There’s never a dull moment in the life of a mom, and our very own Caterpy Mom and ambassador Ashley Casano can vouch for this. From running miles to running the household, she has her hands full juggling kid duty with her husband Frank, helping her son Frankie with schoolwork and life, logging miles and strength training on the daily, and making an obscene number of grilled cheese sandwiches. And that means no hands and no time to tie shoes!
To celebrate the recent release of our Caterpy Kids Laces, we lived a day in the life of this Caterpy Mom and managed to snag a few extra minutes with Ashley to chat Caterpy faves. Check out her grind and see if you can keep up! For the day in pictures (and some hilarious commentary), check out our Instagram Story Highlights.
First things first: Caterpy faves!
Ashley’s Favorite Caterpy color: Tie-dye! It makes running a party. And matches everything.
Ashley’s favorite thing about Caterpy: Time saving and simplicity. Throw on your shoes and GO! Also no stopping to re-tie or adjust shoelaces, ever. You know you are going to get the perfect fit every time. I also love that when my feet swell in the Florida heat and humidity my laces adjust with me. HUGE benefit.
Ashley’s favorite activity: Running. Duh! Half marathon is my favorite distance to race, but I recently got a mile PR!
Frankie’s Favorite Caterpy Color: Tropical Blue, because he likes BRIGHT, NEON colors that stand out!
Frankie’s favorite family pastime: Swimming. This includes spraying mom in the face with a hose. Creating “epic” jumps and tricks. Saying “watch me” one million times, and attacking people under water when they least expect it.
And now it’s time to get down to business with a day in the life of a Caterpy Mom. Is nap time included?
5:00am: Wake up! I have everything laid out the night before including clothes and any nutrition. It takes me about an hour to get out the door by the time I feed the cats, eat, foam roll and warm up.
6:00am: Run time! Ever since “Safer at Home,” I have been averaging about 45 miles/six days a week of running. Frank usually starts conference calls at 7:30am, so it’s best if I can be home by then to be on “kid duty.”
7:00-8:30am: Frankie wakes up. With me running and Frank starting calls, we allow Frankie to have some screen time before his school day starts. He is expected to wake up, brush his teeth, complete attendance, read the daily message board, write his pen pal, and then he can do screen time of his choice. I get in from my run and take a quick shower, check in with the boys, get Frankie some quick breakfast and take a look at the schedule for the day.
8:30am: Frankie has a Zoom meeting everyday with his teacher and class. I typically use this time to get the school day ready: print out the schedule, collect any notebooks or worksheets we need, etc.
9:00-10:00am: Frankie has to complete two subjects (without fussing about it!) to get a break. I let him choose the subjects, and he always chooses the easiest ones first thing in the morning. He typically practices typing, does something simple like listening to story and responding to it in his reading journal, or completes handwriting pages. I try to knock out my “chores” while he works independently – cleaning, laundry, dishes, etc. He tends to be more independent in the morning.
10:00am: Break time! We usually try to get outside each morning. Sometimes it’s easy to do because it’s built into the school day, such as practicing spelling words in chalk. We have walked down to the water many times where there is plenty of space to safely play: climb trees, play tag, have a picnic, etc. (I’ve got a cute picture of him in a tree I can send you). Frankie doesn’t like to be hot or sweaty or in the sun so Florida this time of year is a struggle, but we work around his needs as much as we can! There is usually a snack in here, too. Mornings are crazy and he usually eats something like cereal or pancakes, so we try to have some fruit and protein for our morning snack. And Emergen-c!
11:00am: Back to schoolwork. Typically we tackle subjects such as math or inquiry (science, social studies) during this time.
12:00pm: Lunch time! Grilled cheese. Grilled cheese. Grilled cheese. Sometimes chicken nuggets or macaroni and cheese, but grilled cheese. I usually eat leftovers and rarely find the time to sit down and eat them! Thankfully Frankie is a pretty good eater and never objects to carrots, bell peppers, apples, melon, etc. being added to his plate.
12:30pm: Frankie usually has an afternoon Zoom call, either Spanish or a Read Aloud with his teacher. I usually sneak away to the workout room at this point to do any pushups, core work, strength work, etc. Frankie once told his teacher over Zoom that “his dad is on calls all day and his mom just works out all the time.” Thanks, buddy.
1:00pm: We try to knock out another subject before we take our final break. Often we end up doing “Independent Reading.” He’s my only guy, so sometimes I end up reading to him for 20-30 minutes. If he wants to read on his own, I try to sit down next to him and read, too. I welcome the break, and I think it’s important he sees me reading regularly.
1:30pm: We are running out of steam. He usually takes a break to play his Nintendo or play Dragon City on his iPad. I will empty the dishwasher and try to prep for dinner.
2:00pm: Home stretch! He usually saves the hardest subjects for last, most often his Reading and Writing Workshop. He typically needs support from me for these, so I am not really able to get anything done while he completes the subjects. We are both crabby by this point. Neither of us want to do it, but we know we have to. We push through, get it done, and celebrate the school day being over (I overly enthusiastically throw the daily schedule in the recycling bin).
3:00pm: Throw that kid in the pool and get his wiggles out! Swimming is Frankie’s favorite way to spend time outdoors, and we have used the pool more in the last two months than ever before. We got an awesome inflatable slide on Amazon for $65, and it’s now over $200! Glad we got it early on.
4:00pm: We need a break from each other. This is both of our dedicated free time. I will be honest, sometimes I nap. Sometimes I make hot chocolate and sit and read. Sometimes I play endless on my phone or catch up on texts/messages. If it’s been a really rough day wine may come out at this point.
5:30pm: Frank usually finishes work about this time. We hardly see him all day. We like to try to sit and play a game of Skip Bo or Scrabble before dinner time.
6:00pm: Family dinner! We almost always all sit down together to eat. We attempt to talk about our day. We talk about anything out of the routine that may be happening the next day to prepare Frankie. I make plans with Frank for the morning about what time I need to be home from my run. Frank usually does the dishes and I enthusiastically let him answer all kid questions or pretend to be interested in things like Nintendo games.
7:00-8:00pm: Free time! The boys often get into mischief during this time. Sometimes they swim. There is usually fart jokes, rough housing and lots of laughter. Frankie doesn’t get to see Frank during the workday even though he is working from home, so this is their best quality time together. I am amazed by the energy those two can generate!
8:00pm: Get ready for bed. Teeth brushing, shower, etc. We try to have Frankie settled into bed by about 8:15pm. This is later than pre-Covid, but it makes the mornings a little easier when he sleeps later. He gets to read in bed for about 30 minutes before lights out. Frank and I will usually catch up on any TV shows during this time. Lights out for Frankie is between 8:45-9:00pm.
9:00-9:30pm: As an introvert and early morning runner, I’m usually absolutely exhausted by this point and ready for some quiet. I will have my own lights or maybe read for a bit to wind down. But I would say I am typically asleep by 10pm and ready to do it all again tomorrow!
