My Evening Routine

I haven't done one of these in a while.  Here is what my evening routine looked the last time I wrote about it, over a year ago.  It's actually not very different, except one significant difference:  I am not forced to start the evening festivities after a full day's work at the office, a long commute, and picking up boys from day care.  Now, I am able to prepare ahead of time and ease into it.  The difference is striking.

4:00 - Get home with the boys.  Start to prepare dinner and/or play.  (One night a week we get home late after Aaron has baseball - leftover night!)

5:45 - Eat dinner with the boys.  I'm still popping up a lot (Nathan's still pretty messy), but most nights are pretty relaxed.  Dinner conversation with a 3 and 6-year-old is always entertaining.

6:15 - Clean up the kitchen.  There is still very often some dancing after dinner.  Then the boys play and eat their dessert (fruit) while I finish cleaning.

6:45 - Bathtime.  I only have to do one now.  Aaron is independent and chooses showers a lot of nights.  It's getting easier!

7:15 - 7:45 - Storytime/Bedtime.  Most nights I do them together.  If Nathan is really tired, then I sometimes read him a story while Aaron's in the shower and get his lights out early.  Sometimes he falls asleep while I'm reading stories to both of them.  Aaron gets stories, but then he also reads by himself for a while before turning his lights out.

8:00 - 8:30 - Pack lunch/snack for the next day, review calendar, work on lists (I always have a list that needs work - the to-do list, the to-buy list, the grocery list, the menu...).  During this time Kevin usually gets home and eats his dinner, so we get a chance to talk and catch up.

8:30ish - Enjoy a little dessert with some TV.

9:30ish - Bedtime.  Quality time with a book.

10 - 10:30.  Lights out.*

*Because of the more relaxed days, I've found we've been able to get to bed just a tad earlier, and we're also able to wake up just a little later.  (Neither of us have to commute all the way downtown anymore!)   In short, we are getting enough sleep!  It's amazing.  You should try it.  I'm not saying I'm not tired sometimes - Nathan had me up from 2-4AM last night, so I'm pooped today - but most of the time I feel on top of things, which is so different from a year ago.