The 9:45 p.m. weeknight bedtime is officially a habit for me and Philip. We finally got our Blizzards! Hooray!
We turn off whatever we're watching or stop whatever we're doing at 9:30 to get ready for bed. Philip preps the coffeemaker for the morning and lets Monty out while I start my getting ready for bed routine (which, by the way, seems to be taking longer and longer with each year!).
We "go and see the babies" together--always Walt and then Janie. In their sleep, Walt is a mini Philip and Janie is a mini Catherine. Walt startles when he hears us come in, sits up in a sleepy fog, smiles at us, and lets us lay him back down. We usually find Janie in some contortionist position that looks impossible to sleep in, and she sleeps through us repositioning her and re-covering her with her blankets.
Philip and I read for awhile in bed. I'm re-reading The Happiest Toddler on the Block by Dr. Harvey Karp, and someday I'll finish Mockingjay. Philip usually starts dozing after a few minutes of reading and turns in for the night. I try to get my "pillow talk" in with him early so that I don't end up with sleepy Philip, snoring between sentences.
If I'm not reading a book, I check Facebook or Pinterest for awhile on
the laptop. I am self-imposing a strict lights out by 10:30 p.m. policy. I've gotten carried away with that quiet time all to myself and have stayed up until 11:30 or midnight a few times! So much for an early bedtime!
Philip and I go in spurts of being good about praying together before bed. We have a great book called Day by Day With the Catechism: Minute Meditations for Every Day Containing An Excerpt From the Catechism, A Reflection, and a Prayer by Peter A. Giersch. We'd alternate who read the passage each night, discuss the reading, and the person who read from the book led us in a spontaneous prayer and closed with a formulaic prayer that the other would join. I'm sad to say that we've gotten away from that practice, and I'm putting that book on my nightstand right now to remind me to get back into it. What do you and your family do for prayer time? What about you and your spouse?
Despite being faithful to the 9:45 p.m. bedtime and getting out of bed at 6:00 a.m. for my prayer time, the kiddos haven't been on board with this plan. Two weeks ago, Janie and Walt were getting up at 6:45 and 7:00 respectively. This week, they wake up minutes after I'm out of bed, and today they woke up when they heard Philip's alarm clock. So, I've had to do my prayer time most days during naptime. It works fine on the days that I actually get to do it, but it would be so nice to have that dedicated time in the morning to start things off right, use naptime to get a few things done, and maybe even have a little break.
How do you other moms out there do it? How much do you sleep? When are you getting up, praying, exercising, getting the stuff done you can't get done with kids around, and having a little you time? What's your average day look like?
Despite my best intentions, I can't seem to make prayer time at the beginning of the day work on a regular basis, and I'm afraid it might mean learning to get by with less sleep. Those of you who know me know that that's going to be a struggle--for everyone involved! :) I suppose I better start praying that either (1) I learn to get by with less sleep or (2) the children start sleeping in.
Good job! You are so much more disciplined than we are.
ReplyDeleteI get maybe 7ish hours of sleep...almost always interrupted by 1-3 children. Sometimes I wake up alone in bed. Sometimes Levi is in one of the kids rooms. Sometimes I wake up and there are 4-5 of us in bed :-) I get every last ounce of sleep in until my kids are awake. I wish I could get up before them, but they always know & would wake up with me. I pretty much have zero "alone time" as not all of mine are nappers!