Today I’m excited to announce a continuation of my partnership with Allstate, an insurance company dedicated to keeping families in good hands. Last year, Allstate made it possible for me to continue my Monday Morning series, documenting moms across the country to show their unique morning routines. We met Anna in LA, Shaneka in Chicago, Diane in DC and Kristen in Houston among many others.
Now, we’re taking it to the evenings! Wednesday Evenings is a brand new series that aims to show the beauty in every family’s evening routine. From dinnertime to bedtime, we’ll capture a typical night for 12 featured families.
The goal of Monday Mornings was always to show that no matter how chaotic or stressful your mornings feel, there is beauty to be found as well. I’m betting the same holds true for Wednesday Evenings.
This is the time when most parents come home from work, have dinner, play and then put the kids to bed. Right in the middle of the week when no one is still adjusting from the weekend or looking forward to the next one.
Just a regular night with the kids.
As different as everyone’s morning was last year, I think evenings have the potential for even more variation. Bedtime is open-ended. Instead of seeing people head out the door by a pre-determined time, evenings give opportunity to see different bedtime routines and parenting styles.
We are looking for parents who put their kids to bed early, parents who put their kids to bed late, parents who work an evening shift, parents who stagger bedtimes, parents who deal with tons of homework, parents who make sure their family all sits down for dinner together, parents who let their kids fend for themselves, moms who do it alone, dads who do it alone, etc.
Before I tell you how to enter, I’d like to show you a bit of my Wednesday Evening, documented as always by lifestyle photographer Raquel Langworthy. When the shoot was originally planned, I wanted to capture Mike and I both coming home from work, because the kids run to greet us with kisses and hugs and it’s always one of my favorite moments of the day. I also wanted to show our nanny Ruth who I always felt was missing from my family’s Monday Morning shoot. Unfortunately, Ruth got sick in the middle of the day, meaning I had to come home unexpectedly to watch Harlow.
Mike picked up Mazzy from school and because of the change in schedule, he decided to take her for a slice of pizza. Pizza is the NYC version of fast food, after all. He brought back a slice for Harlow as well.
By the time Raquel arrived, the kids were already home and fed. Not exactly a typical evening. Such is life.
Mazzy and Harlow spent the first twenty minutes of the shoot running around the house doing Mazzy and Harlow things— like putting on jewelry, playing musical instruments and jumping on the couch.
The plan was to take the girls for ice cream as we often do if they have had a good dinner. But then we learned the elevator was broken, which put a kink in our plan. We live on the 12th floor.
Mazzy did not take the news well.
I guess you can’t introduce an ice cream trip and then take it away.
We took the stairs.
Then we had an ice cream shop debate which I lost. I like Davey’s which has real ice cream homemade in the back, but Mazzy wanted 16 Handles which has pink spoons and a toppings bar.
I’m glad Mike is “keeping it real” and looking at his phone during our family moment.
Here he is trying to negotiate a spoonful.
Also true to form was Harlow putting on a show outside the yogurt shop. I should just set up a cup for money and maybe she could pay her own way through college.
Then we headed home.
Harlow dropped her ice cream on the way back. Obviously, I had to snap a picture. I’m sure you’ll see it on @insta2yearold one day soon.
Harlow handled it remarkably well. I was proud.
Then we headed back up twelve long flights of stairs. There was no whining which was a nice change.
When we got back, it was time for PJs and tooth brushing. Even with ice cream in their bellies, this never goes over well.
Mazzy is fully capable of putting on her pajamas herself, but unless I want her to go to bed at midnight, I usually give her a hand.
Harlow is the tougher of the two because she’s quick and squirmy.
“Where’s Mike this whole time?” you might be wondering. He’s making dinner for the two of us to eat after the kids are in bed.
This is something he does to be helpful and also because he prefers it to wrangling the children.
Notice Harlow’s half-eaten banana on the table. Not a night goes by where she doesn’t request one right before bed.
Once the girls ate their last minute snacks, they went to the bathroom to brush their teeth.
Where’s Mazzy? Oh, still in the living room, deciding what jewelry she wants to wear to bed.
MAZZY!!!!!!!!!
Then they picked books for bed time stories, while I checked something on my computer. It wouldn’t be a real portrayal of our evening if I wasn’t standing by my laptop at least once.
Mazzy picked the Official Guide to Frozen, which is the longest book ever written and definitely a present from one of the Grandmas.
Harlow picked “Iggy Peck Architect” because she likes to scream “GET OFF MY LAWN!!!” when the neighbor is standing there in his underwear, even though it does not say that in the book. I think Mike must have taught her that.
Mazzy asked to sleep in Harlow’s bed which I will sometimes allow. I told her “okay” but if they weren’t asleep in 15 minutes, she would have to move to the top bunk.
Then I hugged and kissed everyone goodnight. Their new request is “as tightly as possible”.
After I left the room, I quickly posted a photo to Instagram (because that’s what I do).
And then Mike and I sat down to dinner, just the two of us.
Except it wasn’t really just the two of us. Not quite yet.
I wish I could say that was the end of our evening, but Harlow got up and out of bed about 15 more times after Raquel left. That will be the subject of a future post, I am sure.
If you’d like to be featured in Wednesday Evenings, please leave a comment below starting with your city and the ages of your kids. Then give me a brief description of your evening with any details you think might set you apart from everybody else— even if that detail is feeding the kids frozen fish sticks 365 days a year.
We’ll be scouring the comments to find 12 families from four different cities, so if you know anyone in your town who might want to participate too, it will definitely up your chances to have them enter!
A HUGE thanks to Allstate for coming back for round two. I can’t tell you how much continuing this series means to me. You are in good hands, I promise!
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This post was sponsored by Allstate, but all thoughts and opinions are my own.
Photos by Raquel Langworthy.
My name is Teresa and my family and I live near Santa Barbara CA. My kids are (almost) 3 and 7 1/2 ad currently trying for another. We’re crazy! Our typical Wednesday night is pretty relaxed compared to our other nights. My husband and I get home from work ~5:00pm. We relive my oh-so-wonderful mama from her grandma duty. We’re usually welcomed with a poopy accident from our daughter (almost 3), who refuses to change and insists on cleaning herself… Yup no help from mommy or daddy. However, with our experienced bribing tactics we manage to get her to change her mind. The we decide if we should go out to dinner or make dinner at home. Chances are if we make dinner one of the kids will hate what we make and throw a tantrum over how gross the food is. If we decide to go out, well our chances of getting a complete meltdown from our 3 year old dramatic daughter are highly likely. Then it’s bath… Oh the fun part. Usually I bathe with the kids in order to save water (California drought). Depending on our daughters mood bathtime can be the most simplest task or the most difficult, but not compared to brushing teeth. We spend probably 5-10 mins negotiating with our daughter as to who she wants to help her with brushing. All while our 7 year old is being sneaking about brushing his two mins and mouthwash for one min. Then it’s bedtime ….ahhhh… Oh but wait … I have lay with then until they fall asleep. Yup… I have been cursed with needed kids or I’m just a big enabler … Either way once they’re asleep, it’s homework time for me. Did I mention besides working full time I’m also in school. How’s that for craziness … Well that’s just a bit of our routine. Of course there’s more temper tantrums, more yelling and lots more whining. Thanks!!! Hope we can be featured!!
Hi! My name is Kelly, my husband Jim live in Laguna Niguel, CA with our 21mo daughter and our two crazy Cockapoos. I stay home with Eleanor (who is little miss personality), my husband runs a non profit focused on patient safety and is in graduate school online so he spends a lot of time working; that said he makes it a priority to be home for DBB (dinner bath and bed) even if it means hopping back online after Eleanor is down. Our evenings are chaotic and fun and messy. Between making dinner while holding an almost two year old, the pandemonium of Jim walking through the door around 6pm to a toddler shrieking with joy and two dogs loosing their minds, quick family dinners (half of which ends up on the floor and eaten by dogs) bath time, dogs jumping up on the table searching for leftovers, books blocks toys, Jim and Eleanor’s nightly “music education/bath dance party”. There is always a glass (or two or three, let’s be honest) of wine and I typically end up laying on the couch while Jim mercifully does the dishes. We would really love to share this part of our life, I loved the honesty of the Monday morning series.
Austin, Texas
Kids: Sean (3) and Sloane (9 months)
My husband works longer hours than I do so I am usually responsible for dropping off and picking up the kids at their separate daycares. On occasion my husband will be off on a Wednesday and can help. Usually it is just me though. The big thing for me is that push to work until the last possible second and then rush to get to both daycares before closing. I go in to work late in the mornings so I had to stay as late as I can in the evenings. Then at home I unpack all the bags and we play until Dad gets home. We make dinner and then eat standing up in the kitchen. We’re going to start a home re-model so we have seating in the kitchen, but for now we all just stand (except the baby – she has a high-chair). We then do bedtime routine. We start together and then split off and each take a kid (I always have Sloane since I’m still breastfeeding). Bedtime is late since we get home late (between 9-10pm). My husband and I almost always fall asleep putting the kids to bed. When we eventually wake up, we go downstairs and pack lunches for the next day. And maybe we have a few minutes for some DVR’d TV. Maybe 🙂
I live just outside Boston and I am a sahm to an 8 month old baby boy, and our evening routine changes all the time. On Wednesdays, my husband works a late shift, so he gets home at 8:30, so I do all bedtime stuff myself. We usually spend the evening at the park, on a walk, or playing. Around 5 I give him some dinner, which means I give him food to play with in his highchair and maybe he gets a bite into his mouth. At like 6:15 I give him a bath, read him 2 books, nurse him, and put him to bed between 6:30 and 7. Then I get a blissful hour and a half to myself to do laundry/cook dinner (or read/surf internet/whatever) before my husband comes home and we have dinner together. (Or sometimes I eat before him. Oh well.)
We live in Arlington VA, right outside of Washington DC. We have 2 boys, ages 5 and a 2 year. As you can imagine our nighttime routine is anything but calm! I get them both by 5:30 from preschool and the nightly showdown is on. My husband works in a restaurant so he is rarely home in the evening. Dinner, bath, play, TV, books and bed are all on me. It is chaos… And I love it! The 3 of us always eat together. It is usually a choice of 4 things that get rotated throughout the week, but they eat those 4 things, so I’ve accepted my fate. The boys share a room… By the time bedtime rolls around, the older one is ready for bed, but the 2 year old is just getting geared up. It isn’t easy, but once they are Finally asleep, I feel like I’ve done my job and I can breath again. And then I miss those little terrors because I know how short lived this time in life is… So I do my best to appreciate everything. Even the really tough nights!
We live in Henderson, NV (just outside of Las Vegas). One child, Owen, Age 3. We actually aren’t living in Henderson yet, but are moving there at the end of this month. We’ll be in a 1 month rental during July while we look for our new place to move into starting in August. My husband is self employed and works from home, which allows us to travel and move around frequently. Since I’m home with Owen and my husband works from home we spend the daytime trying not to interfere with the other persons work. The evening is more family oriented, with a dinner at the table, some family play time, and then my husband is in charge of the “bedtime routine” which takes from about 7:15pm-8pm. Then I lay down with Owen in his bed while he falls asleep.
Ocoee, FL (which is 8 miles west of Orlando), I am a full-time working, divorced mom with a 10 year old son and 21 month old daughter with my partner, Mike, of 5 years. I am the president of my parents’ plastic company and Mike is retired military and currently going to school full time for Healthcare Administrative Services. His graduation date is tentatively scheduled for December 2015.
Our Wednesday nights, now that it is summer, normally consist of me picking up my daughter from daycare and then getting my son from one of the many camps he is attending. The three of us then either head to one or more of the following locations; bank, grocery store and then home.
Once home my son normally races in to get on the phone to find one of his friends to play (that is if we are not going out to dinner) and I take my daughter to find her dad studying up in his office/her bedroom. Depending on how much studying he has to do he will either take her and play while I get dinner ready or I bring her into the kitchen with me and try my culinary skills one handed. We then have dinner together, this is extremely important to me. It is one of the few times a day we all get to be together without a billion other things going on. After dinner I clean up while the kids play and Mike finishes his work.
We then either head outside to water flowers, play with our neighbor’s dogs (we live vicariously through them and their pets), or if it is raining or too hot, we snuggle up on the couch and watch a show together.
Between 8:15 and 8:30 my son calls his dad for their nightly chats and I give my daughter her bath. Once that’s done and teeth are brushed it is my son’s turn to jump into the shower. While he is doing that I put my daughter to bed and get changed into my work out clothes. I then get my son into bed and head out into our garage and run on the treadmill for a half hour. By around 10:00 PM I jump in the shower myself and then curl up with Mike for the remainder of the evening (so about 30 to 60 minutes…depending on how heavy my eyelids get).
Hello, my husband and I live in a Westside Suburb of Cleveland, Ohio. We have an incredibly active toddler (2 Year Old Alex), and an aging gracefully dog named Mosby. Im a teacher, and starting a new job in the fall, so our house is a wreck with my old classroom stuff overflowing everywhere.. My husband works on the other side of town, and it usually home late. We are in the beginning stages of potty training, and making updates on our new home along the way. So it’s always a bit crazy, and Grandpa (PA!) usually stops by unannounced.
Ohio would love to host Mommy Shorts!! We love you here.
Thank you!!
Austin, TX
My wife Mary is a stay at home mother of our 2 boys. Lukas René (2 years) and Christian Alexander (9 mo). I’m an actor, model, and CrossFit coach.
Our nights consists of yet another Paleo meal complete with organic everything, even our kids veggie pouches are organic. I’m like your husband in that I’m probably on my phone or cooking to avoid real mature child rearing skills since I keep telling myself that my real value as a father won’t actually be seen till the kids are like 5-7 years…?
If we can get some time to ourselves we tend to Netflix & Chill until our bedtime (which hovers between 8:30-9:30pm) comes around. Sharing a bomber of craft beer is a must since we’re Austin assholes, too.
Newport, RI 2 Daughters 3.5 and 7 months.
With us becoming a family of 4 this year, we are now man on man…Dad picks up the toddler by 5:30 and i leave work to pick up the baby by 4:30. Since home and daycare are close to work, I have ditched the car and just walk to squeeze in some exercise. I finally got the baby on a sleep schedule so she is cozy in bed by 6, which means I need to fit in a ton of face time with her in an hour and a half.
Then I hit the kitchen/gill and cook dinner, my favorite activity of the day (really!). We have a farm CSA this year so it’s time to get creative and healthy. My husband is in charge of bedtime routine with the toddler and hopefully she is settled by 8 so we can have 2 glorious hours of alone time before it’s time for bed. We just moved to a new house this year, only a block from the harbor! That means daily walks with the dog to watch the sunset. I also took the plunge and cancelled cable because seriously, there is nothing on and I would rather read or sit outside and stare at the stars.
Ok, I’ll admit that some of this is real and some of it is the fantasy schedule i created for myself once all 40 feet of snow melted from the winter. Check in with our family this summer for your series and find out if I was able to make that fantasy a reality!