a ‘normal’ day

Several people have asked recently what a ‘normal’ day looks like at our house.  Although the schedule varies some, here are the basics:

5:45 rise and shine.  Unload dishwasher, make coffee for Jim’s thermos, make his lunch, fix his breakfast.  He leaves at 6:30.  Then Tori gets up for school, and I fix her breakfast and lunch, and make her a cup of coffee.  She’s out the door at 7:15 or so, and I get myself ready for the day.  The boys eat breakfast about 8, and we’re typically ready to go between 8:30 and 9.  Then, we do…

• school (M/T/W/Th)
• therapy (speech M/T/Th; occupational Tuesday only; need to add physical therapy to the calendar)
• laundry (M/W/F, other days as needed)
• keeping house (M/T/W/Th/F)
• errands (W generally, sometimes M or F afternoon)
• helping homeschool a high school friend (M/W)
• sports practice (M/Th)
• preschool (Tuesdays. I teach, the boys are junior helpers)
• all the other stuff (pay bills, file, make phone calls, take care of business) required to keep the family running smoothly (M/T/W/Th/F)  This is done while the boys get playtime.  :)

It looks sorta like this, graphically:

Frequently, I need more hours in my day…or to use my time more efficiently!  :)

Some days things are different.  Today I’ve got an extra all day.  She’s darling (and little!) but it definitely changes the flow around here.  Then Friday, my ‘catch-up’ day, is likely to be spent making a round trip to Pullman.  Em is coming home for spring break, and because of her class schedule can’t get a ride back.  We’ll see.  While I’d prefer to not make the 600 mile round trip, I would really love to see her (duh!)  so road trip it is!  Fortunately, I don’t mind the drive, and I haven’t been to Pullman since August.  Plus, the weather is supposed to be gorgeous, so I’m game for it.  :)

So…seeing it laid out, it doesn’t seem like that much.  So why does it feel so overwhelming some days??