A Typical Day in My Life

Ahh...the beauty of being a mother.  All mothers know what this post is like, and can totally relate.  Whether you have one child, three like me, or more, we all have similar days.  Ah, the joy of motherhood...

6:30am - I wake up, brush my teeth, wash my face, get dressed, then walk over to my boys' room to wake them up.
7:00am - If I'm lucky, they're awake.  If not, I spend the next 15 minutes trying to wake them with a combination of these methods - tickling, yelling, and when they were younger, dressing them while they were in bed.
7:15am - I go downstairs, I prepare breakfast, I pack the lunch/snacks of the day for 3 people.  All the while trying to mix the food up, trying to remember what I served the day before so my children will eat what's served today, whether it be breakfast, lunch, or snack.  But wait, only to be met with, "Whyyyyyyy?  Why are we eating THAT?"
7:25am - I bring the bottle of milk that I heated up for my daughter, and carries her 35 lb body downstairs with it from our bed.  She sleeps so late and has a later starting time at school that I try to let her sleep as much as I can.  But unfortunately we have to take the boys to school, so she needs to come in the car too.
7:30am - I put my daughter in the car.  I go back inside the house, only to find the boys, still not dressed, naked, playing some kind of battle game with each other in their closet.
7::45am - after FINALLY getting the boys downstairs, have their socks put on, their shoes on, their jackets on, and their backpacks on  (which takes several "HURRY UP!!!" before all that can be accomplished), we finally get in the car.
7:45-8:01am - I'm battling through morning school traffic, all the while listening to kids screaming in the car, and all the while telling them repeatedly, "EAT your breakfast!"  And having to break up arguments, and deciding who's right or wrong.  I have to make sure the Kids' music channel is on so they can pay attention to the music instead of finding opportunities to argue.  I weave, drive like a maniac, because I know it takes at least 20 minutes to get to school, and we'll definitely be late if we don't hurry.
8:01am - Whew!  We finally make it to school!  I have to remember to kiss my boys goodbye from the car window since we're not allowed to get off the car, and remember to stop on the side after pulling off the drop off lane, so that I can wave bye to my boys.  One always waves back, and the other walks on.  Oh well.
8:05am - I drive home to get my daughter ready for school
8:15am - I get home, get my daughter dressed, get her hair done, put my own makeup on, make a cup of coffee for myself, eat a cup of yogurt, and get my daughter back in the car so she can attend school.
9:09am - We get to school, I kiss her goodbye, and I'm rushing off to the gym for my class that starts at 9:15am.
10:15am - I get out of the gym, drives home
10:20am - I take a shower and get ready to run maybe one errand before I have to pick up my daughter from school at noon.
11:00am - I go to the grocery store to get food for the week.
11:45am - Should I go home to drop off the groceries?  Or should I just take this moment to wait maybe 5 minutes in the car before picking up my daughter?  I decide to take the rare 5 minutes I get to myself.
12:00pm - I pick up my daughter, taking at least 10 minutes to get off school campus because she never wants to leave school
12:15pm - we get home, I put on her Chinese DVD for her so she gets her Chinese "lesson" of the day.  Heats up her remaining lunch and feeds that to her, all the while, I'm STARVING because I had just done a rigorous workout and need to eat.  But I have to wait until she's fed first.  God forbid her show is over before I can get her to finish eating. 
12:45pm - I finally finished feeding her.  I look through the fridge to find leftovers from the night before to fill my stomach.  No fancy salads. It's "oh, there's one drumstick"  and "oh, there's some veggies left."  and "I guess I can put together a plate."
1:15pm - After taking off her school clothes, and untying the hair, and many, many "lets go to bed now," I finally get my daughter in bed for a nap.  By this point, I'm already exhausted.  I lay down with her, and make sure to set the alarm to 2:45pm so I can pick up the boys.  But wait, did I defrost the stuff I need to make dinner with?
2:50pm - oh crap!  I overslept!  I rush to pack snacks for the boys to eat on their way to an after school lesson, and of course I have to pack one for K too.  I have to pack materials for the after school activity, jacket for K, shoes for K, and something to hold K's hair back.  Then I rush to put everything I can put in the car first, and the go upstairs, pick up K, and strap her to her baby seat.  She's still asleep, and usually is.
3:15pm - I wait in the pick up lane.  I'm already too late because they get out at 3:15pm.  I'm met with, "mom, what TOOK you so long?!"
4:00pm - I arrive at their after school activity.  I have an hour to kill before I have to pick them up.  I take K to the park. 
4:30pm - I'm FREEZING at the park.  But K won't leave.  But she has to use the bathroom.  Thank goodness I brought the portable potty, and some extra plastic bags.  And wipes.
5:00pm - I pick up the boys.  Driving home and thinking how I should go about making them do their homework and getting them done on time before dinner starts.
5:30pm - I get home, take all the backpacks, the snack boxes, the trash out of the car, unstrap K, then tell the kids they can watch 30 minutes of cartoon before starting homework.  They fight over who gets to choose the show.  I have to break up the fight.
5:45pm - I start making dinner.  Very aware of the time because once the show is over, I have to make the boys do their homework.
6:00pm - show is over.  Takes several threats of time-outs and no more TVs to get the boys to sit down and do homework.  I go into their backpacks and get everything out for them.  Then I have to sit down with them to make sure HW is done.  Otherwise it's more bickering and chit-chatting.  My food is cooking on the stove and I have to be very aware that it doesn't get overcooked.
6:30pm - all homework done.  Hallelujah!  Dinner is done.  I set the table for 5 people, everyone needs a little something different to use as utensils, to drink, to eat.  One wants rice and the other doesn't.  Two want milk and the third doesn't.  While K tries to negotiate which utensil she wants to use for tonight.  She usually wins.  I'm just too tired to argue with her.
6:45pm - "Daddy is home!"  Thank GOD.  We start eating.  The whole time I get, "why do I have to eat that?"  and I'm like, "Hurry up!  You don't have much time before you have to go shower!"
7:15pm - dinner is finally done.  Daddy takes the boys up to shower and get ready for bed.  When Daddy isn't home, I have to wash 3 bodies, brush 3 teeth, and tuck them all in.  It usually takes at least 10 threats following enforcing the threats to get the 3 bodies and mouths clean.  Oh, don't forget the good night kisses and the "I Love Yous."
8:15pm - Boys are asleep.  If Daddy is home, if he did the washing then I was cleaning the kitchen downstairs.  Packing snacks and lunches for 3 kids.  Wiping down the stove, counter, dinner table.  Washing the 3 ginormous pots by hand and finding room in the dishwasher for the rest.
9:15pm - I take K upstairs to take a bath, when she's done, I brush her teeth, then I get ready for bed.
9:30pm - I take K in bed with me.  She talks and talks because she's not tired yet.  "Mommy, I need to go pee pee."  "....huh?  What?  Oh, ok."  I wake up my groggy, fallen-asleep-already self, and take her to the bathroom.
10:00pm - K finally falls asleep.  The.Day.Is.Done.

This is an easy day.  A hard day involves taking kids out of classes mid-morning, driving to doctor's/dentist's appointments.  Why does the dog seem off?  Gotta schedule a visit to the vet.  With 3 kids in tow.  Is that the dishwasher making noises?  Argh!  It's malfunctioning AGAIN!  Gotta remember to call for service.  What is going on at school tomorrow?  Do I need to provide snacks for any event, dress the kids for any special occasions?  Did I buy the birthday presents for the weekend birthday parties?  Nope.  Gotta find time for that before I pick up K at noon.  And dealing with sick kids.  Oh God.  Don't even go there.  I definitely can't afford to get sick.  There was this one time I was preparing dinner and accidentally cut my finger.  It looked deep enough to require a trip to urgent care.  It was pouring cats and dogs outside, and there was no one to watch the kids.  So I wrapped up my bloody finger in a napkin, and drove all 3 kids with me to urgent care.  Thank goodness there's one not too far from my house, and my husband was able to leave work earlier and pick up the kids there while I got treated.  Goodness gracious.  Then on top of all this mumbo jumble, the extra curricular stuff like the school meetings, scheduling for the kids, scheduling for myself, signing up this and that for the kids, updating the calendars.  I try to limit scheduling stuff for myself for these reasons.  Too much goes on the calendar!  I get a panic attack just looking at it everyday. Blah.

Well, that's the typical day of a mom.  Of me.  And I do it day after day, without complaint, like every mom does.  We love our job because we love our children.  And we wouldn't have it any other way. :)

Xoxo,
Lin