a day in the life - jan '11

do you read goop? i'm not a giant fan -- i keep an eye on it out of mild curiousity -- but i really liked last week's post. it focused on the daily routine of working moms [though i don't really consider stella mccartnery, gwyneth or this VC woman to be even close to typical working moms] and i thought it was really interesting to see how they balance -- or don't balance -- work and kids.

so, with that in mind, here's a look at my daily routine as a work-at-home-mom. i am truly fascinated by the mom lifestyle, whether you work at home or work at an office or don't work at all. feel free to blog your own daily routine and send me a link -- i'd really love to read it! [here's a great one that paige wrote a while back.] i'm going to post one of these every once in a while so i can look back and see how the routine has changed.



i get up when jack gets up, between 7 and 8 a.m. -- i rarely if ever set an alarm, unless we need to be somewhere early or i have a lot of work to do. i feed him and get him ready and we play on the couch for a bit till he gets sleepy and goes back down for his first nap.

naps are my crazy rush-around time when i try to fit as much as humanly possible into a few short hours. jack is a pretty good sleeper and his naps are typically about an hour & a half long. i've worked really really hard to get him on this sleep schedule and i'm proud of it, but i'm also subject to freaking out when he gets out of whack.

nap 1 is when i get ready for the day, check email and eat breakfast. sometimes i start work or read blogs if i have extra time. during the other naps i answer emails, make calls, write, blog, edit photos, research, review -- all in a day's work. i currently have three different PR clients, plus my other blog and some fun writing projects that i consider my j-o-b.

however, naps are also the only time i have to squeeze in my other duties as CEO of wells home life. when jack is awake i try hard to give him my full attention [meaning computer & tv are off] or at least involve him in my activities, which means that naps are the time i catch up on solo things like dishes, laundry, cleaning, online banking, menu planning, etc.

but back to the day. between nap 1 and 2 we usually get out of the house, even if it's just a quick run to target or the post office or the bank. i feel like both of us reallllly need to go out at least once a day [a brilliant mommy tip from my friend ang] or we get crazy. between naps 2 and 3 we usually stay home and play -- i like to give him some time every day where he can just play and hang out without having to be shoved in his car seat or dragged around somewhere. that is, if there IS a nap 3 because lately there hasn't been -- and if he does take one, it's pretty short. sometimes we go for a walk if the weather is nice, which lately is never and that sucks. jack and i play with his toys, sing songs, play hide-n-seek, change diapers [me], suck on toes [him], try solid foods, read books, occasionally watch regis & kelly, and inspect all the fascinating things in our apartment like doorknobs and mirrors and towel racks.

a few times a week we have out-of-the-ordinary activities and these are fun. i plan our whole day around them so j can still get his naps in. things like doctor's appointments, play dates, lunches with friends, visits to family, meetings, and of course grocery shopping and other errands take up part of our day.

b usually gets home around dinner time and he plays with jack while i make dinner. jack sits on our lap or in his high chair while we eat [and usually squawks since it's the end of the day and he's tired]. b cleans up the kitchen and i start the bedtime process for the little buddy -- sometimes a bath, always lotion and pj's and books and one last feeding before songs and bed. he's usually out cold by 7:30 and then it's free time for momma. i go to the gym, finish up work, watch tv or a movie with b, or catch up on other things before i crash into bed around 11 p.m. -- but not realllly crash into bed because i still get up at least once a night to feed jack.

the other night b and i were discussing the awesomeness of baby jack [a common topic] while we got ready for bed. b said "i just love that kid" and i said something like "yeah, me too, but sometimes he makes me really tired." then b said "true, but he's probably the best thing that could ever make us tired. i don't think there's anything better we could be doing." a truer statement has never been uttered. sure, my life now is a loooot different than when i rode the train and worked in an office and traveled overseas, but it's not really a bad different. i now have the best little sidekick and get so excited by his every move. and that is a pretty good life.

and there you have it. a day in the life of this wahm, dated january 2011.