Today’s Adventures….
This is going to be a running list of what my kids and I do today. I just thought it might interest everyone to see how a single mom spends her Saturday with her kids.
7:45 a.m. The kids have been “snuggling” in bed with me since 6:30, listening to the rain outside and telling me their dreams. Now it’s time to get up and get going. I send the kids off to get their clothes on and start tidying up the disasters that they call their rooms. I pull my hair into a semi-ponytail (too short for a full one) and pull on an old T-shirt and some shorts. Then I head for the bathroom to put in my contacts.
8:00 a.m. I have to clean up the kitchen from last night’s supper. I was unaccountably exhausted last night, so I left the dishes for today. It takes me 45 minutes to put the kitchen to rights — mainly because I have to keep stopping to intervene in the kids’ arguments. While working, I listen to the end of Ngaio Marsh’s Artists in Crime. I put on a pot of soup for my breakfast and a pot of oatmeal porridge for the kids. I get out everyone’s vitamins and medications, set the table, and mentally plan the day.
9:00 a.m. I call the kids for breakfast and we all sit down to eat. When I finish my soup, I turn on the computer and start sifting through e-mail while waiting for the children to finish eating.
10:00 a.m. The kids have rinsed the dishes, and I’ve finished e-mail and have caught up most of my blogs for the day. Now it’s time to finish in the kitchen and head for the bedrooms — today’s first priority. The kids have brought their hampers to the laundry room and sorted their wash, and they are back to “cleaning” their rooms.
10:45 a.m. The kitchen is now completely clean; the dishwasher is running; the handwashing is done, and the floor has been swept and mopped. The plants on the back porch have been drained of standing water, and I’ve started a load of laundry.
11:30 a.m. My room’s done, except for making the bed with fresh sheets. I’m doing it the lazy way today, and putting the sheets in the washer right back on the bed once they’re dry. Then I don’t have to fold them. So my room’s all tidied, dusted, swept, and mopped. I need to take a few minutes to get lunch going, and then I’ll change the kids’ sheets and get their rooms dusted, swept, and mopped.
12:30 p.m. Well, slight change of plans. Just as I finished putting lunch in the oven, the phone rang. The church stewardship committee would like me to speak briefly at services tomorrow … the call took about 15 minutes. Meanwhile, my oldest finished his room and dusted/mopped it. The youngest decided to build a train track instead of putting it away, so he’s now behind. I’ve stripped both their beds, and I’ll make them while they eat lunch. My feet are hurting badly, so once I get the beds done, I’m going to play a couple of games of online Scrabble.
2:00 p.m. Lunch is eaten and cleaned up. The kids’ beds have been made, so all of the bedrooms are done. (except mine. waiting on a blanket to dry.) The kids are napping, and I am about to start folding laundry and watching Charade.
5:00 p.m. Kids are up from their naps, and playing with Lego in their rooms. It’s too rainy to go to the playground or even to play in the backyard sandbox. Poor tykes. I’ve gotten a third of the laundry finished. Charade is over, too; now it’s time for Ever After.
8:15 p.m. Supper’s over and cleaned up; the kids are bathed, and I’ve rebooted the laundry twice. Still folding and putting away — I swear, the mountains never end. I’ve also written out what I am going to say tomorrow for the stewardship campaign. Finished Ever After, so now we are watching Hatari. I am going to pause it for a few minutes so I can read a chapter from our book (we’re reading Dangerous Island) to the kids before I tuck them in. Then I’m going to finish folding and putting away before I go to bed.
10:15 p.m. Well, I’m not done folding, but I’m calling it a day. I’m zonked. I’m gonna take a hot lavender scented bubble bath and tuck myself into bed. Of course, I still have to make my bed. LOL. But that will take me only as long as it takes the hot bathwater to run. I need to be in bed by 10:45 if I’m going to make it up in time for both church services tomorrow.