Today is one of those Cozy Winter Days here at our farm. I would love to share a DITL with you, so come along!
Ever since moving to a farm in the country, I have been enjoying winter much more than I once did. Although I like gardening, I’m always ready for a break when fall comes. I have learned to relish the changes in the seasons. Lately, the weather has been several degrees below zero, and it is pretty much too cold to go out, but it is perfect for cozy days at home.
Morning Routine on Cozy Winter Days
I woke up about 6:15, and had spent some time in prayer and quiet time while I nursed my baby. This was a wonderful time to enjoy my coffee and my sweet little one. I love the nursing snuggles and am trying to soak them up. A goal of mine this year is to make a habit of working out, because I know how incredibly important it is to stay physically fit when you are a mom of lots of littles. No matter how hard I have tried in the past, this habit never seems to stick so I decided to keep things incredibly basic.
I have been simply doing jumping jacks or something easy like that for at least one minute a day. Since it’s such a short time commitment it’s too easy to skip. The kids woke up around 7:30. We are not strict about our morning routine, but my goal is that they make their beds and get dressed before we have breakfast. We are far from perfect about this.
School
After breakfast and chores, we started school around 9:00. Although she is not officially in school yet, my little three-year-old is really eager to do school like her brothers so occasionally we will do a little puzzle or activity together and call it school. Today, we went through A is for Art: A Fine Art Alphabet Book by Lanaya Gore. It is full of beautiful pictures of artwork that I can enjoy as much as my kids. I also read a few board books to my toddler before starting school with my two older boys so that she could have some one-on-one time and get her love tank filled.
With a nursing baby, school doesn’t always look exactly the same every single day, but I try to do math, reading, spelling, handwriting, and geography with my kindergartener and first grader as well as other subjects in the afternoon.
Lunch
Lunch was pretty simple today because I had leftover stew which is perfect on a cold January day. For a side, I made some garlic toast out of a loaf of bread that has been in the freezer for way too long. Earlier this month, I did a deep clean of our pantry, and since then, I have been more intentional about actually using the random food items that would otherwise just live forever in the back of the freezer and pantry. It has been great for the food budget.
Quiet time and decluttering
After lunch and dishes, I went upstairs to put my toddler down for a nap. I enjoy this little break in the day, because it is a chance to slow down in the middle of the day. She snuggles on my lap on the rocking chair, and sometimes we do storybooks or songs. During this time, I have been having my oldest three lay in their beds and look at books for a short quiet time.
My oldest three were all pretty absorbed in their books when I finished putting their sister to sleep, so I decided to take the opportunity to do a little bit of organizing and decluttering. I am someone who likes things to be very simplified, and I actually enjoy organizing and decluttering projects. However, I certainly would not call myself a minimalist and with having a large family, spaces can become cluttered and disorganized really quickly, especially cupboards and closets.
For whatever reason, I always feel the need to do some extra decluttering in January. Maybe the level of stuff has just continued to accumulate throughout the past year. I rarely have time to complete big projects, but I was able to start on my school/papers/craft cabinet, and just work on it for about 15 minutes.
Sometimes, the hardest part is just getting started, so if you are wanting to take on a project, but need some motivation, I recommend setting a timer. In the past, I never liked to make a big mess while decluttering because it stressed me out, but recently, it hasn’t bothered me as much. I piled everything onto my countertops and finally completed the project a few days later. It was pretty annoying not to be able to use my countertop, but when you have five kids, there will be lots of interruptions in any project.
Story time
I love books, and ever since my first baby was little, reading has been a really important part of my parenting. Lately this was getting a little neglected, so I reinstated afternoon reading time. This is also usually when we learn about Bible/religion, history, science, and other subjects. A couple of my favorites that I am currently reading to the kids are The Holy Mass: On Earth as it is in Heaven by Kevin and Mary O’ Neill, and The Complete Brambly Hedge by Jill Barklem. This last one is the perfect whimsical read for cozy winter days.
Chores
Because the morning usually involves school, I don’t get to do much housework. Of course, there are always endless household chores that I could be doing at any given moment, so I try to get at least a few things done before I start dinner. Since I try to do a load of laundry everyday, this is frequently when I will fold and put away laundry.
Dinner My goal is to start dinner and kitchen chores around 4:00. This may sound super early, but I have a few reasons for this. I want meals to be at a regular-ish time, and frequently I am interrupted by my baby wanting to nurse, or a diaper that needs to be changed. I like to have lots of margin in this area. I will also sometimes quickly make dough for a loaf of sourdough, and if I have time, I like to empty the dishwasher before supper, so that we can easily clean after eating.
Evening Routine
The kids’ bedtime routine is pretty simple – they get ready for bed (pajamas, teeth, etc.) and then we have a short family prayer time together. After this, they get to listen to a story piled on the couch, and then its upstairs to be tucked in.
Even though I would like for dishes and kitchen to be totally cleaned up before we move onto family time and bedtime routine, some days, that just doesn’t happen. Today was one of those days, so I worked on this for a bit after I put the kids to bed.
Time with my husband
Finally, I was able to enjoy some time with my husband, followed by some blog work before bed. The days are pretty full around here, but they are full of so many good blessings. There is lots of work to be done, and I am tired at the end of a long day, but it is good work, and I am grateful for it.
