Hi friends! Today, I wanted to write about our weekday routine, since it's always nice to get today in a still
frame, a moment frozen in time, to look back and remember what our days were
like during all the hustle and bustle. It’s been a year since I wrote up a post similar to this and a lot has changed now that the boys are 4.5 and almost 3. Here's what our typical weekday looks like in our crazy little household.
6:00-6:15am: It’s always a toss-up on which kiddo will wake
first, but its almost always in this 15 minute window for both of them. The
first one up gets to snuggle in with me, and whoever is up next, Matt takes to
the guest room to lay with so we all can stay quiet and still for just a little
bit longer. 4 in a bed just does not work at 6am for me.
6:15-6:30am: After the boys have snuggled enough for their
liking, they’re sent into their rooms to “read” 3 books while we still lay in
bed and wish that it wasn’t so early. Both flip through the pages of whatever
books they choose and have become pretty good story tellers in doing so,
because, you know, they just HAVE to read their books out loud in a booming
voice before the sun rises 😉.
6:30-7:00am: The boys get our phones to watch the PBS Kids
app or to play games on PBS Games, still in their rooms, for a little bit.
Or, lately, they’ve been heading downstairs together instead since Oskar knows how
to turn on the TV and queue up a show for them to watch. Matt and I finally
drag ourselves out of bed and start to get ready.
7:00am: Downstairs for breakfast and to make a pot of
coffee. The boys munch on bowls of dry Cheerios or Kix and drink their milks on
the couch while watching a show on Netflix. Favorites lately have been Llama
Llama, Super Why, or Horrid Henry. They then come to the table to eat either eggs,
waffles, pancakes, oatmeal, mini muffins, toast, or bowls of cereal with milk. One of my least favorite parts about parenting is making sure they eat enough before school, because they're always SO not interested and would rather play instead.
7:45am: The kids get dressed and normally have an opinion
(or two) on a shirt or pair of socks and change what they’re wearing, even
though they picked them out themselves the night before. Matt heads out to see
his first patient at 8:00am. We then gather shoes, lunch boxes, homework, coats,
sheets, and blankets for naptime. It takes a little while to get the circus on
the road.
8:00am: I take the boys to daycare and give hugs and kisses
goodbye. Oskar is in Pre-K and August is in a toddler classroom, both at the
same school. On days when my calls start early, Matt will take the boys at 7:30
so he can make it to the office on time.
8:20am: Back home to start my work day. My mornings are
typically full of calls, back to back, all the way through lunch. I work
primarily with a team from Europe, so my morning is their afternoon.
12:00pm: I take a break from work to eat lunch and to work
on my blog for 30 mins or so. I try to get a post up once a week, so this is
the window of time that I allot to brainstorm what to write about, or to
continue writing whatever I have in draft form. I also like to jump on
Instagram stories @thelaurablog1 to share whatever comes to mind.
1:00-3:45pm: I use this time to read through all of my
emails, respond to emails, and send emails that I need to send. I also make
sure I get all of my meeting requests out and my calendar organized for the
next day.
3:45pm: I head out to pick the boys up from school. Since my
afternoons are typically open in terms of meetings, I’m flexible in my late
afternoons, as long as I get through everything I need to. Since it’s winter,
we don’t do too much after school other than a weekly library trip or an
occasional play date. In the warmer months, we’ll almost always go to a park or
on a walk to our nearby lake.
4:15-5:15pm: On days when we come straight home from school,
the boys change their clothes and wash their hands and have a snack. I keep an
eye on my email while the kids play Batman or jump in the bounce house, or
while I play Uno with Oskar or LEGOs with August.
5:15-6:00pm: The kids turn on a show or a movie and I start
to cook dinner. This has been a big change in this last year: Matt and I used
to cook for ourselves and eat after the kids went to bed. Don’t get me wrong, I
still have to cook at least different 2 meals—one for us and one for them—but
at least we all eat together now. Matt walks in the door somewhere around
5:45pm on most days and wrestles around with the kids until its dinner time.
6:00pm: We all eat together while we play the 20 questions
game or the “guess what animal I’m thinking of” game. August’s questions are
always the best, and his animal is always, always a shark.
6:30pm: We head upstairs for bath time, or shower time, or
bath time AND shower time on the days where they can’t agree. They play nicely
for a little bit, but it always ends with somebody getting splashed in the
face.
6:45pm-7:30pm: We towel off, lotion, put pajamas on, and the
kids run around the hallway and bedrooms upstairs. For some reason, they’re
always at their best right around this time, and Matt and I can sit and watch
them play and laugh together while catching up.
7:30pm-7:45pm: Matt
and Oskar will go downstairs to play Nintendo Switch for a little bit. August
and I either sit and watch or go play something 1:1 together.
7:45pm: The kids usually want a bedtime snack of Goldfish,
Veggie Straws, or the like. They finish their snack and some gulps of milk and
we head upstairs to get ready for bed.
8:00-8:30pm: We brush teeth and go potty one last time, and
then head into their rooms to read books. Matt and I alternate kids every other
night and both boys get 3 books each. Oskar crawls into bed after they’re over,
while August gets rocked for a little bit longer. We turn lights out and sing 2
songs—to Oskar, while he’s in bed, and to August, while he’s being rocked, and
then tuck them in and say goodnight. We’re lucky that bedtime is usually super
smooth.
8:30pm: Matt starts doing work and I’ll read through my
emails one last time. I pack the kids’ lunches for the next day and put a show
on in the background, though we’re sort of in a rut over here when it comes to
something to watch. Suggestions welcome 😊 We try to pick up the house a little bit, but
any real cleaning is saved (not really the right word, ugh) for weekends.
9:30pm: We head up to get ready for bed and read. I’m still
finishing Where the Crawdads Sing, and Matt reads some boring medical journals.
10:00pm: SLEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP. We’re both always exhausted, and
6am is looming.We go to bed and get ready to do it all over again.
We LIVE for weekends around here, and are really protective of our time since the weeks go by so fast. Friday after school is always a celebration, and we love spending time together adventuring and doing all the fun things on Saturdays and Sundays.
Let me know what your routine looks like, and what makes your days go smoothly during the week! Wishing you the happiest Friday, and a great weekend, ahead!
