I have a lot of people curious about our life. Usually it's friends and family, asking what our daily life is like. Lately, I've had numerous other people ask about our busy life and what we do all of the time "because it seems like you're always on the go with something." Well, we are! I get people's curiosity because I'm, by nature, a curious person. If I could spend time looking in people's windows without being creepy just to catch a glimpse of their day to day life I'd do it (but again, creepy, so I don't). We're all involved in quite a bit and have a fairly packed schedule.
I enjoy being active in our community, going to events, writing, and most importantly, teaching kids during their earliest years. I'm lead a privileged life and am able to incorporate all of my loves into my daily life. I understand other's curiosity about our life when we share so much, yet not the full picture.
The last time I shared a day in life was years ago (I totally didn't feel like searching for the post, so I didn't, but feel free to look yourself) and the minis were much younger. The minis are older now, which means my daycare days are now spent with a crew of littles who are not mine (unless it's summer vacation or other breaks throughout the school year). The days somehow seem to run a little smoother than I remember them running when my minis were with me 24/7. I kind of love it and enjoy the little things in my day even more. Hub's hours are no longer quite as all over the place as they once were. He's now the one home in the evenings while I'm off in meetings or working on my writing jobs. That was quite the change, but it's now over a year later and we've settled into this new routine. The minis are involved in more and more, which seems overboard this time of year as there's final performances, recitals, rehearsals, programs, school picnics, field days, etc. I'm honestly looking forward to the end of the insanity because we leave for our 18 day vacation right after it ends. I look at it as my reward for being so busy!
Here's a quick break down of our life at the moment:
Me: daycare provider from 7:30 a.m. - 5:30 p.m. M - F, freelance writer and blogger (I aim for 1 hour a day, sometimes that's more, sometimes that's less depending on what projects I agree to), Board of Directors for Des Moines Children's Museum/programming committee coordinator
Hubs: manager at The UPS Store, anywhere from 8-10 hours a day, 5-6 days a week
Max (oldest mini): school, orchestra, piano
Harrison (middle mini): school, piano, acting classes at the Des Moines Playhouse
Elizabeth (youngest mini): school, dance (ballet, tap, tumbling) (next year piano and a jazz class will be added to this mix)
Our weekdays are fairly predictable, with the minis off at school for 7 hours a day, followed by outside time, running/exercising, practice time (instruments, piano, learning lines for plays, dancing). We try to squeeze in family dinner every night of the week, but some weeks that is impossible. Monday's, Tuesday's, and Thursday's are meeting and conference call nights for me. I also try to make these my longer writing nights. Wednesday's are dance nights, followed by our weekly date night in for Hubs and myself (occasionally we head out for dinner if we can snag a sitter last minute). I try hard not to schedule anything for this night so we can have a break, but sometimes that's unavoidable. Friday's are our standing Family Movie Nights. We typically order pizza or get take out from a local restaurant, agree on a movie, and watch an hour and a half of whatever movie we picked. By Friday we're all beat and ready for an early bedtime.
Saturday is our go-day. Sometimes we're at the Museum all day. Sometimes we're running around Central Iowa exploring. Sometimes we're doing both. Sometimes we're with family. Sometimes we're with friends. Sometimes we're with both. Rarely are we home on Saturday's...unless it's winter. Then I like to be home in my warm bed binge watching Netflix or Hulu. Unless I have to, I try not to do any writing on Friday's and Saturday's until well after the minis are in bed, but sometimes that's unavoidable.
Sunday is our Family Fun Day. We try to make it a "sleep in" day for Hubs and myself, but usually we're up by 7:30 a.m. If we do anything, we agree to be home by 3 p.m. so we can do dinner and early bedtimes for the minis. I like to avoid that Monday morning hangover. Sunday at 4:00/4:30 is our big family dinner. We grill, we cook large meals, we sit around the table until 6 p.m. laughing and talking and sharing. It's one of my favorite things about our weekends. Sunday nights are deep cleaning nights for Hubs and myself, unless I have a big project or deadline I need to hit....or if we decide to blow up 300 balloons for April Fools Day. Those kind of things keep the deep, deep cleaning from happening.
Yes, our life is somewhat exhausting (as many have commented!), but it's very rewarding as well. As it was when I began this blog 6 years ago, my greatest accomplishment is that I've been able to include my children every step of the way. As much as they're not involved, they're incredibly involved in each of my "jobs." From daycare (obviously), to writing (because 99% of the time I'm writing about my experience as a mom and daycare provider), to opening a children's museum in our city (something they get o enjoy often) they're either right there, a part of everything I do, or they have a backseat view.
I still fall into bed each night exhausted. I still drink a good amount of coffee each day. I order take out too often. I have to remind myself to breathe and take breaks. I'm either at home curled into a ball exhausted or on the go at 110 mph. There's no in between for us. I have been making notes to take things slower and sometimes I listen to those mental notes I make....like when the youngest mini misses nearly a week of school because she's so exhausted from all of our running. I may groan at 6:35 each morning when my alarm goes off, but I (usually) have so much to accomplish each day that the tiredness disappears easily.
I imagine one day I'll slow it down. I like to tell people "I'll sleep when I'm dead. Right now I have a lot to do and I'm going to do it all."