New House, New Routine

Mr. Boy and Princess Baby are growing up a little but they still need a lot of supervision for their daily activities. Because Mama is home alone with them 3 nights a week, We have established a new routine for them.

Mama does it 7 nights a week, but Big J helps us on the nights he is home to give Mama a bit of a break.

5:30-Supper time. This is important because Mr Boy has some issues with eating good food, eating meat, and eating anything some days. But now that we sit up at the table at the same time every night and put small portions of balanced food out--he's been doing super. We sometimes have to reward Mr. Boy with his milk cup or a juice box if he's having an especially hard time finishing his meal, but it is going very well--tonight he ate 2 whole fish sticks!

6:00-Bubble Bath!! Whoo-hoo! Big fun to take a bubble bath in the big new bathtub. We have lots of fun bath toys and Mr. Boy and Princess Baby like to help Mama put them away when the water is all gone. We bought a mesh laundry bag at the dollar store and we just drop those soggy wet toys and animal sponges right in the bag and hang the bag on the shower head--voila! They're dry by the next bath time.

6:20-one last show. Mr. Boy and Princess Baby go into her room and settle into their little chairs and watch Word World, SuperWhy, or Sesame for about 20 minutes. This gives Mama time to put away laundry, check her email, turn on night lights, straighted up rooms, hang up towels, or just breathe for a couple minutes and relax--Mama is TIRED at this time of night because she works till 5:10 or 5:15 and launched right into kid-time and fixing supper time.

6:45-Special Mama time. We go into Mama and Daddy's room and start with a game of Mama Says--it's just like Simon Says and it helps us get our wiggles out. Then we sing! We sing all the favorites, right in the proper order according to Mr. Boy--Old Donald, ABC's, She'll be Coming Round the Mountain (favorite verse? the one about sleeping with Grandma), Row Row Row Your Boat, and B-I-N-G-O. Then Mama Says--come hear the story! And both kids sit with her on the bed and read 2 story books. After the stories are done, we hold hands in a circle and sing Jesus Loves Me and say our prayers. Right now we are particularly praying for Papa because he's been feeling yucky from radiation treatments.

7:00-Into bed! Princess Baby heads to her bed right after the last Amen and gets tucked in with her blankie and her babies. Then Mr. Boy gets to go downstairs with Mama or Big J and sit and drink a little more milk. Then he gets tucked into his bed for the night.

After only 7 days of this new, specific routine, it is going very well. Everybody goes to bed calmly and stays there till morning time. When Big J is home, he fixes Mama and Big J's dinner while Mama does the baths and special time, and relaxes while the grill heats up or the oven cooks food as well. It's Big J's first chance to be by himself all day, so it's a good down time for him, too!