Tammy Gatlin of Azle is a stay-home-mom of three: Rylie, 11; Sydney, 9; and Brody, 5. She has been married to her husband Rodney for 12 years. Together they own Azle Chiropractic Clinic.
6AM I awake to the sound of my alarm — such a rude little thing. I will never be a morning person. This is the first year since my kids have been in school that I’m the one waking them up. My husband has always been the one to get everyone up and going. Those were the days …
6:10AM I wake my two daughters, Rylie and Sydney. Luckily, they are usually fairly easy to wake in the mornings. Must have gotten that from their daddy. We have our cereal while curled up in blankets on the couch.
6:30AM Time to get dressed and fix their hair. (I’ve been trying to help them fix their own hair.) I also have to crack the whip on making sure their teeth are brushed. Sydney has phase one of orthodontics right now. “One day I will miss this … one day I will miss this …” I repeat in my head.
7:10AM Out the door and off to school. We have a 30-minute commute in the mornings — perfect amount of time to get their required reading in. We usually alternate who gets to read their book out loud. Today it’s Rylie’s turn to read from her mystery book for a school project, Stacey and The Mystery Money from The Baby-Sitters Club.
7:45AM I drop them off at their school, Fort Worth Academy of Fine Arts. They just love it here. Having the ability to do fine arts during the day is such a blessing. It wasn’t easy getting here, but that only makes it appreciated that much more. Plus, I love having uniforms. Now I drive the 30 minutes to get back home.
8:15AM I get back home just in time to tell my guys, “Have a great day!” (And to make sure Brody is wearing matching clothes and has his hair fixed before Daddy drops him off at his school on his way to work.)
8:30AM Ah, finally time to enjoy my coffee and the news for a while.
9AM I think about working out, but then realize another cup of coffee and chatting with friends appeals more. Maybe tomorrow …
10AM Time to get housework done, clean my car out (how can three kids do such havoc on my car?) and make sure we have everything together for after-school activities. I’m constantly reloading dance bags, snack bags, and Brody’s soccer or baseball bag.
12PM I spend time outside with our two dogs, Charlie and Ramsey, while I water all my plants and flowers. I really enjoy having lots of flowering plants. We live in a great gated neighborhood and have lots of wild animals, including deer, wild turkeys and roadrunners.
1PM Time to shower and get myself together before my day really begins.
3PM I pick my son up a few minutes early from school. He is always so happy to see me. I wish I could bottle him up and keep him little forever. He has an audition in Dallas for a commercial; that’s another 45-minute drive each way. Luckily, it’s only him today because sometimes it’s all three of them.
3:45PM My daughters get out of school. Thankful I have a wonderful “village” of dance moms who help me out with carpool each day. Without Nanette and Gretchen, I’d be up a creek. They are very appreciated.
4PM Brody does his thing at his audition. He has the cutest little personality. These only take about 10 minutes and then we drive back to Fort Worth to meet my girls at the dance studio.
5PM We arrive at G-Force Dance Legacy where the girls are already in their dance classes. The Greenhouse family and our dance family are really great to us. It’s wonderful to be surrounded by such loving and dedicated people. I could not ask for better role models. Between three competitive dancing kids, we are here Monday–Saturday every week. My kids would come on Sundays if they were allowed. Luckily, today is an early day and we are done dancing by 5:30pm. Some nights we are there until 8:30pm. We wouldn’t have it any other way.
5:45PM We drive 30 minutes back to Azle for Brody’s soccer practice. If we could wrap up our neighborhood and move it closer to Fort Worth, that would be great. I feel some days all I do is drive.
6:30PM Back in Azle for Brody’s soccer practice. His team this year is called The Texas Twisters — such a great group of kids. While he practices, I help the girls finish up homework and study. We have to utilize every opportunity to get our work done, since we are never home after school until later.
8PM Finally back at home. Our awesome daddy normally has dinner ready for us. Tonight it’s orange chicken, rice and broccoli with cheese.
8:30PM Now it’s time for showers and a chiropractic adjustment from Daddy. They have been getting adjustments since birth. So far, knock on wood, not one ear infection and only one antibiotic in our house in over 11 years.
9PM It’s bedtime for the kids. I know it’s late, but I like to give them time to chill out and watch TV. Brody still sleeps with us. I have really enjoyed being able to co-sleep with all our kids throughout the years. The girls happily sleep in their own beds now but love the chance to still make pallets on our floor. I know our time is limited with Brody because he just won’t stop growing up. For now, I will still enjoy his cuddles next to me.
10PM Ah, silence in my house once again. I try and get uniforms washed and backpacks checked. Unfortunately, I find homework Brody was supposed to do in his backpack. I’ll leave that out for Daddy to help him with over breakfast. Time for me to watch my recorded shows: Dr. Phil, MTV (yes, I’m still 21) and anything Real Housewives will do.
Diaries are penned by moms (and dads) in the Fort Worth area. The authors volunteer to share a day of their choosing and are not paid or endorsed by FortWorthChild. Send your diary to editorial@dfwchild.com. All submissions are subject to editing and may be cut for space.
