a day in the life of a work-from-home elementary school mom

Though I still have my moments of disbelief that I'm mom to an elementary school kid, we're feeling pretty settled in with our routine now. With this being our first year in 5-day-a-week full-time school, I'm feeling like Hendrik is gone for a lot of hours per day - but they still manage to just fly by. Nothing like recording a "day in the life" to see why... I'm fitting a lot in there! My flexible work-from-home life allows me to do things like exercise and household management (oh, and parenting!) in addition to my work (as Managing Editor of now 4 academic journals - you can read about that here), which I am eternally grateful for.

In a lot of ways this is a typical day, but then again it doesn't include any "extras" like errands or grocery shopping (which I seem to do every other day) or taking Hendrik to an appointment, etc. Also it's quite seasonal, with the farmer's market and the lunching outdoors - savoring that type of stuff while I can!

6:05 - get up and pull on some workout clothes because that's easy at this early hour.

6:15 - shuffle down the hall to my office and get a head start on the email inboxes (when you manage 4 academic journals and have authors/reviewers/editors in every time zone, there are always emails waiting!) and the water drinking (16 oz before 7am for sure!). It's killing me a little that it's now dark when I get up.

7:20 - Hendrik emerges from his room, fully dressed. He's been reading for a good 45 minutes in there, but 7:20 is the time he's allowed to come out, and that means he is geared up to start talking to people - and talks at me nonstop while I make my bed.

7:30 - morning routine of breakfasting on cereal and yogurt for Hendrik, english muffin + canadian bacon and a banana for me (plus 16oz more of water), still getting my ear talked off about birds or some sort of imaginary scenario, making sure the backpack is all set, brushing teeth, and hunting down shoes.

8:10 - get into the car and head out for school.

8:20 - quick hug and a kiss in the drop-off lane, and Hendrik hops off to have his 15 minutes of playground time before school starts (he always wants to get there early enough for all of it).

8:30 - back home, and Ginger clearly wants her walk as she's jumping up and down, so we go out for our usual 35-minute circuit, and I listen to the latest episode of the Currently Reading podcast.

9:10 - back at my desk with some more water and more emails.

10:30 - pop over to the farmer's market (it's a 3-minute walk) for a little break from my desk and a reloading of the fruit and veggie drawers. Needed some eggs too this week.

10:50 - focus on some more project-type stuff now that the emails are under control. Today I have the proofs for one of my journal's next issue to check, and some decision letters that need to be sent for a special issue process.

11:15 - get sidetracked by some personal emails/blog comments, have a pre-workout snack of apple + peanut butter, and then refocus for a few more minutes.

11:50 - hop on my bike and ride over to the pilates studio where my mom teaches, to join her in taking a weekly Bellicon bounce class. It's such a fun change-up from my running/riding/yoga routine, especially because I get to hang out with her!

1:00 - bike home and dig up some lunch (I'm still obsessed with the basil olive oil + blueberry balsamic vinegar combo, so my lunch always includes a spinach salad with this dressing; today also some zucchini bread that Hendrik and I just made and I can't stop eating, it's so good, and some yogurt), which I take into the back yard with my book - got to enjoy the gorgeous weather while it's still around! Currently reading Unsheltered for book club.

1:50 - back into my office to process new journal submissions and any new emails that have come in during the last couple of hours.

2:20 - work stuff is at a lull, so I take advantage of the time to work on some organizing projects that I saved up over the summer for when Hendrik was out of the house and back in school. Today taking some photos/listing some outgrown kid clothes and a few house items on Poshmark.

2:50 - decide that I'd probably better get cleaned up and put on some regular clothes. Usually I do this earlier in the day, but Wednesdays have a noon workout, so that's my excuse. Feeling very into the new-to-me styles of bodysuit and high waist/straight-leg jeans right now.

3:25 - get back in the car to pick up Hendrik. The picking up process always seems to take a bit more time than the dropping off, so I make use of some of the time by bringing along a water bottle to down another 16 oz...

3:50 - arrive home, unload/wash the lunchbox, and give Hendrik a snack (usually he requests graham crackers these days) while he tells me about his day, including his Wednesday "special", which is art - and which he loves.

4:15 - at his request (and his idea to write the words 10x), help Hendrik practice for his first-ever spelling test. Also deal with the take-home folder, which today has my first-ever field trip permission form to sign. I feel like such a grown-up parent.

4:45 - Hendrik gets busy in the playroom with some Legos (this has been his go-to way to decompress after school), so I bring my laptop downstairs to be nearby and work on editing a paper to be published in one of my journals.

5:30 - Peter is home from work (often it's more like 6:30, but September is fairly slow in his office), so he gets to hear about Hendrik's day while I start to think about dinner. Actually not too much thinking, because farmer's market season is great for easy dinners like BLTs!

6:00 - the boys watch their respective TV choices while I get the bacon cooking (always in the oven - so easy), prep some veggies, empty the dishwasher, and pay some bills online.

6:30 - time to eat! Trying to do "thorns and roses" (low/high for the day) as a good way to have a dinner conversation that involves everyone lately.

6:50 - clean up dinner stuff and pack Hendrik's lunch for tomorrow.

7:10 - hang out in the playroom with Hendrik for a bit while simultaneously getting any errant Legos off the floor to be ready for the house cleaners to come in the morning. (The Lego situation is getting a bit out of hand in here!)

7:30 - head upstairs with Hendrik. For years we've had the same routine, that I (mostly) do the PJs and teeth brushing with him, and then Peter does books and songs.

7:45 - roll out the yoga mat in my bedroom to do some good stretching and relaxing.

8:15 - edit some photos, find product links, and write up a blog post on my "school run" outfit and my latest playlist favorites before responding to some blog comments.

8:45 - join Peter in the living room to watch some Stephen Colbert on the DVR - admittedly while also scrolling through blog posts on Bloglovin' and trawling the Target and Crate & Kids websites for ideas for Hendrik's big boy room that I'm putting together.

9:30 - read for a while, and maybe have a cookie...

10:10 - upstairs to brush and floss, wash my face, and do my "lotions and potions" routine (really just serum + night cream, every few days preceded by toner).

10:20 - into bed, scrolling a bit on my phone before setting tomorrow's 6:00 alarm.


It's fascinating to see what things are the same (my early morning work time, the dog walking, my lunch reading time, our evening DVR time) in a typical day from every time I have done one of these posts in the past. But also what things are different - like Hendrik fully putting on his own clothes or PJs! And the school drop off vs. the nanny coming to our door. I guess moral of the story is that I'm seriously a creature of habit, but it turns out I am also adaptable to the things/people changing around me...

a day in the [young preschooler] mom life

I came across my previous "day in the life" posts and had such fun reading through them, remembering what those earlier stages of Hendrik-hood (and pre-parenthood!) were like, that I thought I'd better do another one, for memory's sake. This time we're calling it the "young preschooler" era, since Hendrik will quickly correct you on his status in the (daycare) world if you try to call him a toddler.

2:30 - (yes, 2:30am) wake up to Hendrik yelling about needing his blankets put back on, and then lay awake listening to the poor kid cough for a long time.

5:50 - Peter's alarm goes off and I (lovingly?) nudge him out of bed so I can spread-eagle across the mattress for a few minutes until it's time for mine.

6:00 - officially wake up and drag myself out of bed (not easy after last night), pull on some workout clothes (no thinking involved), and head down the hall to my office to get started on work for the day. I really like working in this quiet, dark time - it feels so productive. Plus sometimes I get to see some spectacular sunrises out my office window.

7:10 - Hendrik announces he's awake, i.e., shouts "I have to go pee!" at the top of his lungs, so I get him to the bathroom and then dressed, and make our beds, because having made-up beds makes me happy.

7:30 - send Hendrik and Peter out the door for school (daycare) and work and sit back down to work some more myself.

8:00 - make a quick eggs + sausage breakfast for me and the standard dog food one for Ginger while I get some more emails done.

8:30 - take Ginger for a quick walk. On the days I have a babysitter I usually go to the gym in the morning, since I have childcare for longer into the afternoon, but school pickup comes quickly on Thursdays so if there's a lot of work to be done, I change up the routine.

9:00 - work, work, work.

12:00 - refer to my Cladwell app for a quick outfit idea (so handy!), run the straightener through my hair, and slap on some makeup.

12:15 - time to pick up Hendrik from school. We do a couple of quick errands on the way home - often some grocery shopping, but today a stop at the drycleaners and the bank.

1:00 - playroom time. This is almost always Duplos, but this day Hendrik decides to shake things up and gets out the race track + Matchbox cars.

1:30 - while Hendrik is occupied, I pop into the kitchen for some lunch and maybe read some blogs while I'm at it.

1:45 - potty break...one requiring a book and some time.

2:15 - take Hendrik upstairs to do the nap routine - which is no longer a nap aside from about once a week - of two books + two songs. I set his light-up clock for 1/2 hour and tell him he's allowed to yell when, and only when, it turns green ("quiet time" has been a struggle lately). Back downstairs to work on editing a manuscript while he's in bed.

3:00 - the yells of "my bug clock is on!" begin, so I go up to get Hendrik a stack of books and then get to do a little reading myself while he pages through his. If he actually falls asleep for a nap then I get a bit more time to read, work on a blog post, or catch up on the DVR.

3:30 - get Hendrik up and notice that the laundry baskets are somehow overflowing again, so I have him help me collect dirty clothes and throw in a load of laundry.

4:00 - head to the gym, where Hendrik plays in the kid's club and I go to one of my current favorite classes, which is a mix of yoga, pilates + stretching. I did spinning yesterday, so this is a good next-day activity.

5:15 - I know it's going to be a late day for Peter in the operating room, so we make a stop at the library on the way home. Our library has such a nice, light-filled upstairs kids department, so we both like hanging out here reading books and playing with the train table.

6:00 - sit Hendrik on the couch with his current favorite on Amazon Prime video (Bob the Builder, ugh) and feel no shame in it because (a) I just read him 10 books at the library, and (b) making dinner is so much more enjoyable in peace and quiet. Tonight I'm trying a new recipe from Pinterest.

6:45 - usually we're able to sit down at the table all together by about 6:15-6:30 but today we eat in shifts at the counter because Hendrik's hungry and Peter's really stuck at work late.

7:15 - Peter and Hendrik usually head off to play some Legos while I finish cleaning up after dinner and get some other things done (such as, oh yeah! I started a load of laundry...better go put it in the dryer).

7:45 - I join in playtime. Sometimes lately Hendrik and I have been sitting down at the piano together, which is double fun because I'm hanging out with him, plus I get to brush up on some stuff I haven't played in a long time.

8:00 - I get the bedtime routine started with potty, pjs, and teeth brushing, and then Peter comes up to read books.

8:15 - put my feet up to read my own book for a while until Peter comes back down!

9:00 - sit with Peter in the living room to catch up, and also catch up on our DVR - during which I'm pretty much always multi-tasking: folding the laundry, working on some blog stuff, commenting on Currently linkup posts.

10:00 - get ready for bed and fall asleep hoping for a less cough-filled night for all of us!


The days vary a bit based on whether we have the nanny or Hendrik goes to school, and on whether I'm super busy or less so with work, but this recent Thursday is fairly typical, as much as a day can be with a 3-year-old, anyway...

a day in the [toddler mom] life

Soon after I started back working full time after Hendrik was born, I recorded what a typical day in my work-from-home new mom life entailed. By this point, it's hard to even imagine that he was ever that small, so it's kind of cool to have that reminder of what everyday life was like. A year later, the days are just as full, but sooo much different. Here's the toddler version:

6:00 - alarm goes off and I throw some clothes on before climbing back under the covers (furnace hasn't come on yet!) and pulling out the laptop to get a head start on the workday

8:00 - head downstairs to start a load of laundry and get breakfast ready for Hendrik and Ginger

8:15 - sounds like Hendrik's awake - I open his door to find this smiling face with greetings of "mommy!" and get some nice hugs to start out my morning when I pick him up

8:30 - the nanny arrives, so I grab my own breakfast and my work bag, kiss Hendrik goodbye, and head out for the day

8:45 - at this age, Hendrik gets kind of whiny when he sees me around the house,while the nanny's here, so I've been working mostly at coffee shops or the library - today I head over

1:00 - quick stop at Trader Joe's for some dinner ingredients; I can't resist a couple of $4 tulip bunches too

1:30 - time to send the nanny home and get myself a late lunch while Hendrik's still napping; I multitask with finishing up some work while I eat (can't get enough of these adorable mini pretzels - perfect for dipping in hummus)

2:15 - move the laundry over to the dyer and then watch part of the latest Downton Abbey on DVR while reading some blogs

2:45 - Hendrik wakes up and we read some books to ease back into the world - and then play! Balls, cars, and his mini pots & pans set are the favorites right now

3:45 - remember there's laundry in the dryer to be put away; Hendrik "helps" by digging all the socks out of the basket while I fold

4:00 - snack time - current favorites are anything dipped in peanut butter or hummus

4:15 - head over to the gym, where Hendrik has a blast having free reign of the kids' club, and I get a workout in (finally able to do a little light jogging/biking after my injury, but also trying to keep up my alternative activities)

5:00 - finally, my shower for the day! Taking it at the gym while Hendrik is in the kids' club buys me some time to blow dry my hair & put on makeup

5:45 - back home, Hendrik plays with his pots & pans while I prepare his dinner (and Ginger's)

6:00 - dinner time for the big-eating little man - today it's a chicken sausage, pureed peas, and madarin oranges - while I empty the dishwasher and start chopping dinner ingredients

6:30 - daddy's home! He entertains Hendrik for a few while I finish up making our dinner

6:45 - we eat dinner (today a regular favorite, fish taco bowls) in the living room and catch up on our days while Hendrik plays and climbs around us

7:00 - Hendrik plays with daddy while I put away the dishes, and then we all participate in some cleanup time

7:30 - bath time and teeth brushing for Hendrik, two highlights of his day - he can't get enough of his rubber duck and his Elmo toothbrush

8:00 - after putting on his PJs, I read Hendrik a couple of books, and then Peter takes over for the night time bottle

8:15 - work on some blog posts - today I'm putting together a Valentine's gift grid - usually while Peter does some reading/preparing for the next day's cases, but since it's Friday he has some downtime and volunteers to do a frozen yogurt run (to which I would never say no)

9:00 - catch up on the DVR together, or get in a few episodes of our new favorite on Netflix - Parks & Rec - while enjoying our frozen yogurt; also I paint my nails for fun

10:15 - get ready for bed while the heated mattress pad warms up my side, and then climb in to read for a bit while Peter showers

10:45 - lights out so that we can get some rest before doing it all again tomorrow! (Luckily in this case "tomorrow" was a Saturday and Hendrik slept in past 8 - a treat for all)

It's amazing to record all of this and then compare to the 3-month-old version. So many things have changed so much from a year ago, but some things always remain the same (like evening ice cream, obviously). I really liked that age - 3 months felt like a turning point in better routines, longer night-time sleep stretches, and happier baby days compared to the newborn stage - but 15 months really is great. So fun to interact with him as he plays and explores the world, to have him be able to talk to us and give us hugs... oh, and to regularly get 11-12 hours of sleep a night out of him!

Sharing on Dearest Love's Coffee Date.

a day in the [new mom] life

I still can't quite get over how the day I had scheduled a post outlining a typical day in my work-from-home life actually turned out to be my least typical day ever - Hendrik's birth day! Obviously life has changed a lot since then, and there really weren't any "typical" days for a while there in his newborn-hood - we never knew what that baby's eating/sleeping schedule might be. Now that he's 3 months and I'm back to working, though, we at least have somewhat of a routine to how our days go, if not a schedule per se.

Here's a recent one:

5:00 - we all wake to Peter's alarm - luckily today Hendrik goes back to sleep after a few pacifier replacements (some days I have to nurse him at this point), so I get to go back to sleep too

7:15 - sneak verrry quietly out of bed and go downstairs to start in on the email inbox and do some pumping (fun...not) before Hendrik wakes up

8:00 - Hendrik's up - he slept in today! - so it's breakfast time for everyone (I'm good at feeding and eating one-handed these days)

8:30 - the nanny arrives, and Ginger & I get in the car to head over to daycare - it's just been too cold to put the baby in the stroller for walks, so some days she goes and burns some energy playing with the other dogs there instead

8:45 - it's a running day for me (rather than a spinning day), and as it's currently all of 2 degrees outside, I do my 5 miles on the treadmill - followed by stretching and 15 minutes of ab work, according to my 2014 resolutions

9:45 - shower & do my hair at the gym - hauling all my gear back and forth is kind of a pain, but this is how I make sure I actually get in the shower!

10:15- park my laptop next door at Panera and work until the nanny's time is up for the day

1:45 - lunch is a special treat today - we meet up with Sarah at Chipotle, and Hendrik is perfectly behaved while we eat and chat

2:45 - snap some quick outfit photos while Hendrik's dozing in his car seat, and I mean quick, because you never know how long he's going to stay asleep (usually screaming ensues immediately upon wakeup in the car seat), and because it's FRIGID.

3:15 - watch part of the Nadal vs. Federer Australian Open semifinal while Hendrik has a bottle

3:45 - playtime with lots of smiles and toy grabbing (new trick), plus tummy time

4:30 - wardrobe change after Hendrik spits up all over both of us (good thing I already got those photos in)... then we read some books

5:30 - get some more work done during late afternoon nap time

6:15 - Peter arrives home with Ginger - super early, yay! - and we chat about our days while Hendrik downs another bottle

7:00 - I make dinner - our favorite fajitas + guacamole (guess I'm just in the mood for this kind of food today) - while Peter does daddy duty

7:30 - eat, with fussy Hendrik strapped to Peter in the Baby Bjorn

8:00 - catch up on the DVR (Daily Show & Colbert Report) while Hendrik snoozes - kind of late for a nap,  but apparently crabby pants needed a little more rest

8:45 - bath time, a new favorite activity

9:15 - daddy feeds the pre-bed bottle

9:30 - ice cream time (one thing about my life that hasn't changed at all - days still end with ice cream whenever possible)

10:00 - Peter changes & swaddles up Hendrik while I brush my teeth

10:15 - a little nursing until Hendrik zonks out and goes into his bassinet next to me, and we go to sleep too

All in all, quite a good day, and it's nice when days go generally like this... nap lengths and morning wake up time aren't entirely predictable, but I got stuff done during them on this day. We're just a few weeks in to my being back to working full time, but with the nanny coming 4 part-days per week, working from home is going pretty well so far. It's great to be able to get Henk time throughout the day, and really convenient to not have to worry about getting out the door at a specific time - that would have made for a much harder transition back to work.

So this is life with baby for us at 3 months old. We'll see how it continues to change as he gets a little older!

a day in the life

Along with "what's in my bag" posts (mine's here!), I always think it's fascinating to read people's "a day in my life" posts to see what they fill their time with. My days tend to be pretty similar to one another (I'm a creature of habit, down to the same breakfast/lunch menu, same dog-walking route, etc.), but in some ways they're pretty different from other working 29-year-olds' days, given my flexible work schedule as a telecommuter and my quite independent schedule as a childless spouse of a resident who's at the hospital 80+ hours a week.

But obviously one of those things is about to change forever... so before the big transition to motherhood, I thought I'd record a somewhat typical day in my set-my-own schedule kind of life:

6:30 - alarm goes off; lounge in bed for a while checking emails and Instagram on my phone before eventually rolling out, pulling on some workout clothes, and making the bed

7:00 - "make" Ginger's breakfast (mix some wet dog food into some dry) and mine (mix some Kashi cereal into greek yogurt); eat while reading blogs and then clearing out my various work email inboxes

8:30 - after dealing with most of my work emails, get Ginger out for her walk, usually a 2.5-mile loop

9:15 - head to the gym for spinning class

10:30 - stop at Kroger on the way home for some essentials (you'll see most of these on the menu today!): grapes, yogurt, cheddar cheese, english muffins, ice cream

11:00 - back at my desk, processing some new manuscript submissions and chipping away at a couple of big projects

12:30 - lunch of pretzel crisps & cheddar cheese (and some carrots/peppers for health's sake), on the back deck with my Kindle if it's warm and sunny, on the couch with a DVR'd show if the weather's poor

1:00 - time to get some editing done

4:00 - finally get into the shower and some real clothes

4:30 - afternoon break for some errands - today it's Pottery Barn Kids because they're having 20% off everything, so time to finally get my mitts on a few things I've been eyeing for the nursery

5:15 - followed by a stop at the local farmer's market for some apples and other things

5:30 - back at home, put away the farmer's market goods and empty the dishwasher

6:00 - get some more work done (and have a snack) because it's going to be a while still before Peter comes home; my office shifts to the couch with the laptop for a change of scenery - and multitasking with some HGTV

7:45 - Peter texts to say he should be leaving the hospital soon; remember that perhaps Ginger wants her dinner

8:00 - start our dinner, something quick because it's already so late - today homemade pesto and tomatoes from our garden tossed with Israeli couscous and feta (yum); eat while we watch last night's Daily Show and Colbert Report on DVR

9:00 - after dinner cleanup, work on some blog posts, usually while Peter does reading to prep for the next day's cases

9:45 - finish the day off with some ice cream and maybe one more show (we're currently going through West Wing season 7 on Netflix)

10:30 - brush teeth and into bed!