A day in the life of a telecommuter...

A day in the life of a fellow telecommuter, a vignette of home life intersecting with work life. Today, we meet Web Betty, who not only works from home but raises two young boys. By day she's an instructional designer for an eLearning company. Somehow, she also manages to keep a full slate of blogs. Some of my favorites include 10 Things I Hate About Your Site, The Web Betty Blog and Web Substance Meets Style. For information about her design work, she's set up an awesome example of her work here.

I'm not sure why anyone would want to know this, LOL, but here goes! A day in the life of Web-Betty--a WAHM with 2 young boys.

Today started off atypical for a Monday: 7:15 instead of 6:45. Hubby didn't set his alarm so The Goose (he's the 5 1/2-year old) had to get a move on to get dressed and ready for school. Which means I had to get a move on too! First thing is to make sure he has his uniform for school ready. I try to get it out of the room the night before so I don't wake up The Bear (he's the 2-year old) if he's still sleeping, but this doesn't happen often! Of course, I go in to get The Goose's clothes and The Bear is awake. Now The Goose can get his own clothes while I change The Bear's diaper.

7:25 finds The Goose brushing his teeth, hubby pouring coffee, and me rushing to get breakfast (in the form of breakfast bars and an apple) for the humans. I also need to get breakfast for the cat, make sure The Goose has his lunch ticket, and ensure his backpack is ready to go. Hugs and kisses, then hubby and The Goose are off.

7:35 and The Goose is rushing back into the house for a napkin because he spilled his juice in daddy's truck. 7:40 sees hubby and The Goose finally on their way (I hope they weren't late!)

I now have an hour for "personal" work such as checking my blog's comments, catching up on my favorite blogs, dropping ECs, checking personal email, plurking, etc. Damn that hour goes fast!

8:45 and it's time to get The Bear dressed for daycare. This is one of my favorite times of the day as it's just the two of us laughing and playing, and trying to get dressed!

9:00 finds me at 7-eleven because I just realized that I didn't go to the grocery store yesterday so I don't have lunch for The Bear. 9:20 finds us at daycare (late, as usual, but it's not really school so I don't stress over it). Hugs and kisses and I'm off to officially start my day.

9:30 and I'm at my computer working away for "The Man" to pay my bills. I actually love my full-time job and am blessed that when we moved from Denver over three years ago they asked me to work remotely. I'm also blessed that I like what I do--that always helps. In between coding, designing, and helping online instructors, I do manage to socialize via Plurk, check an email or two, and sneak a blog peak here and there. Shh, don't tell my boss!

10:00 and I'm on my third cup of coffee. Usually it's only two cups, but it's tasting particularly good this morning.

11:00 and I'm going into a meeting (teleconference). I didn't have to do any talking, so that's always nice!

11:45 boring meeting is over. Time to let the dog out, then feed him, and feed the fish. Oh, I guess I'll heat myself up some lunch, too. I always eat lunch "at my desk" as I use my lunch hour to pick up The Bear from school and get him down for his nap.

12:55 and I'm off to pick up The Bear from daycare. When we get home he has a quick bottle, then down for a nap. Yay! Once he's in his crib I fold the clothes that are in the dryer, I put the wet clothes in, and start a new load. Not only does he like the background noise, it helps me get some laundry done. Then I get two more hours of uninterrupted work time.

3:15 and The Goose is home from school. I'm so lucky that our neighbor's daughter is in his class so she brings him home everyday. Otherwise, I've have to wake up The Bear and waste 90 minutes going to pick him up. He gets to play some GameCube or watch some cartoons for the next hour.

I spend that time trying to eek out a little more work before The Bear wakes up from his slumber. Once he's awake, it's snack time. I get the boys something wonderfully nutritious (or whatever I can find) to eat and hope they will play nice with each other so I can finish my day.

Around 5:30 it's time to get off the computer, straighten up the house, fold more laundry, referee the boys, and start dinner. Oh yeah, and grab a Miller Lite so I don't lose my mind! The boys help to set the table and around 6:00 hubby comes home. Dinnertime is between 6:30-7:00. (Gone are the days of my youth, when that was the time I was crawling out of bed!)

Depending on how much they smell, or if there is visible dirt and grime, the boys will get bathed. First The Goose in the shower, then The Bear in the bath. We've tried bath time together--it's not worth my sanity. Bed time is 7:30. On the dot. (Okay, sometimes it gets stretched to 7:45, but on this point I'm a stickler. The boys need their sleep, and I need my mind.)

Once the boys are in bed, I grab my laptop and head for the living room. Chris grabs his laptop and heads for the office. I need to complete any unfinished business, and he needs to count some coin (we have a vending business). This is where my day will conclude. I finish up any work for my actual employer that I need to, then I work on my blogs, answer email, Plurk, etc. When Chris is done in the office he'll join me in the living room. During this "down" time the hubby and I will watch episodes of shows we love that we've Tivo'd, drink some wine and relax. My bedtime is usually some time after midnight.

Then I'll wake up the next morning and do it all over again. Sounds exciting, doesn't it? It may not be the most glamorous, but I love my hubby and wouldn't trade my boys or my life for the world.

I don't know how you manage on so little sleep. I'm in awe, and am definitely savoring the days when I keep crazy hours. Thanks for letting us come along for a day.

Want to share your day with us? Send an email to teletwenties@gmail.com.