Home of Slightly Cracked Dreams

5:30 - 6:00am

Miss Moo wakes for her first feed of the day. Hubby’s alarm starts going off at 6am (and 6:09am, 6:18am etc etc). He’s up and showering while I feed the princess. When she’s done I drag myself out of bed and to shower and get dressed.

6:30am

Once everyone’s had showers and dressed (sometimes the big girls shower in the morning if they’ve wet the bed), the big kids have breakfast while I chuck the first load of washing in the machine. This is usually a load of nappies or the bedclothes if someone has wet overnight. I empty the dishwasher, make tea and coffee and sit down with my breakfast to read the news on the net. I also read the US personal finance sites as a lot of them post overnight. I flag things I want to read in depth later and make notes on idea’s for my posts.

7:30am

Hubby leaves for work at 7:30 then I hang out (or get the big girls to hang out) the first load of washing and start the second one. I help the girls work through their morning routines and feed Miss Moo her solids for breakfast and leave her with some finger food (in clear view - usually next to the kitchen bench while I work there). Next I pack up the daycare bags and lunches. Change Miss Moo and make sure everything’s organised for daycare before loading the car. Once the car is loaded I hang out the washing (the clothes line is in the garage and I have airer’s out the back) and pop another one on and off we go!

8:30am

I drop the big girls off at daycare. That can take 5 minutes or 20. It all depends on who’s there and what they’re doing. Tuesday morning is my “errand day” which most often is doctors appointments, accountants, banks, health clinic etc etc etc. I try and arrange all appointments for 9am or 9:30 to get them done early and leave me the rest of the day. I check the mail, do any banking, pay off layby’s stop for a coffee and come home.

10:30am

Miss Moo is usually half asleep when we get home, so I put her down for a nap, hang out the washing and sometimes start another, make myself a drink and a snack and sit down to check out the internet. I spend the next two hours pottering around doing bits of cleaning, ironing and tidying up. Usually I’ll do a bit of tidying in the kids room so it’s easier for them to keep clean during the rest of the week.

12:30pm Lunch time. Miss Moo is up, fed and has her lunch before I get mine. After lunch and loading the dishwasher I look into dinner. Start defrosting meat, chopping veggies and baking.

1:30pm

While Miss Moo plays on the floor or next to me, I get stuck into studying. This is the bulk of my study time. I listen to lectures, do assignments, prepare for tutorials. I clean in the morning so I’m less likely to procrastinate during this time. Of course I procrastinate by writing long rambling blog posts about procrastinating. Miss Moo will go down for a sleep at 2-2:30, allowing me solid, uninterrupted time. I’ve been known to take the phone off the hook during this time as well.

4:30pm

Close the study books (although I will leave a lecture on to listen to while I cook) and cook dinner as much as possible. Hubby calls when he’s finished work and if it’s early enough he’ll go and pick up the girls from daycare, otherwise I stop dinner at a suitable point and go and pick them up. Thankfully it’s a 2 minute drive so I can be there and back in ten minutes if I’m quick.

6:00pm

Dinner Time. After dinner I stack the dishwasher while the kids start on their evening jobs. Once they’re done with their showers or bath I run the dishwasher and potter around the kitchen while the kids do their jobs - often helping out with teeth and making their beds up if they need re-making. Miss Moo is dunked in the bath on bath nights (we alternate bath/showers) then into her Pj’s for her final feed before bed. Once the big girls are ready for bed they can watch Scrapheap Challenge which finishes at 7:20pm. After Scrapheap the TV goes off and the girls can have a drink (water only), toilet then into bed by 7:30pm. There is often a story, then a timer set for 5 minutes, after which time the lights go out. In here I sometimes also do a dirty clothes collection and take it out to the laundry and assess the most important loads to get done the next day. If one is urgent I start that going then.

7:30pm

Finally the house is semi-quiet and Hubby and I get some quiet time, albeit on computers sitting next to each other. I do some uni work, browse the internet, and if necessary hang out the load of washing I’ve done. I also do some tasks which are too hot to do during the day. Mostly I study though and if my back gets bad I’ll retire to the couch and read my text book rather than sit at the desk.

10:30pm

This is the time I aim to get Hubby and myself to bed. Miss Moo will wake up (although I use the term loosely) for a quick feed just as I get settled in bed with a magazine or newspaper. I am usually asleep by 11pm.