I’m so pleased to have Elisabeth join us on the blog today! She is a college friend and former cross country teammate of mine, and even one of the bridesmaids in my wedding! She and her husband, a college basketball coach, live in Georgia with their two, adorable tiny humans, ages 3 and 2. She blogs over at TeamMillennialMoms.com. Check it out!
Hello, everyone! Every day is different around the McNeely household, but here is a glimpse into our normal life!
Currently, I am loving the fact that we have no schedule – no pre-school, no sports, no this and that. We have three regular “outings” during the week that give the kids a chance to socialize with their friends and me the chance to take a deep breath and enjoy adult conversation with other women in my same phase of life, and those are:
- Church
- Tuesday Bible study
- MOPS (every other Friday)
Other than these three “regulars”, the kids and I mix it up with grocery shopping, trips to the park, the gym, the library, or Chick Fil A. You know you can’t beat that indoor play place on a cold or rainy day!
I often get asked if my kids go to any sort of pre-school, and as a former early-childhood teacher, you would think I would say “yes”! Preschool is certainly great for a lot of kids, but we keep ours home for a few reasons:
- We can’t afford it (just being honest here!). It is a very real sacrifice for me to be at home with our boys, so we pinch pennies wherever we can!
- Although they drive me crazy more than I’d like to admit, I am super sentimental about my time with my kids. (Don’t remind me that my oldest will be in kindergarten in just 2 short years!) My thoughts are that I have a very, very short amount of time to be influencing them for the majority of their day before they will be influenced by teachers, coaches, and friends the majority of their day – every day – for the rest of their lives. I’m trying to be intentional about soaking in every second!
- Studies have shown that children, especially boys, actually do better in a formal school setting the later they are introduced to formal education. I think it’s very important to let kids be kids for as long as possible before they have to deal with the demands of school as long as they are getting educational stimulation at home through play, reading books, conversation, etc.
So since you now know what our “regular” weekly outings are and that my boys are with me all the time other than those few outings, here is a typical day in our life!
6:00 a.m. I wake up and have about 30-45 minutes of treasured silence before I hear one of the boys sleepily calling, “Mom! Mom!” During this time, I usually sit and drink green tea or coffee and read my Bible or a book that grows me spiritually. I am currently reading Prophetic Wisdom by Graham Cooke slowly because just about every sentence I read is a ‘Wow, I need to read that again!’ type of sentence. I usually pray during this time as well and ask God to give me patience with the kids during the day along with anything else I feel led to pray for. When I have very specific needs or prayer requests, I love to pull out my favorite prayer book, Prayers That Avail Much, by Germaine Copeland. I’ve learned that praying Scripture back to the Lord really does make for powerful prayers!
6:45 a.m. The kids are up and, after cuddling with me for a few minutes in the rocker, are in their “happy place” (in the recliner watching their ipads with a sippy cup of orange juice diluted with water). This is how they like to wake up every day, and I have no problem with it! We ease into the day this way, and I usually grab a shower and pack daddy’s lunch while they watch.
8:00 a.m. Dad heads off to work and I make breakfast for myself and the boys. Scrambled eggs with peanut butter Ezekiel toast or homemade whole wheat pancakes is our usual. Our day goes much better when I get some healthy protein in them in the morning! (The boys absolutely love my whole wheat pancakes. In fact, they won’t eat the boxed kind I get for my hubby!) We also take our vitamins with breakfast. I give the boys these chewy vitamins from Nature’s Sunshine that they love, and I take this multivitamin, collagen, a couple baking soda pills that I make myself to balance out my pH, and drink some lemon water.
8:30 a.m. I start laundry for the day while we play something around the house. Usually monster trucks, farm, or a game of basketball in Matthew’s room. He is very serious about his basketball playing (maybe because he’s a coach’s son?) and tells me, “No smack talk! Just play!” and “Real basketball players don’t just stand there, mom. Go after the rebound!” It’s quite funny.
10:00 a.m. We head to Walmart for our weekly grocery shopping trip. I write down day by day what we will eat for dinner on one side and make my list on the other. I try my best to only make one trip to the store per week because I spend so much less than when I make multiple trips and just get a few things each time. When we get there, each boy gets a dumb dumb sucker or a vitamin C sucker from our local herb store if they even have the slightest sniffle, and off we go. This usually keeps them happy and minimizes the begging for treats in the store, and I do my best to juggle holding Matthew’s hand, holding the list, and pushing the cart with Joseph in it at the same time.
11:30 a.m. We get home and the boys get in their “happy place” with their ipads again while I put groceries away and make lunch. The boys usually have peanut butter and honey sandwiches on whole wheat bread, apples slices, a cheese stick, and a few chips or veggie straws. I have a salad or an egg salad sandwich, fruit, raw veggies, and potato chips (just keepin’ it real!). We all have water.
12:00 p.m. We play outside for an hour or do yard work together until nap time. We love our Georgia sun!
1:00 p.m. It’s nap time! Joseph absolutely loves nap time. Both boys nap every day. Matthew tried giving up his nap around 3 years old, but after a few rough days of “You will lay down or else…!” he just learned nap time is a normal part of our day and now lays down without a problem. Joseph sleeps for a good 3 hours at least, and Matthew sleeps for 1 ½-2. This is my productivity time. Although I am badly, badly wanting to give up coffee, it just hasn’t happened yet, so I brew myself a cup of coffee, grab some dark chocolate or mixed nuts and sit down to work. Each week I work 2-3 days for my part time job and 2-3 days for Team Millennial Moms.
3:00 p.m. Matthew is up from his nap and wants a drink and a snack while we wait for his brother to wake up. I get him some apple slices with peanut butter or a spinach chocolate chip muffin and he eats while he watches his ipad for 20-30 minutes. I use this time to crank out a little workout on the floor, and it usually looks like push-ups, crunches, and various forms of squats, lunges, and leg lifts. After Matthew finishes up his snack and I’m dead on the floor from my workout, we enjoy one on one time playing Chutes and Ladders, his favorite board game.
4:00 p.m. Joseph wakes up and wants a drink, and I sneak a few cuddles before we head back outside. (This boy has to be starved to eat his dinner, so I don’t usually let him have an afternoon snack – just lots of water!) We play soccer, have races in the yard, play in the sand box, and read books on the deck until dad gets home.
5:00 p.m. If dad gets home this early, I go running for 30 – 45 minutes while he enjoys some time outside with the boys. I go for a quick run, get a quick shower, and then get dinner ready.
6:00 p.m. This particular night we had grilled steak kabobs with broccoli, cottage cheese, and macaroni and cheese. I skipped out on the cottage cheese and macaroni and cheese, but since they are favorites of my hubby, I had them for him and the boys! Matthew is a great eater, but Joseph often needs to be very hungry or see his brother get a little dessert before he starts eating. That usually does the trick!
6:45 p.m. Dinner is all cleaned up and we head out for a family walk. The boys love to have races and look for airplanes, birds, squirrels, and whatever else they can find. Dad and I like to sneak in as much conversation about his day at work and my day with the kids as we can!
7:30 p.m. We get home and it’s bath time! They play in the tub together and fight over the bath toys like normal brothers, and I break it up by saying, “Who’s ready for a bedtime snack?” They both say, “Me!” and beg for me to get them out and dried off. After running down the hall into the living room and screaming, “I’m a naked cowboy!” to their dad, I get them to hold somewhat still for 30 seconds while I get their pjs on and their hair combed. They look so clean and cute!
8:00 p.m. I make them a bedtime smoothie (spinach, carrots, frozen banana, frozen berries, and a little orange juice blended) and popcorn. We sit down on the floor for a bedtime picnic and FaceTime grandma and grandpa and then watch Fixer Upper if it’s Tuesday or read books if it’s not.
8:30 p.m. It’s bedtime! Dan and I each take a boy, brush teeth, pray, and tuck them in bed. They giggle while I say, “Hey, don’t be so cute tomorrow!” and reply, “I am! I am gonna be so cute!”
I collapse.
I sit on the couch and browse Facebook or watch some news. We talk some but mostly soak in the silence until 10:00 p.m. and head to bed. It doesn’t take me long at all to Zzzzzzz…….
Motherhood is exhausting, but oh, so fun and rewarding! I’m so thankful for my boys and for this precious time I have with them!
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