It’s Monday and I have another great blogger to introduce you to this week.

I’m going to let her just take it away….

Hello! I am Anne from Just Only Home and I want to say a big “Thank You!” to Kristina for having me as a guest here on her wonderful blog. I am a wife and mother to 4 wonderful girls, bonus mama to 3 more. I love being a stay at home mom and making life beautiful for my family. I love cooking and fun activities with my children. I feel one of my greatest responsibilities is using our limited budget to its fullest potential. This is my career, making the most of what my husband makes.

Mom Monday My Way

Since it is Monday I thought I would share my take on “Mom Monday”. I know we never REALLY get a day off… but I think it’s important to have a day where self expectations are lowered. I know that for me personally weekends are everyone else’s day off in my home. This means busy busy busy for Mama. There is always the expectation for fun and getting things done that my family members aren’t able to do on their busy week days, and as the center of the family it is often my job to facilitate that. Bu Monday morning I am ready for a vacation!
I am a list maker and my daily schedule is full and busy.

Regularly Scheduled Programming:

• 5Am – wake up so I can actually have a shower and some bathroom time before the teenagers take over. Make the bed, pick up the bedroom, and bring the laundry down.
• 6Am – Empty the dishwasher and toss in the strays, throw the laundry in the washer, and get some breakfast made for the kiddos
• 6:30 – Time to wake up my 4 gals. Get them sitting up to the table with breakfast and pack lunches and backpacks.
• 7Am – Time to get the kiddos dresses, hair done, teeth brushed, in their gear and out the door. I’ll be done dropping them off around 8
• 8Am – Now time to run any errands that need running and get supper into the crock pot.
• 9Am – Noon – Blogging time! Writing, responding to emails, and finding out what’s new on social media. Plus I need to make sure to visit a few of my favorite bloggers!
• Noon – Lunchtime for me, the little one, and my home schooling high schooler.
• 12:30-3Pm – Time for helping out with home schooling and doing personal projects/planning projects for Just Only Home.
• 3-5Pm – Kiddos need picking up from school, whatever running they need to do, and then help with homework or maybe a fun activity with the little ones.
• 5 Pm – Dinner
• 6PM – Housecleaning
• 7PM – Bathing, reading to, and tucking in the little ones.
• 8Pm – Fold and put away that laundry that I washed today and making sure I have the dishwasher loaded and ready to empty by morning and a load of laundry sitting in the washer waiting to start in the morning.
• 9Pm – Time with my teenagers and/or hubby or on the rare night that they all have something else to do maybe some time with a book by myself
• 10PM – To bed! Must be rested to start all over tomorrow!

And THAT is on a day with no appointments or events! If you think of everything we have to accomplish as moms of COURSE we need to take a breather day. Now for my Monday schedule.

My Mom Monday:

• 6:30Am – Sleep in a bit and throw on the yoga pants and a pony tail, wake the kiddos and have a quick breakfast and get ready.
• 7:30Am – get the kiddos to school by 8. No errands or appointments get made on Mondays so I am free to get home and start drinking that pot of coffee I have made for myself.
• 8Am – Noon – Doing what I want to do! I’ll probably still check my emails and browse some blogs that I have been wanting to, or find some new ones. Play around on Pinterest or visit my favorite CafeMom groups; Make Life Beautiful and Cuties with Cloth Booties. That is where mommy’s friends live!
• Noon – Light lunch for us, leftovers or sandwiches. Ask high schooling home schooler if she needs any assistance. Since she knows it’s Mom Monday she will usually decline, having planned being self-taught on Mondays into her schedule.
• 1-3Pm – Hmmm, time for maybe a snooze and a snuggle with my 4-year-old? A movie we can watch together? Maybe a little more computer time? Oooh, my book! Yes, please.
• 3-7Pm – Pick up the kiddos from school, we try not to plan much on Mondays as the into to the week so it’s home we go. Do a little home work help and chillin’ with my gals, maybe Uno, maybe a movie. My high schooling home schooler takes Monday night dinners for her cooking class so no worries about what to eat, that has been planned in advance in our Meal Plan. All the kids and hubby pitch in and clean up after supper as a thanks for my doing it the rest of the week. They know I need a Mom Monday!
• 7PM – Sometimes hubby or one of the teenagers takes over bath time but I of course still need to be a part of tucking in.
• 8-10PM – The rest of the night is for reading or hanging out with hubby and my big girls.
• 10PM – Off to bed because it’s back to the race tomorrow!

I feel blessed to have a family that supports my day off. I also LOVE being able to be in control of my own schedule.

Do you have a day that you take for yourself?