All In A Day's Work

In case you haven't noticed, I love being a mommy. I adore the two kiddos who make me a mommy. But it is really hard work, as if you didn't already know that. Just for fun, I figured I would write a post about what a typical day looks like for this mommy. Once again, this post is more for me (and posterity) than it is for you. But if you enjoy reading it, that's great too.

6:45 a.m.- The alarm rings. Matt always has to be the second alarm for me, because I just don't naturally do mornings.
7:00 a.m.- The feet must be on the floor or I will be playing catch-up all day. Wash my face, brush my teeth, throw on some workout clothes, and put my hair up.
7:10 a.m.- Wake up the kids, who also do not like getting up. I have found that putting on the cd of VBS music from this summer helps chase away the morning grumps that wake up with the kids. Make sure that Snapper's clothes don't clash horribly (she has absolutely no fashion sense), and play underwear police with Pepper, who never remembers to put on clean undies in the morning.
7:20 a.m.- Join Matt at the breakfast table with the kiddos. Matt is Mr. Breakfast in our house, and he always does a great job. I can't eat that early, but I sit with the kids to make sure they eat enough.
7:30-7:50 a.m.- Family devotions. Matt leads, I participate and add input from time to time.
7:55 a.m.- Wash faces, brush teeth, and get everyone out the door.
8:00 a.m.- Bike the kids to school. If we go the long way--through the neighborhood and out the front gate of our subdivision--it takes about 10 minutes to bike to the school. The shortcut--down the back cul-de-sac and through the opening in the hedge--is about a 5-minute ride.
8:10 a.m.- Sign Pepper in at preschool, and make sure Snapper gets to her table in the cafeteria where her class waits for their teacher to come get them.
8:25 a.m.- Arrive home, wash my face again, eat breakfast, and discuss the day with Matt. He is working from home right now, and we work together as much as possible. I am spoiled!
8:45-11:00 a.m.- Work. For me this means blogging, writing thank-you notes to supporters, writing our bimonthly newsletter, helping Matt with whatever projects he is working on, etc. This time always flies by.
11:00 a.m.- Bike with Matt to the school to pick up Pepper.
11:20 a.m.- Arrive back at home. Prepare lunch for Pepper, and talk with him about his school day.
11:30 a.m.- Eat lunch with Matt and Pepper. Debrief with Matt and plan the afternoon's activities.
11:45 a.m.-2:35 p.m.- Keep Pepper occupied and do what needs to be done around the house. Today this meant letting Pepper watch a movie upstairs while I worked with Matt on getting our newsletter addressed and stuffed into envelopes. During this time on other days, I do laundry, go grocery shopping, clean bathrooms, clean floors (the whole downstairs of this house is either Pergo or tile), do other housework, pay bills, among others.
2:35 p.m.- Bike to the school with Matt and Pepper to pick up Snapper. Why all the biking? Because our summer road trip is responsible for adding 15 pounds to the 45 pounds I already needed to lose. With traffic, the drive takes only about 2 minutes less than biking it. Having periodic exercise throughout my day has been really good for me.
2:55 p.m.- Arrive home. Fix snacks for the kids while Snapper unloads her backpack and tells me about her day. Prep dinner while Snapper does her homework. Help her when she needs help.
4:00 p.m.- Leave to take Snapper to swim team. We go backs streets on the way there to avoid the tolls. It takes about 30 minutes when we go the back roads. This is my special time each day with my girl, as Pepper stays home with Matt.
4:45-5:30 p.m.- Watch Snapper's practice. This is my down time. I sit in the shade and do nothing. It is kind of like recharging my batteries, and I look forward to that 45 minutes. Snapper swims Monday-Friday.
5:35-6:00 p.m.- Drive home. Because of commute traffic on surface streets, we take the toll road home. It usually takes 20-25 minutes.
6:10 p.m.- Take care of final dinner preparation while Snapper showers. During the week, I make a lot of crock pot meals and casseroles that can be cooking while we're at swim team.
6:30 p.m.- Family dinner.
7:00-8:00 p.m.- Hang out with the family. Sometimes we read books. Right now I'm reading "Heidi" to the kids. I don't know how much Pepper is absorbing, but Snapper is loving it. Other nights the kids just want to play together upstairs. It is our relax time together.
8:00 p.m.- Family prayers and bedtime for the kiddos.
8:15 p.m.- Matt usually checks email and Facebook during this time while I finish kitchen clean-up and pack lunches and snacks for the next day.
8:30-9:30 p.m.- And here is the only unscheduled block in my day. This week I have been totally beat and have done just about nothing but sit in a chair and play Sudoku.
9:30-10:00 p.m.- Shower and get into bed. I read my Bible and journal every night before I go to sleep. It helps me calm my mind and sleep peacefully. I usually read and journal for 15-20 minutes, but some nights I go a little longer.
10:00ish- Lights out. I have always been a night owl, but with both kids in school and working part-time and cleaning a 2800 square foot house, I am dead by 10:00. I think 4-5 miles of biking each day helps wear me out, too.

There! Ten years from now I will probably look back and laugh at how simple life was in 2010.