my daily routine - revealed

I thought it’d be fun to share a peak into my daily routine as a hybrid stay at home mom of two boys under four (for another few weeks at least). I find it really easy to idealize the life of other moms who I just know are doing it with better, more perfectly, and with cleaner floors. Sometimes I wish I could be a fly on the wall of other mom’s hard moments like when they raise their voice, forget their kids water bottle in the front seat or have to put their kids in front of the tv because today has been a day (and its only 9:12am). I hope this will encourage you and maybe even give you a few ideas for your own routine.

PART 1 | MY MORNING ROUTINE

I should start by saying that I’m an early to bed, early to rise person. Its the way my body is wired. I’m also a 9-10 hour a night sleeper - and my body needs every minute of it so that does dictate some of my schedule. Since my kids were little I’ve gotten up without an alarm - my kids are my alarm or I wake up naturally around 6AM because for (almost) seven days a week for 4+ years that’s what I’ve done. I actually like not waking to an alarm most mornings.

My kids use the hatch light and if they wake up before its “green” they play in their rooms - either together or separately. This isn’t without interruption but it does give me a minute to drink my coffee while its hot, scroll my phone, and have a brief quiet time before starting the day. Fitz is my early bird and usually comes to get Ty or I around 6AM to help him go potty. Then he will play in his room until Tommy wakes up.

Our newest iteration of our morning routine looks like alternating who gets up with the kids. This helps so much with ensuring that we each have a few mornings a week with no interruptions and/or that we can sleep a little longer if we need it. This is especially helpful on the weekends so each of us has one morning to sleep in.

PART 2 | 7AM to LUNCHTIME

Once the kids are up, its go-time until lunch. First we eat breakfast. Note, I’m still not dressed yet. I usually make scrambled eggs with toast, blender pancakes or eggs in a blanket with fruit. Then I clean up from breakfast while the kids play. If they are still playing well together, I go ahead and get dressed. If not, I get them dressed and we brush teeth and hair. I usually try to get out of the house in the morning. We might do something as simple as go pick up groceries or go toa swim lesson or gymnastics class.

Just like my working days, I do my best work in the morning so if we have things like dental appointments, errands, or new and stressful scenarios I try to prioritize in the morning time because that’s when I’m most patient and adaptable. I’ve also learned the hard way about what not to do when the kids are around. For example, I don’t make phone calls, do scheduling or do meal planning. These require my focus and brain power and I can’t navigate that and kids at the same time. I use my MDO days and weekends with Ty’s help to do those things.

I try to have one morning a week where we don’t have anything planned. Often this is Saturday morning and the kids will watch a show and eat cheerios and fruit in front of the TV while Ty sleeps in or hunts. I usually work on a blog post while drinking coffee. We might not eat breakfast until 830/9AM and days like those.

On mornings when we have MDO, I make the kids something simple like oatmeal, cereal or toast with peanut butter for breakfast. They get dressed and brush teeth and I throw on some clothes for drop off. If I have to be somewhere after drop off, I generally get mostly dressed before they wake up/leave their rooms. I make their lunches the night before so I put those in their lunch boxes while they eat and pack their back packs. This whole routine usually takes 1 hour from breakfast to the car for MDO.

Around 11AM, the boys eat lunch. I usually meal prep my own lunches for the week on Sundays and Thursdays to make this easy for me. I let them play outside until they are ready to lay down for naps/rest time. This is also new and helps them use that last burst of energy while I’m able to tidy up the house. I have so much trouble resting when the house is a mess and so this lets me rest almost immediately when the boys go down. Usually they play until about 1230PM.

PART 3 | NAPTIME

Both of my kids still nap most days but even on days they don’t, we use the hatch light to show them when rest time is over. This usually gives me around 2 hours to myself. Often, I still nap or rest while my kids rest. Sometimes, like today, I will use the time to blog or catch up on computer work tasks like following up on emails or online scheduling. I feel like my best days are the ones I just rest and allow my body to unwind. I am often so overstimulated by this time of day that its nice to sit in the quiet of my bedroom. I noticed a huge change in my afternoons once I started doing this.

PART 4 | LATE AFTERNOON 2-4PM

Once the kids wake up from naps, they sit at our kitchen counter and eat a snack. TBH this is the hardest part of the day for me - that time between naps and waiting for Ty to be home. We often spend it outside playing if the weather is right. If not, we will do something like kinetic sand, coloring or playing cars in the playroom.

PART 5 | DINNER + EVENING

Around 4pm, its TV time most days. This isn’t a hard and fast “rule” - like if they are playing happily outside we just keep playing. And if there are friends or family over, we don’t usually do TV. My favorite part about this TV time is that Ty gets home around 430PM and we use this time to catch up on our days. I love that we get this time to transition to him being home (I stink at transitions) while the kids also get to do something they want to do. Right now, we watch a whole lot of Blippi on the weekdays, and Paw Patrol on the weekends.

We eat dinner around 545-6PM. Ty is the chef in our house. I’m in charge of procuring all the ingredients and meal planning for the weekdays. He cooks while I chat with him, watch a show or read. Its a really nice time in our home. We eat at the dinner table most night (except taco Tuesdays!).

After dinner, I clean up from the meal while Ty spends time with the boys. Often this looks like giving them a bath. And I hop in to help getting them in their PJs once I’m done cleaning up. I feel like we really have this down and its made evenings much more enjoyable. We’ve gone through seasons where I will do baths and Ty will clean up - usually its me who says I need to change it up and it always helps. We’ve also found in the late spring and summer its fun to play outside until bedtime.

I read to the kids most nights before bed and then around 645/7PM we start their wind down routine. The whole charade of a million questions, prayers, singing and in and out of bed 5 times takes about an hour. Ty and I usually do a quick house pick up while we are navigating the kids bedtime routine too.

PART 6 | BEDTIME WINDDOWN

This part of the day varies for Ty and I. We usually check in to see what each of us needs. Sometimes we will watch a show together (most recently we loved Mr. and Mrs. Smith on Netflix), sometimes one of us will go to bed early and sometimes we will each need alone time and venture to our separate TVs or books to veg out. I have a whole skincare routine I do and then I will read for 10-15min (maybe longer if I’m reading a good book!). We’re usually both asleep by 9/930PM.

That’s what a day in the life as a mother of two boys looks like. We have tantrums and missed appointments and days we are late to MDO and spills and pajama days and ones we stay up way too late too but this is the general framework for our life in this season. Obviously some days look different - like days when my kids are at MDO but that’s for another post. Maybe I’ll write about what I do while my kids are in MDO if y’all like this post. Be sure to pin and share what you loved in the comments.

xo

Caroline