Mother's Rule of Life

I have begun reading a new book, A Mother's Rule of Life: How to Bring Order to Your Home and Peace to Your Soul. So far, I've found that I'm really enjoying Holly Pierlot's practical advice. She really emphasizes the many challenges that moms face, and in addition to offering practical advice, she also shares personal examples from her life .

My goal is to really be able to enjoy my kids and not waste the day away. I've been feeling out of sorts for many months now, and decided that I needed to do something different. For those of you who have known me for years, you'll know I'm not much of a "schedule" person (can we say skipping class?). However, I have decided that for my own peace of mind, as well as helping to make Brian, Sean and Colin's lives easier, I am going to bite the bullet and have a "schedule" for the day. Now, this is just a framework, mind you - nothing is set in stone, ie. I'm not going to pull the boys away from playing with their puzzles at 11:00 just because it's "time" to move on to the next station (insert drill sergeant here!). I just really feel that having this framework to our day will actually free up my time because I won't have to "think" about what we are going to be doing.

And of course the weekends will be a little more relaxed because Daddy will be home. Monday's will be structured a little differently as well since Brian has Atrium in the mornings.

So here is my schedule; I hope that by posting this here, I will feel even more inclined to stick with it!

7:30-8:15 - exercise
8:15-8:30 - daily Bible reading
8:30-8:45 - put laundry in and get boys up and dressed
8:45 - 9:15 - breakfast, and put laundry in dryer
9:15 - 10:30 - school
10:30-11:00 - boys watch Signing Times/Leap Frog video while mom folds laundry
11:00-11:45 - Atrium/religious ed
11:45 - 12:00 - make lunch
12:00-12:30 - eat lunch
12:30-3:00 - nap time/quiet time for boys, mom vacuums, cleans before laying down
3:00 - 3:45 - educational computer games
3:45 - 5:00 - active time (music making, playing outside, etc.)
5:00 - 6:00 - free time, mom makes dinner
6:00 - 6:45 - family dinner
6:45 - 7:15 - baths
7:15 - 7:30 - family rosary/prayers
7:30 - 8:00 - stories and bed for boys
8:00 - 10:30 - available for Chris
10:30-10:45 - get ready for bed
10:45 - 11:00 - rosary
11:00 - 11:30 - news in bed and bedtime

Thanks for keeping me honest here!