A Typical Day

In the lazy, hazy days of chaos summer, I sometimes look forward to the relative order of the school year.

  You all know I am not what some might call organized.  I have occasionally been known to fly by the seat of my pants.  I'm a "pantser" not a "planner," as they say.  Routine feels so...routine, and I have to jazz things up when that happens.

But believe it or not, too much chaos bugs even me.  

What with five kids and a new house and city, there is more than enough chaos around here to suit me, so the routine of the school day is very much welcome.

Every day (almost) I get up at 6:15 (-ish) and start rousing the kids.  If someone requires more than two or three wake-up calls, Dad gets involved and is much less pleasant than Mom!  A few people have had to take breakfast with them on the run, but so far, not too bad.

Everyone gets dressed in clothes which were supposed to have been put out the night before, eats breakfast, then picks up backpacks and duffle bags which were supposed to have been packed up the night before, and heads off to the bus stop, just down the street. 

Sometimes, this all goes swimmingly.

Sometimes, it does not.

Either way, by 7, the house is quiet again. 

Some days, the baby is awake by this time, but more often she is still asleep and I sit down to check what's happening on the interwebs and to eat my breakfast.

When John deems it safe to come out, he gets up and gets going.  Just kidding!  His schedule is different each day, so sometimes he's up and out before the kids are and sometimes he goes a little later to the office.  And sometimes he's on the road and enjoying the quiet solitude of his hotel room!

During the day I watch soap operas and eat bon-bons diligently keep the house spotless.  No, that doesn't work either.  I do work on the house, but somehow it never reaches "spotless" status.  

Anyway, I do dishes, laundry, etc. but I also play with Evie, go for walks, get groceries, run errands, and, yes, take naps occasionally.  I really, really enjoy these quiet days at home and am so thankful for them.

About 3:30, Sam arrives on the afternoon bus.  He tells me about his day and gets a snack.  

A little later, we get in the car and go back to the school for someone's soccer game.  This week we have nine games, plus practices.  I know Sam wanted to play, but I was just a little bit glad we had missed the cut-off to sign him up to play on a community team this fall!  "Maybe in the spring, buddy!"

When the game or games end, we go home and eat some supper.  The crockpot is my best friend right now.  Depending on how far away the other game or games were, we might wait for everyone to get home and eat all together, or we might go ahead and eat so that homework can get started.  

From supper to bedtime, it's homework and showers and getting everything ready for the next day.

Bedtime is 9 p.m.  As the school year progresses, a couple of kids have voluntarily put themselves to bed earlier than that because these are long, action-packed days and morning comes early!

So, this is what our days are like, with some variation.  For instance, yesterday, I was at school most of the morning to help give tours to prospective families, then back later for a Bible study before going to Johanna's soccer game.  And variations like that make me all the more thankful for a typical day like today where I can catch up with some laundry and update my blog!

There's Sam's bus!  Gotta go!

(All of the photos in today's blog are from the kids' school.)