A Day in the Life

I have always been a busy person. I know that before I became a mom I often wondered, what do stay-at-home moms do all day? Would I like staying home with my kids? Would I just become "lazy?" Would I feel like I never do anything for myself/my brain? The last question is something that takes a lot of work, but I really do love spending my days with my girls.

Also, I don't know how things will change as my kids get older, but I can definitely say that being a mom is plenty busy! And, I get up earlier and am more efficient than I ever was before kids.

I love to capture each stage of life that my family goes through, so for right now, here is my typical "day in the life" with a 3 year old and 1 year old, complete with blurry phone pictures.

5:36 am: The alarm rings and I drag myself out of bed. I leave myself just enough time to get to the gym for my 6 am spin class. I have fallen in love with spin class! I have a few friends that come with me to make it extra fun. I always feel pretty proud of myself to make it there so early, but then I see people LEAVING the gym and I wonder how they do it.

7:15-8:45ish: Steven gets the girls up and feeds them while I am at the gym/showering. So this is the time of day that we play with toys, do crafts, and get messy before getting ready for the day. Cora is just learning to color and Aubrey has been really interested in writing her name lately.

9:00-10:00 am: Cora has her morning nap and Aubrey and I pack lunches/swim bag/library books. I also get ready during Cora's nap and Aubrey follows me around the house demanding her turn at lipgloss and blush.

10:00-11:30 pm: Driving and Aubrey's swim lesson. She LOVES to swim, and is getting pretty good. Aubrey at swim lessons is like a horse before a race. We have a hard time keeping her back and staying on the steps when it is not her turn :) Swim lessons are a must because she actually thinks that she can swim, and it is a little scary. I spend the lesson trying to keep Cora from jumping into the pool. Being the younger sibling can be hard.

11:30-1:00 pm: I procrastinated and the library books were due today. So, we go to the library to pick out some new books and read. We also eat lunch outside. I pack a lunch while we go out every day because it is one less time a day that I have to clean up the kitchen.

1:00-3:00 pm: Naptime! Whahoo! I put Cora down and throw Aubrey some books. Thanks to all the swimming, Aubrey actually takes a nap today. While the girls nap, I sit down for the first time all day and eat some lunch. Then I update Mint/read my favorite personal finance blogs. Then, I clean. Being a clean freak and a stay-at-home mom to small children is hard for me. I also spend a good half-hour wasting time on Pinterest/Facebook. Can't always be productive...

3:00-5:00 pm: Snack time, play with toys, and then I take the girls to the park. It is a good thing we live in California because we all go crazy without some outside time everyday.

5:00-6:00 pm: I put a movie on for Aubrey and just survive until Steven gets home. I remember when Aubrey was little that I was adamant that she never watch TV. Now, I wish I could get Cora to sit still long enough to watch a show. While Aubrey watches TV, Cora and I play games, and she makes a mess with the toys/tupperware/toilet paper. I put a lasagna in the oven from when I made a double batch last week (love freezer meals) and grill some asparagus.

6:30: Steven is home! The best time of the day. We eat dinner, give the girls baths, read books, clean up the house (again) and put them to bed. Normally they go to bed around 8 pm, but they were kind of driving me crazy tonight, so we put them down at 7:30. It's a good thing they can't tell time yet.

8:00-10:30ish: Finishing this blog post, and then I have big plans to watch Olympic figure skating. The Olympics are a big deal here. Steven and I don't watch much TV, so we refuse to pay for cable. But, I had to watch the Olympics, so we got cable, which we will promptly cancel next week. We even spent a Friday night (almost two hours... seriously) at Comcast to pick up the cable box. Now that is dedication. I'm hoping I can keep my hockey bragging rights after Friday's Canada vs. the US semi-final game. We shall see....

And that... is a fairly typical day right now. Busy, crazy, fun, exhausting, but worth it to see my girls grow and develop and become just fun little people and friends.

The Author

I mentioned before that Steven is writing a book. We received our first advance royalty check yesterday, and a contract is signed, so things are official.

Back when we were at BYU, Steven started working at the BYU law library. The first summer after we were married, we needed Steven to work full-time, because we made a goal to get through school completely debt-free. His regular job at the law library did not have full-time hours, but his boss loved him, so she got him transferred to a job working with the BYU law library systems department.

I think that there are moments in life that are turning points for your future. We didn't know it then, but him taking that job in the systems department changed our course. That was where Steven learned to program.

Steven fell in love with programming, but found it difficult and frustrating to learn independently. He found that most books already assume you know all the basics, and the ones that didn't were dreadfully technical and boring.

Steven has spent the past six years (the past two working at LinkedIn) learning more and more about programming, and now he is writing a book about it :) As he puts it, he is writing the book that he wished he had when he started learning on his own.

His book will be titled, "Learn to Code: Absolute Beginners Guide." He has signed a contract with Pearson Publishing, and the book should be available around August. Pearson publishing is a big name, so his book will be on Amazon and available in Barnes and Nobles across the country.

He has to have a rough draft submitted in April, so things are a little hectic! He is working full-time, busy family, busy church responsibilities, etc. We are both learning to love getting up well before 6 am.

I am his guinea pig, and I'm very proud of him. So far I have worked through Chapter 1, and I don't hate programming yet. I took some programming classes through the accounting program at BYU, and they were probably my least favorite classes. If Steven can convince me, then he can convince anybody.

We are grateful and blessed. Even though he got his Masters degree in Accounting, not Computer Science, he has been able to start a career that he loves, pays great, and is in high demand. He hopes to help others do the same.