A day in the life of a mom

Being a mom is the greatest job ever. I wouldn't trade it for anything. Sometimes I get to spend the day sitting on the floor playing with Legos, Polly Pocket, and trucks while still feeling justifiably productive as long as I make sure the washer and dryer are running all day.

And then there are days that go a little something like this:

5 am: Alarm goes off for Jake to get up for work.

5:15 am: I am now up too letting the dogs out cause once they hear anyone alive in the house they want attention, and I've learned that any attempt at trying to stay in my bed a little longer will just be miserable and unsuccessful anyway.

6:45 am: I make sure Nathan's alarm wakes him and Livy up so they can start getting ready for school. Of course I could go up and wake them up myself, but Nathan secretly likes the responsibility of getting to use an alarm clock and I secretly like that its good training for him.

7:30 am: Team 1 is all ready to go and take off on their bikes to school and Team 2 is up and waiting for breakfast. Since this particular day happens to be a Tuesday, Elle has preschool so after they eat, we skip the usual morning "fix" of an episode Dora and/or Diego and move on to getting ready for the day. We need to hurry because during breakfast we got a call from Jake that he needs us to bring him some shoes at work that he forgot, so a trip to Draper is now added to our list of things to do. We shower and get dressed and do hair -which included the need to make a whole new pair of flower clips for Elle's ponytails since she tearfully discovered Livy leaving for school wearing the exact flower clip she wanted to wear that day - not that we didn't have 6 other options that matched, but she knows what's available in my craft closet - and a girl's gotta look good for preschool, right?!

9:30 am: We take Elle and her new hair clips to preschool and J.D. and I get on our way to meet dad at work. Since this involves a half hour drive each way, I decide to check off some errands from my list that have been screaming at me to get done that are at least somewhat out that way. J.D. and I enjoy it being just the 2 of us getting some shopping done, but don't quite have the time to get it all finished up before we need to pick up Elle from preschool.

11:30 am: We're back and grab Elle, but still need to finish those errands . . . so we quickly find some lunch and get back on our way. This time we go the opposite direction into the American Fork area. We hit a couple of places on the list and hurry back to be home on time for Nathan and Livy to get home from school.

2:30 pm: We start the after school routine of sorting through backpacks and getting homework, reading, and chores done. Also since I know we'll be leaving soon for soccer and won't be home when Jake gets back from work, I try to figure out what we'll have for dinner and get that started so at least one of us can eat on a normal dinner schedule.

4:00 pm: Start to get everyone ready for the afternoon soccer craze. Make sure everyone has their respective socks, shin guards, cleats, water bottles, etc. and that the non-participating ones will have enough entertainment and snacks that they won't drive me crazy during practice.

4:15 pm: Everyone is geared up and loaded in the car and we're on our way.

4:30 pm: Nathan's soccer practice starts - we always stay and wait around at his since its a 15 min drive each way and I feel like its a waste to be going back and forth a few times a week.

5:20 pm: Jake gets home to an empty (and hopefully not on fire) house and can get dinner out of the oven.

6:00 pm: Practice ends, everyone gets back in the car, and we rush back home to get Livy to her soccer practice on time.

6:30 pm: Drop Livy off at her practice (its only a few minutes away) and come back home feeling slightly guilty for not watching her practice too, but I need to make sure everyone else gets dinner, the poor dogs get fed too, and that Nathan gets to Scouts on time.

7:00 pm: Get Nathan out the door to Scouts.

7:30 pm: Pick up Livy from soccer practice and finally get her some dinner.

8:00 pm: Pick up Nathan from Scouts on the way out to pick up Jake's mom who had been visiting from Connecticut to take her to the airport.

10:30 pm: Arrive back home and carry sleeping kids from the car up to their beds (it was worth it to let them spend a few more minutes with Grandma), pick out clothes, and make lunches for the next day. Try to spend a few (unenthusiastic) minutes with the dogs so they don't keep me up all night crying that they never get any attention - well maybe not Jesse, she's pretty chill, but Reco is still a young pup and needs some love.

11:15 pm: Finally get in bed myself setting the alarm to go off at 5 am to start all over again the next day!!

Like I said, I love being a mom and wouldn't trade days like these for sitting behind a desk for any amount of money. And even though I really miss my job at times, I'm grateful that I decided to not work this year so I'm free to get to spend crazy days like this with the kids, and crash into bed at night beat from a long productive day without even thinking about running the dryer. :)