A Day in the Life

A year ago, I did my first Day in the Life post. Nicholas was just 8 months old, and it was one of my last few days as a stay at home mom before I went back to work. Quite a bit has changed! I recently documented one of our days as part of my Working Mommy post for Stafford Stories, but I wanted to share it here as well.

Tuesday, September 17th was a pretty typical day for us lately.

4:45am – Our morning starts out a little rough. Nicholas has always slept a solid 12 hours from about 7pm to 7am (or if he did wake up, he could usually put himself back to sleep), but over the past few weeks, he has started waking up several times a night screaming. And he won’t go back to sleep on his own unless we go in and comfort him. I read recently that toddlers can start having dreams and nightmares at this age (19-20 months), so I don’t know if that’s the problem, or if it’s teething, or if it’s something else. Anyone have experience with this? Anyway, it was Jason’s turn to go comfort him, so he gets up, but I am awake and unable to really fall back asleep.

6:15am – And he’s crying again. This time I’m pretty sure Nicholas is just up for the day. He used to get up at 7am or later, but since the nighttime screaming has started, he’s waking up earlier in the morning. I go get him, change his diaper, and bring him into our room. Jason is getting out of the shower, so he takes Nicholas into the kitchen for breakfast.

6:40am – Morning has never been my forte. I finally drag myself back out of bed and into the shower.

7:00am – I join the boys for breakfast. Coffee. Need coffee.

7:30am – Jason leaves for work and I take Nicholas into my bathroom while I finish getting ready.

Keeping it real here—this is what my bathroom looks like after I attempt to blow dry my hair and put on make-up with a toddler running around. And, yes, those are what you think they are. Sometimes, feminine hygiene products strewn across the bathroom floor are worth 5 minutes of peace.

8:00am – I run around the house gathering my laptop bag, purse, possibly a gym bag if I’m working out that day (but not today), and anything Nicholas needs for daycare, and then we finally head out the door. Most mornings, I am usually sweating by the time I strap him into the car seat. (In all fairness, it’s about 95 degrees inside our garage. That’s just Texas.) Getting out the door is a marathon.

8:40am – We arrive at daycare. Thankfully, today’s drop off goes smoothly.

8:45am – And I’m back in the car for the quick drive over to my office.

8:55am – I walk in the door to my office and organize myself at my desk. Time to get myself psyched up for the day.

9:15am – I walk up the street to the local Starbucks with a few co-workers. Today requires a second cup of coffee.

9:35am – OK, back at my desk. Time to really get focused for the day. I am working on a big marketing plan for our next fiscal year and have quite a bit of writing to do—if I can ever get done with all the little requests that keep coming in via email.

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WORK

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5:15pm – I pack up my bags and head out of the office. We alternate daycare drop-off and pick-up, so it’s Jason’s turn this evening. Meanwhile, I head to the grocery store to pick up some shrimp for our dinner. (I always meal plan for the week, but usually plan to drop by the grocery store once midweek, if necessary, to pick up any really perishable ingredients like shrimp.)

5:40pm – I arrive home, do a quick 5 minute tidy up of the kitchen and organize myself to make dinner.

5:50pm – Jason and Nicholas arrive home. About half the time, all three of us eat together as a family. The rest of the time, we’ll feed Nicholas first and then eat our dinner after he goes to bed. This evening, I know I won’t have our dinner ready in time to eat together, we sit Nicholas down in his high chair. He doesn’t seem hungry, so he winds up just eating a big bowl of Greek yogurt with some apricot jam mixed in. Not the most well-balanced meal, but he’s your typical toddler—some days he eats anything he can get his hands on, and other days not much at all. I know in the end it all balances out, and he is growing and healthy, so I don’t worry about it too much.

6:15pm – Bath time! This is usually Jason’s quality time with Nicholas. On the nights we all eat together, I use this time to clean up the kitchen. Tonight I use it to start cooking our dinner. We are having a tried and true shrimp and grits recipe from Southern Living. It’s a lighter version of the southern staple, quick to prepare, and super tasty.

6:30pm – Nicholas is bathed and changed into PJs. He plays in his room a little bit with Jason. I pop in for a few minutes to play with him.

6:40pm – Nicholas is ready to start winding down for bed. Dinner is pretty well under control. I usually put Nicholas to sleep at night and that is our quality time. I take him into the bathroom to brush his teeth (not his favorite activity—it’s kind of like wrestling a cat). Then we head into his bedroom to read several stories, rock, and sing a song or two. We pull the shades, turn on his white noise machine, and dim the lights. I let him pick out a few favorite books, and then we settle into the glider. Some times we look at his animal flashcards. After we’ve read for a little while, he’ll ask me to sing “Py-ger” (The Itsy Bitsy Spider) or “Wo wo wo” (Row, Row, Row Your Boat.) Finally, I put him into his crib and after I kiss him, his Bert, and his Ernie, then I wish him goodnight and head out the door.

7:05pm – I throw the shrimp into the pan to finish up the shrimp and grits recipe, set the table, and serve our meal.

7:15pm – Dinner time! We always sit down at the table for dinner and, on the nights it’s just the two of us, this is when we catch up with each other and reconnect.

7:45pm – Jason cleans up the dishes, while I go start a load of laundry. Then together we quickly fold a load of laundry sitting on the couch.

8:15pm – And it’s finally relaxation time! There are plenty of nights when we’ll each go do our own thing, but tonight we decide to watch an episode of Hard Knocks (HBO’s reality show documenting NFL training camp for the Cincinnati Bengals) together. NFL football is normally not really my thing, but the show is actually really interesting.

9:05pm – We straighten up the living room for a minute and then head into our room to start getting ready for bed.

9:35pm – I climb into my bed and open my Kindle. When I’m in the middle of a good book—tonight it’s Sisterland—I like to read for a few minutes before bed.

10:05pm – Lights out!