the boys typically wake up around 7 am and have traditionally been my alarm clock, but recently this has changed. i've been dying for a little more control over my chaotic mornings (i remember reading a quote once that said "whoever gets up first is in charge of the day" and nowhere have i found that more true than in being a mama to two little boys) so i set my alarm for 6:15 and read my scriptures, a general conference talk or two, and fall back to sleep shower before the minions wake up. it feels SO good to be dressed and ready to take on the day as soon as those boys are up -- not to mention getting that little spiritual boost in, because i will never get it anywhere else in my day.
everyone has cereal for breakfast and i try to read the newspaper. i do morning chores (clean up breakfast, unload the dishwasher, start laundry, etc.) and the boys play in the playroom, but there is ALWAYS a "mommy, will you play with me?" from jack that causes me to feel both guilty and irritated. i usually end up in the playroom after that, playing legos or reading books out loud or cleaning up toys. i used to not really mind playing with them but in recent months it's gotten a little boring and i can never be counted on for very long before getting distracted and doing something else. this is conflicting because A) i was a really good, hands-on babysitter as a teenager so i feel like playing with kids is an important, valuable activity where i can show love and attention, but B) i'm the mom! i've got a zillion other things to do, and besides isn't this why we had more than one kid? can't wait for hudson to be old enough to really play with jack and then i won't feel as bad when i ditch playtime.
most days i get them dressed after that and we're out of the house around 10, either to run an errand or do an activity or have a playdate. i just started taking hudson (and jack) to library story time once a week, something i did religiously with jack as a toddler and figured i should do for huddy too. jack is also in a sports class through the city on friday mornings.
we come home and have lunch, another area i struggle with (i'm not very creative when it comes to mealtime but even i know they shouldn't have dinosaur chicken nuggets EVERY day). then, monday wednesday friday jack has preschool from 12:30 - 3 pm. he looooves it and i love it too! i try to drop him off a couple minutes early so i can rush home and put hudson down for as long a nap as possible (i have to wake the poor kid up almost every day to go pick jack up). three afternoons a week is my break! my favorite. i usually have some project i'm working on, or emails to respond to, or stuff for church to do, but since i'm not freelancing anymore there's rarely a feeling of urgency and that is really nice. i just really love the alone time and revel in a peaceful house.
tuesdays and thursdays, jack doesn't have preschool. he usually plays with our neighbor, joey, or stays home with me and we do an educational activity. he is starting to read and it is SO exciting. we've made a little flip book of words he can read and there's gotta be at least 25 in there. i love hearing him sound words out and discover words all over the house and city. so we do lots of phonics stuff, and i'm trying to build in more math (this week we're working on identifying currency) which is hard for me because that doesn't come naturally to my literary-focused brain.
anyway, after hudson wakes up and/or we pick jack up from preschool, it's free time until dinner. if the weather is nice we usually play outside, buuuuut this is SEATTLE so we hardly ever get that. most days jack will play with joey or we'll play legos. when they days are realllly dragging on, we face time my mom or have a dance party with our wireless speaker which has been the greatest gift ever received.
around 5 i start dinner, sometimes the boys get to watch an episode of ninjago (jack is OBSESSED) and i feed them around 5:30. b is usually home by 6:30, we eat and i put hudson to bed (around 6:30) while b cleans up the kitchen. we read to jack and he gets to play quietly in his room or read books to himself until he's tired and ready for bed (usually around 7:30-8) -- i don't care what he does as long as i don't have to be in there. :) mama is off the clock! b and i trade off going to the gym most nights, or i'll have book club or a church meeting etc. my favorite nights are when we just hang out and watch a movie or catch up on TV (my favorite shows right now are brooklyn 99, blackish and parks and rec...and survivor when it comes back). i've been trying to read more because i literally have a stack of 10+ books that interest me, but i also try to be in bed by 11 so i usually run out of time.
there you have it, our current routine. i love these two little monkeys and i'm so glad i get to be home with them every day. even though it is exhausting and redundant and feels SO much less quantifiably rewarding than my day job ever was...i'm starting to realize these days will go quick, and i'm happy to be able to enjoy them now.
