There is no “normal” day any more. When I first started staying home full time, I had a good routine going for a few weeks...then life happened and we’ve had to be flexible with our schedule on a week by week basis.
No matter what day it is, we usually have built in structure centered around afternoon nap; it is a 2-3 hour period that is best spent with my son in his his own crib and provides me some of the structure that I crave.
Tuesdays and Thursdays are my running mornings. I get up while Ezra and my husband are still asleep and get a run in. This has brought me so much joy and makes me feel better throughout the entire day. Self-care, mamas!
A typical morning can be filled with errands, play dates, appointments or spending time doing chores at home. I think it’s important to let Ezra see me doing chores and letting him “help” as much as he is able. I use his nap time to usually read, watch Netflix or rest myself.
The beauty and challenge of being a stay at home mom is that no two days look exactly the same. Today, for example, has been a lazy, don’t get out of your pajamas all day type of day. Saturdays are my long run day for my training schedule for the Virginia 10 Miler so we lay pretty low on Fridays. So far today we have had breakfast, put together some puzzles, played, watched TV, had lunch and then I put my little guy down for an early nap. Since the rest of our week has been very full, my time during his nap today consisted of email writing, eating my own lunch (which may have included a bowl of ice cream) while watching Netflix, and is soon to be followed by reading and maybe even a cat nap!
Once Ezra wakes up from his afternoon nap, we usually play, read and get dinner prepped for when my husband comes home from work. Sometimes we take my husband to work in the morning; if that's the case, we go pick my husband up from work and then enjoy whatever our evening holds.
Once we’ve had some family time or taken care of errands, we try to have Ezra in bed by 7pm. He has a simple bedtime routine of a diaper change, brushing teeth, getting a sip of water, reading books, praying and then down for bed. He is a great sleeper and for that we definitely grateful!!
As much as a structured work schedule created a sense of predictability for our weeks, I am so thankful that I can be home and make my own schedule. There are definitely days when I struggle with fears that I’m not getting “enough” done, (whatever that means) but I try to remind myself (as does my gracious husband) that this season of life is something that will go by quickly. Soon we will have school and sports and these slow-but-full days are helping to shape my little man into the big man he will become.
Jenna Tomlin has been a committed volunteer with TMC in so many ways over the years. She and her family are getting ready to start a new adventure in another state; while we will miss her presence dearly, we look forward to hearing an update on her new day in the life! (You can read her previous post as a work-from-home mom here.)