How My Monday Played Out

Today I wanted to share with you how my Monday went. I have a few set times a week that I blog, and Mondays are not those days. But I have been thinking about you, readers, and I wanted to share how my Monday truly went today. 

I got up this morning bright and early. I started the laundry and then I had a full hour to take care of some exercise and spiritual time for me. I love the early morning hours now because it lets me have some time for me. 

Next I cleaned my bathrooms. This week is a entryways/mud room/hallways week, so I hurried through the bathrooms as fast as I could. 

Then the kids started waking up and I worked on writing out their lists for cleaning day. Here I can write down for the kids anything extra I need their help with today, on top of their normal chores. This has been working well for us because it gives my kids the "end" point. They know how much until they have free time. It's up to them in that they can go fast or slow, choose the order, and have a tiny bit of say over their lives. 

Next it was breakfast and helping kids get ready for school. Just as I walked in the door from dropping kids off, my sister called. So, I put in my headset with a speaker and answered the phone. We had a great talk for nearly two hours while I continued to work on my list. I cleaned the kitchen and cleaned up breakfast. Next, I checked my list and swept the floor. Then I really only needed to vacuum the floors, so I moved onto my deeper cleaning chores - I cleaned the baseboards in 2 hallways, wiped down the walls in those hallways, cleaned the big windows at my back porch, and washed the water bottles we keep in the fridge for each family member. 

What did my 3-year-old do while I was on the phone? She followed me around and insisted she help with some tasks. She read books to herself on the couch. She watched a show while she sat on the potty trying to get some out. :) She "helped" me change the laundry. She thinking dusting is the best thing ever and followed me around "dusting" everything in sight. For her, a duster or a cloth are pretty much all she needs to be happy while I'm cleaning. 

Then I got off the phone with my sister and played with my 3-year-old for a little bit. I helped her finish getting ready for the day and do her 2 little chores. Then I vacuumed the whole house as fast as I could and only did the edges in the hallways. I noticed several bad spots on the floors, so I quickly mopped. It's not that I don't want everything to be perfect, but I don't have time to do everything perfectly all the time. And I'm okay with that. One day I won't have little kids spilling things on my floors all the time anyway. For today, good enough is good enough for me. 

My alarm for 11am went off and I put everything away. I decided that was good enough for the day and I showered. Then I hurried over to the school to pick up my kindergartner. My 3-year-old fell apart because we had to leave the house. Yep. She screamed and cried, as if we don't do this 5 days a week, every week. I took some things away until she stopped screaming at me, but I knew that she was mostly hungry and tired, so I hurried and got lunch while I chatted with my older child. As the 3-year-old calmed down and climbed into the booster seat, she immediately started calming down as she began to eat. 

I love reading to my kids while they eat lunch. We are reading the Little House series and today we read a chapter from "By The Shores of Silver Lake". Kids are generally able to listen if they are eating, so this is a great time to read with a toddler around. We often read picture books during or right after this time, too. 

Because of the meltdown today I wanted to start nap time sooner than later, so we did. I was able to clean up lunch and visit with my kindergartner while she worked on homework. Then we looked at the rest of the things she needed to get done today and she decided she wanted to take a break and have a rest first. Quiet time is essential around these parts. 

While she rested I looked at the rest of my list and only had finishing up the laundry and my evening stuff with my family. I thought about looking ahead in the week and working on some desk things for tomorrow, but then I really wanted to write to you. 

Just as I was sitting down, I got a phone call from my mom, so I answered it and was able to just visit with her for a bit because I was done with most everything. Perhaps I should have just worked on folding the laundry, but I wanted a break and it was nice to relax for an hour while my kids were laying down. 

So, here we are. It's just after 3pm. My older children are home now, so it's time to help them and visit with them.
And I still need to fit in 20 minutes of reading for me today and time to fold the laundry, but I'm nearly there. 

How did things go for you today? Were you able to focus on a like group of tasks?