worked. I used Dawn dish soap and a magic eraser on the tub and it's really nice and clean!
I finish up in the bathroom, including spending 5 minutes each on my hair and face, then this happens. Yay for a new mug from my birthday!
8 AM. Our favorite breakfast is oatmeal, of which Josiah is the biggest fan! We all eat together, including Gary.
8:30 AM. I watch this little girl about twice a week. She reads stories while we finish breakfast and start chores.
Each boy clears his own things from the table, and today is Jonathan's turn to do the dishes. He likes the job, likes water, takes forever and everything gets wet! I don't have to re-wash much, and it's great training!
Also, I let him play in the water after he's done. He is seeing if his lego boats are watertight. The results are mixed.
9 AM. Meanwhile, Jared and I are folding laundry. Since Josiah is still three, I wash his and Jared's laundry together once or twice a week, depending on how much dirty clothes they're producing. I don't sort, just dump it all in the washer. Everyone's laundry is done on a different day and it never gets overwhelming. Seriously, this has changed my life! Or at least my view of laundry.
Josiah "reads" a book, plays with a toy, or twirls in the living room until it's his turn to do a chore.
His job today is to sweep the stairs. It's not perfect (at all) but I'm not doing it today so it's better than nothing. And he's learning!
Next, Jared gets some one-on-one time with me for his school work. He loves school!
Josiah likes to copy his brothers, so I'm sure to give him "homework" to do too.
Jonathan is listening to Bible stories on CD. He loves them! He's learned so much about the stories in the Old Testament, especially. He usually builds something with blocks or legos while he listens. I find him in here during his free time too.
After that, it's Jonathan's turn for some workbook practice! The boys have supplemental phonics and math books to go with the My Father's World curriculum. We do have a time for calendar, a worship story, and a thought about the unit we're studying. Right now it's about animals.
The other boys play quietly until Jonathan is done with school.
I send the boys to the backyard to play, then cycle the laundry and tackle a chore on my list. The coat closet has gotten out of hand, so I spend 20 minutes taking things out, sweeping, and putting things back where they belong.
I also took the time to arrange a fall centerpiece for the table.
12 PM. Gary has come home from class and gone to work, making himself a lunch from leftovers. I fed the little girl I watch, then put her down for her nap before calling the boys in.
1 PM. Lunch is over and the table is cleared. Each of the boys chooses a library book and we all sit on the couch while I read to them. Then each boy goes to a different room in the house to rest and play quietly for an hour. I set a timer, ignore the dirty dishes from lunch, and enjoy some downtime too. I feel guilty some days, but if I don't take the quiet and rest when I can, I get grumpy and overly tired later.
2 PM. The timer goes off. This is usually when we have another school cycle, but today is so beautiful and I know the nice days are numbered, so I let the boys play outside.
4 PM. I take the little girl outside with me when I give the boys a snack. Gotta get some work out of this one too!
5 PM. The boy gets picked up, so I take the little girl and go inside. I start supper then feed her before her dad comes.
6 PM. All the extra kids are gone, the lunch dishes are done and supper is ready. Tonight we're having this, though I do regular noodles for the men/boys.
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| A House in the Hills |
6:30 PM. Gary comes home and we enjoy supper and catch up on the day.
7 PM. The boys and Gary go downstairs to take showers and change into jammies while I clean up the kitchen one last time.
7:30 PM. We have family worship where we read the boy's lesson from church, go over their memory verse, and sing a couple songs before having prayer together. We pray for baby Malcolm, Grandpa who has cancer, and Aunt Wanda.
8 PM. The boys are tucked into bed and kissed one or two or three last times. Gary studies or goes for a run or both, while I decompress on the couch. I read blogs, blog myself, or listen to Jane Austen read aloud.
9 PM. Or 9:30. Or 10. It's bedtime! Gary and I try to go to bed at the same time because it's our favorite time to really touch bases with each other. Gary tells me details about his day at work, what he's studying for, and how his run went. I share things the boys said and did, what we did for school that day, how my day went, and other things that get lost in the hubbub if we don't take a few quiet minutes together before we sleep.
So there you have it! A day in the life. What's a day like at your house?
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