My day these days

For posterity purposes, I would like to keep track of my schedule these days. This is what our Tuesday's look like and note that I am rounding times here to keep things simple.

6:00 AM - alarm goes off and I wake up to Steve Inskeep and Renee Montagne's voices! Listen for a bit until I hit snooze for about 15 minutes. 

6:15 AM - really wake up! By now my daughter is already awake. Husband may or may not wake up, depending on whether he had coffee the day before. 

6:20 AM - attempt to wake up my son. This goes smoothly whether or not he went to bed before 9 PM the night before. If anytime after then it could be quite the task to wake this boy!

Go downstairs and make breakfast. Usually some sort of carb (pound cake, waffles, pancakes) and some fruit (banana, blueberries, strawberries or grapes)

6:45 AM - Settle the kids with breakfast and start making lunches. For now we are packing for both of them but soon enough we'll let them buy from the school cafeteria. 

7:00 AM - Start alerting kids that is time to go upstairs and start getting dressed and all the morning routine tasks. 

7:10 AM - I myself get upstairs and start my shower and get ready for work. This usually is early depending on whether my DH does breakfast or if I do it. 

7:30 AM - Kids are ready to go to school and in the car with lunches, snacks (my son takes a snack on top of his lunch) and backpacks ready to go. 

7:50 AM - Kids are dropped off at their school and kisses and hugs are blown. Off to work I go. 

8:10 AM - I arrive at work and settle in for a full day. 

Skip now to the end of the day!!

5:00 PM  - Leave work and usually my dear husband picks up the kids and are either on the way or already at home. 

5:10 PM - Arrive at home and daughter and husband are getting ready to go to soccer practice (it starts at 5:30 PM). I stay home with my son to start dinner. 

Dinner was lamb chops and broiled potatoes. I marinated the lamb chops and my husband is going to grill them when he gets home from practice YUM! This was btw our daughter's request for dinner :)

While the potatoes are cooking, my son practices piano (and that means that I have to sit down with him for him to practice). Practicing piano with him usually means he is right and I am wrong and at the end of practice I've convinced him that mom is right (as any woman always is) Always looking for opportunities to educate my children !

In the mean time I also put one load of laundry (that is the ONLY way I can keep up with it!)

6:20 PM - Settle my son with a light snack (a yogurt) and get him to practice writing his name, numbers and phone number. He's getting quite good at it too!!

6:30 PM - my son and I settle to play a board game. We play until the rest of the fam comes home. 

7:00 PM - dinner is ready and on the table!!

7:45 PM - done with dinner and now my daughter and husband go finish whatever homework she needs to finish, while I give my son a bath. 

8:30 PM - son goes down to bed! Daughter may still be doing homework or she is taking a shower by now. 

9:00 PM - Daughter goes down to bed and parents are exhausted! We get to do it all over again tomorrow!!

These days of waking up this early have been a bit harder on us (well me really!) but I am amazed at how much we get done and how I LOVE mornings!! It's a new schedule and it is an adjustment for all of us!

More later!

Updates Updates!

Wow, it's been a while since I've had the chance to update this blog!

So much to tell and so little time :) One thing I want to try to blog about more are the "struggles"/"challenges" of balancing working full time and being a mom to young kids.

 So here it goes!! Summer 2011 Quick Takes!

 1. My sister is expecting!! I don't know if I have permission to post this but she already knows it's a BOY! and our family couldn't be happier! This is their first baby, so we are just so ready for him to join us so we can love him to bits :). I think the next best thing after having your own children is your loved ones to have them!!

 2. During Labor Day weekend we made our annual pilgrimage to the Greek Festival. Great food, coffee, entertainment and this year, great company!! We truly had a great time out at the Greek Orthodox Church with the only difference that it was quite a chilly day for early september.

 3. We went to a couple of weddings this summer. One of them in Northern California (Pismo Beach to be exact). We started our trip in Sacramento then drove out to Napa for some vino tasting, then off to San Francisco for one night of fun and mingling with locals! Then drove down to Carmel for lunch and then to Pismo Beach for the wedding! Awesome views and great company made this trip one to never forget (and OHHHH... we went without the kids!) We were only there for 5 days, so it wasn't a long trip but it was totally worth it!

                                                  Just before the wedding in Pismo Beach! 

 4. Our next wedding was closer, in Cincinnati. It was a nice small affair a day before July 4th! We had a good time meeting new people and being present at my husband's friend wedding.

 5. We also took a trip to Washington DC! That was a great trip and one to remember. We visited the Lincoln Memorial, The WWII memorial, Vietnam Memorial, we saw the Washington Monument on a very hot and humid DC day! Then we stood in the front lawn of the white house as we watched Marine One take off! YES, the president must have been on board as sources said that he was leaving for vacation (and the extra security around the grounds were giving it away!). We also had a chance to visit several Smithsonian museums (The National Archives, The Museum of American History, The National Museum of Natural History, The Air and Space Museum!)

 We drove to Mt. Vernon and took a tour of the grounds and the mansion. It was an incredible trip with lots of anecdotes to tell... such as dinning at one of my favorite places (Fogo de Chao) and doing simple things, like playing frisbee on the mall grounds.

                                     The Family, aboard a small cruise along the Potomac River. 


 6. We went to the pool several times! Some times while my dear husband was out of town and the kids were just too hot, after work I got a lite dinner together and took them to the pool! Yes, we are about 20 shades darker than what we really are but it is totally worth it watching them be so comfortable around the water.

 7. My son's last day at his preschool came. All the emotions came rushing in as I left the place where my baby made so many friends in the lat 4 years. Bittersweet moment for sure.

 8. The kids started a new school together! This was a big move for us as we were already in a fantastic school district. But the more and more I think about the reason of the change, it wasn't to escape anything that we were in, but more to gain something from the new school. One of the reasons being them being together for 5 years which is huge for us!

 9. We tried a CSA!!! If you don't know what a CSA is, it stands for Community Supported Agriculture. It meant that we paid a fixed price at the beginning of the season and we received fresh crops from a local grower. I've certainly enjoyed my share of tomatos, bell peppers, onions, eggplants, corn (corn and more corn), peaches and strawberries. It was a bit too much of a share to be honest, so I am not sure if we'll do it next year. However, it was an experience that I am glad we tried! 

10. We have been regulars at Church! Ever since my "reversion" to the Catholic faith and my husband full support, it has been a joy to go to church every Sunday. The kids are still getting used to it, but as they get older they will get to appreciate what a celebration it is to attend mass weekly.

 Well, off to bed. As the fall of 2011 finds me getting up in the wee hour of 6 in the AM (YUCK) and I do need my beauty sleep tonight!! Later I'll write more about the challenges of working and having kids in school and activities. Toto... I think we're not in Kansas anymore!!