Do You Have a Daily Schedule

I've never been a stay at home mom but before I had children I had a home daycare. We ran on a schedule that kept the day flowing. It went something like this:
6:30 wake up shower
7:30-8:00 children arrived (this could be children wake up & get dressed)
8:00 breakfast
8:30-9:30 free play
9:30-11:30 arts/crafts/learing time
11:30 Clean up
12:00 Lunch
12:45 Story time
1:00-3:00 Nap time
3:00 Afternoon Snack
3:30-4:30 Outside play time or walk
4:30-5:30 Parents pick up & free play (I would put on a educational video like Leap Frog)

If I had the option of being a stay at home now I would imagine that I would follow a schedule like this otherwise I'd probably be right where you are. Good luck!

I can't really add to the advice you have, other than to say I am preg and due in July also, and being preg alone can make you tired and unmotivated when you have other ones to care for. I have a toddler as well and I am tired most days, but mainly b/c I'm preg too. So don't be h*** o* yourself!

I have a general schedule, but it's not strict and I rarely if ever follow it to the letter. Mostly I just have "things I do in the morning" and "things I do before bed." You could try Flylady for this - she's very good about helping you set routines.

I def do not wake up before my kids to clean the house!!!....I get up when they do (around 6.30/7am) , the kids sit for a little while watching TV while I get a shower , then we eat breakfast , get dressed , teeth/hair etc , then the eldest goes out for the school bus , I take the middle one to preschool and I then go to the gym with the youngest. During the afternoon the youngest has a nap , the middle one is home and I do a bit of tidying (or answer Q's on here LOL!!!) , start getting dinner prepared , sometimes we have a playdate. I have a mom's group that I go to every Weds AM and I take middle daughter to dance classes Monday PM....other than that we just potter around.

I think a schedule would be great for you right now to pull you and your kids out of the "rut" you think you're in! I stay at home with my son and tend to have a flexible schedule that works for us! I get up with him around 7-730 and he watches the Wiggles while I shower and dress. Then we go downstairs, have breakfast, get him dressed and either run errands or clean a little then we have snack and play until lunch. During our play time it can be structured like play-doh, coloring, crafts, etc. or just he and I playing freely with his toys. After lunch he goes for his nap and during this I will clean the dishes, or the bathroom etc. (I pick one thing to do daily) then I have me time to watch tv, read, or go on the computer. When he wakes up we have a snack, play and then I make dinner while he plays independently (he likes to help me cook, also). Then we clean up from dinner, play, take a bath, and he goes to bed. My husband also works late and I find that if I am more unstructured than it makes the days drag and I also don't stay motivated. We are also flexible in that we have play dates in the mornings, go to museums or the library, etc so we dont feel trapped by the sched! Good luck!

I have a daily schedule. I'm like you, I lack motivation and energy... but I really have to stay on top of things because I homeschool my 4 children and I'm expecting #5. I started getting emails from FlyLady.net and it helped me so much!! She breaks things down into bite sized pieces to help you get things done... there is no guilt... just do 15 minutes at a time. If you need to rest for a few minutes too, go for it... go to FlyLady.net and check out her books too. I love her!!

I hope this helps... good luck to you!

OMG!!! I have the same problem and my kids are 8 & 4. I have a really hard time following a schedule also. Our day is almost exactly like yours except I do get my kids to preschool & school on time, (thank goodness). I am not a morning person so trying to get up & take a shower, etc.. is torture!! My friend has a very structured routine. Her make-up, hair, kids, house are perfect. She gets far more done during the day than I do.

Well,I'll be watching your post for any great advice out there.
Good Luck!!!!:)

S.,

I used to have the same problem. I am also a SAHM and I used to get up when my son did. Now, I watch another child during the day so I have to be ready by 7:30am. Now I wake up before my son does so I am ready to go. I find that I have so much more time now because instead of getting ready during his naps, I can get things done around the house or just rest if I feel like it. I find that on the weekends when I "sleep in" and wake up when my son does, I am more sluggish and almost depressed feeling. I know if I wasn't watching the other child that I would probably sleep in because who wants to wake up earlier than you have to? But it is worth a try one day. As for motivation, sometimes I have to force myself to think of fun activities and get up and do them, but the kids are so much happier and well behaved when I do. You may want to try making a schedule that is flexible for the week ahead. Put time in for arts & crafts, active play, meals, snacks, naps, and mommy time. Even if you have to have "free play" time for the kids where you can just relax would be helpful. Good luck, I hope this helps!

My lifesaver: www.flylady.net
It's an email group you can join for free, you get fun motivational emails, great advice, and Flylady has helped me put structure into my life. I can't say I follow everything she recommends, but certainly she has helped me think about my life, time, and resources differently. She has fun advice for kids, too, and lots of "testimonials" from other moms. And yes, she recommends you get up 15 minutes earlier than your family to start your morning and be ready for the kiddos/partners when they wake up. Good luck to you!

I understand where you are coming from 100%! I too am a stay at home mom. I have an 18 months old daughter and my hubby works out of town a lot as well. I do have a schedule but my daughter does better with a schedule than just doing things spontaneously. An example of our daily schedule.

7 am- wake up, diaper change, milk, get breakfast ready and serve, clean up breakfast, brush teethm get dressed, check into school (I am attending classes online).
8 am- watch a Baby Einsteen DVD and exercise (every other day these activities change)
8:30 am- play
10:30 am- snack time
11:00 am- coloring, games to help with skills, vocab cards
12:00- lunch time
1:00- go for a walk and play in the park
2:30- nap time for my daughter and personal time for me for school and chores and occassionally free time
4:30- snack time
5:00- play time
6:00- get dinner ready, MG plays
7:00- dinner, play, bathtime,brush teeth, read bedtime story
8:00- bedtime

Hi S.!

I was feeling this same way not to long ago. It was like a nut house around here. I also felt like we were not doing enough one on one time with our children. I decided that with three little ones around the house a schedule would be best. I went to Hobby Lobby and bought a big white board. I have a daily schedule on one side of it. This is the schedule that we go by if we have nothing to do that day. On the other side I put any chores that need to be done and then adjust the schedule to fit in those chores. If it is a day that we have things to do out of the house the schedule gets written on this side and that is what we follow for the day. It has helped a lot with not only getting us organized but we spend more time as a family and doing things together. We even schedule a family game night every tuesday night. We are much happier now and my kiddos are now acting out less. There is less fighting between the boys and we are having to do less times outs. It has been a life saver.
I do not get up early to do everything. My hubby usually does not get home until about 8:30 AM so we just sit in my room all cuddled on the bed and watch our morning cartoons. I pick up everynight before I go to bed so that we start with a clean house everyday. I have certain days that I do certain things. Vaccuming gets done every morning after breakfast along with the dishes. Except unloading which is done the night before. Laundry is done every Saturday. Every sunday I clean bathrooms and bedrooms. During this time the kiddos are helping me clean or playing hide and seek with me while I clean.

Good luck!I hope this helps.
M.

When my kids were younger, I had a very loose schedule. I got up when they did and while they watched a bit of TV, I checked my email and planned what tasks needed to be done that day. Then the TV went off and the music came on. That was when we cleaned up. Dishes, general tidying, that sort of thing. Then dressed and off to get done whatever needed to be done that day. In the afternoon, when naps were still in order, we all rested. The kids would sleep and I would read or crochet. Then it I made sure I played with the kids until it was time to get dinner done. It made for a nice enjoyable day. I found if I worried too much about cleaning, I felt like I was missing out on the important things and the reason I was staying at home in the first place. Sometimes on the weekend I would drop the kids at gramma's house and get the tough cleaning done, but through out the week, I didn't worry about it.
Now that they are in school, schedules are made out for me. My husband also travels a lot for work, so I really liked to keep things flexible so that I could take advantage of when he was home.

Just sort of. I rebel agains the idea of micro-managing. But, I do feel better on days where I stick to a little bit of one. A few things I always try to do are, get up before my son so I can shower and do my hair so I feel like a real person. I make a big to do list on Sunday that I do a few things off of while he's eating and watching Sesame Street in the mornings. I also try to do a little bit of Bible study or something meditative during that time too since he's occupied. We usually eat and do nap time at approximately the same time every day if we're home. And after nap we always take a little time to do a craft or go for a walk. Nothing set in stone but enough.