5:50 AM - The alarm sounds and I grumble. This is the worst part of the day for me. I've had to wake up at this time for 20+ years and at this point, I think it's safe to say that I am not a morning person and I will never be a morning person.
6:00 AM - The only reason I roll out of bed is knowing that if I'm late, I'll miss my train and have to wait outside in the cold for the next train. Sometimes in the summer, if work isn't busy, I do opt for the later train. I've been trying to pick out my clothes and make sure everything's pressed and ready to go the night before so I'm not doing this in the morning. I'm successful maybe 40% of the time. I also try to pull together my food to bring to work the night before but that doesn't always happen either. The girls have become much more independent and pack their school snacks but because they can't reach the cabinets or anything higher than the bottom shelf in the fridge, they need assistance with breakfast and packing school lunches. Rich and I tag team, depending on who is awake and ready to eat. Grammy finishes dishing out breakfast or packing school food when she arrives.
7:15 AM - This is the latest Rich and I can leave in order for me to catch my train. We live close enough to the station so that Rich dropping me off and someone picking me up works out well and we don't have to pay to leave a car sitting at the train station all day. The first thing I do when I get on the train is spend five minutes putting on my face and then I read for the remainder of the ride.
8:30 AM - After my train commute and a mile walk, I arrive at the office. Assuming there hasn't been any signal or maintenance issues with the train, of course. I can't eat breakfast early in the morning so I always eat at my desk. Lately, breakfast has consisted of yogurt with granola. We have Bagel Fridays at work and a few weeks ago someone also brought in donuts and cinnamon rolls from a bakery. I had a piece of a glazed donut and it was the tastiest donut I've ever consumed. (You know the saying "nothing tastes as good as skinny feels." Well, I disagree.)
What I actually do at work depends on the day, time of the year and what happens to be going on at the company. I can spend almost a full day in meetings or it may be the complete opposite and I could be working at my desk all day. Some days I get through my to-do list while other days, random questions and items arise and I spend my day working on those. 98% of the time, I eat lunch at my desk. With the colder weather, I've been bringing a lunch from home as much as possible in order to avoid additional time outdoors.
What I actually do at work depends on the day, time of the year and what happens to be going on at the company. I can spend almost a full day in meetings or it may be the complete opposite and I could be working at my desk all day. Some days I get through my to-do list while other days, random questions and items arise and I spend my day working on those. 98% of the time, I eat lunch at my desk. With the colder weather, I've been bringing a lunch from home as much as possible in order to avoid additional time outdoors.
5:15 PM - I pack up my commuting bag, change shoes and head out the door to begin my trek home, which consists of a mile walk back to the train station and then (hopefully) a normal length train ride. If Rich isn't working late, he picks me up at the station and we head directly to the girls' activity (dance or gymnastics.) If Rich can't pick me up, Grammy does. At dance or gymnastics, I chat with the other moms, read a book, stare into space and, obviously, try to watch the girls. Viewing areas aren't always great for actual viewing. My arrival at dance or gymnastics relieves Grammy and she can head home. Rich does also stay to watch gymnastics but not dance because the parent area there is tiny.
7:15 PM - We arrive home. I look at the papers that were brought home from school and quickly review any math homework. The worst is when one of the girls has a math test the next day. Their teachers give them a pre-test the day before a math test and they are allowed to bring that pretest home. I always go through the questions that were marked incorrect and make sure they understand how to get to the answer. Most of the time, it's a quick process but sometimes additional explanation/help is needed, which I don't mind doing but now it is getting late and kids need to get ready for bed.
For the most part in the winter, the girls shower every other night. Well, Anna usually prefers a bath as showers are still somewhat difficult for her. The process for me is much more hands off but one parent is needed to make sure all shampoo/conditioner has been rinsed and to keep the process moving. You can tell a kid to get ready to shower and ten minutes later, she's still fully clothed.
8:20 PM - The girls are in bed reading and Rich and I sit down to eat. Rich usually takes care of preparing dinner while I do the bed time stuff. After everything's all cleaned up, we hang out in the family room either reading or watching television. This is also my time to edit photos and blog.
10:00 PM - Time to shut down and get ready for bed.
This probably would have been more interesting/dynamic with photos but in staying true to a typical day, I don't walk around with my camera.
For the most part in the winter, the girls shower every other night. Well, Anna usually prefers a bath as showers are still somewhat difficult for her. The process for me is much more hands off but one parent is needed to make sure all shampoo/conditioner has been rinsed and to keep the process moving. You can tell a kid to get ready to shower and ten minutes later, she's still fully clothed.
8:20 PM - The girls are in bed reading and Rich and I sit down to eat. Rich usually takes care of preparing dinner while I do the bed time stuff. After everything's all cleaned up, we hang out in the family room either reading or watching television. This is also my time to edit photos and blog.
10:00 PM - Time to shut down and get ready for bed.
This probably would have been more interesting/dynamic with photos but in staying true to a typical day, I don't walk around with my camera.
10 comments:
Love your blog and reading about your sweet girls! I can't believe that people criticize you for not raising your kids. I am so sorry that there were people trolling on here like that. People definitely forget that there's someone real on the other side of these words and photographs. Working hard so you can provide for your family is most definitely raising your girls, as well as an excellent lesson for them.
Question about your commute--when you have to walk a mile in the summer, do you worry about sweating and getting your work clothing too smelly to wear to work? I live in Los Angeles where no one walks (ha!) and that's something I always wonder about.
it's sad that people feel they can criticize strangers on the internet
I'm usually cold so it takes a lot for me to sweat - I like hot weather. I also wear layers so I can strip down to bare arms. And my commuting bag is so big because I carry stuff like deodorant with me - haha.
You are a wonderful mommy! I'm 25 weeks pregnant with my first, and I hope I can be half as good of a mom as you. I started stocking up on Gymboree clearance items because I remember your posts about scoring deals on the girls' clothes there. They have the cutest stuff!
Farah - How exciting!! (And yes, Gymboree sales are awesome.)
Love the Day in A Life posts!! And you are a fantastic Mom, don't give any thought to the haters out there!!
Question: On dance or gymnastic nights, when do the girls eat and who feeds them? I ask because my girls are heavy into dance. They have classes on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday nights. I struggle with the whole dinner thing because a). They have to eat something before they are going to be dancing for four hours, b). They start at 4:30 or 5:30 which is kind of early to have a full dinner, c). I don't want them to dance on too full of a stomach and lastly d). When we get home at 9 pm or 10pm they are STILL really hungry!! So I end up giving them some kind of sandwich or slices of quiche for their early dinner and then noodles with butter and Parmesan cheese or soup or even just yogurt for the later meal. I don't want them to go to bed after eating a heavy meal, but sometimes they are ravenous!!! Sorry my question turned into a book!!
Maureen - My kids eat dinner REALLY early - usually between 4 and 5. They've always been that way. So when they have an activity, they eat dinner beforehand and then have a snack or dessert when they get home. Sometimes they do keep grabbing snacks and I have to cut them off to get them in bed.
I love to hear about other moms' days and routines. I would never criticize you for working (oh my goodness that's how people get money to live, right?) and I wonder if you have ever considered living somewhere else. We live in Columbus, Georgia. We are not from the south and in fact, we are moving west again this summer so I'm not going to defend South vs. North but: how do you live with SO MUCH SNOW (I'm thinking of your amazing snow pics last winter). Also the housing prices here are fabulous. Maybe your sort of job can't be found in this area? What about a larger city like Little Rock AR, Atlanta GA, Birmingham AL, Tampa/St. Pete FL? Do you and Rich like Orlando? Would you consider raising your girls somewhere else or is all of your future family life imagined in the town you live in?
Tracie - while I would love to live someplace warmer, most of our families live here. We see our parents quite often and don't want to move away from them. Also, Anna has many doctors and the access to Boston hospitals has been wonderful. I would hate to have to find all new doctors for her.
Yes, I see. Finding new doctors would be a huge task, especially if Anna has a special relationship with any of them. I have been intrigued by Anna's story - thank you for sharing it. Your girls are beautiful in triplicate.
And you know, we don't have snow here in Georgia but the summer humidity is a force to reckon with. I guess we pick our battles? We moved here from Hawaii (Army family) and the weather there is truly perfect or else I would say "no place has perfect weather".
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