Time Tracking Tuesdays!!

 THIS IS SUCH A BRILLIANT IDEA from my Google Form. Okay-- here's the premise: 

What about Time Tracking Tuesdays? I love all of your detailed posts like what's in your bag, what you're buying, etc. You could time track 5 different days during the month and report on them on Tuesdays (just tracking Tuesday 5 times might be repetitive I'm guessing but maybe not)

 This was actually the most-asked question on my form and most suggested post idea: HOW DO YOU DO IT ALL and also WHAT ALL DO YOU DO and also either describe what a day in the life actually looks like or tell is how you have so much energy. I also got a bunch asking what I do to exercise-- so these posts will give you a glimpse into that TL; DR, too.

SO, every Tuesday in November, I will give you a play-by-play of a day in my week.

 I am going to start with last Tuesday, which was a typical Tuesday in every way, meaning Ben left for work, and I worked from home before running the drop off pick up gauntlet.

5am: I got up at 5 to exercise and play Wordle/Spelling Bee. My coffee got up at 4:54, so by the time I rolled out of bed and brushed my teeth, a hot cup was ready to pour. I have been working really hard on keeping my coffee and scroll time to an even 12 minutes, and I was off my phone and ready to not wake up the puppy and say goodbye to Ben (off to Peoria) by 5:15.  My nest:

Before I hopped on the elliptical trainer, I wiped down Coop and Jack's bathroom with bleach spray and Windex all purpose cleaner. I also emptied the basement dehumidifier.

Behold, my workout dungeon:

I did 3 quick-ish miles

Before we got Annabel, I would start a load of laundry immediately after brushing my teeth and before drinking coffee, but she sleeps right next to the dryer, and I want her to sleep through my work out, so laundry waits now until she and Minnie are awake, and I am kind of twitchy about it.

I would have done some yoga (with Adrienne!), but Annabel woke up. We went outside, an she did her thing. Twice.

6:40: This is when the clock in Minnie's room turns green, and she is READY TO GET HER DAY STARTED in a very all-caps way. She always tells me to surprise her with breakfast ad then barks a very specific order: SURPRISE ME WITH A PICKLE AND TOAST WITH PEANUT BUTTER AND WATER AND MILK. I am not sure where the surprise part comes in. Maybe I should say BOO when I set her plate down?

6:45: LAUNDRY.

6:48-7: Frantic wiping down of upstairs bathrooms; stripping and remaking my bed; making Ben's bed, Minnie's bed, Dorothy's bed

7-ish: Minnie ate breakfast and then started trashing the place with art supplies while the other kids trickled in to make their breakfasts and assemble their lunches and school stuff. General fighting and chatter, etc. This is when I snuck away to brush my teeth for real (the first time is just to get rid of morning breath), floss my teeth, and wash and moisturize my face.

7:15: Jack took the dog out again because we have started to be able to count on her to poop twice before 7:30am.

7:20: Jack left for school after reminding me for the seventh thousandth time what his post-school life looked like for the day. He is the assistant stage manager for his school's fall play, and last Tuesday was the start of tech week plus he was canvassing with the Young Progressives club at his school.

7:20-7:30: Cleaning up breakfast stuff that kids sort of cleaned up, making sure the dog didn't pee in the house

7:30-8:00: Helping Dorothy with her hair (spirit day-- it was celebrity and bodyguard day. Her friend was her bodyguard, and she dressed up like Sabrina Carpenter) corralling Annabel and Minnie in my bathroom to entertain each other while I put on makeup and threw clothes on.

8-8:10: This is when I ditched the dog and Minnie with Dorothy and Cooper who were doing their final bickering and gathering last minute things. Cooper used this time to pack the dive bag his dad and I had been nagging him to pack since Monday night, and he ended up texting me a list of snacks to include in it because he didn't have time to pack them. Meanwhile, I went downstairs to spot check his and Jack's tidying (IT WAS NOT GOOD YOU GUYS. IT NEVER IS) and gather any dirty clothes/dishes that were left behind (ALL OF THEM) and turn off all the lights. I also stripped Harry's bed because he is bringing a friend home with him overnight for a rally.

8:10-8:28: Walk to the bus stop and back. THIS SHOULD BE A 4-MINUTE ROUND TRIP

Minnie was less than 15 minutes late to school, though, so I feel like that's a win. I stashed the dog in her crate for the preschool run and vacuumed my car on the way home.

WHAT A MORNING YOU GUYS. PHEW!!

9-4: Virtual office hours. Exam grading. Dog playing. A couple of Zooms. Dog inside and outside seven thousand times on repeat. Meeting prep. More exams to grade. 2 lovely student consultations. 2 pomodoros of spring course prep, preschool pick up, etc etc etc. 

Annabel enjoyed a lamb and apple puppy chew that I hoped did not give her raging diarrhea. 

My WFH days and my office work days are very similar in that I have a good mix of meetings and time to just, you know, work.

I read blogs and left comments over lunch and took a fabulous walk outside. 

Leftover chicken tortilla soup-- SO GOOD

After I collected Minnie, she and I also played with the dog and got the house ready for the busy nighttime rush, including putting all the laundry away, putting new sheets on Harry's bed, and getting the car snacks ready to roll.

I always make sure the coffee is ready to brew

Minnie always does an after school art project of some kind

WALKIES

I got tired of guessing when Annabel was going to need to go outside and moved our whole operation to the front yard (too much mulch in back-- she is determined to kill herself by eating mulch)

Snacks and drinks.

Co-pilot (she loved the seat warmer)

4:07: Leave house

4:25: Kid pick up

4:45: Coop dropped off at dive (3 miles from his school tat take 20 mins to travel) (dive starts at 4:30)

5:15: HOME (for 45 minutes-- with a projected 6:00 leave time to make it to dance)

So, the plan was to pick Dorothy and Cooper up at their school, take Coop to dive, go home to have a quick dinner, and take Dorothy to tap team. (6:15) I planned to bring Annabel along and hang out on the studio patio with her since the weather was apocalyptically nice. As I pulled into the driveway, I thought hmmmm, should I just leave my car on the driveway? But then I thought, nah-- Jack won't be home for awhile so it'll be easy to pull out of the garage without another car in the driveway. I pulled in, got the girls and all of their things out of the car, and hit the button to close the garage on my way into the house. As I was hanging up my purse in the laundry room, I heard a horrible crash. BECAUSE THE GARAGE DOOR HAD CRASHED TO THE GROUND WHEN A SPRING SNAPPED!!!! And my car was stuck inside!!!!

No tap team claas. An emergency repair scheduled for first thing the next morning with plans to use Jack's car as needed.

But! I still went with my crappy dinner plans of fruit, toast,and scrambled eggs.

6:30: Jack home from canvassing to eat leftover chili (SO GOOD)

6:45: Annabel put herself down for a nap (lol)

7:25: Dorothy took a shower

7:40: Coop home

7:50: Minnie bath and bedtime (I left the kids in charge of the dog for this and she had three accidents after having NONE all day-- I blame the kids.)

8:15: I took a shower and listened to an audio book on my shower speaker while Dorothy and Coop started Hocus Pocus.

9:00 I joined the kids for candy and a bedtime movie.

LIGHTS OUT by 10:15.

(SIX HUNDRED DOLLARS for the garage door springs. **head desk**)