It seems every few months....ok, ok, WEEKS, I log on and blog about how this new schedule and routine I have come up with is going to work wonders for my family. Aaaaaand it never does. I'm not a routine/scheduled person. It does not come natural to me. Yet, I for some reason find it necessary to reinvent the wheel for some reason. What is it they say about doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result? :rolleyes: Well, guess what? Yes, I'm redundant. Ridiculous. I have spent most of my day with pen in hand, laptop on my lap and notebook by my side writing, reworking, researching, and hammering out....you guessed it! A new schedule and routine. Just be prepared to say "I told you so" in a week or two. LOL.
As far as our "schedule" goes, it's actually one that I stuck to for a while when Crafty was about Sassy's age, maybe a little older. I find that we are relying too heavily on the television for both my girls. This is unacceptable in my book. Both have holy meltdown fits if we turn the TV off.....well, here's your sign, right? Right. So, Sassy will get two 30 minute video/tv/movie times a day (only because Crafty is in school in the mornings--on Saturdays she will get two sessions, as well) and Crafty will get one in the afternoon. I have made sure to include in the schedule structured playtime (where Mommy initiates the activity--more later), free play (roughly 2 hours of it, broken up into sessions), and reading time for both girls (or page turning in Sassy's case lol--she doesn't like to read the words of books, just look at the pictures for now). Interspersed amongst the playtimes are times for me to clean, which is where my routines come in. Something must be done. I have about 2 weeks worth of laundry piled up about the house, waiting to be done....but then the dishes are piling up, too, vacuuming is only when I notice the fur :blush:...well, you get the picture. I've never pretended I was the model housewife.
As far as structured playtime, part of getting rid of all day TV time will require me to play with the kiddos. Much easier to say with Crafty than with Sassy. As most moms know, an 18 month old's attention span is not a very lengthy thing...even worse so when they've been conditioned to spend the day watching TV (I know, I know, TRUST me, I've been beating myself up over this one for some time now). The first (and only, really) thing Crafty requested, after I asked her what she wanted on the routine was that she get "her time". This means playtime with Mommy without Sissy. Once The Duke comes, it'll be a little more difficult but I think she would even be happy with 10 minutes stolen here and there. We'll cross that bridge when we get to it but needless to say, I'm sure she'll come up with something for us to do. With Sassy it's a little more difficult. Here's what I've come up with so far:
- stacking blocks (and knocking them down)
- roll balls
- hide and seek with Momo (we did this in the hotel during our trip and she thought it was hilarious)
- roll cars (yes, my girl likes cars...you have a problem with that)
- sing songs (a list to get me going: Wheels on the Bus, Little Teapot, Ring Around the Rosie)
- Play doh (though this could be interesting)
- putting stickers on paper (fine motor skill development)
- dance to music
- color
I have outside playtime on my schedule, but during the winter, let's be honest. This probably won't happen much. This is probably a time that having an indoor slide would come in handy. I'm in the process of saving up for one now. Hopefully I'll be able to afford it BEFORE spring comes. LOL.
Anyway, but here's the schedule. While it has times, I'm not sticking big time to those. As long as we're "around" that time, even several minutes before or after, it's not that big of a deal. They're more like guidelines.
6:30-Mom up, begin morning routine
7-Crafty up & ready for school
7:45- Sassy up, dressed, breakfast
8- Bree free time, Mom clean/complete morning routine
8:30- Structured playtime
9- Reading time
9:15- Snack
9:30- Video time, Mom Weekly Plan
10- Free play
10:20- Pick up Crafty
10:45- Free play, finish weekly plan
11:15- Lunch
11:45- Naptime for Sassy, Afternoon routine for Mommy and Crafty
2- Outside playtime (or indoor large motor play)
2:45- Snack
3- Structured playtime
3:30-Free time
4:30- Video time, begin Evening routine
5-Free play
5:15- Start dinner
6- Dinner
6:30- Family time
7- Bath time/before bed routine
7:30- Sassy bed time/Crafty completes before bed routine
8- Crafty bed time
8:05- Complete evening routine
8:30 (or so)- Begin my before bed routine
10:30- Bedtime for me
I had planned on following FlyLady's zone plan but, really, it's just not feasible. Each room in my house needs to be tended to at least once a week. Period. It just can't be helped. I think the only thing I'll end up adopting from FlyLady is the "shiny" sink before going to bed (I say "shiny because mine isn't stainless steel lol) and visiting "hot spots" during my afternoon routine.
My weekly plan is as follows:
Monday- Kitchen/Dining Room/Entry/Front Porch
Tuesday- Grocery & Errands, vacuum
Wednesday- All 3 bedrooms
Thursday- Basement
Friday- Bathrooms
Saturday- Floors (Vacuum and mop), Linen laundry
For every routine that I have, so does Crafty. I am hoping this will help her remember the things she must do after getting up in the morning, after lunch, and before bed at night. It should be interesting getting these routines going. I know that it will probably take several weeks before we have the full routines in place. Hopefully we'll last that long! Hahaha.
This post has now taken me several days to compose, which is a little silly. I'm unsure what it is I've not covered yet. I'm pretty sure everything?
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