Summer Schedule

I can't believe the time is here....preschool starts tomorrow!  Both girls will be in Parkwood Day School.  Since it is our last day of summer I thought I would write about a typical day so I can look back and remember.  This summer was AMAZING!!  I loved being with my girls.  They are both so happy, cute, and smart.  I also loved the freedom of going anywhere I wanted...reading books...taking naps.  Sigh.  And I had time to do housework, too!  It was wonderful.  It seriously makes me consider being a stay-at-home mom.  But I think I would get tired of it eventually...especially in the winter.  I don't like to stay at home too much.

6:50- Steve's alarm goes off and he starts getting ready for work.  I pretend to sleep.

6:55- Hannah crawls into bed with me and says, "Hey Mama, get awake and cuddle!"

7:00- Steve checks on Olive and she is standing up in her crib (she never makes noise when she wakes up). He drops her off in the bed.  She gives kisses to Hannah.  Steve goes to work.

7:10- After Hannah talking to me non-stop and Olive walking on top of me, I decide to get out of bed.  I change Olive's diaper while Hannah changes out of her pull-up and into underwear.

7:20- We all head downstairs for breakfast.  They like cereal bars or dry cereal best, but sometimes we have eggs or yogurt.  The girls watch Thomas the Train on the computer while they eat.  Olive loves it as much as Hannah.  She points to the screen and says, "Ttt!".  I check email, facebook, and blogs on the laptop.

7:50- Olive stands up in her high chair to show us she is done.  I say no and make her do the sign language for all done.  Then we all go into the living room to play with toys.  Hannah wants to play dinosaurs with us talking for them.  Olive rides the rocking horse and pushes the stroller around the house.  If everyone is playing on their own, I do some breakfast clean-up in the kitchen.

8:30- I make sure to play with Olive.  It always feels like I spend more one-on-one time with Hannah because she demands more attention and Olive is content to play on her own.  So I make a point of playing with Olive every morning doing something on her level like stacking blocks or simple puzzles.

8:45- Both girls drink milk while I read to them on the couch.  I read mostly board books on Olive's level, with a few longer books for Hannah.

9:00- I change Olive's diaper and dress her for the day.  Then put her in the crib for her morning nap.  Hannah and I read some more books on whatever topic we are "studying".  Then we might do a little related activity.

9:40- Hannah and I get dressed for the day.  She likes to watch me put on make up and open my lip gloss "just to look at it."  I figure out what we are going to do today if we don't already have plans.  I pack lunches if it is a longer trip.  Peanut butter and honey sandwiches with a side of fruit is our go-to lunch for the zoo or park.  Packing lunches, snacks, diapers, wipes, cups, strollers, toys, etc. is my least favorite part of my day.  I don't really like planning.  Well, I like planning where we'll go....I just don't like planning what it takes to get there and stay there for a few hours.  Steve is much better at that.

10:15- Olive wakes up.  I change her diaper and load up the girls in the car for our adventure.  I like going to new places, but a few favorites that I don't mind revisiting are the zoo, Deanna Rose, spraygrounds, and Crown Center/Union Station.  Sometimes our "adventure" is just to the grocery store or if it is really hot we stay inside and play.

12:00- Lunchtime.  If we are home we usually eat leftovers from dinner.  We loved eating out on the deck when the weather was nice in June.

12:30- We have more playtime either outside or inside.  If we are out, we start heading for home.

12:50- Milk and books again.

1:00- Nap time for everyone (including me most days).  If I'm not napping, I usually spend way too much time on the computer looking at email, blogging, etc.  Then I'll force myself to clean up the kitchen from lunch and do some laundry and dishes.  It always seems like I have so much time...and then it is gone.

3:00- One of the girls wakes up and wants to wake up the other one.  They both love this.  One of my favorite parts of the day is watching them smile and kiss when they wake each other up.  After changing Olive's diaper again we head downstairs.

3:15- The girls have snacks.  They both love fruit, but they are happy with just about anything.

3:30- We usually play in the living room some more.  The living room doubles as the toy room.  If I napped, then I use this time for dishes and laundry.

4:30- I start making dinner.  Yes, I realize this is super early for most people.

5:00- Steve gets home and dinner is ready (or close).  Steve helps with the sides because I never remember the vegetables.  Olive is yelling at Hannah because she is a bear when she gets hungry.  She might start crawling up on her highchair to show us she's ready to eat.

5:15- Dinner.  I try to get Hannah to tell Steve what we did that day.  It amazes me how she forgets things that happened only a few hours ago.  Nap times also confuse her because she thinks every time she sleeps it is a new day.  After naps she will ask, "Is it breakfast time or snack time?"  With some help, she remembers what we did and I ask her her favorite and least favorite thing she did that day.  Usually the least favorite thing is cleaning up toys.  Then Hannah will say, "So Dada, how was your day?"  I love her little adult talk.

6:00- Clean up after dinner.  Okay, maybe cleaning the high chair is my least favorite part of the day.  But I think that is just because I do it multiple times.  Usually Steve does it for dinner.

6:15- Family time to go shopping, walk to the park, or just play around the house.  When it isn't too hot we like to kick the ball around in the backyard.

7:30- Bathtime for the girls.  Both of them love it.

7:45- Milk and books again.  Sometimes we watch a short video instead.

8:00- Bedtime for Olive.  Then Hannah gets some time with us to read longer books or play card games.  Her favorite is Go Fish, but we try to convince her to play Uno.

8:30- Hannah's bedtime and I get ready to run.  I tell her goodnight before I leave either running outside or on the treadmill.  Steve stays at home and has computer time.

9:00- I am finished running.  If it is nice out Steve leaves to run outside, although he hasn't done much running after the marathon.  So usually this is our time to talk and catch up on the day.  This is the other time I use for blogging.

10:30- One of us drags the other off of the computer and upstairs to the shower.

11:00- Bed time.