HI! I’m so excited to be a part of FCM. I have some great ideas to share with you, so please come back and visit. To kick it off, here’s an average “day in the life” so you can better understand the chaos I live with and love!
4:40 a.m. – My alarm goes off, and I press snooze once. Is it time to get up already?
4:49 a.m. – The alarm, again? I stumble out of bed, get dressed in a semi-lit bathroom, fill my water bottle, and sneak out of the house…as quietly as humanly possible.
5:00-6:00 a.m. – I attempt to gain sanity for the day through a little cardio and strength training. When I’m motivated, this involves treadmill sprints and some HIIT; otherwise, it involves catching up on Homeland while planted on the elliptical. Okay, fine, it’s usually the latter.
6:10-6:30 a.m. – After returning home from the gym, I get myself ready. I shower, get dressed, and do hair and makeup (minimal). I cut (and donated) eleven inches of my hair a few months ago, so now this part of the routine takes considerably less time, for which I am eternally grateful.
6:30-7:00 a.m. – Fingers crossed that the kids are still asleep. I finish packing lunches for my children and put together milk and five bottles for the baby. (Who is Dr. Brown, and why are there so many parts to his bottles?). Also, I make breakfast so it’s ready for my children, who are ravenous when they wake up. They are like wolves who haven’t eaten in a year. Seriously!
7:00-7:30 a.m. – CHAOS. Absolute chaos. I wake both children. This is usually a ten-minute process for my 3.5-year-old, who, at this time of the morning, resembles a pubescent boy with his remorse for being disturbed. “Mommy! Get out of my room! Right this minute! Turn off the light and close the door! I. JUST. WANT. TO. SLEEP. I said NOW.” This is when I mutter something about needing to go to bed earlier in the evenings. The baby is up and bright-eyed almost immediately. Clothing and feeding both children take the majority of this half hour. This is especially true now that the baby wants to feed himself. That usually means another change of clothes.
7:30 a.m. – We are out the door. Daycare drop-off involves unpacking items while making sure the other one-year-olds don’t escape the classroom and keeping an eye on the preschooler causing trouble in the hallway.
7:40 a.m. – I drive to work singing “This Land is Your Land” or “Shake it Off” on repeat.
7:55 a.m. – I drop my 3.5-year-old off in his early classroom and give him ten “one more hugs and kisses” before heading to my own classroom and finally sitting down.
8:00 a.m. – I fire up the computer, pull up my to-do lists, and get ready for the day!
8:15 a.m. – 4:05 p.m. – Work! Aside from teaching, this involves multiple cups of coffee, a trip across campus to pick up a van for sports, coaching (field hockey and paddle), lunch, an afternoon yogurt, two recesses, a few meetings, and TONS of emails. Chaos.
4:15 p.m. – Time to pick up the big boy from his extended day classroom across campus and begin job #2. I pick up the baby from daycare and hope he’s avoided allergic reactions, diaper rash, and whatever sickness is making its way through his classroom.
4:45 p.m. – We arrive home, unpack bags, and check the schedule for a dinner plan. If it’s not arctic winter or dark, we walk the dog before dinner. This hasn’t happened in a while.
5:00-6:00 p.m.: I alternate between playing, doing laundry, cleaning up, cooking dinner, and responding to urgent emails.
6:00 p.m. – Dinner. News. Vacuum. Jeopardy. A bath thrown in there somewhere.
7:30 p.m. – It’s bedtime for the baby. Dishes. Cleaning. Organizing.
8:00 p.m. – Then it’s bedtime for the preschooler. (I try to make as many of the lunches as humanly possible ahead of time.)
9:00 p.m.—Finally, it’s bedtime for Mommy and Daddy. The baby will be up sometime between 2 and 3. (No, he isn’t sleeping through the night yet.)
