A Typical Day in the Life of Me

I thought this might be fun, to share with everyone what my days typically look like.  Anyone else who would like to, please jump in and share your days!

My key verses for how I run my household are:

 Proverbs 31:27- "She watches over the ways of her household, and does not eat the bread of idleness"

Titus 2:5: "to be self‑controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands, so that no one will malign the word of God. NIV (I know that's not the best translation, but I like the way it says "busy at home", for the purposes of this post).

Based on Proverbs 31, I believe God calls us to a standard of excellence as homemakers.  I also believe that it is impossible for a woman to efficiently be a helpmeet to her husband in the way that God has called her to, if she works outside the home.  That being said, here is how my day typically goes:

I get up around 6 am, often with the baby still sleeping which is preferable.  I get a cup of coffee and sit down and do my devotions, check emails, read blogs, and sometimes quickly check facebook until 6:30.  After that I hop in the shower and then get started making breakfast.  Now somewhere in here, the baby will wake up...I can't say for sure when!  Whenever he does, I'll stop to nurse him and then he will typically sit in his high chair and munch on bananas and cereal while I go about my work. Andrew gets himself up at 7:00 and heads out to feed the pigs, then gets himself coffee. I wake the girls up at 7:30 and they head out to feed the dogs and chickens and ducks while I'm making breakfast.  Breakfast is always a big affair around here.  We don't really do cereal much anymore, so I cook pretty much every morning, and it's important to my husband and growing teenage son to have a lot of calories at breakfast.  I've promised hubby eggs and potatoes every morning along with whatever else is being made.  It's something that's important to him, and as his helpmeet I need to be aware of what is important to him, and do it!  So, usually by the time my shower/makeup/hair routine is done and breakfast is cooked, it is around 8 am.  We all eat breakfast (I try to join in, but actually often I'm busy bustling about serving people, and I end up eating a little later).  Also during this busy breakfast time, I make hubby's oatmeal and smoothie (I'll post recipe soon)...these are done and set aside so that they're ready for him when he's hungry again later.  Afer breakfast, everyone gets busy on their morning jobs.  The girls and I clean the kitchen, then the girls head off to make their beds, help straighten the house, and brush their teeth and hair.  I spray down the bathroom and start the laundry.  This always seems to take awhile, because we are usually rotating baby duty.  School work generally starts sometime between 9:00 and 10:00.

Of course, keep in mind, this all depends on what day of the week it is.  On Monday mornings, we run errands so things look different, and on Wednesday mornings I have to put dinner in the crockpot because we are out at gymnastics in the afternoon.

Between 10 and 12, I spend a lot of time helping Abby with schoolwork and taking care of the baby when he's not taking his morning nap (if I'm lucky he will sleep during the whole chunk of time), plus doing any pick up or straightening that needs to be done around the house.  12:00-1:00 is spent preparing, eating, and cleaning up lunch, including getting the dishwasher started.  Laundry is rotated as needed, with the goal of having it all washed and dried by 4:00, since that is when the girls fold laundry.  After lunch break the kids get back on school work.  I'll usually take a short break around now and use the computer to "check in" (you know what I mean!).  Then while the kids finish working on school work, I'm rotating between baby care, helping kids, rotating laundry, and getting my "extra" chores for the day done, plus about an hour of garden work.  The extra chores are the ones that I do only once a week.  So, for example, on Thursdays I clean the bathroom.  On Fridays, we only do a short school day in the morning, and that is my "kitchen day" (Sara you know what I'm talking about).  I spend the afternoon: cleaning/scrubbing the fridge, washing all the appliances and canisters, etc, washing all the cabinets, mopping the floor, and starting on a meal plan/shopping list for the following week.

Once the kids are finished with their schoolwork for the day, they have a little free time until 4:00, which is afternoon chore time.  At this time, all the animals get fed, the girls fold and put away the laundry, Abby unloads the dishwasher, Annamarie vacuums, and Andrew takes out all the garbage.  The baby is usually taking his afternoon nap, and I get started on dinner.  Sometimes my garden work carries over into this time, so I just get dinner going when I get in (it all depends on how much work that particular night's dinner is!).

Once the kids are done with their afternoon chores, they mostly have free time until dinner, although one of them is often assigned to play with the baby so I can make dinner.

Dinner is at 6:00, and then the girls thoroughly clean the kitchen (I usually help a little bit).  I pretty much kick back and relax after that, other than caring for Adam.  Sometimes there is a little breakfast prep for the next morning to do, but not often.  Some nights we have dessert.  I do most of my fun computer time in the evenings.

One thing that I'm working on establishing, is having each one of the girls be either meal helper or laundry helper each day.  It's still a work in progress, but is my goal.

You can see that I'm sort of a "relaxed scheduler"...I don't have each hour scheduled but work more with "checkpoints":  Breakfast, lunch, afternoon chore time, dinner.

What do your days look like?  Please share!  You can respond here, or post a link to a post on your blog.  God bless!