I recently stopped to count the number of part-time jobs that I have. The total came to 5. FIVE! Obviously there needs to be some cuts in the months to come, but for right now this is life as we know it. This means life can be a bit harried at times even though I don’t technically work “full-time.” There’s a lot of give and take between me and Mr. Piñata right now to make it all work. But because of all these part-time jobs, every day of the week is so different and I can’t just simplify into days I work or don’t work, hence how long it has taken me to finally get to writing this post! I will just choose Wednesday though since both Wednesdays and Fridays I go to two different jobs. (Tuesdays I’m home, Thursdays I tutor in the evenings, Sunday mornings I have a part-time role at church and thankfully that fifth job is from home).

5:45am – Mr. Piñata’s alarm goes off and he starts getting ready as he has to be out of the door to teach at 6:45am.

6:30am –  My alarm goes off. I cross my fingers that Little Piñata is still sleeping because I have until 7am to get myself almost completely ready for work. Thankfully even if he’s awake earlier he will talk and play quietly in his crib until 7am. I check my email and the weather and try to get moving! Usually though I’m running behind and am not entirely ready by the time he’s awake and ready to start breakfast.

7am – I start oatmeal on the stove for breakfast. Then Little Piñata gets up and I change and dress him.


This morning he was snuggled up in the corner of his crib with his blankets and monkey!

ADVERTISEMENT

7:15am – Little Piñata eats breakfast while I try to stuff something in my mouth to eat and get our bags ready for the day. I also try to clean up the kitchen from breakfast since Mr. P usually has to run out quickly before he cleans up completely. Since I don’t get home until about 5pm, I also often try to get a crock pot meal going before I leave for work.


Just eating some breakfast and wondering why mom is having me say “cheese”

7:40am- Little P gets some independent play in his room while I finish everything up and pack up the car.


Independent play usually involves pulling just about everything off the shelves of his room, then reading a book to himself

7:50am- Little P usually needs a diaper change after independent play, so I change him and put his shoes on and head out to the car.

8-8:30am- The ride to work usually takes longer than I anticipate due to traffic and I feel stressed in the car. (Note to self – leave earlier!)

8:30am- My work day officially begins, but Little Piñata is still in my classroom until the school day begins at 9:30. This means that while I’m getting my classroom and supplies ready, he’s running around and taking toys off the shelves and having a great time. Needless to say that I get a whole lot more accomplished on Fridays when my parents pick him up from our house at 7:45am.

9:30am- I drop Little Piñata in his classroom and run back to my room before my students (3 year olds) start arriving. Other than 1-2 bathroom breaks I have no breaks in my day and even eat lunch with my students. Which, as you can imagine, is pretty entertaining.

2:30pm- My school day officially ends and Mr. Piñata picks up Little P. They both drop by my room and we briefly talk about how both of their days have gone while I try to clean up my room.

3pm- I leave for the next job while Mr. P brings Little P home and they get some fun “man bonding” time.


When hanging out with daddy playing organ in a hand-me-down sleep sack is not an unusual activity.

3:30-4:30pm- I teach Spanish for a local daycare center. This job is so fun, but can be tiring after my previous 5 hours teaching preschool.

4:45pm- I either pick up burritos or pizza for dinner or head home for a crock pot dinner.

5pm- We try to eat dinner as a family.

5:30pm- Once Mr. Piñata and I finish dinner, I start cleaning up and he goes back to his office to get some work done since he leaves work earlier on Wednesdays to bring Little P home. Once Little P is done eating, I leave the rest of the messy kitchen to take care of until after he goes to bed so we can play together. Little P and I usually play with his train, puzzles, tool bench, etc. Whatever he’s interested in at the time. He actually often likes to just run around the house and dance!

6pm- Since this is a school day, I usually start Little Piñata’s bedtime sooner since he doesn’t nap as well there as he does at home. He’s always in bed by 6:30/6:45.

6:30pm- If all goes according to plan, Little Piñata is sleeping, but Mr. Piñata leaves as he directs choir practice on Wednesday evenings. At this point I try to finish cleaning the kitchen, start laundry and clean up the house. If I try to sit down and check emails, it’s “game over” and it’s at least an hour before I get up again, so I try to avoid sitting down.

7:30pm- I’d like to think this is when I could relax, but it’s usually when I’m finally reading and answering emails, working on my church or travel agent jobs from home, paying bills, writing blogs or lesson plans, or meal planning. There’s no other time during these days for “life maintenance” so before I know it it’s 9 or 9:30pm and Mr. P is home!

9pm- After Mr. Piñata returns home we try to relax. However, recently this has rarely happened since we have been working on home study paperwork, getting profiles printed, catching up with work after the holidays, etc. But, when we do get to relax we enjoy a sweet treat (he makes really good smoothies with unsweetened chocolate that taste like milkshakes!) and watch a favorite show on Netflix. Usually I’m double-tasking and am either folding laundry or on my computer as well. But isn’t that how it goes for all moms?

10:30/11pm- This is when we usually finally get to bed. We go in spurts of trying to go to sleep earlier, but those only usually last a day or two. We try to get 7 hours of sleep, so ideally we’re out by 11. Thankfully M/W/F are the crazier days and we can both sleep until Little P wakes us up on Thursday mornings, so if he sleeps all night it’s not too bad at all.

I have to admit that keeping up with the details of five different part-time jobs is a bit crazy. Thankfully they technically add up to only about 30 hours a week, but keeping all the details straight can be exhausting! I will NOT keep all these jobs in the long run, especially as we hope to add another child to the family, so more on that to come.