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A Day In Our Life | May 2018

Here it is, friends! Today I am sharing a day in our life – the most requested topic ever. Although our routine seems a little boring, I do love reading these types of posts — because I’m nosy. And I like to know what other people do all day, what they make for dinner, what they wear, what time they go to bed, when they fold laundry, etc. Before writing this post I referred back to my previous Day In Our Life posts and although some of our routine is very much the same I can’t believe how different certain parts of our lives are one year later! So here we go…

6:30 – 7 am: Matt’s alarm goes off and we’re up. Matt makes our bed while I pour us coffee. Every morning we get ready together in the bathroom. He showers while I do my hair and makeup. It’s during our daily bathroom meeting that we discuss what’s on our calendar for the day.

7:00 am: Caroline has been up for like 9 hours by this point (seriously, this kid does NOT sleep) and is waiting for her OK To Wake Clock to light up to get out of bed. She dresses herself in the outfit we picked out the night before, brushes her teeth and attempts her own ponytail before coming downstairs to watch one episode of Paw Patrol in our bed while we finish getting ready.

7:30 am: Matt and I are ready for the day and one of us goes upstairs to get Thomas out of his crib. He is still an excellent sleeper (hallelujah) and will keep himself entertained until we come get him. He is always SO excited to see us and asks us immediately which day of the week it is. We get him ready, finish brushing his teeth (after 3 long minutes of watching him do it himself), bring him downstairs and offer both kids the same 3 breakfast items we offer every morning — dry cereal in a Ziploc bag, bagel or English muffin with butter (whichever is on sale that week) or a (pre-made) smoothie. Throw lunches into lunch boxes for me and Matt and we both grab a Larabar to go.

7:50 am: Breakfast is eaten on the go in the car on the way to daycare, unless it’s a smoothie (lesson learned after one of those rotted in my car). Outside just before leaving we spray them down in sunscreen then each wrangle one kid into their car seat. Caroline can buckle herself now but only chooses to do so at the most inconvenient times (and then takes 5 minutes to do it).

8 am: Off to daycare! I’m normally on drop-off duty unless I’m traveling and need to get on the road earlier that day. Each kid gets to request one song from Spotify on the way. Caroline has been obsessed with Never Enough (soundtrack from The Greatest Showman) and Thomas always picks a worship song or Thunder (Imagine Dragons).

8:10 am: Arrive at daycare. Thomas beeps us in while Caroline shows off her muscles by opening the heavy door for us. We always drop Thomas off first otherwise he bolts to the bucket full of trucks in Caroline’s room and wont leave. Thomas and Caroline give “big big hugs” and kisses to each other and Thomas pushes me out of the class. Caroline and I then walk 7 steps across the hall to her class and give her 52 hugs and 28 kisses.

8:25 am: Stop at Brueggers to fill my mug with coconut coffee and head to the office.

8:45 am – 5 pm: Typical work day for me: meetings, meetings, meetings, conference calls, run out for coffee refill, eat lunch at desk or out with a friend, run to Target for things we’re out of, emails, emails, emails.

Work Travel: I usually travel overnight 1-2 times a month and make day trips to visit my attorneys in other offices one day a week.

5:25 pm: If I’m not on pickup, I try to get home early to whip up something for the kids to eat and begin prepping dinner for me and Matt as well. If I am on pick up, I feed the kids something super quick and easy (PBJs, lunchables, pasta, quesadillas, etc.).

6:20 pm: Matt arrives home after scooping the kids up and taking them to their school library to pick out books for bedtime tonight and return yesterday’s books. (He is way more fun at pickup than me).

6:25 pm: Dinner is ready for the kids (and sometimes for me and Matt too depending on how successful I was with my time) and we’ll either 1. eat together as a family at the kitchen table 2. the kids will eat while watching a TV show or 3. eat outside on the back deck. Tonight we’re all outside. The kids are eating chicken, apple slices, strawberries & roasted sweet potatoes (must be drizzled with honey). Matt and I have a drink together while we beg and plead with the kids to eat their dinner. Afterwards we play in the backyard for a bit. The kids really miss each other during the day and this time together is so special to them.

7:00 pm: Bribe kids inside with a Popsicle in the bath tub. Matt bathes the kids and lets them splash around for a bit while I finish making the dinner I prepped. Tonight it’s HelloFresh.

7:25 pm: Teeth brushed. Dressed in jammies. Time to read 475 books, sing 700 songs and pray for every person by name that we know.

7:45 pm: Matt usually puts Caroline down (her request) and I put Thomas down (his request). Then we both pop in to the other room to give a hug and kiss.

8 pm: Matt and I eat together outside. I love this time with him to catch up on each other’s day. Afterwards we clean up the kitchen, make lunches, refill backpacks, fold laundry, prep coffee for next morning, etc. 

8:30 pm: Matt will usually jump into bed and fire up his laptop to tackle a little more work depending on how crazy his day was. I soak in the bath tub and scroll through social media, catch up on blog emails or read a book.

8:30-9: Join Matt in bed and catch up on Naked & Afraid (one of our favorite shows).

10-11 pm: I’m out. Matt usually stays up way later than me to catch up on work.

And that’s a wrap on the day!

FAQ AROUND CARVING OUT TIME FOR:

HUSBAND: So Matt is my #1 person in my life. He comes before anyone, including our kids. But it hasn’t always been this way, and we found out the hard way a few years ago what happens when our kids are put before our marriage. We found ourselves giving all of our energy and attention to our kids and were running on fumes by the end of each day, leaving us short tempered with one another and just flat out exhausted. The little time we had leftover for one another was spent discussing dirty diapers, daycare report cards, etc. And so we made a marriage resolution to put each other first. If Matt and I aren’t solid, we aren’t giving our best to our kids either and everything feels out of whack. Anywayyyy, all of that to say, we budget and plan for date nights (one per month minimum) and overnights away (2-3 per year minimum). This is the minimum baseline for us and I’m always stashing pennies away to do even more of these things when we have the opportunity (like tacking on a weekend getaway to a work trip). As I’ve said before, we consider time away an “investment” in our relationship, and in our case, marriage is the foundation for our role as parents so it’s important to us that it stays strong and nourished.

KIDS: As full time working parents, our quality of time spent with our kids is super important. Without a doubt, the best part of my day is seeing the excitement on my kids’ faces at pick-up or the minute they walk through the door. During the week we try to use our limited time after work/school doing something together outside and we try to be present and not on our phones (Matt is way better at this than me) during family time. Even though Matt has a stressful and demanding job, he makes being home in the evenings with the kids a huge priority and will always opt to finish his work day after they go to bed. Sometimes we also have to get a little creative with how we spend our time with the kids. For example, on the days I travel I try and pick up the kids early from school to squeeze extra time in with them the minute I get back home. On occasion, Matt and I will take them out for breakfast before school or ice cream after pick-up. Some nights we let them stay up late (although we always pay for this the following day) or skip naps on the weekend to do something fun like play in the sprinkler on a gorgeous day. For date nights on Saturdays, we have Ms. Jamie come at the very end of the day so we’re only missing out on the super fun witching hours. Or we’ll plan a “day date” during daycare hours. And when we take big trips away (ex: Turks & Caicos), we book it during the school week so we don’t miss two weekends with our kids. It requires a lot of balance and sometimes a busy schedule, but it works really well for our family and everyone is happy!

FRIENDS: Matt and I are beyond blessed to have some of the very best people in our life as friends. What makes our friendships so unique is the fact that the wives are my best friends, the husbands are all good friends and all of our kids love each other and have grown up together. Matt and I get a lot of energy from hosting and spending time with our friends, so we try to get the crew together when the stars align and a few families are available for a play date and dinner. This almost always happens at the spur of the moment and is typically a no-frills event! Once a month I also attend Supper Club, a few times a month Matt meets the guys for pizza and trivia (his hall pass night), and once a year we each have a long weekend away with friends (I have an annual beach weekend with my girlfriends and Matt has an annual golf trip with his best friends from high school). To get my one-on-one quality time, I’ll often meet a girlfriend for lunch during the work week or grab a glass of wine or a manicure during my hall pass night.

MYSELF: As I’ve mention in my FAQ post, Matt and I have “The Hall Pass!” I’ve received SO many emails about this! Similar to the aforementioned Marriage Resolution, the Hall Pass was invented (by Matt) in January as a resolution to find a few hours a week for ourselves.

How it works: One night per week we each claim a Hall Pass from wrangling the kids home from daycare, cooking/feeding them, bathing them and putting them to sleep. So one night per week Matt has the flexibility to do whatever he wants after work (usually he’ll work late and then meet the guys for pizza and trivia) and on another night that week I’ll take time to do things like run errands, meet a friend for dinner, get a pedicure, take a long bath and/or camp out in our bedroom with a glass of wine and blog. This has been huge for us as we both struggle to find time for ourselves and the evenings can be extremely stressful after a long day of work and then rolling straight into negotiating the night time routine with cranky kids. Also, this gives us each the opportunity to spend time with our kids solo. Everybody wins!

 

Previous Day In The Life Posts

A Day in The Working Mama Life [Travel Edition] | May 2018

A Day in Our Life | July 2017

A Day in the Working Mama Life | June 2016 (11 months & 2 yo)

A Day in the Life of Maternity Leave | June 2014 (7 wks & 14 mo)

 

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ali sadeghi

Tuesday 5th of March 2019

I’m glad that you shared this useful info with us. thank you

Liz Jo

Monday 18th of June 2018

I wish my kids slept as good as Thomas did lol! They're allergic to sleep. What kind of picnic table and cover do you have on the picnic table? It looks great!

Christina

Monday 18th of June 2018

We don't have a cover for it but we put the cushions away when we aren't using it!

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caleyjaderosenberg

Wednesday 6th of June 2018

Always my favorite posts too - I need to work on one soon! Love that you make such intentional time for each other, for you kids, for friends and for yourselves. So so special and necessary x

Sara

Sunday 3rd of June 2018

I appreciate your dedication to putting your marriage first. I think that's SO important (and definitely one thing I learned from my mom). I still can't fathom how you do it all, but I think it's smart to address your needs and your relationship before you try and handle everything else.

Owen Davis

Thursday 31st of May 2018

My favorite posts!! You are the queen of juggling everything!