What Is Your Daily Rutine? Schedule?

Please check out www.flylady.com. Her site has a lot of great information on setting up easy to follow routines. There is a link to www.housefairy.com which is a website for children on routines and organization. Also, on her site there is a link for www.savingdinner.com which helps you plan menus and prepare make-ahead dinners for the freezer. Hope this helps !!!

My oldest son will be four in August and my youngest son turns two at the end of next month. I stay at home with them and my older son is in preschool in the morning. We use a big white board for our visual schedule. (I'm really not that strict about keeping to a schedule, but I find the kids really like to know what to expect and it keeps me from getting caught up in my own to-do list!). I downloaded a free trial of Boardmaker (pictures usually used to help speech/language-impaired children) to make it visual. We do breakfast, a morning activity/play time, gym or errands, playdate or errands, lunch (sometimes included in playdate), nap, afternoon activity/play time, dinner, bath, quiet time, bed time. I'm not creative, so I sought outside help to come up with fun activities. I looked at books, cards, etc., and actually ended up buying a homeschooling curriculum. I wasn't looking to necessarily "homeschool" the kids, but it has great kid-friendly activities in there that also happen to be educational. I use Hands On Homeschooling (http://www.handsonhomeschooling.com). It was the least expensive one I could find, but it was also one of the best I could find! We found a playgroup on http://www.meetup.com when we lived in Texas and we lucked out into finding a really active one that I really clicked with the other moms. It was great because we had an activity just about every day. I try to balance the activities (weather permitting, try to have at least one outside activity per day). Like the other poster, I also have my kids in bed by 7 and that, along with nap time, makes up my mommy time. Hope this helps!

J.,
I have a 5 month old. He takes 2 regular naps and one short nap every day. He's on a good schedule. I use his schedule to my advantage. There are things I do every day like dishes and picking up clutter. Then there are things I do on each day. For example, Monday I meal plan and go to the store. Tuesday, I might do laundry. Wednesday, I might vacuum and dust. Thursday, I might clean the bathrooms. Friday, I might have to do laundry again. On the weekend, I try to not do anything but enjoy my family and some free time. My son goes to bed every night around 7 or 7:30. After that, my husband and I enjoy time together. Time with friends is usually a walk in the neighborhood or a trip to Target. Sometimes my husband will watch our son so that I can go do something with a friend. And occasionally, we will have friends over after our son's bedtime. The biggest thing I have done lately to help my sanity has been to get rid of clutter. I decided that if I haven't worn or used something in a year, it is not worth holding on to. So I worked on decluttering my house one room at a time. That meant getting rid of clothes, shoes, books, even some furniture, etc... It has made me feel not so claustrophobic in my own home. It also has shortened my clean up time b/c there is less to clean up each day. I hope this is helpful. Good luck!
C.

Hey J., I am a SAHM too. I have a daughter who is almost 3 and a son who is 12 weeks old. And no, no matter what it never gets all done. People think that if you're home all day then it should all be done, but until they have actually stayed home and taken care of the baby, laundry, dishes, toilets, grocery shopping, running errands and so on, then they have no room to talk. ha ha. I am trying to follow a schedule for myself right now to help with the house work. I focus on one room for the day. And I work on it as I can. As far as time for yourself...I am part of a SAHM group with some other moms from my church. We get together regularly twice a month. Once with the kids for a big play date and once in the evenings for moms only. That seems to help me stay connected to adults and have adult conversation. It may not seem like a lot of time but it works out to be about every other week. So it works great for me. My wonderful husband lets me sleep in on Saturdays and he gets up with the kids. (I love him for that):) I won't tell him that sometimes I just lay in the bed wide awake and listen to the fun he is having. I know if I get up the I could get it done better/faster, but does it really matter? NOPE! I just enjoy laying in the bed. aaahhh. So, keep God first and your priorities straight. Take a bubble bath once a month (the first Monday of every month). Go out with the girls every other month and go to bed with your husband every night. It will all fall into place, even if the dishes aren't.
S.
sorry this was so long

Hi J.!

Your name is the same as my daughter's and she is also 11 months. :) I have been a sahm for almost seven years now (wow, I didn't realize it had been that long!). I have had more schedules than I could count. Like other moms who responded, I have gotten a lot of wonderful help from FLYlady. I am still working on morning, afternoon and before bed routines, but those are key to my days running smoothly.

Here are some of the things which work for me right now. I try to group my errands together and do them once a week. This gives me a lot more time without having to run around every day. Of course there are times when I need to go other days, but these can be just quick trips. I also like to have Wednesdays be our fun day when we go to the library for storytime and to the park or to lunch with a playground.

In the mornings my two little ones stay with me while I work, and kind of move around the house with me. After breakfast when I am unloading the dishwasher and cleaning up the kitchen, my baby stays in her highchair and eats/plays where she can watch me, and my two year old plays with his toys. After the kitchen is done we head to the bedrooms where I make my bed and straighten it up and I finish getting dressed (or start getting dressed lol). My two will play up there with a basket of toys in my room. Then I try to straighten their rooms too and make beds (my older son does this himself before he goes to school). This way they can start to learn how to do it themselves as they first just watch you and play but later can start to help you and finally do it on their own.

We try to get in a morning or evening walk every day.
I make a weekly menu. Then on Saturday mornings I try to prepare some food for the week so I don't have to cook each weeknight with the kids underfoot. I use the crockpots so I might put chicken with onions, salt and pepper and a little water in a crockpot to cook, then let it cool and shred or chop it into two cup servings, put it in freezer bags and freeze. I will brown up several pounds of ground beef, drain, and freeze in 3/4 to 1 lb. servings. I might wash lettuce and prepare salad ingredients. Or even cook a lot of rice to freeze in meal size portions. Grate cheese, or prepare a casserole or crockpot meal for the weekend or to freeze. Also cook a roast with a bag of taco seasoning, onions, etc. and then shred for tacos, burritos, etc. When I can do this it REALLY helps with my week because I just find it very difficult to prepare a meal in the evenings on weeknights.

Afternoons are outside play if it is nice. I bought a larger square size (like the old kind) playpen for the backyard for my daughter to play in.

We are working very hard to make evenings are for me and my husband after an early bedtime for the kids. You and your hubby and baby could go for a walk after dinner together to give you talking time and some fresh air before bedtime so baby might go to sleep easier. Or you could even do it after baby is bathed and in pajamas just to wind down before he goes to bed (or he might fall asleep).

Hope that helps! Oh, and on the flylady website there is a section for date ideas that are simple and inexpensive. She says have a date night every week. :)

I have a son who is 17 months old. He was not a very easy baby. If I were you I would plan a lunchor play date with friends or your husband & as soon as he wakes up from his first nap head out for a little while. I put my son to bed at 7 pm so then my husband & i have some time together. Hope this helps.

There is never enough time. And it seems once your baby gets on a schedule, then their needs change, and so does the schedule. When my children were your kid ages. We were up at 8, napped 10-12, had lunch, ran errands if needed, were down at 2-4 for a nap, and then up until bed. My house was never as clean as I wanted, I worked teaching one night a week, and tried to call my family when the baby was napping. When I had a second child, the first one was no longer doing the morning nap, so I didn't have that time to clean or plan anymore, so my daughter almost always had art time in the mornings, and then I could do dishes, etc. My son is that age now, and we don't have nearly the schedule we did when he was napping and she was 4. She is at school now, and I am just not as organized!

Long story short, there are some moms who clean like a whirlwind when the kids are in bed, there are some who collapse. But all in all, I have had to accept that there just isn't as much time -- or eneergy -- as their once was!

B.

Hi J.~

7am wake up time (Grace is 15-months young :)

Between 7am and 8am Grace gets a diaper change, 6 ounce bottle of formula, and her teeth brushed

8am to 8:30am Grace plays in the playroom while I get myself ready

8:30am to 9am Grace has some breakfast of fruit, whole grain cereal, and cheese bits. Of course, all the clean-up is performed too (floors, table, chairs, dishes, her face & hands (which she highly dislikes!), etc.)

9am - 10am Grace and I play in the living room or outside

10am- 11:30am Grace gets a 6 ounce bottle of formula and naps. I run on the treadmill for 45-minutes and take care of all the pets (parrots, cats, fish) at this time. I also do some laundry and empty the dishwasher.

11:30am - NOON Grace's diaper is changed, she's dressed, and I get dressed after my earlier run.

NOON - 12:30pm Grace and I eat lunch of fresh fruits & veggies, whole grains (bread, pasta, or muffin), and a natural dairy (yogurt, cottage cheese, cheese). Of course, all the clean-up is performed too (floors, table, chairs, dishes, her face & hands (which she highly dislikes!), etc.)

12:30 - 3pm Grace and I go grocery shopping, supply shopping, or visit a park.

3pm - 5:30pm Grace gets a 6 ounce bottle of formula and takes her 2nd nap. I work for my at home business (it's all online) or do some yardwork. I also get dinner started if there's preparation necessary.

5:30pm- 6pm Grace wakes from her nap, gets a diaper change, and plays with my husband who just got home from work

6pm - 7pm I cook dinner, serve & eat dinner, and clean up dinner. The kitchen floor gets a thorough mopping at after this meal.

7pm- 8pm We play as a family -- outside or inside, depending on the weather.

8pm Grace gets a bath, teeth brushed, and changed for bed.

8:30pm Grace's bed time... she gets a 6 ounce bottle of formula and lots of cuddles.

8:30pm- 10pm We do housework, professional work, pet chores, work on the computer, or relax. This is the time where I get personal correspondence done as well (letters, emails, and such)

10pm- time for me to snooze! :)

I hope this helps!

Take care,
D.

J.

Being consistent is key in raising children. I have a three year old daughter & a nine year old son. Now I have been home for almost four years & when my daughter was born there were days that I felt hopeless. I felt like you there is no time for hubby, friends etc but I decided that enough was enough. I decided to get my daughter on a schedule. She would only get one nap during the day about noon time but I would limit it because I knew that around 7ish I wanted to give her a bath & get her dressed to have sometime with daddy & I wanted er sleep by 8:30. I am a very active mom...my son has played ball since he was three & now my daughter is involved. Active time is key also because when my daughter is home on the weekends now I take her to the park hoping to wear her down. She is in school now because I work from home & it was just impossible to get anything done. Hope this helps...be consistent with the schedule.

Let's see, when my son was that age he still took 2 naps a day and it was heaven!! hehe Really, I'm a SAHM too and I don't think there are enough hours in the day to get everything done that I'd like to!! I don't have a strick schedule or anything, I just go with the flow cause even at 2yrs old, there is nothing set in stone!! There are certain things I try to get done durning they day like 1 load of laundry washed, dried and put away every day. I dust and vaccum the living room on Mondays and just touch ups as needed, the bathrooms get cleaned on Fridays and my daughter is in charge of keeping the counters wiped down through out the week, and etc for the rest of the house. I do it like this cause it breaks up the work and there are certain things I do when he is napping like fold clothes (he likes to get on the bed and unfold them!! and clean the bathrooms) and it isn't too heavy of a work load if I don't do something on a certain day, I can do it the next instead.

Here is a nice yahoo group that helped me get a bit organized and set a path for how I keep house.....Flylady. You don't have to buy all their stuff to make it useful but they've got some great ideas!!

Good luck!
~S.

www.flylady.net is terrific for just what you are asking for. It is free, too.

take a look at www.flylady.net. time for cleaning, playing, cooking, etc. it's a great site.

Hey, J.! I have a 10-month-old, and I work outside the home. My free time is usually filled with housework and spending time with my son and husband. Sometimes I get frustrated that there aren't enough hours in the day, but I really have learned to focus on what are the most important things in my life. This is a rundown of our week:

My son goes to bed at about 7:00 p.m. I get home from work at 5:30 p.m. The time after 5:30 (until my son goes to bed) is PLAY TIME!! We play in the bath tub, read books, chase the dog. I look forward to this time all day.

During the week, after 7:00 p.m. is "husband time only" unless I have a meeting or need to return some phone calls. We watch t.v., enjoy dinner together, sit on the porch, get a pay-per-view, etc. I don't do any housework (except laundry) during this time because I want to spend time with him. If I want to go out, I always schedule dinner with friends or shopping on Tuesdays. My husband knows that Tuesdays are usually mine!

On Saturdays, we usually plan an outing with our son. These are usually very simple. He absolutely loves going to the grocery or going to CVS! Or, we'll go to the park and feed the ducks. At this age, they don't need much variety. EVERYTHING is exciting to them. It is fun to get out of the house, but the "scheduled activities" don't have to be elaborate. You could make a point to go somewhere every day before his afternoon nap -- even if it is just to the grocery store. That can be a lot of excitement for them!! Oh, housework (ugh!) is saved for Saturday and Sunday. Good Luck!!I