A Day in the Life of a Working Mom (Part II)

I recently stumbled upon my first A Day in the Life of a Working Mom post last week. As I read through the post I couldn’t help but feel like it was written in another lifetime, even though I had only written it two years ago. It’s amazing how quickly you transition from one phase to the next when you have small children.

I thought it would be fun to do another post to compare what has changed and what has remained the same now that the kids are almost 4 and a half and 2 and a half.

5:50 am – My alarm goes off. Today was a rest day so I got to sleep in! I typically run or go to the YMCA two to three times during the week before work, so my alarm varies between 4:30 am, 5 am, and 6am daily.

6:00 am – I actually get out of bed and get in the shower. I wish I was one of those people (like my husband) that can just pop out of bed and start their day. It’s usually a slow process for me, no matter what time I get up.

6:30 am – Crosby comes out of his room first, his sun has come on so he knows it’s time to get up. Kenley isn’t far behind when her green light comes on. We LOVE Goodnite Lite and the Ok to Wake! clock so the kids know when it’s morning.

I get the kids dressed in their school uniforms and Greg makes breakfast in the kitchen and packs up the lunches that we made the night before. I finish getting ready after the kids are dressed and sitting down for breakfast.

6:50 am – I make my way to the kitchen, throw my breakfast and lunch in my own lunch box and pack up the backpacks, swim bag, and soccer bag since I know we have a busy night head of us.

7:05 am – I have no idea what happened today but we were out the door in record time. I don’t think I have EVER left this early before, though I intend to every day. One thing I cannot leave the house without each morning is…COFFEE.

7:30 am – Thanks to leaving early, there wasn’t much traffic getting to school. On the way, we listened to Sugar Crash Kids and pointed out all of the school buses and construction vehicles on the way (if you are in East Orlando, you know there are A LOT!).

7:50 am – I get to work with my coffee in tow and I’m ready to start the day.

11:30 am – After working at my computer all morning, I got to get out of the office for a walk across campus. It is gorgeous out! I love that it’s really felt like spring this week…but it also makes me wish I wasn’t inside working all day.

12:30 pm – Lunch time! I have gotten into the habit of eating at my desk, which is not the best idea sometimes. Today, I worked on homework while I ate my chicken salad and crackers from ALDI.

1:30 pm – Back to work!

4:55 pm – I pack up my stuff and wrap up my work for the day to ensure I am out the door right at 5:00 pm in order to get to our evening activities.

5:25 pm – I meet Greg at the school in our neighborhood so he can pass off Kenley. The boys head to Crosby’s swim lesson and the girls head to Kenley’s soccer practice. This is our busiest night of the week and our last week of swim lessons.

5:33 pm – Kenley and I arrive at soccer practice which starts at 5:30 pm. Thankfully, we have all of these activities right here in our community so it doesn’t take long to get from one place to another.

6:15 pm – Practice is over and the boys are already at home getting dinner ready. Tonight we are having one of our favorite meals – Cheesy Chicken  Broccoli and Rice Casserole (but we just call it cornflake casserole, because obviously that is the best part). I prepped it last night so we just had to pop it in the oven to heat it up. It’s all about the rotisserie chicken, so good!

6:40 pm – We finish dinner and opt to skip baths tonight so it’s straight to pjs. The kids want to run around but we encourage other quiet activities.

7:10 pm – It’s time to brush teeth and potty. Crosby and I pick out books to read and Greg and Kenley play quietly in her bedroom. I typically put Crosby to bed each night. We’ve developed a good routine and why fix it if it’s not broken?

7:25 pm – Crosby’s moon comes on and it’s time for lights out. He gets out of his bed several times and I walk him back to his bed silently before he gives up and falls asleep.

7:40 pm – Greg and Kenley read books and she gets into bed.

8:00 pm – Both kids are in bed and Greg and I work on cleaning up the kitchen and prepping for tomorrow. The kids are buying school lunch, which is a once a week treat for them, so that saves us time tonight since we don’t have to make lunches. I prep dinner for tomorrow which will be marinaded grilled chicken and roasted Brussels sprouts. Finally, I change out of my work clothes and put on my pjs!

8:30 pm – It’s couch time! I work on homework a little bit, but I am easily distracted and Greg watches baseball.

10:00 pm – Bedtime! My alarm is set for 5:00 am so I can get a workout in at the Y before work.

***

Life is still busy two years later, but it’s a different kind of busy, and dare a say a more fun kind of busy. It’s so fun to look back and read about the baby days and in a way I do miss those days, but I love our busy days now. In two years, I am sure I will look back on these days with fondness as well but I know we will quickly be moving into another stage of life.