Daily Grind

photography by EMILY SCOTT

Glitter Guide founder and mom of two Taylor Sterling shares her everyday routine chasing after her Minis, Elodie and Benji.

5:45 AM | My day usually starts before 6 and while it’s never easy, I’ve gotten pretty used to it over the years. My kids are both early birds.

6:00 AM | I wish my kids would snuggle in bed with us till it was light out, but they are way too wiggly and excited. We usually head down stairs right away and start making coffee and making them a morning snack.

6:20 AM | My husband and I are sipping our coffees and feeling a bit more alive. We feed my son a little breakfast since he wakes up hungry. Right now, he likes frozen mini pancakes from Trader Joe’s, cantaloupe and chopped up apples. I’m weaning him off drinking so much milk so I try to avoid it until later in the morning so that he eats his breakfast. At the same time, my daughter usually has a snack on the couch while watching a show (Vamperina is her current favorite). She’s not that hungry when she wakes up, but will usually eat the same things as her brother a little later in the morning.

6:45 AM | My husband brings a lunch to work. He usually has leftovers and he will make his and my daughter’s lunch for school. I wish she would eat our leftovers, but she always comes home hungry when we try that. So she typically has a PB&J sandwich, fruit, Pirate’s Booty (a staple in this house) and string cheese. I usually make my son’s lunch which is a mix of fruit and leftovers.

7:00 AM | By now, my daughter has usually moved onto playing with her toys while my husband and I go and get changed. We bring my son with us to change him too. He usually plays with something like empty makeup boxes or an empty bottle (he likes things that aren’t actual toys) while we get ready. Thankfully, since I work from home, I usually just freshen up a tiny bit and stay in comfortable clothes. I take the kids to school/nanny every day and my husband picks them up.

7:15 AM | I will gather my daughter’s clothes and get her dressed while she’s playing. Trying to get her dressed is the hardest part of the morning routine. There is usually some push-back. If I involve her in picking out some of her clothes, that helps, also bringing the clothes downstairs to her is a lot easier than trying to get her up- stairs and away from what she’s doing. I brush her hair and her teeth and get her ready to get out the door.

7:20 AM | Usually my husband rushes out the door to work around this time, and I try to eat breakfast and get all of their backpacks and lunches organized by the door. I am typically coerced by my daughter to play a board game or dress her dolls up even though I have mentioned we need to leave about five times.

7:40 AM | We are out the door and off to school! Getting out the door can be challenging, but I give my son his bottle of milk and my daughter a snack and a toy to play with. That sometimes makes it easier.

8:30 AM - 4:00 PM | A typical day for me means I am working from my home office. Sometimes I have meetings, photo shoots, or events to attend, but I only work four days out of the week (Monday through Thursday) so I tend to have a lot to accomplish and need to get busy on my laptop. I’m currently doing a little bit of everything for Glitter Guide, and I took over our social media temporarily a few months ago, so the morning tends to be a lot of planning and pushing out content on social media, then working on any sponsored content we need to get done that week, followed by checking off my deadlines on Asana, then emails, and any other miscellaneous things I’m working on. Throughout the day, my team and I communicate a lot through Slack. Since we’re remote, it’s the best way for us to quickly get help or clarification on things. With how much I have to get done, I tend to run out of time. I wish there were more hours in the day! I also would love to get back to going to the gym around 11 AM everyday. It makes me feel so much happier and balanced when I get out of the house and take a break. I have fallen off that majorly this past year, and I can’t wait to get back to it. For now, most days I work on my laptop all day until 4 PM without much of a break. I even eat in front of my computer— I know, so bad!

4:00 PM | I’m quickly taking a shower and getting into another set of pajamas. So glamorous.

4:30 PM | The family gets in and it’s all hands on deck for the next three hours! It’s a bit manic after school. The kids are hungry and tired and my husband and I are usually the same. Usually I will spend about 20 minutes cleaning the kitchen and getting it ready for my husband to cook dinner (he does all the cooking and I do most of the house cleaning). My husband will play with the kids and give them a small snack.

5:00 PM | While dinner is cooking I will play games with the kids or with toys in their room. My daughter is usually very hyper and hungry and it’s a delicate balance to postpone dinner but also not wait too long where she’s

passed her window and is having a meltdown. The small snack and having some quality mommy time helps.

5:30 PM | Dinner time! We eat pretty early since our kids are starving and they go to bed [soon]. We’ve tried to feed them first and have our own meal later, but it tends to get too late for us and we are too tired to cook later in the evening. So we all like to eat at the same time. We always have our dinner at the table as a family. It’s hectic, but it’s one of the only times we all get to be together and sit!

6:15 PM | We wrap up dinner and I will get the dishes done while my husband takes the kids upstairs to play and then do bath time. Since I am doing Glitter Guide’s social media, I will also take a minute to post to our Instagram and check-in really quickly.

6:50 PM | I will join my husband upstairs and help get the kids bathed and ready for bed. My son is pretty tired at this point and I quickly try to get him into his pajamas, read a little book, have some milk and then brush his teeth. He’s still sleeping in our room because we can’t seem to find a way to get these kids to both be on the exact same sleep schedule, and it seems like at least one kid is waking up for one reason or another at least once a week.

7:15 PM | My son is usually asleep and I help my husband with my daughter. By now, she’s usually changed and had her teeth brushed. Luckily, both my kids love brushing their teeth so it’s never really an issue (brushing hair is a different story!) My husband and I will snuggle with my daughter and read a few books. I’m usually the one who will be the last to leave and give her a goodnight kiss.

8:00 PM | Most nights both kids are asleep no later than 7:45, but some nights my daughter will fight going to bed untill about 8 PM.

8:00 PM - 10:00 PM | It’s time for us to chill and relax! I usually do my evening skincare routine, fold laundry, and tidy up before I take any time to sit and relax. I like to take a breather on the couch for at least 30 minutes before I go to bed. These days, I’m asleep by 9:30 PM. With how hectic and busy our days are, and with occasional night wakings and early mornings, it’s the only way I can get through the day!