I used to get asked “What do you do all day?!” when I told people I was a stay at home mom. Which varies immensely based on the ages of your kids and how many you have. Now most of my friends are moms, so they get it. 

At the beginning of the year, I got a couple of requests on Instagram about stay at home mom daily schedules, so I wanted to share what we do! This is what our day looks like with two preschoolers.

7/7:30am Kids get up. Silas (4.5yrs) gets up first and watches a show on Dad’s phone. He’ll help Ginny (2yrs) get up when she’s awake and get their drinks from the fridge. They eat easy snacks (pre cut fruit, pre poured yogurt, pretzels, applesauce pouches, Cheerios) until I can make them something more involved.

8:15am I get up. I’m not deep asleep before this point, we have cameras all over the house so we can keep an eye on them from our bed ;) I just throw on workout clothes, do my hair (pony tail, low bun or braids) and get Ginny changed & ready. Silas dresses himself.

8:50am Out the door to get Silas to school

9/9:05am Silas’ school drop off

9:20am Gym time (Wednesday is the only day I don’t go to the gym at this time, I have moms group and don’t have to be there till 9:30am)

10/10:30am Leaving the gym and headed off to do errands. This is when I do my shopping, returns, play dates or take Ginny to do something fun (library, playground, museums, park)!

11:40/12:05pm Pick up Silas from school

12:10pm Pick up Walmart groceries! (I never shop for groceries any more… It saves me at least 2hrs, money and my sanity. I will never go back to traditional grocery shopping!)

12:15pm Home for lunch & quick play time

1pm Kids nap/quiet time! Sometimes this has to get pushed back to 2pm, if we’re running late or stop to get something to eat (like Chick-fil-A)

1:15/1:45pm I eat lunch and take my shower (cause I’ve been gross from the gym since 10:30am)

2pm I do whatever I can around the house (prep dinner, laundry, dishes, tidy up), respond to/send emails, network on Instagram, edit photos, create links for products… 

Sometimes I just chill and catch up on my shows (Single Parents, This is Us, Super Store, Perfect Harmony). I might take a nap myself if I’m worn out, sometimes I can’t even help it!

3:30/4pm Kids get up & watch a show. If it’s nice out, I’ll make them go outside first before it gets too dark and they can watch a show later. We also play board games, do crafts and take walks during this time before dinner prep.

5pm I’m getting dinner ready and the kids are either playing with playdough, destroying the house or playing in their rooms.

6pm Dinner time! We try to eat dinner together as a family, but honestly it’s me putting dinner out for the kids while they complain. By the time we get our plates and sit down to eat, the kids are usually over it and running around naked.

6:45/7:15pm Bath time. The kids take a bath together but we’re probably growing out of that phase… they LOVE bath time! We make it fun with bath crayons, water paints and bath fizzies.

7:15/7:30pm Get the kids ready for bed. Brush teeth, pjs, read a bible story, tuck in, a million kisses and “will you snuggle with me”.

8pm Everyone is in bed & quieting down. This is the start of “mom & dad” time.

8/10pm I usually take this time with my husband to do devotions/quiet time, watch some of our favorite shows. He will do some work if he didn’t have a chance to during the day. I also continue to do laundry, dishes and tidy up (always tidying up).

10pm/12am Working on my blog, networking on Instagram, sharing posts, editing photos, creating links for products, keeping up with other social media sites (Facebook & Pinterest), checking up on emails, reaching out to brands… whatever I can accomplish at this time.

12am Getting ready for bed, now! Usually consists of me wiping my face with a makeup remover wipe, brushing my teeth, taking out my contacts and passing out in bed. 

*Disclaimer* For the past two years we had been going to bed at 2am… 2AM! Like for a solid two years, almost every night. Just doing the same things above, just add an extra two hours to get it all done…

I definitely did NOT want to keep up with that bad habit, so I made it a personal (and family) goal to get to bed by 12am every night. And honestly, no one needs to be up that late any way. Whatever it is, IT CAN WAIT. 

I realized that I needed to CUT OUT the tv & entertainment (podcasts, ebooks, audiobooks) and focus. Self care and “me time” is one thing, self-indulgence and distraction is another. I wasn’t acting like the Proverbs 31 woman, I was just being selfish.

I’m happy to report that by setting alarms (yes, I NEED them), implementing a daily quiet time and going to bed earlier has helped me stay on track with my goals. 

This is by no means a perfect schedule (especially at night), but it’s what keeps us all sane and knowing what to expect. My kids thrive on a schedule and need the routine or the day turns into chaos and everyone is screaming and crying. 

We do switch it up regularly with the places we visit, the friends we see and we have other regular weekly things we do (Life Group, night workout class, meetings, events). 

We also have both our parents in town so we’ll eat dinner with them, do fun seasonal things… but this is our everyday/normal routine otherwise.

If you’re a stay at home mom and you don’t have a schedule and WANT to be on one, I would encourage you to try and stick with ONE thing every day. Whether that’s a designated nap time, screen time, craft time… whatever you chose.

Then as you get that into your routine, add another thing and keep going until you have a schedule that works for you and your kids. Just keep being consistent and sticking to it.

I’ve been on this same schedule since I was a nanny 5 years ago. The kids changed, the times vary by an hour or so but the routine is the exact same (and most of the places)! It’s just something you have to get used to. And if you’re not a schedule person, and you’re happy and your kids are doing well - then that’s fine too!