A day in the life:
- 6:30-8:30 Morning routine (lunches, drive Eldest to school, wake/feed the Littles, make self presentable)
- 8:30-9:00 Morning commute (w/ possible drop-off of 1-2 of the Littles)
- 9:00-5:30 Work
- 5:30-6:00 Evening commute (w/ possible pickup of 1-2 of the Littles)
- 6:00-7:00 Dinner prep, dinner
- 7:00-8:30 Playtime with kids (DH is the bomb!)
- 8:30-9:30 Bedtime routine (baths, books, PJs)
- 9:30-10:00 Cleanup
- 10:00-12:00 (or 1:00) More work and/or some TV
So here’s a handy comparison between how much I spend versus how much I would like to spend on different tasks (below, 0<x<2).
Clearly, what my day is missing is 8 additional hours. My hope is for the humanity to populate a planet with a 32-hour day ASAP.
In other news, it’s finals week…
xykademiqz 
I am so with you here! I am also wishing for the internet to go away before my daughter gets old enough for it to be trouble… Although I will miss having access to so many journals online. Small price to pay for my sanity. 😉
I would totally put my commute to 0 hours in dreamland, do you actually LIKE yours??
Also your day is very similar to mine except only have the 1 kiddo… so far.
Few people sacrifice time to spend with their kids. I’m encouraged by your schedule, even though its pressed for time you still manage to spend time with your loved ones. 🙂
Jojo, I really do like the commute, it’s not bad at all. It takes probably around 7-8 min between leaving office and exiting garage in my car, then another 15 min driving, and about 7-8 min for 1 kid pickup. The schools and daycare are close to home so the commute actually gives me the time to switch gears between work and family. I LOOOVE my morning commute.
I’m curious how the weekend is and how much make-up you get to do? Do you at least get sleep?
The weekend is mostly family time and chores. Work time is during the Youngest’s naptime (3 hrs per day) and evenings after the kids are in bed (2-3 hrs per day). If I am really tired, I will nap with the Youngest on Saturday, then I have the energy to work longer after the kids are in bed. I work Sunday naptime and after the kids’ bedtime, but I am often quite spent by Sunday night so I veg out.
Now that the kids are older, I sometimes get to sleep in, as the Littles can get up, get breakfast, and turn on the TV to watch videos on their own (or they start fighting and screaming and I am up early anyway).
With multiple kids there are also their friends; last week we had a birthday party for the Middle that took up all Saturday. We often have friends of the older two sleeping over. It can get pretty wild, but it’s the good, all-consuming kind of wild that helps clear your mind from work.
It will get easier as the littles get bigger…the morning and bedtime routines should take less time, so try to make sure that they do. Playtime will be less parent-intensive and as the littles become teens (impossible, isn’t it 🙂 you get demoted to ‘driver’. Then…they’ll be gone and the house will feel empty…so know it gets better, but try to enjoy this time a little bit too…
We could all start working on Mars time and gain a half hour…that might affect the commute though 🙂
I must have at least 8 hours of sleep a night. I can go short periods for less but not sustainably. I don’t have kids but I would have been an unpleasent person to be with if we didn’t get a sleeper. My husband dodged a bullet. 🙂