Our Daily Routine

Alot of people have asked me how I manage to care for the 5 little ones or the 5 little monkeys as I call them and still manage to get everything else done. (most of the time ~wink~)

The biggest factor in being able to do this is having a routine. Not a schedule that keeps you a slave to time but a routine. We do the same things in the same order every single day. The children love this as they always know what to expect.

Here is our typical daily routine.......

I get up at 5 a.m. I come down put on coffee, let the dog out and look after treats for her and the cat as well as her medicine, then I get my husband's and son's lunch ready. I make sure he is up and make the bed and tidy our room and gather up any laundry that may need to be done. I see him off to work then get myself ready for the day. If I am going to wear a skirt and it needs to ironed I will do that now as well. I also clean the cat box and put on a load of laundry.

The first two (monkey- bum and chickie-poo) arrive at 6:45 a.m.

They have breakfast and chat to me about their evening the night before. I tidy up and run the vacuum.

The third (man- a -man) arrives at 7:30 closely followed by the fourth (M) at 7:35.

The fifth (Berry) arrives at 7:45.

I give M breakfast and tidy up the kitchen while she eats and the others are enjoying music time. I wake up my son and get him to bring down his laundry. I get his breakfast and we talk about the day ahead. I change over the laundry.
Once M is done breakfast they all have free play until 8:30. During this time I do my online Bible study via email with my sister, catch up on emails etc.

At 8:30 Man-a-man goes for his morning nap and I get the girls going on the craft project for the day. When they are done that they may play with puzzles blocks, legos or another quiet activity until 9:30 when Man-a-man gets up. During this time I prepare lunch for the girls and do any cleaning, dusting etc. that needs to be done. If I have time I may get my baking done or at least make the cookie dough etc.

At 9:30 I get Man-a-man up, change him and give him his bottle. The girls tidy up all the toys etc. then I change Chickie-poo and M and the two bigger girls go to the bathroom and get ready to go for our walk. I set up the playpens and cot for nap time then I get the little ones ready and off we go!

So 10:00-11:30 we walk around town, explore nature, talk about what we see, work on colors, shapes, counting, animal sounds etc. I also do my errands for the day. We may also use this time to go to the park and on Wednesdays we have playgroup.

11:30 we are back home, have bathroom time for the big girls and change the little ones. We wash our hands and have lunch which I prepared earlier. I feed Man-a-man.

Right after lunch is nap time. Everyone sleeps but me! I am very blessed to have little ones that will nap well for me and I credit that in part to having a routine. They know that every day it is lunch and then nap. During nap time I enjoy some time on the Internet and work on projects I have been working on and I also change over the laundry and RELAX!

At about 2 or so the house starts to come alive again and I get bottom changes, bottle time and snacks going for them.

They then enjoy free play again and then story time and puzzles etc.

I use this time to get supper started.

Monkey bum and Chickie-poo go home at 3:45, Berry, M and Man-a-man between 4 and 4:45.

Dinner is ready between 5 and 5:30.

We eat, I do the dishes, visit with my Mother in law(she has a Granny flat in our house) and plan the craft for the next day then it is time to RELAX!

I am sorry this was so long but I was trying to let you know how I fit it all in. I may have gotten carried away with the details! Oops! Anyway it is what seems to work best for me perhaps someone will find it helpful too!

Things do not always go as planned (sometimes not even close!) but this is the general guideline that I try and follow!

Many are the plans in a man's heart, but it is the Lord's purpose that prevails. Proverbs 19:21

Blessings,

Liisa