Quiet Time at Our House

Nap time: The time for projects, dishes, social media surfing, online shopping, and actual napping (especially if I am pregnant).  It is the time for me to regroup and get things done before our evening starts.  

At this stage in my life with no job (for me) and no kids in school yet my schedule is pretty much open for whatever I choose to fill it with.  We can go places whenever we want to or plan activities at pretty much anytime of the day.  Although to keep my kids in some semblance of a happy mood we do try and maintain a basic schedule so that life stays fairly predicable.  Kids like predictable.  Heck! I like predictable.  So we have a schedule and follow it most days.  Nothing too intense, just your regular stuff...

 Breakfast

chore time

baby nap time 

activity time

run errands

Lunch 

Outside or story time

Quiet time

Movie time

Dinner

Family activity

Bedtime

It changes a little with the seasons or our stage of life (for example movie time used to be in the morning, but we just switched it last week to help make dinner prep easier), but there is one thing that has always stayed and that is quiet time.  

Like many moms, I NEED quiet time.  I don't schedule ANYTHING during that time.  We make sure it happens everyday otherwise there might be a meltdown... by me.  :) 

Ok that sounds dramatic, we would survive without it, but it sure is nice when all three kids are sleeping... at the same time.  

Our quiet time used to be at 12:00 pm when Addie was a toddler and has slowly moved back to 1:30-2.  I like it where it is now because it makes the late afternoon early evening before dad comes home go by faster.  

Jensen and Declin are both still in the full blown nap stage.  They both sleep for 2- 3 hrs.  Jensen sleeps in his room in his crib.  Declin sleeps in his room in his crib.  

Addie is a part time napper.  She stopped taking naps everyday in February.  She now only falls asleep a couple times a week.  The other days she has quiet time.  

For quiet time she lays on either the couch or my bed so that she doesn't disturb Jensen in their room.  I set a timer for her for 1 hour on the stove.  She gets her blanket, a stack of books, a cup of milk, and a graham cracker.  She has to stay on the couch or bed until her timer goes off.  Sometimes she falls asleep before it goes off and other times she is still awake.  During the hour she "reads", looks at pictures, sings songs, and rests.  She really does very well and stays on the couch or bed most of the time (although sometimes I do have to remind her to go back).  Occasionally she gets another quiet activity like pen and paper, this magnetic doll, file folder games, or her baby doll but the majority of the time it is just books.  Someday I would like to make some "all by myself boxes" with little activities that they can do alone, but ya know... those cost money and take time.  So we will see if they ever happen.  

I really hope this quiet time method continues to work with Adalyn (and then in the future with Jensen and Declin).  Addie has 1 more year until she goes to kindergarten.  We plan to do afternoon kindergarten so that she can be at school while the others have their quiet time.  Yes I have plans (haha!) to keep quiet time in my life!  

I do worry that my boys wont do quiet time as well as Addie has. #firstworldproblems Crossing my fingers that they do!! 

Ok I will stop!  If you made it this far, good job!  #mommyramblings Hope you have a good day!