Here's an example of an average day for me... When I say average, this is an average "home" day... which happen only about twice a week- the rest is spent running around like a headless chook... but lets focus on our nice chilled home days.
At about 5:30am Molly stands by my bed and says "Mum, can I come in?" to which I usually respond "yes, possum, jump in the middle"... some mornings, this experience filters through into my dreams and I have been known to say some crazy things to her like "wait, mummy is just showering, it'll be your turn in a minute"..
At about 6:30, if Molly hasn't gone back to sleep (she doesn't usually) we all get up and make breakfast- the choices are pretty standard, rolled oats with yoghurt, ground flax seed (which Molly grinds in the coffee grinder) and fruit or eggs & veggies (spinach, mushrooms, sweet potatoes).. Sometimes Molly has toast but she prefers to eat what we eat and we don't do much bread in our house. John often grinds fresh coffee and perks it on the stove.. Love my coffee.. The smell drives my wild! I usually precede breakfast with warm water and apple cider vinegar and take my multi & oils at this time too.
After brekky every 2nd day I pop out to water the few salad greens and flowers we have in our garden and pull out any weeds that have popped up overnight. We plan to extend our planting so this is a good habit to be in. (This morning I mulched at this time too- the early bird catches the worm!)
(Most mornings) At about 8am I leave Molly with Daddy (when he's not at school) and I head out to the gym to do weights, spin etc, or for a run for about an hour (sometimes I do this in the evening- Yoga night is Wednesday night). I really relish my time alone to exercise. It is a non negotiable for me.
When I get home, I have a sniff and see if I need to shower (hey, don't judge, you do it too!) and then I dress and we begin our day. We often have a walk down to our local library to return and get new books, stay for story time if it's on, and then head to the fruit & veg shop before stopping at our nearest cafe where we have tea & fruit and chat with the other parents who have just come from the library.
Back home via the playground for some tidying, laundry, cooking etc before Molly is ready for lunch. We sit up at the bench and chat about what we have done during the morning and we prepare lunch together. Molly is very good at getting her own lunch organised and usually chooses to eat a healthy, balanced meal, often it is tuna, rice and veggies, or left over dinner from the night before. We cut up fruit too and have tea.
In the afternoon we often visit local friends and family, take a walk in the park or just stay home and veg out. Favourite activities at the moment are drawing (she can't get enough!), playing in the garden, cooking, playing mums and dads (if there is another little body to play with), jumping on the trampoline, watching Peter Combe and listening to the Beatles while singing along and playing her guitar. We might pop to the shops to get some extra dinner ingredients before coming home to prepare a meal. This is usually a pretty quiet time in our house where I let Molly watch a DVD or ABC kids. John get home somewhere around this time depending on where he's been during the day.
For dinner recently we have been setting a picnic rug in the living room and eating together on the floor as we haven't got a dining table inside and we want to eat as a family. It's getting too cold to eat at the table outside which we were able to do over summer. Friday nights we get take away from one of our local food places- our favourites at the moment are Angaan (Indian) and Ebi (Japanese fusion fish and chips! They sell bento boxes- my choice is alway teriyaki salmon... drool)
After dinner, it's a shower for Molly, clean teeth, PJs on, story or drawing (her choice) and then she goes off to bed. John and I have been watching The West Wing and that usually goes on at this time for 2 or 3 episodes. We have peppermint and chamomile tea(s), have a cuddle, and tootle off to bed at around 10:30 or 11pm.
It's not that exciting... but I am loving every "home" day that we get. As I said, the rest of our week is nowhere near this chilled.
What does an average day look like for you??
*Photos are self portraits taken by Molly
