Daily Rhythm and Weekly Household Routines

I've been working on a tweaking our daily activities and household management tasks this week. During my pregnancy, most things fell by the wayside and we only stuck to the essentials. Now that the new baby is a month old, it's time to really refocus and get back in the swing of things!

Daily Rhythm

Morning:

Wake-up Routine
Prepare Breakfast/Eat/Clean-up
Circle Time
Daily Chore/Laundry
Outside Play/Gardening and/or Nature Walk
Snack & Bible Story/Saint of the Day/Other Religious Instruction
AM Activity (Little Acorn, Seasons of Joy, Catholic Mosaic or Other)

Afternoon:

Prepare Lunch/Eat/Clean-up
Art
Read/Play/Quiet time
Playroom Cleanup
Snack
PM Activity (Mommy Teach Me, Little Acorn, Seasons of Joy, Catholic Mosaic or Other) and/or Outside Playtime
Tidy Playroom/Misc. Household Tasks

Evening:

Make Supper/Eat/Clean-up
Evening Prayer
Play/Read/Misc. Household
Bedtime Routine (Bath, Snack, Story, Bed)


Daily Household Routines

Wash Diapers
Make Beds, Straighten Bedrooms
Wipe-down Bathrooms
Sweep/Vacuum Kitchen
Dishes/Dishwasher
Counters and Table, Clean Sink (as needed)
General Pick-up
Garbage/Recycling
Cats

Weekly Cleaning Routines

Monday: Clean Bathrooms, Wash Towels and Cleaning Cloths

Tuesday: Vacuum Upstairs, Clean/Declutter Bedrooms, Change & Wash Bedding

Wednesday: Baking Day, Laundry Catch-up (if needed)

Thursday: Clean/Declutter Playroom and Music Room, Boys’ Laundry

Friday: Clean Kitchen and Pantry/Laundry Room, Meal Planning and Grocery List, Parents’ Laundry

Saturday: Homeschool Planning, Prep for Sunday (including meals), Seasonal Outdoor Tasks, Laundry Catch-up (if needed)

I'm planning a post to go into more detail about our homeschool "preschool" program.

Also, my household tasks outline doesn't include monthly, seasonal or yearly tasks, but I roughly follow this chart. I recommend it for everybody. It makes things so simple!

Before and After: The Playroom

This isn't a true before and after post as I didn't get the full "before" shot. It's more "during" and after. For my birthday last week, my DH decided to surprise me by taking up the carpet in the playroom and replacing it with hard flooring! As long-time blog readers know, I despise carpeting. I wasn't expecting this project to begin for several more years, so I'm thrilled to see our playroom/schoolroom come together the way I've wanted!

In the first shot, the playroom proper. It's mostly finished here except for replacing the baseboards. We decided not to strip the wallpaper and paint (neither of us feel up to that monstrous task), so the last remnant of "formal dining room" from the previous owners remains.

Looking from the playroom into the playroom extension (foyer) and through to the library/music room. Most of DS's toys are piled in there for the time being.

I anticipate that the entire project will be done this weekend, and I'll be back with more pictures our reconstructed and reconfigured room!

Oh, and we finished the fence two months ago...I'll post pictures (or a video!) of that too. Promise.

Candle Decorating

On Thursday we decorated a candle for use during our morning circle/prayer time. I started with this kit from Three Sisters Toys (one of my favorite places for toys!). The kit is a tad pricey perhaps, but worth it for someone attempting to work with decorating beeswax for the first time. I didn't try to duplicate the design that was "recommended," but instead focused on shapes and images that are familiar to my oldest.

I'm not a crafty person and none of the shapes are quite perfect, but we had a lot of fun and I was pleased with the result. We have lots of wax leftover, so I'll be trying again soon. I'd like to attempt a more complicated design.