What is your Evening Routine Like?
If you want to get an idea of my full daily routine, check out My Morning Routine post and My Afternoon Routine post. Today, I’m sharing what I do on a typical day from the time that my oldest gets home from school until the time I go to bed. This is easily my favorite time of day because it’s time with my family!
4:15pm | Holden Gets Home & I Finish Dinner
The bus drops Holden off around 4:15pm and on Monday and Wednesday afternoons we immediately drive to Karate. For the sake of this blog post I am going to write about Tuesday and Thursday afternoons where we head back home after bus drop off. Holden is good about getting his homework done right when he gets home. Typically he has math practice problems and reading/spelling every night. Then while I get dinner wrapped up and on the table, both kids will either go outside and play or find something to do in the house.
5:00pm | Eat Dinner
Around 5:00pm, we (the kids and I) sit down to eat. The kids and I typically eat together because on Tuesday nights at 5:15pm we need to leave for Nora’s gymnastics class and on Thursday nights I leave at 5:30pm to teach a LYFT class at Starting Line. Monday and Wednesday nights the kids eat a packed dinner in the car on the drive home from karate class. Both are starving by this time of day! Our dinner time isn’t the formalist of occasions but it works best for our busy schedules. I know that this might not work for every family but it works for ours right now. I am sure it will change many times throughout the next few years!
5:15pm | Clean Up – Head Out to Next Activity
I clean up the kitchen and load the dishwasher – leaving the hubby’s portion of dinner out on the counter. On Tuesdays he gets home while we are still at gymnastics class and on Thursdays he walks in the door and I walk out the door to teach class at Starting Line Health and Fitness, its like a game of tag…your it.
6:30-6:45pm | Shower Time
The kids are self sufficient and head upstairs to shower and put on their PJ’s. While they change I put away school bags, clean up from the afternoon-evening activities and start to wrap things up for the night.
7:00pm | Settle In for the Evening
Ahh, this time of night is so wonderful. Upon arriving home from all of our daily activities, we are in our loungewear or pajamas and cuddle up on the couch. Some nights, the kids will have a night time snack or some sort of dessert. We usually flip on a TV show or we’ll choose a movie to watch. Basically, we just relax and spend time together.
7:30pm | Get Ready for Bed
Around 7:15pm, the TV is programed to shut off (lifesaver when you have kids who want to watch “just 5 more minutes” and we all head upstairs. The kids brush their teeth and pick out a book or two to read. Adam and I sprawl across Holden’s bedroom floor while he reads to us and then either Nora reads to us or we read a story to both kids.
7:45pm |Lights Out for the Kids
Holden and Nora have a consistent bedtime routine: Holden gets in bed and everyone gives him a good night kiss and we shut his door on the way out. Then it is Nora’s turn, she climbs in and I give her a kiss and hug first then daddy is next to make her snug as a bug in a rug before heading out the door. This routine has been set in stone since Nora went to a big girl bed several years ago. There are no extra trips for drinks of water, bathroom breaks or more hugs/kisses. Once the door both their doors are shut they are usually sound asleep within minutes.
8:30pm | Get in Bed, Relax and Good-Night
We either chat or scroll through our phones, which helps us to unwind more quickly and fall asleep faster. **I know we shouldn’t keep our phones in the bedroom** Right around 9:00pm I’ll turn off my phone and go to sleep. However, Adam could stay up for hours longer.
That’s what a typical evening looks like for me! 🙂 What do your hours after dinner entail? Fill me in!
