Most of the time when I run into my mom friends around the city and we talk over summer plans, they're surprised to hear that our three kids aren't doing any summer camps or daycare this summer.
"You mean you have all three of them, all day, all summer?!"
Haha! I get it, it's a lot to take on. I was home with all three of them before they began school and their twice a week play schools prior to that, but it was different - they napped then, and they were a lot easier to entertain. Oh the days when a pile of blocks would be enough for an entire afternoon of activity! Now, our kids are turning 7, 6, and 4, all in a few months, and none of them nap.
This means our summer days begin when the kids wake up (around 7am) and are basically nonstop until the last one is asleep, around 8pm. That's 13 hours to fill, and I knew going into this summer that I wanted some sort of predictability to my days or I might go a little crazy. I wanted to keep their minds sharp to curb summer learning loss (read more HERE), I wanted us to spend hours and hours at the local pool, and I wanted some time to myself too. I dare say, we're achieving it all! Here's what our days look like right now:
6:30am - First kid wakes up. The others gradually follow. Thanks to an alarm clock, they know not to leave their room until 7:30am, so they play quietly (sometimes loudly) while I wake up, have a cup of tea, and read New Morning Mercies, my Bible, and slowly become human.
7:30am - The kids alarm goes off, they turn it off, I go into their room for some good morning cuddles, and the kids make their beds and get their swimsuits on.
7:30am-8:00am - We all have breakfast. Usually overnight oats for me and cereal for them along with whatever fruit is ripe on the counter.
8:00am-9:00am - This is when I'll put sunscreen on the kids, we'll tidy up the kitchen and their bedroom (I need our house to be at least a little tidy before we leave, otherwise coming home is such a burden! Thankfully in our little condo, picking up doesn't take long and everyone helps!). Then we head to the pool.
9:30am - On Mondays and Wednesdays, Lily and Oli have a semi-private swim lesson at the local pool. Chloe's class lesson is Tuesdays and Thursdays. Chloe's is $8/class and there are four children, for the semi-private class which is just Lily and Oli, it's $11/class (per kid). We only went private with our older two because it was the only way to ensure they were on the same day (I couldn't juggle three unique schedules!) and in the same session (we will be traveling during the second session, so this was our only option). We are so lucky to live in such a beautiful, affordable city. I say this a lot, but private swimming lessons for $11!? Crazy. I love starting our days at the pool. I bring a book for myself and whoever isn't swimming and soak up the morning sun.
10:30am - Free swim at the pool begins, and we head over to the kiddie pool. The parent/child ratio in the big pool is 1:1, so we're relegated to the knee deep kiddie pool, but none of the kids seem to mind. This is where I've met and keep up with most of my mom friends. Most days I see at least one of them, and we chat while the kids swim/play.
12:00pm - We head home for lunch. It's about a 10 minute walk to our local pool but the walk home is always harder and longer (not to mention there's a gradual incline). The kids are usually starving after all the exercise so I take advantage and feed them things they don't usually prefer like leafy green salads. We almost always have poached eggs for lunch. Eggs are the perfect food! healthy, fatty, protein-y, and cheap!
12:30pm-2:00pm - QUIET TIME. Once the naps are gone, this is any mom's saving grace. After we clean up from lunch, the kids go to the bathroom and head into their room for quiet time. Their alarm clock is set for 2:00pm, and they know not to come out until it goes off. They usually read (their goal is to read 100 books this summer, more on that later this week!) or do some kind of imaginative play. This is when I decompress a bit. I might work on a free-lance project, do some reading (right now I'm reading Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother by Amy Chua and it's fascinating and hilarious), browse Instagram, or get a head start on dinner.
2:00pm-5:00pm - After a smoothie to fill us up, we head back out for the second half of the day, usually back to the pool. This is when the sun is warmest, so the freezing public pool suddenly becomes inviting. We also see most of our friends at this time, if they're coming over after work and day camp. Summer is such a social time and I love every minute of catching up with our friends, but it does tire me out, so usually my evenings are pretty low key after this block of going hard.
5:30pm - After we get home from the pool, the kids are ready for a quick dinner. Usually leftovers from Brad and I's dinner the night before, or something easy like pasta, corn on the cob, and chopped bell peppers. At this time I start to think about what I'll make for Brad and I (we always eat after the kids, around 8pm). I usually have a glass of wine while the kids eat dinner, and we talk about our day. What was the best part? What part was hard or frustrating? What did we learn today?
6:00pm - Around six all the kids bathe. Lily has a shower while I give the younger two a bath. We are pretty strict about bathing every single day in the summer to wash off the chlorine and sunscreen from their bodies.
6:30pm - Chloe goes to bed first. Brad isn't done work by this time, but thankfully he works from home so she can peak into his office for a good night kiss or he can take a few minutes off to pray with her. If we put Chloe to bed at the same time as the older two, it's pure chaos, but staggering their bedtimes has been so helpful. She's usually fast asleep by 6:45pm.
7:00pm-8:00pm - This is the last hour of awake time for our older two, and it happily coincides with Brad (usually) being done work. He'll often read to them, play a game with them, or have rough time, while I get our dinner ready. Having him join me for this last hour, and being down a kid feels like an all-inclusive getaway. I usually stick to one glass of wine per day, if at all, so if I haven't had one yet, now would be the time.
8:00pm - Brad brushes the big kid's teeth and says prayers with them, and then we eat dinner. I know eating together as a family is sacred for a lot of families, but we choose to spend other time together as a family. We joke that we love food too much to eat it with our kids, haha! But really, it's a lot of reasons - my husband isn't done work at 5:30pm when our kids eat dinner, and I'm not usually hungry at that time either. I love to cook and we enjoy our later night meals as a time to feast and reconnect as a couple. The kids still taste the meal the next day when they eat our leftovers, so it's not because we don't want to feed them "adult" food. Also, with Brad working from home, there are many small moments throughout the day that the kids get with him, so we don't feel like a family dinner is our best chance at family time. Anyway, it works for us!
Our evenings can look many ways - at least twice a week we have church activities, that we either host or attend. Brad also works a lot of evenings, so we'll spend time together in the morning, but won't see him in the evening. I might watch an episode of a show I'm into (right now I'm watching The Handmaid's Tale and OMG), or read, or have a girlfriend over to hang out. The evenings almost always include folding laundry, tidying up, and relaxing.
I try to be in bed at 10:00pm, but usually it's closer to 11:00am. My alarm goes off at 6:30am every day of the week and I love having that alone time in the mornings, but it's painful if I stay up too late. Summer sleeps are so sound, after a full day of kiddos, sun, and constant exercise. I feel so lucky to have these two months with my children and wouldn't trade them for anything, but they are exhausting and I'm usually asleep seconds after my head hits my pillow :)
"You mean you have all three of them, all day, all summer?!"
Haha! I get it, it's a lot to take on. I was home with all three of them before they began school and their twice a week play schools prior to that, but it was different - they napped then, and they were a lot easier to entertain. Oh the days when a pile of blocks would be enough for an entire afternoon of activity! Now, our kids are turning 7, 6, and 4, all in a few months, and none of them nap.
This means our summer days begin when the kids wake up (around 7am) and are basically nonstop until the last one is asleep, around 8pm. That's 13 hours to fill, and I knew going into this summer that I wanted some sort of predictability to my days or I might go a little crazy. I wanted to keep their minds sharp to curb summer learning loss (read more HERE), I wanted us to spend hours and hours at the local pool, and I wanted some time to myself too. I dare say, we're achieving it all! Here's what our days look like right now:
6:30am - First kid wakes up. The others gradually follow. Thanks to an alarm clock, they know not to leave their room until 7:30am, so they play quietly (sometimes loudly) while I wake up, have a cup of tea, and read New Morning Mercies, my Bible, and slowly become human.
7:30am - The kids alarm goes off, they turn it off, I go into their room for some good morning cuddles, and the kids make their beds and get their swimsuits on.
7:30am-8:00am - We all have breakfast. Usually overnight oats for me and cereal for them along with whatever fruit is ripe on the counter.
8:00am-9:00am - This is when I'll put sunscreen on the kids, we'll tidy up the kitchen and their bedroom (I need our house to be at least a little tidy before we leave, otherwise coming home is such a burden! Thankfully in our little condo, picking up doesn't take long and everyone helps!). Then we head to the pool.
9:30am - On Mondays and Wednesdays, Lily and Oli have a semi-private swim lesson at the local pool. Chloe's class lesson is Tuesdays and Thursdays. Chloe's is $8/class and there are four children, for the semi-private class which is just Lily and Oli, it's $11/class (per kid). We only went private with our older two because it was the only way to ensure they were on the same day (I couldn't juggle three unique schedules!) and in the same session (we will be traveling during the second session, so this was our only option). We are so lucky to live in such a beautiful, affordable city. I say this a lot, but private swimming lessons for $11!? Crazy. I love starting our days at the pool. I bring a book for myself and whoever isn't swimming and soak up the morning sun.
10:30am - Free swim at the pool begins, and we head over to the kiddie pool. The parent/child ratio in the big pool is 1:1, so we're relegated to the knee deep kiddie pool, but none of the kids seem to mind. This is where I've met and keep up with most of my mom friends. Most days I see at least one of them, and we chat while the kids swim/play.
12:00pm - We head home for lunch. It's about a 10 minute walk to our local pool but the walk home is always harder and longer (not to mention there's a gradual incline). The kids are usually starving after all the exercise so I take advantage and feed them things they don't usually prefer like leafy green salads. We almost always have poached eggs for lunch. Eggs are the perfect food! healthy, fatty, protein-y, and cheap!
12:30pm-2:00pm - QUIET TIME. Once the naps are gone, this is any mom's saving grace. After we clean up from lunch, the kids go to the bathroom and head into their room for quiet time. Their alarm clock is set for 2:00pm, and they know not to come out until it goes off. They usually read (their goal is to read 100 books this summer, more on that later this week!) or do some kind of imaginative play. This is when I decompress a bit. I might work on a free-lance project, do some reading (right now I'm reading Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother by Amy Chua and it's fascinating and hilarious), browse Instagram, or get a head start on dinner.
2:00pm-5:00pm - After a smoothie to fill us up, we head back out for the second half of the day, usually back to the pool. This is when the sun is warmest, so the freezing public pool suddenly becomes inviting. We also see most of our friends at this time, if they're coming over after work and day camp. Summer is such a social time and I love every minute of catching up with our friends, but it does tire me out, so usually my evenings are pretty low key after this block of going hard.
5:30pm - After we get home from the pool, the kids are ready for a quick dinner. Usually leftovers from Brad and I's dinner the night before, or something easy like pasta, corn on the cob, and chopped bell peppers. At this time I start to think about what I'll make for Brad and I (we always eat after the kids, around 8pm). I usually have a glass of wine while the kids eat dinner, and we talk about our day. What was the best part? What part was hard or frustrating? What did we learn today?
6:00pm - Around six all the kids bathe. Lily has a shower while I give the younger two a bath. We are pretty strict about bathing every single day in the summer to wash off the chlorine and sunscreen from their bodies.
6:30pm - Chloe goes to bed first. Brad isn't done work by this time, but thankfully he works from home so she can peak into his office for a good night kiss or he can take a few minutes off to pray with her. If we put Chloe to bed at the same time as the older two, it's pure chaos, but staggering their bedtimes has been so helpful. She's usually fast asleep by 6:45pm.
7:00pm-8:00pm - This is the last hour of awake time for our older two, and it happily coincides with Brad (usually) being done work. He'll often read to them, play a game with them, or have rough time, while I get our dinner ready. Having him join me for this last hour, and being down a kid feels like an all-inclusive getaway. I usually stick to one glass of wine per day, if at all, so if I haven't had one yet, now would be the time.
8:00pm - Brad brushes the big kid's teeth and says prayers with them, and then we eat dinner. I know eating together as a family is sacred for a lot of families, but we choose to spend other time together as a family. We joke that we love food too much to eat it with our kids, haha! But really, it's a lot of reasons - my husband isn't done work at 5:30pm when our kids eat dinner, and I'm not usually hungry at that time either. I love to cook and we enjoy our later night meals as a time to feast and reconnect as a couple. The kids still taste the meal the next day when they eat our leftovers, so it's not because we don't want to feed them "adult" food. Also, with Brad working from home, there are many small moments throughout the day that the kids get with him, so we don't feel like a family dinner is our best chance at family time. Anyway, it works for us!
Our evenings can look many ways - at least twice a week we have church activities, that we either host or attend. Brad also works a lot of evenings, so we'll spend time together in the morning, but won't see him in the evening. I might watch an episode of a show I'm into (right now I'm watching The Handmaid's Tale and OMG), or read, or have a girlfriend over to hang out. The evenings almost always include folding laundry, tidying up, and relaxing.
I try to be in bed at 10:00pm, but usually it's closer to 11:00am. My alarm goes off at 6:30am every day of the week and I love having that alone time in the mornings, but it's painful if I stay up too late. Summer sleeps are so sound, after a full day of kiddos, sun, and constant exercise. I feel so lucky to have these two months with my children and wouldn't trade them for anything, but they are exhausting and I'm usually asleep seconds after my head hits my pillow :)
Haha! I get the same reaction, but I cherish this time together. I'm not having any more kids and they are not getting any younger...these summers will be a distant memory all too soon.
ReplyDeleteSo busy and fun too! I love all the activities and swimming involved in your day!
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these summers will be a distant memory all too soon.
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