Having everyone home during the day with work and school took a little getting used to—that’s for sure! I do love having everyone here, but it took awhile to find a schedule and flow that worked well for everyone. Today, I thought I’d share my afternoon routine, which has become my favorite part of the day.
Here’s a little sample of how our day goes… I’ve been letting everyone sleep in, so all four of us are up by 7-7:30 a.m. every morning. We get to eat breakfast together unrushed (so nice!) and Topher usually has a cup of coffee with me before he heads into his home office. I go for a quick 30 minute workout and get cleaned up for the day. Depending what the day holds, I may dress up or down—it really just depends if I have to be seen on Zoom—ha, ha! I stay close to where my youngest is schooling on the first floor, because I have to help him with his work and make sure he turns in his assignments on Google classroom correctly. Luckily, our teenager doesn’t need any help with his school work, so I just have one kid I have to be hands on with for school. I get breaks during the day off and on and I get all my household chores accomplished. I schedule all my calls and conferences in these before lunch hours. It’s been manageable— so far. I’ve definitely had kids and puppies end up in the background, but that is everyone right now. Lunch I take with the boys and we all head outside on a nice day to play basketball or lawn games in the backyard. Hikes in our woods have been really popular lately too. By 1:00 p.m. it’s back to work time.
Right around 2 p.m. is my favorite. Here’s my little afternoon routine that I’ve ended up enjoying so much during the work week.
I take a few moments to take a break. Yes! So nice to steal some quiet time! I make myself a tea or water. It depends on the day. If it’s colder and gray outside—TEA ALL THE WAY! Peppermint is my go-to right now. On nice days, I’ve been playing with water concoctions. Today, it was strawberry and mint infused water. So refreshing!
I also refresh our flowers if they need it. I’ve been keeping fresh flowers in the house during this time and it is such mood booster. My neighbor brought over these beautiful lilacs from her yard and they smell so lovely. Thanks, Judy!
Taking a little time to myself, helps me reset for the rest of the day. After 20 or 30 minutes of a little relaxation, I’m ready to tackle the rest of my to-do list. Today, I had photos to shoot for the blog, so I got that done. Sometimes my kids pop in to be goofy—like today. I’ll write posts, edit photos, select images for other social channels, and respond to emails the rest of the work day. I try to wrap everything up by 5 p.m., so I can have the rest of the time with the family. I love having these hours during the day to focus. I am pretty strict on my 5 p.m. end time so work doesn’t seep into our home life—boundaries are so important.
I’ve been pretty relaxed with my wardrobe lately. I am loving feminine ruffled tops this spring. This one I’m wearing has been in the rotation a lot lately and it’s on sale, so are my jeans. These are one of my favorite pairs of jeans , so when I find jeans that are flattering I buy several pairs. They are marked down to $28 dollars right now!! They are so comfortable for high-waisted jeans. Zoom conference days, I wear jeans, a cute top, and usually some fun earrings to distract from the fact that I need to get to my hair stylist!
Outfit & Decor Details
I am FINALLY starting to get a good balance with my son’s school, work, and blog work. So, I’ll be posting on a more regular schedule from now on. My heart goes out to you mommas who have more than one elementary aged kid and are trying to work from home. Some days I feel like I hardly get anything done!
Stay safe and healthy!