Today's post is brought to you by Maria, head mama of Zoo Payne, and one of my favorite bloggers. Following her everyday life - with three children, a husband and a varied selection of animals on their farm in Norway - is such a joy. Her photos always put a smile on my face! I recommend you bookmark her blog as well as her Instagram instantly.
Take it away, Maria!
My day starts between 6 and 7 am, when Freja (3 yrs) usually hollers from her bed "mammmaaaaaaaa" or "daddyyyyyyyy", to which of course she doesn't get any response (we're trying to make her stop it and choose the silent version of starting the day), so her big sister Ronja (8 yrs) who shares bedroom with her wakes up and reminds her that she can just climb out and walk in to our bedroom. So she does, eventually. If my husband has early shift, he's already up by then to feed the animals and himself.
The kids and I snuggle in bed for a little bit, before we get up and go to the bathroom. Freja is home with me and Falk (4 months) two days a week, the rest she goes to play school with her daddy/ my husband, who works there. Everybody gets dressed, then off to the kitchen. The girls are not very hungry in the morning, so they just have toast or a yoghurt. I make lunches and tea (although to be fair, Ronja has started making her own lunch box most days now. My big girl!), and they're all out the door between 8 and 9 am, depending on which shift my husband has that day.
Then I shower and have my breakfast, while Falk naps and Freja plays if she's home. I love oatmeal, so I'll always have that with some variation; either as porridge, baked in the oven, or like cereal with milk and almonds and shredded coconut.
I don't really do routines, so Falk is not on any type of eating/ sleeping schedule. I don't stress about it; I know his rhythm will come gradually and naturally. So he feeds when he wants and sleeps when he needs to, and the rest of the day is spent doing laundry/ dishes/ etc, going for walks in the fields and forest, hanging out with our animals, playing and generally faffing about quite a lot.
Lunchtime for us solid-eaters is usually between 11.30 and 12.30, and we'll scramble eggs, or boil them (but leave the yolk runny, importantly), and have that with buttered toast and cheese.
Ronja comes home from school at 1.30 or 2.30 pm depending on what day it is, and she'll have a snack and then be right off cycling. She never tires of it. We'll all be outside in the afternoon, playing, before I pop in and start dinner before my man comes home. We usually have dinner between 4.30 and 5.30 pm, and always eat together (well, if you can call what Freja does eating: one bite and then she's off again).
Then we have a cup of tea and go outside to do our farm jobs and help daddy out. It's feeding animals, fixing fences and tending our vegetable garden, and of course lots of playing. Falk hangs out in his sling so we can go everywhere easily.
Bedtime starts around 7 pm, with sandwiches and milk and stories. Falk goes off to sleep first, then Freja, and then Ronja. We always stay in the bedroom until Freja goes to sleep (like you, Astrid!), because it's nicer for her and quicker for everyone (if not, she'd just get up a hundred times and the whole process would take ages). We sing to her, she goes to sleep quickly. Ronja gets herself ready for bed, and then her and I read a chapter or two from a book, right now we're reading The Little Prince. She's off to bed around 8 pm.
When all the kiddos are asleep, my husband and I finish the daily jobs around the house and farm, and then we both go on the computer for a bit, before we sit down together for a chat and a beer. These days we sit on our front porch, in the sunset, it's so lovely. I feel so lucky.
We're in bed by 11 pm (I try to go earlier, but these light summer evenings are just too nice to miss), and I'm woken up by Falk for his nighttime feed between 3.30 and 5 am.
My days are quite wonderful right now, both because of the season and because I am lucky to be home on maternity leave with Falk. I cherish every one of them.
Thanks for having me, Astrid!
Love from Zoo Payne*
PS: Here is Sara's days + make sure to read the stories shared in the comment section!
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