A day in the life of Mandi Schaumburg a………wife, mother, speech language pathologist, crazy dog lady, cub scout leader, volunteer, TPT creator, blogger, and a wanna-be broadway star/choreographer (ha ha ha).
MORNINGS: (I am NOT a morning person!) I wake up everyday super early to get ready for the day in peace before the three boys (3rd, 4th, and 5th grade) get up and start wreaking havoc on the world (just kidding they are AMAZING kids)!! I am what they call a “mommy monster” if I don’t have at least one cup of coffee before they get up! I make them breakfast, pack their lunches, and supervise the rest of their morning routine before I am out the door for my 22 minute commute to work. During my commute (depending on my mood) I either listen to stand up comedy (try it!) or I sing at the top of my lungs to some of my favorite tunes (I always feel silly when a person driving by catches me in a full “Let it Go” belt).
MY WORK DAY: I recently took a full time school-based position after working for a non-profit outpatient clinic for 6 years. I am blessed to work in a small district with some pretty amazing people and students (and you can’t beat a school schedule when you are a mom)! My therapy day usually starts at 8:30am and I am going 90 to nothing until 3:30pm. I serve students in a variety of service models (pull out, inclusion, consult, ect..) so I am in and out of my therapy room all day. I am the only SLP in the district (I like to say “Head of the Speech Department” or “Lead SLP”) so I am also in charge of evaluations, IEP meetings, parent conferences, billing, and all of the other stuff that comes with the job. My other roles are the Autism Team (doing evaluations, adapting classrooms ect..) and district billing/special education software trainer (I teach people how to use it and help them trouble shoot when needed). I also partner with our local university and supervise graduate students here and there! I make it a point to take a REAL lunch break with some of my work friends in the special education office! I insist that all of you busy SLPs do the same (it’s good for your sanity to take a quick break during the day).
Check out my super cool speech room!!
This is a picture of my special education director (who used to be an SLP and a diagnostician!), my special education secretary, and I when we took our special education students to a local amusement park on a field trip! (I got to tag along with low-tech AAC boards for the students to choose rides with!!)
AFTER WORK: I rush back into town (my school districts is on the very east edge of our city) to pick up the kids so we can start homework and chores for the day! (I recently started daily chores with the boys and it has CHANGED MY LIFE!!!)
- My middle son has been in a social group (speech therapy) for 2 years! His therapy clinic is on the opposite side of town so we were usually rolling in 5 minutes late (don’t judge, I know)! I am happy to report that he graduated speech therapy last month! They used a lot of Michelle Garcia Winner’s Social Thinking programs and we continue those at home (our Unthinkables are Rock Brain, Glass Man, and One-Sided-Sid). He also sees a behavioral psychologist every other week, but his office is a lot closer to our house. All that to say…..I totally get how tough it is for some of our parents to get their kids to therapy every week (for those in an outpatient clinic!!)
- On Monday nights I am a proud cub scout den mother to ten 4th grade boys (including my son). I teach lessons on first aid, camping, character, ect…. and I just love all of my scouts! (I’ve had them since they were in 1st grade). I will admit that the extra lesson planning for scouts sometimes stresses me out!!! I love taking my scouts camping though!!!! Here we are marching in the Veterans Day Parade this year!!! (Sorry I blurred their faces for their privacy!)
- On Tuesdays/Thursdays our two oldest have Tae Kwon Do (green belts!) and our youngest has baseball practice. During those practices, I bring my lap top and create TPT materials or work on my fonts! (Fonting is so relaxing!!!)
FAMILY TIME: After all of the weeknight madness, my handsome husband cooks us dinner and we hang out together as a family until bedtime (8:30 for EVERYONE)!! We love board games (where do you think I get all of my speech therapy games from!!) I also must given an honorable mention to my 4th child, Fannie (a female Boston Terrier). She is my best buddy and we are inseparable! (I even sit on the outside of baseball parks with her because they don’t allow dogs inside!!) My family is the most important thing to me and I am happiest when I am cuddled up on the couch with all 5 of them (Fannie included!) Here is a picture of my three boys when they were little modeling my new Jeeper’s Peeper’s Speech Game (from Super Duper)! They are MUCH bigger now!!
Here is a pic of the love of my life! He really keeps me and this family going!!
My weekends are often just as busy with the kids’ activities, but when they are not I LOVE to have lazy Saturday mornings (with plenty of coffee)! I also love taking long walks with my dog or taking my kids to the park. Movie nights are a favorite in my house on Friday nights!!
People always ask me how I have time for TPT and the truth is………it is my de-stresser! After I get the kids tucked into bed I work on TPT in bed until 10 or 11pm and just zone out! (I know I need more sleep). I love being creative and turning ideas into beautiful therapy materials! I also use this time to get posts ready for my Facebook or my Instagram page (I share tips and therapy spotlights on IG!). When you love it, it isn’t work! I do have to make myself occasionally close the lap top and just watch one of my favorite TV shows (my brain needs TPT breaks sometimes). If you haven’t already, check out my TPT store to see what I am up to all those late nights!
Now that I have typed this up……..I feel tired! I am off to bed! Thanks for letting me a part of this fun blog series!! I will leave you with one of my “crazy dog lady” memes of Fannie…………….
Check out her hashtag on instagram! #fanniemorene (don’t judge)
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