A Day in the Life . . . Now

It appears that my most recent post in this series was from January of this year.  Yeah, times have certainly changed.

So what's life like now?

7:00 AM - The girls and I need to be out of bed by 7:00 to keep the rushing around at a minimum.  Rich wakes up and showers before we get up.  Sometimes I don't hear him or sometimes I fall back asleep, so I leave it up to him to make sure we're awake.  We've slept past 7:00 a few times and it really isn't that big of a deal.  There's just a bit more rushing than I would prefer and I think life is easier (especially for Anna) if you are able to focus on one task at a time in the morning instead of trying to complete three tasks at once.

Funny story from this morning:  I ended up in Allie's room in the middle of the night and when I woke up this morning, I thought that Rich had left and we had fallen back asleep.  He was supposed to leave earlier than usual this morning to meet his sister for coffee. Something felt off in the house.  I picked up my phone and it was 7:27!  I ran into the master bedroom and Rich was just getting out of bed.  His alarm clock was showing 6:30 because it had automatically adjusted itself for the time change that hasn't happened yet.  And yes, his clock has done this before.  The girls and I had 30 minutes to get ready and out the door, and we managed but we don't want to rush like that everyday.  

8:05 - 8:15 - This is the time frame for when the kids are allowed into school.  Once they shut those doors, you are considered tardy.  It takes us about five minutes to drive to school and we always leave by 8:00.  Despite living so close to the school, it does take me 20-25 minutes to complete the morning drop-off.  This is mainly due to the bus traffic and drop off congestion.

MOMMY TIME - Oh, how I wish I was a morning person.  I don't like mornings at all.  It takes me awhile to get going and I really want to use my alone time wisely and efficiently but that hasn't always been happening.  I clean, do laundry, run, edit photos, read.  Sometimes I do nothing.  Well, it feels that way.  I know some claim that having a schedule of when to clean what helps them but I think that would drive me insane.  Having a routine for everything doesn't work well with my personality.  I have been volunteering!  Last week, I helped out with a drive for the local food pantry and yesterday, I was a parent helper in Emily's class for a Halloween activity.  I do have to say that it is so nice to be able to volunteer at the school without the stress of taking time off from work.

Years and years ago, when my only responsibility was myself, I took a month off between jobs.  I found that I functioned the best when I went to sleep at 2:00 in the morning and slept until 11:00ish.  I'm more productive and have more energy later in the day.  This is why I've always preferred to run at night.  Unfortunately, life doesn't really work with that type of schedule so I'm dealing with it.

2:40 - The girls and I arrive home from school.  It takes me about 30 minutes roundtrip to pick them up.  I like to arrive a little early and we hit pick-up traffic leaving the parking lots.  The girls empty their backpacks and have a snack while they begin homework.  I check over their math homework before it's packed up.  When their homework is completed, they play until it's time to eat dinner or leave for dance.  We are at the dance studio three nights a week.  Because the girls' dance classes are at different times each night, our routine is slightly different.  For two of those nights, we need to eat dinner before dance.  And it's sort of an early dinner - we need to be sitting down, eating at 4:45.  The third night, dinner is after dance, which can be a challenge as everyone is starving and I need to have a quick meal planned.  I learned that lesson the hard way.

8:00 - This is the very latest time the girls start getting ready for bed.  Ideally, they are upstairs before this time but on the late dance night, it usually isn't possible. They shower at night - not every night though.  I'd like for the girls to be in bed and reading by 8:15.  Our rule is lights off by 9:00.  One day last week, they were all clearly exhausted, which was evidenced by a long, grumpy play session, so I insisted on lights off at 8:45.  They immediately fell asleep.

10:00 - This is when Rich heads off to bed.  I know it will be easier for me in the mornings if I get to sleep early, so I usually head upstairs too.  Sometimes I read, which I can do and not disturb Rich if I'm using my kindle.