“Exercise gives you endorphins, endorphins makes you happy.” The famous quote from the fictional character, Elle Woods always rings in my head when I am lagging in the mornings.
When I start my day it starts anywhere between 6:15-6:45AM every morning. Does not matter if its the weekend. When you have small kids like my 7 year old & 4 year old the day starts abruptly the moment there little eyes flutter open. “Hello, world, hear the song that we’re singing. C’mon get happy!” That is the song I hear every time I hear my kids whispers if they beat me waking up as they try to sneak the iPads from their docks in the kitchen. Except my Partridge Family is all of 4 people & a giant Doodle.
After I get going I eat a small quick breakfast & suck down some water. Watch about a 20-30 minute news segment while scrolling through various social media feeds & clearing my email boxes. Once it hits 7:30AM I pop up & I go to my bathroom & get ready for the day. For me whether its a Tuesday or a Friday I always wear some kind of makeup. Usually mascara, spf, concealer and lipstick is my everyday. Once I feel put together & my teeth/hair are brushed I get the kids ready to tackle their day. I make all the beds in the house unless my 7 year old if feeling like earning points then he rushes to beat me to his bed. I get the kids quick breakfast & we are out the door at 8AM each morning to walk Teddie, the family Goldendoodle. We walk for 30 minutes around the lakes, chatting & exercising. We come home refreshed & awakened for our day. A little sweat never hurt anyone!? Well I guess it depends on your age. In my case sweat equates to tired & better controlled kiddos.
I sit the kids down at the kitchen table, which typically holds the best light in the house & pour their plastic cups with fresh ice water. Give Teddie a huge bowl of chilled water & begin our lessons. Roman begins with Math & it quickly spirals into Reading. Emmy likes to start with writing her sight words & saying them outloud. When she is done she will happy call on Teddie to go outside in the back & play. Then they want a fruit type snack & a “brain break”.
While all this is going on I sit snug between them communicating with clients, LinkedIn professionals or lately working on query letter submissions for a children’s book I have been working on. I also like to sneak in a quick workout! Always moving!
At 10:30AM each morning we go for our second outing of the day, a nice bike ride to find the alligators that are camouflage through out our neighborhood’s lakes. Its a daily Where is Waldo scenario & the kids enjoy it. When we come back its time for further work & another brain break. At around 12:30 I prep lunch & we either sit outside in the back patio or eat at the kitchen table. After lunch they typically do a learning video while I work & they do a How To Draw through the genius YouTube subscription channel, Kid’s Hub afterwards on whatever topic is related to what they learned. It could be the black hole, camels, third world countries or an ex-President. We rotate picking!
Around 2/3PM, I take the dog outside for a brisk walk down my street, kids might ride their motorized go cart & scooter while I do this. Once we are back in we get ready for another bike ride. This time we ride to my sister’s home that is a mile away on the other side of our neighborhood. Kids relish this time with their Aunt & Uncle. Everyday they funnel in & go straight to her fruit snack jar & run to what has now been christened “their room” & relax for 30 minutes while I chat with my sister.
Once we are back home, the kids have typically completed their assignments & so its on to their extracurricular activities. Roman plays piano & Emmy violin. Both do their practice & then they are free for the structured day & can commence however they please.
Around 4PM I start prepping for our dinner. Some days the kids have zoom lessons for their instruments, vocal lessons & ballet. Other days they don’t. I typically start dinner the same each day. After we eat, I quickly clean the kitchen while the kids play outside in the backyard & outside we go yet again. This time they ride their bikes, do chalk, play with our beloved neighbors until 6:30PM. Thats the magical hour when their Dad comes home. Its magical for both the kids & I. My husband switches hats & entertains the kids while I go for a run, a long bike ride or a long walk. Its my ME time & its very precious to me. While the kids go on a walk with Teddie & my Husband still exercising all their high energy & getting ready for bedtime.
Next up is cleansing of the tiny people in my house, reading of books, earned iPad time with friends & eventually bedtime. Once the kids are down for the count, my husband & I will play a game, or watch a show or just talk. After he goes down because he rises around 5AM I start to work again for another hour or so. Then lights out.
This is me everyday. I do the same things daily & it helps me keep focused & engaged in my life. Im accountable for the dog, the kids, the house, my work, my health among other things.
What is your routine? Do you have one? Do you need help structuring your life to create one? It can be intimidating if you are not used to it. I grew up with a very structured Mother & apparently the apple didn’t fall far from the tree.
