This is a BIG day for The MOB Society! Not only do we have a great post here from Meghan Tucker, but we are also featured on the Tommy Nelson blog, where Brooke was able to share our heart for connecting moms of boys! Tommy Nelson is one of our biggest fans right now and we look forward to sharing more with you from them soon!
Time for the Lord
A timetable or schedule is an organized list, usually set out in tabular form, providing information about a series of arranged events: in particular, the time at which it is planned these events will take place.
Before having children, I talked to many moms who didn’t really have a schedule set in place and they seemed so confused, upset, frustrated with their kids, and just seemed to be always frazzled about something. Then, my sister (who is quite the scheduler) told me about how she ran her family of 8 and it all clicked and made sense.
Those who don’t have a set routine often feel confused and unable to focus and accomplish things. It has been said the first three years of life is when children learn the most, so why not take that opportunity to really invest in them, in their hearts, and teach them how daily routines can help us?!
I realize different things work for different families, but I always love to share what has worked for ours just in case it might help and work for another family out there.
So, what does a normal day look like for us?
6:00-6:30am: I wake up, have my quiet time, and get a few chores done, check email
7:00-7:30am: Kids wake up, make our beds, brush our teeth, put on clothes
7:30am: Breakfast
8:00am: Morning devotional together as a family/husband leaves for work
8:30am: Run errands or play with the boys
9:30am: My youngest takes his morning nap and I do “school” with my 4 year old.
10:30am: I finish up some daily chores and get lunch started
11:30am: Youngest son wakes up, and it’s lunch time!
12:00pm: Run errands or play
1:30pm: Read books together and get ready for nap
2:00-4:00pm: Both boys sleep or have quiet rest time and I get some stuff done around the house and have my “rest time”.
4:00pm: Both boys up and I start cooking dinner, they play together on the floor
5:00pm: Dinner and husband home from work
5:30pm: Family time (play, go to the park, etc)
6:30pm: Baths
7:30pm: Snacks, read books, start getting ready for bed.
8:00pm: Bedtime
With this schedule, our kids know exactly what to expect and are much happier than days when we don’t have a schedule. Yes, there are days when our schedule is loose or we’re out of town and don’t really stick to our set routine, but for the most part, the above schedule is how we go about our days.
I always love to hear about other mothers’ days and how they have their routine set up. It’s fun to make “tweeks” and add things or take things out that don’t work for us. In the next year or so, we are going to start doing some mission work with our children. We are going to set a “schedule” and make one or two mornings a week when we go to nursing homes and be with the elderly, help pickup trash around town, take food to the homeless, etc.
I personally feel that this is one of the most important things you could teach your child. Routines help you accomplish and what better things to do than to accomplish and tackle things for the Lord.
The MOB Society is such a great tool that Brooke and Erin have created! I can’t say enough good things about it. As a mom to two boys, I’m always looking for new tips, a good laugh, and friendships with other moms of boys. All you ladies are amazing and I’m blessed to be in this with you!
Some useful tools that have helped me get organized and make an easy schedule to stick by are: making and keeping up with a household notebook (click here for more details), MomAgenda Day Planners, Real Simple, and Organized Home.
If you ever want to chat with Meghan, feel free to contact her ANYTIME: @meghantucker on Twitter and through her blog.
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AND as a surprise for our faithful readers out there! Today we are announcing our first official MOB Society sponsor – a boy mom just like you and me – the lovely Ashley from Our Daily Chocolate! We are SO excited to have Ashley and her gorgeous work as a part of the MOB!
To celebrate being our first sponsor, Ashley is giving away a pair of her lovely rosebud earrings…
as modeled beautifully here by Brooke…
There are three ways you can enter – but you have to do it on our Facebook page! Head on over there now to find out how to win!
I'm Erin, a wife, boy mom x 3, writer, and runner in Nebraska! I'm excited to share all my favorites relating to faith, family, fashion, and fitness in this space! Enjoy! 
I totally agree w/ Meghan. Even w/ only one little guy, I NEED a schedule to keep my head on straight. While there is flexibility, I find that when we do approximately the same thing every day, my little guy is much more content and happy throughout the day! Going over to FB to check out the giveaway!! =)
great post Meghan!! I’m a huge fan of schedules and it has helped us as we have two young kids. So thankful that when they are crabby, tired, hungry, we know exactly why!!! 🙂
Our schedule is a little different:
7:00 Tristan & I wake up/Anthony leaves for work
7:30 breakfast then quiet play
8:15 Isaac wakes up/his breakfast
8:30 go get the mail/park play (or movie if it’s cold/rainy)
playing/reading
10:30 Isaac’s first nap
12:00 lunch
Isaac’s lunch whenever he wakes up
1:00-3:00/4:00 Tristan’s nap
3:00 Isaac’s nap
5:00 Anthony home/Mommy’s running time/supper started
6:00 supper
6:45 baths
9:00 bedtime
We’ve tried doing a family devotional; let’s just say we’ll keep trying. LOL
thank you for the awesome comments so far! You ladies are wonderful and such an encouragement to me!
Meghan having a schedule, even just a loose one, has been a life-saver for my family. My DH works shift-work so his schedule is constantly changing. We’ve found that the best way to help our children feel a sense of security in the midst of that is to have a routine. We don’t have one quite as strict as yours…not for lack of trying. But we do have certain things we do every day at the same time. The most important thing for our boys is to have consistent sleep times. If we get off that schedule most else falls apart. Thanks for this insightful post!
I am NOT a natural organizer, but with three boys, I have learned it is ESSENTIAL to not having a chaotic home. (and as you probably know, boys are chaotic enough even WITH a schedule!) When they were young, my schedule wasn’t as detailed, but we did have set nap/quiet times and that alone was a life-saver. Now that they are older (10,12,15) I am so very thankful I learned this skill early on. There is NO WAY I could keep up with them if I didn’t have a detailed calendar. And where it is important to keep up with the school/sport/friend/church activities, the MOST important thing it does is keeps them and me from over-scheduling our lives. We make sure that dinner time is on the calendar. We mark off 90 min. everyday that “do” dinner. Obviously it does not take that long to eat, but that is time that we spend together eating, talking, catching up. Sometimes that means we are eating at 8:00 at night, but we hope by doing so we are getting across to the boys how important that is. A household notebook is the other thing that is helping save my sanity. Find what works for YOU and stick with it.
I love your schedule. It is actually very similar to mine. 🙂
I am so glad I found your site! I have a 17 month old baby boy, Bradley.
Hi
How do I “become a fan” of M.O.B. society on facebook. I see there is a link to share it, but I am not that savvy on facebook or with blogs.
You should be able to click the “like” button next to the name at the top! They took away the “fan” option now – sorry for the confusion!