The last time I wrote one of these posts, my routine was a bit different. I’m out and about so much more than when I lived in NY. I love the variety of my days now, but man do they leave me exhausted at the end! I wouldn’t change a thing though.
7:50am – I hear Emerson yelling “Mom, go downstairs” from her crib. I’ve been trying to set an alarm and get up before Em more often, but Matt was traveling last night and I had a bad headache and then an awful night’s sleep. I feel like a zombie, so I go and get Emerson and we read books in bed. This is one of my favorite things!
8:15 – We go down for breakfast – peanut butter and banana on toast for me, and a yogurt bowl for Emerson.
8:40 – I hurry to get Emerson dressed. It’s picture day, so I take extra care in cleaning dried yogurt off her face and brush her curls:) I throw on some workout clothes and check to make sure I look somewhat presentable.
9:00 – I grab Em’s lunch, tote, and get her into the car. She likes to sprint away from me when I’m trying to get her into the car, so this is one of my least favorite tasks for the day. Also, the caffeine from my tea is just now starting to wake me up (I know, I know, I need to get up earlier).
9:20 – I ask Emerson if she’s ready to try the carpool line, and surprisingly, she says yes. When I drop her off, she jumps out of the car with the helper and yells “bye mom!” I guess she was ready. I’m always a little sad when I drop her off, but I love that she loves school.
9:35 – I head to Great Harvest to get more gluten free cinnamon chip bread. Sadly, they didn’t receive the shipment (it’s only twice a month) from the other location, so they don’t have any. I sit in the parking lot to try and decide what to do for exercise. I had planned to do something on ClassPass, but I’m too tired from last night to do anything other than a gentle yoga class.
10:15 – I take an align + flow class at Be Yoga. It’s mostly stretching and not much flowing, but that’s a ok with me.
11:30 – My stomach is growling, so I stop into a Smoothie King in the shopping center and get a big smoothie with pb, protein, spinach, and (maybe something else?) to tide me over.
11:45 – I have to be back at Em’s school for the carpool duty that I signed up for and decide it’s not really worth going home for like 30 minutes. I head back to her school parking lot, do a little work, and make a to-do list:
12:30 – I help with carpool at Em’s school, which includes taking littles to their cars and buckling carseats.
1:10 – I pick up Emerson and we head home. We left the house a mess, so I straighten up and wash out Em’s lunch box while she eats a snack.
1:45 – Nap time = shower!! I reheat some leftover crockpot chicken from Super Bowl nachos and eat it with veggie quinoa, black beans, and chips.
2:30 – I make a good dent in the to-do list I made earlier (feels good to be productive!) , but hear Em crying at 3:30. She usually sleeps longer than this and is all worked up. I bring her downstairs and get her a snack and she throws an epic fit about who knows what. She is hysterical on the floor and not making any sense (my theory is she gets this way with low blood sugar). I feel like I’ve tried everything to calm her down and what finally works is getting out her favorite Curious George book. Within a minute, she’s downed her snack and is totally normal and happy.
4:30 – The temp hit 75 today so we spend the afternoon outside in our front lawn. Emerson is in heaven when I sit on the porch and she runs around and plays with toys in the grass. She waves to the neighbors and we meet new people and chat with some people we’ve met a handful of times. It seems the whole neighborhood is out and about and I just love the sense of community here. Matt won’t be home until late, so I also order some takeout to arrive in time for Em’s dinner.
6:30 – We go inside for dinner from Yafo. Mac and cheese and cauliflower for Em, and a bowl with just about everything they offer for me.
7:00 – We go upstairs and play in the loft, and start to get ready for bed.
7:30 – I put my feet up, eat more of my bowl, watch episodes of Heartland, send a bunch of follow-up emails, and start working on this post.
10:00 – I’m really trying to go to bed before 11:00 these days, so I’m pushing publish and going to read Becoming in bed! Night.
Anna
February 6, 2019 at 6:32 amHaha, you should have my day (I am a single mom) 😛 I wake up at 6, make my son (3 years) ready for kindergarten, drop him off in the kindergarten, drive to work, work for 8 -9 Hours as financial Controller in a corporation, go and pick up my son from my parents house at 5 (they pick him up from kindergarten because I am working), Playtime with my son, go grocery Shopping, clean the house a little bit, prepare dinner for my son, put him to bed..now i have About 1-2 Hours time for me (shower, reading, often cleaning the house). 10pm is bedtime. I really envy your day, sounds perfect to me 🙂 Especially as you have plenty of time for your kid!
Laura
February 6, 2019 at 8:59 amYou are a superwoman! You’re the first thing I think about when Matt travels, because single parenting is so hard, and I only have to do it for a couple days at a time! I’m very lucky to get to spend so much time with Emerson, and I wouldn’t change a thing!
sjk
February 12, 2019 at 4:41 pmYou don’t actually do single parenting at all. Not “for a couple days at a time.” Because the bills are still paid when he travels, you can call him and vent when he travels, you know there is respite coming when he travels. You don’t even have your child alone for a whole day, you farm a two year old out to preschool so you can fuck around and drink smoothies and go to gentle yoga.
Amanda
February 13, 2019 at 2:04 pmSJK: It sounds like you must be going through a difficult time in your personal life, and I hope things get better for you soon. (That’s really the only explanation I can think of for reacting so strongly to Laura’s post.)
Laura
February 6, 2019 at 9:14 amI love watching Heartland! I wish the US wasn’t so far behind on the seasons!
l
February 13, 2019 at 9:28 amwell said
Liz F
February 15, 2019 at 5:30 amWhenever I see negative comments on your blog, I always feel compelled to just say – I love your blog! Keep doing what you’re doing. My only complaint is that you don’t blog more often! My son is one month old so I’m up a lot at night nursing so I could use some more blog posts to read haha.
Laura
February 15, 2019 at 4:28 pmhaha, thanks! Congrats on your new addition!
Whitney L.
February 17, 2019 at 5:24 amHa ha, I agree – wish you would post more, Laura! Absolutely love reading your blog. You are an excellent writer. I appreciate everything you share. Excited to keep reading!
Laura
February 19, 2019 at 4:24 pmThank you!
Robyn
February 15, 2019 at 8:18 amIt’s sad to see such spiteful comments. The point of anyone’s blog is to write about their own lives. I’ll admit that I don’t have a lot in common with stay at home moms, but I suppose it’s hard to find working parents with time to set up and maintain a blog. However, just because Laura’s lifestyle is different than others doesn’t mean that we don’t all have struggles or challenges or joys or days worth sharing. I still see value in reading what other moms do all day at times, and regardless of the other parts of our lives, we’re all trying to parent the best we can with the resources and energy we can muster. Sadly, social media becomes a place where people sometimes feel the need to lash out if they see that “the grass is (read: MAY) greener”. I think it’s nice of Laura to want to share her day with us with such honesty.
Laura
February 15, 2019 at 4:33 pmThanks:) The grass is always going to be greener. When I was working, I wanted to stay at home some days, and there are many days now where I wish I could go right back to work and get an 8 hour ‘break’ from the toddler!
Emily
February 16, 2019 at 6:11 amAs a stay at home mom of a 1 year old with a traveling husband, I understand where you’re coming from. And you are totally a single mom when your husband is gone. I am from Charlotte and I love seeing all the new places that are there – I add them to a list for when I visit my parents. Unfortunately we live in a really small town and finding things to do proves to be a challenge.
Laura
February 19, 2019 at 4:25 pmSo many new places in Charlotte! And thanks for validating that having a traveling husband is hard – no where near as hard as being a single parent, but I was never trying to argue that point…
Annie
February 17, 2019 at 4:58 pmWhile SJK might not have been super nicey nice in their comment, all they were really pointing out is that having a parent out of town for a few days is very different from “single parenting,” a term Laura used in her reply to Anna.
Being the only grown up at home in a two parent household can be really tough (can also be easier, sometimes – husbands, amirite?), and it is not the same as being a single parent.
I came to read these comments because Laura made a point of referencing them in her 2/14 post and I was expecting a lot of super mean people… unless something was deleted I’m not seeing it?
Laura
February 19, 2019 at 4:23 pmNope, just the two comments. It’s so hard to tell when people are joking on the internet, which I kinda was in that 2/14 post about friends.
I used the term ‘single parenting’ because I was trying to relate to the reader who shared the original comment. By empathizing with her situation, I was trying to say “I see you single mom and you are doing a hard, amazing job.” Thus, the superwomen comment.
Mary
February 17, 2019 at 9:53 pmI also enjoy your blog, and I’m a 58 year old grandmother. I get cute ideas from your blog for my grandchildren. I was fortunate enough to stay home with my own kids (back in the 90’s) even though I was divorced and raising them alone. I had friends who were envious, but I was envious of them! It’s hard to find middle ground.
Laura
February 19, 2019 at 4:19 pmThanks! It’s nice to have a different perspective!
NuclearSister
February 20, 2019 at 1:06 pmIt seems the problem is you were trying to relate but you are not really in a relatable position. My son’s father died when he was two, my son is now 7. It’s hard. I’m a single parent. I make all the decisions, no back up, no-one returning in a few days. Your “joke” minimizes the real situations single parents face, it makes light of it. Sure it’s hard being on your own for a few days, especially when you’re not used to it, but it is far from the same as solo parenting full time. Especially if you get to be a stay at home single parent but bills still get paid and you can text or call your partner for support or to make parenting choices. That sounds so nice.
Laura
February 20, 2019 at 1:35 pmHi, I think you misunderstood – the joke I was referring to is in the ‘Thoughts from a Thursday’ post when I said some readers might not be friends.
My comment to the single parent was not meant to be a joke at all. It was meant to provide support and communicate that I get a taste of what she goes through. The point I was trying to make is that if it’s hard for me in just one or two nights without my husband, I cannot even imagine how hard it is for single parents. I don’t think there’s anything funny at all about any parent having to raise children on their own. And I’m so sorry for your loss.
sjk
February 21, 2019 at 10:13 pm“You’re the first thing I think about when Matt travels, because single parenting is so hard, and I only have to do it for a couple days at a time!” This is the part I originally commented on.
1. I have a very lovely life and I am not going through a “difficult time” at all.
2. My point was that you having a husband that travels is not akin to being a single parent or doing it for a couple days at a time.
3. Being a single parent (which I am to three children) means being responsible for every.single.aspect of raising my children both financially and emotionally with no other adult support. Not because my husband went to Boston for a business trip.
4. Sometimes I think you are incredibly clueless about your level of privilege.
5. I am not jealous. This life has given me so many gifts and so much learning. Turns out there is more to life that what treadmill model to buy, where to get the best gluten free baked goods and the next boden sale.
6.Blog readers aren’t your friends. We don’t have an obligation to show love and we also have a right to call you on your cluelessness.
A
February 22, 2019 at 10:18 amI agree with #4 – it really is about understanding your own level of privilege and that many people will not be able to relate with your lifestyle unless they are in a certain income bracket, social class, and race.
I am around the same age, also white, educated, and in the middle class, which all makes me very, very privileged (and Canadian, another privilege). Although my husband and I have no children yet, we both work demanding jobs and have had to make a lot of sacrifices to afford property in one of the biggest cities in Canada. We’ve had to cut back on expenses like eating out, conveniences like takeaway coffee and smoothies, in order invest in a property. Even then, I know that many people will never be able to get on the property ladder and for that, I am very thankful.
From afar, your situation seems pretty ideal. I know that everyone has private challenges and struggles, but I think that since your privilege isn’t identified at all, it makes some people unable to relate.
Laura
February 22, 2019 at 2:52 pmI would totally agree with your second paragraph – my husband and I have these conversations often. This is exactly why I chose a profession focused on helping others and why we often donate to those who are less fortunate. We, too, live on a strict monthly budget that involves limiting eating out and making modest clothing/beauty and other material purchases so that I can stay at home and raise our daughter. I don’t think you can judge from one blog post as to whether or not ‘privilege is identified.’ This is a lighthearted blog about simple pleasures and everyday life. While I certainly enjoy a serious blog post and constructive criticism, it’s ok for me to write about gluten free treats, my toddler driving me crazy when my husband is traveling, and where we went out to dinner without feeling guilty that these topics are frivolous. Motherhood is hard enough for people of all socioeconomic backgrounds, and I strongly believe women should be supporting each other even when their parenting practices or family situations are different.
Ruthie
March 1, 2019 at 1:11 pmThe grass is not always greener. And, guess what?
It still needs to be cut!!
Being angry and/or jealous (resentful) does nothing for “your” mental, emotional, or physical health!
How do I know? I have been “there”, in both places. Married with young kids. Then suddenly. Single with young kids.
Not fun. I have been angry, jealous, resentful, and sometimes down right mean. Did it make my life better?
No.
What did? One thing I learned was that comparing my life to someone else is not healthy for me, or, anyone around me. Now I try to be competitive with myself. I try to be kinder to myself and everyone around me than I was yesterday. Life is improving.