Ever wonder what a work day looks like for a blogger? I’ve teamed up with some of my favorite ladies today for a “Day In The Life” blog hop, so now’s your chance! These ladies are some of my heros in the organization department, so be sure to visit them all because along with our schedule, we’re each sharing some tips on staying organized (or in my case, pretending). Not sure if they realized who they were talking to when they asked me to participate. I mean, I just joined a gymnastics carpool and when I told my husband who I was carpooling with, he said “Thank goodness for that” because he knows how much more organized they are than I am. Lol! Don’t worry, I wasn’t offended. He’s completely right and I’m SO thankful for the village that helps raise my family! I mean, I have friends who use spreadsheets for carpools, folks. Maybe I should have them write this post for me? Side note: you can read last year’s “Day In The Life” blog post by clicking HERE.
So, if you’re new here, I’ve got four kids…. sophomore, 7th, 3rd, and my littlest just started kindergarten!! That’s right, guys. For the first time in approximately one bazillion years I have the house to myself all day every day, during the week. Like, what is my life now? School started two weeks ago and I’m still getting used to it. Every time I’ve sent one to kindergarten, I’ve always had a baby at home, so it’s just been a bit weird. And quiet. And productive. And downright glorious.
Typically, my day starts around 6:45am. My husband gets up with my oldest and takes her to her bus stop earlier than that, but I just can’t handle my eyes being open that early. So I get up when my 7th grader wakes me up around 6:45, and sleepwalk my way downstairs to hang with her til it’s time for her to leave. If she’s feeling independent, I fall back asleep on the couch til she’s ready to get on the bus. If she’s feeling needy, I stay awake and help her with breakfast and then empty the dishwasher while she’s eating. Can you tell I like sleep? I’m a night owl, friends. To the extreme. I rock the mic like a vandal. Wait, what? Sorry- song quotes creep in around here without warning. Anyway, I just much prefer staying up late to getting up early, so that’s why I’m sounding like a sleepyhead. But I promise, once kids number three and four come down, my eyes are open and I’m ready to pack lunches for these littlest ones.
We leave around 8:30. These two don’t get a bus because we live under a mile from the school. In the past, I pull in and the kids give me kisses and head out of the car and on their way. But since this is my son’s first year in elementary school, I get out and stay with him in his line. You know what that means, folks…. I actually need to get out of my pjs. Ugh! The first few days I’m always on a roll: cute outfit, curled hair, fresh makeup, you know- looking like the mom who has her shit together. Key word: “looking like” not “feeling like.” Because let’s be serious. It’s almost 9am and I still haven’t had my coffee. Yup, I don’t make my coffee at home. I head straight to Panera after I drop the kids off, for a caramel latte with skim milk and a pumpkin muffie. Yes, I do this every day. And yes, they know me by name. It’s gotten to the point where sometimes a Panera worker will quit or get transferred to different a Panera without telling me and suddenly it’s like, “WHERE’S JAKE?? WHERE DID JAKE GO?” I need help. And coffee. And Jake back. Have you seen Jake? He was my favorite. How dare he leave without saying goodbye? Was I nothing to him?
Ok, SO! The party can start, guys! I come home with my coffee and get down to business! This has been where the magic happens…
This spot at the island is a little slice of heaven because we recently renovated our kitchen for the One Room Challenge and I’m in LOVE. It’s not quite finished; still needs a backsplash, but it’s so much brighter and happier than it was (check out the before and afters by clicking HERE). So for now, I much prefer this spot to my actual office.
I’m still trying to navigate this “work from home” life with no kids home. I had a pretty specific schedule set for myself last year while needing to work around my son’s preschool hours. But with everyone out of the house all day, I’m still working out kinks of how my days go. For the most part, once I’m home with my coffee, I sit down at my laptop to get busy. I check email, I touch base with sponsors, I write, I edit, I online shop, I make phone calls. If I have a post coming up that needs styling and photographing, I do that. If I need to run errands for a room reveal, I do that. And when the opportunity arrises to volunteer in my kids’ classes, that’ll be thrown in the mix too. Of course, there’s also the upkeep of the house. For the first time in a while I feel like I’ve been able to maintain a clean house, and that feels SO good!
Just a few shots of some rooms looking their best:) Now, as for sharing how I keep myself organized, here’s what works for me, guys…
I do put things on my phone calendar, but honestly, I like seeing everything at once on one big calendar. I’m old school, folks! I like things written down! Between gymnastics, soccer, Girls Scouts, NJHS, blog deadlines, business trips- I just need to visualize it all together instead of looking on my phone. That black thing with compartments is from Home Goods, and it was my solution to organizing the abundance of school papers that come home (especially that first week!) Side note: you see two copies of the same HGTV magazine and two copies of the same Detroit Free Press newspaper because I was featured in both and I bought extra copies for my parents that I haven’t given them yet:)
So, each of my kids has a slot in that compartment for homework or school papers that need to be signed. After school, we go through backpacks, empty lunch boxes, and grab a snack. I usually give them til around 5 o’ clock to decompress, and then I have them start homework. Are you wanting to hear about dinner and recipes? You won’t. I stink at cooking and we eat out a lot. This is the point in the day we’re deciding what to order!
That’s about it, friends! It’s 2am and my laptop is totally acting up. So I’m going to wrap up this riveting overview of my ever-so-exciting day as a mom/wife/blogger/crazy person, and encourage you to visit the rest of my friends joining in the fun!
11 Magnolia Lane (Christy’s post)
Haneen’s Haven
Less Than Perfect Life of Bliss
Cheers!
Haneen
