Thus far I’ve not been able to establish a clear evening routine at our place. Mom says she gave me a bath every night. And she and my dad probably even read to me every night. Things in our house are much more fluid. Although I’m the “routine” advocate, I will chuck everything out the window for an evening walk in the parks with the kids. I was probably the only parent in all of Oxford out with the kids in the parks at 8:45pm the other day. We tend to arrive at the playground just when other parents are starting to head home with their families. But who can resist daylight when it comes that late in the evening?? I guess I’d better never move farther north, since I would likely have the kids out in the sun past midnight in the summer months.
So baths happen when most convenient (particularly after a big mess!), books are read when opportunity and Katherine’s happy states coincide (otherwise she tries to eat or tear the books), dinner is eaten when Sydney finishes it up (since we like Katherine to eat what we eat, when we eat it) and bedtime–well, we’re working on that. Sometimes I would like to have a clearer sense that we’re covering our bases, but at other times I absolutely refuse to haul Katherine off from perfectly happy play with her father just so that she will get her teeth brushed.
Mornings are a bit more stable. I get Katherine and Nathaniel changed and dressed while Sydney makes muesli (with oats, rye, millet, flax, sunflower seeds, raisins, berries, and banana) in the kitchen. We sit down as a family to eat. And then all bets are off. This morning I jumped up to get Nathaniel’s seat in place so that he could watch us eat, since he was clearly feeling lonely in his crib. Then Katherine refused to take food from Sydney (having decided that I was the preferred parent for the morning), so we spent the rest of the time keeping her off my lap and indicating that food would come only from her father. Much screaming ensued. But then she calmed down, opened her mouth for Sydney’s spoon, and we ate together just like a nice, normal (!) family.
Erin
Alan Schmierer
Your father and I were on much tighter schedules; that meant everyone had to be on a schedule. Would I have been more relaxed if I not been a mom that worked outside the home? Absolutely. Don’t stress over bedtimes – that will come soon enough when the kids go to school. At that time, you’ll find a regular schedule keeps everyone sane (particularly the parents)!
Normal is sooo over-rated!