I remember reading way back in March a call for posting about logistics for/with working moms. At the time I was falling apart. It was generally a stressful time and I didn't feel anywhere close to having it together. Now I am about as together as I think I'll get. As such, I have decided to write a series of posts about the logistics of my life. I know that most of this is an exercise in navel gazing, but I think it's important to share the details of how we all manage to be working parents. I'm going to start this series with my current schedule of how an average weekday goes in my life. However, it is only an average weekday and there are a variety of things that might affect it. Say, a cold that causes Kiddo to wake up at 4:17am, 5:07am, and 5:30am, which may or may not have happened last night. So, as one might say in a paper: "The below is a representative schedule of an N of approximately 322 days."
Note: Kiddo is just over 15 months old now.
6:00am Wake up with alarm. If Kiddo hasn’t woken up during the night (praise God!), then go check to make sure he’s still alive.
6:05am Make oatmeal and coffee. Pack lunch. Feed dog. If diapers were wet the night before, stuff/pack diapers (we use cloth diapers like this).
6:15am Sit down for breakfast with coffee.
6:30am Crap! I’m late! Start negotiating for bathroom time with Dr. Man. (Yes, I realize this would be alleviated if I used the other bathroom, but neither one of us wants to lug stuff back and forth across the house. Yes, this might make us lazy.)
6:45am Get Kiddo up and dressed.
7:00am Leave the house for daycare.
7:15am Drop Kiddo off at daycare/get him started on breakfast there/talk with morning teacher
7:30am (ish) Arrive in lab (we have onsite daycare)
Work like a fiend
Noon(ish) Grab lunch either with Dr. Man (he works here too now!) or by myself
4:28pm Alarm goes off reminding me that I need to wrap things up. I frequently lose track of time and will look up from work and realize it’s late.
4:45pm Ok, I really need to pack up. Right after I finish this last little bit…
5:00pm Dr. Man calls asks if I’m ready to leave. Pack everything in a hurry inevitably forgetting something.
5:15pm Arrive at daycare. Gather up Kiddo’s stuff and talk with afternoon teacher.
5:45pm Arrive home. Unpack Kiddo’s stuff. Start/heat up dinner.
6:15pm Sit down for dinner as a family, but then get up a zillion times to get stuff for Kiddo.
6:45pm Dinner is done either because we’re done eating or Kiddo is done. Bath time!
7:00pm Done with bath. Now, time to get Kiddo ready for bed.
7:15pm Bed time story
7:30pm Bed time for Kiddo. Dr. Man may leave to go work out.
7:35pm Start Laundry
7:45pm Do Dishes. Prep dinner for the following day (this can involve getting stuff in the crock pot for the following day or making the entire dinner so it’s ready to go in the microwave the next day).
8:15/30pm Clean up kitchen. Mop dining room floor—Kiddo is a messy eater.
8:30pm Get laundry from dryer. Switch laundry if it’s done. Start folding laundry
9:00pm Usually done with folding and putting away laundry. Get all bags packed for the following day.
9:15/30pm Either read papers for the Review That Never Ends on my iPad or boot up computer to do some data analysis.
10:00/30pm Start to goof off.
11:00/30pm Bed time for me (hopefully! Sometimes I decide to stay up longer and then I suffer for it in the morning.)