We have lived here for a month and a half now. That's crazy.
(I promise to have pictures of the inside soon for those of you who were asking)
Lately I have felt like there was a millions things to do - from the sprinkling system, to cleaning, to spending quality time with each kid, time with Justin, and house projects - that I felt like I wasn't getting what really needed to be done, I felt so unorganized. Do you ever feel like when you have so much to do, your time spent is not very productive and you get nothing done? I did.
Last Sunday my mind was full and I felt it was time to figure out how to make our home less chaotic. A friend of mine mentioned something while teaching class a couple weeks ago that has stuck with me ever since. In our church, we as Latter-Day Saints who hold temple recommends, where do we go when we need to feel peace? The Temple. But our kids, where do they have to go? It should be our homes. Our homes should be like the temple to our kids. When they leave "the world", they should have a place to come to where it does not feel like the world.
That is exactly how I want our home to be for our kids and for Justin when he comes home from "the world". They should be entering a place of love.
For me (and I hope it is the same for most mothers out there), our home is most peaceful when I feel at peace and when I feel like I have a hold of things. Of course that is not always possible, but I was feeling like if I had some kind of a routine for myself, I would be better able to take care of my family and make our home the kind of place I want it to be.
So for what it's worth, here is our weekday morning routine. I love it for me! I have been a much better wife and mom because of it.
6:30 -- Wake up, make bed, pack up Justin's lunch, goodbye kiss for Justin
6:45 -- Spiritual time for me (Can I just say how much I love this. This is what makes my day a good day. I'm loving the New Testament)
Lately I have felt like there was a millions things to do - from the sprinkling system, to cleaning, to spending quality time with each kid, time with Justin, and house projects - that I felt like I wasn't getting what really needed to be done, I felt so unorganized. Do you ever feel like when you have so much to do, your time spent is not very productive and you get nothing done? I did.
Last Sunday my mind was full and I felt it was time to figure out how to make our home less chaotic. A friend of mine mentioned something while teaching class a couple weeks ago that has stuck with me ever since. In our church, we as Latter-Day Saints who hold temple recommends, where do we go when we need to feel peace? The Temple. But our kids, where do they have to go? It should be our homes. Our homes should be like the temple to our kids. When they leave "the world", they should have a place to come to where it does not feel like the world.
That is exactly how I want our home to be for our kids and for Justin when he comes home from "the world". They should be entering a place of love.
For me (and I hope it is the same for most mothers out there), our home is most peaceful when I feel at peace and when I feel like I have a hold of things. Of course that is not always possible, but I was feeling like if I had some kind of a routine for myself, I would be better able to take care of my family and make our home the kind of place I want it to be.
So for what it's worth, here is our weekday morning routine. I love it for me! I have been a much better wife and mom because of it.
6:30 -- Wake up, make bed, pack up Justin's lunch, goodbye kiss for Justin
6:45 -- Spiritual time for me (Can I just say how much I love this. This is what makes my day a good day. I'm loving the New Testament)
7:15 -- Exercise. (I have decided that I am in a time of my life that I don't want to devote a ton of time on this. Solution. 15 minutes of some kind of work out: Jillian, Pilates, or just a bunch of cruches-pushups-lunges. Next solution. Wear a pedometer and reach 10,000 steps everyday, it's really easy when you have little people to chase around all day)
7:30 -- Shower, get ready for the day. (This makes me feel happy.)
8:00 -- Get the boys ready. (My boys usually sleep this long. If they wake up before then, they get to play legos until 8:00.) They have to get dressed, brush teeth, comb hair, make bed, empty their part of the dishwasher, eat breakfast, have devotional, get backpacks ready, and get out the door for the bus by 8:30. (I think we get all that in since we only have boys.)
8:00 -- Get the boys ready. (My boys usually sleep this long. If they wake up before then, they get to play legos until 8:00.) They have to get dressed, brush teeth, comb hair, make bed, empty their part of the dishwasher, eat breakfast, have devotional, get backpacks ready, and get out the door for the bus by 8:30. (I think we get all that in since we only have boys.)
(Are you loving the trenches in our lawn?)
8:30 -- Computer time. (I am allowing myself 1 hour in the morning to do all things computer. E-mail, blog, research ideas)
9:30 -- Mommy school with Levi. (work on alphabet; read books; math activities...counting, shapes, patterns; good for the brain activities...memorizing, matching games, puzzles, play what's missing)
10:30 -- Cleaning time/Project time (Levi loves helping me.)
Here's another schedule I like to keep...I love a clean house.
Monday - Laundry Day
Tuesday- Clean Bathroons, wash towels
Wednesday - Clean Kitchen
Thursday - Clean Family Roon
Friday - 1 extra load of laundry if needed (if there's been lots of playing outside time), clean out van, clean downstairs (we watch our Friday night movie down there so it's nice to have it looking good for that.)
Saturday - As a famly, we clean up. Clean our bedrooms and bathrooms, and any extra places that mom says needs to be cleaned. (entry ways, closets, garage, baseboards, daddy's office)
I'm not demanding am I?
11:45 -- Taylor's home, we have lunch, relax, play.
The afternoon I like to keep open. It should be that way. Starting next week, when all boys are home we are going to start a theme of the week. Our boys love crafts and projects. So we'll enjoy doing that together. (I'm so glad our kids aren't into extra curricular activities yet. I want it to stay this way forever.) When I have the rest of it figured out. I'll let you know. (ex: fall, pumpkins, ghosts, bats, cats, and rats)
Can you tell? I'm so excited for this time of year!
On a side note. I can't get enough of listening to Nat King Cole lately. This is one of his songs. I like the message. So it goes up on our quote wall.
