The Smith house is quite hectic, however, I try to stick to some form of a routine in order to get the kids, out of bed, ready and out the door each day, whether it’s going to school, church or a planned (or unplanned) activity.  So what does our routine look like?

Sean usually has to be up and out the door before 7 AM.  So he wakes up sometime between 6 and 6:30.  Sometimes, I’m awake enough to get up with him, more often than not, I’m not.  He heats up a breakfast burrito or sandwich, I remind him to grab his lunch, which are usually leftovers from supper the night before and he’s gone before the kids are up.  At 7 AM, I get a wake up call from Sean, in case I’m not yet awake.  I then start getting the kids up.  I wake Leslie and Lorianna, and Leslie goes in and wakes up Hailie.  While Leslie and Lorianna are getting dressed and ready, Hailie gets into the tub to get cleaned up.

Once Lorianna and Leslie are dressed and have their shoes on, we turn the TV on for Kyle and I do their hair and make sure they are tidy.  If the TV goes on beforehand, the kids all get too distracted and then we get behind schedule.  Once they are ready, we make sure we have backpacks and that all papers have been signed.  If it’s not raining or bad weather, we walk to school.  If we are walking, we leave at 7:30.  If we drive, we leave around 7:45.

Once I get back, after getting Lorianna and Leslie to school, I focus on Hailie.  I make sure she’s tidy, do her hair and make sure she has shoe and socks on.  She doesn’t like wearing socks, so it’s a constant battle.  I also get Kyle dressed and ready for the day.  Once Hailie and Kyle are ready and Hailie her school stuff gathered up, we sit and play Roblox together until 8:23 when we have to leave to get her to school.  She refuses to ride the bus and insists that I have to take her.  I don’t mind because it’s time together with her.  I love that one on one time with her and it’s when she will talk about whatever happens to be on her mind.  We will talk about anything during this time.

After I drop her off at school, Kyle and I head to the YMCA for my daily workout.  Sometimes Kyle is cooperative, sometimes he isn’t.  But I try to go at least 4 days a week and prefer 5 days.  At the YMCA, I walk the track for about 10 to 15 minutes.  Then I do 15 to 20 minutes of upper body strengthening and 30 to 45 minutes of lower body strengthening.  2 to 3 days a week I will then do about 10 minutes on the elliptical before going to the sauna.  The sauna is my very favorite place at the YMCA.  I always make sure I get at least 5 minutes in there before I leave, but 15 to 20 is better.  All the pain in my body disappears and I love soaking in the warmth.

We get home from the Y with just enough time to get Kyle a snack, and get him ready for preschool.  Sometimes I will take him to school and sometimes he wants to ride the bus.  Once he’s in school, I take a few minutes to get something to eat, then I settle down to work on a post, check out social media and see where I can post my latest work, and plan for future posts, thinking ahead on things that I can set up for the family.  There are a couple things I’m debating on right now, but I’m not sure if they will happen or not.  I’m hoping at least one will.

The time without Kyle is also my shopping and me time.  If I want to do something for myself, this is when I make it happen.  Most of the time though, it’s spent blogging.  Blogging has become my second favorite activity after sauna time.  It helps me relax along with enjoying the music on KLOVE.  Everything is quiet so I don’t have the stress of having to stop the kids fighting, yelling, crying because someone said something mean or did something that someone else didn’t like… The typical kids stuff.

Then at 3:00 PM, I walk down to the school to get Lorianna, Leslie and Kyle.  It takes me about 10 to 15 minutes to walk there, so I get there just in time to meet them at the school doors.  We usually end up with 3 to 6 more kids who want to walk with us too.  Once I get a head count of who is coming, we start the trek home, dropping kids off as we go.  I enjoy this time, because I hear everything that went on at school during the day.  It helps me to keep up with everything going on at the school.

When we get home, the kids have relaxing time.  They can play, watch TV or play on computers/tablets/phones while I start supper, or sometimes finish a blog post I’m working on.  Hailie takes the bus home and walks in the door at 4:15 unless there is something going on at the school.  by 4:30, most of the time, supper is ready and I get the kids fed.  Then it’s clean up time.  We get dishes put in the dishwasher, trash thrown away and the table wiped down.  After they are done eating and the table is clear, they have quiet play time.  They can do whatever they want as long as it is quiet.  Usually this is around the time that Sean gets home, so he can come into a quiet home without the yelling and screaming.

At 7:00 PM, we start bedtime routines.  This includes baths/showers, getting night clothes on, picking out books to read, medicine, and laying down.  By 8:00, all the kids should be in bed.  Sometimes Hailie wanders around a little longer, especially if she doesn’t get home from school till 6.  We try to have the younger kids asleep by 8:30.  Doesn’t always happen, but that’s our goal each day.  Hailie is expected to be in bed by 9:00 and asleep by 10.  This is Sean and my alone time, where we talk about the day, things coming up, any new posts that I’m working on and watch something on Netflix.  So frequently, I’ll be asleep within 15 to 20 minutes of laying down, if I can quiet my mind.  On nights that I’m not able to quiet my mind, I can be up till midnight or later.  Sometimes, I need to take a melatonin to get to sleep.

That is the basic layout of our day through the week.  How does it compare to your routine?  What are some things that your family does differently?  Have a nice day!