Our Life

6-6:45:  Kids wake up at some point in that space of time.  Ben gets up with them.  Every.  Single.  Day.  I'm pretty sure he deserves the Husband of the Year Award.  I couldn't ask for anything better.

7: Ben brings the kids in to our room to wake me up.  Ben gets back in bed with me and the kids bounce all over the bed (aka us) until I'm up and going.  It's the best way to wake up.

7:30:  Ben leaves for work.

8:  Kids eat breakfast.  I take advantage of the time that they're distracted by breakfast and do dishes so that I don't have to get after them for stealing clean spatulas.  Ben starts work.  He does all that lovely Supply Chain Analyst stuff for CarQuest.

8:30:  Kids play in the toy room or upstairs in the castle.  I finish cleaning up whatever needs cleaning or tidying. 

9:  SuperWhy comes on.  The one show my kids won't allow themselves to miss.  They watch.  I eat breakfast whilst I indulge in my top guilty pleasure: pinterest.  I create menu ideas and plan out crafting ideas for the week (and I actually do them).  Ben still thinks pinterest is sort of a joke, though.  I think otherwise.  We'll see who's laughing now that I've finally discovered a laundry system I can get used to.

9:45:  Kids fizzle out of Dinosaur Train and go back to playing in the toy room or castle.  I get laundry started.

11:  Kids want to do something with me.  We read books.  Or play in the back yard.  Or bake/cook something.  Or play with toys.  Or clean up the mess that they made that morning.  Or work on writing our letters.  Or play a game.  Or color.  Or go for a walk.  Or have a dance-a-thon.  Or jump on the couches.

12:  Kids eat lunch.  I tackle some other chore (like cleaning a bathroom) that I don't want the kids near. 

12:30:  Kids play.  I eat.  Whislt I pinterest/pay bills online/blog/answer emails. 

1:  Nap time.  Oh, sweet sweet nap time.  Kiddos pass out.  And sometimes I pass out, too.  It depends on whether I'm exhausted or if I want to get things done. 

3-5:  Kiddos discover monsters in their rooms and call for me to come get them.  Yes.  My kids sleep that long every day.  Lily is always 2+ hours.  Skyler is anything from 2-4 hours. 

4:30:  Get dinner started (if it's not already in a crockpot). 

5:30:  Ben gets greeted at the garage door with two toddler voices yelling, "Daddy, you're home!" and, "I missed you!" and, "Skyler wasn't very good today...but I, I was good."  He has playtime with them until....

5:45-6:  Dinner time.  Once everyone's down from the table we have family play time. 

6:30:  SuperWhy (I told you, they're obsessed) and milk.

7:  Prayers and bed.  Ben and I watch Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune while I (sometimes) fold clothes.  Yes, we're so cool like that.

8:  Whatever time.  I typically read, or blog, or craft, or write, or shower, or finish up loading the dishes from dinner.  Ben usually reads or works on a project like his motorcycle or something that he's helping someone else with.  A lot of the time we just end up gabbing on the couch.

9:30-10:30:  We go upstairs.  Check on both babies as they sleep so adorably.  Kiss them goodnight again.  Read our scriptures.  Say prayers.  Lights out. 

Every Monday morning I sit down and write out a lengthy to-do list for the entire week.  It always includes the laundry I have to do, writing out a menu for the whole week, writing down a shopping list for that menu, duties for my calling (i.e. planning sharing time), and other household chores.  Since my kids are such good playmates it's easy for me to become so consumed by what needs to be done around the house.  So I add things to my to-do list that involve the kids like, "Work on the letter C," or we'll have a spur of the moment movie day with popcorn on the couch.  Now that the weather's warmed up my kids' newest obsession is picnicking.  I just throw a blanket out on the back lawn, bring out their normal lunches, and they're happy as clams (except for when flies come around or a drink is tipped over).

We have been a one car family ever since we moved to NC in December of 2009.  I thought it would be really hard to be trapped at home every day, but with a little creativity it's not bad.  When I think of all those moms who go to work all day and only get to see their kids first thing in the morning and then for an hour or two in the evening, my heart breaks.  I'll take the laundry and the kids' arguments any day to witness them grow up.  It's such a blessing.