Go to K’s room first. Grab her pink bag, five bottles, and take the sheet off her crib. Don’t forget her binky. Ask the teacher if she ate, napped, and seemed happy. The sleep sack and extra clothes should be in her bag. Pack her up, put her in the car seat and walk down to L’s room. First go to the fridge and get all her food and water out and pack it in her lunch bag. Grab her duffel bag with her cot sheet and extra clothes. Don’t forget her binky or penguin. Ask the teachers how she did today. Take the sheet they fill out for you. You have to use the stroller to put everything into because it’s way too hard to carry four bags and two babies. Oh, don’t forget to take your shoes off when you enter both rooms. Have fun trying to get your shoes back on when your hands are full leaving the room. One more thing, make sure you sign out of both girls rooms and if you can, write a check and pay the front desk.
This was the text I sent my husband the first day he had to pick both babies up from daycare. I feel like a computer with 300 tabs open at the same time.
I was extremely fortunate to be home with my first daughter the first six months of her life. I returned to work in January, had my other daughter the following July, and was lucky again to be home with both girls until my youngest was five months old.
I returned to teaching this January and quickly learned the struggle of work/home balance. Sundays are now spent laying out five outfits for each girl and me. Packing five lunches, preparing bottles, filling out daily schedule sheets, and making lists of reminders to check in the morning.
I’ve quickly learned that you can never be too prepared and to always leave 10 extra minutes for the random tantrum, diaper blowout, or over-sleeper.
I feel like my life has never been so chaotic. After work it feels like a marathon to get to bed. Making dinner, cleaning dishes, preparing everything for the following day, bath time, bedtime stories, and somehow fitting in a few minutes to play with my kids seems next to impossible.
My husband is my rock. He picks it all up when everything falls apart. He’s always one step ahead, ready for the next move. He jumps up from the dinner table to start the dishes, grabs one baby and bathes them, and starts making bottles. We each have our moments, and when it happens, the other is always ready to pick up the extra slack.
And as crazy, busy, and exhausting as it is…I love it. I love the look on my girls’ faces when they see me for the first time after a long day. I love the long drawn out dinner we have each night, just to sit down and spend time with my family. I love when I catch my oldest hugging her sister when she doesn’t even know I am watching. I love the hype, the rush, the feeling that we are productive, making progress, and always in a state of growth.
Being a working mom is hard. But now that my time home is limited, there is a lot more stopping what I am doing to sit down and play with the puzzle, draw the picture, or read the book. Our time together is truly quality. We may not have the quantity of time we once had, but we make every minute count.
