First of all, huge apologies to Susanne, for this was supposed to go up before the holidays, but life got a little insane, so here it is now! I love this Day in the Life Of post because it cracked me up, and also, is so honest and real. Susanne is a mom I met online, but turned out we had "IRL" friends in common! Her daughter, Lucy, is a peanut and so adorable. Thanks for sharing, Susanne! You can follow Susanne on Instagram, too! 

Back to bed everyone!

6:30am: I wake to Lucy's lovely yelling. I guess it's the best you can do when you can't actually talk so I don't blame her. I go in. "Good morning kitty cat!!!" I smother her in hugs and kisses, change her diaper and nurse her in our big comfy beanbag chair. We cover ourselves with a blanket and she hops on and off the chair grabbing new books for us to read, handing each one to me and saying "up up up!"

7:30am: Lucy starts yelling and throwing herself on the floor, now grabbing my shoulders and saying, "up, up, up!" I assume this means she wants me to get up and bring her downstairs for breakfast. Who knows! I sit her in her high chair, while I peel an apple for her to eat and she yells and tries to grab it. I FINALLY (25 seconds?) hand it over and she devours it. This used to keep her busy for a good 20 minutes, but she's suddenly a really efficient fruit eater - ten minutes tops... "Up, up, up!" At this point I have so much in my head that I planned to do while she ate that apple. Cue extreme disappointment. Cue the urge to multitask. Ok. I don't even know what I did with that ten minutes.

7:45am: I put her on the floor and let her crawl around while I attempt to tackle my list of little things I imagined getting done - my quick morning routine (oil pulling, apple cider vinegar with hot water and lemon), making almond milk, cleaning the kitchen, cooking breakfast, getting dinner in the slow cooker and checking email with some unfortunate Facebook distractions.
I look down for about 30 seconds to read an article on why moms are so tired ("hyperawareness" ? Seriously.) I look up and Lucy has climbed on the tv cabinet and is basically sitting on the cable box. Oops. I grab her down and discover she really needs a diaper change. Ugh. No, diapers never got less gross to me. How about you?

8am: Thank god that's over. I take this opportunity (just since I thought of it) to wash my face and brush my teeth while Lucy sits on the bathroom counter and turns the light on and off. I count this as learning. Side note: I just started using a Clarisonic on my face every day and oh my god can we talk about amazing results? Have you tried this?!)

8:15am: back downstairs to have our breakfast (oatmeal with almond butter/blueberries and chia seeds - it's our new favorite).

8:45: After breakfast we play on the floor with some blocks and I straighten up the living room and get my computer ready for a 9am call with work.

9am: Lucy hangs with dad upstairs in her room (sounds like they're reading books) and I take my work call. Nap time (for Lucy) is 9:30 so dad puts her down then and I finish up my work call shortly after so I have some free time (!) meaning I have some time with out baby at my feet. I finish prepping dinner (a loose rendition of this recipe) and begin to clean the kitchen - by this point in her life, Lucy has got to think my favorite hobby is doing dishes. It's not.

10am: She's up! We nurse. It’s funny, breastfeeding has been the hardest thing I’ve done in life so far and once it started to get easy, everyone started asking me when I plan to stop like I’m a crazy weirdo. She’s only a few weeks past one… we’ll see what happens.

10:15: More playtime for Lucy. I open up "her cabinet" where I keep lots of baby safe kitchen stuff and she sits and plays for a while while I get chicken stock cooking. I roasted a chicken last night; I always make a stock with the bones to get the most out of the chicken - it's also so nutritious and delicious! Then finish up making almond milk.

11am: We hop in the car and run to Value Drugs to grab hand soap and some other essentials we ran out of before vacation. Lucy reaches for every stuffed animal in the store and I stop the cart, introduce her "hi da!" And she hugs each one like its her long lost, best friend. These moments make me wonder "how is she this cool?!??"

12pm: We're home... I get some laundry done while carrying Lucy on my hip. Then she hangs out in my bedroom with me - crawling up and down on the bed while I straighten up. She goes to my night table drawer, takes out my Chapstick, and then puts it back over and over. I guess this counts as learning too. We relax. Somehow we're ahead of schedule and for a little bit we just hang out on the bed; she gets lots of tickles and kisses. She makes me laugh hysterically doing her new routine of standing up on the bed, putting her hands over her head and diving on to me. She. Is. The. Best.

12:45: We nurse. She gets a new diaper and turns off the light (while on my hip) and I put her in her crib for a nap. (1pm is nap time, but she always spends some time babbling and getting comfy in her crib. We started using the 90 minute sleep solution around two months and it has helped more than anything else I've tried. I highly recommend it!) I take advantage of nap time to take the fastest shower ever, get dressed and get her lunch ready (roast chicken from last night, a banana and a kale/cashew/mango smoothie - made six of these - one for Lucy, me, my husband, the babysitter, and a few for tomorrow.) I chug a smoothie and throw my laptop and wallet into my bag.

1:55: She's up! And in a great mood. Hallelujah. The babysitter will be here at 2pm so I get Lucy out of her pajamas (finally!) and into some semi normal clothes - we're still waiting for clean laundry because we just got back from vacation two days ago...

2pm: Charlotte (our amazing babysitter) arrives. Lucy and I answer the door and I tell her, "Charlotte's going to play with you for a while while I go do some work!" I sit her in her high chair and take lunch out and say bye! Thank god she loves Charlotte. My husband and I leave (he's been working in his home office all day) and we go to Starbucks to work for a very short two hours. Somehow, I get a ton of work done. I'm looking for a lighting designer and figuring out the best place to order 2,000 balloons from for an event I'm planning. I'm feeling very grateful to have this new project because work has been kind of slow for the past few weeks and also, this project is super fun.

4pm: We're home. Lucy hears me say hi and crawls over to me with the biggest smile I've ever seen anyone smile. We say bye to amazing Charlotte and nurse on the couch till Lucy flips off my lap, says, "up up up" and hops down off the couch (she's still figuring out up and down). She's entertaining herself on the floor doing lunges saying, "up, da" so I take this time to finish up a few emails for work and peak at Facbook/Instagram. She crawls into the kitchen and I hear her say, "up, up, up" to my husband who is standing at the counter working at his laptop. He is pleasantly surprised because she rarely asks him to pick her up. So that's cute! It lasts for about five minutes and somehow she has landed back in my arms haha.

4:45: I crawl onto the floor and sit in Lucy's elephant chair and tell her to pick some books for us to read. She gets "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" and sits in my lap and we read... Well, I read. Spoiler alert: The caterpillar becomes a beautiful butterfly. She climbs down, grabs her baby (a birthday present I gave her last week) and hugs her and says, "baaabaae!"

She comes back over to me and it's "up, up, up!" So I grab her and head back to the kitchen (because that's where I live!) I have to get her dinner ready and finish making dinner for my husband and I, but I quickly realize this is not going to happen with my hip baby. I sit her in her high chair with an appetizer (a spoonful of coconut oil - yum! I don't know, she loves it.) Throw a bunch of cubed sweet potatoes into the oven and grab some Lima beans out of the slow cooker. I should have done those last two things earlier, but I didn't. She's done with her "appetizer" and climbing out of her high chair so I grab her and sit her on the counter and let her examine the spinach (learning!) while I'm tearing radicchio and slicing tomatoes. Lima beans have cooled! Sit her back down and hand her a bunch. She eats some, but feeds half to the dog. Grr. I throw him into the backyard so I have a better chance of her eating. Sweet potatoes are served! She loves them. But I'm still worried she hasn't eaten enough so I grab the blender and make her a quick dessert smoothie (almond milk/coconut cream/blueberries/cardamom/turmeric) she downs it. Yay! This is delicious. I instagram it. (I've been working on getting some kids recipes together and planning a "real food workshop" to put my health coach license to use, but just haven't gotten there yet. Small steps.)

6pm: Bath time has arrived! I grab a glass of wine. We climb the stairs - Lucy in front of me, climbing on all fours, start the tub and go into her room to clean up. I ask her to help me clean up all her books and she hands me them one by one - then hands me a sock, which makes me wonder if she knows what books are. Well, one day she will figure it out. Into the bath. We talk about the day. Well, I talk about the day. She says, didididididididaaaaa! Speaking of daaa! Dad come upstairs to say goodnight and hangs out for a few in the bathroom with us. Lucy says, "up up up" which means bath time is over and it's time for bed. We nurse. I put her pajamas on, we say goodnight to every stuffed animal in her room, goodnight to the sun (which has already set), I let her switch off the light and put her in her crib. Aaaaaah.

6:40: By now, dinner is ready to go so I make some plates up for my husband and myself. Now we get to relax. I love Lucy's early bed time because I get to spend all day with her and then have time with my husband at night, which for me is totally necessary to stay sane. Also, going to bed early gives her the best chance to get a full 12 hours... Babies wake up with the sun no matter what time they go to bed. They're like senior citizens. (From my experience.)

8pm: We sit on the couch, have some more wine and watch American Horror Story (that show is getting to be really disturbing), SVU and I work a little more on my phone researching caterers and lighting artists - I'd love to stop this habit and turn my phone off at night... Maybe one day!

11pm: I pour us both a "Calm" magnesium drink and it's time for bed.

Sometimes I think I have the time management skills of a teenager at a Grateful Dead concert, but this day went pretty well! Success! Now I pray that she sleeps through the night.

November 24th, 2014

5:30 am – Briefly wake up to a kiss goodbye from my husband, Andrew, before he heads off to work for the day. Roll over and hope to get a couple more hours of sleep.

6:30 am – wake up to Addy crying from her room. I go get her out of the crib and bring her in to bed and attempt to nurse her back to sleep so I can catch a few more zzz’s.

6:45 am – It’s no use, she’s up for the day. After changing her diaper we head out to the kitchen and begin our day. And to be honest – after waking up at around 5:00 am every day for at least a year, 6:30 is pretty dang awesome.

7:00 am – First stop: My glorious Keurig. I get my first cup of coffee for the day and try to find something for Addy to eat. Before I know it, she is pointing at the TV and saying “oh oh ah ah!”

7:15 am – I give in and put Curious George on for her. I am a huge pushover in the morning, apparently. While Addy is enthralled with “Georgie,” as we call him, I am able to get some work done on my laptop (checking emails, working on upcoming blog posts, etc).

7:30 am – Addy is signing “eat eat” so I get her some yogurt and some cereal, which she picks at.

8:00 am – Addy decides to take all of the pots and pans out of the kitchen cupboards and arranges them on the living room floor. She is pretty impressed with herself. I am able to get a few more things done on my computer while she is entertaining herself, which is awesome. She also tries to wear a heavy pot like a hat which does not go over well.

9:00 am – I’m on my last pair of contacts so I call my eye doctor and order new ones. I read a few books with Addy and then we head in to my bedroom so I can do some cleaning.

9:15 am - Addy enjoys emptying out the bathroom drawers and dispersing the contents throughout the bedroom. She finds some chap stick and puts it on her lips, just like mama. After her lips are completely covered, I attempt to take the chap stick away. Naturally, this is the end of the world and she throws a giant fit. I try to distract her and tell her it’s shower time (which she loves) but she continues to throw a fit anyway.

9:30 am – She finally calms down and agrees to get in the shower, where she is instantly happy again. Afterwards, I coax her in to her room to get dressed. I tell her to “pick out an outfit” but I end up choosing her clothes anyway. I throw something comfy on myself for the time being, along with my fuzzy slippers. We play in her room and then in the living room and before I know it Addy is signing “eat” again and again.

10:45 am – We head out to the kitchen to get something for lunch. I whip up some mac & cheese and she has a few bites before acting uninterested.  I offer her various other things but apparently she is no longer hungry.

11:00 am -  I tell Addy that we need to cut her nails because they’re getting long (really long… yikes). I get the nail scissors and put on Curious George in hopes that it will keep her attention. I expect her to put up a huge fight like usual, but I am able to cut all 10 finger nails with ease and without a peep from her.  I am super excited… this is NOT normal and usually it’s a huge struggle where I end up calling in reinforcements from Andrew.

11:15 am – Addy begins to act tired, so I take her in to my bed and see if she will nurse to sleep. As her eyes get droopy, I contemplate if I should take a rare nap with her or if I should get some work done. I decide on the latter – there’s just too much to do.

11:30 am – After Addy is sound asleep, I sneak out of the room and head for the kitchen. I brew another cup of coffee and sit down at the kitchen table with my laptop. Time to work!

1:30 pm – I look at the clock, and am super happy that Addy is taking such a long nap and I’m getting so much done.

1:45 pm – My mom gives me a call and we chat for about 15 minutes. She gives me a much-needed pep talk, which is nice because we’ve been going through some crazy stressful stuff in regard to buying our first home.

2:00 pm – Our real estate agent calls and gives me an update on a few things. We set up a viewing of another house for later in the week.

2:30 pm – Addy finally wakes up from her nap and comes stumbling out to the kitchen. We snuggle for a minute while she adjusts to being awake and I tell her that we are going to go grocery shopping soon.

2:45 pm – I get Addy dressed in an adorable little purple sweater dress and I realize I have a purple headband that matches perfectly. I figure it’s worth a shot, so I grab it and put it on her head… and she didn’t take it off! That’s a first. In fact, we got out the door and in to the car without it coming off.

3:00 pm – We arrive to Fred Meyer and grab a cart. Addy loves riding in the cart so we begin our shopping adventure on a good note. We only have a few things to get this week since we are leaving town mid-week for Thanksgiving with my family in Washington.

3:05 pm - As we head towards the food aisles, we pass the women’s clothing department and I can’t help but notice all of the “sale” signs. We make a brief detour and before I know it we are in the dressing room with an armful items. We emerge from the dressing room with two shirts and a skirt. I feel guilty but also am in dire need of a few new cute tops … plus we aren’t getting that much food anyway….so I justify it.

4:00 pm – After our shopping trip, we get home to see that daddy is already back from work. Yay! We are both excited to see him. Andrew helps me put away the groceries and Addy plays with blocks in the living room.

5:00 pm – We are all getting hungry so I put a pot of water on the stove to boil for spaghetti. While I’m waiting for the water to boil, I receive an email with the first drafts of my potential new logos for my business, Event Crush. I am SUPER nervous but also excited to see them (what if I hate them!?). I finally open the email and I really like one of them which is great, but there were several changes I wanted my designer to make. I show Andrew and email it to my mom as well to get their feedback. I decide I will think on it more and get back to her in the morning with the changes I’m wanting done.

5:15 pm – We enjoy our spaghetti and then Andrew heads off to coach volleyball practice. I put on some cartoons and me and Addy play in the living room.

7:00 pm – Around this time, something super weird started going on with my right eye. I tried to read a text message and had a hard time reading it, as if I had just looked in to a bright light or something. I realized I had a sort of “blind spot” in my eye. I immediately took out my contacts to see if that would help, but it didn’t. I put on my glasses and tried to stay calm but nothing like this had ever happened before so I started to freak out a little bit. I googled “blind spot in eye” which definitely didn’t help.

7:30 pm – Andrew gets home and he can tell that something is wrong. I tell him what’s going on and he tries to console me.  I tell him that I read “if you have any changes in vision you should consult a medical professional or go to the hospital asap” and that I’m scared… he tells me to try to stay calm and give it a little while to see if it goes away. I agree.

8:00 pm -  My weird eye thing seems to have passed, although now I have a gnarly headache. I take some Tylenol, and then I bring Addy in to her room for bed time. Thankfully she goes down without a problem. I am pretty sure the headache is a result of me being stressed out about my eye.

8:15 pm – I text my mom about my weird eye issue and she asks if I’ve been over-wearing my contacts. Yes. Yes I have. I decide that’s the explanation for this and I try to get some sleep to rest my eyes, which is not coming easy with a headache (plus I am not used to ever going to bed this early). Eventually I fall asleep and get some good rest!

(Side note: I haven’t had any eye issues since then! It was super weird though).

You know when you come across moms who totally inspire you? That's Tara! She's a mother-baby nurse, a nutrionist, and owns her own "SnugBug Fitness Class" where she helps moms get in shape while wearing their babies. Not to mention she's super smart, friendly, and has a gorgeous pixie of a baby girl named....Magnolia. Swoon. Totally girl-crushing on today's A Day in the Life Of guest poster! Take it away, Tara!

A Day in the Life of Tara Allen…

6:00 AM – The alarm goes off. Magnolia has been up and breastfeeding since 5:30 (for her 5th middle-of-the-night feeding). I still set a ‘just in case’ alarm everyday.

6:15 AM – Done breastfeeding. Giggles, poking Daddy, and saying “Mama” about 20-30 times before we get out of bed.

6:45 AM – Done with diaper change, vitamins, dressing, combing hair, and brushing teeth. The brushing teeth thing is more like an opportunity for Maggie to bite my finger without being told not to bite. Teething again, right? ANY day now!

7:00 AM – Joe hangs with Maggie while I quickly wash up and throw some workout clothes on. We have 2 classes to teach today!

7:15 AM – Pack the car – carseat, baby carrier, diaper bag, pocketbook, iPad and notebook (a.k.a. my mobile office), resistance bands, water, breakfast and lunch for mini-me and me.

7:30 AM – Kisses, coats, and out the door.

7:30 AM – 8:15 AM – drive to Huntington, listen to music, news, podcasts. Turn it all off. Sing "The Wheels on the Bus". That seems better. Magnolia catches a quick cat nap. I find some parking in between construction zones. Please don’t wake my baby!

8:15AM – 8:45 AM – Mobile office open for business. Check emails. Post on Facebook about the construction / parking situation for everyone. Write routine for today’s classes.

8:45 AM – Princess is awake. Perfect timing – was just going to wake her. Quick feeding and diaper change in the car. Time to teach our SnugBug Fitness class!

9:00 AM – 10:00 AM – SnugBug Fitness class. We talk, we sweat, and I feel lucky to do what I do.


10:15 AM – Another diaper change and feeding in the car. Blog about class. Welcome new clients. A gentle wrestle and toy distraction to get M into her seat. It works!

10:30 AM – Drive, drive, drive. Magnolia needs a real nap now and this is just about the only way we can get one.

11:15 AM – She’s asleep!

11:20 AM – She’s awake!

11:30 AM – She’s asleep!



12:00 PM – Call my mom from the car (hands-free, don’t worry). We talk about some holiday plans we have coming up and schedule some Grandma-Magnolia time (which equals some work time for this Mama).

12:25 PM – Arrive in Mineola. Park and continue to work. An opportunity to meet with the web developer after this next class. Great! Take notes for meeting. Hopefully a little sweat and a baby won’t be a distraction for my meeting.

1:30 PM – M wakes up – 2 hour nap – sweet! Lunch time. We eat (where else?) in the car today. She reluctantly takes a bottle of pumped milk at this time. I’m starting to slowly wean, so this is the “no boobie” time. Diaper change. It’s warm today – we head outside for a walk and a little fun Mommy and me time.

2:05 PM – Enter the wellness center to set up for class. Magnolia loves this time as she runs around the room and we listen to music. Quick dance party. Maggie’s got some slick moves already at her ripe ol’ age of 1.

2:15 PM – 3:15 PM – SnugBug Fitness class #2. Fun, fun! 2 workouts in one day is not such a bad gig, either.












3:25 PM – 4:30 PM – Pack up and head over to meeting. Joe works in the same building and can take Maggie for a few minutes while I meet with the web developer. Perfect! Concentrating on updating site to take registration for upcoming nutrition seminar I will be teaching. Oh no, is she crying?? “Mama, mama, maaaaaa-maaaaa!” Yup, she is. “We’ll finish this via email. Thanks”!

4:30 PM – Back in the “boobie” time frame. Nurse M and change diaper. We drive home in traffic and I break out the Christmas songs very early this year. She sings along with a “ya-ya-ya”.

5:30 PM – Home and unpack the car. Shower / bath time for us! Pajamas X 2 (why not?). Maggie grabs a book. We read. She eats the book. We play with her new medical kit. “Are you going to be a nurse like Mommy?” “Mama?” I’ll take that as a maybe. A load of laundry goes on, breastmilk defrosting to make bottles, and time to start cooking. I cook dinner for us, breakfast/lunch/dinner for Maggie for tomorrow, and breakfast and lunch for myself for tomorrow – I will be working all day at the hospital. A giant post-it note details all of Maggie’s meals for tomorrow so our family / babysitters know what she gets and when. This happens when you’re Type A, a bit overprotective of your child’s health, and out of the house for 15 hours straight.











7:00 PM (shoot, later than I planned) – We eat dinner. Joe will be home around 7:30.

7:30 PM – Joe is home! “Hello”, catch up for 5 minutes, and he brings M into the bath. Phew! Time to clean up from dinner, wash the dishes, flip the laundry, and start to pack things for tomorrow. Set the alarm for 4 AM.

8:00 PM – Pack my breast pump for work tomorrow, stock the diapers and wipes in the nursery. Take out the garbage and diapers. Lay out my clothes in the bathroom (so I can just slip out of the bedroom without waking anyone in the morning). Joe does lotion, bedtime stories, and brushes teeth. Sleep sack on and we meet on the couch to breastfeed. She’s not sleepy yet. She climbs on us. Sleep sack off. We chase her. She giggles – a lot!

8:40 PM – Rubbing her eyes! Let’s try again. Sleep sack on. Breastfeed to sleep. Joe and I stare for a minute as usual. She’s so beautiful! We’re so lucky! Joe scoops her up as I plant one last kiss on her forehead. “Is the sound machine on?” “Yup”. Transfer to her crib. It may only last about 2 hours, but it’s a start! Time to fold laundry, finish last minute emails, post the recipe for what I made for dinner, and catch up with Joe about the day.











9:20 PM – Crawl into bed. Try to get a solid hour or two for now. Magnolia will be up between 10:30 and 12 and will be nursing and co-sleeping with us from then on. Now’s my chance to sprawl out on the bed! Double and triple check my alarm. Goodnight!


Bring on tomorrow….

Lovelies, I love when life works out in funny ways and you meet people on your journey whom inspire you; take for example, Kerry Hotine. Kerry is a mom to five kids, with two sets of twins, and runs her own business, Bows For Your Bellas. We've posted about Bows for Your Bellas before, and I am so excited to have Kerry "back" today! 

Nov 5, 2014

7am: Which is the time I let myself get out of bed, I grab a cup of coffee and I sneak about ½ hour of computer work in while my kids slowly come down from bed, they are either watching TV to wake up or they are starting to get themselves dressed.

7:30: The kids are now asking for breakfast (the ones who have not eaten) or that would like something hot (oatmeal or pancakes); for the most part my guys can get what they want, cereal, muffins etc.

7:45 am: I start making 4 snacks for school and 3 lunches for my elementary school kids. One of my 4 yr olds is home sick today with the stomach bug, so she will be on the couch for the day with me!

8:15: I am finishing up the snacks and lunches (3 kids want 3 different things of course)! And now I come to realize that they have not finished their homework from the day before, so as I am finishing lunches I am now helping finish up homework.

8:45: Time to get my self-dressed before we need to get out the door for bus and preschool.

9:00 am: Last call for hair and teeth, coats back packs and we all pile into the car, even my sick little one.

9:10: The bus gets the 3 older, then I race to preschool which started at 9am, and drop off Julia while Emily comes with me.

9:20: I grab a quick coffee at Starbucks and a hot chocolate for Emily, even though I know I should not since she has had the stomach bug for the past 2 days! Then we are off to Jefferson school to make copies for a fundraiser that I am in charge of!

My name is Jillian Darlington. I am an entrepreneur, founder and CEO of the MomCo app, and
the single mom of 7 year old Taylor. My life is 24/7 and a little nuts. I do not recommend this to
anyone who has an alternative and respect for their sanity. For me, there is none. Failure is not
an option. Not being a full time single mom is not an option. Most days I can handle my crazy
lifestyle. Somedays I end up in tears from shear exhaustion. But every day I get out of bed and
just go. I also found out Sunday night that my episode of Millionaire Matchmaker is airing so my
life, MomCo app development, and our marketing campaign have been thrown into hyper drive.

Here is an average day in my existence:

Monday:

6:51am: Alarm goes off. Get up, get Taylor a Zbar and juice, make his lunch, pack his backpack and at 7:25am, it’s off to school

8am: get home from drop off. Check pilates schedule, send some emails, call my COO Beth and map out work schedule for the week

8:20am: publish my “Mom on a Mission” blog and share it on all my social media. I featured Kristen Helms, she is a very successful blogger here in San Diego and she just launched a online women’s magazine called “Tribe”. She totally rocks.

9:20am: get off the phone with my Tech team and email my lawyers. Clearly not making it to Pilates today.

10am: Finally had a shower. Time to build an Ikea desk for my office. I build it without incident while listening to an interview with Oren Klaff. I am currently reading his book: Pitch Anything

12pm: I record an interview with Erin Smith. She is an entrepreneur in Texas and she is documenting my life as well as 9 other entrepreneurs that are launching startups, via her podcast show for the next year.

12:50pm: My door bell rings while I’m still talking with Erin. It’s Carly from Car’s Jars. She is delivering my wonderful and healthy salads for the week. Having these salads in my fridge keeps me from eating junk. They are easy and yummy so I eat them instead of hands full of Pirate Booty.

1pm: My COO Beth arrives and we hunker down in the office to get down to some serious work. So much to figure out and fast. Crazy!

1:55pm: Go grab Taylor from school.

2:30pm: Back home. Taylor is happy and playing. I hunker back down in the office with Beth and it’s back to work. We work until about 6. Mean while I’m making snacks and making sure Taylor is happy. No way I could have done all this with a toddler. Now that he is 7, I can actually get stuff done while he is home. THANK GOD.

6:30: Beth leaves and I realize that I had forgotten to put Taylor’s fish sticks in the oven 20 minutes prior. Taylor is soooooooo hungry, according to him so I make him a sandwich while I prepare the rest of his dinner. Surprisingly he still eats all of it, even after the sandwich appetizer.

7:30pm: Taylor and I play two games on Candyland. He murders me both times. That makes his day. I didn’t let him win either. I am unbeatable at Trouble but this kid rules Memory and Candyland.

8pm: Shower for the kiddo followed by reading. He reads me a book and then I read him one. I fetch me some water for him and he is done for the day.

8:35pm: I email Jessica Alba and The Honest Company about a partnership with them and the MomCo App.

9pm: I am done working for the day. I turn on E!News and try to turn my brain off. That lasts for about 12 minutes. I start texting with a friend about pitching. He is a male and obviously thinks cause he has a penis, that he can “help me." After clearly schooling him on my skills, I shove my phone under the pillow next to me and fall fast asleep by 11:30pm.

Lovelies, we have another installement in our "Day in the Life of..." series today; this one is from Becca, a stay at home mom to two little girls. I love, love, love reading the posts from SAHM's, because I think there are a lot of misconceptions about what moms do all day, and these posts are real life! 

9:45 We leave to walk to the library for story time. Beatrix dozes in the stroller.

10:30 Arrive at the library. Josephine’s dance teacher is there with her daughter. This is very exciting and weird for Josephine. She is totally enamored with her teacher and ballet in general. Josephine is shy at first but then quickly family stalks which is what my husband and I call her social “gregariousness.” She loves to try and seamlessly blend into other families’ dynamics. She will just sort of inch her way into other people’s activities/games/meals/etc. I vacillate between feeling like she is just really confident and secure in her own family and feelings and worrying that she is trying to ‘replace’ us for letting her down with a baby sister. I think about this almost constantly. We stay for story time and play and check out books. Beatrix is pretty content with sitting and nursing and checking things out. Josephine loves story time. She is definitely ready for a preschool program once she turns three. She sits with a girl we know from another play group and they play together afterward with a third friend. Josephine – like the newly toilet trained – holds her pee an ungodly length of time and then races with me to the bathroom. She screams, “and we don’t flush” the whole way. She is terrified of the noisy automatic flushers. We make it in time but she pees off the seat.

Thank goodness for plastic. I shake her hula skirt dry.

12:30 We leave and walk home. Josephine tells me everything that just happened when we were at the library. Beatrix falls asleep and Josephine sings a bunch of songs. I remind her that the baby is sleeping so she sings in a very loud stage whisper. She still shouts some of the lyrics to keep me on my toes. She tells me it’s just an accident when she sings loud because the words just jump that high out of her mouth.

1:00 Lunch/Books/Rest time. Josephine is starting to drop her nap so some days she falls asleep after stories; other days she lays and talks to herself and plays like her fingers are princesses (a la The Shining but sweeter) and I let her up after 45 minutes. While she rests I do dishes and laundry, bringing Beatrix along to sit on the rug and play. Josephine doesn’t fall asleep. Sigh. I could let her rest longer but then she will fall asleep later and bedtime will be an eternity.

2:15 Josephine watches Mulan and plays while I nurse Beatrix to sleep. I hold the baby and read the kindle and we just loaf. Josephine pees and unravels the toilet paper down the hall and into the living room to show me how she wipes. She did this on Sunday and I cracked up. Today I tell her that it was a funny surprise when she did it on Sunday but that it isn’t a funny surprise today because I have already seen it. She does it three more pees. She is convinced I will crack up again. I do not.

4:00 Beatrix wakes up and we all go into the kitchen to prep dinner. I give Josephine soft food and a knife to cut. Then we read more books (!) and draw and have a dance party.


5:15 My husband gets home. We have dinner. Josephine plays on the computer while I nurse Beatrix and my husband does the dishes. By “playing on the computer” I mean that Josephine watches creepy nursery rhyme puppet shows and KinderEgg videos and Russian cartoons on Youtube.

6:00 Bath for Josephine (and Tinkerbell and Barbie and Smee and Olaf and Ariel….)

6:30 Josephine watches a few minutes of Bob’s Burgers (a current strange but we will happily take it
favorite) and we read 3 books.


7:00 We all get in bed. Beatrix nurses to sleep. Josephine falls asleep right away. I transfer the baby to her pack and play. Hang out with my husband. Read on the couch while he works on his lap top and watches terrible TV.

9:00 Beatrix wakes up (another random) and I nurse her back to sleep. I fall asleep, too. Wild nights.

Today in our "A Day in the Life Of..." series is Lisa, a marketing analyst turned stay at home mama to Kairi, who is just about Weston's age! I met Lisa through another mom friend and she's been a friendly face in my mama circle these days. Thanks for sharing your day, Lisa! 

6:30 AM: Derek’s alarm goes off. He slowly gets out of bed and begins his morning routine. Meanwhile, I go back to sleep for another 15-20 mins before we all have to get up to drive him the LIRR station. Uggg something I hate every morning!

7:15-7:30: I finally roll out of bed and get Derek’s lunch ready for him to take to work. Baby is still sleeping at this point. So Derek has to slowly and gently transfer Kairi into the infant car seat without waking her. Success! I’m still in my pjs but don’t bother changing since I’m just dropping Derek off and coming straight home.

7:45-7:55: We get home! I usually sit in the garage contemplating whether or not I should move Kairi out of the car seat. 9 out of 10 times, she wakes up immediately if I attempt to take her out. Today is no different…Kairi immediately cries so I try to calm her down.

8:00: I take Kairi’s night time diaper off and try to get to pee in her own potty. We are trying to potty train her early since she comes into the bathroom whenever I have to go so we figured why not? After 10 seconds of sitting there, I hear the potty song goes off which means she peed! Wohoo! Mission accomplished. Wipe her off and a new diaper goes on. Then it’s time to brush her teeth. Yes, I took a picture of her pee and sent it to my mom….something only moms can relate to!

8:15-8:45: Kairi tells me she wants some milk by opening and closing her fist. I have to say it’s been so much easier to understand her ever since she learned how to sign. Yup, I’m also still nursing her at almost 15 months…she still very much enjoys it so we’re not stopping until she’s ready. And partly because, I enjoy the closeness from nursing her too! But I’ve gotten many people ask me (mostly my husband’s family), when I’m going to stop nursing her… she’s too old! Ughh…it’s my choice and all I ask is for you to just respect that. Usually, I just smile and walk away.

8:45-9:45: Reading time-Kairi loves to read and we spend the next hour or so reading. Today she insisted that we read “Hello Ninja” 6 times before picking a different story. I don’t know what’s so fascinating about ninjas but she loves pointing and blabbing at the pictures of all the ninjas.



9: 50-10:00: Make us breakfast while Kairi entertains herself in her own kitchen. Oatmeal and fruits for her and cereal and scrambled eggs for me. After breakfast, I always have to think of a way to distract her while I give her vitamins. Those multi-vitamins + iron supplements smells awful so I can’t blame her for not wanting to take it.

10:00-10:20: She plays in the living room while I clean up all the dishes I made for breakfast. I also start to pack her lunch since we will be out today. Today she is having meatballs and pasta for lunch. Snacks are avocados, yogurt, apple/pear sauce and strawberries. I also fill a thermo with whole milk. In case you’re wondering, we are also giving her milk even though I’m still nursing.

10:25: Kairi rubs her eyes so I take that as a sign she’s getting tired. We go back to our room and I try to nurse her to sleep.

10:45: Today she is very tired so it doesn’t take long before she is passed out. This is good because she should be napping before her gymnastic class at 11:45. I take the time to surf the internet, facebook and catch up on emails.

11:30: Attempt to move Kairi from our bed to the car. This is very tricky as she screams sometimes when she realizes I’ve moved her to the car seat.

11:45-12:45: We arrive and she wakes up on her own. Kairi loves going to the play gym because she can roam around freely for the next hour and the puppet show at the end of class is her favorite.

12:50-1:30: Attempt to sit Kairi in her portable potty. She refuses so we just change a new diaper instead. I usually give Kairi her lunch right after class at MyGym and today wasn’t any different. After lunch, we go back into the car and I try to nurse her a little bit before we leave.

1:45-2:20: As I’m driving, I’m hoping she falls asleep and naps a little while I run some errands for the day. Drop off mail, get dry cleaning, pick up some stuff at Target.

2:30-3:15- We’re doing a makeup music class today. This means more time for Kairi to roam around and play with her friends. She loves banging the drums whenever we’re there.



3:20-3:50: Attempt to sit Kairi in her potty- Failed again. We haven’t really been successful unless we’re at home or in the morning. Feed Kairi her afternoon snacks. The class must have really worked up her appetite because she finished the entire yogurt pouch almost instantly and also polished off some strawberries.

4:00-5:00: Grocery shopping for the week. Since we’re already in the area, I decided we’re just going to go to Trader Joe’s to do all our food shopping.

5:30-6:00: We’re finally home!!!! Nurse her again. I’m exhausted (it’s been a long day and I’m tired) but Kairi is still full of energy and wants to play. Off to the living room we go. Her favorite toy at the moment is the Fisher Price Laugh and Learn Chair. She can climb up and down the chair all day long if she could.

6:05-6:35: Potty sitting time again. No luck! Usually Derek comes home and gives Kairi a bath. But today I’m feeling ambitious and want to get that done before he comes home. Give her a bath and change her into sleeping clothes.

6:40-7:00: Try to cook Kairi her dinner while she entertains herself in her own kitchen (which is right next to our kitchen). After 10 minutes, she screams and wants me to pick her up. I give her an old empty egg carton which keeps her busy long enough for me to finish making her food. I eat a snack while I’m trying to feed her (yes, I’m starving at this point!)

7:15-8:05: I nurse her again and she falls asleep for another nap before we are ready to pick Daddy home from work. She’s napping in our bed again which means I can’t leave her alone otherwise she’s rolled off. I think about all the work I could be doing like clean the house, do laundry, etc… if only Kairi would nap in her own crib! I lay there in bed thinking how messy our house is and how unproductive I’m being… there must be a better way with time management.

8:10-8:25: Same routine- try to transfer her carefully into the car without waking her. Off to the LIRR station we go!

8:30-9:30: I’m finally cooking dinner while Derek plays with Kairi and then we sit together around the dining table to eat. Kairi gets another snack and also samples our food. I feel very bad that I keep Kairi up so late every night but we also enjoy this quality time we get to spend with her.

9:40-10:00: Load the dishwasher and tidy up the kitchen while Kairi and Derek are playing with the piano.



10:10-10:20: I brush, take off my contacts and change into pjs. Derek is helping Kairi brush her teeth and reads her a bedtime story. Her go to book is “Llama llama nighty night.” She practically has the book memorized as she knows what the next page is going to be before you even turn the page.

10:30: We co-sleep (Another mommy guilty moment) I know everyone says not to do it but it’s the only way she will sleep) so Kairi gets into bed as I try to nurse her to sleep. Tonight she is being difficult and doesn’t want to sleep. So I take this opportunity to go take a shower while Derek plays with her some more.

11:45-12:00: Kairi finally falls asleep and I’m passed out too. Derek stays up for another 30-45 mins to get ready for bed before he joins us.

2:14: I look at my phone and it’s 2:14. Ughh I’m tired….Kairi is crying frantically. I nurse her again to comfort her. After 20 minutes or so, she falls back asleep.

3:50: Crying again so I nurse her again. We think she is teething so she’s getting crankier these days. Oh teeth, why can’t you just all come at one teeth and be done with?

5:00: Repeat! Nights like these makes me wonder why I’m still nursing her. But when I wake up every morning and see that big cheesy smile on her face, I would do it all over again!




Bio: I was a marketing analyst doing a 9-5 desk job when I decided to leave my job to become a full time mom/wife! This “SAHM” job is the hardest job I’ve ever had and I still feel like I’m clueless about it. There are days when I miss working but when I look at the way my daughter looks at me, I know I’ve made the right decision to be there for her. Every day is full of new challenges but sometimes you just have to go with the flow and figure things out one step at a time. I love to pretend that I’m going to be a DIY type of mom and look forward to many crafty projects with her when she gets older.

Lovelies, I am thrilled to be introducing today's guest mama! I've known her since before I can remember, as our families are old, old friends. Jess is a teacher and mama to one adorable little man, and...has a wonderful sense of humor about life, as you will see below! Thanks for guest posting today, Jess! 

Wednesday, November 5:

5:00 Alarm goes off. I jump out of bed, eager to tackle all of the challenges that today will bring. Just kidding – I hit snooze for the first time and fall back to sleep for 9 glorious minutes.

5:10 Actually open eyes; check Facebook on my phone for 8 minutes to ease into the day

5:18 Get out of bed

5:25-5:59 Shower, dress, get ready for work

6:00 Wake up Luke, who cries, “Sleep, mommy, sleep!” I know the feeling, kid. I am able to hold off a complete meltdown and dress him by promising he can sleep in the car. Which he never does – but he could if he wanted to, so I wasn’t lying.

6:20 In the car, Luke is now awake for the day. 

6:35 Stop at Dunkin Donuts for iced green tea for me and a special treat for Luke (and me!): munchkins

7:15 Walk into Luke’s day care. I’ve come up with a bunch of little activities to help distract him from noticing that he’s going to “school”, because it is a new day care and though I know he has fun, he cries every morning when I leave him. So we give a high five to the stuffed scarecrow sitting out front, and say good morning to the fish that I have named. 

7:25-7:50 My productivity impresses even me – am I getting so much done before 8:00 because I know I am writing this article?! Or is it because mothers know how to get s*&t done?! Whatever the reason, I pick up copies, print out tomorrow’s handouts, plan what I am going to say when I write to a parent whose child is struggling in my class, and talk to the Assistant Principal about two community service projects my club wants to participate in (and get approval for both – the St. Jude Give Thanks Walk, and coordinating a food drive to benefit LI Cares). All before school starts.

9:00 Meet with my director for a pre-observation meeting. She is coming in two weeks for a formal observation, and today we discuss my lesson plan, and the makeup of the particular class she will be observing. End our meeting discussing what we consider one of the biggest issues facing this generation: how to get kids to read. 

9:30 How much should a kid’s haircut cost? My son has pretty awesome hair with some crazy cowlicks, so my husband and I don’t want to cut it ourselves. In our old neighborhood, his haircut cost $40. We agree with what you are thinking – that this is insane. So I research kids’ haircuts near my job. $17 for a kids’ cut? That’s more like it.

9:55 How many times can a person say, “I’m waiting for you to be quiet?” in one class period? Apparently four.

10:40 Decision time at the vending machine: Diet Coke (how I love you, but hate your chemicals!) or water? It was a minor victory for my health – I get water.

11:00 Working though lunch with my fellow grade-level ELA buddies while we start to plan out lessons for the next month. I love having the chance to collaborate with two people who love the subject matter as much as I do, and we have such different takes on everything, it’s so helpful to bounce ideas off of one another.

11:12 Realize that eating my son’s quesadilla leftovers from dinner last night is not going to cut it for lunch today.

12:04 Husband texts me about an upcoming concert we both want to attend. This is a big deal since our musical tastes are pretty different – I enjoy rap and rock like he does, but I also like a lot of folky, alternative music that he does not enjoy. At all. We agree that early 90s rap is pretty much the pinnacle of rap, and that Pearl Jam can do no wrong. Other than that, it can get messy. So finding out that one of our favorite bands may be coming near us for a concert is an exciting development.

12:30 Without realizing what I am doing, I start counting down to three with my class to get students back in their seats after an activity that required moving around the classroom. It’s something I do with Luke – and it worked with middle school students! I will be using this again in the future.

12:45 Email four parents to let them know their child is missing an important assignment, ask them to “encourage” said child to hand it in by Friday for partial credit (Follow-up: 3 of the 4 do hand it in, the next day).

1:20 Quickly check Facebook on my walk to the bathroom to remind myself what life outside of a middle school is like. I look at Humans of New York and decide I want to include some of this guy’s pictures into a lesson one day. This photographer captures humanity in the most honest, heart-breaking and hopeful way.

1:25 A good friend/colleague compliments my appearance. Although I respond, “I wake up like this,” I am all too aware that I put a lot more effort into my appearance today because I knew I’d be taking pictures for this article. Pretty sure my friend is aware too!

1:29 Must stop eating leftover Halloween candy.

2:45-3:45 Hosted an after-school meeting of a community service club that I started this tear. It’s been hard to find organizations that want middle school students to come in for hands-on work (like animal shelters or soup kitchens), but I am so impressed with these kids. They want to do good things for the world, and they are excited to help. They are very excited about getting our club on social media, so next week, we are going to look into starting a Twitter to keep people informed of our upcoming events. 

  4:05 Pick up my little guy! Sing aloud in the car. Our current favorite to sing along to is the Newsies soundtrack. My son is going to have very eclectic musical tastes thanks to his parents!

4:39 Bring Luke to a kids’ hair place I read about. Denied – apparently after school hours are always “very busy.” Good to know.

4:45 Rather than get discouraged, decide to make a mommy-son night of it. Pull into Friendly’s for dinner with Luke. 

5:10 Hello comfort food!

5:45-6:45 Sit in traffic on the way home, and it takes me a few minutes to find a parking spot on the street.

6:55 Stop home, pick up laundry and leave again to drop it off. We live in a building that has a few washer and dryers in the basement, but there are always a bunch of residents competing for them. A few months ago, my husband and I decided it was worth the extra few dollars to get it washed and folded for us. I don’t know if I’ve ever been happier about any decision I’ve ever made (besides agreeing to go on a first date with my now husband!)

7:05 Already in my pjs, playing Legos with Luke while keeping one eye on Jeopardy when my husband comes home from work. 

7:32 Put together snacks for Luke and me tomorrow (hummus and pita chips for me, strawberries for Luke).

7:42 Look at my workbag full of the essays I brought home to grade. Decide to ignore them until tomorrow. I love my job – I think middle school students are incredibly insightful, brutally honest and hysterically funny, but it’s time for me to put work aside and focus on family. And it’s been a loooong day!

8:05 Help Luke brush his teeth and put his pjs on. We climb into my bed and read a story. As much as I want him to love being read to (hello, I am an English teacher!), he prefers reading to me.

8:15-8:24 My husband, son and I watch Dora the Explorer together.

8:25 Turn off the TV and lights. Snuggle in with Luke. We fall asleep together and my husband moves him into his own bed later. I spent the first 6 months of Luke’s life strictly following every parenting book instruction. Then we were evacuated from our home for a month because of Superstorm Sandy, and we were staying at a relative’s house with no crib, so we got into the habit of sleeping together. Once we returned home, it just stuck. I have stopped beating myself up about it, because I like that we share that downtime together. Especially since I want to spend every possible moment with him when I get home from work.

Jessica Dohnert is a middle school English teacher on Long Island who is having fun throwing out the window all of the ideas she had about parenting before actually becoming one. She likes to spend her free time exploring NYC with her partners-in-crime (her husband and son), discussing reality television with her sister and best friend, and reading (not student essays). She is a burgeoning chef in the confines of her tiny apartment kitchen, struggling to curb her ridiculously strong sweet tooth with her equally strong desire to teacher her son healthy eating habits. She often discusses characters from TV shows and books as though they are real people, and considers wine and chocolate (dark chocolate – you know, the “healthy” kind) two of her good friends.