Chandra is an algebra teacher at Billy Ryan High School in Denton. She lives in Argyle with her husband Josh, a maintenance foreman on the DFW Connector Road Project in Grapevine. They have a 20-month-old son, Locklan, a daughter on the way and two dogs.
5:15AM The alarm goes off and I’m kicking Josh across the bed to get up and crossing my fingers that it doesn’t wake Locklan. Finally he manages to smack the alarm and roll out of bed, and as soon as he does, I’m already back asleep enjoying the rest of my morning snooze.
6:20AM Now it’s my turn to get up. At this point Josh has already left, and I’m on my own to get myself ready as well as get the little guy up and prepared for school. I try my best to tiptoe around the bedroom and bathroom, hoping I can do everything I need before I hear the call of a toddler coming across the monitor.
6:45AM “Coo-Coo, Belle-Belle, Mimi,” Locklan calls through the monitor. Mommy is usually not on his list, although I’m always the one to go get him in the morning. I’m now forced to rush and finish getting ready as I hear him upstairs jumping in his crib. Thankfully he has yet to learn how to climb out.
6:50AM I open the back door to let the dogs out and head upstairs to get Locklan. I quickly change his diaper, scrounge up some clothes and get him dressed for day care.
6:58AM Already running behind as usual, we quickly feed the dogs and put together breakfast to take with us. It’s yogurt for him, Pop-Tarts for me.
7:10AM Time to head on out. This part of the day is always a challenge. Before we can leave, the dogs must go in their crate. Locklan loves to help, so he grabs some treats and runs towards the crate with the dogs following close behind. In the crate goes Locklan with the dogs. He gives them the treats but refuses to get out. I pull him out, and he says his goodbyes to his puppies. We grab his shoes, backpack, lunch and breakfast and finally make it out the door.
7:20AM We are finally on our way to day care. Hooray!
7:45AM We get to day care and are reluctant as always. Locklan fights going into the building, so I grab all of his things, put him on my hip and carry him in to see his teachers and friends. I give him his yogurt followed by a hug and a kiss, and as quickly as we walked in I’m back out the door. On my way out I peek through the window and can see him already covered in his yogurt laughing and smiling.
7:55AM This begins my workday, where I’d typically be off to share my love of math with freshmen, but today it’s meetings, so I’ll enjoy the adult interaction.
4:10PM Work is over, I am out of here!
4:20PM I walk into day care, and Locklan is playing in the Pod (the common area) with his friends. He gets a huge grin on his face when he sees me and runs to the classroom to get his things, because he knows he gets to go “bubye” with Mommy. It’s funny how much he knows even at 20 months. He goes around the room grabbing everything that belongs to him –his cup, backpack, lunchbox and artwork that he made earlier that day. He says bye to his friends and blows his teachers kisses as he walks out the door.
4:25PM We are finally on our way home and can’t wait to see Daddy, Cooper and Isabelle.
4:50PM We walk through the door and Locklan, as always, screams in excitement to see his puppies and let them out of their crate. I feed the dogs, and Locklan helps by pushing the food container back to the pantry.
5PM Although this would be the ideal time to start making dinner, we decided today that it would be more fun to Skype with Mimi back in Michigan. We let time get away from us catching up and showing Mimi all of our trucks, and before we know it, Josh has made it home.
5:50PM Josh suggests ordering a pizza for dinner while he lies on the floor playing with Locklan. That sounds fantastic to me!
6:10PM Locklan decides that he can’t wait until pizza arrives and we find him in the kitchen trying to open the refrigerator, so Josh lets him pick out his own dinner. He’s having blueberries, a hot dog and crackers tonight. I personally am waiting for pizza!
6:37PM Locklan tells us he’s done eating using sign language he learned in school, and he puts his plate in the sink. It’s amazing how much this kid loves to help. He’s rubbing his eyes, so this tells me it’s almost bedtime.
6:40PM Josh takes Locklan upstairs to give him a bubble (Locklan’s fancy word for bath). While he does that I make lunches for tomorrow, pick up toys, wait for the pizza to arrive and sit down for a quick minute to get off my feet.
6:55PM Now all clean and in pajamas, thanks to Josh, Locklan comes downstairs just to give me kisses. As Josh carries him back up to bed I hear him saying “night-night” to me down the stairs. Josh puts him in bed, gives him a kiss, and he will be out until the next morning. I am so thankful to have an excellent sleeper.
7PM Josh and I are finally able to eat our pizza and relax with some TV. I appreciate this time that we have, as it won’t be long before the new baby arrives and interrupts our evening routine.
9PM It’s time for a shower and bed for this tired pregnant Mommy. Tomorrow is another busy day.
