My Days

I forgot to post my day. I commented on a friends blog that I would keep track of my day and post about it. Mostly for time management. I found out in this process that I waste a lot of time. I was actually trying to keep busy the whole day, and found myself bored. I decided to do only one day instead of three. I am glad though that I did this. It shows me that I am able to get everything done in one day and I still have time to do my own fun stuff. I also don't have a job outside the home, and only three kids. Even though my fourth child is on the way, there is still way to much free time for me. I think I may need some ideas on how to fill it.

The day I kept track of was Wednesday. That says a lot, because on Tuesdays, we have either Scott's Mens Bible Study, or the Family Bible Study, and on Thursdays is the Women's Bible Study. I also chose Wednesday because I totally forgot to keep track of anything on Monday and Tuesday. So, this is how my day went...

7am - Wake up, pour cereal into bowls for Jameson and Teagen, put clean dishes from dishwasher away, feed Gavin bananas and cereal and bottle, make and eat my toast and yogurt. This all takes about 1 hour amazingly.

8am - Jameson and Teagen ask for a snack. This is normal. I tell them no and they go into the playroom to play. They usually stay in here playing for a few hours. This allows me to do laundry and random pickup stuff in the living room.

10am - Gavin takes his first nap. Jameson starts school, Teagen colors. Because I don't really have to report anything for another year, school is very relaxed here. Jameson still isn't reading, so we work on letters and their sounds, and try to put some together, but he gets really confused and frustrated. Any hints?

1130am - School is done, and lunch is started. They boys are required to pick up the toys before they can eat lunch, so they spend this time in the playroom. I made mac & cheese & hotdogs for this lunch. Gavin wakes up around this time as well. I get his lunch and bottle ready.

12noon - We all eat. Then I send the boys to read books while I clean up and start loading the dishwasher again. Teagen goes down for a nap when I'm done cleaning.

1pm - Gavin is ready for another nap around 1 or 2. Once Teagen and Gavin are asleep, Jameson has a little time to watch a movie or read books by himself. I get some me time here as well. I use this time to go on the computer/internet. I also use this time to shower.

3pm - Teagen is up again now, and starts watching a movie with Jameson. Gavin will wake up soon. The boys usually don't make it through a whole movie. They end up going into the playroom in the middle. When Gavin wakes up, we will sometimes go outside to play.

530pm - I start getting dinner ready. This is when the boys are allowed to help me in the kitchen.

6pm - We eat dinner. Sometimes Scott is home from work to join us, sometimes he is working really late, and won't get home until 2am or 3am.

7pm - After dinner we all clean up, finish the dishes and start the dishwasher. Then we do some random pickup, and make sure the toys are picked up before bedtime. Every other day, we have bathtime, not today.

8pm - We get pj's on and get into bed. We always read from our Bible Story Book, and say prayer. Then we make up our own stories and share them.

10 or 11pm - I end up going to bed. Until that time, I am on the computer/internet again.

During this whole time, I realized that there are many times throughout my day that I have a lot of extra time. I was always thinking that I was so busy, and that I never had enough time to add anything else to my day. I actually have too much time. There is so much more I could do. Now, this day was really laid back. We didn't leave the house at all for appointments or anything. I am however, trying to potty train Teagen, which requires many trips to the bathroom and sitting there with him for several minutes at a time. I do waste a lot of time on the computer doing stuff that is not required, like games. I have decided that I am going to fast from my computer. I don't know for how long, but instead of getting on the computer, I am going to spend more time reading my Bible, and praying. Maybe in a few weeks I will try this again and see what, if anything, has changed.

Lesson learned!