Name: Makia Smith Thomas
Occupation: Senior Budget Analyst, Blogger of Haute Mama In The City and mom to the coolest 7-year-old ever, KJ.
Location: Washington, DC
Being a ‘Haute Mama In The City’ is just an ordinary day for Makia Smith Thomas! This mother and blogger knows how to juggle a high-powered government career, be a doting mother to her son and run a successful site dedicated to the modern, working mother. Between dating, brunching with her BFFs and researching the latest apps, Makia makes sure to use social media and fabulous digital tools to navigate all aspects of her life. Let’s take a glimpse into a day of this extraordinary ‘Digital Diva’!
5:50 am: I use my iPhone alarm to wake me and meditate for 15 minutes using my Simply Being Guided Meditation app. I am divorced and raising my son alone during the week, so life can be crazy hectic! Utilizing this app helps me start my day in the right frame of mind.
6:10 am: Turn on my iHeartRadio app to listen to my favorite morning show, wake my super cute son and put him in the tub. The night before, we use the iPhone weather app to choose his clothes for the day so he is ready to go!
6:25 am: Check my personal email and my son’s school PTA listserv to make sure I haven’t forgotten anything—bring classroom snack this week? Field trip tomorrow? Soccer practice cancelled?—there’s always something going on.
6:40 am: Cook breakfast while my son uses the iPad for 10 minutes to practice his math facts on www.firstinmath.com.
6:55 am: Check my Hootsuite app to make sure I have posts from my blog, www.hautemamainthecity.com, queued and ready to hit Facebook and Twitter periodically throughout the day before jumping in the shower.
7:30 am: Leave home; drop my boy at school and then head to work!
8:00 am: Get to my desk (okay, 8:10, actually), check my work emails via Outlook and review my calendar for the day.
8:30 am: Get breakfast then peruse my favorite blogs www.theybf.com and www.dailylove.com.
9:00-11:00 am: Start meetings and complete assignments, all while responding to work emails, and personal emails and texts on my iPhone. Whew, I am already tired!
11:11 am: Get a text from my sweetie asking what day he can take me to lunch this week…Thursday is best…I jump on the Open Table app to make a reservation.
12:15 pm: Get text from one of my FAB girlfriends to meet for lunch today. Use my WMATA metro app (DC’s transit system) to time the metro train perfectly so that I can finish just one more email before I go!
1:48 pm: Back at my desk. Just received an email on my iPhone from my BFF with a link to a story that may be possible inspiration for a Hautemama blog post.
4:07 pm: Get another text from my sweetie asking what day he can take me to dinner this week…Thursday is best…I jump on Sitterati to book my regular babysitter for a few hours. (I love this site because you can pay your sitters electronically- I NEVER have cash).
5:30 pm: Finish final assignments for the day. Now to go get my boy!
6:15 pm: Arrive home, turn on my Pandora app, find the Thievery Corporation station, light some incense and candles and begin cooking dinner while my son does his homework.
7:00 pm: Finish eating and let my son play some Minecraft on the iPad…he is OBSESSED with this game.
7:30 pm: Use my son’s Kurio Android device to read him a few stories, then put him to bed!
8:00 pm: Mommy time! I watch some TV, then jump on Tumblr to write Hautemama posts and fill my queue for the next day.
8:22 pm: Text from another equally FAB girlfriend; she’s coming over for dinner next Monday. I send myself and email and put it on my calendar.
9:30 pm: I lay in my bed watching “House of Cards” with my Netflix app (my latest obsession) until I fall asleep; a girl needs her beauty rest so I retire, as early as possible, every evening.
Top 5 Apps I Can’t Live Without:
1. Uber
2. Netflix
3. Park Mobile (DC Parking App…no more parking tickets because I don’t have any loose change!)
4. iHeartRadio
5. Pandora
Apps Every Working Mother Needs:
1. Subway surfer & Minecraft (to keep my son occupied when we are out and about)
2. Google Maps (there is always somewhere to go!)
3. Open Table
4. Weather.com
5. Calendar App
Which apps do you wish existed in a perfect world?
I would love an app that combines all dates mentioned on all of my listservs (PTA, neighborhood, son’s classroom) and my social calendar, so I could have a one-stop shop to manage everything I need to do!