A Day in My Life – The Evening

I already shared what my mornings are like, so now it’s time to update you on my evenings. I’ve previously posted on how I handle the evening rush and things haven’t really changed all that much.  I still follow the same routine, but now that my kids are older my evenings looks a little different than they used to.  (For older posts on evening routines see Jan 2012 and Oct 2012)

So, here’s how evenings in our house happen now with 3 boys, ages 6,4.5 and almost 2.5.  I also get home an hour later than I used to, but have the addition of my afternoon babysitter, so things haven’t changed as much as I thought they would have.

On a good day I get home from work a few minutes before 7pm. It’s a long commute home and by the time I open the door I’m ready for bed.

What I love about coming home is that my kids are excited to see me. Before I can even put down my bags they are all surrounding me, talking at the same time and vying for my attention. It’s a great feeling and I know that it probably won’t last!

Since we have an awesome afternoon babysitter- she makes sure my kids are fed, bathed and in pajamas before I get home.

I try to read my kids books every night, but if they’re playing nicely, then I just let them be. If it’s Thursday night then I’ll start cooking my gefilte fish.  If they are totally not ready for bed, then I have them help pack their lunches for the next day.

If my kids are fighting and at each others throats then, as you can probably imagine, my night looks a bit different and I’m not a calm mommy. It’s hard being tired and refereeing 3 boys (who are probably tired too) at the same time.

I really try to have patience and keep calm throughout bedtime, but it is HARD!  Three kids who each want me to rest with them at the same time and try to prevent me from resting with their brother even though they know that if they’re patient they’ll get their turn. It takes a lot of patience!

Every night I say a little prayer, hoping that bedtime goes smoothly. My kids always end up going to bed later than I think they should, but the minute I realize that they are all sleeping I can take a deep breath and start with the rest of my night.

The rest of my night basically consists of eating dinner, showering, packing lunches for the next day and vegging out. I go to sleep much later than I should and spend way too much time on the computer. This is the time I blog, watch TV, do online shopping and surf the web.

I wish I had more me time, so for now I just try to enjoy the alone time I have on my commute home. I know my kids won’t be small for much longer, so I have to take advantage of the “me” time I have now and enjoy it.

What are your evenings like? Do you find the morning or evening more stressful? Why?

Until next time,
Shaindy