Routine!

I think routine is my favorite word. (Boy, you could really analyze me well, based on that one statement!)

I keep having these moments at home where I'll be sweeping or picking up toys or something and I suddenly feel giddy! Just so happy to be back to my routine! I am once again in control! (Which is, of course, not true at all. But it FEELS more true since treatment is over).

So, for my own reasons, mainly that I want to be able to read this in a few years and remember what life with a nearly-4 yr old and 1.5 yr old was like, here is my current routine:

-Get kids breakfast (this is almost always organic oatmeal. I'm not a morning person and the only time eggs ever appear in my house is if they're in the form a mid-morning snack.)

-Make an organic coffee frappuccino with 3.5 tablespoons of coffee, ice, whey protein, and organic stevia-sweetened chocolate, dairy-free ice-cream made from cocunut milk. Yum!

-My frappe takes three minutes, so approximately 5 minutes after I sluggishly turn on the coffee pot, I am ready and rarin' to go!

-If it's Tues-Thurs then Terry and I work together to get Micah dressed and a lunch packed so that he can make it to pre-school by 7:45. In the months since he's been going to school we have not once made it there on time. Thankfully, neither do half the parents, and so we aren't stressing over it!

-If it's Monday or Friday then I jump right into cleaning mode. I make our bed (not the kids, that rarely happens), unload the dishes from the night before, sweep under the table where the kids had breakfast, do the breakfast dishes, start a load of laundry. And then get dressed. On some days that means full-clothes and makeup. On other days it means a naked face and elastic-waist sweats.

-There are at least three interruptions from the kids during this morning "pick-up." Someone has a potty accident, they get in a fight that needs a referee, etc. So, by the time I'm dressed, it can be anywhere from 8 a.m. to 9:30. While I'm cleaning and getting dressed the boys are watching the only tv they're allowed for the day (kind of!).

-If they didn't get a bath the night before, it happens around this time.

-Up to that point, my day is almost exactly the same every day. It's late-morning when things change depending on my to-do list. I might sit down and do "school" with the boys. Or we might head out to run errands. For the next few hours, until lunchtime, our schedule really varies. I do lots of teaching and interaction during this time. We work on manners, read the Bible, learn new chores, or just sit and play games.

-Then the boys eat lunch and Caleb takes a nap at 1:30. Micah only naps 2 or 3 times a week. While Caleb sleeps, Micah has a mandatory "rest time." He has to lie in our bed and watch a movie (which is why I said they only "kind of" get tv just in the mornings.) or read some books for at least an hour. Like I said, a few days a week he actually falls asleep. Mostly he "serves his time" and then is ready to play.

-While they rest and nap I eat lunch and then usually spend some time reading (the Bible, book for Small Group, my latest novel or non-fiction on family, kids, or marriage. Today it was John Grisham.). Then I might write for one of my blogs and read the blogs I follow. I check email, do any online research I need to do (ie: homeschool curriculum, pirate birthday cakes, saving money, etc).

-Then I turn on the tv and watch stupid stuff (The Real Housewives or Gimore Girls usually) while I fold laundry.

-Before Caleb wakes up I try to spend one-on-one time with Micah.

-After Caleb wakes up, both boys have snack and then I try to spend one-on-one time with Caleb. (On school days, we do our one-on-one time when Micah's not home.)

-At this point both boys get to run around outside for a while. Or wrestle inside depending on the weather. They expend a lot of energy while I do a bit more cleaning. Maybe sweep again, maybe vaccuum or mop (dusting rarely happens in my casa. I hate it.).

-Then I do one major chore. Clean the bathtubs or change the sheets. Something I don't do everyday.

-At this point I start planning dinner. Once Terry's home we eat (there are plenty of days when he works passed dinner time so the kids eat first and Terry and I eat once they go to bed) and then Terry spends time with them. Which means they roll around on the floor getting good and riled up!

-While I clean up dinner dishes, he gives them a bath. Or vice-versa.

-Then it's time for our bedtime routine. We brush teeth, change into pjs, read a book, sing a song, pray, and say goodnight. Micah always asked for "snug-a-bug," and so we tuck the sheets around him as we say, "Micah got in bed and his Mommy said... Snug as a Bug in a Rug!"

May sound simple to you, but we love it! At least once a week we have a day where we break from the schedule completely and stay out all day running errands. Or visiting my grandmother. Or having a playdate. I guess those are our field trips!