I am mom to Samuel (3.5) and Joel (2). I also watch a little boy named Gavin (1) on Tues/Wed/Fri. They are my little chicks who follow me around all day long. I think the point of this week's posts is supposed to be how I get through my day with my small children. Here's a little peek at what our days look like:
Gavin arrives at 7:00 am. I usually feed him a little snack while I eat breakfast. Then I lay him down for a nap at 7:30 (his parents wake him up in the mornings to bring him to our house and he is still tired). My boys get up around 7:30am. I feed them breakfast and then let them play. We have somewhere to be on Tuesdays and Thursdays, so we usually get dressed right away on those days to get out of the house. The other days it wouldn't surprise me if my kids were still in their jammies at 10! They do eventually get dressed and we usually either go outside or their dad takes them to Starbucks and the local library. Gavin is usually back up by 9 or 9:30. We eat lunch around 12 and then all three lay down for a nap at 1. Gavin gets picked up at 3:30 (he's usually still sleeping). My boys get up shortly thereafter. If we've gone somewhere in the morning I usually try to stay home in the afternoon. Otherwise, we might head out to the store or to a friend's house or to the library or park. I don't usually take my boys grocery shopping with me. I either go when Ed can watch them or I take them over to the neighbor's house while I run out. Everyone is much happier that way! Ed comes home for dinner around 6:00, so I spend that last half hour straightening up the house and getting dinner ready. The boys usually play by themselves during this time. If it is just not happening with them, I can distract with a DVD. We eat dinner, play around the house some more and then head to bed at 8:00. And that's my day with three little children!
The main point, I suppose, is that I try to have pretty low expectations on a day-to-day basis. We go to a mom's group on Tuesday mornings, AWANA on Wednesday nights, and Bible Study Fellowship on Thursday mornings. Those are the only scheduled activities. We do plenty of other things, but they are flexible and at my choosing. This has helped simplify our lives and take a lot of stress out of always having to rush from here to there.
My boys are 19 months apart. This was a little tough in the beginning, especially because we've always kept a 3rd child, but they have recently really come into their own. They LOVE to play together and they miss each other when they are separated. It is so fun to spend my days with them and see all the things they come up with together. I am really thankful that God has given me this season of life in the manner He has.
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