A Week in the Life: N, a mom of 2 with a full-time WFH job
N is moving this summer, and wisely notes "everything is temporary, even a good routine!"
N joins us this week with the details of her weekly life, with 2 young kids and full-time work. N and her family are moving soon, reminding us that “everything is temporary, even a good routine!”. A good reminder for me, after a truly hectic teaching term. I’m back home for most of the next 4 months, and thinking through routines, distribution of labour, and all the things that get neglected when I’m not physically present at home.
Scroll to the bottom to leave a comment or question for N, and see some reading round-ups from around the internet. I’ll be moving to a fortnightly schedule as WITL submissions are a bit spotty, but if you have something you’d like to throw open for discussion, let me know.
Submit Your Story
On to N….
What’s your kid/family situation?
Married, two kids ages 3 and 5.
What is your job situation? (Job, hours, WFH vs butts in seat)
WFH, full time- usually 45 hours a week
What's your childcare situation? (daycare, wraparound care, nanny, magical grandparents)
Full time daycare- 8:30-5:25 M-F. Kids are in the same class.
A Week in the Life
Monday
Woke up at 6. Didn’t sleep well so moved to the couch and stared at my phone until coffee was hot. Second child woke up right when her okay to wake clock turned green, so she’s up at 6:40. She asks if we can make pancakes, so we do that together. I have cottage cheese and blueberries.
Older kid got up around 7:15. He immediately digs into pancakes. I chop some vegetables for dinner.
7:30 sat down and finished my food.
7:45 hop in the shower while the kids dig clean clothes out of the baskets in my room. Once we’re all dressed we take the dog for a short walk -my husband heads to work while we’re getting in the stroller. We drive to school today.
8:35 drop older kid off and take younger one to OT. We’re early so we listen to music in the car and I attempt to drink a lot of coffee. Drop her off and wire into work by 10:15. I skip lunch, but walk the dog at 3.
5:15 stop and start making dinner. It’s my turn to host family dinner with my sister and her family, so I make dinner for 8 people. We sit down together around 6 to eat. Bathe all the kids in a big batch and then put mine to bed at 7:15.
After the kids go down I work for another 45 minutes, then watching an episode of Brooklyn 99 with my husband. We head to bed at 9.
Tuesday
Up at 6. Chat with my husband. Kids get up around 7:00. We do breakfast, get dressed, walk the dog. My mom calls at 8:00 to do zoom story time, something she’s done most Tuesdays for years.
8:30 head out and drop the kids off. Wire into work at 9:00. Lots of calls today and I actually blocked out a lunch break on my calendar, so I use that to go for a run. Our cleaner also comes today which is always a huge treat.
Husband comes home with the kids at 5:30; I stop and we all catch up on our days. Leftovers and tater tots for dinner. We start bedtime routines, then he heads out for an evening activity and I settle the kids in bed. I have to work again tonight after dinner, and then read my book. I’m in bed by 9.
Wednesday
Same morning routine- up at 6- but the kids sleep really late. Husband and I enjoy having some longer time for conversation together! I also do a lot of decluttering.
Kids roll up around 7:30. Quick breakfast, get dressed, and walk dog. My husband takes younger child to a doctors appt, and I take older child on the bike to school.
Wire into work at 9. I pause at 10 to do a walkthrough with the moving company, then back to work. In little breaks I’m decluttering, doing dishes etc throughout the day.
At 5:15 a potential renter comes to do a walkthrough of our house. I give the tour, then go to my sister’s to meet my family who had dinner there. Visit and eat, then we bring the kids home and wrestle them into bed at 7.
Husband has another evening activity. I spend about two hours prepping fabric for a quilting project and watching a show, then head to bed at 9:30 (He gets home at 10).
Thursday
Woke up, breakfast w kids, and walked the dog solo. Got my husband to take the morning shift so I could join an 8 am call scheduled to accommodate east coast folks, so at 8 am I joined that call. Hard stop at 8:50 so I could get to physical therapy for a 9:00 appt. After that headed home again for the rest of my workday.
Stopped a little early (5ish) to grab kids gymnastics gear and make dinner- thawed a curry I had frozen for me and my husband and chicken nuggets for the kids. Husband pulled in with kids around 5:15 and I hop in the car, Tupperware in hand. We eat in the car on the way to gymnastics, arriving at 5:29. I run in with the older kid and get him changed and out to join his 5:30 class. Husband and daughter come inside around 5:45. Her class starts at 6:00; I go with her and have to do a lot of active parenting while she struggles to pay attention. Son’s class ends at 6:30; he and my husband sit down and read until 6:45, then we switch kids until 7:00 when class is done.
We head home. Everyone’s exhausted and the kids want second dinner; they get to bed around 8.
Friday
Friday mornings I usually get the morning “off” from kiddos. I’ve scheduled an 8am call with a mentor, which I take while walking the dog and get about 2 miles in. I wire into work. It’s a jammed day and I don’t get a break until 2:30, at which point I bike to a bakery nearby and place an order for 3 dozen owl sugar cookies for my daughter’s upcoming birthday party.
I stop work at 5, go get the kids, and get a good chance to catch up with one of their teachers. Pizza and a movie with the cousins for dinner, and a sleepover. We put all the kids to bed, hand off to a babysitter, and head to a speakeasy for 3 hours. This is an excellent end to the week.
The Weekend
Saturday is a family zoo outing, bike ride, and lots of yard work. Dinner is something from the freezer, thanks past me! Sunday is grocery shopping, church, chores, and relaxing. We have a group dinner with the cousins again. Kids in bed by 7:15; tv with my husband and we’re in bed by 9.
Reflections
What was your biggest success this week?
Figuring out how to make Thursday morning work.
What was your biggest obstacle?
Not having a clear plan for how to use the weekend productively.
How are you making it work?
Lots of family time; clear shifts with my husband.
We’re moving in 2 months, so this whole thing is going to get dismantled and reconstituted. A good reminder that everything is temporary, even a good routine!
Some interesting links
A really interesting reflection about millenial mid-life crises
And the always hilarious Sara Petersen on bananas Mother’s Day advertising.
Ohhh the grind... I work outside of my home but man, I can relate to all of the above. We started making a "list" for weekends and just slowly checking things off. One of the items was "change cat litter." #win