Eight AM Baker Hustle >>Week One

If you follow me on Instagram then you may already know about our new morning tradition with the hashtag eightAMbakerhustle attached to each picture. I took a picture of all four of my babies on our way out the door on the second day of school. My sister Kylie who lives thirty minutes away requested that we take one each morning so she could see all the kids together >>and especially Oliver in his school attire<<. So our little tradition was born and I'll be compiling five days worth into a post each week! I am so excited to have these to look back on!

Bits Plus Pieces

Our New Season

It's still hard to believe that Oliver is old enough to be going to school. I'm not going to lie I do miss seeing him during the day but the routine that the school year has brought to our day has been so great for us! I never realized until now that I really thrive off of having a fairly structured schedule. I get so much more done because I'm forced to have everything in pretty decent order to get all five of us out the door and to school by a certain time. Here's a break down of our day:

6:30 am I wake up and get ready

7:15 or 7:30 am >>depending on if I shower or not<< 

I head downstairs to make breakfast for the kids

7:30-7:50 am Kids eat breakfast while I make Oliver's sandwich for lunch

7:50- 8 am the boys get themselves dressed while I dress the babies

by 8:15 am we head out the door for school.

Once we're there we all walk Oliver to class which we LOVE.

8:30 am we head home so I can clean up the kitchen while the kids play.

9 am til 11 am is our free time. We do whatever we feel like that day.

Sometimes we run errands, sometimes we head to the park, sometimes we go to Papa's house, 

it just depends on the day. 

11am we eat lunch!

11:30 am NAP TIME!!!

During nap time I usually do things around the house like laundry, cleaning, etc.

If most of those things are done I'll relax, watch tv, or blog. It's a good recharge for me.

2pm-2:30pm The kids wake up and we get ready to go get Oliver from school.

Sometimes I make a Starbucks run on the way if we have enough time.

3 pm We pick up Oliver and my sister >>they go to the same school<< and give her a ride home.

Some days we spend some time at Papa's house, some days we go to the park, and some days

we head straight home. So far this week he hasn't had any homework so that's been nice!

5:30 pm Daddy gets home! He normally helps with dinner and/or watching kids while I make dinner.

6:00 pm Some nights I'm heading out for work at this time. On my nights off we have family time.

8 pm Kaleb puts the kids to bed while I clean up the kitchen and get as much of Oliver's lunch and snack bag packed as I can. I pick out and lay everyone's clothes out for the next morning. This makes the next morning run so much smoother!

9 pm I lay down and fall asleep pretty quickly because I'm so tired.

11pm On nights that I work this is normally the time I get off which makes 6:30 am the next morning

feel sooooo much earlier. Thank goodness for coffee.

At the end of week one this is our routine! I'm sure it'll change throughout the year but for now we're loving it minus the being pretty tired part. Nap times are a must. My kids are pretty whiney and tired by lunch, especially poor Sawyer. He's used to being able to sleep in until 9 or 9:30 in the morning so getting out of bed at 7:45 is kicking his booty. I know we'll all get adjusted soon but for now it's early naps and bedtimes.

Kindergarten

 Oliver, 

Gosh you looked so grown up on your first day of school. You were so beyond excited! You absolutely loved getting up that morning and getting all of your stuff together and couldn't wait to get there to play. You seemed a little nervous, especially when your teacher said hi to you but she was very very good at making you feel welcomed and comfortable. 

 As soon as the whistles blew and they called everyone to line up you perked up and ran right over to be first in line. I was very proud of how well you listened to your teacher's instructions and seemed to naturally grow up to fill your role as an elementary student. We talked a lot about listening, obeying, and treating others with love and respect before hand and I pray God works those things into your tiny little heart. 

After your whole class gathered their backpacks and filed into the classroom to find their seats I had to peek in and see how you were doing. You found your desk right away and immediately opened up your new reading books. One thing your preschool teacher told us last year was how much you loved sitting in her reading corner to thumb through all the books. I'm so excited for you to learn how to read this year because I know you'll enjoy it so much more. 

After school I walked up with Auntie Kylie, Uncle Lorin, Auntie Tinney, and your sister and brothers to pick you up. You were all smiles and told us you had a really good day. You said your favorite thing that day was playing on the playground and you couldn't fall asleep at nap time because the teacher had an audio storing playing that was about a pirate. You loved it. Not long after we got home you asked when you could go back to school and squealed with excitement when I told you that you would be going back the next morning. I hope you always love school. I'm so proud of you! I love you always and I pray that God teaches you so much about Himself through this new season of your life. I pray that you will depend on Him and seek Him in all that you do. You will always and forever be my baby boy.