Day in the Life of

[Guest]

Typical weekend:

 

Saturday:

7:00 AM Wake up

7:15 AM Get out of bed, start coffee, make oatmeal for the baby

7:30 AM The baby is in bed talking, so it's time to get him

7:35 AM The baby has finished his oatmeal, time to get a banana for him and try to pour my cereal

7:36 AM The baby has finished his entire banana

7:37 AM The baby is mad because he doesn't have any food and is still in his high chair. Get him Cheerios

7:40 AM Realize that I sat down at the table without pouring milk on my cereal. Get the milk

7:41 AM Clean the baby with a washcloth, set him down to wander around and play

8:00 AM Clean up from breakfast

--Twice a month our schedule includes:

8:00-8:30 AM Wife and I both take showers while the other one gets the baby dressed.

8:30 AM Pack up the car and head to our Catholic Community group prayer meeting

9:00 AM-12:00 PM Prayer meeting

12:30 PM Go home. Baby is hungry and tired. Feed him junk in the car until we get home and he gets lunch

1:30 PM Go outside and let the baby play

2:30 PM Read books and nap time

2:30 PM-4:00 PM Rest/read/watch TV/do stuff around the house

4:00-4:30 PM Baby wakes up or we wake him

4:30-6:00 PM Play with the baby/read books/maybe go outside

6:00 PM Dinner time

7:00 PM Play outside some more

7:30 PM Baby's bath

8:00 PM Clean-up toys/read books/bedtime

8:30 PM Watch TV/Movie/Play a board game/have a beer

10:30 PM insist on one more episode of something or one more game, even though we don't really get to sleep in that much later than normal

12:00 PM Go to bed

 

We've recently had a bunch of weddings or other travel, so that's made our weekends different, but that's a typical Sunday. Sunday is similar, only there's typically a playground in their somewhere and Mass for an hour.

[Driver]

Spending time with my family is spending time with the 2 things I love most in this world. Who wouldn't want to spend as much time as possible with their favorite things?

True introverts who eventually bristle at any form of attention, even positive and will promptly lose their shit if they don't have a dedicated block of time where they can be completely alone.

[Darth Krawlie]

I absolutely need alone time every once in a while, and it's not rare that I'm frustrated if the kid wakes up early because then I can't do my own ****. But that doesn't mean I'm not all about it when she's up.

[Driver]

One of the biggest things that no parenting book tells you is that it's totally normal to not want to be into your kid 24/7

[Darth Krawlie]

The vast majority of parenting books, especially ones for dads, are total shit anyway.

[David]

the 4 days out of the week i have keilan (2 of those days are my days off):

 

5am: i get up, shower and get me ready for work and get keilan ready for sitter/pre-school.

6am: drop keilan off at sitter/pre-school(he's usually passed out, goes back to bed)

 

615am to 3pm: work. now this certainly varies. i'm a vendor, so i'm done whenever i get my stores serviced. sometimes it's a 6 hour day, an 8 hour day or a very rare occasion, it'll be a 9 or 10 hour day. depends on how busy and how my pace is, if i'm screwing around chit chatting with people or the like. most often, especially when i have keilan, i put my nose to the grindstone and get my shit done. typically, i have him picked up by 2. my work schedule is tuesday-saturday, so i kind of have it set up to where i hit my stores HARD on tues, wednesday and thursday. if i put in 10 hour days, i put them in, i don't care. by friday and saturday, i've got my stores looking so good it allows me the opportunity to take it easier on those 2 days so i can have keilan picked up in a timely manner.

 

3pm to 5pm: pick keilan up from sitter/pre-school, do shopping, errands and the like before heading home and settling in. this is also a great time to go to one of the many parks in my area and burn some energy out of keilan. i live in a suburb outside of stl, and there's not really a yard for keilan to run freely much. so parks are pretty essential for the 2 of us.

 

5pm: usually start getting dinner prepared and started.

 

530pm: dinner. give or take 30 minutes sometimes.

 

6pm to 730pm-800pm: netflix with kid, board games, maybe some educational games on the tablet, nintendo 3ds time is a must, maybe some lego building, whatever our hearts desire during that time.

 

730pm/8pm is bath time.

 

8pm/830pm we'll have a snack, we generally have popcorn, pistachios or a little ice cream before bed.

 

830/9pm bedtime with a story or 2.

 

my bedtime is usually 10pm/1030pm, so i might play a quick game or catch a movie or a few shows before bed.

 

 

the days i don't have keilan, i usually start work between 3am or 4am, often being done by 10am-noon. with these 3 days, i try and find something to do, whether it's go to a local sporting event, a concert, mall, bass pro, maybe golf, a poor attempt at working out, go home and do the main chores around the house since i don't have keilan, get everything in order so he can tear everything up within 30 minutes of walking into my door. play videogames. read. whatever. i'm kind of a free man those 3 days, so if i wanna watch parks and recreation on netflix naked, i'll do that too. my bedtime doesn't really change much. i'm usually in bed around 10. i generally operate pretty well without much sleep. if i get 5 hours or so, i'm happy. there's an occasion here or there where i'll crash and burn and pass out by 8 or so.

 

 

 

on my days off with keilan, it's anything we want to do. we always do church and a late brunch on sundays. on one of those days, i usually try and ask keilan what he wants to do. makes him feel important. many times, it's going to the zoo, which is fine with me. it's a free zoo here in stl, so i'm always for that. other than that, we'll find something to do dowtown like visit the riverfront or the arch, botanical gardens, go park hopping, or take a 3 hour drive to go see my family for the weekend. we usually do that once a month, at the very least.

 

 

so yeah....my life in strung out all over the place in that post, but, yeah...hope you got the idea.

 

 

 

 

 

by the way, seth, money on this topic. great idea. this is the best thread i've seen in quite sometime here.

[Cerina]

 

Spending time with my family is spending time with the 2 things I love most in this world. Who wouldn't want to spend as much time as possible with their favorite things?

True introverts who eventually bristle at any form of attention, even positive and will promptly lose their **** if they don't have a dedicated block of time where they can be completely alone.

 

True. "As much time as possible" =/= EVERY WAKING MOMENT

 

But it's not like the hours I do spend with them are a giant inconvenience or unpleasant experience like has been implied. But we're also very lucky because Noah spends a LOT of time away from us. He has 4 great-grandparents in this city who constantly want him for a night or weekend, and my dad/stepmother, mom, aunt, and sister want him in Austin for days at a time every chance they get.

[The Human Torch]

The Dance Club

 

It's the weekend of my 21st birthday. No plans. My personal way to go about it is that I don't just have a kid, I'm a parent. Parties are eh. My wife doesn't turn 21 for four months, but she thinks it'll be fun for me to go out with my party-girl sister for once. So I go out with my sister and her friends, but not before I'm all like 1. I'm not dancing. 2. This is weird without my wife. 3. Do I gotta?! 4. I don't even drink... Reply to #4 is quickly, "Duh. You're a square, little bro, but you're gonna have a drink tonight." That and apparently provide cab fare, I thought this was a night out for me?

 

We get to the club and I notice a vintage Space Invaders arcade machine by a bar area on the second level balcony. I don't notice the lack of women other than my sister and her girlfriends. My sister takes me over to the first floor bar and tells me to order, still bruised from being dubbed a square I want to order something other than beer... you know, to sound cool and with it.

 

I draw a blank. I can't even remember the drink from that catchy infidelity song. I start to feel sweat bead up on my forehead as seemingly all eyes are on me. In my mind's eye a man comes to my rescue. I smoothly say, "Martini. Shaken not stirred." People probably giggle, but I am so certain that I got this my focus is solely on the bartender. Too much focus apparently because she asks me twice, "What type of Martini, Hun?" I am dumbstruck.

 

Now I hear the giggling. A man, a real one not a figment, interjects on my behalf. "Vodka, dirty, twist of lemon." I look at this stranger and he grins. "Uhh, yeah. That one. Sure. Thanks, Mister." I stop myself short of uttering my trademark throwback Gee Wiz exclamation. He nods a you're welcome and then starts chatting to my sister. Moments later the bartender hands me my drink, my sister pays and the helpful patron walks away giggling. Alrighty then.

 

My sister and her girls get their drinks and bolt for the dance floor. I glance around for a bit and then head upstairs to Space Invaders. As luck has it, I forgot to give my wife our laundry money for the weekend so I have a roll of quarters in my pocket.

 

Several games in I notice a few dudes are watching me rack up highscores. Verbal high fives and general well wishes have me feeling like Alex Rogan. Self-congratulatory gameplay then results in a game over. Collective too bads resound as I and the audience realize I was just a few points away from the top score. Oh well. Time to get another drink, I think.

 

Recalling the exact way my helpful patron ordered my first Martini I do the same. I leave a much obliged tip to my lady server and head back to the arcade machine. Thankfully no one took my spot so I sit back on the bar stool right in front of Space Invaders.

 

As I load up a quarter one of my audience speaks, "First timer?" I respond without thinking, "Yep. Just turned 21. To be honest I didn't want to come out tonight, but here I am and I'm having a pretty good time." My game starts. "If you wanna have a better time, call me." He puts a piece of paper with his hastily scribbled number right onto my crotch. Right on it. Like boom! I'm suddenly playing a game of sexual paper / rock / scissors... paper / crotch / hand. "Uh. I'm not gay. I'm married." He winks and replies, "Me too." "No seriously." "Okay, honey." He sashays away. I hear the arcade music. Game over.

 

Moral of the story: Me Time is overrated. And so are dance clubs.

[Driver]

 

 

Spending time with my family is spending time with the 2 things I love most in this world. Who wouldn't want to spend as much time as possible with their favorite things?

True introverts who eventually bristle at any form of attention, even positive and will promptly lose their **** if they don't have a dedicated block of time where they can be completely alone.

 

True. "As much time as possible" =/= EVERY WAKING MOMENT

 

But it's not like the hours I do spend with them are a giant inconvenience or unpleasant experience like has been implied. But we're also very lucky because Noah spends a LOT of time away from us. He has 4 great-grandparents in this city who constantly want him for a night or weekend, and my dad/stepmother, mom, aunt, and sister want him in Austin for days at a time every chance they get.

 

I won't lie, being happily divorced and working for myself at home makes life so much easier. I can be creative while he's at school, and I get scheduled breaks where I'm not responsible for him. It's great. When I have him, I'm happy to see him and ready to do stuff. None of this "daddy is too tired" stuff.

[RamonAtila]

Monday to Friday I study 3D animation from 1pm-6pm. I leave home at 10:37am because I live in the suburbs. Usually get to school around 12:10 and browse online till class. We usually get a 15-25min break around 3. If I miss the bus at 10:37 there's another at 11:38 in which case I get to school just in the nick of time.

 

I finish school at 6pm and get home around 7:15. Watch second half of Jeopardy. Dinner around 8. We're late eaters.

 

I work at Domino's pizza Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Friday I'm rushing to work from school to start at 7pm. It's just one line on metro. I work till 1am (close). Sometimes get a ride home on the back of a scooter. Sat-Sun I work from 11am-7pm. My bus schedule is very inconvenient, I'll work an extra 25min instead of waiting for bus. And I'll get to work 25min early because of the sparse bus departures. Do I get paid for the extra hour I put in at work? no. Sometimes my boss will ask me to work 7pm-1am close on any day of the week.

 

TV watching is varied. I'll watch KTLA5 (Los Angeles) news in the morning before school and work, even though I'm back in Montreal. They're just my favorite news team, and I still care about LA news. Now that Big Bang is back I'll catch that on Mondays. I don't watch late night anymore for some reason but I'll catch SNL even though I hate it!

 

I'll put myself to sleep with a good movie on the laptop around 12am-1am. Without fail my alarm rings at 8am EVERYDAY. I'm a pretty busy guy but I make sure I get a good sleep. 7-8 hours is plenty!! Mornings with my breakfast cereal are precious to me.

 

This is the schedule I strictly adhere to but there of course are exceptions. Boss doesn't need me tomorrow so I'm staying downtown to FINALLY catch Magic in the Moonlight after school.

[pavonis]

True. "As much time as possible" =/= EVERY WAKING MOMENT

Wouldn't "as much time as possible" by definition mean EVERY WAKING MOMENT? Otherwise isn't it just "as much time as I can stand without going crazy"?

 

My day:

 

6:30 am wake

Dress, eat, out the door by 7:45 am

At work by 8 am.

 

Depending on the semester, the daily schedule is different, but usually consists of 2-3 lectures.

 

After last class, I review content for the next lectures, do some grading, and tidy up the office for the next day.

 

Evenings free for reading journal articles and other entertainment.

[Driver]

Where does "being condescending" fit into your schedule?

[pavonis]

I always have time for that.

[Ms. Spam]

I'm not gonna lie - and I think you guys are great parents - but I'm so glad I have not procreated. I have cats who won't let me pee in peace. I can't even imagine what having a kid is like. And I teach, so I have sampled of the antipasta platter of kid life. The weird "I have to go to the bathroom" and then when they are gone longer than they should be you go in the bathroom and discover fantastical things like the student being half passed out because the student did that weird trick where you press against the bathroom sink... or the constant shuffling of hormone-laden boys who are growing so fast they're all awkward legs and feet and elbows. Watching them buy those fried burrito things in the cafeteria and downing like three of them and still wondering why they're in the 6th percentile for height and skinny as hell but you eat one candy and it is nine thousand steps on a treadmill to burn the calories off.

 

Yeah. No, gimme cats. They may pee on me in my sleep but I won't have to take the knocking at the bathroom door asking "MOOOOOOOOMMMMMY" while I sneak a quick look at the internet with my pants around my ankles and when it suddenly stops I won't have to wonder "What the hell is my kid into? He's being too quiet". Only to come out and see he's taking my lipstick and drawn on the walls.

 

Also, pavonis should have office hours so students can stop by and explain why they need extra time to work on physics assignments.

[Guest El Chalupacabra]

 

Jesus, after reading a lot of these posts, I made the right call never having kids. I couldn't handle the responsibility.

 

RITE?? It's like, it's ALL they do! Destiny MAY get SOME me time between 6:30 and 7pm? I'd lose it.

 

Does anybody envy anybody esle's day?

 

Not yet! Actually, I kind of feel guilty about complaining, because I don't have it that bad economically. I am just extremely unhappy is all, and am trapped at my income level, so I can't just quit and get a job at Taco Bell or something.

 

My only real me-time is my commute

Windshield time is not necessarily Me Time, especially during rush hour gridlock.

 

 

 

Jesus, after reading a lot of these posts, I made the right call never having kids. I couldn't handle the responsibility.

And reading yours, I'm glad I didn't get into IT. Guys I know who did tell similar stories. Are kids really any worse than this?

 

If half a lifetime has taught me anything, it's that life is too short for crappy jobs and crappy relationships. Get out before this really does steal your soul.

 

 

Oh man, Kurg, be VERY glad you didn't get into any kind of tech support role. I fell into this type of work because I thought I was doing a smart thing and covering my bets when I was an undergrad: studied one thing I really liked didn't have much a future at making cash, and studied another that I knew I would always have some kind of job with. At first, I thought I got lucky with this job, but as universities reorganize, a lot of people end up in departments\schools\even campuses that they didn't originally start out at. Suddenly, one finds all the coworkers one had been friends with for YEARS are gone because they either quit, or work a different department (me, I'm all of the above).

 

The problem is this line of work, both for me personally and the industry as a whole, has gotten progressively worse over the years, and from what I hear from other people, it's like that any where you go for that type of work; public or private sector, it doesn't matter. You are treated the same. My long term plan is to get out after I graduate in a couple years. I'm letting my employer pay my tab on the MA. The thing is I apparently didn't learn my lesson about earning a useless degree and that credential probably isn't going to take me very far but its better than nothing (the way I see it, even if it is not all that useful, after 10 years of being over worked and under paid, and talked down to and walked all over like a dog, I feel they "OWE" me some kind of MA, and since they are paying for all of it, I am doing it), but at this point I don't care. If I end up having to, I will get some office job like an HR job or entry level banking job, or whatever, that seem to appreciate useless degrees, at least to get the foot in the door. But as for tech support, I want out because it hasn't been fun for a long time and the money doesn't compensate for that anymore. I would not recommend that any type of tech support or IT job to anyone. Ever.

 

 

Dude, Chalupa. That sucks hard. I mean in October I've got to start gearing my lessons to teach to the test but right now at least we're doing fun stuff like watching clouds and learning about weather or making volcanos to show how some rocks are formed - today we talked about meteorites and they got to touch samples I have. I have something to look forward to. Also I have information for you about Living Trusts. I will PM to you tonight.

You know, my back up plan had always been if things got real bad, I'd be a school teacher. You know where I live, and you know that it sucks to teach there. My brother's experience scared me off to that, at least where I live. Which means I would have to move to another state to teach, and I can't do that as long as my Dad is around so I can help him (not a bad thing, I want him around for as long as possible). When I get my MA, maybe I will try to teach at a community college or something. I don't know, exactly what I am going to do, because I am still trying to figure it all out. Career changes suck like that.

[Guest]

 

My only real me-time is my commute

Windshield time is not necessarily Me Time, especially during rush hour gridlock.

 

Fortunately I drive away from the city in the morning and to the city in the evening, so I get to drive by all of the suburbanites that create the gridlock.

[monkeygirl]

I commute so early, I don't have to deal with real rush-hour traffic anymore, but when I do, I feel like I'm trapped in Hell. Like, even fantasizing about shooting people the heir heads doesn't bring relief because then they'd be in my way PERMANENTLY.

[Guest]

I can't imagine ever being that angry at anyone not causing direct pain to someone else.

[Darth Krawlie]

Is that why I'm so angry at you all the time? The pain you cause me is unbearable.

[Guest]

Don't be jealous.

[Destiny Skywalker]

I hate commuting so hard. I was spoiled by living 5 minutes from work for 7 years, but the neighborhood wasn't so desirable so we moved last year. Now my commute is 15 minutes in the morning, 20-30 minutes in the evenings. I just hate that wasted time. I also hate driving with the kids in the dark because I can't see them very easily. The worst commute I had was 60 miles, one way. Luckily, that only lasted 3 months, but I put 10,000 miles on my car that summer. But then the next 2 years was 30 miles (45 minutes of driving) one way. And I lived 30 miles from my boyfriend, who worked another 30 miles away. We literally worked 100 miles apart during the day. It was ridiculous.

 

I love my kids, don't get me wrong. I'm actually sad that most of my evenings seem to be running around getting stuff ready for the next day instead of spending what I would consider to be quality time with them. Part of this is because I'm currently getting zero help in the parenting department, other than the older one's nightly bath (he does cook, at least). The other part is 2 kids is way harder than 1 kid, and babies are way harder than older kids. I know it's going to get easier but right now I'm exhausted and tired of the tedious routine. I've let some things go from when the oldest was a baby, just for my sanity, but I'm still going like an Energizer bunny from 5-9 every night, and 5-7 every morning.

[The Kurgan]

I commute so early, I don't have to deal with real rush-hour traffic anymore, but when I do, I feel like I'm trapped in Hell. Like, even fantasizing about shooting people the heir heads doesn't bring relief because then they'd be in my way PERMANENTLY.

I get paid a lot of money to do this.

[Mara Jade Skywalker]

This is why I say I only want one child. Then my mom glares at me like I've said the worst thing ever.

 

I drive about 30 miles one way to work. I could move closer, but I honestly like where I live. It's nice and quiet and close to Disney World. I just wish the Sunrail would come out in my direction. Then I could read and write on the train!

[Destiny Skywalker]

My mom got upset when I told her I was two and done. If you wanted 10 grandchildren, you should've had more than 1 kid.

[The Human Torch]

951am 6.1 Earthquake approx 80 miles NW of Anchorage. My house shakes so violently dishes are smacking cabinet doors, bookcases trying to tip, lights blinking and swinging. My boys are filled with such fear it's palpable, I'm calm and getting them to our farmer's table, but their emotions almost make me cry. I crack a joke about Hulk Smashing bad guys and then the boys snap out of it and giggle. The quake ebbs away and all is well.