A Day in the Life: Summer 2021

It’s fun to look back and remember life at different stages. Today I’m sharing A Day in the Life from this summer, but really we have one foot in summer and one in fall. Here are what our days are looking like lately…

A Day in the Life: Summer 2021

The alarm goes off at 5:10, but I stay in bed until 5:25. Kevin is up and out of bed right away.

When I finally put my feet on the ground, I make the bed and do a Motivated workout. Then I sit down on the couch to read my devotion, pray, and take time to do a few things on my computer. Next I head outside to water the plants and go for a walk and take in the sunrise.

At 6:45 I am inside tidying the house. Dishes put away, blankets folded, a few odds and ends picked up. Around 7:10 I head back to take a quick shower.

Shortly after my shower, Luke ambles out to the living room and snuggles up to me on the couch. Then Kevin brings Jack out and plops him on my lap. I breathe in their sleepy heads and we huddle together on the couch under blankets. A few minutes later Jude comes out for some snuggles.

At 7:30 Kevin feeds the kids breakfast while I finish getting ready, throw some laundry in, and tidy Jack’s room.

It’s 8:20 and the school day begins. Lily and Jude are at the table first, with Luke shortly behind. Lily works on the soft c sound, handwriting, and math. Jude is learning the letters s, a, and t and using magnetic letters today. Luke works on his cursive and math. When Jude finishes up, he heads to the kitchen counter to use play dough with Jack. I try not to look at the mess.

Everyone joins in for play dough after seat work is completed. Around 9:55 I round up all the babes and we head to the couch for our morning basket time. We review state capitals, read our Jesus Calling devotional, pray, and read a few pictures books along with The Year of the Baby.

At 10:25 the kids have talked me into making play dough even though we have a tub of it. Luke finds a YouTube video on how to make it and we mix it up together.

I am nominated to stir the play dough while the kids run outside to play. It is pleasantly quiet. Fifteen minutes later they are back in and we use food coloring to color the dough.

Shortly after the play dough is colored, we watch a short video on Nikola Tesla while Luke takes notes and the others play with their dough. When the video is finished, the kids run off to play. I take a minute to order a few gifts and dresses from Alice and Ames. I then head outside to weed and pick veggies with the kids.

It’s past time for lunch, so I grab leftovers out of the fridge: burgers, salami, cucumbers, blackberries, cheese sticks, go gurts, corn on the cob. Luke makes himself some toast with butter.

After lunch, we all head downstairs to try on shoes to see which ones fit for fall and which ones need to be donated or replaced. The kids head to Lily’s room to build a fort while I clean up the kitchen.

At 1:30 all the kids snuggle up on the couch and read for 10 minutes. I then do reading lessons before screen time. The kids get 10 minutes of screen time while I do a Motivated barre workout.

Around 2:20 I put Jack down for nap and he falls asleep as I put him in his crib. Ten minutes later everyone is in their room for quiet time.

I hustle around and do some office work, write, and look for family picture outfits online.

The kids are up from quiet time at 4:00 and they play in the fort they made in Lily’s room. They usually play outside, but it is outrageously hot this afternoon.

At 4:30 we go for a quick walk to see Grandpa and get corn from the coolers in the shop (the building down the hill from us).

An hour later Jack is up and I am getting dinner going: bacon for BLTs and fresh sweet corn. We eat at 6:45, pretty late for us.

At 7:10 we clean up the kitchen and the kids bathe. I realize Jack has had his pajamas on all day. Luke takes a shower and the younger three take baths. After everyone is clean, Luke puts on a ‘show’ in his room about Nikola Tesla and gives us a scavenger hunt to complete. When the show is over we head to the couch to read books. Kid Scientists, Mercy Watson, and Bible are on the docket.

At 8:00 the kids and Kevin head to Jude’s room to play cars for five minutes before bed. I rinse off quickly in the shower. Then Kevin takes Luke and Lily to deliver corn and veggies to a neighbor, while I put Jude and Jack to bed. When they get back, I read On the Way Home to Lily and say goodnight to Luke. All the kids are in their beds at 8:45.

After all the kids are tucked in for the night, I ready school for the morning and then head to the couch to read The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah. Kevin joins me and we eventually watch a show. At 10:00 we start the dishwasher, watch Jude sleep for a few minutes, and head to bed.

It was an ordinary day, this day in the life, but it was a good one.