4:00 a.m. – My alarm is set for 5:00 a.m. to work out, but I am wide awake so I decide to get out of bed and finish my workout early. I complete a quick weights circuit in our basement in my pajamas and slippers. My motto: something is better than nothing.
5:30 a.m. – With my extra time today, I blow dried my hair and even put on eye shadow! Reader, this rare occurrence does necessitate an exclamation point.
6:30 a.m. – Finish getting myself ready and get the baby up and ready. Technically, she’s a toddler but she is my baby, people. She’s been doing this new thing where she likes to run back and forth across her crib (in her sleep sack) so the minutes tick by while we go through this routine.
7:30 a.m. – Typically, I take my little one to school but as I have an early meeting, I need to be out the door so my husband handles her commute. I begin my drive downtown, which is awful. I usually listen to an audiobook or podcast, but now I am 100% Christmas carols all the time.
8:00 a.m. – I arrive for a presentation my team arranged for our attorneys (I work in legal marketing). There is a smaller turnout than we’d hoped for, but our attendees are engaged so we count it as a win. Bonus: I did not have breakfast, and baked egg souffles from Bread Co. are served. The artichoke souffle is divine.
10:00 a.m. – I have the chance to get some work done before my lunch meeting. I also check my daycare app to see sweet pictures of my little girl working on an art project. My little Picasso!
11:15 a.m. – I’m out the door to Clayton for my lunch meeting, this one for legal marketers. Turns out, this meeting is a lunch meeting for everyone but me – every sandwich has at least one form of ham (honestly, why?) and as I say at home, “cows and pigs are friends.” Hanger sets in.
1:30 p.m. – We leave the event. My boss drove and we can’t find her car in the parking garage for a good ten minutes. Oy. I order a (veggie) Snarf’s sandwich from my phone to pick up and wolf down before another off-site meeting. My phone has 4% battery but it is just enough to complete my order! I am able to do about 15 minutes of work before my next meeting.
2:15 p.m. – On my way again, this time to a meeting in St. Charles regarding a discount program established between one of our law firms and a local university.
3:45 p.m. – Special treat – I don’t have to go back to the office! Instead, I get to pick up the baby early.
4:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. – Playtime with the baby, our puppies, and my husband when he gets home. We do some laundry, mail sorting, and general tidying. We watch a little of the John Legend/Chrissy Teigen Christmas special while the baby brings out all of her toys to show us and gives them kisses – a favored past time.
6:00 p.m. – Here we go again, figuring out what my child will eat and not fling on the floor for her furry brothers (all while shouting NoNoNoNoNo!). One of our dogs has gained some weight from these tantalizing offerings, so we need to be ever vigilant. As an aside, I am here for your picky toddler dinner recommendations!
6:30 p.m. – I start grown-up dinner. Tonight, it’s Amy’s Kitchen Family Size Enchiladas and leftover rice. Sometimes, I make healthy, wholesome, homemade food. Sometimes, we eat Amy’s. That’s life, folks.
7:00 p.m. – Baby got pasta sauce in her hair (of course), so it’s bath time! Thankfully, my husband has taken over this responsibility. Our daughter does not enjoy bath time, and there is only so much making-my-baby-cry I can stand.
7:30 p.m. – Milk and story time for the baby! Every night since Thanksgiving, we’ve been reading a Christmas story. Tonight – a very special treat – we are reading Polar Express. Baby is unimpressed.
8:00 p.m. – FINALLY I AM EATING DINNER!
9:00 p.m. – I clean the kitchen. We have an open-concept home, so it is imperative that the kitchen is completely clean or else our house looks a hot mess. I also prep the coffee and set the timer so I do not have to wait one moment for my precious caffeine tomorrow morning.
9:30 p.m. – I announce to my husband and dogs that I am going to bed (bye-bye).
And that’s it! Not glamorous, not eventful, but filled with little special (or sometimes just humorous) moments. I am still here for your picky toddler dinner recommendations.
