Our Daily Routine

Our daily routine changes often...based on the needs of our family.  Here is the routine we are sticking to during the fall.

My time with the Lord and coffee with Clara by my side

Breakfast

Morning chores
-----clean up breakfast, clothes away or to laundry room, make beds, kiddos dressed

TV show while I shower and get ready for the day

Playtime/ room time

Clara's nap/ Hudson's preschool time
    -  This include letter and number work, a book, Bible time, and an activity.  Afterwards, we usually play
         outside together.

Morning snack

Morning outing
     -Grocery store, Wal-mart or Target, bank, errands, park, library, etc...

Lunch

After lunch chores
-----clean up lunch and toys

Playtime/ room time

Movie to wind down

Nap/ rest time

Afternoon snack

Outside time

Daddy home...time with him

Dinner and family worship time
.......Our worship time right now includes prayer sticks I found from pinterest, and a short reading from the            book "Thoughts to Make your Heart Sing."

Bath time

Evening chores
......Final toy clean up, laundry is put away, trash out, etc...

Bedtime stories

Bed!

Will and I usually crash on the couch and watch 24.  We are deep into this series!

This schedule will change when Clara drops her morning nap and when Hudson transitions to only rest time. For now, it works great for us.  I think that the kids love consistent days.  We do not stick to rigid time frames, but we also don't live our day on the fly.  I love a predicable plan that can easily be canned if opportunity presents itself!

A New Year

It seems that life operates on the school year. While resolutions are promises are often made at the beginning of a new calendar year, I usually find myself refocusing and revisiting my goals at the end of every summer.  Will and I recently discussed where our family is now, and where we hope for it to be in the future.  We thought in the long and short term.  Long term goals are easier for me.  It is the short term that tends to give me difficulty.  I often ask, "How do I live today?"  So, in some since, I love the start of the new school year because it helps me define that question.  It is when I plan our daily and weekly schedule.  It is a time where I plan for my husband, my children, my friendships.....I try to think through every arena that God has me in, and I weed out that which is not profitable for my time or attention.  I plan my days around those short term goals and continue to keep the long term ones in my vision.

I seem to be rambling, so I will just say that I think it so important to step away and do this.  It stops me from living life haphazardly. 

I think this year will keep us home a good bit. Clara still needs that morning nap, which ensures that we will be home most days  until 10:30.  It is rare that I would get out before then.  Everyone naps from 1-3.  Some mornings Clara can take her morning nap in the car, but I would prefer her to be home.  

I am using her morning nap to  do some structured attention time with Hudson.  I am letting him lead that time.  I do want to work with him on academic material but more than that, I just want to communicate time with him.  There is no other time in the day when it is just him.  I think it is most important for him to have that time with me right now.  I have been reading books that focus on more of a Charlotte Mason style preschool, and I am leaning towards that style of learning with him.  We are going to read through Mason's preschool book list slowly, and we are also going to work through The Big Picture Storybook Bible, along with ABC Scripture Memory.  I also want to strive towards doing one craft, science, and kitchen activity a week, along with some letter and number work.  The main thing Mason teaches is to keep the kiddos outside.  I want to try and do this throughout the day.  This will mean many walks, picnics, trips to the park, and lazy days in the backyard.

I also am working with him on keeping a routine.  He has daily chores.  These include, taking his plate to the sink, brushing his teeth, helping to make his bed, stacking his books on his night stand, taking his dirty clothes to the basket, and helping dress himself.  He has to be prompted to do them, but I am hoping he will eventually do them without being told.

Hudson's school space.

Hudson's preschool space is filled with good books, puzzles, music, and activities for us.  It also contains his chore chart, his Ipad minutes board, and a list of our daily activities.  This space keeps me focuses as much as it does him. 

Other than that, I am planning on doing a MOPS group, and maybe a  Bible Study.  I also plan on taking the kids to the Hoover Library Storytime.  Instead of doing a Mother's Day Out, I have a wonderful babysitter from my church that is going to come over for an afternoon each week.  I am going to use that time to spend time with the Lord, read, and plan my week.

I love being a mom and staying home with this littles.  I truly am grateful and blessed with this time.  The days are hard and slow, but so rich and full!  I am trying to keep my expectations low and the eternal perspective before me.  A daily call to one of my best friends in the same stage of life helps too!  Sometimes, you just need to laugh at the day!

Disclaimer---I use this blog as a journal for my family.  We print it out each year.  I by no means think that your day should look like mine, or that there is only one way to do something.

Lately

We are back in our normal "soccer" routine around here! We are so spoiled by having Will home tons in the summer, and then, every afternoon in the fall. We even get him for two whole weeks during Christmas break. By the time soccer season arrives in January, I am unprepared for the long days.

I love being a stay at home mom. I know that conversations can get really heated on this subject, and I in no way believe that this is what every family should do. I am grateful for these days. I love the flexibility it give us. I cherish being Hudson's teacher.

Of course, I deal with insecurities with my "occupation." I sometimes don't want to answer the "what do you do?" question. I wonder if I should have a talent or trade that helps my family. I get insecure when I realize how much money I spend and worry that we will be really poor because of me. I am pretty sure all this is normal.

Being a stay at home mom sometimes gets rough this time of year. It is usually to cold or rainy to go outside. We are often stuck indoors, and Will doesn't get home til Hudson's bedtime. We both crave interaction with people.

So, we go out lots! I know this will change when more kiddos come in the picture, but as for know, it works great for both of us. In addition to Hudson helping me grocery shop and run errands, we attend playgroup, Bible Study, (Hud's goes to nursery) and story time every week. We also try to set up play dates every week either at our house or someone else's house. We usually have a weekly Chick-fil-a date on Friday. As the weather permits, we will start visiting Will and his soccer guys some too.

He learns when he is out. He meets people. He gets energy out. I love being the one introducing this little guy to the world.

He is a big guy too. 20 months old! He is talking more. He isn't stringing words together, but he is getting there! He knows how to climb the Chick-fil-a tunnel. He loves to play at the park, and he has become an expert of taking the stairs to the slide. Which he will do over and over and over. He is interacting with his peers more. I love to watch him play and interact. I think it has hit me that he is a real person. He has a personality. He needs friends. So weird.

As for the rest of us, Will and I are joining a church plant in Helena this Sunday. We are excited to be involved in our community through a local church. We have loved attending and are thrilled to become members!

Will has been snapping pictures on his phone lately. I wanted to share a few:

a day in the life

I am all for organization. I think it makes life simple and peaceful. Being a stay at home mom requires careful planning. Yes, sometimes we throw the plan out the window, but if I didn't have it there would be chaos!

Here is our week: I hope this helps other SAHM's in planning:

Monday: We stay home on Mondays! This is the day I do all the cleaning and laundry. This helps us start our week off great!

Tuesday: Every other Tuesday morning we have playgroup. On the Tuesdays we don't have playgroup, we may attend story time at the library. Tuesday is also our designated errand day. I usually use Tuesday nap times to prepare Hudson's food for the week and to research our menu options. I also may throw in a little house craft to end the day.

Wednesday: We have playgroup every other week. Wednesday is also coupon and grocery day. It usually takes about an hour for me to plan our grocery list, cut, and print our coupons.

Thursday: We have Bible study in the morning. Hudson plays with his friends in the church nursery. I use the afternoon to sew, blog, craft, or study something. I also do a load or two of laundry.

Friday: Play day! I use the morning nap time to answer my accountability questions, and the rest of the day is for having fun! We may stay home, visit friends, or go to the park or zoo. This is a day we look forward to each week.

We take it week by week on whether we may schedule a specific play date, doctor appt, etc.

To help me, I have my trusty Mom notebook. My friend Nikki and I made them. I have sections for my schedule, Hudson, Will, church, bills etc. It keeps me sane to have everything I need in one place. I'll probably dedicate a whole post to it soon.

I am so thankful to be in this stage of life. The Lord has graciously given me this sweet family to take care of each day, and for now, this means I am primarily home with Hudson. Some days my "job" may require me to go non-stop from morning til night, and other days it may be best if we stay in our pajamas. In the day in and day out of it all, I have to remind myself of the bigger picture...our sweet Jesus has entrusted us with this little life. Our desire is for him to grow up and be a man after God's own heart. We know some mommies have to work, but the Lord has provided us a way for me to stay home and spend my days bringing him up in the care and instruction of the Lord. So yes, there are days that are HARD, but there are soooo many days that are just a BLAST! I have to remind myself it is ok to have fun. It is ok to spend an hour in the floor with blocks. I know all too soon this chubby faced little guy won't fit in my arms anymore.

He did it!

Someone has finally mastered the art of crawling! After weeks of frustration, Hudson finally decided to make his way across the room--while we weren't watching of course. On Monday, he decided to crawl to his dresser knob. It is funny to see what interests him...which usually isn't toys. It may or may not be important to note he first crawled while in the nude. Our son loves to be naked!!

Crawling keeps me busy! Here he is making a mess in our loft:






I mentioned last week I would give you a sneak peak at what we do while we are out...

We buy groceries:



We go to story time at the library:



We see all our friends at playgroup:





We sometimes go visit our family in Alex City:





We can't wait for the weather to get warmer, so we can go see Daddy coach soccer!

Just another Tuesday....

,I read a quote by David Platt that is worth sharing:

"See a world where, over the last few years, more than half a million people have died instantly-in tsunamis in southeast Asia, cyclones in Myanmar, earthquakes in China and Pakistan, or floods in Nepal and Bangladesh--and where most of those half-million people have never once heard the gospel. They are joined today by a billion others who at this moment still have not heard that Christ came to save them from their sins. See a world where half the population is living on less than two dollars a day while you and I, by contrast, are extremely rich. See the nation of India, where there are more people living below the poverty line than there are total people in the United States. See a world where today alone twenty-six thousand children will die either of starvation or a preventable disease. See our dogs and cats eating better than our brothers and sisters in central Africa. See a world where last fall, in one week alone, fifty thousand people died of AIDS, more than a hundred thousand children died of hunger-related diseases, thousands of other children were trafficked around the world for sexual exploitation, and hundreds were killed in an earthquake in Pakistan. All in one week. And yet, during the same week, the greatest concerns for many of us were how our football teams played and how our 401(k) accounts fared."

Wow. I long to view the riches of this world as rubbish. I want to truly say-"Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you."-Psalm 73:25

In other news... My mom often asks me, "What did you and Hudson do today?" So, I snapped a few pictures of last night and today to fill you in if you too are wondering..as I am sure you are! This is some insight in what we do at home. I'll fill you in on our daily outings next time.


We take baths:



We let Daddy sing us a bedtime song:



We get into mayhem in our crib:



We do our chores:



And of course, we play: