I always find it fun to read about how everyone utilizes their time with their toddler. I also feel like I have so many plans for the day and rarely get to all that I want to do with my daughter.
There’s my goal, and then there’s reality- the day just goes SO fast! Our typical day also changes with the season.
When it is nice out, we are outside all the time and on the go. Now that it is winter and cold, we are being a bit more lazy and lounging around the house more often.
Here’s a peak into our daily routines:
6:30 am:
Mama has big plans to get up 45 minutes before Caroline. Instead of this actually happening, my alarm goes off and I snooze until I HAVE to get up. Big dreams and it is staying on my goals for 2017, but I’m too tired to make it a reality- yet.
7:00 am:
I finally decide to get up. I let the dog outside, get his breakfast, make coffee and get Caroline some milk.
7:15 am:
Caroline’s clock turns yellow and it’s time to go get her! I grab Caroline, her blankets, and a couple of books and we head to Mama’s bed.
We drink our milk and coffee, snuggle, talk a bit, sometimes read books, and sometimes we watch a TV show (either Daniel Tiger or Dinosaur Train).
I loooooove this time with my daughter.
I know it’s not the greatest start to the day to just stay in bed and even start off with a TV show, but it’s our special time and I know I won’t always get this time with her, so for now I’m keeping this around. #GuiltyPleasure 🙂
We both love it so much, and before we know it the weather will be warm and we’ll be getting back to our morning walks. Until then, I’m totally soaking this up.
On school days or days where we are headed somewhere we don’t do this since we need to get up and get moving to make it on time.
8:00 am:
We get ready for the day. Mama goes first.
While I get dressed and brush my teeth, Caroline often plays in her room. Usually, however, she likes to help me pick out my clothes before she goes to play.
When she hears my toothbrush turn off, I can hear her say “Caroline’s turn” in the other room. I call her and she comes running into the bathroom. We get her dressed and ready and then head downstairs.
8:30 am:
While we are usually eating breakfast by 8:30, there are totally days that we aren’t to this step until 9:00, and others we are eating at 8.
If we know Daddy is coming home for breakfast, I’ll totally stall until even later! Caroline drinks a full glass of milk while we are in my bed in the mornings, so pushing breakfast out is easy if need be.
Caroline loves helping me make breakfast and is typically up on her learning tower in the kitchen helping me prepare everything. This was one of our best ideas to make this amazing stool! Caroline helps make breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and it has been a great way to get her involved.
So, let’s talk breakfast. I have to admit, even as a stay at home mom, I keep breakfast simple.
Once a week, Caroline goes to school and we have to be out the door by 8:30 am. We also have gymnastics other days, playdates, errands to run, etc.
Mornings are our time to get out and do things, so I don’t like to spend a lot of time preparing food and cutting into this time.
On occasion, I make french toast, pancakes, or eggs. Typically however, we go to our easy go to meals that we both love!
- Breakfast in our house:
We run to the store every few days to keep stocked with fresh fruit. We ALWAYS have fresh fruit with breakfast. Blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, and kiwis are our favorites.We split a banana with every breakfast as well. Other side items include yogurt (Stonyfield YoTot for Caroline), raisins and the occasional graham cracker or fruit pouch.
We were also sent some organic yogurt smoothies from Stonyfield, and my daughter LOVES them! I’ve been making sure to include this in our breakfast routine since Caroline devours them and they are full of healthy goodness.
Our main item at breakfast is either cereal (Caroline can totally handle cereal and milk on her own now), malt-o-meal, peanut butter toast, or raisin toast.
9:00 am -12:00 pm:
This block of time varies depending on the day. If we stay at home, Caroline gets some form of independent play (either room time or table time).
We also play together, read books, and get things done around the house. Caroline will help me unload the dishwasher, start laundry, and even help vacuum with her play vacuum.
This is also the block of time that we use to go out if we having anything planned. We run errands during this time, go to the library story times, go on playdates, to the trampoline park, etc.
12:00 pm:
Lunch time! Regardless of what our day has looked like, we head home and have lunch by noon. Caroline usually gets up on her learning tower to help make lunch, or she plays by herself in the family room while I am preparing everything.
Her favorite lunch right now is peanut butter and jelly. We pair that with leftover vegetables from dinner the night before, some fruit and maybe one other side.
12:30 pm:
When lunch is over, I clean up while Caroline gets her last couple of minutes of play time in before her nap. We then head upstairs, get a pull up on her, and climb into her bed for a story.
When I leave her room, she usually stays awake for a bit reading, then lays down on her own and goes to sleep. She typically sleeps for a total of 1.5 hrs.
Her clock is set for 3 hours and turns yellow when the rest time is complete. I leave her in her room for the full 3 hours. She reads, then naps, then usually reads again.
3:30/4 pm:
Depending on the exact time I put her down for her nap, I go back into her room 3 hrs later. Since it’s my husband’s off season right now, he is usually home at this point. We have some family play time, sometimes go for a walk, and other days run to the grocery store to pick up a few meal ideas.
4:30/5 pm:
We are typically preparing dinner at this time. Caroline often helps. If she’s not helping she’s in the family room playing.
5/5:30 pm:
Dinner time! We sit down as a family at the table and eat dinner together. We have Caroline bring something to the table to help us get ready for dinner, and she brings something to the kitchen when we are done to help us clean up.
5:30/6-7:15 pm:
More play time! This is our family play time. We usually spend this time in Caroline’s room.
7:15 pm:
Caroline’s clock turns blue and we start getting her ready for bed. She flosses and brushes her teeth first, then we read two books, then it’s time to go potty and get pajamas on.
We tuck her in and say goodnight. She usually stays up for awhile reading or talking/playing with her stuffed animal friends, then goes to sleep.
In the warmer weather, most of our awake time is spent outside. We are either at playgrounds, walking, visiting Daddy at the golf course he works at, at the pool, or even just sitting in the grass.
In the meantime we are trying to make sure we find ways to let Caroline get all of her two year old energy out. This sometimes proves to be a difficult thing to do!
Caroline knows the routine of her day so well, that she tells me what we are doing next, and she finds a lot of comfort in knowing what to expect.