I've got a big announcement to make today, but before I do, let me give the newbies a little background.
Last year, I did a photo shoot for Well Rounded NY with lifestyle photographer, Raquel Bianca to document my morning routine. Many reacted to the photos negatively. People thought they looked too beautiful to be a real representation of my morning. One mother even claimed they set too high of an expectation for the average working mom.
I said the beauty of the photographs surprised me as well— I was terrified to do the shoot because I thought it would expose my mornings for what they were— chaotic, disorganized and unenjoyable. But photographs stop time and show the little moments we miss— the snuggle you give at 6am when your kids invade your bed, the shoe you slip on your baby's foot with your foreheads practically touching, the smile you let escape when your daughter requests pancakes AGAIN.
I bet that if I sent the same photographer to any mother's home, she would find the beauty in their mornings too. To prove my point, I selected five mothers from around the NYC area, via reader comments— my main objective that different parts of NY were represented. Raquel and I did not see photos of the mothers, their families or their homes prior to the shoots.
Since we wanted the real deal with nothing stylized, Raquel arrived at 6am. The moms involved had no time to get their families in order even if they tried.
The goal wasn't to make their mornings look crazy or messy or comically awful. The goal was to show that even amidst the chaos and the crumbs, even when you don't pick up all the toys and you've got syrup stains on your mismatched pajamas, there is still beauty. In fact, the real moments, the ones that really represent your life and your family every day, are probably the most beautiful.
And that's how the "Monday Morning" series was born.
Ilona from Queens:
Annie from the suburbs of New Jersey:
Borami from Hoboken:
Teresa from the Upper West Side:
Jennifer from Brooklyn:
The series was tremendously popular and changed not just the perspectives of the mothers involved, but the perspective of many readers as well.
“Seeing these photos, along with yours, does make me realize that despite my own perception of the never ending chaos and the feeling that I'm doing nothing 100% well, from the outside things look pretty lovely. It also makes me remember that it's the precious little moments, so beautifully captured here, that we rush through each day, that are the ones that truly matter." – Jessica (real person, I swear)
The one complaint I got about "Monday Mornings" was that it focused only on moms from the NYC area. Readers wished more mothers from across the country were represented. I agreed. Only, I didn't have a budget to fly a photographer around the United States to snap photos. The only way I would be able to do that is if I got the series sponsored.
Well, today I am excited to announce a partnership with Allstate, an insurance company dedicated to protecting families and keeping them in good hands, who has generously agreed to help me continue the Monday Morning series and take it to other parts of the United States.
Can we all pause to let that sink in for a moment? I've known this for at least a month now and I still don't think I fully believe it.
We are looking for 12 moms in four different US cities (one city being Chicago since that's where Allstate calls home) with all different routines and backgrounds to feature their Monday Mornings on Mommy Shorts. The posts will be very similar to the five posts already featured in the program— Allstate has been clear from the beginning that they want me to maintain the authenticity of each post and not change anything I was previously doing for “Monday Mornings”. They even agreed to fly Raquel around so that I could use the same amazing photographer who made the previous posts so special.
Raquel and I could not be more excited about this partnership and I hope you all are too!
If you are a mother living in the continental United States and would like the opportunity to be featured in the Monday Morning series, please leave a brief comment below with:
a) the city/state you live in
b) the number and ages of your kids
c) any information you think might be relevant to your morning routine— what time you and/or your partner leave for work, whether your children stay at home/are in daycare/go to school/etc., if you work at home, if you have a baby on the way, if you are a single mom, if you have live-in help, if you have extended family at home, if you live in a small space, if you live in a colossal mansion, etc.
For full terms and conditions, click here.
Over the next few weeks, we will be working diligently to find the 12 featured mothers in our series. We are not looking to feature only people with extenuating circumstances— we just want a variety of relatable mornings represented.
As I mentioned, we are looking to find sets of three moms in four different cities. The only definite city is Chicago. If you want to up your chances, tell your friends nearby to enter!
A huge thank you to Allstate for making my dream come true and sponsoring Monday Mornings. It's been clear since we started working together, the series is in very good hands.
Congrats, this is awesome! I can’t wait to see the outcome!
This is so awesome! I feel like my mornings are absolute chaos. My husband started a new job in February that changed our whole routine…now I feel like our mornings are so disorganized and rushed. I live in O’Fallon, Illinois (near St. Louis, MO). I love in a 1100 square foot house with my husband and two boys (4 & 2). My oldest son goes to a full day preschool program at the University where I work three days a week (he is with my in laws the other two days…he starts kindergarten in August which will add more chaos to the day) and my youngest currently spends his days with my in laws. He will start the same preschool program as my oldest in late May. Some days my husband leaves for work before the kids get up so I fly solo with the morning prep.
No matter what, I am looking forward to seeing these photos…I saw so much of my morning in the original series!
Do San Diego, CA! I live in a tiny beach bungalow in San Diego with my husband and soon to be 9 month-old son, Declan. My husband and I both work full time. Our hectic mornings always include pooping the dog and cleaning baby poop. But at least we live by the beach. 🙂
a) Denver, CO (until August when we move to Columbia, MO)
b)2 boys, one 3 y.o and the other 4 months
c) I am a SAHM and my husband is a student (moving to MO to start his PhD). My husband wakes up really early for his current job (3:30am!) so usually he isn’t around in the mornings. We generally wake up at 7 and go go go from there, the 3 y.o has too much energy. We live in a small home, around 800 sq.ft. which is small for the area.
Oh, I just love this…
– We are a military family in San Diego.
– I am a stay-at-home-mom.
– My high school sweetheart/handsome sailor/husband is usually out of the house very early in the morning.
– 3 kiddos: Ages 5, 3, and 3months.
– We live in a 3 bedroom house and love it very much.
Fingers crossed y’all choose our fine city (and me)!
A) the greater Houston area, tx (the woodlands)
B) one 3-yr old and one due in July
C) live in a 4 br house, both of us work full time outside the home. Wake up between 5/45 and 6:15, and all out of the house by 7:30. Daughter goes to daycare. Husband is VERY involved in morning routine, especially since I’m pregnant and mornings are hard for me.
Aside: this has been a lovely series, I’m so glad to see it expanding. CONGRATULATIONS on getting an amazing sponsorship.
a) Orem, Utah
b) a little girl who is 2, and another girl on the way
c) Our family wakes up at 7 each day. Sometimes my husband lets me sleep in while he enjoys sharing a bowl of cereal with our daughter. Most days, we all get up together so that we can enjoy time together. My husband is working on his master’s degree and attends class after work so our mornings are crucial to family time.
I should add that we live in a small 3 bedroom house. 🙂
We live in Silver Spring, MD, just outside of Washington, DC.
We have a 2 yr old daughter. And a cat.
Okay, so I know the call was for submissions by moms (and I am a mom), but I wanted to give a shout out to my awesome husband. I travel a lot for work and sometimes my husband is the only one at home. He is the one who has to wake up my daughter, feed her breakfast, get her changed and dressed, and (if she lets him) hair brushed and lunch packed and out the door to daycare – all by 8am. Oh, and feed the cat and scoop the litter. Often with me on the phone trying to micromanage the lunch packing from another time zone. He is tireless. The other day he said that he got to sit in his easy chair for two minutes, and that sounded like the best moment of his morning. When I am home, life is less rushed because I go to work later, so we can be relaxed about our morning and my husband can focus on cooking breakfast, picking up around the house and taking care of the cat. Sometimes we even get to read a book together before he goes to work. Those are nice mornings too. So I know the original project documented moms, but I wanted to say that I think my husband’s mornings are equally worthy of consideration. There are some pretty great dads out there who have crazy mornings too. My husband works so hard all the time and I couldn’t have the career I have without him!
Well of course now that I don’t live in Chicago anymore…
Congrats, very excited for you that you get to expand your series like this, it’s a great project.
This is so awesome and the series was so beautiful I am excited to see everyone you choose! I live in San Jose, CA in a single-family home with my 2 children and husband. I have a 7 year old son and a 5 year old daughter. I work outside of the home part-time and both my children are in school full-time/part-time. I am a baker by day and mom and wife by night. My mornings are the worst and I feel stressed and I always end of yelling throughout the whole ordeal. I would love to see special moments captured to make me finally realize that I need to slow down and just chill out already! Ha! So cool and can’t wait to see who you pick! Congrats this is so fun!
I love this and loved that series!
Chicago suburb-glenview
2 kids-4 months and 20 months
I’m a stay at home and my husband works out of the home
The 4 month old is usually up between 5:30/6 and the 20 month old is up around 6:30/7
We have a puppy who is up with me at 5:30/6 and loves checking on the babies
We live in an older home built in the 50s so the bedrooms are close together
I am usually the one to get everyone up and going in the morning despite the fact that I am not a morning person
We don’t have family close (my parents are in Minnesota and my husbands family lives on the south side of Chicago)
Hello Mommy shorts,
My name is Denise Garnica and I live in the beautiful, historic city of Whittier, Ca which is about 45 minutes from Los Angeles. Our family is quite unique because I’m neither mother nor father but auntie.
Four years ago I began an amazing journey. When the time came for my sister to return to work after maternity leave, I decided to help out and watch my niece while they worked. I never imagined to still be doing it three years later. Paul (2) and Olivia (4) are so accustomed to this different kind of life.
I know we have a different routine then most working parents but I think that is what makes us so unique. Most people in their 20’s are off partying late at night but I help with bath and bedtime. I could never imagine my life any other way. I wake up to kisses and hugs. I make breakfast and lunch everyday. I clean booties and help teach. I am an auntie who is so active and I am damn proud of that!
You’d be crazy not to pick us 🙂
a) We live in Sacramento, CA.
b) We have one child, approaching age 1 (she will turn one in May 2014)
c) Husband leaves for work around 7 am. I am at home with our daughter during the day and I typically watch another child (~19 months old) in our home beginning around 7:30 or 8 am. I roll out of bed (and walk into the walls and furniture) around 7 am when watching the second child, otherwise, I try to sleep until my daughter wakes up. I’m still nursing my daughter. We have been in the process of selling our house/buying a house/packing/moving/renovating our house for the past ten months and so our house has been in a state of constant chaos.
a). We live in a suburb of DC (Northern Virginia).
b). 2 kids, our daughter is 3, son is 16 months.
c). My husband and I both work full time. We leave for work around 6:30am. I always drop the kids off at daycare on my way to work. We also have 2 dogs and 2 cats. So there’s always something crazy going on. And my daughter is never thrilled when we wake her up singing, “You are my sunshine.” So it’s fun trying to rush a 3 year old into getting herself dressed while hurrying to get out the door before traffic grinds to a halt!
St. Louis, missouri. 2 yo boy and 4 yo girl. I am a working mom who is always rushing around. My husband is a teacher so he does a lot of the work to get the kids ready in the morning and then leaves. Then it is just the three of us against the world. My favorite part of the morning is usually when I do a workout video and my daughter does it with me. After that is pretty hectic to make sure everyone is ready and out the door in time. We do enjoy a lot of laughs and giggles in between though.
Hooray! I am so soo glad you are doing this again! I LOVED those posts!!
A) We live in the Lincoln Square neighborhood of Chicago (On the northside of the city). We live in a typical three story house that is common in this neighborhood, including our postage stamp size yard.
B) I have two girls- Hazel is 3, sassy, strong willed and chatty and Cora is 1, she is sensitive, sweet and LOVES to move
C) I work part time- Monday’s I do not work (I work Tues/Thurs) The girls are up by 6:15 (I have already showered and gotten dressed). There is a little bit of cartoon watching until 7:00 when we head down for breakfast. My husband is out the door at 7:15, we finish breakfast, get dressed and ready for our day! On days I work, my husband and I are both out the door at 7:00 on the dot.
Regardless of if I am chosen, I am so looking forward to these series of posts! I love your blog and have followed it since right before Harlow was born. Thanks for your writing and perspective.
Cincinnati, Ohio
6 year old boy, 5 year old girl, 3 year old boy
I’m a stay-at-home / work-at-home mom. My oldest hops on the school bus while the other two and I hang out most mornings. My husband does a lot of the morning routine – getting breakfast, etc – and I come down after he leaves to start breakfast #2. 🙂
Atlanta, GA! I have one son,almost six months old, and one dog. I work two days a week (my son comes with me) and on those days we leave the house around 9:30. My husband works 9-5 & usually leaves around 8am. We live in a neighborhood in the suburbs
a) Charlottesville, Virginia
b) 1 boy, age 5 (but we also have 2 cats, 6 chickens, and one dog)
c) we recently (2 years ago) moved to the “city” which is really a town so that we could walk, ride bikes, or take the bus to work and school, and got rid of our 2 cars and bought a mini-van our only vehicle. So, our son goes to daycare and will be starting kindergarten in the fall. but we usually all leave at the same time and depending on circumstances (weather, needing to run errands at lunch, working late, etc) we either bike, walk, or take the van. when biking, my husband will take my son on the back on a tandem bike and they pedal together. i usually take my dog to work with me, so i will either walk or drive. and if we are running late, we all pile in the van and do drop off that way. it can be very hectic. we have to be out the door by 740am or so to get to work at 8.
oh meant to say too, that we both work full time 8-5 (or later)
and like others have said, so love this series! and charlottesville is an amazing place, so if you haven’t been you should come regardless of if i get picked 🙂 i can’t wait to see all the photos of the parents! so great you are able to do this!
Absolutely love this, and love the point that you make that in the midst of the morning chaos can be beauty.
I live in Central NJ in a new home we just moved into in November.
We have 3 Kids (Ry 9, Laina 5 and Avery 6 months)
We start our mornings bright and early at 6am (or earlier) because the bus is here by 7am and my husband has to catch his bus at 6:30.
Depending on how well the baby slept the night before really determines how “chaotic” our morning feels because lack of sleep can mean late starts and/or leading the way while practically sleep walking. The baby is always a wildcard in the morning too. Our mornings are easier when he sleeps til we have to leave, but that certainly doesn’t always happen. Our kids go to private school and my little 5 year old fashionista is always trying to SNEAK in a little self expression as we are walking out the door with funky headbands and jewelry. Sometimes I win the battle, and sometimes she goes to school with neon pink sneakers like she did today… because, tired.
a) East Greenbush, NY (10 mins outside Albany, NY)
b) One (1); 15 years old
c) Our day starts at 5am since my daughter has to be to school at 7am. I am a single momma and I work full time outside of the home with the same company for 10 years now! I do it all myself when she’s home with me, always have and always will. We live in an apartment that is about 1000SF and THANKFULLY she has her own bathroom!! Otherwise, we might not survive our mornings at all. Our mornings are extremely chaotic – trying to get her up and in the shower and out the door without forgetting anything is challenging, but we manage.
Congrats!! I love this series soooooo much!! Always tear up!! But i would love to see you do a rural series as well! My brother in Vermont has goats to milk and chickens to feed in the morning! It’s awesome.
1. Western Suburbs of Chicago–Wheaton, IL
2. 2 gilrs ages 1 and 3. Two very different personalities. The 1 y.o. is a firecracker while the 3 y.o. is more reserved and bashful.
3. My husband and I work full time and usually have every one up and out of the house by 7:00am. My 1 y.o. wakes up around 5:30am and the 3 y.o. at 6:00am. We recently moved from a condo in Downtown Chicago to a single family home in the suburbs and still adjusting to this new lifestyle.
Austin, Texas
3.5 year old daughter, 1.5 year old son.
Both my husband and I work full time, kids go to daycare. We have a single family home in the suburbs – our mornings are probably pretty typical and somewhat chaotic, trying to get everyone out the door in the am (I leave for work early and my husband takes the kids to daycare soon after).
Gorgeous project!
a) We live in Tampa, Florida, in an urban “up & coming” neighborhood in a renovated bungalow
b) Two adorable boys, Six (Maxwell) & Two (Declan), full of energy
c) My husband and I both work full time, I am an attorney and my husband is a computer professional who works from home. He is a huge help in the mornings as we get our boys ready and off to day-care & first grade
Congratulations! Monday Mornings is by far one of my favorite things from your blog.
I live in St. Peter’s Missouri, which is just across the river from St. Louis. I have two boys, 4 and 17 months. (They are only a couple of months apart from your kids.)
I work four days a week and stay home on Fridays. Mornings are pretty much a tag team with my husband and me. If we are lucky we are both showered before our sons wake up, because they share a room which means if one wakes up then the other is immediately following. We are literally awake and home for about an hour before we have to get out the door and are rushed the entire time since both boys prefer to eat breakfast at our house instead of the babysitter. Plus, you have to add in the fact that our 4 year old is obsessed with books and requests to have them read to him while he is eating. We would love to be a part of your Monday Morning series!
Thanks.
Washington DC! We don’t actually have a baby yet but she’s 3 days overdue so we expect one soon. My husband and I both work full time and live in an 800 sq foot apt in the city. I’ll take metro with the baby to her daycare and my office. This is our first so I have no idea what our morning routine will be but I imagine it will be hectic — especially since neither of us are morning people.
a) Nashville, TN
b) Nathan, 2 years (plus in utero twins)
c) I am currently 29 weeks pregnant with twins (21 week ultrasound SURPRISE!) and my husband and I both work full time (me as a physician, him in business). we split the morning routine for our son before he goes off to daycare
My family lives in Atlanta, GA, and we have two boys — ages 3 years and 18 months. My husband and I both work full time, but I just recently decided to leave my job to stay home with my littles (starting 5/26). Our mornings right now are a little chaotic — my husband leaves at 6AM, so it’s just me trying to get two boys fed and ready for school, and hopefully squeeze in a shower.
That chaos is part of the reason I’m leaving my career. I want our home to be peaceful, a place to escape the wild world. BUT, I’m not naive. I have two boys. Life will still be slightly chaotic, and I would love to show you a little piece of life in a house with two rowdy boys.
Another angle to your series might be “dinner time chaos” — or “perfectly imperfect dinner together”. Generally, everyone in my house is in good spirits in the morning. It’s after work and school (when kids are HANGRY) that we struggle the most to be happy together.
I have loved the Monday Mornings series and would be so thrilled to be a part of it. My family lives in the suburbs of Seattle. We have 2 girls (5 and 17 months). Our mornings are very short and intense. We have to be at work early so we have our girls out of the house and off to pre-school/ daycare at 6am. I want to let the kids (and myself) sleep to the last possible moment so I am up at 5:15, ready by 5:35, make the breakfast/lunches/ pack bags by 5:45, then get both girls up, dressed, and in the car by 6. Nothing like a bit of adrenalin to start your day!
This is awesome!
I am part of a two mom family in Boston, MA. We live in a 2 bedroom apartment. Our daughter is 5. We both work out of the home and Roozle is in pre-kindergarten in public school.
This morning, Roozle decided to ride her scooter through our apartment all morning and “forget” to use the brake so she smashed into everything (including us) to stop herself. Over. And over again. So fun. For her.
I love this project! We live in Durham NC. Just moved into a new 4 bedroom house. We have a 4 year old daughter and a dog. Mornings are active becauuse my husband works out of the house and my daughter and I have to head out by 7:30 to go to preschool and my work. Mornings are full of clothing changes, last minute requests and the dog wanting to play or jump in the car with us. So everyone is involved in the morning routine.
This is really cool, congrats! I really need to find the beauty in our mornings after some of the mornings I’ve had recently(dog had UTI and chose the nursery as her favorite place to relieve herself).
a) Burke, VA (suburb outside of Washington, DC)
2) Working mom with 8 month old girl, Paige
d) Live in a townhouse that never seems to stay clean. Both my husband and I work and we split morning duties. He takes her to daycare and then I shower and get ready for work afterwards.
I’m so excited to get the chance to be a part of this!
a) Denver, Colorado
b) 20 month old son, and 16 weeks pregnant
c) My husband and I get up at 6am and shower. Around 6:30 my husband gets the toddler out of bed and dressed. We all have breakfast together and then we all leave at 7:30am. I drive my son to day care. We live in a typical single family home in a Denver suburb.
How geberous of AllState! This is such a cool opportunity! I have loved all of your Monday Mornings posts. I’m loving reading all of the other women’s stories here in the comments too.
We live in York, PA. (just outside of Lancaster, in Amish country)
We have 3 kids, ages 7, 5, and 2. (one boy, two girls)
The oldest is in school full-time, the middle one has pre-K 3 days a week. The baby is at home with me.
We live in a single family home on several acres on land. We designed and built our home last year.
My husband is an engineer and works outside the home. I work from home as a freelance writer.
Our day starts between 6 and 7. My husband leaves by 8 and I get the older kids off to school and keep the baby home with me while I work. (I do have a sitter for 3 hours a day, 3 times a week.)
Very cool, indeed. Dunno if there will be enough interest from Nashville, but hey, here’s me.
a) I live in Nashville, TN, in the incorporated community of Oak Hill.
b) I have three kiddos — Oliver, 5 1/2, starting kindergarten in August; Emmeline, 3, always the first one up; and Zola, 20 months, whom we adopted a little over a year ago from the DRC.
c) Right now, I am home with the kids, but are usually up and out for a morning activity. But in August, I will return to my PhD program (after taking a semester leave to be with my kids), and my MIL will start staying with my girls. So we’ll get one to kindy, have my MIL arrive here while my husband and I both go off to the nearby university. Kids are usually up between 6:30 and 7, and come fall, we’ll be out the door by 7:30. We live in a sprawling ranch that is, at least at present, UGLY. We are hoping to renovate soon, but in the mean time, it is seriously my greatest deterrent to taking pictures. The inside is so ugly that I only notice that instead of my kids!
Wow, congrats on the partnership with All State. That is AMAZING! I can’t wait to see more mommies across the US.
I loved that series.
I live in Brighton, CO with my huband, 14 year old step-son, daughter age 10, son age seven a daughter age 7 months.
I am going to be a SAHM in 2 weeks. Our mornings are super hectice with getting everyone off to school/work. My two middle kids are only with us part-time, the rest of the time they are with their dad.
We live in the country, with 3 horses, 3 dogs and 3 cats and mornings out there are super beautiful which I usually realize as I see the mountains on my way to school/work and don’t realize in the hour prior when I have been yelling (encouraging) my kids to get out the door!
LOVE this and I love my chaotic mornings!
a) Chicago, IL (Lakeview area) in a loft building.
b) One 17 month-old son with a big personality
c) I work full time outside of the house and my husband travels 100% for work. So, basically I am a single mother during the week. Our nanny comes around 8am and it’s chaos while we wait for her. I also love this one on one time I have with him. We snuggle in bed while he drinks his bottle (don’t judge- I know he shouldn’t be using a bottle) and then we eat breakfast and get ready. I’d love to capture this time we have together!
a) Elk River, MN
b) Two kids – 5 yr old boy and 2 yr old girl
c) My husband and I get up around 5:20am and try to be out the door by 6am, but it’s usually 6:10. The kids go to an in-home daycare in our neighborhood, which I drop them off at each morning. We live in a small rambler 🙂 Mornings consist of lunch making, coffee drinking, diaper changing, and wrestling with the early morning emotions of at least one of the kids (it’s always one, it never fails). Oh, and letting the dog out.
um, I would LOVE LOVE LOVE to do this. I live in Arlington Heights, IL (just 45 minutes outside of Chicago!). I have two kids (boy – 7 years old) and girl (3.5 years old) and both my husband and I take the Metra in the morning to downtown where we work. We drop Ben off at 1st grade, and Bella off at daycare. And after moving from MN to IL last September we went from a 4 bedroom house to a 2 bedroom apartment, so we’re a little cramped, but it’s amazing what use of the space we’ve made. And we’ve always had Allstate insurance, so way to go Allstate!
I’m not volunteering myself, but I want to highly recommend somebody that gets to work by 7 or 8 a.m. I was one who had commented on the previous posts that it seemed like NYC mothers had a lot of time in the mornings. I saw there were quite a few other non-big city dwellers that had similar comments.
I was scoping out the other entries and I wanted to say Hi because we just moved to Arlington Heights from Minnesota in September!
Awesome! When I read the series, I was thinking that it would be great to have these pictures of my family!
My husband leaves for work at 6:30, the rest of us usually get up around 7, starting with my 4 yr old twin boys watching a tv show while I shower. The baby (8 mo old) gets up around 7:30 and then breakfast for everyone. We usually leave the house at 8:30/8:40 for preschool or other appointments. We live in Bloomington, IN. I work from home and usually try to work in the mornings. One day per week we usually all stay home and play, while I work.
I should mention that we drop the kids off at 7a, to catch a 7:30 or 7:45a train to make it downtown by 8:30. I use every second I have in the morning usually with my husband repeatedly telling me to hurry up!
I have a 3 year old and a newly mobile 1 year old in Louisville, KY. Our mornings are typical – complete insanity. Entertaining, prepping, keeping the hungry hippo at bay and paying attention to the dog are all on this list. My husband leaves for work at 6:20 am – and the kids and I are usually out by 8:05. I am at work by 8:30. I have a very routine based, independent 3 year old, Henry – and the one year old, Noah – is a fearless, fly by the seat of your pants kinda kiddo. Every morning is a roller coaster – and absolutely amazing.
Beautiful idea!
Kathleen from Albany, NY
2 girls (23 months apart). Giuliana – 3.5 years old; Emelia – 1.5 years old
I’m currently a stay-at-home mom/”retired” teacher who’s going back to school for my esthetician’s license. My husband is a police officer who works overnights. Most mornings I’m by myself to get the kids up and ready and then by the time my husband gets home it’s time for breakfast. My husband and I rarely see each other each day and family time is often minimal. I’d love to have a opportunity to visually depict the few precious moments we do have together – even if they are amongst the chaos of day-to-day life.
I’m keeping my fingers crossed!!!
A) Fairfax, VA
B) Three kids – 6.5, 4, 10.5 months
C) My husband and I work staggered schedules. I wake up at 5, nurse the baby. Then I get ready in silence and darkness, let the dogs out, and am out the door by 6:15. He gets up and showers around 6, gets the kids up by 7 and performs all the morning duties before dropping kids off from 8-9. Then he heads into his office. I’m in charge of evening pick ups while he works late.
I would be so scared and so grateful to get this chance! I’m 29 (CPA), my husband (construction) is 30 in 25 days; we both work outside the home, full time. We have a 5 yo son who goes to school (Pre-K) and a 19m daughter who goes to daycare. My husband used to have to get up at 4am for work, now not quite so early, but I am still alone in the mornings getting the kids and bags ready for the day. We live in Central Louisiana, a small residential town outside of the small city where we both work. We live in our own home, in a subdivision around a lake. Nothing particularly special about us; I’d consider us fairly standard, small town people.
a) Macomb, MI – a suburb of Detroit
b) One 18 month old with enough personality for 2!
c) I’m up about 5:45 so I can get ready before waking my son up at 6:15 – then while my husband gets ready and takes care of the animals (all 3) I get my LO dressed, fed and ready for a full day at daycare before I and my husband head to work.
I LOVED this project and am so glad you’re branching out to other cities! I’m guessing my area will probably not end up being one of your stops, but I would loved to be considered.
a) Bellingham, MA (1hr. south of Boston)
b) 1 son, currently 13+ months old.
c) Our schedule is different depending on the day. I work in the city 3 days a week (M,W,F)while my son, Sebastian goes to daycare.I’m home with him on Tues. and Thurs. My husband works in the city three days (M,T,TH) and works from home the other two. So Mondays are our most crazy day. I’m up at 4:30am to get myself ready for work and then my husband gets up to feed/change our son. We all pile into our one car, a Toyota Corolla, with our 80lb dog Luna and they all drive me to the train station to catch the 6:35am train into Boston. Then my husband drops our dog off at daycare (I know!) and takes my son back home with him until it’s time to bring him to daycare at 7:15am. Then my husband takes himself to the 7:45am train to Boston. The other days are less insane as one of us is home. We are still trying to figure out how to make it all work (so is every parent right?).
We would LOVE to participate! We live in Beverly Hills, MI which is about 20 minutes outside of Detroit. I’m a working mom of 1, almost 2 year old girl, Grace. Dad stays at home with Grace.
Our mornings do vary – Grace get’s up between 6:30 – 7:00am. Usually we bring her into bed for a little bit of snuggling before actually getting out of bed. I’m in the shower by 7, Dad and Grace eat breakfast. Grace helps me get my outfit together for the day and we’ll pick out hers as well. Dad makes me a lunch and coffee and I’m out the door by 8am. We have a family hug and kiss before I leave for the day.
Kalispell, Montana
2 boys (4 and almost 8), 2 dogs, 1 lizard, and 6 chickens.
We are early risers (adults at 5AM so we can actually get things done! And kids at 7AM).
We homeschool, I work from home, and my husband’s job keeps him BUSY!
I LOVE this photo series!!!
a. Denver, CO (just north of downtown in the Highlands neighborhood)
b. Two girls – one will be 1 in May, the other will be 3 in July
c. My husband and I both work from home, although he travels frequently so often I am doing mornings alone. Mondays are hard because we have to take the girls to two different places, the little one goes to a nanny and the older one goes to daycare (they don’t have room for the little one on Mondays until June). We also have a little yorkie. Mornings are chaos, today the older one woke at 6 so we let her watch Dora on the ipad until 6:30 while we showered and waited for her sister to wake up. Not our finest moment, but you do what you have to to survive. Since we both work from home, sometimes it’s hard to come home from drop-off and not clean up the house and just start working, but I’ve learned to open up my laptop amidst the cheerios and Nosefrida and random bibs and just get to work.
a) Belvidere, IL. I am a transplant from a suburb of Chicago, we are about 1.5 hours Northwest of Chicago.
b) 2, ages 7 & 4
c) My husband takes our daughter to school at 7:20, comes home for a bit before going to work at 8am. My son currently stays home with me (I am a stay at home mom, I also write & blog). We are enjoying our last months being fully home before he starts pre-school in the fall. We live in a single family home close to our schools.
So happy for you. Every time I look at these posts it brings tears to my eyes. My mornings are the most stressful time of my day and I have a hard time finding these moments but I try to pause and see them since finding the beauty in these photos.
-we live in clarendon hills. Suburb of Chicago. About 20min from downtown
– my husband son Aidan (4) daughter grace (20months) baby #3 (due on Halloween) and pup rya- she’s old and kinda crabby…
– my husband leaves for work between 730-8a. Aidan has preschool in the am and I go to work around 245p
– we live in a three bedroom house in a very family friendly community that we love
– I’m not a morning person and pregnancy doesn’t help. If picked, be prepared for whacky hair.
a) Washington, DC
b) Twin girls who just turned 3.
c) Three days a week my husband and I leave the girls with their nanny, and two days they are home with me. We live in a brick box house in DC, surrounded by other brick box houses. We cannot all make it out of the house before 9am. My favorite part of each mornings are the snuggles and the girls being happy to feed the animals, even if it means hand-feeding the dog so she’ll actually eat. My not so favorite part is the begging to watch tv in the morning.
Just wanted to say HI! I’m an Arlington Heights native, so this made me smile 🙂 I seem to always find people from there. I hope you love it! We used to live on Dryden and I went to Windsor/South/Prospect. The schools there are phenomenal!
a) Oak Park, IL (immediate western suburb of Chicago)
b) 2 kids: Ascencion is 3 yrs, Miguel is 12 months.
c) My kids stay home, and my MIL comes to watch them. I work 2 days/week, Mondays and Wednesdays. I drive to Indiana, about an hour commute, and leave between 7/7:45 am. My husband works M-F and leaves between 8:30&9. MIL shows up sometime after I leave, and before my husband does. We live in a very small 2-bedroom apartment. The kids share a room. We bought the building, but have tenants in the more spacious upstairs (so that we can afford this neighborhood). Depending on when this were to happen, Kid 1 may be attending preschool in the mornings again.
a) I live right outside of Boston, MA in a town called Winchester.
b) I have two children, ages 4.5 and 2 years.
c) My husband leaves for work around 7am (he’s a Nurse Practitioner. I am on my own with the kids every morning. My son goes to pre-school and my daughter has a nanny that we share with another family. The nanny comes to our house. Every morning is chaos, getting the kids ready and fed, and getting myself ready, lunches made, etc and out the door at 8am. Our house is a colonial, about 1700 square feet on a very quiet street. Despite the rushing around and craziness of the mornings, it is the only time I have both munchkins to myself before we all start our long days. And while I am constantly stressed about getting out the door and work on time (I work for a college study abroad program), I do treasure those few moments with them.
Love this series.
My husband and I live in Minneapolis, MN in a two-bedroom duplex apartment. We have a 16 month old daughter, Frances and both work full time. 3 days a week, we wake up at 6 and my husband and Frances leave to go to work/daycare by 7. On Thursdays, my Mom drives over two hours to come spend the day with Frances – arriving around 8 so I can go to work, and on Fridays it’s just the kiddo and me. So every morning is a little different – always fun.
Yay! I’m so glad this is happening! I loved this series!
a) Houston, TX (technically north Houston in the suburbs)
b) Our son is 3.5 years old and our daughter is 4 months old
c) We live in a two story, 4 bedroom home. My husband and I both work full time and both kids go to a sitter who watches a few children from her home. We like to live dangerously and cram our morning into about 1 hour so everyone in the house can sleep as late as possible. We get up around 6:50-7:00 and stumble around making coffee and prepping lunches and/or baby bottles if we didn’t get to it the night before. My husband usually goes to get my son ready while I feed and dress the baby. After that we rush to get ourselves ready and out the door by 8 (usually 8:10-8:15). “Rushed” is the theme of our mornings but I like to think we get in some good hugs and snuggles too.
A.) Norfolk, VA
B.) One Boy (14months)
C.) I am a Stay at Home Mom. My husband is in the Navy, so it’s very hit or miss on whether or not he will be home. We just recently (aka two days ago lol) moved into a 600ft 1 1/2 bedroom apartment… The “half” bedroom was supposed to be a living room, but it is now my sons room. So that means we don’t have a living room. Not even a couch.
a. Minneapolis, MN
b. 3 kids – ages 6/4/17 months
c. Our mornings vary by day of the week! I call it daycare musical chairs. My husband has to leave for work about the time that I get up. So, it’s up to me to get myself and the boys ready to leave. Some days, my oldest goes to preschool, and my younger two go to grandmas’ or uncle’s house.
PS – I hope to win, but I’m sure my husband would HATE this idea 🙂
I love these photos and am excited to see more!
a) Conroe, TX
b) We have a girl that turned 2 last week and a baby girl due next week.
c) My husband leaves for work around 5:30am and I get our daughter (soon to be daughters) ready for the day and to daycare 7:30-7:45am so I can be to work by 8:00am. Trying to get out of the house once the baby starts daycare in July will be interesting as I’ll be getting 2 children, 2 lunches, a diaper bag, a pump bag, a cooler of breast milk, and a purse out of door every morning.
Love this idea!!!
a) Durham, NC
b) 2 sons – 3.5 yrs old and 15 months
c) DH and I both work full time out of the home, and try desperately (but usually fail) to get out the door by 8am. Both kiddos are in daycare, but in two different places, so I drive one while DH drives the other. You would think that since my kids both wake up around 6am that two hours would be enough time to get everyone out the door, but then again, you’re a mom, so you know better!
This is wonderful, three cheers for Allstate!
a) I’m from Lancaster, Pennsylvania
b) I have two boys, ages 4 and 1
c) My Monday-Friday morning routine is awful. After seeing your series last year I believed there was beauty somewhere in that routine, but I don’t know where. My husband leaves for work at 6:15 am, so I get both boys ready for daycare in the morning by myself, and somehow manage to get to work around 8:00 am – or shortly thereafter, because who can ever be on time?
We live in a small home in a residential suburban area. Our home is messy and covered in dog-hair (we love the dog, but not her hair!). I feed my boys “snacks” for breakfast so I can get ready for work. Did I really just admit that? This morning they had pretzels. Ugh! Sometimes I’m on my game and they get cereal bars. That’s a good morning.
Thanks so much for doing this. I love seeing the pictures, even if I’m not selected. 🙂
A partnership with Allstate? That’s pretty incredible. I would love to participate.
1. Raleigh, NC
2. 2 Boys, ages 1 and (almost) 5 years
3. I leave for work in the morning between 9:00 and 9:30 while my husband stays home with the boys (he works nights). We live in a townhome-style apartment in midtown Raleigh with the four of us plus two kitties. I try to let the hubby sleep in as much as possible, so it’s usually just me getting the boys dressed and making breakfast, so in my head mornings are a whirlwind of me trying to get out the door (I’m also almost always running late.)
a) San Antonio, Texas
b) 1 Girl age 22 Months and 2 Schnauzers that might as well be human
c) I am an attorney and my husband runs his own litigation support company. A law firm employee retired and takes care of my little girl during the day at her house. Our routine varies depending on whether I have hearings/depositions and on whether my husband has depositions. We try to be out the door at the same time everyday. We try as best as we can to handle the morning chaos.
How amazing!
* Orlando FL
* 2 kids; 4 year old boy and (almost) 7 year old boy
* We get up at 7am and race around for an hour, leaving by 8:15am; everyone leaves the house and goes to school or preschool or work; my hubby takes my oldest son and I take the little guy. My hubby and I tag-team the task of getting the kids ready and we aren’t ever all together in the morning……so I would love to see beauty in what we do, because right now it feels like chaos and disconnectedness. (Is that even a word?)
On some mornings, like today, my 4 year old wakes up about 30 minutes early and crawls into bed next to me and we snuggle til the alarm goes off.
Mornings are my biggest source of mommy guilt b/c I am NOT a morning person. I can snooze for a solid hour without even realizing it. So my husband and I have our tag-team routine down to a fine (albeit fast-paced) science.
a. Richmond, Tx (suburb of Houston)
b. 2 yr old boy and another boy due in August.
c. We both work and our son goes to a daycare a couple minutes from home. I usually leave the house by 6:45 – 7, after getting my son up and ready while simultaneously getting myself ready. Multitasking at it’s finest…I help him eat breakfast while I blow dry my hair. Quality bond time, right? ugh. Once he’s dressed, I pass off to my husband while I get dressed and head out the door. He finishes up his breakfast and drops him off at daycare.
In short – It’s controlled chaos.
a) Ukiah, CA (northern CA)
b) 6 year old son and baby #2 due in 5 weeks
c) My husband recently lost his job and is going to school, so he leaves the house as little man and I are getting up. My son and I get ready then leave the house around 7:40 (on a good day), I take him to school and then I go to work. We live in a slightly above average home on the outskirts of a small town. If this project cant be done in the next 5 weeks, kindly skip me, as I cant even imagine what my life is going to be like when baby comes. Thanks!
A) suburb of Detroit – Wixom, mi
B) 2 kids – 5yo boy. 3yo Girl
C) stay at home mom. Husband leaves for work at 7. Sometimes he gets to see the eldest child before work, usually not.
We walk .5 mile to the elementary school and 2 days a week then take the 3yo to preschool. I don’t feel like we have a crazy schedule or anything photo worthy. But it would be an amazing opportunity and would maybe help hubby appreciate (or just get jealous) of handling the kids in the morning. He has no idea what I get accomplished. Lol.
Hi! I think “Monday Mornings” is a beautiful concept and I’d love to participate! My name is Katie, I live in Chicago, IL (la grange, to be exact). I have one little daughter, Olivia, who will be two and a half this May. I am a stay at home mom, and we’re lucky enough that most mornings, we get to spend with my husband. But that doesn’t mean that they’re not a little chaotic! Our girl is ready to go go go every morning, and starts her great list of demands at 8am! We’re not really morning people so we try to stall the process as much as possible but once she’s up, she cannot be stopped! And on the mornings that my husband does work, it’s just her and I, and then I try to stall the process of potty, breakfast, entermainment just a little bit longer…usually never works though, as I’m sure you know 😉 xo
Hi-
Ever since seeing this photo series, I have been wanting to have a photographer come to my home in the morning to document this time that I view as total chaos.
I live 20 minutes outside of Boston in Salem, MA. We live in an average sized home. I have one 20 month old son. 3 days/week my 81 year old grandmother comes to my house to watch him and 2 days/week I take him to daycare. Both my husband and I work full time. My husband leaves the house at 3:45am, which makes me on my own for the morning routine. Some mornings I am able to get ready before my son wakes up, other mornings, he surprises me and is up before I can get ready. The days my grandmother is there are easier b/c she can watch him if he’s up while I get ready. They have a very special relationship. I get ready and get out the door as fast as possible, the earlier I leave, the earlier I can get home!
I would be so honored to be chosen for this! What an experience this would be!
I’m in the Washington DC metro area (Maryland side, in Rockville, MD) and have one 3 year old daughter, Sofia. My husband works from 6 am-2 pm so he leaves before we wake up and I’m alone to get Sofi ready and out the door. Some days are crazy and some are relaxed – it all depends on how early we wake up and how picky Sofi is about what outfit she wears. Sofi goes to a home daycare. I drop her off and then bring the car back home before walking to the metro to get downtown for work. Most mornings consist of Sofi watching Nick Jr while I run around getting ready, mixed in with potty breaks, breakfast, and coffee.
This was such a great series. I loved seeing the other moms and would love to be a part of it!
A) Giddings, Texas – Small Town America!
B) 1 – Girl – 18 months
C) My Husband is an Army Veteran turned Volunteer Fighter (he sprints out of the house whenever his fire-pager goes off). He also currently works for the city we live in and leaves at 7 each morning. I get myself and my daughter ready to be out the door by 7:45. I take her to daycare, and then have to be at my office by 8 where I work as a Marketing Coordinator & Graphic Designer. We live in a house we recently built, which is a 1400 sqft brick house.
a) the city/state you live in
Fort Worth, Texas
b) the number and ages of your kids
I have two boys (ages 4 and 6)
c) any information you think might be relevant to your morning routine— what time you and/or your partner leave for work, whether your children stay at home/are in daycare/go to school/etc., if you work at home, if you have a baby on the way, if you are a single mom, if you have live-in help, if you have extended family at home, if you live in a small space, if you live in a colossal mansion, etc.
My spouse usually leaves between 7:30am-7:45am. We wake up around 6am, the kids wake up around 6:45am. My 4 year old and I walk my 6 year old to school at 7:50am and then take my youngest to daycare in the car, leaving our house just after 8am. Both my husband and I work full-time. We live in a single family home.
So excited for you to hit the road. I have really enjoyed all of the stories you have shown so far. Because I have older kids, showing the “after school” time might be interesting as well. There is a lot of juggling with getting kids to and from activites, doing homeswork, getting dinner on the table and ensuring they get to bed on time for a good nights sleep. Here is my submission.
We live in St.Petersburg, FL and have 3 kids ages 10, 7 1/2 and 5.
Our routine is definately controlled chaos. It starts around 5:45 and ends around 8am when my husband leaves to take the kids to school. My husband and I both work full time jobs (me in the office 4 days a week and 1 day at home and he owns his own business and works from home) and all of the kids are in school/preschool- at least until may 22 and then summer starts for us. We have a balance of who is responsible for what (including the kids) in order to get everyone out the door(with the correct bags and items for the day) and looking someone respectable.
Can’t wait to see all of the new stories from around the country.
Congrats! LOVE this.
a) CHICAGO IL (Northwest suburb Barrington)
b) Emerson (6) & Mercy (11 months)
c) I’m an artist so work from home, husband is a pastor leaves around 6:30 am, our son is in the most darling neighborhood Kindergarten class and we walk him to school at 8:30am and our daughter stays home with me, I work in my home art studio and yes, we live in a small but precious space with our puppy Birdie 🙂
1) Elgin, IL (suburb of Chicago)
2) 3 kids ages 8,6, and 9 months
3) morning = chaos! I’m a SAHM for the first time in my life and it amazes me on a day basis how much harder it is than what I expected! I’m very grateful to be able to stay home now, but it is definitely a work in progress. M-F my husband is at work so it’s all on me. The weekends are definitely a team effort. : )
We are in Clifton Park, NY. Just north of Albany. We have a 4.5 year old, a 1.5 year old and a 2 month old. My husband does shift work as an air traffic controller so he’s not always home in the mornings. He either leaves for work around 6:15am or 1:15 pm. I’m a stay at home mom.
The kids all wake up any time from 6:30-7:30am. The baby has no schedule yet. I try to sleep until the first kid wakes up so I can get in as much sleep as possible unless we have something going on later that day, then I wake up early to shower.
My son is in preschool 3 days a week. Most mornings feel like I’m in “survival” mode making sure every one has fresh diapers, goes potty and gets food. We might be in our pjs until noon. On school days we are all up and dressed and out the door by 8:45. Those days are a little more rushed!
We live in a little duplex, which feels huge to us because we just moved from a tiny apartment. We have no family around and no help, we’ve only lived here a little over a year.
a) We live in St Lous, MO
b) Eleanor Jane is 17 months old (holy cow, how did that happen so fast!?)
c) My husband is one of those crazy people who likes to go to work by about 5:30am. That leaves me to get my mess of a self together and peel my daughter out of bed hopefully in time to race to morning meetings. My husband is an architect and I am a landscape architect. My daughter loves “first breakfast” so between caffeinating myself and trying to hop inthe shower before she gets up, I make eggs and try to put her unruly curls into a ponytail. We have two snuggly cats, and no in-home help. We are in the process of moving right now – looking for more construction projects! We run off to daycare where she is so stinking happy and then I’m on my way to the office – all by about 8:00ish!
I love love love this series – what a fun way to take the (introspectively) ugly and make it beautiful. Kudos to you for empowering us to find the stunning in the mundane and bravo to Allstate (we’ve been happy customers of theirs for years!) for supporting you!
I love this! I am a mother of two, originally from Venezuela, living in Houston,TX (we moved a year ago from NYC). I have a 4yo boy and a 3yo girl and the most special things about our moorings is that eve though for me is usually the chaos of getting everything ready to take kids to school in time, my husband treasures this time as a special time with the kids since sometimes he comes back from work and they are already sleeping. So he has invented so many tricks, games, special things that he does on mornings with the kids, that has changed totally our perception of the same issue that is that mornings are chaotic! Now we really love that special family time around here!
I would love to be part of this series, I have been reading mommy shorts for a long time and loved the series from the beginning!
Carlota
http://criandoando.tumblr.com
Fun and congrats!
a. Chicago, IL
b. have one son who is 3.5 and I also care for my mom who has MS and other issues
c. My husband is up at 5AM and out the door at 6 AM. I work from home M-W, but often have to take time off to go to Oak Park (7 miles) and take my mom to appts. My son either goes to preschool or tags along with me to my mom’s appts. Both are generally belligerent and I wrestle with a walker, car seat and my mom’s 10,000 bags. Plus a kid demanding everything RIGHT NOW while we meet with MDs. It’s a blast.
This is such an amazing idea! I’m excited, regardless of being selected or not, to see how other mamas handle their mornings!
a.) Random Lake, Wisconsin. Yes, there is a ‘random’ lake there. And we are just north of Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
b.) Two Girls – Cameron, age 2 and Dallas, 11 months
c.) Our Routine – My husband leaves the house around 5-5:30 am. He is employed with a concrete company, so this is their busy time with spring/summer approaching. I hit the snooze about 3 times before dragging myself out of bed at 5:30 am. I frantically try to get myself ready, hoping that I can maybe sneak a shower in and get dressed before my early risers start stirring (or the dog wakes them up!). In between getting myself ready, our labradoodle demands that he is let out multiple times, and that he get his food by a certain time. The girls get up, get a morning snack if they want something, and thankfully my 2 year old can occupy herself for the time being. I finish getting ready in between chasing the baby around, since she is a destructive tornado. I spend about 20 minutes fighting the 2 year old to get into clothes, and literally wrestle the 11 month old into clothes while she has a screaming fit (that is unless Mickey Mouse Clubhouse is on..that show is like baby crack!). At this point, I’m sweating, which is a great reminder on those days I forget deodorant. After dressing, we brush teeth, do hair, get shoes and coats on. We need to get out of the house by 6:50 am, and head on our way to day care so that I can be to to work by 7:30 am. My two year old is completely independent, and must do everything by herself. I exercise large amounts of patience that I never knew existed within myself. Most mornings I am running late for work because I have to peel screaming kids from me at drop off, which breaks my heart every day. About our house – we live in a three bedroom condo. My girls also share a room — thank you for your help on the room share/sleeping issues by the way!! Our third room is downstairs, and I can’t put one down there and still be able to sleep at night.
Have fun reading all these and selecting!!
COME TO VERMONTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Mankato, Minnesota 🙂 I have one boy who is turning 1 in a few weeks. Daddy leaves for work at 7:40 every morning and I stay home with our sweet boy. We just bought an old house and renovated it, which we will be moving into this weekend!
a) Peoria, IL (about 3 hours south of Chicago)
b) 1.5 year old son with another baby due in December.
c) My husband and I both work full time and leave the house between 6:45 and 7:00. Our son goes to daycare. My husband drops him off in the morning (since it usually takes me longer to get ready than my husband) so he usually leaves the house around 6:45/6:50. I leave around 6:50/7:00. Our home is a 2 story home, so it’s not a small space, but certainly not a mansion!
Oh! And we live in a house on the NW side of the city. It’s a 100+ years old, full of cat hair and a hot mess.
This is really so great, congrats! I absolutely love this series, so I’m really excited to see some more! So wonderful. I would absolutely love to see the beauty in our mornings. I feel like I kind of fail at mornings (no one wants to eat anything, everyone kind of a grump).
a) Atlanta, Ga.
b) Stay at home mom to 4yo boy and 2yo girl.
c) We live in an older 3 bedroom, 2 bath home. My husband travels for work frequently, but when he’s home, he works from an office in our basement. Our son wakes at 7, and our daughter at 8. Our son has preschool a few days a week. When my husband is home, he’s definitely *not* a morning person (he’ll admit this) so it’s mostly me making things the kids don’t want to eat, before we get ready to head out for activities of the day.
This is such a wonderful idea! I would LOVE to be a part of it!
a) Myrtle Beach, SC
b) First Baby Boy on the way! Due June 6th, 2014
c) I am a small business owner and leave for the office by 8:30 am. My husband works at UPS from 3 am – 8am, so our time together will be hectic and precious before we part ways in the morning. After that, depending on schedules, either the baby will come with me to the office in a beautiful outdoor shopping area here in Myrtle Beach, or stay home with my husband. We live in a house in a quiet subdivision only a few miles from the beach. We can’t wait to see how our mornings pan out and would love for you to be a part of our experience! Thanks & I can’t wait to see the photo series either way! 🙂
So cool! I would love this!
Where: Springfield, Va ( 10 minutes from D.C)
Who: Two kids. A daughter, age 15 months and a son who is 3.
The lowdown: I’m a stay at home mom. My husband leaves early in the morning before the rest of us are out of bed. Our mornings are sweet and simple because we don’t have anywhere to be. I would love to preserve this time before my kids grow up and we are all rushing out the door trying to get somewhere everyday. These years are so fleeting, I can just feel them slipping away!
We live in a suburban neighborhood, on a court with our two dogs.
Love these posts! We live in Minnetonka, Minnesota. We have 3 children- ages 7 months, 5yrs and 8 yrs. My husband and I both work full-time.. I work from home and have a nanny that helps care for my kids while we work. My husband takes my older son to school in the morning and the nanny cares for the baby and 5 year old. I love working from home as it allows me to still see and play with my kids.
a) Phoenix, AZ
b) 4 Kids. Daughter 5yrs , Nephew 5yrs, Son 2yrs, Nephew 1yr.
c) Currently we have taken to kinship fostering two of our nephews in addition to our own two kiddlets. Right now my daughter and son go to daycare in the morning and we are normally out the door no later than 5:50am since daycare opens at 6am or I’m late to work. My husband works nights and doesnt get home till midnight so he sleeps in the morning while I get myself and the two kids up and ready. Our mornings start out quiet since 3 other people are still asleep when we’re getting ready for the day but are definitely still rushed. Our nephews stay home with my husband during the day until I get home. Come August the two oldest will be in Kindergarden and the two youngest will be in daycare so our morning routine will change slightly. We live in a 3 bedroom home with two doggies as well. 🙂
I look forward to looking at all the photos to come!
Awesome! Can’t wait to see the final results.
I am:
1) from a little town in WI — Norwalk, WI
2) I have three kids. 7yr old boy, 4yr old girl, and 4mo old girl
3) Our routine is different almost every day…sad to say. Monday’s are actually the most structured as that is the day hubby has to leave early for work (about 6:25ish) so that he can be at work early enough to leave that job early and head to his second job (we don’t see him really at all on Monday). That just leaves me to get two kids up and ready for school (luckily they eat breakfast at school), and get the baby packed up and ready to head to grandpa’s house for the day.
Grandpa #2 comes down about 6:45 or so to sit with the kids until the bus comes so I can leave to take the baby up to the other grandpas and get to work on time (which still hardly ever happens, but as Kelly said…who can ever be on time?) 🙂
Tuesdays I only have baby to get ready as the older kids stay at their grandparent’s house Monday nights — big praise for extended family!
Wednesday – Friday hubby is home in the morning so he can help get the kids ready. Which usually consists of me still doing almost everything (getting kids dressed, brushing teeth, etc.), except he will get some of the baby stuff ready, and on a good day one of the older kids may let him help. Both girls have to go up to grandpa’s for the day on Wed/Fri (school on Thurs for my 4yr old).
And that is our hectic schedule.
Expect a mess if you come, because really… I can’t remember the last time I had a chance to really clean. I think we are lucky to get the dishes washed often enough to use them each night. 🙂
1. Indianapolis, IN
2. Single mom with two daughters (6 and 7) both go to school and I work two very awesome jobs as a speech language pathology
3. We live in a 3 bedroom “big enough” for us ranch in a subdivision. We get up between 5:45 and 6 and put the door by 7ish (on a good day:))
Single mom of a 9 year old girl and 6 year old boy living in a townhouse in Streamwood,Il.