Group Discussions

What is your weeknight evening routine?

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  After reading and responding to the question about morning routines, I got to thinking that what is even crazier at my house are the evening routines. It can really be crazy some evening trying to get a good dinner ready for all, get homework done, have playtime together as a family, baths, get kids to bed at a decent hour. Our evening routine goes something like this.....
  
  
  
  4:45 pm -- leave work and drive approx 30 minutes to pick up kids
  
  5:30 - get home, get everyone settled and start dinner
  
  6:30 - dinner completed, get homework done, start baths (we do baths every other night unless day's activities call for more)
  
  7:00 - playtime together as family -- we try to do quiet activites so as not to get everyone all wound up before bedtime
  
  7:45 - read stories and talk about day
  
  8:00 - 8:30 -- start moving towards bed with goal of having lights out and be asleep by 8:30 or shortly after
  
  
  
  The remainder of the evening hubby and I take care of things we need to do -- household chores, work that has been brought home, etc and try to find some time for just the two of us before we collapse in a tired heap.
  
  
  
  The above schedule seems to work unless some sort of outside activity comes into play and then we find ourselves "winging it".
  
  
  
  Does anyone else find evenings difficult to get everyone going in the right direction and also get good, quality family time?

  Flag as inappropriate Posted by Mel on 29th January 2008
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  We don't really have an evening routine, probably because my kids are teens and get themselves to bed. The only reliable item is dinner, at 6:00 -- but who's home for it on any night varies wildly. Apart from that, it's totally in flux. The kids might have evening activities and not get home till 9; they may come straight in after school, and be here from 4:00; they may be working, and not get home till 11 or midnight! (The 18-year-old, who is taking a gap year between high school and college. The 14-year-old is required to be home and in her room no later than 9:15 on week nights.)
  
  
  
  The only other for-sure rule? Anyone who wants a shower has to do it before 9, because some of us old folks are often in bed by then!

  Flag as inappropriate Posted by MaryP on 29th January 2008
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  lol MaryP! you are in bed by 9pm?! ooh i am so glad, i dont feel so bad for wanting to go to bed at that early hour! haha!
  
  
  
  our evening routine is probably harder on my hubby
  
  
  
  5pm hubby leaves work and picks up DS
  
  5:30pm hubby and DS arrive home (unless there was some stop along the way required, mc donald's for instance, he will not tell me unless i ask!)
  
  5:30-6pm ish i leave work and head home (about an hour or so)
  
  6pm - Hubby and DS eat dinner (hopefully something with at least one veggie and not fried)
  
  6:30-7pm i arrive home! yay! mommy is home! hugs all around!
  
  7pmish - we all sit at the table and 'play' and talk about our days while i eat something (usually frozen meal)
  
  7pm - 8pm general play and family time
  
  8pm bedtime for DS! (hubby and i alternate bedtime duties!)
  
  8pm -9pm DS in jammies, read books, and go to sleep - the one not doing that does the dishes and general pick up of the livingroom/dinning room
  
  9pm - 10pm hubby and i figure out what else we have to do the rest of the week (or web surf/work with the TV on as we sit next to each other on the couch with our laptops - we are geeks)
  
  10pm -11pm go to bed! finally!

  Flag as inappropriate Posted by Kate on 29th January 2008
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  The work routine varies every week but not the kid's routines.
  
  
  
  4:30 I'm either starting or they are already eating dinner
  
  5:30/6 - bath followed by hot chocolate (b/c it's fun to have!)
  
  7 - Bedtime
  
  
  
  yes, they eat early but they also go to bed early so it works out great for us. The oldest needs the milk before bed and sometime peanut butter on a spoon so the little one gets it, too.
  
  
  
  Two nights a week I teach yoga and I either come home and chill with the laptop and hubby or take a bath and go to bed. The other nights I usually have some amount of work then I repeat what I do on yoga night. I am now making a huge effort to work out every night and usually w/ hubby. That happens at 8. Since every weeknight is different, it's all written out on the calendar so there are no excuses!

  Flag as inappropriate Posted by Mandy Nelson - Dandysound on 29th January 2008
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  My weeknights depend on whether my stepkids are with my husband and me - two nights a week - or not. When they are:
  
  
  
  4:15 - Leave work.
  
  5:15 - Pick up SD (age 13) from her mom's house. Husband picks up SS (age 8) from his after-school program and they attend martial-arts class from 5:40-6:45.
  
  5:30 or so - Get home with SD. Change clothes. Feed the dog. Hop on the computer. Make sure SD is getting started on her homework.
  
  6:15 - Dinner prep. I try to have the meal in progress before my husband and SS get home. If it's done, we can eat right away. If it's not ready yet, husband will finish prep while I take the dog for her evening walk.
  
  7:00 or so - Dinner with the kids.
  
  7:45 - SS takes shower and gets ready for bed. If he finishes with time to spare before his 8:30 bedtime, he gets to play.
  
  8:30 - Bedtime for SS.
  
  8:45 - SD takes shower and gets ready for bed. She can read in bed until 9:30 once she's ready.
  
  Meanwhile, husband and I help the kids as needed and clean up from dinner. He'll play with them, and I'll usually be on the computer.
  
  9:30 - Husband and I usually are both in bed, reading until we get sleepy (usually doesn't take too long!)
  
  
  
  On the evenings we don't have the kids, things are similar, but we arrive home later and dinner is much less structured.

  Flag as inappropriate Posted by Florinda Pendley Vasquez on 29th January 2008
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  4:30 pm: Leave work
  
  
  
  5:45 pm: Get home (uuggh ... that darn traffic!)
  
  
  
  5:45 - 6:00 pm: Talk with Hubby about our respective days or Work out
  
  
  
  6:00 -6:30 pm: Dinner for Hubby and Me.
  
  
  
  6:30 pm - 7:00 pm: BM, Rice cereal for Baby
  
  
  
  7:00 - 7:15 pm: Get Baby to bed
  
  
  
  7:30 - 8:30: Read for work
  
  
  
  8:30 - 9:00 pm: Shower, TV, Sleep

  Flag as inappropriate Posted by KC on 29th January 2008
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  WOW!
  
  JEALOUS of all you gals that get out of work at 4:30!
  
  
  
  6p out of work
  
  6:15 home- hugs for mom
  
  6:30 Hubby home - hugs for dad
  
  6:30-8:30 play time/ bath time
  
  8:30 books before bed.
  
  9p lights out.
  
  9p Dinner for us
  
  10p Watch movie or work on projects
  
  11:30p lights out for us

  Flag as inappropriate Posted by DebR on 31st January 2008
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  All day-I NEVER LEAVE WORK
  
  
  
  4:30 pm 2 older kids come home from school have a snack and sit down and get homework done
  
  
  
  4:35 pm younger 2 kids demand a snack because they want to be like big sisters
  
  
  
  5:00pm clean up younger 2 kids from snack mess
  
  
  
  5:45pm start dinner with 2 younger kids hanging all over my legs and try not to trip on any of them. Usually set out a few dishes for them to "cook" while I am.
  
  
  
  6:30 pm dinner is on the table-hands are washed and everyone sits and enjoys the meal together-this is where we talk about our days and any new info that we need to pass along
  
  
  
  7:30pm clean up: the older 2 alternate chores of sweeping the kitchen, dishes and wiping down high chair and counters the younger 2 are put into the bathtub and jammied up
  
  
  
  8:30pm younger two are put to bed one with a blanky and binky and the other with a story or two and a DVD of princesses.
  
  
  
  9:30pm I come back into the kitchen and clean up the water from my kids dishwashing all over the floor, and wipe down the counters again, I put a load of laundry into the wash and take a load out of the dryer that's been in there since yesterday.
  
  
  
  9:45pm I hang up clothes from the laundry, iron hubbys pants and shirts and try to watch a show on TiVo I missed during dinner while he sits in the living room watching his TV shows.
  
  
  
  9:55pm Go turn off DVD of princesses and tell older girls 'lights out'
  
  
  
  10:00pm shower or just fall into bed usually unable to sleep because my brain is so busy..
  
  
  
  11:00pm as I doze off the 17 month old screams for round 1 of her night terrors, she'll be up again at 2am. I go in and try to put her back to sleep walking by hubby sitting on couch watching TV or playing video games.
  
  
  
  And it pretty much starts all over again the next evening.

  Flag as inappropriate Posted by Just Elaine on Friday