A DAY IN THE LIFE

I originally posted this on the Sycamore Street Press blog on October 23, 2012. 

Last year, I shared a day in my life with you. I put together that post for those of you who, like me, love hearing about how other people organize their days. Well, I think it’s time for another. Many things have changed since in the past year — mainly that our baby became a toddler. I’m still constantly trying to find a balance that works for me and my family. For now, I work at Sycamore Street Press 4 days a week, plus a few evenings, which ends up being about 40 hours a week. It’s a far cry from my working schedule before having a baby, which was more like 70 hours a week. I’ve learned to prioritize, to get help, and to let things go.

The childcare situation: When we decided to start having children, we made a conscious choice to live near our families. Because of the nature of our business, we were fortunate to be able to make that decision. Both grandmothers watch Ingrid one day a week. It’s an incredible help for us and a wonderful bonding time for them. Kirk and I are also lucky to work together and to work from home, which means that we each watch her one weekday (in addition to weekends together, of course). She also just started going to an in-home childcare one day a week. Like any toddler, she could work on some of her social skills such as sharing, so I think this will be good for her. Before this, a babysitter came to the house, which was also great, but she’s getting to the age where social interaction with other kids seems more important.

Here’s a typical day for me when I’m working at SSP:

7:30 – Hear Ingrid calling out “Mommy!” through the wall that our bedrooms share. When I go to rescue her, she always has something to say. Usually, it’s a request for a specific toy or food. Either Kirk or I change her, then we all usually end up sitting around the kitchen table together for breakfast (steel cut oatmeal with carrots, zucchini, or pumpkin or granola with yogurt and fruit).

8:00 – Kirk gets Ingrid dressed and reads her a few books while I put on some workout clothes, brush my teeth, make the bed, and tidy up the house.

8:20 – Time for my morning walk with Ingrid down our country road. My mom, my mom’s dog, my sister in law, and my baby niece often come with us, too. Sometimes we stop to feed the chickens, look at the horses, and call after the dog (who likes to wander off).

9:00 – Give Ingrid a kiss and hand her off to my mom for the day. Hop in the shower and get dressed.

9:30 – Sit down at the computer and go through my emails. Check into Twitter, Facebook, and Pinterest.

10:30 – Dig into my major task for the day. It could be product research, drawing designs, blogging, business planning and paperwork, etc…

12:00 – Lunch. Usually it’s a sandwich or leftovers from the night before. Sometimes I’m able to eat with Ingrid or Kirk — mostly I end up eating at my desk.

12:30 – Check and answer emails and get back on social media for a bit.

1:45 – Back to the major task for the day.

5:00 – Go get Ingrid. Read books or play for a while, then sit Ingrid down with The Muppets, Wonderpets, or one of her other favorites while I prepare dinner.

6:00 – Dinner. Kirk, Ingrid, and I sit down to dinner together. We try to serve her whatever we are eating. (This time of year there’s a lot of soups, chili, roasted veg, etc…) Sometimes she’ll eat it, other times she refuses. If she at least tries it, I call it good. Afterwards, we always offer her plain, whole fat yogurt and fruit.

6:40 – Time to get ready for bed. Sometimes there’s a bath (Other times she takes a shower in the morning with me). Then we cover her with lotion, put her in a fresh diaper, PJ’s, and her sleep sack. She gets to pick out one book to read , then we read a few verses from the scriptures, sing a song, and say a prayer. We make sure to get some “tickle time” in, and lots of cuddles.

7:00 – Ingrid is in bed. Kirk and I finish cleaning the kitchen, then often go back to work, or do some household project for a while.

9:30 – TV. We unwind by watching a recorded show or something on Netflix. No Reservations, Modern Family, Project Runway, and Mad Men are some of our favorites.

11:00 – Time to get ready for bed. Sometimes we read for a while, sometimes not. We’re usually asleep by midnight.

It took me a while, but I finally found a rhythm and schedule that seems to work for us. Well, kind of. We’ve got our issues like anyone. For example: we didn’t hang out with any friends for about 5 straight months this year because we were too busy. And if you saw our announcement the other day, you’ll know that our whole world will be turned upside down again before long. It’s a constant readjustment, right?

I’m curious, what are your days are like?

Some related posts you might like: On Settling Down, A Day in the Life | May 2011, and On Being You.