scheduling

My day seems to never end as I care for 3 kids under the age of 3... Duh! Right now, this is a rare moment where both twins are satisfied doing their own thing and Kellyn is napping... so I'm going to blog a little.

We've reached the stage where Kellyn's schedule is quite predictable each day with long awake periods and long naps. I love it.

Sundays, Tuesdays, and every other Thursday, we have regular morning outings to go to. I try to make sure we're always home for afternoon nap. Here's our schedule on the days we stay home.

6- 7 am - twins wake up and come crawl into Mommy's bed. Alyna goes on my right side, and Ryan on my left no matter which order they come in at.

7 - Alyna usually says "I'm done with bed" so we go open the curtains in the living room and I put their yogurt on their picnic table. This 5-10 minutes is "Mommy's computer time" and then I let them watch a show or sometimes movie while I eat breakfast, clean up the kitchen, and start the laundry

8 - Kellyn wakes up anywhere from 7:45 to 8:30. She nurses, and then plays at her various toy stations (play mat, jumperoo, bouncy seat). The twins finish watching their program and then have free play time.

9 - snack time, Kellyn also gets a snack of baby food these days to help her nap better

9:30 Kellyn's morning nap (earlier if she woke up early) - Twins activity time: coloring, play-do, practicing ABC's, shapes, and numbers. We're getting a membership to Starfall.com for the year so we can enjoy the rest of the activities they have to offer. It's computer animated learning programs for ABC's, numbers, shapes, colors, basic math, phonics, and kids songs.

11 - I try to get the twins lunch ready before Kellyn wakes up from her nap and wants to eat again. If I'm having a bad day the kids will get to watch another show after lunch so that I can actually eat.

12:30 - start getting all three kids ready for afternoon nap time. The kids always sit on the potty first, so it's more than just taking them in there.

During nap time I often take a nap myself since I rarely get a full night's sleep. Other times I do some cleaning, budgeting, blogging, or something fun on the computer.

2 -3 The kids wake up from their naps at varying times and start to play.

3:30 - afternoon snack for all 3 kids, more play time

4:30 - this is the hardest part of the day when I'm alone, becuase while I'm trying to make dinner for all of the big people, Kellyn needs to eat more baby food for her dinner

5 - Kellyn takes her short evening nap while we eat dinner and clean up the kitchen

6 - Kellyn takes another bottle (yes, she eats a lot which is why she's in 9 month clothes now at not yet 5 months old). Some nights she gets a bath right after this bottle too

6:30 - Bath time for the twins on certain nights. Other nights we Skype with grandparents, play a game, or watch a movie.

7 - bedtime snack for all 3 kids. Usually cereal with milk or applesauce. Kellyn nurses again before going to sleep. This is also a hard time when Barry's not home to help.

7:30 - all 3 kids get in bed.

7:45 - Alyna ALWAYS gets up to go potty again, even if she actually peed 15 minutes before, so Ryan sometimes tags along

8 - if the kids aren't staying in their beds we shut their door with the childproof doorknob cover on the inside. We have to do that every few weeks or so for a few nights

8:30 - ahhhhhh, quiet time

Oh, and of course this didn't include all the diaper changes for Kellyn and potty trips for the twins that may or may not produce the desired results.

A couple months ago I was reading in my Bible where it says that the older women should teach the younger women to be busy at home... well... at this stage I don't have a choice in the matter.