Now that my life feels consumed by our new schedule, I thought I would share my daily routines that help me keep up with it all. I love “day in the life” posts, so here’s a little mini half version of mine.

After having a baby, I always wondered how other full-time working moms handled life. How do they get it all done? How do they balance it all? How do they keep from going crazy? This is going to sound dramatic, but I was afraid I was going to absolutely hate life and/or die, if not from the heartbreak from leaving my baby, then from sheer exhaustion of trying to do it all.

I had to take it one day and one week at a time. Every day got a little easier and slowly, but surely, I finally developed a routine and we sunk into a new normal. And guess what…I didn’t (and don’t) hate life. :)

Routines help make sanity possible.

While I don’t have a nursing baby now, I do have a different kind of challenge where I have an active toddler and my husband, who is now going to school full-time and works graveyard, isn’t able to help out nearly as much. All I can say is, preparation is key!

For a quick glance, I have a short run down of my routine. Feel free to keep scrolling for the full detail of my evening, from the moment I get off work to the time I go to bed.

Here’s the quick run down:

• 5:00 – 5:30: Get off work and pick up Gryffin from daycare
• 5:45-6:00: Get mail / eat snack
• 6:00-6:45: 30 minute work out/warm dinner (I batch cook on the Sunday so I don’t have to cook nearly as much during the week. Funny story – I always hated the thought of batch cooking and now I can’t imagine doing it any other way!)/Gryffin watches a show/plays while I work out
• 6:45 – 7:30: Eat dinner (Gryffin takes forever to eat!)
• 7:30: Wake Mikey up
• 7:30 – 7:45: Playtime with Gryffin until bath time
• 7:45 – 8:15: Gryffin’s bath and bedtime routine
• 8:15: Gryffin’s bedtime (more on this below)
• 9:30 – 10:00: Wash dishes/ pack lunch/ pick out clothes and shoes for next day/ jammies/wash face/brush teeth, etc.
• 10:00 – 10:30: Quiet time (read bible, journal, pray)
• 10:30: lights out

**Now for the long explanation with all the juicy details!

5:00 – 5:45/6:00

Get off work and go pick Gryffin up. I have a 20-30 minute commute from work to daycare and we’re usually home around 5:45 (sometimes 6:00 if I stay and talk at daycare).

While I don’t like the drive time (I know, I’m lucky compared to some of you!), I find that it at least gives me time to decompress after work. I usually listen to a podcast on my way home. My go-to podcasts are “Happier” with Gretchen Rubin and “What Should I Read Next” with Anne Bogel.

5:45 – 6:00

Both Gryffin and I are pretty hungry by the time we get home, so we’ll eat a snack to hold us over until dinner. Usually I’ll make a half peanut butter and jelly sandwich or we just have some crackers.

During snack time we usually sit together and I ask Gryffin how his day was and just hang out with each other.

6:00 – 6:30

I let Gryffin watch a show during this time – usually Blippi or Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. For me, this part varies a little depending on what day it is.

I have started incorporating workouts on Tuesdays and Thursdays, so if it’s one of those days, I will start heating up dinner and workout while it cooks or I’ll throw it together after I’m done working out.

If it’s not a workout night, I save the more time-consuming meals for those days and I sit and play with Gryffin for a little bit.

6:45 – 7:30 (sometimes earlier)

Dinner time. Anyone else out there have toddlers that take FOREVER to eat?? Gryffin can take up to 45 minutes sometimes. It’s also hard to know when he’s done because he will say “all done” and then immediately start shoveling more food in his mouth the second I go to wipe his hands *sigh*.

Anyway, dinner time ends usually anywhere between 7:15-7:30

7:30 – Wake Mikey Up (sometimes earlier, it just depends)

7:30 – 7:45

Clean up the kitchen while Gryffin plays. Sometimes I’ll wait to clean the kitchen after Gryffin goes down to bed, but it’s always nice when I get it done early.

7:45 – 8:15

Gryffin’s bedtime routine. Bath, jammies, brush teeth, pick up toys, read a book. Pretty simple.

8:15 – 9:30

Gryffin goes down to bed around 8:15. This part of my night also varies depending on if I’m the one putting Gryffin down to bed. He is very afraid of the dark and has separation anxiety, so bedtime is rough and we usually have to stay with him until he falls asleep (there’s no crying it out, because he gets so worked up that he throws up). Unfortunately he can take forever to fall asleep.

If Mikey’s the one putting Gryffin to bed, I’m up and usually watching a show. Lately I’ve been watching either The Office, or When Calls The Heart on Netflix.

9:30 – 10:00

This is when I start getting ready for bed and Mikey gets ready and goes to work. I wash my face, get my jammies on, pick out my clothes for the next day, and get my lunch ready to go.

I am not a morning person at all, so I would much rather do it all at night rather than the morning.

10:00 – 10:30

Quiet time. I do my best to head downstairs right at 10:00 and read my Bible, but occasionally the above routine might take me a bit longer or I get sidetracked with my phone and start scrolling through social media. I’m working on being better disciplined, but for the most part I’m able to stick with this.

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So that’s what our evenings look like. I plan on also do a really short morning routine, and a weekend or Sunday routine as well.

I hope you all have a wonderful week!

Much Love,

Cami