The Real Evening Routines of Working Moms
This post on the real morning routines of working moms got so much good discussion (keep it coming and keep sharing your routines here, mamas!) that we’ve decided to do a version featuring evening routines!
I simply find it fascinating to read how other moms do it — and apparently you guys do, too. Like we always say, there’s no single “right” way to do it. Just the way that works for you and your family. But, you never know when another fam might give you a great idea!
Alyssa Rap, founder of Bottlenotes
Get back from work between 5:45 to 6 p.m., sit with girls while they finish their dinner, play for an hour, sometimes dance or sing or watch a show. Bath is at circa 7 p.m. or 7:30 p.m., bedtime routine of books, etc., circa 8 p.m. Thereafter, my husband and I try to relax or work more on our laptops when not traveling for work.
Teddi Hernandez, co-founder and CEO of Solve KC
Kids get home at all hours due to sports — hubby travels during the week — so I typically have dinner in the Crockpot or in the oven so we can have dinner by 6 or 6:30 p.m. I make sure the older kids are doing their homework by 7:30 and then get organized for the next day. Two nights a week, I have Special Olympics activities for two of our five kiddos until 7:30 or 8. My daughter gets home from gymnastics at 8:30, so I am home to feed her dinner. One night a week, I typically have a nonprofit meeting or activity of some kind that I volunteer for — that adds to the chaos when my hubby is traveling. Everyone is typically in bed by 10 p.m. I check emails one more time — work on anything that is urgent — AND then …. I am a HUGE television person. I get on my oversized Broncos PJs and watch Real Housewives, a documentary of some kind or any other brainless television show — do laundry, pick up the house, etc. To sleep by 11 each night — pass out!
Katrin Heuser, owner Affäre
Try to play a game with my kids, talk about school, fashion, sports with them, drink a glass of wine, shower, sleep.
Aviva Ajmera co-founder, president and COO of Solve KC
Dinner is around 6:30, unless it’s fall sports season and then every evening is different depending on if it’s a practice, away game or home game evening. I clean up the kitchen and start to unwind for the evening around 8 p.m. Sometimes I’ll do work until 9 if necessary. I always try to be in the bedroom by 9, watch a show with my husband and go to bed around 10:30 to 11 p.m.
Erin Whitehead, co-founder of the Fit Bottomed World
My kids are ravenous around 5 p.m., so I’ve usually got dinner well under way at that point. I distract them with TV to buy me some time to get food ready and then we’re eating by 5:30. After that, it’s couch relaxation time and play time, always with Disney Junior playing. My husband arrives around 6 p.m. to much fanfare and then we all hang out together and fit in homework and cleaning up the kitchen after that. Then we tag team bedtime for the kids and it’s lights out for them by 8. We’ll usually work for a good couple of hours and head up to decompress watching TV and pass out cold before an episode of anything is over.
Jennipher Walters, co-founder of the Fit Bottomed World
My daughter’s (and pup’s) hungry alarm goes off about 5 to 5:30 p.m., so I usually try to have dinner at least started by then. (And if not, a little snack of some veggies or a piece of bread for her does wonders at buying me some time.) My husband usually gets home around 6 p.m. but often has to work late on big projects, so I usually try to eat later with him once Gwen goes to sleep. After dinner, I clean up, we have family play time or sometimes we watch a little of a show or movie together (current faves: DVRed Peppa Pig or Pixar’s Inside Out). Around 7 p.m., it’s a bath (if needed) and books and bed for Gwen. Then my husband and I usually eat, have a glass of wine, catch up on what happened that day and what’s planned for the rest of the week, and then watch a show or two on TV and relax. Before bed, I’ll do a scan of my email to make sure nothing is pressing and then hit the hay around 9:30 p.m.
Alright, mamas. Leave your evening routine in the comments below! We’d love to hear ’em! —Jenn