Organizing our Day

Woman on a Mission

I like to get things done and make the MOST of my time.  I could never understand why people would say, "You should nap while your baby is napping."  That is, until I had two under two!  Now when it is nap time I make at least 15-30 minutes of putting my feet up!  But wait we are getting too ahead of ourselves.  Here is how things typically run in the Team Mac household under "Mommy Time" which is usually through dinner. 

I break up our day into 5 very distinct parts:

Morning Work

Something Fun

Lunch/Nap

Something Fun

Dinner/Downtime

It all starts with that first cup of coffee and first praise to God for giving us a brand new day with no mistakes in it...yet.

Morning Work entails:

Milk Cups, Breakfast, Beds Made, Get Kids Dressed, Shower, Brush Teeth, Sesame Street, School Time, One load of Laundry, Clean Kitchen, Garbage put out, water my vegetables and flowers.

Kaitlyn, My Julia, Jennifer, Annabelle :)

Something Fun is usually: 

I believe in organized fun.  Going to library craft time or storytime is one of our favorites or we sometimes like to go to Barnes and Nobles story time.  Something Fun is a plan for the day that I make at least a week in advance.  I never wing it.  That stresses me out.  Usually during the weekend I'll decide which day we head to the library, a playdate, the pool, the beach, Monmouth Museum, the park, the farm, or Kid town at WoodBridge Mall.  This is a built in incentive for the kids to do all their school work well so we can look forward to that something fun later on.

Lunch/Nap is always at noon:

My kids enjoy eating at the same time in their own home.  Yes we can eat anywhere at anytime, but I really try to make this time of the day sacred.  It saves money to eat at home.  And after our play time out of the house the kids love to play in their play room as I make lunch.  I've stuck to this schedule for a long time with them and they are really good eaters and nap very well!  Usually I put them down around 1:30/2:00 and by 4:00 we are all up and about and ready for the next fun thing!

Something Fun Part 2:

This could be as simple as puzzles on the floor til dinner time, painting sea shells we collected at the beach, coloring in our coloring books, reading books from the library, or playing in the backyard shark pool and slip and slide.  Sometimes Julia has Taekwondo during the week and we have to head there.  Sometimes we make plans with my Mom to meet at the park.  But whatever it is it's something active til dinner time.

 Dinner/Downtime:

I never ever stress about dinner.  I have a plan.  See my monthly prep plan click here.  I prep during nap time and by 5 or 5:30 we eat it.  It's short and sweet and simple.  No fuss no muss.  After dinner it's bath time and pajamas.  The kids have free play til daddy gets home.  When Daddy walks through that door you should hear the YELLS, SCREECHES, and SCREAMS, it's as if he's been gone for years at a time.  And once John is home our family is complete.  We allow the kids to stay up til 9pm and then head upstairs for potty time, brushing teeth, books and prayer, and of course hugs and kisses.

  That's how I do it.  That's how we make it through the day as a team.  We work together to get things done, but leave plenty of time for family fun.  And I can't do it alone.  I pray through out the day for strength, because let's face it staying home all day with your kids is exhausting.  Playing is fun, but the nitty gritty stuff is hard and tiring.  God is my help.  And I'm so thankful for my help mate, John.  Team Mac needs him!

 --Kristi