Evening Routine {Summer}

My evening routine begins around the time Gary gets back from work, which is between 3 and 4. It is at this time we will head off to the gym, if we’re going. I’d like this to become a daily thing so I can alternate between weights and stretching. As it stands, I probably go between 3-4 times a week at the moment.

I am usually at the gym for about forty minutes, but including the drive to and from, I’m probably home around five. I start cooking dinner as soon as I am home.

We sit down for dinner as a family whenever food is ready. Sometimes I prep during the day. Regardless, we eat sometime between 5 and 6.

Around 6, Gary and I try to spend some time together, perhaps watching something on TV. Or we head out for the choir we sing in with our twins, or go to Conquerors where we help out with adults with learning difficulties – we pretty much do this as a family, although Charlotte does not tend to come. Sometimes we have lifts to give to children who have their own clubs to go to.

Come the new academic year, I will be spending some of this time studying for my master’s degree in Childhood and Youth Studies.

Whatever I’m doing, I stop at 9pm or before. I have found that if I socialise much past this time I am too excitable to go to sleep. Nine is when my evening routine becomes all about sleeping!

I head off to have a bath. I use magnesium bath salts with a sleepy concoction of essential oils such as Lavender, Camomile, Ylang Ylang and Geranium. These I mix myself once a month. I put on whatever fiction Audibles book I am listening to and pour myself some sour cherry juice with some cold fizzy water. Sour cherries are meant to be soporific but you need to eat about 70 for them to take effect. So I buy the concentrated juice. I drink this whilst in the bath.

As overhead lights are not meant to be good for your sleep, I light some candles or use the sun set glow for my bath time light.

Once I am out of the bath, I sit on my rocking chair for about half an hour to cool down (I like my baths boiling) whilst continuing to listen to my latest audio book.

Lastly, I head to bed, setting the alarm for the next day. I also play my book for another half an hour which I set to turn off using the timer on my phone (best thing ever!).

With any luck, I should now be asleep 😴 💤