a day in the life - dusty

So when I first got into blogging, I subscribed to two blogs. Young House Love, and All Things G&D. I found Dusty's blog through The Nest. I instantly fell in love with her house (It looks fabulous, plus I was in love with her organization skills. Maybe someday I'll get around to actually organizing my own house.) I also loved all of her fashion posts, mostly the fact that most of the pieces in her wardrobe didn't come from anywhere crazy.

I was thrilled when I found out Dusty was pregnant, amazed when she still met her goal of running 400 miles in 2009 (hello, she was pregnant 9 of the 12 months!), and enthralled with her beautiful little baby. Ok now I'm sounding like a weird stalker creep, so... enjoy a peek at a day in Dusty's life :o).

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Hi, I'm Dusty from All Things G&D and I'm so excited to be making a guest appearance on The Domestic Wannabe! My husband Greg is the G to my D and together we created Kate--our most precious little DIY project! Here is the most recent picture of the three of us, which is sadly four months old. I like to think I'm thinner now. And younger.

G+D=K. It's simple math.
You may be surprised to hear that even though I’m a new mom, I still lead an ultra glamorous life that is remarkably similar to the one I had before Kate was born. Only now 6:30am is considered “sleeping in” versus my former 10am (or later) on the weekends. Our idea of “entertainment” has shifted from a night out on the town, to nights staring at the baby monitor. Manicures at the spa have been replaced with “please hold still while Mommy trims your fingernails,” and spit-up is my new anti-aging cream. If you're able to contain your jealousy, read on for a glimpse into a recent Sunday of my exciting life!

She takes all the credit for turning me into a Mom.
6am: No alarm clock needed as I wake up right on time and head downstairs to prepare Kate’s breakfast. Big news in the G&D household today--we’re introducing Kate to avocados! Another cause for celebration? Kate slept through the entire night last night (12 hours) for the fourth night in a row! We're so proud.

Kate wakes up just after 6am and makes it clear she wants her breakfast. NOW. Her incredibly high-pitched screams tell me she’ll need her bottle first or I’ll be sorry, and later she shudders and spits at her first taste of avocado.

Every so often Kate likes to try out new sounds and voices and today it appears she's decided to test her shrieking abilities (the proof). This should be interesting.

7am: If the first hour of my day is any indication as to how the rest of it will go, it's clear that Kate is going to need a very well-rested mom, so G takes over the morning shift while I lay down for a much needed nap.

9am: I wake up to a nice, quiet house. Kate's asleep for her morning nap, so I fix myself some breakfast as G and I discuss our plans for the day.

10am: I remember to put on a bra.

11am: Kate wakes up from her morning (3 hour!) nap and it’s time for a bottle and some playing. Kate swings while I fold laundry and explain each item to her (this is a grey shirt, these are red shorts…), then it’s Jumperoo time, followed by playing with her toys on a quilt on the floor. I scatter her toys around to encourage her to get to them and she does a great job scooching to reach them--her rubber ducky being her current favorite. I’m armed with the video camera as Kate gets up on all fours and starts to rock, but in the end she decides today is not the day she wants to start crawling

Noon: Kate and I make our weekly pilgrimage to Target, which means now I need to put some pants on, too. We only need a couple of items so I decide to put Kate in the stroller and walk there instead of driving. I’m hoping the limited space in our stroller basket guarantees that I make it out of Target spending less than $50, but we all know the “under $50 Target trip” is an urban myth. I spend $67.73 on three cans of formula, two sippy cups, a new swimsuit for Kate, and four boxes of Rice A Roni. Did I mention we only needed the formula?

1:30pm: Kate and I return home, give avocados another shot (fail), and then I put her down for her afternoon nap at 2pm. Time to watch the season premiere of Project Runway while transforming this:

That's real life people.
Into this:

This lasted five minutes.
3pm: Kate is still sleeping and the kitchen is clean--time to dirty it up again! I decide to prep some food for the week and make a pasta salad, boil some eggs, chop up lettuce and vegetables, and make a veggie dip. Don’t be too impressed; this pretty much never happens.

4pm: Kate wakes up from her afternoon nap, G feeds her a bottle and then we head outside to introduce her to her new swing that G just finished hanging. She loved it!

Caution: This kind of cuteness may cause traffic accidents.
5:30pm: My mom, my sister Apryl, and her son Everett, were in town so they stopped by for a quick visit. Everett is three months younger than Kate and they hadn’t seen each other since Everett was first born so they had a lot of fun catching up!

Dude, that's my chicken.
6pm: The G&D crew takes our nightly stroll around the neighborhood.

6:15pm: Bath time.

6:30pm: Bedtime.

6:40pm: Wine time.
I promised G I’d make one of his favorite meals--cheesy chicken roll-ups--so I crack open the chardonnay and get to work pounding and prepping chicken breasts. My efficiency gets a little worse as my wine glass gets a little emptier, so dinner isn’t ready until 8pm.

8pm G and I sit down for dinner and a few episodes of Dexter, Season 3. G recently started watching this show and has somehow, beyond all belief, roped me into it, although I need to shield my eyes for half the scenes because I don’t like seeing violence, or needles, or blood. Perfect show for me, right?

9:30pm: Time to say goodnight--it’s bedtime for us!

Now a little Q&A with Ashley:
What is the most surprising thing to you about being a mother? Without a doubt, the most surprising thing is how much I love it! I thought raising a child was one of those things that would suck for a long time--the payoff only coming once they turn 16 and can be your designated driver. But I was wrong! It's actually pretty wonderful every single day.

What are some tips you would give to new moms, or soon to be mommas?
You'll be a much better parent if you remember that it's equally important to take care of yourself. I've found that the times when I've thought, "I'm not sure I can do this" have had nothing to do with Kate's behavior and everything to do with not taking care of myself. Try your hardest to get enough sleep, take your vitamins, and don't skip meals!

What are your top three baby products?
I'll be posting my favorite baby products during each stage of Kate's life on my blog soon, so check there for my favorites. In the meantime, here are three things that didn't make my list, but should never be underestimated:

1. Mom Friends--more powerful than Google when it comes to your parenting questions.
   
2. A sense of humor. Find the funny in your everyday and you'll have a much happier family.
   
3. Wine. Need I say more?

All Things G&D
www.allthingsgd.com

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Thanks so much Dusty!