Bon-Bons And Pedicures

When I first knew we would be putting Noah in preschool, and the prospect of a virtually endless expanse of time each morning stretched before me, I admit that visions of bon-bons and pedicures danced in my head. Why, with three whole kid-free hours to myself each and every morning, is there any limit to the possibilities? I could accomplish nothing or everything. Visions of bon-bons aside, I went with "accomplish everything." I can't help it; it's who I am. :)

The prospect of three empty hours was pretty exciting until I realized that those three hours go very quickly, and are not exempt from normal everyday snags, like forgetting your coupons and having to run home to get them before you actually go to the store (hate it when that happens!). Or the fax machine sticking its tongue out at you and refusing to send the fax (it's occurred once or twice).

However, snags and all, I must admit I'm getting spoiled with Noah in school. Don't misunderstand me: if you're still picturing me lounging around in my pj's, reading a book, and eating bon-bons or waiting for my nail polish to dry, you are mistaken. So that I could remember for myself in the future, and perhaps quell your curiosity, I thought I'd write out how an average day goes for me. Remember, this is average.

6:00am Exercise. I love/hate this part of my day. :)
7:00 Shower and get ready
(Noah usually gets up while I'm in this stage, at which point I set him up for a video. Call me lazy. You do what you have to do.)
7:30 Make Josh's lunch and everybody's breakfast
8:00 Eat breakfast
8:20 Oversee Noah as he gets dressed, brushes his teeth, etc. Clean up the kitchen
8:40 Take Noah to school
9:10 Finish kitchen clean-up, make bed, tidy bedroom, fix my own appearance a little
9:30 Read Bible
10:00 Practice piano
10:30 Laundry, Work for Josh, office work, etc. Run errands, grocery shop, etc
11:50 Go pick Noah up from school
12:30pm Eat lunch
1:00 Noah Nap. I keep plugging away at my To Do List. Usually (praise the Lord!) it all gets done!
3:30 Noah gets up. Regroup, snack time
4:00 Mommy and Noah time. I love this time of day! Since I had all that free time and was able to accomplish stuff, I can spend this time in uninterrupted, guilt-free, unhindered time with Noah! We've been able to paint together, go on scavenger hunts, go for bike rides, shoot marbles, do reading activities, bake things, etc. He eats this up and looks forward to this time all day. So do I!
5:00 Noah Roomtime. He plays in his room or in the dining room while I make supper. Sometimes he helps with the meal prep.
5:45 Eat dinner
6:30 Evening Family Activities. This has also been more enjoyable since Noah started school, because I've usually gotten the work done earlier, and so can spend time with my family.


So that's the real blessing in all of this newly-acquired "free time." Not to use it on personal laziness, but to use it to accomplish what I need to, so I can devote more time to Josh and Noah. Also, Jen is due to have baby #3 in about 4 weeks, and I'm planning to help out over there as much as I can as they need it.

There you have it! My average day in a nutshell.

Not a bon-bon in sight. :)

Comments

Ruth said…
At first when I read your schedule I felt a little jealous because I would be able to get a lot more work done if I had that much "kid-free" time (Noah's preschool + Roomtime + naptime). Today (which was fairly typical) I had 15 minutes of kid free time (the overlap between their naps). My house would be cleaner if I had more "free" time and I'd have more time to do things like read. But then I realized I'd be apart from my kids in your scenario for about 3 hours a day (preschool), and I just can't envision that. So I'm not jealous, which is good as we're each supposed to be content. I do think I need to work towards a roomtime though. That would be most helpful. I'm happy for you that you have time for things like practicing the piano. Your sil will be so appreciative of your help after baby #3 arrives! That's very kind of you. :-) And kudos to you for exercising at 6am! I can't seem to get up much before the kids. I stick with mowing and walking to the playground as my exercise routine. :-)
September 22, 2011 at 5:16 PM
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