One Row at a Time

t has been two weeks since the new baby joined our happy home. Two weeks and we have a rhythm to our days. The children are all comfortable with the events and schedule of the day and know what is going to happen before it happens.

In the morning we eat breakfast together before warming up Baby's bottle. After breakfast we change and feed the baby. Then we get our shoes on for an outside activity, usually a walk or a trip to the playground. If we don't have snack outside, we come back in for a light snack. Baby is usually sleeping in the Ergo at this point. Then we do puzzles and read stories, followed by an activity that incorporates the story we read. Baby usually wakes up at this point. The other day we read "Pete's a Pizza" and had a lot of fun making each other into pizzas. Then it is lunch. It gets a little chaotic while I am making lunch, but everyone is usually in the kitchen playing together at this point. After lunch we read quiet-time stories. Then, all I have to say is, "OK, it's nap time." No fuss, no whines. They march their cute little fannies up those stairs and get right into their beds. (There are enough to go around!) My daughter naps in my bed, my son in his, Beastie in my daughter's bed and one more in a portable crib. Baby is ready for his bottle and a little more play time before he falls to sleep.

This routine makes nap/quiet time quite joyful. No matter how many children are in my home, they are all sleeping (or resting quietly in the case of my oldest) for at least one hour at the same time!

That's when you can find me doing this:

Peace. Quiet. Calm. And one row at a time.