Right on schedule…well, sort of!

As a stay at home mom I think it’s very important to have a schedule.  I didn’t have any kind of structure for a long time and I felt like it made my days very hard.  Having a schedule just gives me a guide as to how I’d prefer the day to go and sort of gives her some consistency (babies / toddlers love that stuff)!
Here is what a typical day looks like for us…
  • 5-6am – Good Morning!  Diaper change / Laugh about nothing / breastfeed / back to sleep (morning nap).
  • 9-9:30am – We’re up! Wash faces / brush teeth / head downstairs.
  • 9:30-11am – Breakfast / get dressed.
  • 11-2:30pm – Learning Time (i.e. coloring, blocks, reading, etc.) / Lunch / Out&About (i.e. play dates, museum, park, errands).
  • 2:30-4:30pm – Afternoon Nap Time.
  • 4:30-5pm – Snack / (Independent) Play Time (i.e toys, bubbles, whatever she pulls out, etc.).
  • 5-7pm – Dinner / Free Time (this time is always up in the air to do whatever we come up with which could include watching a movie, letting her explore, etc.) / Out&About (if we didn’t make it out earlier).
  • 7-9pm – Settling down / bath time / hair time – if it’s a hair wash night (she sits in her hair chair w/ the Kindle – more about this routine in a future post) / bedtime story / prayer.
  • 9-10pm  – Breastfeed (sometimes, if it’s my night) / Sleep!
Now, is this exact and do we stick to this 100% every day? Of course not. Things come up, some days she doesn’t feel like napping, some days we have a hard time getting her to eat anything except breast milk, some days I don’t feel like doing anything, some days we have breakfast for dinner! 
Most days we try to get out of the house because it’s not just good for her, it’s good for me.  But if it’s expected to rain all day you can expect us to be in our jammies all day!
The whole point of the schedule is to make sure she’s getting what she needs when she needs it and to keep me from going crazy in the process! I use her morning nap time to either catch up on sleep myself, plan out our daily activities or do something blog related, etc.

I use her afternoon nap time to nap myself if our day was crazy hectic or tiring (like yesterday when I took her for a 2.82 mi. stroller ride around Lake Johnson Trail, yeah, I took a nap!), or to do laundry, read, catch up on my shows, talk to family / friends, do nothing.

I use her independent play time to cook dinner (if I’m on task that day) but some days I’ll just play with her and we’ll order pizza or eat leftovers!  The hubs and I now alternate bathing her and putting her to bed.  Once she’s down for the night the hubs and I usually stay up until midnight!  If this sounds hectic let me assure you it is…but only sometimes. Some days I get overwhelmed, but the majority of the time it’s very manageable, thanks to the schedule!

I imagine this is the case for all parents no matter whether you stay at home, work from home, work full-time, etc.!  It’s all about finding some balance and figuring out what works for you and your family, right?!?  Right!!!

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See what Myranda is up to this week:

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7 Comments

  1. April 9, 2013 / 4:54 pm

    I've been working on a schedule for two days now and I'm not doing so well. Kudos to you for even being able to part way keep it up

    • April 10, 2013 / 2:30 am

      Thanks, Angie! It took a while to even get to this point. A huge part of this schedule was centered around what she and I would tend to do naturally each day. So I just fit the schedule around our habits making sure to put in the necessities (i.e. eating, learning, etc.) as appropriate! You'll get it, dear!!! I'd be interested to see what a day for you looks like!

  2. April 9, 2013 / 8:07 pm

    I love that last picture of the two of you! So sweet!

    • April 10, 2013 / 2:32 am

      Thanks, Krista! It's definitely one of my favorites as well!

  3. April 9, 2013 / 11:03 pm

    Great picture!!! Nice to keep to some time of schedule. Maddie is growing up so fast. I'm missing it!!! Love you guys!!!

    • April 10, 2013 / 2:34 am

      Thanks, Hattie! She is definitely becoming a big girl lately but you are not missing it….that's what the blog is for :)! We love you so much too!

  4. April 10, 2013 / 3:06 pm

    Cool post! It is definitely all about having a plan. I think you should do a post about your adventure in starting a small business. I think your readers would enjoy, especially those who are thinking to start one.
    -Natasha @ Lovely You

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