Here’s a glimpse into how Mrs. Superhero juggles being a full-time mom of two and a freelance illustrator!

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Describe a typical day in your life.

Days vary a lot between Mr SH’s work days and days off.  He works twelve hour night shifts on Friday – Sunday. So he sleeps on the weekends and is gone all night, but he’s home with us for the rest of the week, which is fantastic.  Friday is the day we have him part-time, so I decided it was a good one to share with you!  Wonder Baby is transitioning into having a more predictable schedule, but she’s only four months old, so it’s still a bit of a guessing game.

4:00am Wonder Baby wakes up to feed.  It almost light out this time of year.  Back to sleep.

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7:20am Wonder Baby wakes up and I feed her in bed while trying to convince her that sleep is still a lovely idea.  She considers it but 10 minutes later Toddler Girl calls me from her room.  Time to get up.  Sometimes if WB is still sleeping, I will boot Mr SH and he will get TG up, but on Fridays I let him sleep because he has to work the night shift.  I throw the cloth diapers in the wash.  I give TG a glass of milk and a banana (she wakes up starving, ever since she was tiny) and we get dressed and go outside, leaving WB with Mr SH. I shower every other day, and today is not that day!

8-8:30am Garden time!  It’s been raining like crazy but I have to get these bedding plants in.  TG loves any excuse to be outside.  As I get the last plant in, it starts to rain.  Perfect timing!

8:30-9:15am I make breakfast (bacon, poached eggs and a dairy free smoothie) while texting my SIL who is due any day now. Mr SH is watching a soccer game, so TG and I hang out at the table.  Then I nurse WB again.  She’s not really into it.

9:15-9:40am The cat peed on TG’s bed again.  Yay!  I hope we get this resolved soon!  I strip her bed and throw the sheets in the wash and the diapers in the dryer.  I get WB dressed and myself ready to go because she has her shots today.

9:40-11:00am  I am early for our appointment so I run some errands (she naps a bit but not enough), and manage to arrive five minutes late. WB gets her shots like a champ and is measuring perfectly average for her age, except her large head.  Maybe she’s super smart?


11-11:45am We pick up groceries.  Mommy needs some chocolate and I’m addicted to these seaweed snacks lately.

11:45-1:15pm We get home and I hand WB off to her daddy and make lunch (homemade chicken soup with toast for them and rice crackers for me), switch laundry loads, unpack the groceries and deal with a small toddler meltdown because she wants to go play outside in the pouring rain.  Not today, kid.

1:15-3:00pm Nap time!  Everyone sleeps but me.  WB nurses to sleep (I know, I know) and  naps in my lap while I get some work done and start a new personal sketch.  At 3:00pm I hear “Poopy?  Change?”  Work time is over.  And so is WB’s nap, no matter how gently I try to lay her down.

3:00-5:30pm I switch laundry loads, then we bake muffins and get some food prep done for the weekend while I make supper. I’m big into cooking ahead when I have time and no one is crying. Mr SH wakes up after a bit and plays with WB, but she’s mommy’s girl these days so she naps in the Ergo.  We have dinner at five (pasta in red sauce and veggies in olive oil) and Mr SH leaves for work at 5:30pm.  I try not to cling too much as he goes out the door!  TG blows him kisses.


5:30-8pm I haul up all the day’s laundry and start folding while TG “helps” and WB practices her mad rolling skillz.  My neighbour Jen comes over to hang out and we all go for a walk.  Bedtime snack is carrot pineapple muffins.  I nurse WB (who’s not actually hungry), then Jen tries to distract her while I put TG down for the night.  We are having big time falling asleep issues (a post for another day), so I try to give her lots of love and attention at bedtime.

8:00pm-12am I usually work on these evenings, but I don’t mind spending one day a week with girlfriends. Jen and I hang out and watch Gilmore Girls on DVD while I nurse WB to sleep.  I put her down around 9 when I hear TG fall out of bed.  I go hang out with her, but she hadn’t been sleeping yet.  Jen leaves at 10 and I go in again. TG is still awake!  Fantastic. I edit all the photos I took today and Mr SH calls around 10:30pm to check in.  I promise to go to bed soon (I really meant to!).  Go in to see TG one last time at 11pm and she falls asleep shortly after.  I crawl into bed to read at 11:45pm but turn off the light at 12.  So sleepy!

Has your work schedule changed since you had a baby?

Before I had Toddler Girl, I was working full time as a lifeguard, and then coming home and doing illustration in my spare time.  It was very exhausting once I got pregnant!  I used becoming a mother as the opportunity I needed to quit my day job and focus on illustration.  I probably do a similar amount of illustration work right now, but the girls are my full time job!  I am planning on growing my business as the girls get older so that I can get close to full time work once they start school.

What type of childcare do you have?

Pretty much none.  Mr SH is home for most of five days a week with me, so we tag team it!  On the weekends, while he’s at work or sleeping, I just get what I can done and try not to stress about it too much.  We have a couple girls (including our lovely neighbour Jen) who babysit for us occasionally for a date night.


What would you change about your current work or childcare situation if you could?

Nothing really.  This is the stage we’re at and it will get easier on its own in a couple years.  I would accept a housekeeper though!  This place is a mess today.

How do you juggle work/family/spouse/personal time balance?

I think there are very few jobs out there that are as important as raising your children properly. They’re only little for a short while, so I want to pour myself into them.  Work will usually still be there in a few years, and I want to do my best to be a good mom first because they need me.

Right now I try to work during naps and after bedtime on those three nights that Mr SH is away.  The evenings when he’s home, we hang out and watch shows.  The girls are my priority when they’re awake.  It helps that I’m only accepting limited jobs right now until Wonder Baby gets a bit older.  I plan to hit work a bit harder in the fall!


What’s a parenting rule you never break?

Screen time.  Absolutely no screen time for the baby, and Toddler Girl only gets a movie maybe once a month, or when she’s sick.  She does hang out while Mr SH watches sports, and we look at Zooborns a few times a week but that’s about it.  I feel really strongly about it, and if it just were up to me, the sports wouldn’t be on either (but apparently they refuse to schedule the Euro around my children’s nap times?).

What’s a parenting rule you always break?

They vary.  While I was pregnant, Toddler Girl kept running around with her soother and I didn’t have the energy to stop her.  Also she gets away with things more than she should while Mr SH is sleeping because I hate to have him wake up from a screaming toddler.  It’s not bad, but I do bribe her with grapes instead of dealing with the issue sometimes.   I swore I’d never co-sleep and somehow Wonder Baby is sneaking into our bed most mornings.


What’s the hardest part of being a mom?

Having patience when we are all tired.  The days when the girls have slept badly so we are all cranky and weepy and wake Mr SH up with our noise so that he can be cranky too… those are rough days.

What’s the best part of being a mom?

Having a toddler run up to you and fling herself into your arms for a hug.  And having your baby giggle at you like you are the funniest person in the world (after daddy, he’s always hilarious!).

If you had an entire day off, how would you spend it?

I’d sleep in, go out for meals with friends without worrying about whether I can share my food easily with my kids, and take an art class!