The Perfectly Realistic SAHM Schedule- So You Can Do It All

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The Perfectly Realistic SAHM Schedule- So You Can Do It All

As a Stay-at-Home Mom, it is so easy for your daily tasks to blow up. You are the mom, the chauffeur, the nurse, the teacher, the chef, the maid, the activity planner and coordinator, the appointment scheduler, the accountant, the list goes on with no end in sight! (Did I mention this is a 24/7 job, and we don’t get paid a cent for any of it?) Did you know that kids don’t just entertain themselves? Especially when they’re infants and toddlers. How in the world are you supposed to get anything accomplished in your home when you have little souls who rely on you for every single second of their entertainment, nourishment, and general well-being at your feet all day long? Somehow you do. Then, you close your eyes at the end of a grueling day of non-stop work, and the next thing you know there’s little Timmy at your bedside startling you awake to inform you that he just threw up all over his bed (…the walls, his stuffed animals, his little brother.)

Ah yes, such is the life of the Stay-at-Home mom. Yet, people still tell us we are lazy or should get a job. I wouldn’t take these comments to heart. Usually, those who say such things have never come close to experiencing life as a SAHM. I’ve been a working mom, and I’m going to be totally honest with you and say that, for me, the SAHM life is more challenging. I certainly don’t speak for all mothers, but this has been my experience. The more we are home with our kids, the more mess is made. The more I am home, the more my depression is fed. The more we are home, the more of our own resources are used. The more we are home, the less of a break we get. However, I would not trade this life in for anything. In fact, when it was time for me to call my employer and give my notice, I did not hesitate. I didn’t think twice about putting all of my faith into my husband and kicking my career to the curb. This choice was a leap of faith, and I would do it again and again. I have wanted this life for as long as I can remember I wanted this life for my kids, the kind I had where they will always have someone home for them. It is hard. Some days it feels impossible, but there is no one more important than my kids. There is no one better suited to raise my kids than myself. So I chose to be a Stay-at-Home Mom. I chose to do it all.

If you’re here reading this, odds are you’re with me and you also chose this do-it-all life too! In the beginning, figuring out your SAHM schedule can be extremely intimidating. I have to admit, despite the fact that my husband has only ever said positive things about what I do here at home, I constantly feel the need to prove myself. There is something about the way this world puts money on a pedestal that makes people feel like they are a burden if they aren’t bringing financial value to the table. Never mind all the other value I contribute. Apparently if it’s not monetary, it’s worthless. Obviously, I’m exaggerating here, but if you’re a SAHM I bet you know what I mean.

I felt like I needed to be perfect. I’m talking showered and dressed, spotless house, home-cooked meal on the table every evening, perfectly behaved and well-kept children. I wanted to be the pinnacle of perfect housewives. When I tell you I was anything but, I am not joking. Most days a shower was questionable, clothes were out of the picture, my hair was likely not brushed, my house was horrifying… There was no schedule, no order. It was a whole lot of chaos, and a whole lot of me downing antidepressants and praying to God for deliverance. (Can I get an amen?) The one thing I can say that I had down, was making sure my kids were happy, fed, and entertained. I had the mom thing down. The mom thing I could do all day long. However, the Mom part of Stay-at-Home Mom is literally only one part of the equation. How was I supposed to do all the other things that needed to be done in our home without sacrificing some of my children’s happiness? As soon as I’d try to leave play time to do some dishes, I’d be guilt tripped. Tears would flow.

I struggled with this for longer than I’d care to admit. My eldest did not know what it was like to have to entertain herself for the first two years of her life. (I was also freshly out of the Early Childhood Education Program so I was still anti-screen time… LOL) Even when I was working, she would go to my mom’s and have complete one-on-one attention there also. I had a lot of guilt for whatever reason, about not always being available to play with my daughters 24/7. Children learn through play, it is vital to their growth and development. I felt like I had to be there to fulfill their every wish and to be sure to never miss a learning opportunity. So, everything else in my home suffered. If only being a SAHM meant that I simply had to stay home and be a mom. Having my second child kind of forced me to get into a realistic, functional SAHM schedule, one which would have to include my kids having to spend some time learning to entertain themselves. (GASP!)

Now, I am not perfect. I long for perfection, but alas, I’ve yet to crack the ultimate mom code. When I do, you’ll be the first to know. However, this schedule is perfect. (Okay, as close to perfect as they come.) Once I figure out how to get myself to follow it religiously on the daily, I will be that much closer to my imaginary perfect mom trophy too. (Confetti canons shooting off everywhere.) Seriously though, this schedule has created some of our absolute best days at home. I truly feel like I’ve been able to check off all the boxes of my SAHM responsibilities when I stick to this schedule. Life happens, and we have to be adaptable. However, I strongly encourage you to save this schedule. Print it out, stick it on your refrigerator, stamp it on your forehead, whatever it takes! Having a schedule makes all the difference in your SAHM life.

Enough of my ramblings, here it is…. (insert hilarious drumroll here)

The Do-It-All SAHM Schedule

There you have it! We will dive into this schedule in detail below!

The (Almost) Perfect SAHM Schedule for the Do-It-All Mom

Did I forget to mention you have to be willing to wake up before the sun rises? (Whoops :))

5:30am:

• Scroll, You Know You Want To

  • Wake up and get your social media scroll over with. I’m addicted, you’re addicted… It’s okay. Just get it out of the way and move on.

5:45am:

• Shower/Meditate/Drink Your Coffee

  • Whatever it is that gets you moving in the morning, DO IT!

  • It is so important to have time to yourself BEFORE your kids wake up. It sets the tone for your whole day. During this time with yourself you can decide that you are going to have a good, productive, fun day with your kids.

6:00am

• Clean up

  • This is your time to clean up whatever mess was left over from the day before. I don’t know about you, but I crash and burn as soon as I put my kids to bed. Doing the whole bedtime routine with them makes me so unbelievably tired. It’s like my body is saying, Hey thanks for the bedtime routine! I’m ready to lay down now. So, I often find that I have some mess to deal with in the mornings (I know that’s making a lot of you cringe. It’s okay, this schedule is merely an outline for you to fill in however suits your needs. All of our lives are different, even if they’re all equally nutty.)

6:30am

• Make Breakfast and Prepare for the Kids to Wake Up

  • With about a half hour left until I’ve got kids trying to break down the gate that keeps someone from falling down the stairs again, it’s time to make breakfast! Whip up some pancakes or throw cereal in a couple bowls, I’m not here to judge. One of my favorite go-to’s is a heaping bowl of yogurt and toppings for breakfast. Toddlers love yogurt so it’s a win-win.

7:00am

• Get the Kid’s From Their Room and Give them breakfast

  • We recently moved our youngest (Laura) in with our oldest (Elaina), so if one is awake, usually the other is too. If they wake up before 7, my Elaina knows to watch her Unicorn Clock to decipher when it’s time to wake up. This thing is actually ridiculously cute, and Elaina decided to name it Strawberry. When it is time for the girls to be awake, the face of the clock turns from pink to green and Strawberry’s digital eyes open. If they are still sleeping, this silent “alarm clock” does not wake them up. They love this thing, and frankly, so do I. It has been a life saver in keeping my kids in their room when it is time for them to be asleep. Who doesn’t love a good night’s sleep?

  • Then I bring the girls straight to the bathroom for what we call a “potty stop.” They take care of business, and once they’re done I seat them in their booster seats for whatever breakfast I pulled out of my hat on that given day.

7:30am

• Screen Time

  • You might be thinking, GASP! Screen time so early in the morning?! To that I say abso-freaking-lutely! I am simply not ready to dive into playtime that early in the morning. This screen time block has gotten longer as well, I aim for one hour. 30 minutes of Elaina’s show of choice and 30 minutes of Laura’s show of choice. It’s not like I’m going to cover one girl’s eyes and ears and say NO! Don’t look! You’ve reached your screen time threshold so you can’t watch your sisters’ choice! Nah, we don’t do that here. I’ve relaxed myself about screen time (and many other things…) since becoming a mom of two.

  • While the girls have their screen time, I attend to things that need to be done on the daily like dishes and laundry.

8:30am

• School Time

  • Elaina is preschool age, and I intend to homeschool her (and any of my children) until she tells me she is sick of me and wants to experience public school because she thinks it will be like High School Musical. Laura is just under two and will play around the room, and often participate in our school activities simply because Elaina is the coolest and she must to everything as Elaina does.

  • If your interested in our preschool schedule, feel free to let me know in the comments below and maybe I’ll make a post about it!

9:00am

• Personal Hygiene Time

  • I have no other way of describing this than personal hygiene time. I encourage the girls to dress themselves and practice brushing their own teeth and hair (Of course, at this age, I still have to go in and make sure we are thoroughly brushed.) We do this just after finishing up our weather activity so the girls know what kind of clothes they should be looking to wear for the day.

9:30am

• Arts and Crafts

  • We use this time to get creative. This could be something elaborate like this super cool Recycled Robot Craft I posted about earlier, or simply coloring in some coloring books. Often I will tie in a quick alphabet craft that correlates with our letter of the week before we move into free crafting or holiday crafting.

10:00am

• Story Time and Snack Time

  • I like to set the girls up with a little snack while I read them a hefty pile of books. They love doing this! I find it is a very relaxing time for all of us. Occasionally, I will even pull up some YouTube kid’s read alouds which they are always thrilled about. I picked up that trick in the Early Ed. program, works like a charm when you want them exposed to read alouds but just don’t have it in you to do it on any particular day.

10:30am

• Indoor Free Play

  • During this time, we play whatever the kids want to play. Often, this is some kind of pretend play in their playroom. How many times can we have a pretend picnic? The limit does not exist.

11:00am

• Walk Around the Block

  • I love our walk around the block, and I love that my kids are to the point where they expect the walk and do not fight it. In fact, they embrace the walk most days. It’s a great way to get in some exercise as a busy SAHM, and the fresh air does us all some good!

11:30am

• Outdoor Free Play

  • As long as you’re not pushing them in swings, this is your opportunity to get any yard work done that needs doing! A lot of the time, the girls will want to help me with whatever I’m working on. Then, when they inevitably get board, they move on and play around the yard.

12:00/12:30pm

• Lunch Time

  • Move the party inside and prepare lunch. A lot of the time, we are having just way too much fun outside and wind up having lunch closer to 12:30. When the weather is nice, I like to set up the girls’ lunch on the porch or at their picnic table. This gives us extra Vitamin D (Thank you, you natural antidepressant), and keeps the lunch mess that’s bound to be made out of my kitchen. Not to mention, the girls truly love a picnic! (A real one even more than the pretend ones if that’s even possible.)

1:00-3:00pm

• Nap Time

  • I put the girls to bed, and then this is my sacred me time. Usually, I’ll kick things off with 30 minutes of exercise, then eat something, blog, clean, prep dinner whatever I feel needs to be done.

3:00pm

• Survive until Daddy gets out of Work

  • Depending on how the girls feel when they wake up, this could look like a number of things. Essentially, anything goes for the next half hour. Sometimes, Laura is still sleeping, so I let Elaina use her tablet for Khan Academy Kids which I love for preschool supplementation.

3:30/4:00pm

• Daddy Time

  • Jordan gets done with work somewhere between 3:30 and 4:00, and then I take dinner preparations seriously. Whatever I need to do to make sure that dinner is on the table for 5:00 is done during this time.

4:00pm

• Family Time/Family Outing

  • During this time we may go for a family walk, take a trip to the park, play with the girls in the playroom, do an activity, whatever! If it’s fun and it’s together, we are doing it!

  • Family Time and Daddy Time can be swapped depending upon what the dinner is and what it’s preparation looks like.

5:00pm

• Dinner Time!

  • At this point, we put dinner on the table and eat together as a family.

5:30pm

• Family Clean Up

  • Clean up the day’s mess, and encourage the girls to be part of the family unit, taking responsibility for their part in the mess that was made that day.

6:00pm

• Bath Time!

  • Pretty self explanatory. Just get in there and give those sweet thangs a bath! I know some people are on the fence about daily baths, but I find they girls love them and are extremely relaxed by this routine.

6:30pm

• PJ’s, Lullabies, and Snacks

  • We help the girls into their pajamas while they watch the Disney Junior Lullabies on Disney Plus. We actually started doing this when Elaina was an infant because she would just SCREAM after getting out of her bath. These were the only thing to calm her down. Frankly, I cannot recommend them enough. The music is beautifully relaxing. I enjoy listening to it myself. Simultaneously, we allow the girls to have a snack during this time to make sure they are going to bed with full bellies.

7:00pm Brush Teeth, Final Potty Stops, and Story Time

• Brush Teeth, Final Potty Stops, and Story Time

  • At this point, we take the girls into the bathroom to brush their teeth and make sure those tiny bladders are as empty as possible before they go to bed for the night. Then we all march upstairs for story time!

7:30pm

• Lights Out

  • On a typical night, the girls are all tucked in and lights are out at 7:30pm.

7:30pm

• The 15-Minute Straighten Up

  • As I mentioned before, I am very tired at this point. So I tell myself, that 15 minutes isn’t a lot but can go a long ways in helping me be ready for the following day. So I try to tidy up for 15 minutes. Yes, I set a timer. Occasionally, I even get really into a project and keep going.

7:45pm

• Anything Else? If not, relax!

  • Sometimes I have other things to attend to at this hour. Maybe it is blog work, maybe it is catching up with family and friends, sometimes it’s scrapbooking, the list goes on. Ultimately, this is my time to read a book, binge watch a show, have a relaxing at-home spa night, and spend time with my husband. This is your time, Momma! Do whatever your heart desires, so long as there’s not a small child creeping out of their room. (You are never truly off the clock, after all. Especially, seeing as “the clock” in question is the one that hangs on your kitchen wall.)

10:00pm

• Bedtime For Grown-Ups

  • I really don’t recommend staying up past 10. (She says while she types this at 9:55pm- HA!) In all seriousness, you need the rest. So get to sleep! Hit the hay! You need to be up at 5:30 tomorrow morning to do this all over again. Just look at what you accomplished today! It is so worth it.

You Really Can Be a Do-It-All SAHM

Give this schedule a try! Truly, it will change your life. I guarantee that the days you can keep to this schedule will be some of your absolute best days with your kids. Your kids will find security in a schedule they can predict. You will feel fulfilled. You will feel like not only were you able to meet the needs of your children, but also the needs of your home and yourself. You really can do it all. It’s not easy, it’s not for the weak. But you knew that. You knew when you signed up for this SAHM thing that you were going to have to put your best foot forward. Hold onto that faith you had in yourself. You can do everything you’ve been wanting to do for your family. It just takes a little bit of time management, and this schedule is going to help you do just that. Don’t forget to share this schedule with your fellow SAHM’s! We are in this together, Momma!