Aside from a few appointments with social welfare and our lawyer, our average day here in Malawi is actually pretty slow. When we first were here, we had hours of free time on our hands and spent that time playing with and holding babies and sitting. Our days would drag by like a snail out for a leisurely stroll. And waiting on adoption stuff was even more painful when we didn't have anything to keep our minds off of it.
After our first couple weeks here, we finally developed a daily routine. We've filled our otherwise empty mornings and late afternoons, we (especially Wezi) always know what to expect next, and it helps the time pass quicker.
Our day starts at seven. Both children usually wake up before that - I will often feed baby Kristopher at 5-6:00 am and give Wezi books to read in her bed until it's time to get up. The first half hour of our mornings are usually the craziest as there are so many people who need to get ready. Miss Wezi is not one to just sit and chill - she loves to help change and dress little Kristopher, tell me what I should wear that day, then tell me what to do next. She loves routine and if I do anything out of order, she will protest! 😄 During this crazy time, Kris goes out and starts coffee, oatmeal for me, a scone for him, and serves Wezi the porridge (called phala) that the nannies have prepared for all the babies.
We eat breakfast around 7:30. This is usually time consuming as Wezi gets distracted by all the other babies eating phala around her. So we just slowly enjoy our coffee and talk. Baby Kristopher enjoys sitting on the mat in the living room with the other babies.
When we're finished, we head back to our bedroom for Bible reading. If we washed laundry the night before, Wezi and I will fold that afterwards.
Tea and bread are served around 9, which we enjoy with the nannies. Bread is Wezi's favorite thing in the world, so if she didn't finish her phala that morning, we'll have her eat it then before having any bread (and she always gobbles it up).
From 9:30 to 12:30, we like to go to town if we need to do shopping and try to fit a walk in (to the nearby market where we buy pop and samoosas - fried deliciousness!). In between that, I go over flash cards with Wezi (we're calling it school). If there's still time left over, we like to have her have some alone play time out in the main room. She always has 2 or 3 babies following and grabbing at her toys 😄, but she has fun.
12:30ish is when lunch is served - nsima (pronounced "seema") which is maize flour and water cooked down (the texture is thicker than mashed potatoes) - you eat it with your hands, using it to scoop up whatever is served on the side - beans, vegetables, or meat.
After we eat, it's nap time for our babies. Kris and I will usually read during that time.
We get the children up at 3:00. Wezi eats some phala, then we head out for another walk (45 minutes to an hour).
Our next chunk of time before dinner is unstructured. Wezi and I read together (the nursery has two Bible story books and we've worked our way through them a couple times), Kris and W play together, W plays by herself, etc.
Dinner is usually served at 6:30 (nsima again). After we eat, we head back to our bedroom, Wezi and I put together a puzzle (if there's time), then bath time for both kids at 7:00.
After baths, we do Bible reading, read a book with Wezi, then 8:00 is bedtime for the kids. Kris and I are usually so tired at this point, so go to bed soon after.
I noticed that I didn't really mention little Kristopher in the schedule. That's because he's such a chill and go-with-the-flow baby. He loves hanging out with the other babies, though several of them are bigger and in their eagerness to play, often knock our little man over. Wezi adores baby K and loves including him in things. She loves reading to him, or helping me change him. He just takes it all in stride, watching her with his big blue eyes and biting his lower lip, making his cheeks even chubbier. 😄
We have all loved having a routine in place! This is something that I hope to continue to keep up when we're back home, though of course it will look much different than this!
Aw, mooshy cheeks! ;-) Routines are so nice!!
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