some background info first:
it was important to us that I stay home with KK. and i wanted to have my own small floral design business that I could pick and choose my schedule, depending on my season of life.
so right now with KK so young and me wanting to be home with her, i currently don’t take any weddings. when I do take a wedding, I do it for fun and as a creative outlet, so I have a pretty strict screening process to determine which weddings I accept.
I also love that at any point in the future I can add more weddings to my calendar if I so choose - or, alternatively, I can take an entirely different direction in the realm of florals. it’s all flexible and fluid, just how I wanted.
by not being overly busy, i have time for the things that are important to me. like raising my babies and spending time with family and reading good books and working out and running our household and cooking dinner. so while our income is smaller, our lives definitely feel richer.
we live completely on brett’s income. when we are intentional with both our time and money, we live so very comfortably. this is where having routines and a daily rhythm really helps us - we’re not spending our days mindlessly blowing tons of money (and time!) on things not in our budget, like, frequent trips to the drive-thru or daily Target runs. we spend our days going on walks and going to the pool and taking care of our home and prepping dinner and playing at home and going to the park and making menu plans and checking our budget - a daily rhythm helps us stay intentional in so many ways.
i’m so incredibly grateful for brett for providing for us, and he’s so grateful for all I do to take care of us and our home. design a life you love. that said, whatever you do that works for your family is absolutely fantastic. this just works really well for us.
all that to say, I love our slower-paced days.
so because I need it just as much as KK, I wanted to create a consistent rhythm to our days.
I looked at what makes me feel my best, and what makes me feel my worst (along with the same answers for KK, and even Brett and our three dogs), and from there I sketched out a daily rhythm that incorporated these answers.
here’s the full list of things, routines, and systems that help me feel my best.
like, i love to swim and walk. when could we prioritize these? i hate not knowing what’s for dinner, and I hate going to the grocery store more than once a week, so when could we menu plan and get groceries? i feel my best with a tidy house - how could we do that so it’s manageable? I love the smell of light citrus, so could I at some point in the morning add orange essential oil to a diffuser? i’m more of a morning person than an evening person, so how do I want my morning and evening routines to look? and so on.
but our schedules are relatively inconsistent. so I needed structure that would still work, even when we had things change week-to-week, or even day-to-day. like, sometimes I work weddings as a wedding florist. sometimes brett gets off work at five, sometimes brett gets off work at nine, sometimes brett gets off at three. sometimes it’s a weekday, sometimes it’s the weekend. sometimes we have doctors appointments, vet appointments, other life appointments. i needed a daily schedule that would still work, even when these things occurred. because what’s the point of a grounding daily rhythm if it completely goes off the rails when, say, brett’s off work early/late or I have to get flowers for a wedding or KK has a doctor’s appointment?
that’s my biggest advice - if you’re like me and benefit from some daily consistency, create a loose daily rhythm that still remains intact regardless of varying schedules. and within that rhythm, prioritize things that take care of you, your family, and your home - however that looks for you.
below is what works for us. and I think whatever works for you and your family is amazing.
and these routines will change as our needs change, but these are our current ones.
5:30
my alarm goes off. and I choose if I want to get up.
if I’m not feeling a routine, I skip it. because by skipping it, i either realize how much I miss it + how much it benefits me, and I return to it with newfound gusto + appreciation. or I don’t miss it, and I dig into that more: does it need to be tweaked? or do i no longer need this routine in this season?
i swear that’s the key to success for me. making all my routines a choice.
anyway, I choose if I want to get up. usually i do, since I like starting my day with an hour and a half of quiet - aka time to do whatever tf I want to do. (but sometimes I want to stay in bed. and that’s fine, too.)
but for the days I get up, I ask myself: do I want to sit on the couch, or do I want to go for a walk?
(the only exception to this is saturdays: the day I have morning swim practice at 6:30 am.)
when it’s colder (or when I’m just not feeling a walk), I put on my favorite robe, I sit on the couch, snuggling my dogs, and doing computer stuff.
when it’s warmer, I sometimes take the dogs on a longgg walk - I love the time of day at sunrise when the world is just waking up. I love how it clears my mind - I come up with the best ideas this way. this habit actually came to be as a result of me healing from our pregnancy loss, and I found such joy in this morning ritual. it’s the most delightful way to start a day, I swear.
I love getting up before the rest of the house and starting my day with alone time. recharges me like nothing else.
7:00 am
brett gets KK up. he gets her up, changes her, and brings her into the den.
sometimes KK starts stirring earlier, but we don’t get her until 7, 7:30.
7:00am - 9:00 am
At this point, I make KK breakfast. Which is a super easy and mindless thing thanks to our breakfast rotation.
here is our breakfast rotation, but know I get all my breakfast ideas from this website.
here’s a list of our favorite make ahead breakfast and lunches.
here’s our full list of favorite things for KK, from birth until now.
I work on my morning routines. In a very relaxed, leisurely way, I might add. While sipping my coffee.
I’m a huge morning person, so I try to make my routines pretty morning-heavy.
In no particular order and by no specific time, I work through my morning routines. By starting each and every day with these same things, I prioritize things that are suuuuper important to me (tidy house, adequate hydration, etc), but I also find it super grounding.
unload/reload dishwasher with whatever dishes are hanging out
fill water cups for the morning
because I realized a big trigger for me is dehydration. I feel more anxious when I haven’t had enough water. so for me, figuring out a water routine that works for me personally was huge.
here’s a quick instagram post where I model how I came up with my routine. (I’ve since tweaked my water routine shown in the post to meet my current needs, but the process is still the same.)
right now I have two of these amazing cups - one for me and one for Brett. I fill them up first thing in the morning, and then I refill them in the early afternoon. drinking enough water has never been so easy. easy freaking peasy!
make bed
get ready for the day, do skincare routine
tidy up house
start a load of laundry, if needed - see my laundry schedule here
fill diffusers with orange essential oil, simply because I like the citrus smell
yes, yes, I know. I use cheap orange essential oil. I’m literally just here for the pleasant smell.
check budget
see this instagram post for budget faqs
get KK ready for the day: here’s a peek into KK’s simplified wardrobe
make a smoothie, put it in an insulated tumbler, and put both the smoothie and my water cup directly in the car, ready for our 9-11 AM “leave the house” time. and while I don’t drink the smoothie until 11 AM-ish, I love making it ahead of time to take care of Future Haley. because if I wait until I get home after our outting to make a smoothie or if I wait until I’m hungry to make a smoothie, it doesn’t happen, and it’s easier for me to make it during our morning routine time. create routines that take care of you, however that looks for you! here’s my full post on our smoothies!
pack for morning outing
During this time, KK independently plays. Or she eats breakfast. Or she follows me around as I do morning routines.
See a tour of the play areas of our home (as well as our favorite toys!) here.
And KK plays so well when I’m busy doing my own thing. I rarely sit and watch her play - I’m usually doing household routines, and she can either join me or play.
I usually have Good Morning America playing softly on the TV. I’m a naturally anxious person, so I find the things that help me the most are daily movement, morning/evening routines, daily rhythms, and watching a calm news source, as it provides me much-needed perspective. (“See Haley? Aren’t you thankful that didn’t happen to you?”) Plus, I could listen to Robin read the phonebook - I just love starting my day with her.
Brett works completely from home, and he goes into the home office sometime between 7:00 and 9:00, depending on the day.
9:00am -12:00 pm
Again, remember, these times are just a loose outline. I definitely don’t stick to them - they’re just there to guide me. And for me, they help the day go smoother and they make me more present. Instead of counting down the hours until bedtime or instead of feeling overwhelmed about, say, laundry, I’m happy to play in the pool because I know it’s only until this time, and I’m chill about laundry because I know we’re working on it at this time later.
Here is our snack rotation - more on our meal rotation here. Our morning snack is on-the-go friendly because…
At this point we get out of the house. Whether that be visit to our gym, a Fit4Mom class, an appointment, a coffee run just to get out of the house, a trip to my parents’ pool, a library story time, an errand for something we need, a drive to drop the dogs off at grooming, a trip to the splash pad, a trip to the park, an adventure with Brett, a grocery store curbside pick-up, a trip to Costco, a carwash, a trip to the Farmers Market, a playdate, a trip to get gas, whatever.
During the summer, I schedule KK’s swim lessons for during this time, too - just like if she needs a doctors appointment, I schedule it during this time. Everything - if at all possible - is saved for during this time!
A few notes:
We did make room in our budget to join a Lifetime Gym - see more on why this works so well for us here. This is our current favorite way to get out of the house.
Once or twice a week I usually go to my parents’ house - either on a weekday morning or for Saturday dinner.
for the adult interaction, yeah. but also? they have a pool, they have a water table, they have a nugget ice machine, they have food to eat, and they have plenty of dogs to wear out my dogs. BLISS I TELL YA.
none of us are originally from this area, but I’m so happy my family ended up living close by. my parents are a seven minute drive away, both of my sisters are within twenty minutes away. (brett’s family is only an hour and a half away, so they’re relatively close, too!)
Typically on weekends, Brett is with us, so that’s when we do an adventure of some sort, a family gathering, a trip to the pool, an errand, or a trip to the Farmer’s Market.
Once a week we swing by the car wash. I cannot recommend enough getting a carwash subscription to somewhere with a good drive-thru carwash and a plethora of vacuums/sprays/potions to DIY a good car detail.
(if you’re local, we have a monthly subscription to here.)
because yeah, having a clean car is such a pleasure and - let’s be real - my car can always benefit from a clean thanks to KK. but also? it’s one of the best ways to spend some of KK’s awake time. we get out of the house, she’s thoroughly entertained, it isn’t expensive, and she sees me taking good care of one of our greatest investments. win, win, win.
Getting out of the house during this time helps break up the day, but it also makes sure we’re home - if at all possible - for KK’s naptime. Because not only do I want her sleep schedule super prioritized, but also because her naptime is MY time, and I don’t want to waste MY time driving. (That said, I try to schedule any and all appointments during this 9-11 time. Because either KK comes with me, or my mom watches KK.)
This also provides me the structure she and I need - that if there’s anything we need to do outside the home, it gets saved for this time. It also helps me from feeling overwhelmed or drained - there’s only so much I can schedule for this time, so I love the built-in boundary.
Also, let me say this: my goal for the morning is to sufficiently wear out KK. If I wear her out in the morning, she and I get a longggg rest in the afternoon.
At some point, we head home.
KK eats lunch. Either at home, or - depending on time -while we’re out and about. (Like, we may eat lunch at Lifetime - they have the best area to sit and eat a packed lunch!) Or, we’ll eat at home. It’s all fluid! (For this reason, sometimes I pack lunches at night if I know it’ll be easier to eat while we’re out and about.)
Here’s our lunch rotation, but know I get all my lunch ideas from this website.
Here’s our lunchbox favorites and favorite things to pack for lunches/snacks.
here’s a list of our favorite make ahead breakfast and lunches.
If we get home in time, KK plays. I may turn on an episode of Sesame Street because it’s a nostalgic joy to share that part of my childhood with KK.
See a tour of the play areas of our home (as well as our favorite toys!) here.
And KK plays so well when I’m busy doing my own thing. I rarely sit and watch her play - I’m usually doing household routines, and she can either join me or play.
If time, I may also work on our cleaning schedule, weekly routines, monthly routines, and/or yearly tasks during this time. I may finish laundry. I want KK to see we take care of ourselves and our home.
12:00ish pm - sometime between 3:00 and 4:00 pm
KK naps.
I rest. I don’t do any housework or anything remotely resembling a chore. This is my time to rest and recharge.
(Unless of course a particular chore or household task would make me feel rejuvenated. Because sometimes that may be the case. I just don’t guilt myself if don’t feel like doing it during nap time.)
I may menu plan (for me this isn’t a chore - I legit enjoy doing it, and it’s the best self-care), plan out some dates for the upcoming months, work on a monthly routine or weekly routine, organize a closet, brain dump a bunch of stuff in Google Keep, search for recipe ideas, do a yoga video, tackle a home project, work on HWD stuff, read a book, knock something off my to-do list, take a nap, or stare at a wall. Whatever I need that day to rest and recharge.
Depending on the day, KK may sleep until 4:00. But I created a daily schedule assuming she wakes up as early as three so that the times that she sleeps until four it’s an unexpected gift.
3:00 pm - 5:00 pm
I prep dinner stuff, I may do some meal prep to take care of Future Haley.
I do like to do some meal prep on the weekends, but usually little bits naturally happen here and there during the week when I’m making dinner. Join my weekly newsletter where I send out our menu plan for the following week, full of recipe links, meal prep ideas, and general favorite things.
When KK wakes up, we usually do some outdoor play time. A trip to the nearby niiiiiice park, a walk to the playground, an afternoon adventure to the pool (either at my parent’s house or at our gym), time in our yard, whatever! Getting outdoors has been so joy-inducing for me, and it’s been the loveliest way to spend those bewitching hours. (If I’m not feeling it that day for whatever reason, we just play inside - no big deal!)
KK eats a snack at this time wherever we are - more on our snack rotation here.
Here’s our favorite things to pack snacks and to take with us for snacks!
5:00-7:00
Brett gets off work sometime in this time frame. (If Brett is getting off work later, we may extend our outdoor time.) If weather and time allow, we’ll go on a long walk together. At some point we’ll eat dinner. KK plays. We hang out as a family.
Here’s my dinner rotation. I love love love dinner themes.
Join my weekly newsletter where I send out our menu plan for the following week, full of recipe links, meal prep ideas, and general favorite things.
See a tour of the play areas of our home (as well as our favorite toys!) here.
And KK plays so well when I’m busy doing my own thing. I rarely sit and watch her play - I’m usually doing household routines, and she can either join me or play.
I may also work on our cleaning schedule, weekly routines, monthly routines, and/or yearly tasks during this time. I finish laundry, if needed. I want KK to see we take care of ourselves and our home. So she plays, or she follows me around to “help.”
We don’t bathe KK every night.
Sometime between 7 and 7:30, Brett changes her, puts her in her sleep sack, turns on her white noise machine, and puts her to bed.
(From Day 1 we used a combo of white noise, the Taking Cara Babies Newborn class, and the Snoo and I will swear by that combo until the day I die. Or until my next baby proves me wrong. See more postpartum favorites here.)
7:00 pm - ?
I work through a series of evening routines - it’s a simple list, but it works 1000% for me and my needs. Because that’s the thing: create routines that take care of you, your family, and your home. Routines help us prioritize what’s important for us. And for me, it’s important for me to rest - and I best rest when I have a tidy home, and when I have time to myself.
So when KK goes to bed (or I may start when she’s awake - just depends on what organically works that day) I:
clean up the kitchen, put away dinner, package up leftovers (for Brett’s lunches or Leftover Night), load the dishwasher, run the dishwasher overnight, clean the sink, wipe down KK’s stool, wipe down counters.
pack lunches for KK and me for the next day’s outing, if needed (skip this step if I know we’ll be eating at home - but I may pack them anyway if I’m feeling it since we can just pull the packed lunches out to eat at home!) see more about our favorite lunches and our favorite lunchboxes here.
make a fresh juice (or I may do it earlier, depending on when I have a pocket of time and depending on when I’m craving the routine - see more about my juicing here)
tidy up the house. take the 5-10 minutes to put everything back in its place. because I do this every day, tidying takes no time at all.
try to finish my water for the day.
rest. this may mean I’m reading, I’m attending swim team, I’m doing a yoga video, I’m working, I’m looking at recipes, or I’m taking a bath. just depends on what I need that day. my go-to is a good book and a glass of fresh juice.
here’s a full blogpost on how I prioritize reading + all my reading FAQs
here’s a full blogpost on my juicing routine (I also use this routine to model how I create + start routines, and what I do if a routine isn’t working, if seeing that process would interest you!)
And, I go to bed the minute I get tired. This could be 8:30, this could be 9:30. I can’t remember the last time I stayed up past 10:00. Sleep is very important to me. When I’m rested and recharged, I am a better person and my anxious mindset is at an absolute minimum.
Whenever I get tired, here’s my bedtime routine:
shower
brush teeth + floss
i got in trouble at the dentist and had to have a pricey procedure, so I really try to floss :)
turn on our two white noise machines - we have one on Brett’s side of the bed, and one on my side. we got these when we got married, had the best sleep of our lives, and i will never be without ever again. that’s why KK uses one, too.
i also swear by our pillows + our weighted blankets
I don’t have a link for our weighted blankets - ours are just from Target from one of our Christmas Eve Boxes a few years back
plug in phone, plug in apple watch (i do not scroll at night. i’m ready to go to SLEEP.)
night, night!
Curious what our schedule was when KK was 5-14 months? See this post!
And come say hi on Instagram - I’m always sharing our routines and our day-to-day life in my stories.
