Life Lessons from Boys: Our Typical Day.

So I mentioned last week that I love my new schedule. I have formalized a plan that I try to stick to about how our day pans out. I don't really get to sleep any later than I would on a day I have to go to work for several reasons. When TJ is at the house, you have to stand over top of him to make sure he brushes his teeth, washes his face and gets dressed in the 45 minutes we give him before he has to walk out the door for school. And yes, it takes him all 45 minutes to do those 3 things. Seriously. And if you do not stand over top of him, he will stare at himself in the mirror, with the water running, not moving for at least 20 of those 45 minutes. No joke. Very frustrating start to the mornings. When TJ is not at the house, I still wake up when Ed goes in and out of the bathroom. Over and over again. And over again. And then usually by the time he finally leaves the house and it's quiet, Deuce wakes up right as I start to fall back asleep.

So... We get up and eat breakfast. For Deuce, that's usually an entire package of fruit & cream oatmeal, yogurt & bananas or applesauce. Then we take a bath/shower, brush our teeth and get ready for the day.

Then I let him play for awhile. He has recently developed an obsession with Ed's shoes. It makes me laugh and then he laughs and then he usually falls.

I try to get out of the house fairly early in the mornings to go run errands or whatever we need to do for the day. We go to the mall, Target, the park and even to Barnes & Noble to play with the trains and listen to story time.

I have started a Friday ritual with him. We eat lunch at K&W with the 65+ crowd. Yes sir! When I was little, my grandparents used to take me to this exact same K&W in Friendly Center so I have decided that I wanted to start taking him there too. It's fast and cheap and it's yummy. We usually split a vegetable plate {he loves corn, creamed potatoes, mac & cheese and even fried okra!} and he loves the strawberries & bananas for dessert. The little old ladies love to talk to him when we're in line and tell me all about their grandchildren.

Deuce is pretty much only taking 1 nap a day now so I would rather be home in the afternoons when that happens. It doesn't always work that way but I try. If I don't get home in time, he will fall asleep in the car for like 10 minutes and then wake up when we get home and not go back down. But when he gets full off of K&W, I can't always keep him awake. {Here, we were still in the parking lot!!}

Heck, I'm ready for a nap after K&W. So we usually head home after lunch and if he's asleep, I try to get him out of the car without waking him so that I can get in a little rest too. Sometimes I don't even sleep. I just watch him. No TV, just me & him.

After nap time, it's usually time for TJ to get off of the bus. So he sits at the door and waits. I'm not sure who is more excited, Deuce or TJ!

The very first thing TJ has to do is his homework. I leave him a chore list everyday as well. He has to do his homework and 1-2 simple tasks (take out the trash, empty dishwasher, etc) before he can turn on the TV or go outside. {Even on the days when I am at work and he's alone. I am the master inspector and will crack down on him if necessary.} He has football practice everyday and doesn't get home until about 8 so there is no time for homework & chores after practice. He has been doing a great job with his homework and chores so far.

After homework and chores, we sometimes venture back out of the house if there is anything else that I need to get or do or if we have any other appointments. The boys are hard to handle when they are together and in a place as big as Wal-Mart. Deuce "down, set, huts" everywhere he goes and DOES.NOT want to ride in the cart if TJ is with us.