Creature of Habit

I am not a very organized person. I like to pretend that I am, but if you could see my basement, you would know that it is a lie. So it seems kind of ironic that I am also a huge supporter of 'the routine', but it is true. I live for the routine. I get frustrated sometimes because I want to do fun things with my kids outside of our home, but I also love our routine at home so much that I often sacrifice those fun things just so I have that sense of stability. Ya know? Anyone out there feel the same?

Here is a dose of our daily routine:

*Ellie wakes up around 7 or 7:30, which means that the rest of us are awake too (actually, I have been getting up at 6 to workout every other day, which is way too early, but that is another blog entry...).

*We have breakfast together before Nick heads out the door at 7:45.

*I do my computing: check my email, blogs, facebook, write in my journal, while Ellie watches a tv show.

*I shower and dress. Usually.

*I clean up the house.

*Ellie and I do 'school'.

*Lunch at noon. Naps follow. Both girls take about a 3 hour nap. It is heaven.

*During said naptime, I do things that are nigh unto impossible with Maren around: mow the lawn, pick raspberries, mop the floor, read a book, or lately, take a nap myself.

*After naps (about 3 or so) we are honestly just wasting time until dad comes home from work. We clean up a bit, or go outside.

*At 4, I usually start thinking about what I should make for dinner that night and by 5, I am usually working on it.

*Dad comes home at 5:45 and we have dinner together before our various evening activities.

We go to the library once a week, and usually to a store of some sort, plus any scheduled appointments we may have. But that is my life, in a nutshell.

However, having said all that, we broke free from the routine to do something fun yesterday. The girls and I went to the Aquarium and then to Fazoli's for lunch. It was a good time, and it felt good to be out of the house.