Tiffany Allen works full time in IT. She lives in McKinney with her husband RJ, who works in the legal field, and two children: Evan, 5, and Elizabeth, 3.
6:30AM The alarm chimes, but I press snooze. I need just five or 15 more minutes. I used to be a morning person, but now I’m up late blogging or, lately, putting together costumes or projects for the kids’ many school activities.
6:45AM I brew a large cup of dark coffee on the Keurig and head upstairs to get the kids ready for school. My husband has been up, showered and dressed since 6am, so he has a head start when it comes to getting the kids ready. By the time I arrive, my 5-year-old is in the bathroom and my 3-year-old is up — but turn your back and she’s pulled the cover back over her head. I wonder where she gets that from…
7:30AM After some negotiating, the kids are finally dressed and at the kitchen table, ready to eat. Some days it’s homemade pancakes or bacon and eggs. Today it’s Pop-Tarts. Anything goes in the morning. There’s no time for guilt, as long as everyone’s fed.
8AM The husband and kids are out the door and headed to school and work. Now that they’re off, it’s time for me to get ready for work.
8:30AM I change, change and change again. Now that an outfit works, I grab a breakfast shake and I’m off with a mental note to pick out my outfits the night before.
8:55AM I’m at my desk (I love my commute) with a second cup of coffee from the office kitchen. I pull up email and my daily meeting calendar on one monitor and our company intranet on the other monitor and get to work.
10AM Time for meetings.
11:30AM Lunchtime. I head to Stonebriar Mall just minutes away. I make a few pit stops: Nordstrom for shoes for the kids (boy, their feet grow fast) and Gap Kids for a few tops and a new pair of jeans (again for the kids). I walk slowly by White House Black Market while I mentally build an outfit, then rethink it. My office is already pretty casual; it would be a waste of money. Finally, I head to Pottery Barn Kids to see what’s new. Then it’s time to head back to work, so I swing by Paradise Café in the food court before purchasing a cup of cinnamon sugar pretzel nuggets from Auntie Anne’s. Mmm.
12:30PM There’s barely enough time to prepare for my conference call. It will last at least an hour. I hope to finish the last of my pretzel before it’s time for me to deliver my presentation during the meeting.
1:30PM I have a routine text conversation with my husband to see how his day is going, how his lunch meeting went and to share my day with him. A final “I love you” and it’s back to work.
5PM I pack up my laptop, throw my heels in my purse and slip on flats before dashing out the door, hoping the Dallas North Tollway will be kind to me.
5:30PM Luckily, I’m at the kids’ school in time to talk to their teacher about their day and gather their class work, from art to math tables. After a quick potty break, we’re in the minivan headed home.
5:35PM I break out bottled water, fruit and pretzels for the ride home and flip on the DVD player for the kids in the cabin (sometimes I feel like a flight attendant). We catch up on the best parts of their day, what they learned and all their buddies. There’s always a detour depending on the mood and day — Hobby Lobby for school crafts or the sports store for an upcoming game. Today, we’re on the hunt for treats and headed to our favorite frozen yogurt bar down the road from our house. I cross my fingers that they’ll still eat their dinner, especially their veggies.
6:15PM We’re home … finally. Before I can pull my laptop and their book bags out of the car, the kids are already in the house horsing around.
6:30PM Dinner is plucked out of the Crock-Pot and put on the table. It’s usually shredded (insert salsa, cream of chicken, or ranch here) chicken with a veggie.
6:45PM The husband is home from work and it’s kisses and shrieks for Daddy. I put another plate on the table for him and now we’re all at the dinner table as a family.
7PM Husband and I tag-team to get the kids bathed and teeth brushed. He reads a bedtime story, while I head back down to pick up peas and whatever else off the kitchen floor.
7:45PM The kids are in bed and the husband and I hang out in the family room and relax for the next couple of hours (though the first 30 minutes include a couple of trips upstairs because someone needs water and help to the bathroom). This is our time to reconnect, exchange office stories and plan our weekend. Since we’re so busy during the week, we like to keep our weekends family-focused and light on extracurricular activities (with a date night here and there — thanks Mom and Dad!).
10PM My husband heads to bed. I pull out the laptop to respond to email and begin mommy blogging.
12AM It’s time to shut down the laptop. I’ve learned the hard way that if I stay up past midnight, I’m one cranky mother the next day. I slide into bed and then remember I didn’t select my outfit for work tomorrow. Oh well — I’ll figure it out in the morning.
Diaries are penned by moms (and dads) in the Dallas area. The authors volunteer to share a day of their choosing and are not paid or endorsed by DallasChild. Send your diary to editorial@dfwchild.com. All submissions are subject to editing and may be cut for space.
