Ever feel like you have so much to do? Wonder how other Moms appear to keep it together, while you feel like you can never catch up? Well, chances are, they just look like they have it all together. You are not alone if you feel there is not enough time in the day to get everything done. Just because I am nosey, and I thought you might be to, here is what a typical work day looks like for me:
Night before - check weather and choose outfit for work. This prevents a "what do I wear" or "nothing fits me" moment in the morning where time is precious. Wash all bottles and set to dry for the next day.
Monday - I take all the food I need to eat snacks and lunch at work with me on Mondays. Works well so I don't have to actually make a lunch every day at home. I pack wheat tortillas, hummus, turkey and veggies for a wrap + yogurt + laughing cow lite cheese wedges. Enough for 5 days.
5:15 - wake up and shower. I only wash my hair every other day, so on days I don't wash it I just do a shower cap and I can sleep till 5:25
5:30 - eat breakfast and watch news
5:30 to 6 - dry hair, put on make up, curl hair. Stay in bathrobe so I don't ruin my work outfit with random spit up or other baby fluid
6:00 - make bottles for H's breakfast and the 3 that she needs for school
6:05 - wake up H, feed her, change her diaper and put her in school clothes in that order
*this is where The Husband comes in handy. If I need help feeding her because we are running behind, he steps in
6:30 - H chills in nap nanny while I finish getting ready, put clothes on, put jewelry on
6:45 - drop H off at school. Sometimes I actually go into the class and play with her a bit, rock her and get her settled. Then I head downtown to work, a 26 mile drive.
7:15 to 7:25 - get to work
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11:30 - lunch (which I make with the food keep in the fridge at work), usually at my desk, maybe yoga/pilates a couple times a week at my office gym
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4:45 - as long as we don't have any big projects going on, I can leave work, attempt to beat rush hour traffic
5:45 - home, play with H and change into comfy clothes
6:30 - dinner, either leftovers from what I made on Sunday, or something The Husband cooks
7:00 - clean bottles from school, do laundry, answer emails, blog, check pinterest, work from home or a combo of all of those all while I try to get in quality time with H. She usually takes one more little nap around dinner. Give her a bath every other day.
9:00 - H is usually already asleep in the living room, and by 9 I will change her, swaddle her and feed her another 2-3 oz as she drifts off to sleep
9:15 - maybe watch TV, hang out with The Husband, prepare for the next day so our morning routine goes smoothly
Super glamorous, right? Since I've had a baby, my TV watching time has reduced to almost nothing, and I barely get to sit down and watch an entire show. I try to work out at lunch a few days a week, because I know I won't have time to do it when I get home. And I sure as heck won't get up at 4:30 to do it in the morning. I am lucky to have a Husband that can pick up the baby, start dinner, and generally help out when needed. I am in charge of her in the mornings, he picks her up and hangs out with her again in the afternoon, and I take back over after dinner so he can work out.
On the weekends we try to keep her awake later at night, so she will at least sleep till 7:30 or so. We like to get out of the house if the weather is nice, so I will go on 1 or 2 walks with her a day. And I typically do my grocery shopping on Sundays, followed by a meal we can eat for Sunday dinner, as well as left over during the weak. Lately I have been really into crock pot meals, because they are easy, make a lot, and warm.
Readers, do you have any tips to help a working mommy keep organized and get it all together? I have thought about meal planning, but making real recipe type meals takes more time than we have, and we usually just cook a piece of meat and pair it with some basic veggies or fruit salad.
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4 comments:
Wow, just reading that stressed me out. lol I have been eating (healthy) bagels with natural peanut butter on them and a bowl of fruit daily for lunch. Bless your heart for juggling so much!
Found you via http://katy-thequeenofthekings.blogspot.com
I hear you. It's hard. My little girl is almost 18 months old now, but when she was as little as yours, I would have her either on a playmat right outside the kitchen or in the Bumbo on the kitchen floor with us so I could interact with her and feel like I was spending time with her while I threw something together for dinner. I have never cooked every night, but when I cook I try to make sure I cook enough so we can have it again the next night. Bonus if it makes enough to have tonight, tomorrow night AND freeze some for another night down the road!
Crockpot chicken for tacos is wonderful. Makes a ton and you can use it in so many different ways - tacos, quesadillas, in chicken spaghetti, in soups, etc. So thinking of what you can make in a large quantity to use for a base in different types of things is a good start. And if you can let your crockpot do all the work on a Sunday, even better.
I also build in PB&J nights or egg sandwich nights into my meal plan for the week. No shame! :-)
The most important thing is that you are maximizing your time as a family. If you can pull your baby into/near the kitchen to make that happen, or if you need to have a peanut butter sandwich and some yogurt for dinner to make that happen - whatever works for your family.
I have a cooking blog that includes a lot of quick meals. I don't like to spend a lot of time in the kitchen...time is precious as a working mom!
http://sureisgood.wordpress.com
You're a SUPER Mom. Seriously! Your day is jam packed and impressive. You fit WAY more in than I currently do. I guess I had better learn quickly!!:)
ps. I heart cowhide rugs also (previous post)! It's a Texas girl thing, I think!
You will learn quickly! I used to watch like 3 hours of TV a night and spend hours on the computer. No more!
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