You Asked: How I Structure My Days As A Stay-At-Home Mom

I’m often asked what our days look like around here. Well, that’s a great question. We’ve been adding new members to our family for the past three years, and I feel like it ebbs and flows with each season we’re in. Sometimes we’re in survival mode, and other times it feels like there’s a rhythm to our chaos. It seems like just when I have things sort of figured out, we welcome a new baby and things go fruit basket upset again.

Before I share our schedule, let me share a little bit about the method behind our madness.

One thing I’ve learned along the way is that my kids THRIVE on having some sort of structure. It doesn’t have to be super rigid, but having a loose framework helps us all to know what to expect, and keeps us all happy. When I’m a step ahead of them, and know what we’ll do next, it prevents boredom, which then eliminates a lot of the shenanigans they tend to pull when they’re bored.

Oftentimes, when a day is out of control it’s because I haven’t put the time in to plan ahead, or prepare activities for us to do. Those are the days when Jake walks in the door and I say, “The kids totally dominated me today.” And then I ask him to open a bottle of wine.

Another thing I’ve learned is that sleep is KING. Well-rested kids are happy kids. I’ve always made it a top priority to be home for nap time and bed time. We are the people who are at home at 1:00pm for nap time EVERY DAY, and home by 7pm EVERY NIGHT. If we go out later than that, we get a babysitter. When my kids get a full night’s rest, the next day is bound to be happier.

Obviously there are exceptions when we push their limits a little bit, but when you have so many kids, the ship can sink VERY FAST. And when it does, it isn’t fun. All that to say, we celebrate early bedtimes. Plus, it gives Jake and I the chance to get some good quality time in every night.

Okay, so here’s our current schedule:

7:00am: Kids wake up! I set the older three up with milk, dry Cheerios, and Doc McStuffins on the couch while I feed the baby and make breakfast.

7:30am: Breakfast! We do A LOT of eggs and frozen waffles with pb and jelly around here. It isn’t unusual to go through 50 eggs a week! I try to read them a little kids devotional to start the day. Some days they’re into it, some days they aren’t. Oftentimes I think it does more for me, getting me in a solid mindset to take on the day.

8:15 – 9:00am: Free play, clean up breakfast, get kids dressed and brush teeth.

9:00am: Feed baby and go to the gym! If I could buy one thing for every mom in the world it would be a gym membership with childcare. Seriously, it is my sanity. It is so worth the work it takes to get them all loaded up and in the car. I drop the kids off, listen to a sermon while I run, AND I get to shower ALONE. It’s a mind, body, and soul experience, people. Plus the kids just love it. We always say it is some of the best money we spend every month. If you have the ability to join a gym, DO IT!!!

Now obviously we don’t go to the gym everyday. If we did, I wouldn’t still have 10 pounds of baby weight to lose. Or maybe that has something to do with all the sugar I crave while breastfeeding. Anyway, on the days we don’t go to the gym, we do playdates, run errands, or something else to get out of the house. I’ve learned that in order to not go insane as a stay at home mom, I NEED to get out of the house once a day.

11:00am: Feed baby, play with toys, and read books. I don’t do anything to prepare for this. I just try to be intentional about playing WITH them, instead of letting them play on their own.

Noon: Lunch. We like to sing songs during lunch time. This is the time of day when they all start to get tired and like to get on each other’s nerves, so singing songs or having Pandora on in the background seems to help.

12:30pm: Free play, clean up lunch, throw in laundry, pick up toys, change diapers

1:00pm: Bring all the kids up to mom and dad’s room. I turn on Netflix and let the older three watch a show while I feed Case. Then I put Case down for a nap. Then I put the other three down for their naps.

2:30pm: Baylen wakes up. I try to be intentional about spending a few minutes doing what HE wants to do. Sometimes it’s to cuddle and watch Thomas. Sometimes it’s to play airplanes. Sometimes it’s play dough. He gets to choose.

3:00pm: Girls wake up. Everybody gets a snack.

3:30pm: School! I try to spend some time on Sunday nights to plan learning activities. I get most of my ideas from Pinterest. In the afternoons we work on colors, ABCs, numbers, art projects, ect. Their attention spans aren’t super long, so this only lasts for 30 minutes – 1 hour tops, so I just go with whatever they seem up for.

4:30pm: My kids LOVE to color. So we usually do that after school. Or we’ll go downstairs and play in the bouncy house. We bought a Little Tikes bouncy house this year, and it has been a life saver for the colder months. It takes up half our basement when it’s inflated, but it is totally worth it when we can’t get outside.

5:00pm: Prep dinner while the kids play. Or order take-out if it’s too crazy, which I’ll admit is fairly often. Again, playing music during this time is KEY. Everybody gets super crabby and antsy this time of day. Sometimes I’ll just take out the pots and pans and let them go to town. Or let them splash in water. Or we’ll just dance. Or go to Target. Whatever it takes to keep them happy until dad walks in the door. Because we all know when Dad gets home it’s like hitting the reset button.

6:00pm: Eat dinner. No toys or phones allowed. If Jake and I feel like we need a meal where we can just focus on each other and want to eat in peace, we’ll feed the kids and wait to eat until after they’re in bed. We do at home date nights at least once a week, and I look SO forward to it.

6:30pm: Bath time. (Want to relax your kids before bed time? Add a little epsom salt, baking soda, coconut oil, and lavender oil. My kids LOVE that.)

7:00pm: Bedtime for the younger three.

7:30 or 8:00pm: Bedtime for Baylen.

8:00pm: MOM & DAD TIME!

So that’s our life right now. A little structure goes a LONG way. It isn’t anything fancy, but it works for us and keeps me from going crazy.

To those of you who are in the thick of survival mode wishing you had a little more structure, hang in there. It will come. Give yourself some grace and embrace the chaos. You’ll get where you want to be soon!

XOXO,

Amber

How do you structure YOUR days? What keeps you sane?

This is the second post is a series called “You Asked.”  View the first post, You Asked: How I Get My Kids To Nap At The Same Time.

P.S. For more reflections on parenthood and life, follow us on Facebook (Hun Let’s Run) and on Instagram: @ambermariekuiper and @jakekuiper! We’d also love for you to subscribe to our Hun, Let’s Run Podcast! For more info about joining our fitness community as a customer or coach, please email us at amber@mommysmetime.com!