A Day in the Life Of a Working Mother of Two Little Girls

January 10, 2006 My morning routine is the same every day. I get up at about 8am and proceed to get ready for the day. I like to be dressed and ready for the day before I wake up the girls since once they are up I don’t have much time to focus on myself as I have to keep them focused on the task at hand so that we can get out the door on time. So, I have to get both girls out off bed and dressed, this means faced washed, teeth brushed, hair fixed and then proceed to have a five-year-old and three-year-old try to tell me what they want to wear. This ordeal takes about ten to fifteen precious minutes of my time and once they are pleased with my choice we proceed to the kitchen to have breakfast. Breakfast in our home consists of a choice of cold cereal and milk, yogurt and toasted cheese sandwich, or a chocolate chip waffle. Today the later won out with both girls, which meant that I had an easy morning ahead, because this option could be ate in the car on the way to work. After breakfast I have to get the shoes on them and this is a process that on most mornings is drawn out by Shae the three-and-a-half-year-old, she decided that she did not wan to wear her boots that are easy to slip on and go. No, she wanted to wear the sneakers that have to be re-laced up because she cannot take them off without taking the laces all the way out. I did not want to push the issue because I knew that a tantrum would ensue at any moment if I did. Anastasia, the five-year old is so easy going that she was standing by the door ready to go by the time I had Shae’s shoes tied. We are normally out of the house by 9am but today we were running a little late (9:20) but with only a fifteen min. drive to our shop we would still arrive with time enough for me to check my e-mail before the shop opened at 10am. Arriving at the shop with fifteen minutes to spare, I was able to sit down to check the morning e-mail. The shop started getting busy as lunchtime approached and they girls started getting hungry. Thank goodness for a restaurant next door. I left the house this morning in such a hurry; I left the lunch bag on the counter. Shae and Anastasia were happy they love getting to order lunch. They get Chicken fingers, broccoli & cheese and Mac & Cheese. Anastasia loves it because she get to order Sweet Tea; her favorite. Shae loves it because she gets to pay, and gets a mint. After lunch I was hoping that they would take a nap but no luck in that department. I try to spend about an hour every afternoon spinning yarn and this afternoon the shop was a little slow so I was able to produce two full skeins and after washing and drying them I will be able to add the to the current stock. I enjoy the time I get to spin because I get to relax and feel the fiber slide through my fingers it really makes me feel creative. I can change type of the yarn that I spin just by changing the pressure I put on the fiber with my fingers. This part of the day is me time. I normally let the girls watch a learning video during this time so that they will not need too much attention. By the time I am finished with the washing and hanging of the yarn it is time to get ready to go home. I like to be able to check my e-mail once more before I leave for the day and catch up with a few of my blog buddies before I leave. I spend so much time on the computer at the shop that I do not have on at home so I have to take time for leisure reading at the end of my work day. I close the shop at 5pm every day, except if there is a knitting class and then we do not close until 8pm. I teach knitting classes on Tuesday and Thursday nights. On my 5 o’clock days I head home to cook dinner. Today I dropped the girls off at my mom’s house, so that I could grocery shop with out the “I wants” in the buggy, the girls. After having a peaceful shopping trip I picked them up so that they could be Mommy’s helpers with dinner. I have a recipe that they love to help with; it is a dump soup. I open the cans and they dump. It is not that easy I do have to cook the onions and add the spices so that they don’t put in too much but they do get to add the veggies and pre-cooked chicken. Anastasia wanted to help set the table and I let her. This is the new phase that she is going through. She wants to help with everything. She put out the bowls and spoon and sour cream and cheese, she was so proud of herself because she was able to get the dished all by herself. After Tim loaded the dinner dishes in the dishwasher. He started a load of Laundry and I gave the girls a bath and got the ready for bed. We decided to watch a movie and the girls got to pick it out. They were just happy that they were allowed to stay up to watch it. After the movie we all got ready to go to bed. I have to wait until bedtime to take a shower in this house because the girls and the husband use up all the hot water. This has been a day in the life of a working mother of two little girls.