Joshua has been working from home since shortly before Yehoshua (2) was born. Since he is self-employed, his hours are based largely on what jobs he's working on and his own personal schedule preference. While we both LOVE having him work from home, it can be challenging to stick to a rigid schedule. :) We've tried a variety of schedules over the months. Here is what we've been doing this year (since Eliyahu was born), which has worked well. :)

6:20 am My alarm goes off, and I start nursing Eliyahu. When he has a full tummy, I get him and Yehoshua ready for our walk. I put some breakfast (energy bars, usually) in a little container and some milk in a sippy cup for Yehoshua to eat on the way.

7:00 am We're off on our walk; we are usually home by 7:50 am. Sometimes I start laundry before we go. :D

8:00 am Change diapers, nurse Eliyahu, eat breakfast myself, work on laundry, start making granola or energy bars (once or twice a week), play with the children, etc.

9:00 am Yehoshua's "school" -- reading, writing, coloring, puzzles, etc. (Eliyahu plays in the walker or on the floor)

9:30 am Feed Eliyahu again and then hang out laundry (if there is any, and there usually is!) -- the children love being outside while I do this :D

10:30 am Work on putting away clean dishes (I wash them and let them air-dry overnight), plan dinner (and thaw ingredients if necessary) and start lunch preparation, bathe children (every 2 days), change diapers, take mail out to mailbox/get mail, etc.

11:15 am Nurse Eliyahu and put him down for a nap. (I would like him to nap a little earlier, but usually it's after 11 before he acts tired.) Then make/finish lunch.

12:00 pm Eat lunch with Joshua and Yehoshua. Clear table, put away leftovers, and have Yehoshua help with dishes. A lot of times Eliyahu is awake before we're done the dishes, so I do them while I make dinner.

1:00 pm Nurse Eliyahu and get Yehoshua ready for his nap (includes picking up toys).

1:30 pm Yehoshua starts his nap. Eliyahu and I do various things like paying bills, emptying the garbage, putting in another load of laundry, or dinner prep.

2:15 pm I nurse Eliyahu again and (hopefully) he falls asleep again. ;) Then I have about 30 minutes to use the computer, take a shower, or spend time with Joshua before Yehoshua wakes up from his nap. :)

3:00 pm Yehoshua wakes up, and we go out and hang up more laundry, or work on dinner, If the dishes didn't get done after lunch, we do them while we make dinner. If some of the laundry is dry already, we take it down and fold it. Sometimes we weed the flower beds, or do some other chores like cleaning in the house.

4:15 pm Eliyahu wakes up and nurses.

4:45 pm We finish up dinner.

5:00 pm Joshua, Yehoshua and I eat dinner together. Eliyahu plays in the kitchen in his walker.

5:30 pm Joshua plays with Yehoshua and Eliyahu while I clear up leftovers and start the dishes. Yehoshua comes and helps with the dishes (usually not too many, since we do them while we are cooking dinner if possible). I clean out the fridge quickly.

6:15 pm I feed Eliyahu again. We all go outside and take down laundry/play.

7:15 pm I try to get any "extra" little things caught up around the house... seems there is always something that needs done! I also usually give Yehoshua a snack.

8:00 pm Nurse Eliyahu and hope that he falls asleep. ;) Get Yehoshua ready for bed -- potty, clean diaper, brush teeth, put away all toys, sing or read, etc.

8:30 pm Yehoshua goes to bed. I take a shower. (Eliyahu plays by himself if he's still up.)

9:00 pm Nurse Eliyahu and put him to bed, sleepy or not! :D

9:15 pm Spend time with Joshua, use the computer, etc. I can "legally" stay up as late as I wish, and I do frequently stay up rather late. :|

12:00 am Nurse Eliyahu and go to bed myself.

3:00 am Nurse Eliyahu. If I'm sleeping beside Eliyahu, he moves and wakes me enough for me to switch sides and go right back to sleep. If he's in his own bed, I set the alarm. If he's in the playpen in our room, I usually sleep very lightly and wake up every couple hours and decide to feed him. I know... I just really love feeding my baby. :)

Now, I know I have times written down for all this stuff, but truthfully we rarely follow this to the letter. ;) Everything is give or take probably 15-30 minutes. It's amazing how a messy diaper or cranky, clingy child can throw a person off schedule. ;) Also, Joshua and I frequently converse during the day for short bits. But this is the basic routine we stick to. :)

I know it sounds like I do a lot of cooking, but really it's just little bits here and there... pulling out a frozen chicken, or seasoning some meat, or assembling a casserole, starting some bread, or chopping stuff for a salad... it just depends on what I'm making. :)

Laundry is a daily task, between regular clothes and diaper loads. Hanging it all out means numerous trips down to the basement and out to the clothesline, but I actually love the little "reprieve" from being indoors all day. And of course, the children LOVE to hear, "Let's go hang out some clothes!" Yehoshua says, "Clothesline! Outside!" and today when we got out there, he said, "Run around?" which was his way of asking if he could run around the yard and play instead of helping hand me things. ;)

The photos don't really illustrate our whole day, but they were the ones I found when I was sorting through photos on my computer, since I didn't take "special" ones for this post. :)