The last time I wrote a Day in a Life post it was last April, I was largely focused on Ballet, and the kids were 3 years and not quite 2 years. My seasons of life change quickly, so I wanted to capture another Monday that is fairly typical of how our life rolls right now.
The kids are now 4.5 and 2 years old. I'm working on a play in addition to Ballet. When I captured this day, the kids were doing a winter camp at the rec center which will be over before Christmas. Still homeschooling, and apparently doing chores at breakneck speed.
Here we go!
6:45 Wake up when Matt hands me the thermometer. #NFPlife
6:50 Have breakfast with the kids while Matt gets ready for work. Matt made awesome food and Irish breakfast has been the go to lately for me. (Thanks honey!)
7:00 Matt's out the door to work. Gotta have an early start if he wants a morning run.
7:15 Finish up breakfast and clear the table.
7:20 Get the kids dressed
7:30 Get myself dressed while the kids have free play until lessons
7:35 Put two loads of laundry into the washer. Therese insists on coming down to help. By which she means sweep.
7:45 Empty the dishwasher, and remind everyone what time it is.
7:55 Five minute pick up of toys and books
8:00 Lesson time. Today we're doing our
Family Formation Little Lambs lesson on Latin prayers. Take away: while Therese might slur her English, her Latin is crystal clear. I'll roll with it.
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| We're working on how to properly hold a pen and write on paper. Therese is mostly just trying not to stab holes into the table. #HulkBabyProblems |
8:15 15 minutes is about has much attention as I can expect for table work. John was interested in what Rome was when we were talking about Latin. I decide to let him watch something age-appropriate and related to Rome. A quick search of my super-duper helpful
Homeschooling with Netflix facebook group and came across a recommendation for an episode from
Torchlighters about St. Perpetua. We have a winner!
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| The activity involved making a paper doll with movable joints that allowed the kids to make their doll do the Sign of the Cross while we were learning it in Latin. |
8:20 Taking advantage of John being occupied, quick run down to the laundry room to swap into the dryer. I take out the diaper covers to air dry, and do a fast round of bed making.
8:25 I start writing up the Dicken's Fair adventures from yesterday.
9:00 Finished the Dicken's Fair blog post right when the kid's show ended. Score!
9:05 Grabbed laundry out of the dryer with mini-helper Therese. She's in solid toddler helper phase, so she gets to carry her rug back upstairs. She was so happy about it! Yup, this phase is awesome.
9:10 Folding time, kids have free play.
9:20 Done folding and the kids come to put away their clothes. I know it won't stay nicely folded but the habit is what's important. At least that's what I tell myself.
9:25 Quick make up for me while the kids get their shoes on. I let them try first then help or coach as needed. Therese is so close!
9:30 Out the door for morning walk! After many days of rain, we finally have a nice sunny morning.
10:00 Drop the kids off at winter camp at the rec center around the corner.
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| John started instructing Therese in the "right" way to play with these toys. Therese proceeded to do whatever she was going to do anyway. #BusinessAsUsual |
10:06 Back home. Put the kettle on to boil and turn on the new diffuser.
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| My husband won the diffuser and a bunch of oils at his office Christmas party. I'm having a fun time playing with them. I think I want to make a foot scrub or soak with this one! |
10:20 Done with Matins, now to make tea before continuing onto Lauds.
10:30 Finished with Lauds. Tea time! Catching up with
some of my favorite ballet vloggers while I have my tea and cheese.
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| If I pray on the floor I find it easier to focus and not have my mind wander. |
10:45 Goodbye vloggers, it's workout time! I've been feeling like I'm losing a lot of strength since I can only sporadically attend ballet class with my current rehearsal schedule.
Today I'll be focusing on legs and core.
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| Yoga mat + Theraband is about all I ever use. Sometimes the back of a chair as a makeshift barre. Keeping it simple. |
11:15 Finished workout. Now to stretch and go over lines for rehearsal tonight. I find stretching at the same time helps with memorization.
Also playing the
Giselle soundtrack. Because I'm covering the creation of
Giselle in my ballet history book right now. #UnitStudyForGrownUps
11:50 Time to go pick up the kids from camp!
12:15 Back home with the kids. Make lunch and my next batch of herb tea.
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Today's menu: leftover spaghetti and meatballs with a green salad.
Pretty much all of our lunches are comprised of leftovers. |
12:35 Because spaghetti + toddler = super messy, we have serious post-lunch wash up time.
12:40 Done with lunch. Reading time!
Magic School Bus anything and
Little House in the Big Woods are John's current loves.
1:00 Naptime! I've been making it a point to really relax for the first hour of nap so I'm going to go have some Netflix/Youtube veg time.
Apparently I missed a
Doctor Who Christmas Special!
Verdict: It was kind of weird - even for Doctor Who. Now we know.
2:00 Ok I'm back. Typed up the morning of this post, and start on my email and social media updates.
2:45 Kids are up from nap!
3:00 Snack time for the kids. I do a quick tidy.
3:15 Just realized I've had my dress on inside out ALL DAY! I would be shocked no one said anything, but then again I walked around doing errands in full Victorian get up before
Dicken's Fair yesterday and no one found that worthy of comment either. Oh Berkeley...
3:20 The kids have decided they want to play dress up in their room and will have a fashion show for me later. I guess I'll load the dishwasher then....
3:25 Ok dishes didn't take long. Make coffee!
New Project! Overnight Lussekatter (aka. St. Lucia Buns) for
St. Lucia Day tomorrow!
3:45 Therese decides she is done with John's plan and joins in the baking adventures from my back in the Ergo.
4:00 Matt's home! He stopped by the stores to get the last ingredients for dinner. It's Stromboli making time!
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| Whenever I make pizza dough, I make a double batch and then freeze half. Love having quick homemade stuff ready to go! |
4:15 Stromboli in the oven!
4:20 John insists on finishing our chapter from
Little House in the Big Woods. Cuddle time!
4:30 When your evenings are working time, late afternoon becomes your evening. Wine, coffee, and chatting with the husband while dinner bakes. #LifeisGood
5:00 Dinner time!
5:30 Dinner over. Matt helps me run lines while the kids "read" (i.e. make a giant mess with books.)
6:00 Monday Night Football for Matt so I go off to our room to say Vespers.
6:10 Vespers done. Now to read a little Homer before I leave for rehearsal. I'm currently working on the Iliad as part of my poetry study. I suspect I will be for a long while...
6:30 In Uber for the ride across town to the rehearsal space.
6:40 Quicker than usual to get here! Which means mattress moving duty. (We rehearse in a mattress store. There's a story.)
7:00 Rehearsal starts
8:05 First scene done
8:45 Second scene done. I'm not in the next scene so I have some study time. Probably should have thought to bring Homer. I make a note to remember to bring it tomorrow.
9:15 Break! Lounge on mattresses time!
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| The view from my mattress lounge spot. |
9:20 Next scene which comes with a set change. We're covering more material than what we were originally called for now. Yea progress!
10:04 Rehearsal over. Time to move the mattresses back.
10:10 Heading out. So grateful I have a cast member who lives so close to me. Yea carpool!
10:20 Back home, with a little time to hang out with the husband.
11:30 All showered and ready for bed. Goodnight!
I won't have the winter camp child care break past the beginning of this week (and probably not that since they're both coming down with a cold), but for the past month-ish this is a pretty typical Monday. I do a lot, but I feel like I have a good balance of mothering time, prayer time, work time, down time, and time with my husband.
In order to write these posts I carry around a notebook and pen all day and jot down what I do and when. I would recommend it to Stay At Home Moms, especially those convinced they don't do much in a day. You're probably doing more than you think.
