Tonight I want to describe our evening/night time routine during weekdays and weekends.
On weekdays, our routine is rather rigid. I come home around 3:30pm. Unpack my lunch bag: take to-go containers out, through out garbage. Unpack my work backpack: throw out any papers I stuffed in there, take out my planner, plug the phone in. Overall, put things where they belong (backpack goes in the hallway closet but I have a bad tendency to hang it in the kitchen).
The kids’ aftercare runs till 5pm (R) and 6 (L). Usually, I pick them up earlier, around 4:30-5. That gives me about an hour and a half of “free” time. I almost always make myself a hot mug of tea and patter around the house. I tidy. I clean the kitchen. I plan the next day. I am trying to train myself to use this time to read or relax but am having a hard time (hence getting jigsaw puzzles and water colors).
Let’s say, I picked up the kids from aftercare and we are all home.
5pm. Unpack backpacks, shoes into the closet, hands washed. Play, inside or outside. L can do her piano practice. R can do toys or build. No screens during the week.
5:30-6pm. Dinner. T has been in charge of dinners for the past month, and I love it.
6:30pm. After dinner, plates into the sink, kids upstairs, showers. T and I assist both kids with scrubbing and teeth brushing, depending who is available. If he is cleaning the kitchen, the I wash the kids. And vice versa.
7pm. The kids play together or separately (rarely happens), this is an interesting time to observe them in their day: they play school, nail salon, art lesson, store, and other inventive games. Also, around this time R does “words” (cards with words on them), and L reads her books. She is very much into Junie B. Jones at the moment.
Around 7:30pm, books are read, kisses and hugs and songs (mainly Russian lullabies). L reads for a while longer until I turn off her light. I love the fact that she is a reader but I try not to let her read past 8 (if it was up to her, she totally would).
Not every evening goes smoothly. Sometimes it’s a game of whack-a-mole with cajoling, asking nicely, and then not so nicely. Other nights it’s smooth sailing.
Our evening routine is largely dependent on the season. At the time of this writing, it is spring in New Jersey, and the weather is in the 70s-80s, the kids want to be outside! L just learned to ride her bike so that is all she wants to do! Time outside sets us (me) back in bed time. I love my early bedtime, I need my early bedtime. But I also love how they are playing outside.
Just yesterday we spent a good hour outside after dinner. I laid the blanket out, brought my books out, a pen, my notebook, the sun was setting, kids were playing, L was riding her bike up and down the street. R was roaming around, getting goofy, blowing dandelions and seeding the lawn with them 
Birds chirping their evening songs. I placed my bare feet on the grass. Lovely. But I was in bed later than I wanted to.
On weekends, we ease up a bit: let them stay up a bit later; they can watch some TV or L can play Sak boy, a video game appropriate for a 7 year old (timers are set). On Friday and Saturday nights, they also want to sleep in the same bed and, while I am sure their quality of sleep suffers, it’s okay – it’s the weekend. Sunday night is a school night so separate rooms, separate beds.
When T is away, I tend to run a tighter ship. The hours between me coming back from work and me picking the kids up from aftercare are spent prepping the house and making dinner. So when the kids arrive I don’t have to be stuck in the kitchen. Instead, I can go outside with them and put my feet in the grass again.
What about you? What is your evening routine is like? Do you have one? Any special rituals? How do you settle yourself (or the kids if you have any) for the night?
Mom of Children 