Routine

I am such a woman of routine.  Like, to a fault.  Perhaps it was from my days of childhood swimming: I simply had to have a routine down or my homework would not be complete with after school swimming and even dance sometimes.  Although I really think it was when I had children, that the routine became all-important, even becoming an idol at some seasons.

But routines are good and I have seen myself and the children thrive from a routine.  However, they are a bit dangerous for me, as I can make them my idol and have even sinned in becoming angry and defiant when something gets us off of the routine.  When I hold the routine loosely, but also strive to be a steady and constant woman/mother, meaning not coming altogether unglued when there is a twist in the road, routines truly are one of my favorite things and it is definitely how my mind works.

It seems as if we are finally getting into a routine here in Savannah; a routine for Thaddaeus, a routine for Tirzah and my mornings together, a routine for myself to keep the house somewhat in an orderly state.  Just to share a touch:

The Morning

*We get up (hopefully I am up before the children so I can have a bit of quiet, with a mug in hand and my Bible in the other)
*Daniel has been able to come home for breakfast, most mornings!!, so we have breakfast with him and he is back to work around 8:30
*We love to go for walks around the neighborhood before the Georgian sun really heats up
*Thaddaeus goes for his morning nap and Tirzah and I complete our morning chores
*School (we just started school today!)  We are going through Before Five In a Row with a friend whom we met at church!

She has been loving reading Chronicles of Narnia!

School Day!

*Play time!  Tirzah most definitely goes through seasons of play.  Right now, she is loving playing "calls" where she talks on a pretend phone. . . which is actually a cash register, dials in the phone numbers, and writes the address.  She began this two days ago and it is really quite a fun game!
*Daniel is home for lunch!
*If it goes well with naps, we usually head to the pool for a short and sweet dip in the pool after lunch.

And for our cleaning, here is what works for us!

Mondays: Clean the 3 bedrooms: dust, sweep (and every other week mop and change linens)
Tuesdays: Clean the living and dining room
Wednesday: Play room!
Thursday: Kitchen deep clean
Friday: Bathrooms

I have Tirzah help me each day as well, or she may play quietly and usually this is during Thad's morning nap.  It seems to work really well for us and it gets it done without taking too too much time.

What are your routines?