Mom Tips

a day in the life: 2.5 years and nearly 1

Tons of other bloggers post a ‘day in the life’ recaps every so often, so they can look back on this time in their lives and remember just how special and crazy an average day entails. I thought I had posted a few of these over the years; or I probably had the best of intentions in posting them but never followed through. I found one I wrote just a couple weeks before I found out I was pregnant with James Michael. And let me tell you, my days have definitely changed since then.

Just a heads up that this post is very long and detailed. I probably could have been little less verbose, but it’s just not in my nature šŸ™‚

6:45 a.m. –I hear JM calling “Mommy, Mommy!” I bought him an ‘Ok to Wake clock’ a couple months ago but we’d gotten out of the habit of using it. (Yesterday both boys were up at 5:45!) When I open his door, his face is beaming because he was so proud he was quiet in his room until his clock lit up. I give him a high five and we head downstairs quietly so we don’t disturb Beau.

I get out JM’sĀ mess-free markers and coloring book and set out his milk and a piece of banana bread. Then I make coffee and Beau’s bottle, andĀ turn on the Today show.

7:15 a.m. –James brings Beau downstairs and I give him his bottle while catching up on world news šŸ™‚ JM is making a fishing pole out of his markers, but at least he’s still entertained.

brothers playing

7:45 a.m. –Both boys are playing together in the playroom while I cook breakfast and clean up the kitchen. Now that Beau’s nearly one, they have really started playing great together and most mornings I can get a bit done in the kitchen while they play. Eventually, James also makes his way in there for a while.

bacon and eggs

8:20 a.m. –We sit down to eat breakfast. This usually only happens on weekends, but since James doesn’t run early morning classes on Tuesdays, we lucked out today.

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8:40 a.m. –James heads to his office to get some work done, and JM heads to play on the deck while Beau watches longingly from inside. Meanwhile, I try to clean up a bit with Beau underfoot, never an easy task.

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8:50 a.m. –Time to vacuum downstairs, everybody’s favorite. For the unforeseeable future, my living room will be arranged this way, with all stray pieces of furniture blocking the fireplace.

9 a.m. –I manage to carry Beau and the vacuum upstairs at the same time without hurting any of us as JM trails behind. We strip all the beds and remake them with the extra sets of sheets. I manage to vacuum JM’s room beforeĀ Beau gets too tired.

9:20 a.m. –Beau goes down for his morning nap and I go ahead and change into workout clothes and JM and I brush our teeth together.Ā Then I start a load of laundry to wash the sheets.

9:35 a.m. –I pick the meat from a chicken from a few days ago and then cook another batch of Buffalo Chicken Soup. I started making a double batch a couple days ago, until I realized it would never fit in my dutch oven at one time. I mix up the recipe, using heavy cream instead of coconut milk, but realize I don’t have enough hot sauce left. Wonderful.

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9:55 a.m. –As the soup simmers, I snack on some banana bread, prep my Etsy orders for shipping and pay bills. All the while JM is playing with his Play-doh.

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10:25 a.m. –I get to read my Bible for about 5 minutes before I’m interrupted šŸ™‚ This is fairly typical. “Search for peace, and work to maintain it” really spoke to me.

10:30 a.m. –I get JM a snack then change him into his bathing suit and slather him with sunscreen. James is taking him to the pool while I take Beau with me to open up the 11 a.m. class at the gym. I pack JM a snack for the pool and Beau a snack for gym.

10:45 a.m. –I wake Beau up from his nap and pop him into the car and drive to the gym.

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11 a..m. –I do the warmup, stick to only hanging power cleans for my lift, then do the 300 WOD, except I cut the reps in half and still scale the weight a bit. Meanwhile, I’m keeping Beau happy with snacks in his walker, where he’s contained and safe. But I let him play a bit around the gym before we leave.

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12:30 p.m. –Beau and I get gas for my car, pick up some Frank’s Hot Sauce for my soup and mail my Etsy orders.

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1 p.m. –I come home to find JM watching Jake and the Neverland Pirates on the computer, but he’s beyond exhausted and his eyes are so sleepy and red. I tell him he gets 5 more minutes and fix Beau’s bottle in the meantime. It’s a bit of a struggleĀ to get him away from the computer and up to his room, but I manage toting him and he’s quiet and passed out within 2 minutes. Then I give Beau his bottle before his nap.

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1:30 p.m. –Beau is in his crib and quiet, but I can tell that this afternoon’s nap might be a little off for him. I head downstairs to eat my soup while I catch up on reading blogs.

1:45 p.m. –Beau is making a lot of noise, and when I check on him he has a dirty diaper. Perfect timing; this seems to happen about half the time lately. I change him and put him back in his crib, knowing that this typically means he won’t nap great.

2 p.m. –I grab a quick shower while I have a chance.

2:20 p.m. –I sit down at the computer and send a couple emails, upload pictures and start this post.

2:30 p.m. –Beau is up and fussing. I try to rock him in his room for a few minutes and put him back in his bed.

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2:45 p.m. –After 10 minutes of full out crying, I bring him downstairs to rock him. While I’m rocking, I think about how I’ve got no ideas for dinner since James didn’t get a chance to make the chili he had planned. I also realize JM’s carseat is still in James’ car from when they went to the pool earlier, and then my mind skips to Beau’s 1st birthday party in a couple weeks and how I’ve planned nothing. This is the thought process of a mom šŸ™‚

3:30 p.m. –Beau never went back to sleep, and is over cuddling and I let him play with toys and try to keep him from hurting himself climbing on something.

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3:45 p.m. –I thaw out some beef from the quarter cow we purchased. I love having 100 lbs of prime beef in our freezer to pull out. I also fix a snack of plain greek yogurt, raw honey and granola, realize I never put the sheets in the dryer so I do that, then fix Beau a snack.

4 p.m. –JM is still napping (he averages 3 to 4 hour naps), so I turn on the TV and watch the USA play in the World Cup tournament. The only issue is I have to watch the game on the Spanish channel (Univision) since we don’t have cable.

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4:30 p.m. –JM is up and we head straight outside for popsicles. JM loves sharing his popsicles with Beau, and Beau loves it too! The neighborhood kids come over and play for a while, but despite spraying us down with bug spray, we’re still getting eaten up my mosquitoes.

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5:30 p.m. –I get the brilliant idea to go for a walk to a neighborhood playground roughly 1 mile away. The walk will keep the mosquitoes away and the playground is shaded. The walk there is fine, but the walk back is hot and I have to go up a gradual hill that has me feeling it pushing the double jogging stroller, especially after the WOD this morning.

6:30 p.m. –We cool off with more water in the playroom while I summon the energy for bathtime.

6:45 p.m. –I give the boys a double bath. JM is fine, but Beau now thinks bath time is for cruising back and forth along the tub, as well as jumping. It is quite exhausting for me trying to keep a grip on him so he doesn’t slip and hurt himself šŸ™‚

7:30 p.m. –Whew, finally both boys are clean and clothed in pjs. I put JM in his room to play for 10 minutes while giving Beau his bottle and putting him to bed. Then JM and I head downstairs, where he colors while I try to pick up the house a bit.

8 p.m. –I read JM his current favorite book before putting him to bed.

8:15 p.m. –I realize I am exhausted and slightly nauseaous. I think that stroller walk might have put me over, and I try to drink more water. My stomach turns at the thought of cooking the beef I thawed, so I opt for another bowl of Buffalo Chicken Soup for dinner and eat it while watching something random on TV while I wait for James. I think the show was Bones. I had never seen it before.

8:45 p.m. –James is home and heats up soup for his dinner.

9 p.m. –We watch an episode of Nashville before heading upstairs.

10 p.m. –I read for roughly 10 minutes before I’m too tired to comprehend anything, then it’s lights out.

 

 

 

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Haley

I'm a full-time wife and semi-stay-at-home mom to four young kids. Day to day, I help my husband with his small business, but when I have any extra time, you can find me cooking or being active outdoors with my family. We live at the foothills of the North Georgia mountains and are embracing modern homesteading month by month.

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