6:15AM Alarm goes off, I hit snooze. I actually get up before the next alarm sounds. I head to the kitchen, where I am greeted by my sweet dog Casey, who’s wagging her tail. I give her a hug and let her outside. I turn on the coffee pot and start making lunches for Jacob and Samantha.
7AM I pour my first cup of coffee and wish that I could enjoy it while relaxing on the back porch. Instead I finish the lunches, feed the dog and reply to my husband Randy as he walks in and says good morning. I hear footsteps upstairs. The kids are awake and getting dressed for school. While Randy is making sure the kids are making their breakfast, I go and get dressed.
7:30AM After helping Samantha with her choice of hairdo for the day, “a ponytail with a sparkly ponytail holder,” we double-check backpacks to make sure everything is packed. Our cat Jonas is gently reminding us not to forget his feeding by rubbing our legs. I pick him up, give him a few kisses and take him to his food bowl.
7:40AM Time to leave for school. I grab a banana and a 100-calorie bag of almonds to eat on the way. “Get in the car, Casey, you can come too.” After returning home, I make my bed and close all the bedroom doors to prepare the house for Casey’s day inside. I give her a quick pat on her head and tell her not to chew anything, which reminds me to stop at the store today to pick up some rawhides.
8AM I jump back in the car to go to Inspire Yoga for Tatiana’s empower class at 8:15. I am very fortunate to have discovered yoga and practice two or three times a week.
9:30AM I return home from a great class. I check emails and text messages. Lots of junk mail! I get in the shower.
10:10AM I am dressed and ready for the day. I put chicken with taco seasoning in the crock pot for chicken tacos. Then I send a quick email to David Vaught at Vaught Studio to see if he has any advice on my daughter’s soccer team logo.
10:30AM I head to DKH Academy for a staff meeting and lunch. I love my job! DKH is a great school and has a great staff that I work with. My work hours allow me to drop off and pick up my kids from school. After being a stay-at-home mom for many years, my hours made it easy to transition back to work.
2PM I head over to Soccer Corner to drop off the company’s logo to put on the jerseys. My husband’s company, Tri Star Construction, is sponsoring Samantha’s team this year.
2:20PM I give my husband a call after leaving Soccer Corner to see how his day is going and to remind him that Samantha has soccer practice tonight.
2:30PM Arrive at the grocery store to pick up snacks for the kids and rawhides for Casey.
2:50PM I pick up the kids from school, and I run into my friend Christy. She and her two girls decide to stop over for a visit and some snacks.
4:30PM Our friends leave, and I shred the chicken that’s in the crock pot. Then I make homemade guacamole and put it in the fridge. I check Jacob and Samantha’s backpack for homework. Hurray! No homework tonight.
5PM I email the six businesses that are helping me with my charity, Shoes of Kindness. I wanted to see how many shoes they’d collected. My family and I visited Belize this summer, and we learned on our vacation that the children of Belize are in desperate need of shoes. When we returned we decided to collect shoes. I contacted my friends at Pediatric Dental World, Gronberg Orthodontics, Bartonville Family Medical, DKH Academy, Notoriously Yours and Tri Star Construction to help out as a location to drop off shoes. Thank you to all who donated shoes. It was a great success.
5:30PM Randy is home from work. It’s time to eat! My kids love chicken taco night. I believe the most important time of the day is dinnertime. We all sit at the table to eat. We say a prayer and as we eat our dinner we talk about our day. It is our only time during the day that we are together as a family.
6PM Clean up kitchen! I love to cook, but doing the dishes is the one thing I could do without. Unfortunately, I do the dishes because I cannot go to bed with a dirty kitchen.
6:30PM I take Samantha to soccer practice. I was the coach for Samantha’s team for three years, and this year I stepped down. It’s fun to coach but it’s awesome to be Samantha’s cheerleader.
7:50PM We return home from practice, and it’s time for showers.
8:20PM Both kids are in bed. I tell Jacob, “Good night and lights out at 9.” He’d read all night if I let him. I go to Samantha’s room so she can read me a book.
9PM Lights out for the kids. I go into my room where Randy is already in bed reading. I crawl in bed and we talk about our day. After our chat, I reach for my book The Help to read.
9:45PM I put my book down and say a prayer thanking God for my family and my life. Lights out, Night!
