A typical day...

So I have been asked a few times to share what a regular day is like for me, and have finally got around to writing about it!
There is nothing special about me or my life, infact some days it feels quite the opposite, but it is nice , as a Mum or woman even, to throw around some ideas with others, in the hope that you can take away just a small snippet that may help in this crazy thing we call life!

One of the most common question I am asked is "how do you fit it all in" or "how do you find the time", quite frankly, I make the time and I am a night owl.
You will find me still plodding away at my latest project in the late late hours of the night, but I find that time the most productive. Its quiet (other than the noise of my husband snoring, but that is another blog post all together!) and I have time and space to think clearly.

With having 4 kids, the odds are high that at least one of them will rise early, and usually it is the same one. Max is our early riser, sometimes 6am, perhaps 5:30am but more often than not its 5am.
He is promptly sent back to bed, but once out at around 6am he is allowed to stay up (they go to bed early so it is still nearly 12 hrs sleep a night)
So generally my day starts around 6:30am. Until this time, we are all laying about and relaxing in the toy room, waiting for whoever is still snoozing to wake.
My husband doesn't leave for work until 7:10am, so that is a big help at  breaky time. Breakfast is eaten straight way, and then our goodbyes to Dad and our day really starts.

Between 7:10 and 8:30am, I make all 4 beds, dress 4 kids, do 2 girls hair, wash all breakfast dishes and put on a load of washing, then get myself ready for the school run too.
I HATE leaving a house with unmade beds and dirty dishes. I can only remember 2 occasions when this has happened. Each to their own and all that, do what makes you happy. Made beds and a clean sink to come home to make me happy. The simple things, right?!

Then we may have a playdate, park run, playgroup etc on so we go to that but I always try and give our kids lunch around 11:30am. For 2 reasons, the first being that they have been up for a fair time and are hungry and also so that lunch is over, cleaned up and they are in bed in good time for them to be awake for school pick up. There is NOTHING worse than waking a sleeping child , and I have had to do it more time than I have liked!

Afternoon tea around 3:15-3:30pm and dinner prep/cooking not long after.
Tea is usually around 5:30pm, the kids go straight from the dinner table to the bath (where they brush their teeth in the bath) , the bath to story time, story time to bed.
DONE!!

Generally dinner clean up for the mess on the floor  (or I like to call it 'carnage') happens whilst my husband is supervising bath time, or if he is out, it will be straight after the kids have been put to bed. Then you have the rest of the night to relax.

It may seem like a strict schedule and a lot of rules but I am that type of person. I work better with a set plan and I like to stick to it. As a result, our children are the same and thrive on a constant routine. Win /win really.

You may seem like you are drowning, so much to do, so little time and needy children surrounding you while you are trying to do it all, but I find this is when I need to set goals. Say to myself "right, I need to hang this washing and be inside by 11:15 to make lunches" and just get it done.

Life isn't always easy, and it never usually goes according to plan, but at least with one, I feel some sort of stability in my life.
I have said it before and I will say it again, after having twins, when so many factors were out of my control ( when both babies were screaming for attention or wind etc and I only had 2 hands and a 2 year old to care for aswell) I learnt that I just had to do the best I could.
Prioritise.
And if the only thing I could control in my life was how clean and organised I was , then that is what I did. It gave me a slice of sanity back!!

I guess I am saying, everyone is different. Take a small snippet , or leave it all. Whatever works. But this works for us, so I will run with it as long as I can!!

But then there are the days when NOTHING goes according to plan ....

                 And your 2 year old double troubles find some suncream in their backpacks.
                           Well the only thing that saves me then is cider or chocolate!