Friday
A day in the life: because this seems to be the new hotness in blog posts this week, and I'm trying to get more writing done. Here goes. Prepare to be underwhelmed.
6:00 - Alarm clock light turns on. Dimly (we have one of those sunrise simulating clocks in our room, as well as for the kids) It will get brighter and brighter until...
6:30 - Jolted the rest of the way awake by the annoying chirpy bird sounds of my dumb alarm clock. Those dudes are ANNOYING. Hit snooze.
6:40 - Head to the bathroom hoping to escape the notice of the small people in this house. Generally speaking Claire is out of it until someone wakes her up. Ben wakes up CHEERFUL AND ENTHUSIASTIC at the slightest sound in the morning.
6:45 - Start waking Claire. Find clothing for her and for Ben and get myself dressed. Begin arguing with Ben about whether or not I'll be helping him get dressed today. At some point, Dave will get up and challenge him to a getting dressed race. Claire manages in all this to get up, get her own self dress and then curl up on a couch with a book.
7:15 - Check Claire's school lunch menu. Take requests for breakfast. Kids usually opt for eggs or cereal with milk. If my stomach feels up to it, eat my own breakfast (usually an egg on an English muffin.)
7:20 - Make lunch and snack for Claire. Or, if she wants school lunch, just pack her an afternoon snack. Put lunch box in her backpack near the door.
7:35 - Start giving the countdown. "We need to start getting ready in 15 minutes, etc," at five minute intervals until it's time to go. Kids run off to play.
7:40 - Remember to feed the cats AND put away breakfast stuff. You'd be surprised how often I forget one or the other.
8:00ish - Out the door. Claire's school is walking distance from here, but only has the regular doors open from 8:10 until 8:20. After that, you have to walk to the late doors. Have several arguments with the kids about wearing a hat, mittens and whether or not I'm the meanest mom ever for insisting a boy of more than four WALK five blocks there and five blocks back. "But I am a LITTLE boy!"
8:25 - Run to grocery store. Have another argument with the boy about cookies and why he needs them. In his mind, they are a reward for walking.
9:00-11:00 Home with Ben. Make coffee, drink coffee, dole out snacks. Try to do chores. Some go better than others. (Laundry goes better than cleaning the bathroom.) Play various preschooler pretend games. Usually involves sitting on the couch and pretending I need to be rescued by a firefighter. Or playing Sleeping Beauty, with a friendly wakeup by my own Prince Charming.
10:45 - At some point during the morning, I have to stop and get Ben's stuff ready. Check his lunch menu, and gather stuff for his day. His school offers lunch, but he rarely eats it. So, I pack him an assortment of nibbles and hope he eats enough to stave off a hangry attack.
11:00 - Ben, it's time to go. Can you put on your shoes?Can you put on your shoes? Can you put on your shoes? Can you put on your shoes? Can you put on your shoes? Can you put on your shoes? Can you put on your shoes? Can you put on your shoes? Can you put on your shoes? Can you put on your shoes? Can you put on your shoes? BEN JUST PUT ON SHOES. C'MON MAN....
11:15 - Leave for his school. We only recently gave up the stroller. So, of course I've spent the last 15 minutes fighting over the stroller. Again.
11:30 - Drop him at his classroom.
11:45 - 2:20 - Ahhh. A quiet house. Eat lunch, catch up on laundry, finish the chores I couldn't do with Ben around and perhaps watch an episode of Breaking Bad or House of Cards. Sometimes I run errands, or go to therapy. Depends on the day.
2:20 - Round two. Time to get Claire.
2:45 - 4:15 - Home with my girl, homework, reading. General peace and quiet.
4:15 - Head out to get Ben.
5-6 - Homework gets finished - dishes get washed. Kids get a little TV time and I get dinner going. One kid gets bathed, if it's a bath day.
6:15 - We start dinner.
6:20 - Dave comes home. He eats dinner while we finish up. Kids are strongly encouraged to leave the table and get right into PJs, but this rarely happens. Other kid gets bathed if it's a bath day.
7:15 - Start winding down. Clean up toys, teeth brushed, faces washed. I'm sure no one here is surprised to hear that Ben argues about this bit pretty much every night. (I hate four years old. So. Many. Arguments.)
7:40 Story time. Each kid picks one.
7:55ish - Snuggles and songs. Kids tucked in and lights out.
8:30 - After we've both fooled around on the internet, Dave and I will sometimes watch a show or a movie. (We're currently watching Elementary, Almost Human and Sherlock, if there are any.)
10 - Get Ben up for a late night potty run.
10:14 - Shower and get myself ready for bed. Curl up with the tablet and read for a bit, aiming for lights out around 11.
And now you know how a stay-home mama of school-aged kids spends her day.
6:00 - Alarm clock light turns on. Dimly (we have one of those sunrise simulating clocks in our room, as well as for the kids) It will get brighter and brighter until...
6:30 - Jolted the rest of the way awake by the annoying chirpy bird sounds of my dumb alarm clock. Those dudes are ANNOYING. Hit snooze.
6:40 - Head to the bathroom hoping to escape the notice of the small people in this house. Generally speaking Claire is out of it until someone wakes her up. Ben wakes up CHEERFUL AND ENTHUSIASTIC at the slightest sound in the morning.
6:45 - Start waking Claire. Find clothing for her and for Ben and get myself dressed. Begin arguing with Ben about whether or not I'll be helping him get dressed today. At some point, Dave will get up and challenge him to a getting dressed race. Claire manages in all this to get up, get her own self dress and then curl up on a couch with a book.
7:15 - Check Claire's school lunch menu. Take requests for breakfast. Kids usually opt for eggs or cereal with milk. If my stomach feels up to it, eat my own breakfast (usually an egg on an English muffin.)
7:20 - Make lunch and snack for Claire. Or, if she wants school lunch, just pack her an afternoon snack. Put lunch box in her backpack near the door.
7:35 - Start giving the countdown. "We need to start getting ready in 15 minutes, etc," at five minute intervals until it's time to go. Kids run off to play.
7:40 - Remember to feed the cats AND put away breakfast stuff. You'd be surprised how often I forget one or the other.
8:00ish - Out the door. Claire's school is walking distance from here, but only has the regular doors open from 8:10 until 8:20. After that, you have to walk to the late doors. Have several arguments with the kids about wearing a hat, mittens and whether or not I'm the meanest mom ever for insisting a boy of more than four WALK five blocks there and five blocks back. "But I am a LITTLE boy!"
8:25 - Run to grocery store. Have another argument with the boy about cookies and why he needs them. In his mind, they are a reward for walking.
9:00-11:00 Home with Ben. Make coffee, drink coffee, dole out snacks. Try to do chores. Some go better than others. (Laundry goes better than cleaning the bathroom.) Play various preschooler pretend games. Usually involves sitting on the couch and pretending I need to be rescued by a firefighter. Or playing Sleeping Beauty, with a friendly wakeup by my own Prince Charming.
10:45 - At some point during the morning, I have to stop and get Ben's stuff ready. Check his lunch menu, and gather stuff for his day. His school offers lunch, but he rarely eats it. So, I pack him an assortment of nibbles and hope he eats enough to stave off a hangry attack.
11:00 - Ben, it's time to go. Can you put on your shoes?Can you put on your shoes? Can you put on your shoes? Can you put on your shoes? Can you put on your shoes? Can you put on your shoes? Can you put on your shoes? Can you put on your shoes? Can you put on your shoes? Can you put on your shoes? Can you put on your shoes? BEN JUST PUT ON SHOES. C'MON MAN....
11:15 - Leave for his school. We only recently gave up the stroller. So, of course I've spent the last 15 minutes fighting over the stroller. Again.
11:30 - Drop him at his classroom.
11:45 - 2:20 - Ahhh. A quiet house. Eat lunch, catch up on laundry, finish the chores I couldn't do with Ben around and perhaps watch an episode of Breaking Bad or House of Cards. Sometimes I run errands, or go to therapy. Depends on the day.
2:20 - Round two. Time to get Claire.
2:45 - 4:15 - Home with my girl, homework, reading. General peace and quiet.
4:15 - Head out to get Ben.
5-6 - Homework gets finished - dishes get washed. Kids get a little TV time and I get dinner going. One kid gets bathed, if it's a bath day.
6:15 - We start dinner.
6:20 - Dave comes home. He eats dinner while we finish up. Kids are strongly encouraged to leave the table and get right into PJs, but this rarely happens. Other kid gets bathed if it's a bath day.
7:15 - Start winding down. Clean up toys, teeth brushed, faces washed. I'm sure no one here is surprised to hear that Ben argues about this bit pretty much every night. (I hate four years old. So. Many. Arguments.)
7:40 Story time. Each kid picks one.
7:55ish - Snuggles and songs. Kids tucked in and lights out.
8:30 - After we've both fooled around on the internet, Dave and I will sometimes watch a show or a movie. (We're currently watching Elementary, Almost Human and Sherlock, if there are any.)
10 - Get Ben up for a late night potty run.
10:14 - Shower and get myself ready for bed. Curl up with the tablet and read for a bit, aiming for lights out around 11.
And now you know how a stay-home mama of school-aged kids spends her day.
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