Second, this is not a judgement on anyone. I was a teacher for 25 years and then retired. We adopted our boys (Sam now 10 and Andrew 5) later in life (I was 40 with the first and 45 with the second.). I had an amazing nanny that came to our home from the time my first child was born to when we moved back to NH when he was 7 and the second was 2. I am not saying what we do is for everyone and if you are a working mom, believe me I get it. Out of necessity or choice, whatever way you choose to do it, it's ok.
This is just how my life works right now. I collect full retirement and my husband, Richard, has a full time job (Which he works his a#$ off for.), so until the little one starts school next fall, I am staying home. This will all change again once that new chapter starts.
That being said, I feel this is my FULL TIME JOB! I did not realize that it was easier to GO to work then to do this. After being home for almost 3 years, now, I enjoy it much more then I did at the beginning, but CRAP....it's a lot of work!
My day generally starts around 5:30 a.m. My 5 year old gets up at 6 a.m. so I want to take a shower before that happens.
Andrew and I eat together (My husband has an ever changing schedule and he works a lot of nights and weekends. He is the night owl and I am the early bird.) and then he plays, while I check emails, read and make school lunches. He only goes to preschool on Monday, Wednesday and Friday so our Tuesday, Thursday schedule is a little different, but you'll get the idea.
Sam gets up about 6:30 and then he's out the door by 7:20. I have to get Andrew to school by 8:00.
I stop for a second cup of coffee and watch the first half hour of GOOD MORNING AMERICA.
In the mornings I walk the dog, clean cat litter, start laundry, dust and vacuum (I do this almost every day because of the animals and because my son has allergies and asthma and it keeps his symptoms at bay.), make beds, clean up dishes, wipe down bathrooms (I have 2 boys.....if you have boys you'll understand....if not...here it is....they pee...everywhere....anyway....) and run errands (dump, post office, bank), and usually do a project, organize or purge something. We are in winter right now, so if we had a snow storm the night before I have to shovel and/or snow blow (Richard usually does this, though.). Once a week I grocery shop, meal plan, change beds, pay bills, wash floors, shake rugs and bleed the furnace.
One day a week I spend in with my mother at a nursing home about an hour away and another day I substitute at the school. I'm hoping to go back to substituting (full time), once Andrew is in school full time.
On days that Andrew is home we go to the library and play A LOT (Legos, cars, chasing, jumping....repeat....). On days that Richard is home during the day (Sometimes he doesn't go in until 1 p.m.), he works on projects, mows grass, runs errands, plays with Andrew and does other things that involve patience, attention to detail, being politically correct (....dealing with annoying people on the phone.), tools and muscles.
I usually stop for lunch around 12:00. Then I finish up chores and projects, make phone calls, fold laundry, do my Bible study and pay bills. For fun I read, craft, blog, and organize.
Sam gets home from school at 2:30 and I like to be done, so we can work on homework or I take him snowboarding at our local slope from 3-5.
I watch some tv in the afternoon, usually fold more laundry and get any dinner prep done. Andrew gets picked up by 4:30 and we usually have dinner by 5:30.
There are, of course, appointments, service calls, and sick kids that get thrown in the mix too.
After dinner the kids play, watch tv (Yes, they do.), play games and such inside. Since it's winter the sun sets early, so they are in early. During the summer months they are outside MOST of the time and they don't come in until very close to bed time.
At 7 we take showers, medicine (Sam is on daily medication for allergies and asthma and Andrew takes melatonin to sleep.) and read books. By 8 pm Andrew goes to bed and Sam follows soon after (8:30 during the week and 9:00 on weekends, holidays and in the summer).
Richard and I watch tv, but we are usually in bed reading and then asleep by 9:30.
So there you have it. I'm sure I left out some stuff and of course weeks change with holidays, birthdays, outings, activities, school or church functions, sickness, time of year and God's sense of humor thrown in.
Leave a comment with a link to your post about, WHAT DO YOU DO ALL DAY?, and I'll drop by to read it.
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