Routines, Schedules and Lists, Oh My!

You already know I love lists. But, I also like to have routines and schedules. I DO NOT always follow them but I like to have a plan to guide me and help me if I feel lost and don't know what to do with myself.

A few weeks after we moved I decided I needed a morning routine. Nathan and I already had his morning routine down:

My alarm goes off at 5:30.
I roll over and rub his shoulder and snuggle him until he rolls out of bed.
I stay in bed and fall directly back to sleep.
He gets ready for work, packs his lunch and eats breakfast.
Around 6:30 or 6:45 he comes and lays on me or just kisses and hugs me goodbye.
I stay in bed and fall directly back to sleep.
He goes and catches the bus.
Bus drops him off at work around 7:30.

I had been unpacking and not showering until the afternoon. I didn't like the feeling of being half asleep all day. Some people can't officially wake up in the morning until they've had their first cup of coffee, Dr. Pepper, OJ, or whatnot. I can't officially wake up until I take a shower. Yep! I'm one of those crazy and wasteful Americans that shower and wash my hair everyday. ;)

I took a few days to figure out what time I was naturally waking up...if not unnaturally woken up by a flying burrito: Marley climbing up on my bed and then flying-squirrel-style-jumping onto my body, while laughing and yelling "FLYING BURRITO!!!". *I have no idea where she learned that!* The verdict for my natural wake up was around 7:30 or 8:00. So, I decided that a good time to shoot for being ready for the day was 9:00.

Everyday now I try to be showered, dressed, hair done and make upped by 9:00. I'm also working on reading the Book of Mormon for 30 minutes a day and I try to do that right after I'm dressed and ready. We're trying to have breakfast by 9:30 so we can have lunch by 12:30 - Marley and I were eating a late breakfast and then a late lunch and then not hungry for dinner, when Nathan would be SO hungry.

Around the same time I came up with the morning routine I came up with a tentative weekly schedule. Here it is:

Monday:
Finances - I record receipts from the past week in a checkbook ledger. I compare transactions online to make sure nothing was double charged or over charged. Pay bills that are coming due.
Laundry - gather, bring downstairs, sort, wash, dry, fold.
Counting with Marley - somebody gave us some counting and alphabet cards so we use those. She is dying to go to school, and asks me nearly everyday if she can go to school and ride the bus.

Monday is my most productive day. Is that the same for you? The fun and excitement from the weekend is over, rejuvenated from attending church, now back to work!

Tuesday:
Make shopping list from the ads.
At the end of the day collect all the garbage (Marley helps) and then put garbage bags on the curb.

Wednesday:
Clean the bathroom
Vaccum downstairs
Clean dinning and kitchen floors

Thursday:
Work in the work room (craft/office/guest room).
Unpacking and organizing.
Marley has school with Teacher (me) we talk about the alphabet and she colors a letter page I found online.
Do crafts and/or work on hobbies...photography, ways to save money, .

Friday: (We don't always do ALL of these but this is what we CAN do. We DO always go to the Soo and we always pick up Nathan on Fridays and he usually gets off early, around 3:30)
Go to the Soo
Playdate
Shopping
Library
Play at the park
Pick up daddy from work

Somedays I have more things listed than I get done. So it spills into the next day. Example: Laundry. Other days I don't have enough to do and I have been watching stupid stuff on Netflix...which I don't think is bad but too much is BORING. So, I came up with a list of stuff that always needs to be done, that I could do probably everyday.

Everyday:
Keep the kitchen clean. Try to wash dishes as they are used.
Keep dinning room clean and clutter free.
White tornado the living room.

I got the white tornado from Nathan's mom. The living room often looks like a real tornado visited but a white tornado is the opposite, you get everyone in the family (me and Marley) and you clean it up and put everything away as fast as you can. It's fun for kids and it goes faster the more help you have. In a matter of about 10 minutes the living room is neat and tidy and ready to be lived in again...get messed up! A white tornado can hit any room of the house at any moment of the day. Bedrooms are also fun and can be done by the tenants of the given room....not really necessary for the whole family to help.

Afternoon routine: Ideally, Marley is taking her afternoon nap (anywhere from 1-6). From 4-5 I like to watch Iron Chef America on Hulu. I love the creativity and fast pace. Watching it from 4-5 gets me ready to make dinner between 5-6. I like to pretend that I'm an Iron Chef and I have to use my creativity and speed to win! Sad thing is, I'm running out of episodes on Hulu and it's not on Netflix. What will I do when those are done? Maybe I could find some Rachel Ray somewhere on the web. She was my inspiration for making dinner when we first got married. I like how she makes thirty minute meals...creative and fast! After dinner we all help clean up. Nathan usually does the dishes. I put the food away and clear the table. Marley usually "helps" do the dishes. Right after dinner we read scriptures as a family (working on being consistent). Right now we are reading the Old Testament. I love reading it with Nathan because he's so smart and can explain to me what is going on. Then we have the rest of the night to do whatever we want, garden, clean the garage, read, play, watch Netflix or Hulu.

That's it!

I would love to hear about your routines and schedules. I'm always open for great scheduling/organization/clutter-free-life suggestions. Please share!

*Okay! I taught her that! A flying burrito is something my cousin I made up back when we were in college. Do I regret teaching Marley? Not yet....still hilarious because she tries to do be so quit. When she is posed and ready to pounce she often giggle-whispers to herself, "I'm gonna give mom a flying burrito!" Then yells while jumping, "FLYING BURRITO!"*

Since this post was so wordy and maybe a little boring...here's a video of Joe Reilly singing on Saturday.