When Trish recently posted a typical day for her, she did so in an effort to show that she is not perfect but does the best she can. She showed the good and the bad in her day and gave her audience an intimate glimpse into what a poses as a normal day for this young mother of two little girls. It was a beautiful post, and the response to it was overwhelmingly positive. In fact, when she posited on Twitter one day whether anyone else would be willing to do something similar, I was not alone in stating loudly that I would love to participate. Thankfully, she decided to make it an event, and the day is finally here.
To everyone who wonders how I “do it all”: here is a day in the life of Michelle.
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As you can see, I’m not a fan of the mornings. Jim, however, is already up and gone as he likes to go into the office early to get in his workout before the workday. I just roll over and sleep for another 45 minutes.
By 7 AM, the entire family is out the door. Connor catches the bus at 6:45 AM, while Holly has another hour to go before her bus comes. Thankfully, neither child requires me to help them with getting ready in the morning, and we have it all down to a science, including feeding the dogs and letting them run outside for a bit. I am so lucky that Holly’s best friend’s mother is willing to watch her in the morning. It makes the mornings fun for both girls, and it saves me money.
7:30 AM – Ah, home sweet home.
8 AM – My day does not really begin until that first cup of coffee and updating my planner with the day’s list of appointments and to-do list. Yes, I coordinate the pen I use each day with my outfit. A girl has to have fun at work, right?
12 PM – This was a good day, in which I was able to eat lunch AND read a bit. Lately, this type of day has been few and far between.
Throughout the day – I am an accountant. This is my life. For 8-12 hours a day. 5 days a week.
4 PM – I get to leave “early” today because I have to put on my chauffeur’s hat shortly. Now, the day really starts to get fun.
My commute each way is 26 miles and mostly looks like this. Exciting, eh? This is also about the only two times in the day I can listen to an audiobook. Yay!
5 PM – I’ve already been home (and by home, I mean I pulled into the driveway and honked the horn) and am now onto the first stop of the night – Holly’s dance classes.
5:30 PM – Time to pick up Connor from track practice! (I’ll spare you the rest but it involves errands and getting Holly from dance at 7 PM.)
7:30 PM – Home! And yes, that baby is quite literally the first thing I take off once I get home.
7:30 PM – I would like to say that I am so organized that I have dinner already prepared and ready to be rewarmed in the microwave every night and that we always eat as a family. However, this is pretty much the kids’ stations each evening. Both kids are multi-tasking by doing homework and eating. And yes, it is Culver’s. I don’t know if it would reflect better on me had I taken this picture on a sandwich/cereal night. (We really do eat together and I do cook whenever possible. I failed on this particular day.)
8 PM – A family of four always has a lot of laundry, but it seems particularly constant when said family of four is pretty much full-grown. I almost always do a load of laundry each evening, but each family member has to fold their own and put it away.
8:30 PM – The kids have their homework, and I have mine. Whether it is bills, email, posts to write, or actual work I brought home with me, I can spend anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour at my desk.
9:15 PM – My beautiful Gretchen. The first thing she does when I finally sit down for the evening is to come over for some loving. She has this thing with carrying something in her mouth. Tonight, it was a pair of Holly’s socks.
10 PM – By this time, my brain is toast, and I am in shut-down mode. This means I have moved on to my bed and finally opened my book again. After my shower and packing of lunch and laying out of my clothes for the next day. (My kids are responsible for packing their own lunches and getting ready for the next day as well.)
11:30 PM – My favorite part of the day, as long as I don’t think about that alarm and having to do it all again tomorrow!
I love these day in the life posts (even if I’m woefully behind reading them!).
I laughed out loud at the first thing you take off when you get home 🙂
You are a busy woman and awesome mama.
Thanks, Stacy! This was by far one of my favorite posts to do in recent years. It was just so much fun to do and to read about other’s days.
Full day Michelle. Great photos and rundown. You squeeze a lot in.
Thanks, Susan!
Snooze button for the win!!! I actually don’t set an alarm but in an effort to get up earlier (mostly after reading these posts), I set one for this morning. Scott also set his…and for earlier…so I tried really hard not to close my eyes again. Those mornings would be so peaceful if I could just get my butt out of bed!
Somehow I didn’t know you were an accountant! And yes, being able to read at lunch makes such a big difference in personal morale, huh? You’re so great to have raised such self-sufficient kiddos. I’m hoping to get there…can’t wait until they can make their own lunch at least. Even having Elle be able to pull things from here and there for me is a life savor.
Thanks so much for participating and all of the support you gave in making this event a go! I LOVED reading everyone’s days (OMG I’m still wading through them!!) and it seems everyone else did, too. 🙂
I’ve been trying to get up earlier so that I don’t have to rush out of the house each morning and so that I can get to work a bit earlier. It’s been so difficult.
You’ll get there. I had kids very young and for much of Connor’s younger years, it was just him and me as Jim was in the Army. The only way I made it through was to teach him how to help me. When I had Holly, the pattern was set, and we continued to do the same with her. It makes them feel important when they are young, and I have a great set of helpers now. They will be so prepared for college and adulthood!
This has been such a great event, Trish. You should be very proud of yourself. I have loved every bit of it and cannot wait for the fall event.
It looks like you guys have lots of systems in place to make sure everything happens like it’s supposed to. My morning alarms look a lot like yours — I set quite a few in case I snooze through the first couple. Thanks for sharing your day!
You tend to find ways to make it through the days and events after a while. It is either that or we go insane, right? I love my snooze button! It makes me feel like I am taking control of my life.
Fun photo essay — really captured the day!
Thanks, Joy! It was a lot of fun!
I do love bedtime too. My husband is the same way as you when it comes to hitting that snooze button. It’s amazing how much we can fit in during the day/evening when we have to, isn’t it? Thank you for sharing your day with us!
You are welcome! Yes, necessity is truly the mother of invention.
I love this post! And I am OBSESSED with your Mad Hatter coffee mug. That is beyond fabulous.
Thanks, Katie! I got that two years ago from Disneyland. Everyone at work knows that is mine. I’ve even had people bring it back to my desk if I left it somewhere. It’s my favorite mug by far!
Now, I have to push my husband out of bed. Unless he’s getting the early flight for a meeting, I’m up before him. I love all the photos! Great job!
Thanks, Chris! I used to have to push him out of bed. I’m not certain what changed, but I don’t mind. I like having the bathroom to myself in the mornings!
You do a ton of stuff after work — yikes. I’m always ready to vege.
I’m definitely ready to veg too. If I sit down at all, I’m toast so I try to keep going to get everything done as quickly as possible.
First of all, love the name of you blog.
Your day-of is like looking 10 years into the future. Except I’ll be 40 something 🙂 My kids are 3 and 5 so my day looked a little different, but just as busy. And also no husband to be seen, but he’s there… somewhere…
When I saw the bra pic, I was like, no, that can’t be what I’m seeing. Then I read the caption and laughed out loud. It really is the best moment of the whole day!
Yes, my husband was on a business trip while I was documenting this. He does get some of the taxi duties when possible.
LOL! I couldn’t resist adding that pic. I knew people would get a kick out of it.
Dude. You only get like 6 1/2 hours of sleep??? How the hell do you function? I’d be a zombie! I can do it for a few nights, but then I end up sleeping for 10 hours on the weekend.
Jill: From what I’m reading even only a few of these A Day in the Life posts, it is fairly typical to get less than 7 hours of sleep for many, at least among the few I’ve read so far. One blogger whose post I read got maybe 5 hours, if I did my math correctly. And I’m sure as Michelle might point out, you do what you have to do. Me? I’m with you, Jill, in that I couldn’t do it, but then again my wife and I don’t have children, I work a part-time job…one thing I’m realizing, though, from all of this (back to you, Michelle) is that I don’t do enough with the time I do have.
Eh. If you saw my weekends, you wouldn’t think it was that impressive. I am not nearly this productive on the weekends if I can help it!
Oh, I definitely try to sleep as much as possible on the weekends. I do like to sleep, but I like to read too and I can’t go to sleep without reading for at least 30 minutes.
Spreadsheets on TWO monitors?! Your job is definitely more intense than mine. I highly recommend you try the nonprofit world next time around (if you can stand the pay cut–I’ve never worked outside it, so I really don’t know the difference). It does help having kids who are old enough to be mostly self-sufficient…but you really pack a lot into the day, Michelle!
Yep! It was either that or go blind/get carpel tunnel syndrome with all of the toggling between them. The two monitors have been a life-saver.
Awesome look into your day! Much if it looks very familiar.
I’m sure I’m not the only one who spends an inordinate amount of time behind the wheel.
Wait a second. Was that a bra on the bathroom counter?? LOL!! If I am home long enough, I change into my grubbies which are workout clothes that never ever see the gym. But I am never home enough to do that so I keep the bra on and head out the door again.
I wondered how many people would comment on that! Yes, I did that on purpose. You got to see how I role!
Self-sufficient kids – I am so far off from that. I’m learning today that each phase of parenting is busy in its own way. 🙂
Self-sufficient kids are the best! Plus, they still cuddle. So I have the best of both worlds.
Sounds like you have your busy busy schedule down pat. I bet you are highly organized as an accountant — which helps in reduces stress when you have a busy family like yours. Thanks for sharing.
I definitely have found a way to make it all work. Somehow. It’s what we do, right?
Culver’s is the best! So glad when they came to Utah. I love that you included pictures of your very busy day.
Thanks, Cindi!
Hey, the kids get fed, what more can you do?! And Culvers is tasty stuff so I’m sure they’re happy. Love that you color-coordinate your pens to your outfit!
Culver’s was their choice, which surprised me because they would normally have gone with Panera. When I’m not cooking, I like to let them eat what they want, within reason of course!
I loved this! I think it’s such a cool idea, and I loved getting to know you better by taking a tour of your daily life. Love the alarms – too funny. I understand even more why your days are so crazy busy! BTW…your daughter is beautiful! Thanks for sharing this!
LOL. Thanks, Brandie! It was a lot of fun. Is it weird I think my day sounds so boring?
Your kids a re so self-sufficient – love it! Mine get themselves ready in the morning too … but make their own lunch and scnacks … they’d starve 🙂
That was one of my goals as a mother – to make them as self-sufficient as possible at a fairly young age. I am so thankful I did because it really does make these busy times so much easier when they can help out as well.
You guys with kiddos astound me. I mean, in these posts I can actually see how it’s done, but wow.
I think it’s funny, though, that in your post (as well as in others and in my own), you feel you have to qualify – “We don’t always eat like this! I cook! We eat together!” Even in our attempt to “let it all hang out,” we have to apologize. It’s crazy.
Beautiful family. Beautiful dog. Beautiful life.
Oh, I guess I was sort of apologizing, wasn’t I? That wasn’t my intention as this was going to be a no-apology post. Oh well. We do the best we can.
Thanks, Jenn!
Great post, Michelle! Your kids (and your dog) are gorgeous. My life isn’t nearly as hectic as yours, but I’m bracing myself … soccer season is coming.
I had to laugh when you said you came home from work and honked the horn for Holly because you had to rush her to dance. Sometimes I think I wasted my time going to college. Once I had ovaries and a driver’s license, I was fully prepared for my role in life. 😛
Thanks, Irene! You speak the truth. There are days that college and post-grad degree seem so unnecessary. I would have been better off interning with Martha Stewart.
Your alarm notes on your phone are awesome!
And I love how you did your post with all the photos!
Thanks, Sharlene! It was a lot of fun!
Oh, this was very nice. Loved your notes to yourself on your alarms – LOL.
Love the pictures. Yay for audiobooks. Yours is desk that I could live with (I’m a little picky about my tidiness) and love that coordinate your pens. I used to have ones that were flowers when I worked at the library – and everyone made fun. What was that about? Thanks for sharing! Your kids are precious.
Thanks, Kay! I had a lot of fun with this. My desk always looks that clean. I cannot work with clutter. It really does stress me out. I know my coworkers think it odd I use colored ink, but it is on my own notes so who cares?
I love reading about your day like this! We try to sit down together as a family as often as we can too, but with the extra-curricular stuff, it gets to be quite a challenge.
I’ve sort of have given up on night when we have something on the schedule. It just isn’t worth the stress, so when I do cook, I automatically double the recipe. At least then I can try to avoid the drive-thru somewhere.
I like that Gretchen is offering you socks. How helpful! 🙂
She is a very helpful doggy. Always sharing and making herself useful!