A Current Day’s Routine

There is little in this world that makes me happier than when my life is running according to a routine. I know what to expect, I know that we are prepared for what’s coming. I know that people will be fed and clothed and it won’t be a mad scramble to make that happen.

However, given all the pieces that are required to make me whole, you can imagine how often the stars align to make this happen. Doesn’t mean I don’t appreciate (and completely wallow) in it when it does.

Over time, I have developed a routine to make sure that I get what I need from life to keep me feeling settled. Right now, the day looks something like this:

• Wake up, shower, dress.
• I run down to the laundry and get it moving.
• Back upstairs to pack school bags (and lunches, if I haven’t managed to pack them the night before)
• By then, the boys have woken up and need breakfast. Sometimes I’m faster than them and manage to have it ready for when they stumble out of bed.
• Find clothes for everyone to wear. Throw them at the kids that can dress themselves (right now, it’s only Boy 1 because Boy 2 is like his dad and REALLY hates mornings, and I humour him when I can)
• We either watch something on TV together, or I’m forced to throw them in the van to get to their drop off places

Then I go to work. I pick up a tea on my way in and I savor it over my morning work. My reward for getting everyone where they need to go on time and dressed is one cup of store bought tea.

Work, lunch, work. Then it’s back off to the races.

• If I need anything, I stop by the grocery store, or the art store or sometimes, the bookstore (because rewards for adulting are important too)
• Pick up Boy 3 from daycare. This will either be a quick thing or a VERY LONG thing depending on his three year old state of mind.
• The boys unpack their school bags when we get in the door. I change into workout clothes or comfy clothes depending on the day and my level of motivation to move
• Go downstairs and move wet laundry to dryer and dry laundry into baskets
• Assess cupboards and freezer for dinner options
• Make chosen dinner option
• Fight with Boy 2 and Boy 3 for approximately 1 hour to get them to eat enough that I’m confident that they wont starve between now and breakfast
• Do a random tidy up of the spaces that are driving me the nuttiest
• Scroll through social media, play mindless game on iPad
• I put the boys into bed, this can be a very quick thing or a VERY LONG thing depending on their state of minds
• We work on any orders that might have come in on Tuesday and Thursday nights. Order nights are late nights. That’s just how it goes.
• Fall into bed, watch some TV, play on the iPad for a bit, crash into sleep

There is a lot of room for improvement, and I’m currently trying to figure my way through that. You’ll notice that the current routine doesn’t actually include folding clothes, for example. That means that at some point, I have to devote a night to folding clothes so that we aren’t digging out of laundry baskets. The current routine also doesn’t have any sort of time for meal planning. Not good. Flying by the seat of our pants in terms of food often leaves me throwing together something quick and easy. The boys don’t have a lot of patience after school. They are hungry the minute they get off the bus. This year, I am working on meal planning and being more deliberate about what we are eating.

Knowing that this coming hockey season we’ll have three boys in hockey rather than two, now is the time to start tweaking and developing new systems. This ensures we don’t finish the season feeling worn out and scattered. Give me a week and come back. I’ll share my new system and routine with you. Share yours with me in the comments, new ideas and a fresh perspective are never bad things.