This week Tillery and her husband balance school, sports, two dogs, and working from home in their Deptford, NJ townhouse. Get to know Tillery, in her own words, ahead! What are the greatest challenges you face as a parent? Trying to do it all. I want to make sure I’m present for my kids but I find myself always thinking about my to-do list or the laundry that needs to be done or what appointments we have during the week. What do you wish you’d known before becoming a parent? How expensive it is in both time and money. I never realized how much of my adult life I would spend at kids’ activities. How did your childhood impact how you parent? My parents were very hands-on. My mom was a stay-at-home mom for most of my childhood and my dad never worked past 4:30 p.m. We ate dinner as a family most nights and spent our weekends at each other’s sports and events (I have two sisters and a brother). I think spending so much time together has allowed me to do the same with my kids. On the flip side, my parents weren’t as transparent about things, and topics like money weren’t discussed openly. My husband and I discuss money often and explain financial principles to our son. I’m also very blunt about things so I’m fully transparent with my kids about anything they question. If you could give up one part of parenting, what would you give up? Why? The toddler phase. Does this really need explaining? I’m ready to skip to 5. Monday 6:30 a.m. My alarm goes off and I hit the snooze button a few times until 6:45ish. My son is an early riser so he’s already up and getting dressed for school. I check my calendar on my phone so I know what I have to do for the day. Then I check my bank and credit card accounts and check off items in my budget because everything usually hits on Monday from the weekend. After that, I wake up my husband and he gets our daughter dressed for school. I sign into my computer for work while I wait to do her hair. 8 a.m. I usher my children out the door for school. My son meets our neighbor to walk to the bus stop together and my husband drives my daughter to school. Once everyone is gone I do my morning skincare routine and get dressed, usually in gym clothes. I make a green smoothie and fill my water bottle and get to work. 9:30 a.m. I pause work for breakfast and coffee. My husband usually makes a Starbucks run. We both usually have busy mornings so we check in with each other between calls to say hi. Even though we both work from home, we hardly see each other during the day. 10:45 a.m. I call my mom to see what she’s doing for the day and catch up about the weekend. We talk about what shows we’re watching, the kids, and planning a family vacation. I get back to work after our call. 12:00 p.m. I leave to go to the gym. I try to never skip a Monday so I can set the tone for the week. Monday is usually leg day so I lift heavy and focus on form. I work out for 45 minutes and then go into the sauna for 10 to 15 minutes. Afterward, I go home to shower and make lunch. 1:30 p.m. I arrive back home, usually on a call but on mute while I eat lunch. For lunch, I love having those pre-made salad kits because they’re convenient and also light. I snack more in the afternoon too. 3:45 p.m. My son comes home from school and almost always “needs help” with his homework. I think he just likes to sit at my desk with me as he does his work. He gets a snack and I’m back to work. 5:15 p.m. Still working (I work a flex 4/10 schedule with one day off per week). I continue to work until my husband brings my daughter home from daycare. Once she’s home I get started on dinner and my husband and son go to track practice. She and I eat dinner, play, and watch Baby Shark videos. 8 p.m. My husband and son return from practice. My husband does bedtime with the kids and I start working on my blog Money & Momming. I edit a video for YouTube and send some emails. Wednesday 7:30 a.m. I’m already up and working by this time. Midweek I get more motivation to start my day earlier because I know I’ll be off Friday. The kids are getting ready for school and will be heading out soon. I don’t have to worry about breakfast because they both get it at school. (Well, it’s a second breakfast for my son: He’s able to make his own breakfast at home during the week and then will eat again at school.) My daughter is in the picky stage but will eat breakfast at school with the other kids in class. 8:15 a.m. I get dressed and want something to eat. I make some oatmeal and an iced coffee at home. I start a load of laundry and go back to my desk to work. I try to stay on top of the laundry (our most hated chore in my house) by doing one or two loads a day. 9:45 a.m. I break from work to get dressed for the day and to complete a scheduled post for Instagram. I go down to my husband’s office and see if he’s on a call or not. He’s not, so I chat with him for a few minutes and then go back to work. 11 a.m. This is around the time I call my parents to say hi and then back to work. I’m prepping for a training presentation that I have to give the next day so I work on the slide deck and edit the content. 12:15 p.m. My husband and I take a break and take the dogs for a walk. While walking we talk about upcoming events and travel plans. We also talk about our budget and next steps for our financial goals. 2:45 p.m. Back to work and in problem-solving mode. I handle special projects/processes for my team so I troubleshoot a lot of issues that are requested. I work through my flagged emails from earlier in the week that wasn’t as urgent at first. 4 p.m. I help my son with his homework and then move downstairs with my laptop. He goes outside to play with his friends and I watch him from the window while working. 5:15 p.m. I’m at the gym for a spin class with my favorite instructor. At the beginning of the class I think to myself I want to become a spin instructor. By the end of the class, I contemplate my existence. After spin, I do some core exercises and then go home. 7:15 p.m. I have dinner and then shower. I spend time with my husband and kids before going to bed. Friday 8:30 a.m. I sleep in because it’s my day off. My husband got the kids ready and out to school and he’s back in his office working. I make us breakfast and then get dressed for the day. I review our budget for the week (we budget Friday through Thursday) and pay bills. 10:30 a.m. I go to the salon for my hair appointment. After working out four days during the week my hair is a mess. I get a blowout and trim. After my hair appointment, I go grocery shopping and get us stocked for the week. 1 p.m. I’m back home and begin working on my business and blog. I answer emails and read through contracts for brand partnerships. 2:45 p.m. I use this time before the kids come home from school to create content. I record videos for Youtube, TikTok, and Instagram. I also take photos and plan out my content for the upcoming weeks. I try to plan out two to three weeks, but that doesn’t always stick. 4 p.m. My son is home from school so we go to pick my daughter up early while my husband is finishing work. When we get home I take the kids outside to play. 6:15 p.m. We order takeout because we don’t cook on Fridays. While having dinner we also have a family movie night. My daughter usually dumps her popcorn so we pause to clean up and then back to finishing the movie. 9 p.m. My daughter is in bed and my son is hanging out with us downstairs. We have a busy weekend ahead with back-to-back track meets. These are all-day events with a 7 a.m. report time. We pack the snacks and equipment for the next day and get everything by the door so we can grab and go. We all have our showers that evening and lay our clothes out for the next morning and then go to bed.
