Real Life: What My Mornings Look Like as a Working Mom

One of the most challenging things to get used to as a working gal was throwing a kid into the mix. It used to be that I could either sleep in until the last second and still make it out the door on time or get up, take my time, and leisurely stroll out the door.

Enter my daughter. 

Mornings at our home can be hit or miss. Some days start off like a well-oiled machine with everything operating in sync but most days start like a Tasmanian devil cloud storm and don't get much better from there. Sometimes I feel as if we’re the only house on the planet that is crazy town but I know this isn’t really the case. Having said this, I thought I'd give you all a look into what a typical morning is for me, a working mom, just in case you thought we have it altogether. Far from it. Here is an average morning for me as my far from perfect reality.

5:15 a.m.  The alarm goes off and I promptly hit snooze. Leave me alone, I'm going back to sleep.

5:30 a.m.  The second alarm goes off. "No really, lazy ass" it screams. "Get your butt outta bed!" I find this to be the perfect time to roll over, silence my phone and waste another 30 minutes by scrolling through my email, Facebook, Twitter and IG feeds. It's really more about enjoying the peace of our home as it's probably the only quiet time I'll get to myself all day.

6:00 a.m. I finally get out of bed. The first order of business is to get coffee in me ASAP. It's not pretty when I don't get my coffee.

While the Keurig Gods work their magic, I usually get on my laptop and check my bank account to remind me of how poor I am {Great way to start the day!}, log onto Blogger to make sure my post is up and casually peruse some of my other favorite blogger's posts for the day. I also pull together my breakfast to take to work, my lunch, snacks and peek in Chickie's school bag to double check that she has everything she needs {I usually pack it the night before and leave it sitting with my purse}. 

6:15 a.m.  Shower time. I'll spare you those oh so sexy details. Needless to say, most mornings I can easily talk myself into stretching my hair out another day to save me from having to wash and style it while simultaneously debating with myself about whether or not to shave my legs. The razor loses again...for the fifth day in a row. #nappyhairdontcare 

6:30 a.m.  I hear Michael's alarm go off as I begin to put my face on, do my toiletries and take my daily vitamin and pills. At this point, I'm bargaining with God to give me just 10 more minutes alone to get my face painted before Chickie wakes up. Most days, I'm able to get my make-up done in enough time but there is the occasional day when Chickie wakes up before I'm finished. Those are oh so lovely.

6:45 a.m.  I go into Chickie's room, turn off her sound machine and turn the lights on to wake her up. She's usually not one to rise and shine so nicely so I rub her back for a hot second, tell her to get up and walk out to let her wake up on her own. She's already fussy and hasn't even made it out of bed yet. This should be fun!

6:45 - 7:00 a.m.  I run back into our bedroom and do the flight of the bumblebee: pick out an outfit to wear, throw it on the bed {to which Kitten Butt immediately takes as an invitation to lay her hairy, shedding ass on} and run back into the bathroom to try and do something with my hair. About this time, Michael is getting out of the shower and we mumble our "good mornings" to one another. Neither of us are morning people. We talk about our schedules for the day and who will be dropping off/picking up Chickie from school. 

7:00 - 7:15 a.m.  Chickie usually makes her way into our bathroom and I promptly stick her on the potty. Oh the life of a potty training mom {I never knew so much of my life could center around the toilet}. Most mornings she's nuclear and hating life in general; doesn't want to use the potty, doesn't want to wear what I laid out the night before and doesn't want me doing anything for her as she has become Miss Independent at the ripe ol age of three and a half. 

After getting a successful potty from Chickie, we head back into her bedroom, get her clothes on and then I shew her down the hallway to her bathroom to do hair and teeth. This usually turns into the gnashing of teeth as she hates getting her hair brushed as of late. I manage to talk her into cooperating long enough for me to coral her hair up into a semblance of a pony tail, we brush her teeth, and then I tell her she can watch a little TV while I finish getting ready. #whateverworks I usually run back into the kitchen and get her something to eat while she's watching TV. 

7:15 - 7:30 a.m.   The final stretch, AKA sheer craziness. I rush to make the bed, throw on my clothes which by now are covered in cat hair {anxiety a solid 10 by now}, accessorize, make sure the pets have food and water, finish my makeup, get Chickie on the potty one last time before we head out and coral the bagillion bags of crap I'll need for the day. Michael is usually taking the dog out and pulling his things together too by this point. 

Chickie begins to get restless. She's whiny. I'm annoyed. Michael is annoyed. Anxiety at a solid 1,000%. 

7:30 a.m.  We head out the door. Chickie throws Henry the dog his treat and we run like mad people to get out the door before he realizes we're leaving. It doesn't work. Mad dog barking ensues.

I dump my bagillion bags of crap in my car. Chickie is crying that she wants to go in daddy's "orange car" but it's my day to take her to school. Michael plops her in her car seat and attempts to get a hug and kiss. No dice. Michael and I say goodbye and we each get into our cars to head to campus. We both work at the University and Chickie goes to school at the on campus day care that's provided by the University. Chickie is still throwing a fit so I put on some loud music to drown her out. 

7:45 a.m.  We arrive at day care. As I pull up, I notice all the other well-dressed mommies whose kiddos look picture perfect - outfits perfectly matched with hair bows in place. I chastise myslef: "My child needs better clothes" I think to myself as I pull her out of the car. I try to remind myself that every other mother here is probably thinking the same thing. It doesn't work. I still feel like a failure. I get Chickie settled in her class and bribe her with donuts when I come to pick her up in the evening if she can make it through the day without going poo poo or pee pee in her pants. #dontjudge #iadmitit #pottytrainingisnojoke

7:50 a.m.  I arrive at my office which is conveniently located right behind the day care {this is a huge blessing having everything so close on campus}. I make it into my office, get settled, and make another cup of coffee. I'm going to need it to keep me awake and sane for the day. I sit back and get my day started while thinking, "Now I can relax."

What do you find to be your biggest challenges in the morning as a working mom? 

If you enjoyed this post, stay tuned for 'Real Life: What My Evenings Look Like as a Working Mom' coming soon! 

Have a wonderful day, friends.