Hi Shera,
What a beautiful post about finding quiet time. I have three boys (all young teens now) and I completely understand the notion of being outnumbered by boys. Having six must be a crazy adventure. I am in a constant search for quiet time and have a few "golden times" when I'm most likely to get it. Its even harder with boys (I think) as they are most interested in things that go fast, explode, crash, growl, or light on fire. Nothing calm about most of their play! I find my best quiet time after they go to bed. Bedtime is 8:30 for them. While they don't have to actually be in bed until 9pm, they have to be getting read and settling down starting at 8:30. I make the rounds tucking them in and then by 9:15, the house is quiet. I read, do emails, work on crafty projects, or just breathe.
We also try to carve out quiet time after school. I pick them up by 2:30 and they get to "chill" for a while before homework hour, which is from 4-5pm. This is a collective quiet time where they have the opportunity to do their homework without interruptions. No TV, computer, or video games allowed. If they don't have any homework, they still have to find something quiet to do. They also only get one hour of "screen time" total each day, which helps to keep the annoying TV sound at bay.
Now that they are teens, they can ride their bikes to their friends houses. I used to be sad when they did this but now I realize it gives me more 1-1 time with the boys that are left when one or two of them are gone for a bit. If all three have gone off to play, I sometimes discover I have a window of pure silence!
I found your blog through the BlogFrog network and wanted to come over and say welcome and congrats on your community. (If you ever have any questions of suggestions for improvements, let us know). Nice to discover your blog.
Holly (co-founder TheBlogFrog)
