I’m so excited to be launching a new series called ‘A Day in the Life’ today! I’ll interview women who work for themselves and share a peek into their daily routine. If there’s one thing I’ve learned in the past six months of blogging consistently 3x a week, it’s that time is more precious than ever and there are so many ways to accomplish the same thing. I hope you look forward to this monthly series as much as I do! I’m kicking it off with a super in-depth breakdown of my own schedule, photographed by the amazing Paula in those couple crazy hours before nap time (they were so confused by taking a bath before their nap!) While no two days look the exact same, we thrive off of routine and each day certainly has a flow to it.

5:00 I wake up at this time Mon-Fri which you can read about here. Lately O and I will read a chapter of the Bible while still in bed and then pray together. It’s been a really sweet part of our mornings and served as a much-needed solution to not having intentional prayer time together for a while there. One morning a week we sleep in til’ 6 and read some of a parenting book together before getting out of bed.

5:30 I usually head downstairs and straight for the glasses to pour a glass of water and drink it while I either start the Keurig or turn on the tea kettle. Once I have something warm in hand, I head to my office for some quiet time and writing. This part of my day always makes the early alarm worth it-I can’t tell you how long I went without having intentional quiet time and journaling and I learned the hard way I quite literally am not made to function without it! 

6:30 Time for a workout. My workouts are laughably mild lately- mostly exercises to continue healing my diastasis recti and some cardio if I’m lucky. I used to not be able to workout in the mornings because Oshiolema popped out of his room so many times that it wasn’t even worth it. Oshiolema has been waking up later lately, but if he’s on a rising early streak again, O will sit and study upstairs til 7:15 and handle all of his “pressing” needs (usually a range of “I need to tell you something! There’s a spooky shadow in here!” or “I forgot how to read this page, I need help!” and my favorite, “what sound does a squirrel make?)

7:15 My time to switch out with O. He heads to workout while I head upstairs to read with Oshiolema in his room and hang out with him one and get a head start on the morning. This is when I’ll get him dressed, make his bed, make my bed and get myself dressed and then head downstairs to get breakfast started

8:00 If Keogena isn’t awake by now, which she usually is, I’ll wake her up at this time. It’s a big ordeal in which Oshiolema usually has to run in there with some light source (his glowing alarm clock, a lantern, a flashlight…) and will immediately turn off her white noise and jump into her crib. They snuggle and giggle like they haven’t seen each other in weeks and then the fun is over as quickly as it began when one of them somehow bothers the other. Its a tradition they must reeeally enjoy because they really can’t ever skip that last part. 

8:15 I officially weaned Keogena from nursing last month so she I’ll give her a cup of Ripple milk right when we gets downstairs and snuggle her while she finishes it. Ripple is made of pea protein so since we eat plant based and none of us eat meat, I like knowing the kids have a set protein source every day. I’ll then turn on either worship or a podcast while I wrap up breakfast-usually with one or two kids right at my feet- and get started on our morning smoothie. The smoothie ranges in fruits and vegetables but I always use a ton of kale as the base. Oshiolema will set the table (by set the table, I mean put placemats and a utensil down in each spot-nothing fancy) and I’ll let O know breakfast is ready.

8:30 Breakfast time! This is one of the sweetest parts of our day. It’s just a precious time for our family. O has a 1.5 hour drive to make at least twice a week, so sometimes he’ll have to leave a little earlier and miss breakfast, but most of the time its all of us together. O and I catch up on what we have going on that day, ask each other what we need prayer for that day and go through Catechism questions with Oshiolema (I get this question a lot-we just read from this list right here and adjust the questions as needed! Maybe I should dedicate a whole post to the Bible teaching routines?) We started doing this about 6 or 8 months ago and it has been so incredible to watch him learn. If I’ve gone over a bible verse with him to memorize, this is when we practice it. 

9:30 O will read a Bible story with the kids before heading to work and I’ll clear the table and the mess from making breakfast.

9:45 Oshiolema and I will do “learning time” after breakfast. We work on shapes, writing out letters and counting, currently working on 13-20 since it’s taking weeks to master not saying “13, 13, 13, 13… 17 18 19 20 (send help)

10:15 The kids get to watch one show a day and this is the much-anticipated show time. I say “the kids,” but Keogena still won’t really sit for anything besides the intro song to Paw Patrol. Oshiolema’s favorites are PJ Masks, Paw Patrol, Chuggington, Super Why and Bible Stories we stream onto the TV from YouTube. David and Goliath, Jonah and Miracles are his go-tos.

10:35 This time of day varies between a few things. Some days Oshiolema will have a play class or gymnastics class at this 10:00 hour, I always may need to do a Whole Foods or Target run, if the weather is awful we’ll play in the playroom and if the weather is beautiful, we’ll walk to the park. I’m usually really itching to get work done at this point of the day so I’m constantly jotting down ideas and things I need to remember for nap time.

11:30 I’ll give the kids lunch at this time and while I try to sit down with them for a good portion of it, I’m usually running around the kitchen cleaning up and also sneaking in a little work on my computer on the island. If I’ve totally dropped the ball on lunch, I’ll make Amy’s Lentil soup with rice for them. Lots of time it’s leftovers from dinner the day before and once a week its an almond butter sandwich. I think the biggest switch after taking meat out our diets last summer was really having to be intentional about lunch. I’ll be honest, lunch for myself isn’t always my proudest moment and its often an afterthought of leftovers from their soup, a prepared salad or a granola bar or eggs. I always remind myself to try and do a better job of taking care of myself like I take care of my toddlers 

12:45 Naptime (picture that word in gold, glimmering letters). Naptime is the deep breath of the day. I’ll FaceTime with one of my sisters propped up on the windowsill while I tidy the kitchen, check in on social media, find resources for one of our house projects or tackle the cleaning task for that day. I always try to sit and just hang out for a few minutes and not waste that precious time! 

2:30 Keogena always wakes up first and will sweetly repeat “Mommy” until I walk up to grab her. I’ll bring her downstairs and give her a snack-usually a Nibbly Finger and either some string cheese (she’s the only one that eats dairy in our house) or cut-up fruit. Oshiolema will normally wake up about fifteen or twenty minutes after her and will chow down on a snack too. 

3:00 This starts the trickiest time of day. These last two hours before we sit down to eat dinner can sometimes be really sweet, but more often than not it’s keeping them alive while trying to get dinner made. We usually ease back into the day by reading together and I try to be super present and patient for this little chunk of time before I stand up and get to prepping dinner. (Key word: try)

4:00 O usually comes home around this time unless he’s stuck in traffic coming back from a house visit. He comes in like their Knight in Shining Armor, full of energy and joyful perspective and fresh ideas just when I’ve almost run out of those things. If it’s not absolutely freezing, he’ll take them outside and if I’ve made a crock pot meal or if we’re having leftovers, getting outside with them is my very favorite thing. If I haven’t gotten dinner ready yet, I’ll turn on a podcast and cook in the quiet. That’s pretty wonderful too. My current favorite podcasts are the Risen Motherhood Podcast, The Influencer Podcast, The Journeywomen Podcast and Coffee & Crumbs Podcast 

5:30 We all sit down to eat dinner together. Dinnertime is a precious, precious time. When I was growing up, my parents always emphasized how important it was for us to eat together. When we were young, we never eat over our friends houses for dinner. We couldn’t eat in our room or in front of the TV. We couldn’t say we were busy or miss it…we had to sit down together and eat a meal. We talked about our days, we prayed, we laughed, we enjoyed each other-even when we didn’t. I knew when I had a family of my own, I’d need to protect this time as well. We always do “best part and hardest part” and Oshiolema’s answer usually cracks us up.

6:20 I get the kids rooms ready for bath and bed. Running the water, filling diffusers, setting up pajamas and socks while O gets the last of the wiggles out of the kids. 

6:30 The bedtime routine used to feel exhausting. The older Keogena has gotten and the less strict routine she needs to ensure a great night of sleep has made this time of day so much fun again. We read a book in Keogena’s room and all pray together before the boys leave and I sing and put her to bed, every single night. In Oshiolema’s room we read more books and do all the little-boy-before-bed things and end it all with him “talking in the mirror.” He used to get up with lots of night terrors and saying he was afraid and there was something in his room so each night we have him say the same thing to himself in the mirror. He reminds himself that he is strong and courageous and Jesus is always with him while also saying some precious things O added on. It’s so powerful and so stinkin’ cute. 

7:45 Our evening begins! We clean up together lots of nights- between the playroom and the kitchen. We used to do the whole “whoever cooks doesn’t clean” thing really strictly, leaving O doing dishes every single night we ate at home. At some point in the last couple years I just started looking at it as an opportunity to serve rather than to be served, so most nights I’ll do the whole kitchen and other nights he’ll tackle it. It depends on the days we’ve had, which is a beautiful thing. We’ll sometimes listen to a message (lately it’s been lots of Bill Johnson,) or a podcast (we always listen to How I Built This together, but sometimes i’ll play a mom podcast for him(: )

8:30 This usually starts the work portion of the evening. I rarely get to paint anymore, but it’s a goal of mine this year to open my shop so this is that time of day. I finalize blog posts for the week, write more content, edit lots of photos and also check into social media. O and I will usually work side by side or next to each other and then we put it all away and just hang out with each other. Also, this is prime laundry folding time for me. 

10:00 This is my goal to be upstairs. O usually is waiting for me and when he heads up, I feel the pressure to wrap up what I’m doing and call it a day. Showering, washing my face, flossing, brushing my teeth..this always takes longer than I’d like. O and I usually accidentally get deep into conversation and he’s always trying to fall asleep but I’m a bad influence and treat every night like a sleepover where I just want to keep talking. But the alarm will ring all too soon.