March 3 - The Rhythm of Spring

We're slowly slipping into our daily rhythm for Spring, it's not a forced schedule but more like how the rest of our days naturally evolve around the necessities of set meals times, sleep and household work.

Here is a rough outline of how our days look at the moment, although I haven't written in snack times but they kind of fit in as we go:

Morning

• Wake up
• Breakfast and TV time
• Yoga, which we do together now that Mikey is old enough to copy mummy. He thinks that getting into the positions is pretty hilarious. Downward facing dog is his favourite, he's not too good at any that involve standing on one leg.
• Household chores and/or errands
• Free Play, which is Mikey's unguided play time. Sometimes he will play alone while I finish my household chores and other times I will play with him.

Lunch

• Naptime, during which mummy either does more chores, does some crafting, does some blogging or naps along with Mikey.

Afternoon

•   Outside play, if the weather is reasonable, which involves either the playground or going on walks. It really has to be peeing it down with rain or snow for us to not go outside, just because he sleeps and behaves so much better if he has a good amount of outside time. If the weather is bad then we do indoor constructive play which involves playing and listening to music, painting, drawing or building with blocks (sometimes we bring these activities outside with us).

Dinner

• After dinner we have some calm play with quiet toys to help wind down for bed. We also do a little singing.
• We read some books together.
• Daddy takes over for bath time.
• Mikey goes to bed, which is when mummy gets free time.

This is all subject to change of course, as the evenings start getting lighter and we begin to slip into summer then we will have more outside time and go on walks after dinner. But this is it for now.

It's taken me a while to realise the importance of a daily rhythm to the smooth running of our days, for me to actually pay attention to the natural rhythm that our days fit into all on their own and embrace that rhythm. It makes things so much calmer and simpler, mikey really benefits from the security of knowing what will come next in his day.

What's your daily rhythm? Do you have one? How does it work out for you?

My husband left this morning to fly back to the States for a week. It's funny, I've noticed that no matter how long they are gone, be it a week or an entire deployment, it still royally sucks. Hopefully I can get some work done while he's away though, I have furniture to finish.