After a 4-day weekend, I was like the little engine that couldn’t this week. I had fallen out of the work week grind…and so did Miss Shea. I’m always interested in how people get out of the house in the morning…on time, and ideally, not sweating profusely or with accompanying tears. But just as we are getting ready to add kiddo #2 to the mix, I’d say we have our daily groove down pat. I will be interested (and stressed) to see how things are overhauled completely with a new baby, especially once I return to work.
Here’s our schedule, Monday through Thursday (because thankfully, I get a reprieve on Friday. Kind of. Stay-at-home mom-ing is a good gig for me…one day a week.)
6:15am: Wake-up. 99.9% of the time on my own. I typically don’t set an alarm.
6:15-6:20am: Check emails and calendar in bed. Probably check my Cubs app, Facebook feed, and Instagram really quickly, because ugh…morning.
6:20-6:40am: Get ready – hair and make-up.
6:30-6:45am: Shea gets up. If I’m lucky, my hair and make-up are done. If I’m unlucky, I try to entertain her in the bathroom while I finish up.
6:45-6:55am: Love up the dog for a few and get her her peanut butter bone and breakfast. Make Shea’s breakfast (and often mine, but at minimum, COFFEE). Set Shea up in her high chair with breakfast.
6:55-7:25am: Shea eats breakfast. Often I eat breakfast, too…while unloading the dishwasher, loading the dishwasher, and most importantly, packing lunches for Shea and I.
7:25-7:30am: Load the car – purse, lunches (plus anything needed at daycare – clothes, diapers, wipes, etc), water bottle, gym bag.
7:30-7:55am: Change Shea’s diaper, change her out of PJ’s and into clothes, do her hair, brush teeth, etc. I turn on Mickey Mouse to occupy her (works like a charm) while I jet upstairs to QUICKLY brush my teeth and throw on clothes.
7:55am: I say, “Shea, let’s get your shoes on!” We say bye to the dog, give her love pats, choose our shoes (this has become a thing) and head out the door.
8am: Pull out of the garage for the day and call Gigi and Poppy on our way to daycare.
8:10-8:15am: Drop off at daycare. This has become rather painless and has gotten fairly quick. Sometimes I get to chatting with another parent for a few minutes, but I’m usually in and out.
8:20-8:25am: Arrive at work.
8:30-3:30/4pm: Work.
3:45-4pm: Arrive at the YMCA across the street from work and workout until about 4:30/4:40pm.
4:45pm: Pick-up Shea at daycare.
5pm: Arrive home.
5-5:30pm: Play outside, go for a walk, play tennis with the dog in the driveway, water the garden, play in the water table, etc. I desperately try to keep this time outdoors.
5:30-5:45pm: Prepare Shea’s dinner/our dinner.
5:45-6:15pm: Shea eats dinner. If our dinner prep was quick and hubby is home, we try to eat together. This part of the day is challenging because Shea is starving after daycare and I never know what time to expect Mark home from work.
6:15-6:45pm: Clean-up, dinner making, etc. Shea is usually either raiding the pantry and cabinets, making a mess, or possibly entertaining herself with toys on the first floor.
6:45-7:15pm: Photograph dinner (if needed) and eat. We typically turn on a Mickey Mouse Clubhouse for Shea around 7/7:15pm, but if we’re eating, she usually ends up sitting with us for a bit of a second dinner. Not ideal, but I hate to wait until 8pm to eat.
7:15-7:30pm: Dinner clean-up and quiet time with Shea, usually watching the end of the Mickey episode or bath time. Bath time has definitely increased in frequency with summer and as Shea has become increasingly more active.
7:30pm: Head upstairs for story time. Read 3 books and put Shea to bed around 7:45pm.
7:45-9:45pm: Shower, TV time with hubby, blogging, reading, kitchen clean-up, love on the dog, pack my gym bag for the next day and possibly ponder what I’ll wear to work to make things easier in the morning.
9:45pm: Head upstairs to get ready for bed and read on my Kindle (I usually last about 1 page before knocking out).
10:15pm: Sleeeeeeeeeeeep.
Rinse. Repeat.
Yep, adding a baby to the mix will be interesting 
I feel very fortunate that 1. my work schedule is what it is. Short days really help my work-life balance, 2. I’m off Fridays. Great for catching up on laundry, errands, doctor’s appointments, etc. and of course, seeing the little, and 3. I have a 9-10 minute drive from home to daycare, 3 minutes from daycare to work, and 1 minute from work to the gym. It’s quite a pleasant change from my last job where I was commuting 35 minutes or more each way (which I realize is not THAT bad!). I’ve got it good and I know it, especially when winter rolls around or mini emergencies pop up with the little.
I do wish my body were able to sleep in when it’s an option, but I am so programmed to my sleep routine it’s pathetic. Staying up late is unpleasant and a serious chore for me, and waking up early regardless of what time I go to bed is a curse. I never thought I’d be like my mother in that I wouldn’t need to set an alarm to get up on time for work…but yep. And part of me wishes that hubby and I stayed up later as to capture additional adult time, but we’re both toast by 10pm. Funny enough, it’s still dusk at 10pm for much of the summer in Michigan! Doesn’t bother us 
Be well,
from Prevention RD http://preventionrd.com/2016/07/family-friday-vol-25-the-weekday-grind/
via Heart Based Marketing
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