Many hearts. Much love--The Routine

I have had more requests than I can count on how do I get it all done?  Well, the truth is, some days I don't.  But most days I do, masha allah.  This is my ordinary weekday rountine:

I am a big fan of "early to bed, early to rise".  I start my days early by American standards, I wake up between 4:30 and 5:15, depending on when I went to sleep the night before.  I pray my morning (fajr) prayer before sunrise and don't go to bed afterwards.  I supervise breakfast, get my children's work and school meals ready, get a load of laundry on, wash my face and apply any creams, my morning exercises (more on those later), nurse the baby, start on lunch (I still feed my kids a hot lunch after school) all before 8:00.  

When the last of the little feet are out the door, I nurse the baby again (though maybe its a thinly veiled excuse to take a short break--I'll never tell!) and do any paper/computer work for a short 15 minute or so period.   Then I start on the heavy stuff.  First things first, I try to work on a priority basis.  I do my morning exercises if things were hectic and I missed them earlier.  I get lunch going.  We rely heavily on soups and stews around here.  Things that I can get simmering early and turn off and on all day, ready to feed at a moment's notice to anyone who is hungry.  Once lunch is going, I turn to the most important daily cleaning tasks: cleaning the kitchen, tidying up, cleaning the bathrooms, and cleaning the floors.  Which I choose to do first may change, depending on any unusual circumstances that let things get behind, but when things are normal around here I do them in the order I mentioned.  When the first load of laundry is finished, I pop another one in.

When my daily work is finished, its usually about about 10:00.  Time for another break, whether you're hungry or not, baby!  Seriously, I shamelessly take short breaks when I need them--though I do try my best to hold out til the baby's next feeding.  If not, I try to do something productive like internet shopping, banking,  menu planning, brainstorming, but if that is more than I can handle I admit I turn to facebook, my favorite forum or my blog.

After my break, I turn to any deep cleaning tasks.  These rotate and I will follow with a post on deep cleaning on how I manage to keep the house truly clean as well as neat.  At 12:30 I stop, (almost) no matter what I'm doing.  I need time to stay fit (and sane)!

I feed the baby and drink a cup of tea.   Then I take about 60 minutes to exercise.  I eat (or drink) some protein and them start serving the kids' lunch so its ready for them when they get home

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My children arrive from school at 1:30 and as they are small, still need reminders and supervision to change their clothes, put away their shoes and unpack their waterbottles and lunchboxes in an orderly manner.   They eat lunch and then we clean up the kitchen.  After lunch, the little ones retire to their room for some R&R and the school boys pray and do their homework.  I take this time to fold clothes, do paperwork, or do seated kitchen work (like popping green beans or stuffing vegetables).

We try to get all of the homework done by 3:00 so the kids can have some good playtime before sunset.  When they are done with their homework, they are responsible for checking their school supplies and packing their own backpacks.  After they make sure they are prepared for school the next day, they can go outside to play.

I use the time when they are outside to do any afternoon housework that needs to be done, add a load of clothes to the washer, take some time for myself (aka "get purdy"), lay out the clothes for after the kid' baths and for school the next day.  If there are any chores that have to be done during daylight hours this is also the time we do them--I bring them in one by one to work and chat with me.  Before sunset (which is about 5:00 nowadays),  I bring everyone inside, feed them their dinner (if we have leftovers from lunch) or a hearty snack (if we have no leftovers) and get them to their baths.

After the baths we pray the sunset prayer and do our evening chores.  When everyone has finished their chores, they can play quietly  in the playroom.  When the house is tidy we pray, read Qur'an and read books and if everyone has finished their responsibilities pleasantly, we might play a game on the computer or watch tv.

I try to get the kids to sleep at about 7:30 or 8:00.  This gives me time to tie up any loose ends, run the dishwasher, spend time with my husband, dance or do some stretching or yoga to unwind, take a shower if I haven't already, and....yup, you guessed it, get a load of laundry on.   I try to get myself in bed between 8:30 and 9:30.

Now, this routine does of course vary a bit from season to season, day to day.  In the summer we go to bed later, but take a nice nap in the afternoon.  After an initial burst of cleaning and cooking on Friday morning (which is our nicest meal of the week), I try to pare cleaning and cooking down to the bare necessities on the weekends so I can enjoy time with my family.  Obviously, life goes on, even on the weekends, so I do little things like save Friday's clean laundry to fold over a leisurely cup of coffee with my husband on Saturday morning.  Additionally, I try to do all of my errands on one day. I don't have a car, so I count pushing the well laden stroller around town as my exercise for that day.  I also don't do any deep cleaning the days I go out and make simple meals to save time.

Many hearts. Much love--My resume.

I thought about just plunging into the tips and tricks of the trade, but then I thought I'd better give you my qualifications first...

I am a stay at home mother of six amazing boys, masha allah. I pray that the Lord will shower them with blessings every moment of their lives.

My first son, Prince, is 8 years old.
My second son, Energizer, is 7 years old.
My third son, Earnest, is 5 years old.
My fourth son, Patience, is 3 years old.
My fifth son, Little Man, is 2 years old.
My sixth son, Sunshine, is 6 months old.

I had my first son while my husband and I were still living in my hometown. Shortly after he was born, we moved to a small town where we lived while he attended school and worked full time to support us. I had my next four children in that town. My last son was born in my husband's hometown in the Middle East, where we have been living since he graduated.

I have had long hours alone with my children while my husband spent a day at the University coming home just to eat and head off to a full work shift. I have had even longer weeks alone with my children when my husband returned to the States to further his education.

I have learned to plan without loosing spontaneity. I have learned to be prepared without hoarding. I have learned to be strong without sacrificing flexibility. I have learned how much hurt my childish words and actions caused my own mother. I have learned how to cook and clean and laugh at the biggest messes I have ever seen in my life. I have learned to give of myself without giving up myself. And most of all, I have learned to never stop learning.

Many hearts. Much love.

I've been asked a few times recently about tips for young wives or moms who want to have a big family but aren't sure if they can handle it. I've decided to do a series of short posts on being the old lady who lives in a shoe. Except I don't live in a shoe. And I'm not old. And sometimes I actually do know what to do.

So lets start with the whys.

Why do have and enjoy having a big family (this, of course, is by God's will alone)? Here are a few reasons:

1. I will always, Allah willing, have one of my best friends around.
2. So will my kids.
3. My children will be able to share the responsibility of taking care of me when I need it.
4. I think that the socialization aspect is unbeatable.
5. It can be very, very fun.
6. Many hands make light work
7. I really enjoy people. And from before they were born, my children were and are people.
8. Having little siblings is great for teaching older siblings responsibility.
9. Having big siblings is a great way to teach little children respect for accountability.
10. It feels really great to be part of a team.