A Day in the Life: Jessica, Mom of Two (4 and 2)
Written by Jessica Smarrt, Contributing Writer
Hi! I’m Jessica! I’m a stay-at-home mommy to two boys, four and two. I’m a little nervous about this post. I wish I were homeschooling ten kids and fermenting kombucha in my free time, but I’m not there (yet). Yet life is still busy and full. Hope you enjoy a glimpse into our day!
6:45: The boys awake. I say my prayers in bed and try to stay alert. I know, I know…I should get up and have coffee first, and that would help. 🙂
7:03 I take a shower and smile at little voices over the monitor.
7:23 The boys play while I make my husband’s lunch.
7:37 Ty (the two-year-old) throws a stack of cups on the floor for fun. I tell him to pick them up.
He refuses. I give a warning. More crying, more refusing. I take him to my bedroom for a stern lecture. I ask again to put the cups away.
More crying. (Louder this time? It feels louder.)
I look at my husband. “Just ignore him,” he offers.
“Doesn’t that let him win?” I ask.
It’s 7:40. My husband is gone, and my normally pleasant two year old is in a full-blown tantrum, with no end in sight. I bribe him with breakfast, warn him of punishment. Nothing’s working. Eventually I place him on a chair and tell him he can’t get up until he’s happy.
I feel like I’m handling this wrong. I try unsuccessfully to scrounge up a sliver of wisdom from The Strong-Willed Child, which I read ages ago.
8:09 The tantrum’s going on thirty minutes. I swallow my pride and call my mom. We briefly discuss the importance of not entering battles you can’t win.
8:12 At Mom’s suggestion, I reward Sam (the other child) for putting away the cups, play some music and set out breakfast. In a few minutes, the boys are eating oatmeal. I exhale.
8:17 I scoop peanut butter and eat it while checking email. My son has severe food allergies, so I cower in the corner while eating and scrub myself down after. It’s usually not worth it, but eggs felt like a lot of work today.
8:25Â I’ve gotta get something right this morning, so I start cleaning my sink. I’m really good at cleaning at my sink.
8:37 Sam is feeding the fish its breakfast, and I hear, “Oops…” in the background.
;
;
;
;
;
;
;
I look over to see 250 fish food pellets sprinkling the floor. Hmm. I weigh my options, and settle on the broom.
8:42 The floor looks clean, but… is it my imagination? My toes are crunching fish pellets. I lug out the vacuum.
 8:48 Glancing at the counter, I see ripe tomatoes that need to be frozen today. We round up a few more from the garden. One of us has a hard time telling his green from his red.
9:07 Inside again, the boys are hungry again. I start making dairy-free smoothies until Sam informs me there’s a traffic jam of plastic bears inside the vacuum cleaner. I take a brief break to shake miniature bears out of a vacuum hose.
9:21 The boys drink smoothies while I blanch tomatoes. I set out some sensory bins for backup.
9:50 The kitchen is a mess of tomato carcasses and blender parts, but I’ve got to start packing to-go lunches for a doctor’s appointment. My oldest has had what looks like toe fungus for over a year, and I’d like her opinion.
10:30 The youngest is crying because he doesn’t want to go to the doctor. I wrangle him in the car.
10:50 Walking into the hospital complex, I get an awful déjà vu. I was here just a month ago, for a surgery on a rare, abdominal ectopic pregnancy. The memories of that awful time hit me like a wave.
I’m snapped out of my daze by Sam loudly highlighting “that lady’s cool car” (wheelchair). Mental note to discuss appropriate discourse in public.
11:00 We’re in the waiting room. The boys watch Curious George on my phone. Hey, it’s better than the inappropriate grown-up movie playing on the TV.
11:30 We see the doctor, who, surprisingly, agrees tea tree oil might help Sam’s toe fungus. We’ll also continue a topical varnish, which I’m only moderately okay with.
12:30 We’re back home. I put the youngest down for a nap.
It’s 12:35 when I remember tonight was a crock pot night. Oops. And I only have dried beans, and needed cooked ones. I start cooking beans and sauteing onions while sampling strawberries from Sam’s playdough restaurant.
1:16 Both boys are resting. I check my email, order tea tree oil, and eat my lunch. Leftover chicken pot pie is oddly delicious. Maybe it’s the peace and quiet.
1:46 I take a nap. Yup. I waffle back and forth with on whether moms should nap, but today, I’m taking a nap.
2:07 My nap is interrupted by Sam calling my attention to a tower of pillows he’s constructed.
2:10 Despite the brief rest, I feel stressed and not very relaxed. I decide to read my Bible for a few minutes.
2:20 Sam and I read Winnie the Pooh and work on some homeschool preschool activities. Also, randomly, I remember none of us have brushed our teeth today, so we do that.
3:45 My sister drops by for some garden tomatoes. Another neighbor stops by with her kids. Our yard is often overflowing in afternoon with giggling kids and moms thirsty for grown-up conversation.
4:45 Company gone, the boys play in our playroom while I prep for tomorrow’s Backyard Bible Club. The boys “help” me cut scraps of paper and do cannonballs off the couch.
5:25 Dinnertime. It’s delicious: Enchilada Lasagna from Stacy’s Crock-On Cookbook. I even tweaked it to be dairy-free…still yummy. We eat without my husband, which, sadly, is the norm this season.
5:45 I’m about to serve fruit salad dessert when my youngest needs to go to bathroom. Both boys huddle around the toilet watching YouTube videos of garbage trucks and hooting owls, while I check my email. It is what it is.
6:15 I remember that our yard is littered with toys, so we head outside.
6:35 Bathtime. While the boys bathe, I freshen up for a get-together at a friend’s house tonight. I try hard to make myself look less like a tired mom who picks up play dough and fish pellets all day. I’m not sure it works.
6:40 I realize my room desperately needs to be vacuumed. The youngest is wearing my glasses, and he wants a turn. Why not.
6:45 I breath a sigh of relief at my husband’s car outside. He plays with the boys and puts them to bed while I make his lunch for tomorrow.
7:00 I head to my friend’s house. I’m live in my hometown, so I’ll see two cousins, a sister, and my mom. I’ll be tired after a night “out,” but it’s worth it for time with women I love.
10:00 I’m back home. My husband and I chat and bond over Netflix re-runs before heading to bed. It’s a glamorous life we live!
Even though this was somewhat a normal, nothing-special day, and even though I’m not doing anything as remarkable as homeschooling twelve children (like some of you supermoms I so admire) – I’m so grateful for the life I have.
I’m grateful for the ability to work.
In the past few years, I’ve had periods where doing even simple things was hard – due to anxiety, miscarriages, or just overwhelming mommy fatigue.
What a gift the simple, normal days are!
Have you ever had periods where you struggled to do everyday life? Does it make you appreciate the “normal” days?
Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links.
I love it!! You sound just like me…sounds like a perfectly real day!
That was fun to read and oddly reminiscent of ALL my days (5 and 3 yo boys). Good for you for mustering up the energy to go out! Even though we are “home” all day, sometimes getting out feels like the hardest thing in the world. Thanks for sharing!
Afternoon playtime is our sanity! 🙂
Thank you for your honesty! This was a great read, and I appreciate all the links you sprinkled through. Can’t wait to go find new tips and recipes for our home. 🙂
I think I’ll also institute a drop-by playtime for my friends. What a great idea!
Thanks for sharing your day!! It’s refreshing to read about the ups and downs and exhausting parts of being a mama to only a couple of kids. I have 3 boys myself (9,3,1) and I feel ready for more some days and completely maxed out others. I do so admire many of the moms on this site and others that have the huge families, and homeschool, and cook whole foods meals all the time, and never use tv to get their kids to sit for a minute…but honestly it leaves me feeling pretty inadequate most of the time. I admire all the work you put into your two boys, and how hard that can be. Your life sounds a lot like mine, and it gives me comfort that there are moms out there like me. Thanks for the honesty and humbleness of your daily life:) what a great job you are doing!!
Thanks for your kind words. 🙂 Maybe one day when/if I have 7 kids I’ll look back and wonder, how did this seem so busy?? 🙂
Thanks for sharing this. It is helpful to hear about “real moms having real days.” I have 5 boys (9, 8, 2, 2, and 6 mo.) and my days usually do not go perfectly according to plan, to say the least! I am learning to adjust my expectations and enjoy each little moment that will too soon be gone. I’m glad you take time for yourself during bust times. It helps everyone : )
You are so right about enjoying each little moment. I am trying to do that myself!
Loved it. I have days where my goal is to ‘start’ school by 9:00 but it can be 10:30 before we seem to get a good start on my list of items I want to go over. It may be we spent that hour or more chatting, snuggling, kids looking for cicada bugs or their dried up carcasses (eww).. but they love it. Your kids are loved, fed… so it’s all good in the end 🙂 I like your comment above about “homeschooling 10 and fermenting kombucha in your free time” I don’t school 10 but have 2 special needs and love making kombucha tea…LOL.
Well, then, you are my hero! I need to figure out that kombucha! 😉
I think our days sound alot alike! I should probably do a day in the life of me sometime for my hubby… he always ask what I did all day and I usually have no idea;)
I found it really productive, Julie! I realized, no wonder I don’t get much “accomplished” when so much chaos is going on! 😉
Love it! Mommy of two girls, ages 3 and 1. This sounds like many of my days! 🙂
As a woman who hopes to be a stay at home mom someday, it is helpful to read what it’s REALLY like to wrangle kids all day! I’m looking forward to this series 🙂 Thank you for sharing your honest reality, Jessica, and not living into the perfectionism that is our Pinterest society today.
Aw, thank you! I’d like to say this is an exceptionally *messy* day…but it’s pretty normal! 😉
Your day sounds a lot like mine!! I have a just 5 year old and a 2 year old, both boys. Sometimes at the end of the day I can’t even remember what I did or if I accomplished anything! At least I am at home with my boys and as you say able to do things!
That’s exactly how I feel! It’s amazing how “busy” you can be, yet accomplish so little, ha!
Hey! That sounds like an easy day! Lol. At least no one clogged the toilet with flushed matchbox cars, peed in an air duct, or ended up on the ER for stitches. Yes that day really happened 🙂 Thanks to a gentle lecture from the plumber, the flushing of random objects jas stopped
So fun to read this! I have a 4 and 2 yr. old, recently experienced a miscarriage and just did a Backyard Bible Club…..and ALWAYS forget I need to cook the beans. Thanks for sharing – blessings.
Lindsey, we are kindred spirits LOL!
I loved this real day-in-the-life! 🙂 Your mention of ectopic pregnancy touched me – I had one several years ago and remember what a physically and emotionally draining time it was. Take care! And I agree, there are days that mama needs a nap. {smile}
What a beautiful post – love your transparency and obvious love for the Lord! I remember those days with wrangling little ones. My oldest was a real tantrum thrower. Once he cleared an entire shelf in the supermarket while having a meltdown – screaming, crying – good times, LOL! No matter what the age, there are so many amazing joyful moments and those challenging moments when we feel completely at a loss of what to do, or are just running on flumes of exhaustion. That’s why it is important for Mommies to take a break and refresh. Glad you were able to spend some time with your family! Thanks again for sharing your life with us! Blessings to you, Kelly
I also have 2 boys, 6 and almost 4 now and a precious little miracle daughter. When my son was diagnosed with anaphylactic allergies to peanuts, treenuts, dairy and eggs as a baby it followed your story with your son almost exactly. It culminated with him going into anaphylactic shock at 8 months old after a trace exposure to peanuts. After he almost died in our arms I suffered severe anxiety. I really get your story. As a family we decided to make our home our safe place. None of his allergens ever come into the home and for fear that we may pose an accidental risk to him we never eat his allergies either. There are too many incidents of reaction from secondary causes (a dad with nut residue on his hands after forgetting to wash them after work, a moms kiss after forgetting the peanut butter toast she ate, a brother wrestling with him after eating a peanut butter cookie etc). I have not eaten a peanut in 5 years. He recently (thank the Lord) healed from his treenut and dairy allergies. We are prayerful that one day peanuts and eggs won’t pose such a severe risk to him. May I say, in the most non judgemental and supportive way possible that your eating peanut butter in your home with your son seems just so scary and risky. An epi pen is not effective if his blood pressure drops too quickly during a sudden reaction. At that point nothing can be done. How can you be sure his brother won’t get into it and touch him or you forget that you ate it or didn’t brush your teeth…or you did brush your teeth but then he played with your toothbrush. I am just very worried after reading about your eating the pb. Forgive me for being so forward. I know the further anxiety is the last thing you need…trust me I do. But making our home a safe zone was what eliminated most of the anxiety I was crippled with.