I am a creature of habit and routine. Having a schedule that stays pretty much the same from week to week is something that helps me feel relaxed and more or less stress-free.
The time JDaniel wakes up rarely varies. He tends to be up by 6:00 and is dying to eat breakfast shortly thereafter.
Lunch is a little before of afternoon. It tends to be later on days JDaniel has preschool.
Quiet time in in the early afternoon followed by a small snack.
Crafting, learning activities, brief times of outdoor play, and cooking projects round out the afternoon.
Then it is dinnertime followed by some playtime followed by a bath followed by story reading and a little YouTube with dad.
I try to get most of the housework done on Mondays and Wednesdays.
Blog post writing is done on Thursday mornings while JDaniel is in preschool
This past week during spring breaks our routine changed. The only things that stayed the same were breakfast and dinner times.
My family came to visit me. We loved having them. They were really flexible about meal times and when we did activities, but things changed just because they needed to.
Things like cleaning and laundry got set aside because spending time with family while they were at our house was more important. My nephews are growing into teens to quickly. My sister’s life at home is busy with work, driving her children to activities, and managing her home. Time to chat with her is hard to come by at times.
Blog writing wasn’t done. I did keep up with most of the comments and a little social media. My family was more important for the reasons stated above.
This past weekend we went to visit my husband’s mom for the first part of the weekend and had my mom over for the day on Easter. Both were wonderful times of family fellowship. We are so blessed to have them both living nearby. Spending time with them was so worth changing our schedule.
This week our regular schedule is starting to fall into place and while I am glad we got to spend time with special people in our lives having our regular schedule back is so restful.
Knowing that the laundry is already caught up, the kitchen floor is clean, there are no dishes in the sink and a few other things household things are done is such a stress release. Watching things pile up last week was hard at times.
Changing our schedule from time to time is wonderful. It shakes things up and makes them focus on things beyond dust bunnies and laundry piles. It helps to focus on people that are important to us. With that said it was great to pause in our lives for a moment, but I am glad to be moving back to the regular routine.
This post is linked to Happy Family Times.
What a wonderful post about schedules and the importance of being willing to be flexible for family time. I would love it if you would share at our new link party, Happy Family Times at http://craftymomsshare.blogspot.com/2012/04/happy-family-times-3.html. We are hoping to inspire more family time for everyone!
Schedules will probably continue to change more and more as JDaniel gets older.
I so agree. Breaks are nice, but routines are awesome. So happy you enjoyed family time during Spring Break week!
I am so glad I am not the only one!
Sounds like a nice visit you had! We have spring break this week and I’ve taken the boys to Williamsburg. It’s a little nervewrecking taking them on my own, but so far so good. Only one wake up last night! 😉
I can’t wait to hear about your trip!
Gosh…i find it really hard to stray from routine…gets me a little stressed even though i know i should be more flexible, lol! With twins though i find they know the routine better than me! Good luck getting back into the swing of things…sounds like you had a nice break though!
We had a great break, but I am happy about getting things back in order.
Great posts, and a terrific way to let the schedule help you, instead of letting it rule you!
It is great to let go of the schedule from time to time. You so right!
Do you want to come catch up at my house? That is this week for me! I have put away 2 loads of laundry and have 2 in process now 🙂 But the rest of house looks like a tornado hit!
When I get through all of JDaniel treasures that need to be sorted and I can find some of his socks that have disappeared, I will be right over.
Schedules are of immense importance in my life. I feel shaky without them. But you’re right, every now and then it’s good to toss the agenda out the window and just go with it!
I so love schedules!
I am becoming more flexible now that my children are getting bigger…it’s not always easy to let things slide when your a control freak like myself- but it’s good to stray from the norm.
I think it helps me grow past my need to schedule things.
I have a house full of guests for two solid weeks. Two sister in laws, kids, my brother in and out from DC, my husband travelling, my baby turned ten and we had Easter ….
I am going to hide any moment 😉
I hope you found the right hiding place!
You put that beautifully! I couldn’t agree with you more! The 10 days I had with my family over spring break were amazing. I’m trying to get back into routine today and playing catch up but it was sooo worth it to be this behind because I was in the minute with my family. Happy to hear you enjoyed your break!!
We really had a great time with our family visits.
This is pretty much how I always feel when family comes to visit. I’m thrilled to have them, and thrilled to get back to what passes as normal around here.
It’s good to have the visits because i makes you appreciate the routine. And vice versa.
=)
They do make you appreciate your routine. Well said!
I’m a creature of habit and I thrive on routines too. But sometimes getting a break in that schedule is just what we need to appreciate the little things even more.
You are so right! Getting to the little things this week has felt wonderful.
I am with you. I’d rather have routines that are comforting and familiar to all. It sounds like you had fun with a family though!
My family really was wonderful to spend time with.
My husband and I are both such creatures of habit that our kids do not do as well when those moments happen that change our routine. I do enjoy the family times and the memories and the break from the computer; but the routine is nice.
Now, if only the laundry was done from this weekend!
Laundry piled up is something I don’t like either.
We are fairly “routined” in necessities, but when it comes to play time we jump all over the place. Although, dinner is something of a hit or miss 😛
I don’t even plan for dinner at a certain time. It just seems to end up at 6:30 almost every night.
I enjoyed your blog. Personally, I’m a pretty routine person, but I often envy people who are spontaneous and wish I could be more easy going 😉
Hannah P.S.
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Thank you for sharing at Happy Family Times! I hope you will join us again this week.