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.
a) Mackenzie in Olathe, KS (suburb of Kansas City)
b) 15 month old daughter and a new baby due in December
c) My husband and I both work full-time. Mornings consist of sleeping in as late as possible then scrambling to get out of the house on time. Hubby leaves around 6:45 am and I try to get out the door with the baby (soon to be babies!!) by 7:30!
I love this!! That is so great for you and the series to get a sponsorship. If you come to DC I’d love to participate.
1.) Washington, DC in the Deanwood neighborhood of Northeast DC.
2.) 3 year old twins (boy-girl twins), an 11 month old baby boy, 1 dog, 1 cat.
3.) My husband works part-time at night at a music club in DC and I work a 9-5 for city government. During my last pregnancy I was put on strict bedrest at 24 weeks pregnant and my husband had to quit his job to take care of the kids and I full time. A few months ago he went back to work part time so he can also take care of the kids during the day while I work. We are often ships in the night – I get home from work at 5:30 and he leaves for work at 6pm. He gets home from work at 3am and I leave for work at 6:45am. To let him sleep a little longer in the mornings I wake up between 5:30 and 6am to get the kids clothing laid out, feed the kids, let the dog out, etc. When I run out the door to catch the bus to work I wake my husband up. He then gets my daughter ready for preschool (she goes to preschool for special needs issues)and then spends the day with our two sons at home.
We just moved from a small 900 sq ft apartment on Capitol Hill into a small cottage (1,200 sq ft which seems huge to us) in the Deanwood neighborhood of DC.
I love this series!
a) Maple Grove, MN (Minneapolis area)
b) 2 girls: almost 5 and 2.
c) we are expecting baby #3, due on Halloween. I stay at home and my oldest goes to preschool 3 mornings a week and we leave at the same time (8:30) as my husband goes to work. My husband is active duty navy and a recruiter currently and I am just so grateful he is home every day and in the mornings! mornings can be interesting, mainly mornings there is preschool because my oldest does not like to wake up and is particular about what she wears, her hair etc. We then attempt to eat breakfast together although we are usually chasing our 2 year old around to get her to eat and trying to make sure the oldest isn’t feeding the dog her breakfast.
Loved this series!
We live in a Minneapolis,mn suburb and have an almost 8 month old daughter. My husband and I both work outside the home. We also have a fur baby and my sister is currently livin with us. My morning starts at 5:45 with a pumping session followed by a rushed 1.5 hours to get myself and our daughter ready for daycare at an in home daycare. We live in a 1960s split level, 4 bedroom house in a family friendly neighborhood- a pretty typical suburban house!
I live in the outer suburbun area of Charleston, SC (Summerville).
I have one daughter, Charlee, who is 18 months old.
My husband and I live in a smaller town home than we probably need, but I am a stay at home mom who takes care of our daughter and 3 cats, so rent has to be affordable! Our day begins around 7:00 when Charlee wakes up and Eric gets ready for work. I take care of breakfasts and make sure Eric is out the door around 8am. Then it’s just me, the baby, and the cats! Lol. After breakfast we usually go for a walk around the neighborhood and stop for play time at the park. Our routine isn’t anything spectacular, but I thinks it’s pretty representative of a week day morning for most stay at home moms. I would love to be able to capture some of these moments. When you’re living them you don’t really get to see what’s happening or hold on to the memory of such little things.
a) Norfolk, VA
b) 3 // 2 girls ages 6 and 8 // 1 boy 5 months old
c) I am a SAHM and my husband is in the Navy. He leaves for work at 5:00 am so he’s not really part of the morning routine. My oldest is up absolutely no later than 6:00 am effectively waking everyone else up in the house. We live in base housing and I walk my girls to school every morning with baby brother in tow.
This is such an amazing idea!!
A- Indianapolis, IN
B- 3 year old boy
C- my husband works retail with a varying schedule, so some mornings it’s me and my son getting ready for work/school. While other mornings, it’s all of us. At times, I take advantage of my husband’s late days to sneak in a quick trip to the gym (that is unless my son catches me sneaking out). He prefers mom to get him ready for daycare!!
Oh my friend, I am so excited for you and this series. What an incredible thing!
I wanted to tell you all about our mornings, until I realized that our nanny takes care of most of it. John and I are out the door by 6:10 every day and the boys wake up and are dressed, brushed and taken to the school bus by Carly. I think our morning routine is still chaotic and messy, getting the two adults out of the house, stage setting the house for Carly to come in, but I don’t know if that is the kind of family you’re looking for.
in any case, I’m completely thrilled for you.
1. Snow Hill, MD
2. 2kids, 4yo girl and almost 1yo boy (birthday next week!)
3.We live in a very rural area. We get up at 5:30 and have to leave the house by 6:30. My husband and I both have long commutes to work and start our jobs at 7:30AM. Our mornings are very chaotic. Not only do we have to get us and the kids out the door, but we also have to take care of our horses and dogs!
I think this is a great series!
This is wonderful news. The series was so beautiful and I always try to stop for a second and enjoy the random snuggle or smiles that show up in the midst of our chaos.
I live in Los Angeles, CA. We have 2 kids, Kayla, 8 who goes to school across the street, but always manages to be late, and Jacob, 3 who goes to daycare. Our days normally start at 7am and the chaos ensues. Husband leaves with son at 8amish and I walk Kayla to school and get ready after everyone leaves, partly to have time to regroup before my 60-70 minute commute to work downtown. We live in a small townhome/condo in the most boring part of a valley just outside of LA. Have to say that we have the most boring, working, traditional lives. Husband is accountant (boring!) and I’m a paralegal. We both work in offices and make it back home around 6:30. Long days, lots of exhaustion and never enough time for fun with the kids. We’re just trying to raise our kids as best we can and hopefully not damage them too much. Oh, and we also have Max, our 3 yr old Bichon/poodle mix. Most of the time, he’s the reason daughter is late.
If I’m picked, I promise to leave some dishes in the sink, just to keep it real. (I loved how everyone’s sink was clean, but mine never is!!!)
I would LOVE to do this. We live in a small town in Mississippi. Its about 30 minutes north of hattiesburg. Laurel, Mississippi to be exact. My husband is an ER nurse practitioner full time and i run an ambulance service full time. We have a two year old and a ten year old. We are hoping to add on soon 🙂 we are married and live in a neighborhood close to
Town. We are outdoor missisiippi folks, well all except fior me (i am city girl gone country).
I’m from Canada, so can’t participate, but this is a GREAT idea! I can’t wait to see it as it unfolds!
Stay at home mom living part-time in Puerto Rico (husband’s job) and part-time in the northern Chicago burbs (close to Allstate, actually!) Staying with my mom in her two bedroom condo. Will be home all summer with my two year old, Caleb. Not much to do here in our PR city so we will be taking advantage of all that the mainland has to offer for toddlers!
sounds like me…only have one job thank goodness! My girls are 3 and 7. The 7 year old is a handful! We’re in Florida
We live in Sinking Spring PA, about 1.5 hours outside of Philadelphia, on the verge of Amish country, in a 1500 sq ft two story. I am a stay at home mom (other than the 15 hrs a week that I’m a hairstylist) and my husband runs a rapidly growing graphic design business out of our home. We have a strong willed, high energy, social butterfly of a 2.5 year old daughter, and a very clingy, high maintenance 8 month old son, who is still exclusively breasted (which only adds to our hectic mornings). We usually all wake between 7-7:30am, the baby being the first, after his two nightly feelings (at least!) Then comes the princess, who is in the midst of potty training on her own terms, which makes for interesting mornings, and all day for that matter. My husband is a huge help in the mornings with reigning in all the chaos that has become of a preschooler and a now mobile infant. A lot of times because I do stay at home, I feel inferior as a mother, knowing that so many others have crazy work schedules to accommodate, and society portrays SAHM as having an easy job. I feel like an opportunity like this could shine light on the fact that in reality it is just as hard, if not harder in a sense, as there is NO break or relief from the train wreck we call mornings! We would love a visit from Mommy Shorts!!
a) Fairfax, VA (just outside of Washington, D.C.)
b) 2 kids, a 5-yr-old girl and a 1-yr-old boy
c) We live in the suburbs in a single family home, medium size, split level, but mornings are pretty much only spent upstairs. My husband has a long commute to work, so he’s usually out of the house in the morning before I even wake up. I work full time, as well, but my commute via Metro is slightly shorter, so I do the kids’ morning routine most days, unless he has a meeting locally.
If I’m lucky, I wake up to my alarm around 5:45 am and can get ready first, otherwise, my son decides to be my alarm for the morning. Usually, he “rides” along with me while I get my daughter’s toothbrush ready and make a quick breakfast, then wake his sister up.
My daughter is a big dawdler in the morning, so our routine has a lot of me telling her to hurry up and making sure she has enough time to get everything done before we all head to the bus stop at 7:30. While my daughter gets ready and eats, I feed my son, get lunches ready, prep anything the day care needs, get myself ready if I couldn’t earlier, and dress my son. He usually crawls around our living room/ kitchen, or plays in his pen if I’m in the bedroom getting ready. Immediately after the bus comes, I drive my son to day care (following almost the exact same path of the bus), then it’s on to the train station for my commute.
I live on the North side of Houston Texas. I am a stay at home mommy to an almost 5 and 2 year old boys. We just moved into a 4,000 square foot house and I’m not sure yet what to do with myself just yet! My husbands work is interesting. He spends over half of every month working in another state and the rest of the month with us. We’ve been doing this almost 4 years now. Mornings when he is gone are chaotic! I run around like crazy and typically thrive on my morning date with two or three of my favorite coffee cups. Luckily the almost 5 year old is getting to a helpful age 🙂 When my hubby is here they are more relaxed as he does not have to work while he is home. MWF we are out the door around 8:30 to take the oldest to preschool, but the baby younger one is home with me. T-Th we take it nice and slow, and typically get out the door late only to go find some entertainment. That’s us 🙂
A) I live in the Northwest Suburbs of Chicago – Wauconda, IL
B) I have two girls. 4yr old and 20mo old.
C) I nanny out of my home 2-3 days a week for a friend that lives in my neighborhood. Usually Mondays and Thursdays. So I often have 3 extra children. 7yr old, 5yr old and 2yr old. They get dropped off at 630am – I feed them, get them ready for the day and then get the 7yr old on the bus by 8:25ish, then load the 4 into my SUV and take the 5yr old and my 4yr old to preschool by 9am, I then have to unload all of them to drop off, then load the 2 little ones back into my car only to come back at 1130am to pick up my 4yr old. Then back home to do lunch and get the little ones down for a nap… then I wake them from their nap to run back to preschool to pick up the 5yr old by 2pm. It makes for a chaotic Monday morning. The routine is a bit different each day depending on the schedule. And on top of being a stay at home mom and nanny, I also own an event management company with a business partner. I’m often wearing many hats… and to top it off, my husband works crazy hours and often travels. Sometimes very last minute. My 20mo old is not thriving and I spend way too much time trying to feed her while she throws her food all over me, herself and the floor. Ha! My 4yr is a beast to pull out of bed and is often eating breakfast in the car on the way to school. Somedays I laugh, somedays I cry! But I am truly blessed and a FB friend mentioned I should share my story. 🙂
This is awesome!
a) Jacksonville, Fl
b) Just 1 rambunctious toddler, 16 months old
c) I’m a SAHM to my little boy and fuzzy mutt. My husband leaves for work around 7-7:30 a.m. Our day usually starts around 6:30 from our little alarm clock 😉 When it’s early wake-ups I plop the boy back into bed with the whole family crowded into our small bed. Little man usually nurses and rolls around all over us until we get up for good. We then see daddy off for work before I make breakfast. Little man is in to all the cabinets and refrigerator as I try to cook. We eat while the dog begs and after is getting dressed/play time. We have an older small house right now, though trying to move into a bigger/newer one soon. So there’s not much space but enough for running around and scattering toys everywhere.
1. High Point, North Carolina
2. 1 son 19-months old (goes to daycare) and 2 step-daughters 9 and 11 that are always with us on Monday mornings
3. My son recently started daycare and is adjusting better than I had ever expected. However, Monday mornings are tough on both of us because we’ve spent every waking moment together since I got off of work on Friday. I emotionally hate to part from him when I drop him off at daycare and he refuses to get out of his PJs so it’s always a struggle getting him dressed (and his wild crazy curly hair tamed down LOL). The girls are a handful to get ready too because they don’t want to get out of bed either. But they try to help me with their brother, which throws them behind on getting ready too and this makes Daddy unhappy. Needless to say, Monday mornings are crazy in our household but I love it 🙂
This would be a great present for my wife.
1. Houston, TX
2. Two girls (4.5 and 0.5 years old)
3. Mornings are always interesting and chaotic at our house. My wife is a stay at home mother and the oldest is in preschool. Our days start at 7 AM and end with the eldest in school at 8:45 AM. That is just how we roll…
We are both working parents of 1 2 year old daughter living in Austin, Tx. My husband runs his own business, and is gone before we get up. I get my girl ready for school solo, and commute an hour each way to a demanding job. We are limited on time in the mornings and they don’t always go smoothly. I would love to represent moms who work – not working moms. I try to be a mother first, then an employee.
a) Naperville, IL
b) Married with a 5 month old son
c) My husband and I both work full-time! Not sure if our mornings are any more chaotic than other full-time parents. Get up at 6am, my husband gets our son dressed for the day, I bf him, he barfs/burps on me, I take him downstairs to “play” while I eat cereal then we head back upstairs and he lays on the bed and babbles and eats his toes while I talk to him and get dressed for work. I wear put one million blankets over my shoulders so he doesn’t soak my work clothes and I carry him back down give him one trillion hugs, load him in his carseat, grab whatever bags my husband didn’t take to the car (I have 3 bags and my purse) and I drive him to my Mom’s house. We’re usually there by 7:15am then I’m off to work. My husband pulls my car out of the garage, puts whatever bags can go in the car…in the car and then he gets ready for work. We live in an older home (from the 60’s?), not that it matters. 🙂
I love this series!
YAY! I love this series so much. I would be so honored if I could be a part of it. I am a recently single mom with a 14 month old little red-headed girl. We live in a one bedroom apartment in Santa Ana, California, and we share a bedroom, so mornings are tricky sometimes. I share custody with my ex, and on the mornings I get to spend with her, I get up around 5:30 a.m. and sneak out of our room to shower and get myself ready. She usually gets up around 6:30 or so. I try to spend some time playing with her before she goes off to day care since between work and the nights she gets with her dad, I get so little time with her. She is my light and joy and I would be so grateful to be part of something so wonderful and to have documentation of our mornings.
So exciting! I love this series.
My family is in Chicago, Illinois. We live in a 2 bedroom condo in the South Loop neigborhood of the city.
We have two boys, 7 and almost 3.
Our morning routine has taken some work! I like to get up and work out, sometimes the boys join me if they wake up early. Then around 7am, I start waking everyone up. My husband makes breakfast for the boys and packs lunch for my 7 year old while I shower and get ready for work. He then takes the 7 year old to school, while I hang out with our 2 year old and make my lunch. I walk to work, so I leave around 8:45am. We have a nanny who arrives at 9am, so my husband can get ready and leave for work where his day starts at 10am.
a) I live in Winfield, IL which is a Western Suburb on Chicago. Roughly a 35-40 minute drive from the city
b) My daughter Eloise is 20 months old, my husband is 36, and our dog Piper is almost 8 years old. Trust me – if you met with dog & husband you would understand why I consider them my “kids” too.
c)
My husband and I both work full time. I’m a social worker and my husband in in medical sales and is on call 24/7 for surgery. He often leaves before 5am, leaving me to do our morning routine solo including dropping off our little one at daycare. I leave my house around 6:30-6:45 and drive 45 minutes to work where our daughter also goes to daycare. We live in a big ole house in the ‘burbs and love having a big backyard to play in. Our families are local but we really don’t rely on them for help with our daily routine. I’m particularly drawn to this because I have a small photography business and pride myself on capturing the same essence that Mommy Mondays has – the beauty among the chaos…the small moments that make us smile and keep us moving forward…the embarassing moments that we are glad that no one is around to judge us. You know like the moment where you put another Sophia episode so that you can blow dry your hair or the moment where you let your daughter empty the box of tampons and fill it back up so that you can iron your shirt. My husband and I struggled for over 5 years to have our sweet miracle Eloise so for us we embrace the chaos, the moments when things aren’t glamourous, and the moments when you want to pinch yourself because your life seems too perfect.
My name is Marina in Boulder Creek, CA and I have a gorgeous 3 year old daughter, Chloe. I work full-time, and my husband is a stay-at-home dad who also works part-time from home so we are super busy and always balancing the top-priority tasks of the day, meaning our mornings are pretty chaotic. I try to be out the door by 7am but I refuse to leave without some cuddles, and as certain mornings the munchkin is not up till 6:30, it gives us precious few minutes to get our fill. My husband does his best to keep the house in order during the day but I repeatedly instructed him to put playtime above cleaning time, so I tend to come home to an appropriately-sized mess. Also, we live in the mountains/woods, somewhat removed from a lot of conveniences, bringing another set of challenges 🙂
I’m in Chicago! I’m a mom to a 17-month-old boy. My husband and I live with him in a condo in the west loop. My son usually gets up sometime before 6:30am. My husband and I both work outside of the home, and Monday through Thursday we have a nanny who comes to our house at 8:30am, and we leave at 8:45am. On Fridays, I stay home with my son so our morning is slightly more relaxed.
I absolutely loved this series! It really make me take a step back and think about all the lovely little moments that take place throughout each day that we might miss because of the chaos around us. I hope I get picked 🙂
I am not a mom but would like to nominate my boss for this! She is constantly telling me (I am her nanny) how great I am with the kids, but I have to say watching her with them is even more incredible!
a) the city/state
Chicago, IL (city not the suburbs!)
b) the number and ages of your kids
3 children ages 9m, 4.5 and 6
c) Her routine in continually changing. She has a full time job in sales so the morning can vary, but usually she takes the kids to school M-F around 7:50am and her husband usually leaves for his job in the suburbs around 6:30am. She constantly comments to me how she’s had crazy morning or asks if I can run a left shoe to school because the middle child put on two rights that don’t match and the first person to notice was the teacher. They’re an amazing family in my eyes and I think this would be an awesome reminder for her of how normal and great their Monday mornings actually are!
a) We live in Columbia, MO
b) We have two kids ages 5 and 2.5
c) My husband is a stay-at-home Dad by choice and I work outside the home. So often everything is very Mom-focused and I think it would be very worthwhile to highlight how competent and tender these moments can be when the primary parent is the Father. Little boys need examples of how to care for children and the world needs to evolve its thinking about what parenting means in this day and age.
Beautiful St. Petersburg, FL. 2 boys aged 6 months and 2 years. My husband and I both work outside the home. My older son goes to preschool and the baby stays with my parents. We live in a gated community in a 4 bedroom house with a pool. We are usually out the door around 8 every morning.
I love this idea. The pics are a beautiful reminder of how special our mornings can be even if they drive us nuts.
a) the city/state you live in
Elkridge, MD
b) the number and ages of your kids
1 biological (Emlyn 16 months) and 1 furbaby (Molly the lab, 11 years)
c) We live in a suburban single family home just outside Baltimore. My husband is a police detective who aims to leave at 6:30 every morning so I usually fly solo. In a perfect world, Emlyn would sleep until 7 so I get a chance to get myself ready. That doesn’t happen often so many mornings are spent doing makeup either with her on my lap (not easy when it’s time for eyeliner) or sitting on the bathroom floor with her own makeup brush to play with. We’re out the door around 7:45 to get to daycare, sometimes after the dog gets a second walk for the morning. I have two fave times in the morning. 1) At the moment I’m still nursing AM/PM so we have a nice time to snuggle in her room every morning. 2) Daycare dropoff. Emlyn likes to cary her lunchbag down the hallway. It’s always fun to see how she and her friends greet eachother as she jumps into the fun. This morning was hugs and a dance party. It’s too cute to leave some days!
a. Madison, WI
b. 2 daughters, ages 4 & 6.
c. Full time working mom, stay-at-home dad. I leave around 7:15 a.m. and drop my younger daughter off at 4K on my way to work, while dad walks with the older one to Kindergarten around 8 a.m. We live in a relatively small 3 bedroom ranch.
We like in Chicago, Illinois. We are in a two bedroom condo in the South Loop neighborhood of the city.
b) Two boys ages 7 and almost 3.
c) Our morning routine has taken some work to create, and everyone has something to do! I like to get up early to work out. Sometimes the boys join me if the TV wakes them up. Then around 7am, I wake everyone up. My husband gets the boys breakfast and packs my older son’s lunch for the day while watching the news. My husband takes my older son to school a little after 8am and will return after to get himself ready. My younger son and I then pack my lunch for the day while I finish getting ready for work. I leave around 8:45am. We have a nanny that arrives at 9am, then my husband can get ready for work and he leaves for the day around 9:30am.
1. Buffalo, NY
2. 4 year old boy, 16 month old girl (who often reminds me of Harlow- our stories are SO similar!) and I’m due in November with #3!
3. I’m a soon-to-be SAHM (leaving my part-time marketing job in May) and my husband is an anesthesiologist, who finished residency last year. He is out the door by 6:30 most days and the kids are up at 7:00. I try my best to be ready for the day before they wake. Our home is 1,900 square feet, but we’re in the process of building our “forever home.” Most mornings I’m picking up, serving food and getting both ready for pre-school, music classes, shopping or playdates.
1 – Nashville, TN
2 – one son, 2yrs 8 months
3 – moved last year to what I call my “big girl house” in a great neighborhood. I left the city for the suburbs…and better schools. I am adjusting to life in the burbs I guess. My husband is in the music business and travels quite a bit. Our son is in preschool 3 days a week (MWF) and I work on those days. I was a SAHM for the first 2 yrs of Max’s life, but went back part time last October. Our mornings, in my opinion are a rush to get breakfast done, lunches packed, myself and my son out the door in time for my commute to the office.
This is so amazing!! I would love to be featured, but even if I’m not, I can’t wait to see the results!
I currently live in the Dallas/Fort Worth area, but am relocating to be with my husband in the DC area in June – he recently took a job there. My two boys are 3 ½ and 9 months right now, and I feel like our mornings are rushed since I’m on my own right now. Both go to daycare as I’m off to work. I’m usually up around 5:30 to get us all out the door by 7 or 7:15 so I can make it to work before 8 (thus allowing me to leave before 5 to get a workout in before I pick everyone up and head home). My biggest challenge is the newly mobile 9-month old, who doesn’t sleep in and likes to be held all the time.
Kudos to Allstate for sponsoring an extension of this wonderful series! Here is my information:
a) St. Louis, MO
b) I have one daughter, age 2.5
c) I am a stay at home mom but work part time from home running my own social-selling business (Stella & Dot) and I also source candidates part time for an executive search firm as my background is in HR/recruiting. My husband is usually out the door by 6:30 am and travels nearly every week so I am often home with my daughter by myself for several days at a time. We are St Louis transplants by way of Minnesota & Michigan (and also AL, TX, WI, MA, CO…we’ve each lived a lot of different places!) but we love it here! We live in a suburb about 25 mles west of downtown STL. Our morning routine consists of breakfast, Curious George, playtime, getting dressed and usually out the door by 9:30 am or so to run errands, play with friends or attend doctors appointments. I have had Type 1 Diabetes for 20 years and so I have to also take time out in the mornings to manage my condition (check my blood sugar, take insulin, eat breakfast myself).
I live in Washington, DC, though moving to VA in a few weeks. I will be going from a 5 minute commute to my job as an Assistant Principal at a Special Education Charter School to a 20 minute commute- on the beltway in the city that is #2 to traffic. Soooo, no idea what that will look like. We’ve got a routine down pretty good right now- I get up, take the 1 1/2 year old to day care. Hubby sleeps a little later, gets the 4 1/2 year old up, if she hasn’t woken up and gotten ready while I’ve been getting her sister ready, and takes her to school. We both work full time and we take turns picking them up in the afternoon. Some mornings he will take both girls so I can get in early and be able to leave a bit earlier. We have no idea what our mornings will look like come summer. New routines, new wake up times, new commutes. Should be a barrel of laughs because we all know how quickly young kids adapt to changes in routine!!! We right now live in a 2 bedroom town house, but are moving to a 4 bedroom house WITH A YARD in the suburbs. City mom for 20+ years moving to the suburbs…I think I know who will be having the most difficult time adjusting! A big house means more room space which means more territory to cover when wrangling the kids out the door…
1. Chicago suburb (Rolling Meadows)
2. 2.5 yo daughter and a 3 month old son
3. I work and dad stays home with the kids 🙂 I usually leave the house between 7:30 and 7:45 and he is in the midst of breakfast with the kids at that time! We live in a normal 3 bedroom home filled to the brim with toys and stuff! I feel like my clutter would shine through the most in pictures! We’re fortunate that the kids can stay home with their dad, so I spend my mornings trying to get as many hugs and kisses as I can before I leave for the day.
A) Burlson, tx. DFW suburb.
B) 19 month old son and 1 due in October.
C) my husband gets up and leaves by 6:30 to commute to dallas and I get myself and son ready to go work at our furniture store. He comes along to work with me. We usually leave between 8:30 and 9:00am. We don’t have family close so our days are long and we work every Saturdays and sometimes Sundays. Running a small business is hard work with a toddler.
a) Richmond, VA
b) 3 boys – age 3 1/2, and 9 month old twins
c) I go to work and my husband stays home with 3 kids. We recently moved to suburbia after over a decade living in Bermuda.
1 – Phoenix, AZ
2 – 18 month old daughter (11/15/12)
Our routine varies slightly day to day, but my husband, mother in law and I are all involved. We are very lucky that my MIL is our daughter’s babysitter and usually picks Maggie up after taking my nephews to school.
Awesome!
My husband and I have a 3 year old daughter and live in a 3 bedroom split level in Lenexa, KS (suburbs of Kansas City). We get up around 7am and leave about 7:45- my husband goes straight to work and I drop our daughter off at my cousin’s in home daycare before going to work myself. We’ve just introduced a “visual schedule” to encourage our daughter to do a lot of her morning routines without (what has seemed like) our constant nagging. Fingers crossed, our mornings will soon be a bit less chaotic 🙂
We would win for grumpiest household! Two boys, 5 & 19mos. I’m a stay at home mom with some daytime help and my husband is in the hollywood biz. We live in Culver City (Los Angeles), CA.
I agree. I’m hoping to enter. I live outside Philly and my husband and I both commute in – he driving and me taking 2 trains – taking about an hour each leaving a much shorter time to get up and out in the morning. I would love to find ANY beauty in my rushed morning.
1. Albany, MO (just moved here from Kansas City)
2. Two girls, ages 3.5 and 1 year
3. I work from home and my husband is a full time Soldier for the Army National Guard. Both girls go to an in-home daycare out on a pretty little farm. The house we are renting was built in 1870s; it’s been updated over the years, but it still retains much of its original charm. It’s quite gorgeous. We get up about 6 everyday and leave the house by 745.
I loved this series and I’m so excited for it to be coming back as it really did make me enjoy our chaotic mornings a bit more.
1. I live in Richmond, VA
2. I have a son (3 1/2) and a daughter (10 months).
3. We are a plain vanilla family. We both work and the kids are in daycare. We struggle to get of the house by 7 am to get to work on time and it almost always ends up with someone screaming or crying (we all take turns)!
We are currently living in Groton, CT. We have two children; a son who is six and a daughter who is two. My husband is in the navy and if he was even home the night before, he’s usually off to work no later than 5:30am. I wake up anytime between 6:30-7:30 to get my son ready for school and onto the bus. From there, depending on the day, I’m either cleaning, running errands, babysitting, or rushing to get my daughter ready for gymnastics or play group. My days will soon be even busier as we’re expecting our third child in less than two months. Though I’m very excited, I’m quite nervous to see how the new one will effect our already semi-chaotic routines.
This is so cool! I LOVE this series.
1. Murfreesboro, TN (about 35 miles outside of Nashville)
2. I have two crazy wild children, Cian (5) and Isla (2). Mornings can vary from smoothish to meltdown city.
3. I normally wake up and try to get a run or workout of some sort in a few days a week. The snooze wins sometime. I get home and my husband is there getting Cian ready for preschool. They leave the house at 6:38. (I am not kidding, if I am a minute late from my run all hell breaks loose, haha.) I get ready at that point and get Isla up and ready for daycare. She has to pick out her own clothes, it usually feels like a scene from “Bid Daddy,” As of today, I work from home so I drop her off and head back to the “office” or go to meetings. There are dishes in the sink most days and I may or may not be currently sleeping on the couch because I have clean, unfolded clothes on our bed.
Dallas, TX Here! Our mornings with our 3 yo are a true lesson in joint parenting. If she wakes up while I’m still at home–I shower while she plays and then get her and I ready.
If she sleeps in my husband does the routine. I get up at 6 and leave at 7:15, he leaves about 8 and takes her to daycare so Mommy doesn’t have to see the tears. He saves my sanity one drop off at a time.
We rush and play and play the pretty game! As much as we’re not supposed to teach our daughters that looks matter–they do. So we are super heroes and pretty ladies at the same time.
I think our mornings are beautiful and boring and amazing and normal all at the same time and I would love for you to pick us.
Close to Madison, Wisconsin.
One girl, two years old. Dog, three cats, 4 chickens.
We live in a 2,000 square foot 100 yr old house, on a small urban lot. Up around 6 am, I get myself and daughter ready and take care of pets. Husband gets ready and we carpool to work at 7. Drop off husband, get to my brothers house with Evie to take care of my nephews at their home as their parents work full time.
I live in Raleigh, NC. Married with a little girl who just turned 1 on April 18th and a 120lb Doberman. We live in a 3 bedroom home about 3 miles from downtown. We have a nanny that comes to our house on Monday, Wednesday, Fridays and I take her over to the neighbors to nanny share on Tuesday and Thursday. Both my husband and I work full time. My sister is a fabulous photographer that could do the photoshoots in Raleigh. 🙂
Baton Rouge, LA. Married for 11 years. 16 month old son. We live in a 2200 sqft house in a suburb of Baton Rouge. We are both engineers and have a very fluid schedule. Some mornings we both get to greet our little boy when we wakes and some mornings we are both gone at 5 am. We have a live in nanny to accommodate our flexible schedules and to give our little boy predictability in his days. Some mornings I leave in a chic dress and heels and some mornings I leave wearing fire retardant coveralls and steel toed boots, just depends on the day.
When Im home in the mornings I generally leave and pass my sons care to the nanny around 8 am which means that I am getting dressed while also entertaining an active toddler, always interesting.
I guess I should mention too that state my hubby works in is 1300 miles away. So he’s gone gone 🙂
I really enjoyed this series and I’m happy to see you’re able to expand it with the help of Allstate! Congratulations!
A. Tacoma, WA (45 minutes outside of Seattle)
B. Two boys, ages 3 and 7
C. Just because we don’t get up super early, doesn’t mean our morning isn’t a little crazy. My husband and I both work (he’s a journalist and I’m in marketing). We’re up around 7:30 and out the door by 8:30ish. We all like to sleep in so we cram everything into one crazy hour! Two different schools means we divide and conquer and each drop-off before heading to work. Our house is a 3 bedroom, 2 bath with lots of morning sunshine! 🙂
1.We live in Evergreen, Co a smallish town just outside of Denver in the mountains.
2. I have 2 daughters Michelle is 9 and Caitlin is 6
3. My husband and I are newlyweds expecting our first (my third) child together any day now. He and I both work from home and live in a nice condo near the golf course. We usually get up by 7AM to have the girls out the door by 8:15 for the bus. It’s going to be interesting to see how our routine changes having a new baby in the house when my other daughters are quite a bit older.
1: Costa Mesa, CA
2: Single mom w/ 3 kids (5 yr girl and 2x 2 yr old twins – boy & girl)
3: I wake up at 5a every morning..my older daughter goes to preschool and gets picked up by a family friend every morning at 730a, my nanny comes at 645a to help with the twins and I leave for work normally around 7a.
I wouldn’t change a thing…love my kids and my hectic schedule, we are surround by love and supportive friends!!
Hi there!
1). We live in Granada Hills, CA., outside of Los Angeles
2) We have 2 children; a girl 3yo and a boy 6yo
3) Our routine is fairly simple. I work from home and prepare the kids for their day around 6:30am. I take the boy to school and then the girl and I split our day between my writing and her playing. I might be a bit boring, actually. 🙂
My husband works for Allstate and shared your blog this morning. What great news! Congrats!
Despite popular opinion I find all the photos beautiful It lets me know that amidst the chaos of a Monday Morning in Grand Haven, Michigan there is beauty and we aren’t alone in this journey of raising a little girl.
Last week we slammed into the terrible two’s. Until now I wanted to deny there was such a thing. This stage has added just a bit of stress to our normal routine.
My husband has a 9 year old that is only with us every other weekend so we ares till new to raising our daughter of 19 months. It is learning experience.
I live in Grand Rapids, MI.
I am a single mom to a 6 year old daughter who is in kindergarten.
My mom lives with us. We like to sleep as long as possible & usually get up around 7:30/7:45
Maya and I get dressed and brush teeth etc. then I leave around 8:30
My mom makes Maya’s breakfast while we’re getting ready.They eat & she makes sure she has her coat, shoes, backpack etc & takes her to the bus.
I am in St. Louis and have 1 son who is almost 2. Both my husband and I work and our son goes to daycare. My husband works long hours so they only family time we have together M-F is in the morning and that is the pits, especially for my husband who wasn’t sure about having kids and has turned in to the most doting daddy you will find.
a) Secane, PA – suburb of Philadelphia
b) one 4.5 year old and a second on the way (due this summer – depending on when the shoot happens IF I’m chosen we’ll have two and likely a very different routine)
c) My husband and I wake up at 6:00 a.m., our son usually comes in for a short snuggle before we have to get everyone up and ready to go. We do all our dressing, packing lunches, and head out the door by 7:00. This should be plenty of time with our evening planning ahead, but is generally a challenge since my son is a late sleeper and isn’t very helpful in the morning despite being quite capable of getting himself ready and being aware of the routine. We live in a 900 sq ft. two-bedroom, one bathroom house, which can make for tight squeezes in the morning, but mostly seems cozy. We drive to our son’s daycare, where Dad drops us both off and then drives an hour to work. I take our son into preschool and make sure he’s set for the day as much as possible before racing out the door and across the parking lot to take the train into the city for work. (I take two trains in to the office, but I realize the commute isn’t really part of the equation.)
Technically, Tuesday mornings can be a teeny less hectic because my husband works a late night that night, and isn’t in as much of a hurry to get to work and clock in on on time. However I still need to catch the same train and we try to keep the routine exactly the same every day for consistency sake.
We are expecting our second this summer (due date August 4). I’ll be on leave for about 2 months, and then we’ll be doing this same routine with two – one of whom will be sleeping in our room. I have no idea how else the routine or wake up time will change with #2, though I expect it will. The plan is for the second to commute to work with me until January before starting at the same daycare as my son in the new year.
1. Brooklyn, NYC
2. Husband and wife who work in two 40+ hour corporate jobs – finance and law. And 14th month old baby boy Chester, + two very large newfoundland dogs – Barkley (175lbs) and Rosie (140 lbs). Husband leaves with suit and baby in Bjorn strapped to the front for DayCare. Mommy leaves in suit to walk the two big dogs before work. Right after Chet wakes up he crawls into mom and dad’s bed to cuddle with the cat, Miss Spatz for about 5 minutes.
3. We live in a decent size two bedroom apartment in Park Slope. The dogs & baby & mommy and daddy all get along.
I live in East Hartford, CT with my husband and daughter, who is 15 months old. We live in a slightly smallish 3 bedroom house from the 1920s and are doing our best to keep the baby stuff to a minimum, though we’re not having much luck.
Glad to see more pictures will be coming! I’ve loved all the ones so far.
a) Fishers, Indiana (suburb of Indianapolis)
b) 3: Daughter will be 4 in May and Twin boys (16mo)
c) My husband and I both work full-time outside of the home; our offices are in downtown Indianapolis. I get up at 5:15 and am ready for work about 6. The boys wake up anytime between 5:30-6:30am – they are in separate cribs in the same room. I usually don’t enter their room until 6:15-6:30 as they are content to “hang out” for a bit in their cribs. From 6 until I go in the boys room I prep snacks, breakfast, prepare for our exit to daycare/preschool which is 7:40. I play, read, change, get the boys ready for the day between 6:15-6:45 in their room. At 6:45 I take them downstairs and they have a snack with milk in their highchairs. I wake my daughter and husband at 6:45 (I usually have to wake both of them). 6:45-7:15 the boys snack, daughter comes downstairs for breakfast, I prep my breakfast and lunch and hubby gets ready for work. 7:15 – hubby comes downstairs and helps daughter brush teeth, get dressed, etc. All work together to get shoes and coats on and in car by 7:40. My husband I drop off our kids together almost every morning. All 3 of our kids go to the same preschool/daycare which is in a home in our neighborhood.
We live in a subdivision and Fishers has been and continues to be highly ranked by publications noting the town to be “Best Place to Raise a Family”, “Best Place to Live” and “Safest City”.
We also have 1 cat; she is almost 12 years old…she is surprisingly tolerant of our kids and my twin boys are her biggest fans.
I am worried about my chances since I live in Pocatello, Idaho. The population in Idaho is small, so I will have to try my hardest to have enough Mom’s try to get in on the contest!
a)I think you already know now, but just in case. Pocatello, Idaho
b)We are a very “modern” family. 😉 My husband and I have both been married before. This is his third and my second. We have children from each marriage for a total of 9 kids. Our oldest is living in Italy currently, and he is 19. Then we have 17,13,11,11,9,8,7,5.
c)Our mornings change quite a bit day to day because of our varied custody arrangements. We have the youngest 2 every other day. The other six switch weeks. They are in different schools with different start times. One week we will get up at 6 the next 7. My husband is home in the morning. We have a lot of heads that need hair combed and lots of breakfast and lunches to make. *Side note-It could be more fun for you to go grocery shopping with us. My husband and I both work full-time. I work in a real estate office and my husband is a psychiatrist. I was a SAHM in my first marriage and so it has been a hard adjustment for my kids and I to this new life.
Our house- We live in a large home (there are a lot of us) in a neighborhood that backs up to an incredible view of mountains and hills.
Going to try!
1. Saginaw, TX (Ft. worth)
2. Married , 2 kids. Boy is 7; girl turns 5 next month. We both work; kids go to first grade and pre-k.
How exciting! I loved seeing the chaos other moms experience turned into something they could see was beautiful… I love that it unites all of us! 🙂 Here’s my (beg) entry for consideration:
a) Crawfordville, FL (suburb (okay – stop laughing now) of Tallahassee)
b) I have three monsters – a 4 yo boy, a 2 yo boy and a 1 yo girl (read:I lost my mind)
c) I’m up by 5 am since we live a bit out of town and have the kids up and at ’em by 6:15. Trying to get three under 5 out the door by 7 is usually not do-able so I’m usually out the door by 7:30 (unless my boss is reading this in which case I’m ALWAYS out the door by 7). My munchkins all got to daycare and my husband and I usually end up having to tag team at least one of them to get the whole brood out the door on time. We’re also foster parents, so occasionally we have an additional face to wash, teeth to brush and hand to hold – you know, because three wasn’t hard enough by themselves – ha ha.
I volunteer us to be the Southern representation of chaos! 🙂 Oh, and we grow fresh veggies so we’ll even bribe you with fat, ripe, juicy tomatoes!
Charming suburb of CHICAGO, Western Springs, IL
2 Children: 2 1/2 year old boy, and a newborn baby girl (3 weeks old)
2 1/2 year old boy is in all day preschool/daycare
Newborn girl has combo of Aunt & Grandma watching her until September (she is 5 months) when she will transition to same preschool/day care my son attends
I work in medical device sales which allows me to work from home as well as frequently out in the field (OR and hospital setting). My days can start very early 4:45 AM if I have a first morning case). If I do not have a case, I typically leave between 8-9:30 AM. Most days I get home between 3-4 PM.
My husband works in commercial real estate. He leaves between 7:30-8:00 AM most days and typically does the drop off and I do the pick up. It does vary depending on who has the earlier morning. My mother in law and father in law help with pick up/drop off and child care if we have sick children or scheduling conflicts.
Our routine was pretty established until we added our beautiful baby girl to the mix. Now we are all adjusting and will continue to do so for quite some time. It is definitely, at best, organized chaos.
I return to work May 19th (six weeks maternity leave). We are a work in progress and it would be a great time to watch us try to figure this out. Up until last week, we thought we had a nanny starting this week and she quit via text message before she started. It led my husband and I to change EVERYTHING we thought we were doing with out childcare. Initially we were pulling my son out of all day preschool and keeping him home with new nanny to attend regular preschool a few days per week. Now we are moving him to the sister school in our town because the one is currently enrolled in only takes children over 2 (no infants). We did not want two drop off locations and we wanted them in the same location so we are moving him to attend the sister school/daycare so his sister can join him in a few months.
We are a work in progress and it would fun to see how this all looks through the eyes of a camera, rather than our own crazed experience.
I loved reading these!
a) Richmond, VA
b) boy (2 1/2) and girl (10 months)
c) My husband and I both work full time and the kids go to a daycare center for way too many hours a week. We live in a four bedroom house in the suburbs of Richmond. My husband has to be at work at 7 a.m. and myself at 8 a.m. with a 30 minute commute. I handle most of the mornings alone getting the kids up, fed and dressed. On a good day my son will get up between 6:30-6:45 a.m. so my husband and can help out before he leaves but the norm is me waking up both kids around 7 a.m., nurse my daughter, get everyone dressed including myself and downstairs to grab bottles, a banana for my son to eat in the car with some milk and head out to door by 7:20 a.m. Most mornings are hard and rushed but I know there is beauty to be seen there, especially those first smiles and hugs from the cribs.
a) Rocklin, CA
b) one 9-month old girl
c) I’m 22 yearold stay at home mom at the moment, though I’m trying to go back to school in the near future. I’m studying microbiology. My husband works full time, and he’s planning on working and taking classes again in the summer. I also love sewing and I want to try and make a business out of it. I used to be a circus acrobat, but I put that on hold to have a baby, but that’s another thing I’m getting back into now. I’m Canadian, my husband is American. My life changed a lot in the last few years with moving to the states, getting married, getting pregnant and having a baby, I suffered from post partum depression after my daughters birth and even though it’s still a battle every day to find joy in life, things have gotten a lot better and life has really improved. We also have 2 crazy cats that terrorize us on a daily basis….
1. Perrysburg, OH (a suburb of Toledo)
2. I’m married with a 2 yr old little boy and a 6 yr old girl. The boy goes to a daycare and the girl is in kindergarten. My husband and I are both public school teachers.
3. We live in a med-large house on a quiet suburban cul-de-sac.
4. If the little guy doesn’t get us up earlier, we usually start our day at 6:00 and try to get out the door by. 7:00. I work in two different schools so some days I don’t have to leave until 7:45.
5. My morning is a perfect way to capture the amazing support I get from my husband. There is no way we would ever get anywhere on time if it weren’t for him. He gets the kids up , changes the baby, dresses and feeds them both while I’m getting ready. He’s the man!
a) Geneva, IL (Western suburb of Chicago)
b) 2 daughters, 1 year old and 3 years old
c) Our schedule varies by day. I am usually up by 5:30 AM to workout and back by 7 when my husband and girls are just getting up, Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Husband leaves for work by 8. Tuesdays and Thursdays we “sleep in” because husband doesn’t have to leave for work until 11 AM. These days the girls usually have daddy time while I get things done around the house. Husband works very late hours and usually does not get home until after the girls are in bed, so mornings are special in our home, especially on days that dad is home til 11. I stay home.
Hi from Dallas Texas! We live in a suburb of north Dallas. The (almost) stereotypical family – mom, dad, 5 yr old son, 2 yr old daughter, 1 dog, 1 cat. 2000 sq ft house. Both of us are working parents — I’m a manager at a brokerage firm, dad works for a local school district’s irrigation department AND goes to school in the evenings. We are lucky in that the kids alternate between both sets of grandparents during the week — and the 5yr old goes to preschool twice a week currently (he starts kinder next fall). I commute just shy of an hour with dropping off both kids. (I leave the house around 7am.) Hubby is usually gone before the kids are even up in the morning (he leaves about 6:15am) so he doesn’t do much other than kiss them goodbye. I try to work out 2-3 times a week at Baby Boot Camp (were the kids come with me to excersie) and I *try* to run a couple times a week — even if that means hitting the treadmill at a local gym for an hour – just so I have the child care option/avoid pushing an extra 60 lbs of kid-weight in the double stroller. Like many have said, I think our mornings are chaos, but I’m sure there is beauty in certain moments of it… At least I certainly hope so! 🙂
1) Prescott/Phoenix AZ
2) Two girls–Addison (3yrs) & Brailyn (19mos)
3) I really feel like you are my angel right now. We are going through a divorce which has been really hard on us all. However, I really think that if we do this we can see that divorce is not doom-and-gloom and full of horrible conflict. It can be ok. We can still laugh and have fun at Mommy’s AND Daddy’s. I want to show that divorced families are not damaged families, but just different families. I work at home on Sat, Sun, and Mon while my kids are at their Dad’s in Phoenix. Then I pick them up from daycare and bring them to our home (my mother’s house) up in Prescott, AZ (about 1 hr 30min commute) from Mon night to Friday night. Addie goes to preschool up in Prescott on tue and thur and Brailyn gets extra mommy time with me. The girls typically wake around 7am and they get to see “Gaga” (my mom) for a bit in the morning until she leaves for work at 8am. I would like to ask my Ex, Rick, if maybe he would like to participate….maybe some pics from morning with mommy and some from morning with Daddy? I think it would help boost his confidence in seeing that he is a great dad and the girls value their time with him as well. Please, Puuuuuleaze pick me!
I should add that “generally a challenge” really means some level of screaming and crying on a typical day. I should just be honest here. I hate my mornings because they are so full of stress and anger.
That said, I am really hoping that this time around you pick some more moms with really tight schedules for up-and-out. That was my ONLY criticism last time – your NYC moms all seemed to have a good 2 hours to get ready and go allowing cooked breakfasts and playtime. We’re all business and stress about missing trains or not clocking in and getting yelled at by employers. I know we can’t be the only ones…
Such an awesome opportunity for “Monday Mornings!”
I live with my husband and my 1-year-old daughter, Lucille, in Sacramento, CA (plus I am pregnant – expecting baby #2 in July.) Daddy has Mondays off work – but we only have one car that really works with the car seat so Daddy and Lucille have to get up too – to take me to work in the morning. We get up between 6 a.m. and 6:30 a.m. and try to be out the door by 7:30 a.m. The hardest thing about Mondays is that I have to go to work and Daddy doesn’t! I get a little jealous. 🙂
It would have been much pretty to show my Monday Morning a year ago when we lived in Nashville and I was a pregnant, working mother living in an historic home.
Flash forward a year and here we are with two kids (2 years and 6 months) shacking up in suburbia (outside Philadelphia) with my parents (Nan and G-Pop Eddie) and brother Michael. My husband works at a school in North Philadelphia while I stay at home with Flynn and Nola. My husband leaves around 7 (which I think makes him late everyday) while my parents leave by 8 AM. Our mornings are unpredictable, disorganized and by no means glamourous. And even though living with your parents (and grown brother) is not an easy feat – I am so happy my kids are having this time with their grandparents. Even if it means I go insane before I am 30.
1) Rockville, MD (just north of Washington, DC)
2) Two daughters – one is 4-years-old, the other is 15-months-old
3) I’m up at about 6am to get ready before my husband and the girls get up around 6:30. My husband gets the 4-year-old ready while he gets ready, and I nurse and get the 15-month-old ready. Once my husband is done with the 4-year-old everyone congregates in the 15-month-old’s room to finish getting her ready. The girls leave with me around 7:15 when I take them to my parents’ house for the day and go on to work. My husband leaves for work soon after us. Our house is the house I grew up in, but with some major remodeling. We added a second story and doubled the size. It’s great seeing the girls grow up where I did.
My name is Siobhan and I live in Balitmore, MD I would love to participate in this. My husband passed away on Feb. 4th of this year and so my morning routine has had to change. My boys are Scout (he will be 8 on June 12th) and Jaxton (he will be 6 on August 8th)I would really love to document our lives right now. I am finding a balance between having that extra help in the morning, before he got sick, to having him involved from the bedroom when he was sick, to now when it’s just me. Like you it feels like to most hectic time of the day but it’s also the part of the time I try to keep the same, sorta, no matter what. Plus, you have to get someone from this area!
Washington, DC would be a great place to profile!
A – We live in Rockville, MD which is a suburb about 15 minutes outside of DC
B – I have a 2.5 year son (who is a Thomas loving superhero ), an 18 year old nephew that attends the local High School (who always hays ear phones and / or his cell phone attached to him), and I am 6 ½ months pregnant (due in July!)
C – We are an African American couple who both work FT. My husband works for the government and leaves around 9am and I often work from home (unless I have customer or internal office meetings that day). My nephew takes the school bus to HS and I drop my son off by (hopefully!) 9am at Montessori school. We do not have any outside help in our home. Our house would be described as a typical ‘lived in’ older home that is not too large but not too small. My husband and I tag team morning duties while often trying to wrestle my son away from the train table or extra snuggle time with mommy to eat his breakfast and get dressed .
Please let me know if there is any additional information that I can provide.
1. Las Vegas, NV
2. Married to my husband, a banker, with one daughter, (3 in May) and one on the way (I’m 9 weeks).
3. My husband and I both work full time. Mia is in daycare, and leaves with my husband in the mornings. He gets himself ready, I get her ready. We generally have time to sit and have breakfast together, and then they are both off at which point, I get myself ready for the day!
1. I live about an hour North of Detroit, MI, or 30 minutes East of Flint, MI.
2. I’m married, with three boys (9.5, 6, and 1) and two male dogs (condolences are gladly accepted for the amount of testosterone in my house). My husband gets up at 4 a.m. and leaves the house well before the rest of us get up, so the morning routine is all mine.
3. I work outside the home. My morning routine is pretty rushed. I get up at 6 and we are out the door by 7:15 at the latest.
4. My two older boys go to a year-round elementary school and my youngest goes to daycare.
5. We live in a average sized (1800 square feet) single family home in a subdivision within the city limits of a mostly rural area.
I love this! Mornings always feel so hectic for us, especially with 3 young children…
1) Greensboro, NC
2) SAHM with 3 kids (4, 2 and 1)
3) My husband takes our oldest to preschool at 8:30 on his way to work. We live in a pretty typical suburban neighborhood.
Hi and Congrats!
1) San Francisco, CA (Mission District)
2) Two boys – 4 and 18 mos. 4 year old in preschool, 18 mos with nanny. (One of the reasons I follow your posts so religiously is due to the closeness in age my boys are to your girls.) I’m a lawyer and my husband is a physicist.
3) We all get up ridiculously early because the 18 month old thinks 5:30 am is time to party. We sit around for a while because, well, preschool and nanny won’t take my kids at 6:30. Cereal, coffee, chocolate milk. My husband plays a little computer game with the 4 yr old, and I play on the floor with the 18 month old. Then its all kinds of crazy nuts to get out the door. I leave the house with the boys at 7:30, walk to the BART, then to preschool, then walk up a GIGANTIC HILL to the nanny’s, then take the MUNI to work. My 20 minute commute has turned into about 1.5 hours! We get a lot of smiles from commuters because my kids love attention and put on quite a show.
1. San Antonio, TX
2. One daughter named Lilly (your Halloween masked baby photo) about to turn 3 in June.
3. Not married or “offically” engaged but plan on doing so when financially possible. He goes into work around 3:30-4 am. We only have one vehicle and completely opposite schedules. He doesn’t always get out on time for me to go into work (I’m a waitress at a brewpub) at 4, so many times a week I end up dropping him off at work incase I have to bring Lilly to Grandma’s later in the day. It’s very rare that Lilly goes back to sleep after this so I’m usually running on about 3 hours of sleep. We just bought a house last year so getting use to cleaning 5x more plus raising the little one is still new to me. I spend my mornings playing and spending as much time with Lilly as possible. She is a ball full of energy. She is always going, rarely every stops, does not take naps. I usually try to squeeze in a little cleaning and cook meals for her and Robert to eat when I am gone. I generally work from 4-12 getting home between 12:30-1 am. Her daddy takes care of her when I am at work. Mondays are special because it’s one of my only days off. Normally he gets out of work early Mondays (11 am or noon) so we actually get to spend time as a family whether at home or going out to do something.
Lilly is a very independent toddler and always tries to do everything by herself. She is incredibly curious about everything and very intelligent for her age. She is very loving as well (and is very attached to me haha). She loves books, painting and coloring, playing her drum set, bubbles, balloons, building with blocks, and pretending.
How about featuring a dad? I’m a lawyer and my husband is a CPA, and we live in a 4,000 sq ft home in a suburb of Milwaukee, WI. We have a 2 year old boy and a 4 year old girl, and I typically leave for work by 5 am, before the kids wake up (although that will change when my daughter starts *GULP* kindergarten this fall). My husband is in charge of getting the kids out the door to day care Monday-Thursday, which is a big struggle since my little boy is in the middle of his terrible twos! I’m home with the kids on Fridays, so those days are much more manageable.
Sorry about the typo’s – I typed up the nomination on my phone!
Hi, I live in Ontario California, which is about one hour east of Los Angeles. My hsuband and I live with his 13 year old son, our 2 1/2 year old toddler and our 11 month old baby; I’m surrounded by boys, mornings defenitely hectic. My husband and I wake up at 5 am to start getting ready; my hsuband showers first and then cleans kitchen while I shower and get ready. My stepson and ideally the two little ones wake up at 6:30 am, but realistically the little ones wake up earlier which causes more chaos. My husband changes baby’s diaper and hands off to me to nurse baby and he gets toddlers diaper changed too. Teen makes his own breakfast and packs his lunch. My husband leaves at 6:45. Big brother helps me keep an eye on kids while I finish getting ready. My parents take care of my two little ones at our house; they arrive around 7:10 am; my step son then leaves for school. I leave at 7:20 am. Phew!
Please!
a) Minneapolis (Eden Prairie) Minnesota
b) Husband age 31. Son, Ryker, age 2 and one on the way. A little girl yet to be named due June 12!
c) Two working parents. We tag team until I leave for work, a 45min – hour long commute to a corporate job, at about 7. Daddy ususally does daycare drop off at either Grandma’s house (M,T) or the daycare center (W,Th,F). We live in a two bedroom townhome and mornings feel chaotic anyway and I’m not sure what things will be like with another new baby on the way.
I would love to be involved but either way thanks for doing the Morning routines. It’s so nice to see I’m not the only one running around and stressed.
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) Chattanooga, TN
b) 1 son 6 years old
c) At my home (3 bed 2 bath in a neighborhood)it’s just me, my son, & my mom. My husband passed away almost 3 years ago and then my mom moved in (I haven’t killed her…yet). The best mornings are the one’s with just me, him, and the dogs (there are quite a few dogs too!)
1. Arlington, VA (suburb of DC)
2. Daughter is 5 months old
3. Husband and I work full time outside of the home. We both leave around 7:15, with me dropping daughter off at day care. Husband is VERY involved, including taking care of our dog in the morning, prepping bottles, washing and packing my pump, and taking care of the baby while I’m in the shower. We’re a great team and he gives me the support to nurse her without stressing about what else has to get done. I am 31 and white and husband is 35 and Vietnamese.
1. Waretown, NJ (south jersey, LBI area)
2. Liam will be 4 in June, Layla is 19 months old and I’m due with another girl July 14!
3. I’m a stay at home mom living in a shore community. My husband Ieaves Monday mornings (sometimes before we even wake up and sometimes he’s home for a few hours) but once he’s gone, he’s away until Thursday or Friday, as he travels all over NJ, NY and PA for work. I’m currently 29 weeks pregnant with my 3rd baby in 4 years and don’t see anything even remotely exciting about Mondays especially because it’s my saddest morning, it’s when my best friend says goodbye for the week and I have to explain to the kids once more where Daddy is. I leave at 8:15a to drive Liam to school, if his Dad is still home at that time, he takes him and I stay home with the baby. I’m sure there are TONS of deserving mamas and I hope this goes to someone who needs it! (As much as I would LOVE the opportunity, I can see why any mom would want this/need this)
I am a stay at home mom and soon to be homeschooler for my son that is soon to be 7. I have a 1 year old and my husband is in the Army. We live in what is called Town Center in Virginia Beach, VA and have recently downsized to a 2 bedroom and 1100 square feet from a 3 bedroom on base housing. We don’t have any family in the area but even though we are all far apart we travel to see each other often. My husband is very involved in the morning routine when he can be but his schedule varies day by day but he is usually out of the house by 6 am and then I’m up by 630-7 with the boys. since we will be starting to home school, everything will be changing and I will no longer have to drive my son to school. We aren’t perfectly structured but we have a general routine and lots of hugs and kisses. I would cherish photos like the ones I’ve seen because, like the other women, I have never felt like our daily beginnings are very memorable or even positive as I’m not a morning person 🙂
A) Maple Valley, Wa- a suburb of Seattle, Wa
B) 2 kids ages 3 (boy) & 1(girl)
C) We are a late rising easy going family on Mondays. We usually get up after 8 and make breakfast. Stay in our jammies until 10 or so. We watch cartoons and play with toys. With the weather finally warming up and drying out we try to get outside earlier in the day to play. Depending on Daddy’s schedule, he is either at work or at home sleeping in after the graveyard shift.
This is awesome!! I would love a chance to do this! I live outside of Pittsbugh, PA. I have two daughters 17 months and 7 years, I am a stay at home mom and my husband works full time. Our mornings begin at 6am when my mini dachsund wakes me up. We live in a two story house in a quiet subdivision.
1. Cleveland, Ohio (Rocky River/North Olmsted, we are currently in the process of moving)
2. One son age 15months (and a 10 year old “puppy” Mosby)
3. We are currently moving from a large home we have been house sitting, to our first family home. I’m a teacher so August – June I’m up 5 to get ready and juggle the day. My husband is a big help by getting baby boy ready for the day, so I can get lunch made. In the summer, we try and make our own schedule. Daddy has to leave by 7:45ish to get to work on time.
Alexandria, VA (NOVA just outside of DC)
Working full time Single Mom to a three and a half year old boy; two small rescue dogs!
Condo/townhouse 930 sqft of toddler mayhem!
a) We live in Minooka, IL, about 40 minutes southwest of Chicago
b) I have 1 child, a six year old
c) I’m a single mom, but my daughter and I live with grandma, who helps a lot, watching my daughter while I work. We are lucky enough that home, school and work are all within blocks of each other, so we don’t have to get up until around 7am and leave the house around 8:30am. Our house is old so there is not as much luxury of space as in newer houses. I’m not sure what else to write here. Because of my work and school schedule, I’ve been working 12 days in a row since January with only 2 days off in between to get everything else done so my brain is pretty fried lately. I fear that I would be the exception to the rule that all of mothering is beautiful.