Take a peek into a day in the life of me! From teaching to home life, mom life, and everything balancing in between!
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I haven’t written one of these posts in three years. I was pregnant with our first daughter then, so needless to say, a lot has changed since then. I still love to read these kinds of posts when others write them, so maybe you can find some enjoyment in mine too. Happy Friday, y’all. 😘
4:20-4:35: Right now, I wake up most days of the week around this time to get my workout in. I drag myself out of bed to get dressed, chug some pre-workout, start the coffee, and get going. Our weather has been cooky lately, so if it’s super cold I workout in the living room. Otherwise, I go to my little space in the garage.
Since our first daughter was born I have mostly stuck to 20-30 minute workouts to preserve sleep and energy, but I’m finally coming into the “new me” (or the old me?) so I’ve been incorporating more 45-60 minute workouts.
5:30: I usually finish my workout about 5:30 and then quickly cook some eggs for my husband before I head to the shower. I try to maximize my time as much as possible (ahem, multi-task) and usually eat breakfast (prepped over the weekend) while I’m getting ready and doing my daytime skincare routine, but also listen to a daily devotional, a quick news podcast, and a for-fun podcast or audiobook if I have time left over. Some mornings, I’m all there, and others it feels like my brain is being pulled in 100 different directions. Right now, my morning routine is a work in progress at best.
6:20: I’m ready by about 6:20 and lately I’ve been trying to use this time to do a quick tidying task like wiping down counters and mirrors or taking care of the dishwasher. Something I’ve learned about myself since motherhood is that I’m far too exhausted to do any kind of cleaning in the afternoons. For the better part of 2.5 years, it just hasn’t happened.
Related: My Daytime Skincare Routine
6:45: Tiny Baby wakes up! We just dropped our morning nurse, so after I get her dressed, I put her in the high chair with a milk cup and let her hang out while I finish prepping the girls’ lunch boxes. Big Girl wakes up about 6:55 and it’s a race to get out the door. We’ve been very blessed that both of our girls pretty much always wake up absolutely happy, so it’s not usually a struggle to get her ready. My girls eat breakfast at school, so I try not to get them up any earlier than I have to!
7:20: We head for school and get there about 7:28. We moved into a new house about a year ago, which doubled our drive time to school, but it still takes less than 10 minutes, so I shouldn’t complain. My girls go to daycare where I teach, so we only have one stop to make in the mornings — another win.
7:50: It takes me about 20 minutes to get the girls out of the car and into/set up in their respective classrooms. I’m sure I could probably be much quicker, but I like to linger for hugs and kisses.
By the time I get to my classroom I usually have kids waiting outside my door for homeroom. I let them in and head to get my coffee and by 8:10 I’ve sent them off to their first class. Right now, the bulk of my planning time is first thing in the morning, so I try to make sure I’m ready for the day and get a little ahead if I can.
9:40-3:10: My big time responsibilities start at 9:40 with a Chapel service, and then I’m in class for the the better part of the day. This year, I have a 7th grade homeroom, one 6th grade class, and four 5th grade classes. Fifth grade really is my bread and butter and the group I have this year is super sweet. Lunch is thrown in there somewhere, as is recess, and since my girls are so close, I can often sneak away to say hello for a quick minute.
3:15-4:00: I have one more planning block at the end of the day. Sometimes I rock through it and sometimes I’m so exhausted I get nothing done. 🙃
Related: Work-Life Balance Tips for Teachers
4:15: Regardless, I’m not in a stage of life that allows me to hang out at school and work all afternoon. Maybe someday I’ll be there again, but right now, I leave right after the students do and pick my girls up to spend the brief evening together as a family.
4:40: We usually get home around this time. On Mondays, my big girl has gymnastics at 5:00, so we have just enough time to change clothes and get back in the car.
Every other night, I spend this time hanging out with my girls in the kitchen while they snack or play. I clean out and repack their lunch boxes during this time too. It seems like they are constantly hungry in the afternoons, so this snack time usually bleeds into dinner. Right now, it’s working well to feed the girls first and then husband and I eat dinner after they go to bed most nights. We’d all prefer to have dinner together, but it’s usually not realistic to take care of the afternoon checklist and get dinner ready for the four of us. In the next season, family dinners will be a priority again.
6:00: Daddy usually does bath time while I clean up the kitchen. This system works pretty well for us! After bath, we all play together in the living room for a while.
6:30: The girls start to wind down for bedtime about 6:30. The baby is so we easy that we just lay her down in the crib and walk out, but our big girl has an extensive list of everyone she must say good night to before she goes down. She is still so sweet and easy though. She’s usually in bed singing or talking herself to sleep by 6:45. I try to do my nighttime skincare as soon as the girls are down. Otherwise, it becomes more and more unlikely that I’ll do it at all as the minutes tick by.
7:00: Husband and I will throw a quick dinner together now if we haven’t eaten yet. We may also watch a show together. Lately, he’s been playing a new video game and I’ve been rewatching Once Upon a Time for the third? fourth? time. Kind of like my morning routine, my evening routine is also a work in progress.
Related: My Nightly Skincare Routine
8:30: By 8:30 I am absolutely beat and I crawl into bed. Some nights, I can’t even hang this long. I wish I were someone who journaled before bed, or read a few pages in my book, but I haven’t been able to keep it up in this season.
My days are full, but most of them are oh-so-good!
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