19 February 2015

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. 


Courtney @ Shiraz In My Sippy Cup
Courtney @ Shiraz In My Sippy Cup

Courtney is a published author, mom, taco enthusiast, and a Star Wars and Tennessee Volunteers fanatic. She's never met a piece of sushi she didn’t like and enjoys an amazing glass of wine and a great cut of meat. You can read more of her wine-induced, sleep-deprived adventures on The Huffington Post and Scary Mommy.

26 comments:

  1. I think the biggest thing issue for us is just making it all happen. We have such easy mornings. Connor will be going to school this Fall and I can't help but have a bit of anxiety over what our mornings will be like... RUSH RUSH RUSH!

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  2. Such an honest post, I think all mom's have much of this same craziness going on. Whether, it's going to work, school, dance class, running errands - getting Mama and kiddos ready to take anywhere can be nuts!

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  3. Love this! My mornings looks pretty similar, except my son is my alarm clock haha. I've learned that outfit challenges on Instagram and planning outfits is a huge help. Breakfast in the high chair with a show happens while I change and put on my makeup. Otherwise, we have the same psychotic home stretch to get out of the door!!!! :X

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  4. Whew! This is actually pretty similar to my morning except I'm trying to keep 2 little dogs from going on the floor before I can even get out of bed and my grumpy 4-year-old is a grumpy 28-year-old who stayed up too late playing video games and needs to get the heck up before he's late. ;)

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  5. My husband does the same thing as you with his morning alarm, he sets it and then stays in bed for 20+ minutes, ugh! It's a big pet peeve of mine because he wakes me up and who is the one that was likely up with kids all night? That's right, me. Me, I'm a "the alarm goes off, I sigh sadly, and pop out of bed right away" kind of gal.

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  6. Oh my gosh, girl I LOVE this! I may have to steal and do one of my own if that is ok!? And if I steal the evenings one too? I've done a day in the life post before but never just a snippet of a day. I like it. Very much. Oh and my mornings look a lot like yours except Mason doesn't like to sleep in. In fact he woke up at 5am today. (yay!) Thankfully it's ok when we have to work but on weekends... UGH kid. Also, I have to admit, I'm kind of jealous of your schedule... mine looks a bit different and I have to be at work at the same time! We have an on campus daycare too that I would LOVE to put Mason in but the times don't work for me. I work different times (most commonly 8-4:30 but sometimes 7-3:30 or 11-7:30 and the school closes at 6) and we don't live close enough to the school with traffic for it to make sense that we do that. Anyway, I think I'm rambling and written a novel, but I love this because I can totally relate!

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  7. Sounds somewhat similar to our mornings. It's amazing what you can accomplish in a short amount of time.

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  8. Great post. So honest and true. You are a wonderful writer!

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  9. Phew! You are a rock star! I always think of the working moms and how crazy your mornings are like, it was nice getting a little sample of it. So cool that you're all so close to each other during the day!

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  10. This is so refreshing to actually see how someone else is doing it every morning.

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  11. I'm not a mom, but I so appreciate the honesty of your morning routine and think you are doing fantastic--you are so not a failure! We are so ready to have a baby, so I absolutely love posts like this where I read the actual reality and still know I'm ready for it. :) Thanks for this!!!

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  12. I honestly have no idea how you mom's do it. I'm going to be screwed when I have kids! You're a rock star.

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  13. You are too sweet. Trust me, when you're forced to figure it out, you will and you will be fabulous. Have a wonderful week!

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  14. You're welcome, and thanks for reading Gennie!

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  15. Thanks, Tracey and thanks for reading. I'm glad this post resonated with you. Have a fantastic week!

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  16. Thanks, Amanda! It's a crazy way to do it but we love it, except for morning like today when it's raining. I have to admit that I would love to stay home and in my pj's! Have a great week!

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  17. Thanks, Eryn! I appreciate you stopping by and reading my blog. Have a wonderful week.

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  18. So true! And what you're able to do when you're forced to, haha. Have a good day, friend!

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  19. Thanks, Liz! Yes, steal away - absolutely! I'm so happy this piece resonated with you. That makes me happy! :-) Have a great week!

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  20. I'm jealous of you. I've never been the "pop out of bed immediately" type of person. I wish I was. It would make things so much easier in the mornings, haha. Have a wonderful week, Justine. :)

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  21. Ha! I often joke that I don't need another child because I have Michael, haha. Hope you're having a great week!

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  22. I've tried so many times to lay out M's clothes the night before and every time the next morning, she forgets that the night before we agreed that's what she would wear so it's tears all over again. Kids. Gotta love 'em!

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  23. Yes, you summed it up perfectly, Kellie. NUTS. Thanks for reading and have a great week!

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  24. You will do fabulous, trust me! Go ahead and get a system in place and do a few dry runs before the real deal. Once you perfect your system, it will all happen. It will be crazy, but it will happen.

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  25. Haha oh no! I saw a mama talking about how working moms can save time and she said she puts her kids in their clothes the night before! Haha! (Maybe WE should do that?!?!?)

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  26. Your schedule looks great. I can remember my days as a working mom. Some days are better than others and it seems that you have a good handle on it all. Great job mom!

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