A day in the second shift life

So, I am getting up by 8:30. Actually, I'm getting up *earlier* than 8:30, but I would like to get everyone to sleep until 8:30...I'm trying to retrain the kids' clocks a little bit and we aren't quite there yet. So, if they wake up earlier, we lay in the dark living room until 8:30 or when they start openly rioting for breakfast, whichever comes first. At 8:30 I wake up Maria and send her off to shower, get coffee going, and make breakfast. I don't wake John up, but I stop trying to enforce silence.

9am- We eat breakfast, and hopefully John joins us during this time. So far he has. After breakfast we move to the living room for the rosary. It's a rough time of day to get used to saying it, but if I don't peg it to a mealtime or something like that it will never get done.

10am- Jack showers and I get everyone else dressed, finally. I start some laundry, and Maria gets going on her schoolwork.

11am- Once everyone is dressed, we do an alphabet path or liturgical year project. So far these have been *really simple* this year. We also do PE with our new homeschool PE program. I am *not* a PE teacher, but Jack needs to work on these skills, and so we are trying this program out. My time is so limited that we are only doing half a lesson at a time.

12pm- I make our main meal now, our "dinner", so this takes some time. The kids play outside while I do this and boot the laundry.

1pm- We eat and clean up, then I take Tess, Henry, and Mary Claire upstairs. I read to Tess and Henry from our Alphabet Path picture books while I nurse Mary to sleep. Then Tess and Henry go back downstairs to watch a DVD. Jack reads for 20 minutes and then can join them for the DVD if he wants, or he can play quietly. Maria is in charge of juggling this downstairs while I get a quick catnap Mary to sleep. John leaves for work by 1:45.

2:30- *FINALLY*, school! Well, Maria has been doing school, but finally, school for the others. I do phonics with Jack, then any reading/phonics and memory work with Tess, then give Tess her math sheet while I do math and memory work with Jack, then finish up with Tess. Henry is doing some table work during this time, or just running amok. Snacks are doled out at some point in there. Mary Claire wakes up from her nap and joins us, and at that point we move outside and do school on the deck. Oh, and somewhere in there we all stop and listen to the sung chaplet of divine mercy while we do a pick up of the main rooms. It works nicely because the kids know they are done picking up when the music stops. :)

5pm- This is supper time, but it's quick and easy stuff. Really quick...think oatmeal and fruit, muffins and yogurt, refried beans and cheese nuked in a tortilla, that sort of thing. Maria has her own stuff some of the time, other times she eats whatever I make for the littles. I read a liturgical year book to the kids while they eat, then eat a salad and fruit. I have to say, it's really nice having such a quick meal this time of day! We clear and clean up the table, and Maria does the kitchen later. I also boot the laundry somewhere in here. I try to get three loads in a day. If I am all caught up, I may not have three loads, but with diapers to do I usually do...

6pm- I finish school up with Jack while the littler kids do some table work.

around 6:30-7- Jack and Maria take turns practicing piano and I give baths to small grungy people. I put on our cd from Making Music, Praying Twice cd once piano practice is done, and I put out some coloring sheets and crayons, usually something related to the liturgical year or alphabet path we are doing. They do these while I'm bathing someone else.
Then it's time for a dessert and teeth brushing. This is, easily, the most difficult time of the day. I'm tired, they are tired, I just want to be done and I'm far from it. Henry, especially, is manic and crazy during this time.

8pm- prayers and Bible reading in the living room, and then bedtime for little people. I put Tess and Henry in first with Cat Chat or a Glory Story to listen to. Maria is bedroom enforcer while I take Mary upstairs. Jack gets to watch a netflix show during this time, having recently been awarded a later bedtime. I have do my exercise dvd during this time if Mary can play nicely...this depends on how tired she is...and then I take a shower. I call Jack upstairs and read aloud to him while I nurse Mary to sleep. Then Jack goes to bed.

Hopefully before 10, I am checking in w/Maria. We correct her grammar, discuss any papers we need to discuss, etc. We also have a religion discussion on Mondays. Other than Monday's discussion, I don't spend more than half an hour working with her right now unless she is having a problem. She is very independent this year, taking online classes and dvd courses. On nights we finish especially quickly, we might watch a show on netflix. I spend half an hour working on laundry folding, do any paperwork I need to finish, and anything else on my to do list. This is the theory anyway. In practice, Mary Claire often wakes up during this time and I end up back upstairs with her and fall asleep. Hopefully she will settle in soon, and then I will be up when John comes home around midnight and visit with him briefly before getting to bed by 1am.

So, that's what we are working on. It's hard, mustering up so much energy at the end of the day. But I'm giving it a go.