I’ve been getting this question a lot recently. I usually hee-haw around a bit, and then stammer something about “when the kids are happily occupied.”

Here is a more thought-out response:

1) If I manage get up before the kids, I try to read for 5-10 minutes. I take a loooong time to wake up, and reading helps me enter my day gradually (and happily!)

2)  During baby girl’s nap and while big brother is reading books on the couch beside me, I’m able to get in about 30 minutes of reading. I used to try to get work done during this time, but I realized that I needed a rest AND David is more motivated to look at books if I’m also looking at books.

3) After the kiddos go to bed, I’m occasionally able to get a chapter or so in, but recently I’ve been freezing green beans during that time.. .. Maybe in the winter I’ll be able to read in the evenings again!.)

4)  Sometimes, if the kids are both in the living room playing, and I’ve gotten a good bit of my “work” done for the day, I allow myself a bit or reading. I have to be careful, though, because sometimes I can become too engrossed in my reading, and then be annoyed at my kiddos for being kiddos.

5) I’ve started to skim a lot more. And I’ve gotten more picky about what I’m actually reading. This helps me get through stacks of books, but then I sometimes go to my book club and blankly stare as people talk about a scene that I must have skipped over.

6) My house is not as clean as my mother’s. My garden is not as weed-free as my father’s. And I don’t take my kids out and about as much as some of my friends.  This all leaves more time for reading. Haha.