a day in the life - lindsay

Morning!  First off, if you want to read a little something from me today, I'm sharing how I would spend an extra $200 on decorating over at Nikki's Nacs.  Be sure to check it out and let me know what you think!

For today's installment of 'a day in the life' I'd like to introduce you to Lindsay.  I hope you enjoy getting a little peek into her day!

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Hi there, I'm Lindsay from lalalovely. I'm a lover to one, mother to two type of girl. Aaron and I have been married for four years now. Our daughter Ellie is two and a half years old & our son Grant is eight months old. I write about our journey through life as well as my domestic passions - adoption, breastfeeding, cloth diapering, homemade baby food. I work as a substitute teacher (pre-k through grade 5) but most days I stay home with my kids.

our most recent family photo - grant was 12 days new

I'm pretty excited to be sharing a typical (Wednes)day in my life with you over here at The Domestic Wannabe.

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12:32 am Lights out. I stayed up late to finish folding some laundry while watching Grey's Anatomy on Netflix. I'll have to put it away later, since most of it belongs to the kiddos. Let the record show that I prefer to be in bed by 11, at the latest. I'm an old lady.

7:45 am Aaron kisses me good bye. I realize that Grant slept through the night. Awesome, little buddy!

8:00 am I wake up and hear Ellie over the monitor. The words "help" and "poop" ring loud and clear and I make a mad dash to her bedroom. I do her hair while she sits and reads on the potty. She puts on her big girl pants and gets dressed for the day.

8:26 am While Ellie is getting dressed, I hear Grant starting to wake up next door. The kids have a jack and jill bathroom - the bedrooms are joined together by a shared bathroom. We head over to get the baby up. I absolutely love when Grant wakes up, no matter the time of day/night. He scrambles to the corner of the crib that faces the door and waits for someone to rescue him.

I spend the next half-hour looking for my damn pants. I know that I came across them in the clean clothes last night. I go through the basket item by item and still can't find them. I finally pick out a different pair of pants. I get dressed and braid my bangs.

I feed Ellie a bowl of cereal after talking her out of peanut butter crackers. She is usually a great eater, but has changed her habits recently. I can't figure out it she is just asserting her independence or what. I make myself a cup of coffee and have some greek yogurt for breakfast. I make a quick dash outside to dump out the bathroom trash bag and to check car for Grant's missing shoe. I find the shoe and run back in to check on the kids. I grab the kitchen trash bag and the dogs so they can go outside to do their business. (Aaron feeds them in the morning before he leaves for work.)

When I come back in, I put Grant in the high chair with some puffs. Nursing will have to wait - depending on his attention span, it can take up to an hour and we've got to leave soon for our play date. The dogs go in their kennel and I load the car.

Mom mom. Eyes hurt. Me need sunnies.

9:41 am We finally leave for our play date. My Mom is a nanny for a single child. We go over there every Wednesday to play with Sophia (3 years old) for a few hours and have lunch together.

10:16 am We arrive at Sophia's house. They're playing in the driveway with some chalk and Sophia is excited to see her "new friend." Ellie is excited to see Gigi and "Wee-ah." Mom takes Grant for me and I unload the car.
10:20 am I finally sit down to nurse Grant. Leaking. It's been 14 hours since I fed him last night.

Sans make-up. Keepin' it real, yo. (Does anyone say that anymore?)

10:34 am Grant has decided there are better things to do than hang with Mama. We do a quick diaper change and then head outside to play with the girls. The girls were playing in the driveway with chalk, but now are playing in the backyard. They go from the swings to playing kick ball to chasing each other. Ellie and Sophia aren't keen on sharing.

11:05 am Sophia wants to tell Ellie that it is time for a tea party, but Ellie keeps running away from her, trying to protect the kick ball. Grant is playing with me on the patio.

11:17 am Ellie wants to have a tea party now, so we clean up the yard and head inside. She sits down with Sophia and they share some Goldfish crackers and kiwi fruit. Their tea cups are filled with "pink milk." Grant's wheels are turning - what trouble can he get into this week? Last week he chewed up Sophia's Dad's Sports Illustrated magazine. Oops! I feed Grant a dish of homemade applesauce and a small banana.

12:30 pm I made a quick run to the local pizzeria for our lunch. I grab a small dish of raspberry lemonade gelato for a treat too. When I get back, Ellie says she doesn't want any pizza. That girl must be feeling sick! She asks for pizza at least once a day! Grant on the other hand is under the table gnawing on the chair legs. Sometimes he acts like a little rodent. He is loudly protesting the fact that I am eating and not sharing with him.

12:58 pm I take the girls to the potty and then pick up Grant to go nurse. He is tired and hungry.

1:20 pm I smell poop but the girls are in the bathroom with Gigi. I change the baby's diaper and then sit back down to nurse while the girls go for a short walk around the neighborhood.

When they get back, we load up the strollers and take a two-mile walk. We get back home at 2:08 pm. Grant is asleep and Ellie wants to play.

I start packing up the car to go home and do a once-over to make sure we haven't left anything behind. I put Grant in his seat and tell Ellie to say goodbye. Oh my. The floodgates open and Ellie throws a huge fit. I struggle for a very long time to get her into the car. She was arching her back and pinching my arms. By the time we get to the highway (2:42 pm), she finally relaxes. I turn on the lullaby CD and the kids get quiet. They both fall asleep about 10 minutes from home.

3:12 pm I grab the mail on the way into our neighborhood and drive home. I unload the car first, then carry in the sleeping kiddos and place them in bed.

4:30 pm Grant's diaper has leaked and he's upset about it. I change his diaper and put him in pajamas. We snuggle into the rocking chair and he sleepily nurses for a while. When he is finished, I let him play in the living room while I get a few things scheduled for the blog.

Ellie wakes at 5:49 pm. I hate to let her sleep so late, but she needed it. (Normally, nap time is 1-3 o'clock or so.) Grant is ready for his dinner and Ellie asks for pizza. WHEW! Guess she's not sick after all. Aaron walks in at 5:57 pm. I warm up a slice for Ellie and get some baby food out of the freezer. Grant is having pumpkin and apples for dinner.

6:34 pm I make another cup of coffee for myself. I stare at the cold pizza and then decide to have one piece. (We don't normally have pizza for lunch and dinner. It just so happened that we had enough left over from lunch that when I brought it home Ellie & Aaron decided it was good for dinner.)

6:44 pm Ellie helps Aaron feed the dogs. We believe that she is also a master to the dogs, so she gives them the commands - sit, wait, eat. Afterwards, Aaron plays with the kids in the living room. Ellie gets to watch one episode of The Backyardigans.

I have a lot of cleaning to get done. We'll be gone everyday for the rest of the week. I have an interview/play date on Saturday morning when we get home from swim lessons. Everything needs to be done beforehand. I usually like to zone clean, but that's not going to work this week.

8:09 pm I finish putting all the books away and then change Grant's sheets. Aaron takes Ellie to the potty and changes the baby's diaper. I sit down to nurse and Aaron helps Ellie pick up her toys. She is good at so many things, but putting her toys away is not one of them. Aaron completes Ellie's bedtime routine - potty, brush teeth, pajamas, read, prayers, kisses.

9:08 pm Grant is asleep. Aaron and I kiss him good night. I lay him in his crib and then put a load of laundry in the washer. I sit down and watch The Office on Netflix with Aaron.

11:05 pm We're out of episodes so I switch the laundry over to the dryer and then do a load of dishes. I check my email and Facebook before bed.

12:33 am I brush my teeth and climb into bed. I've really got to stop going to bed on the same day that I'm going to wake up!

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1. What is the most surprising thing about being a mom? Love is the most surprising thing for me as a mama. There have always been people in my life that I have loved, but the love for a child feels nothing like that. It is an amazing experience that is unique to the individual. My love for Ellie feels very different from the love I have for Grant. My kids get hundreds of hugs, kisses and "I love yous" every day. I never want them to question or doubt that I love them.

2. What advice would you give to new or soon-to-be moms? Cherish every moment, even the not-so-picture-perfect ones! Ellie taught us to be present in the moment and to cherish every minute of every day. We were so afraid that we would lose our battle in court and not get the chance to be her mama and daddy. Our time, whether it was just for today or forever with her was a gift. When Grant came along, I knew what a blessing is was to finally be pregnant. I knew that the days of colic were dark, but I knew someday we would make it through and we'd look back and think, "It wasn't so bad." Some days I wish for another child, but I know that I need to be thankful for the two I have.

3. What are your top three baby products?

• Moby Wrap - Grant was a big baby (10 pounds 3 ounces and 23 inches long at birth)! My Moby not only helped lug him around but it was the only thing that got him calmed down during his bout with colic. We absolutely loved the closeness that it provided, I was able to nurse in it and get some chores down around the house in those early days.
• bumGenius Elemental Cloth Diapers - We chose to cloth diaper Grant and these have been my favorite diapers. They're all-in-one so you just slap it on like a disposable.
• Magic Bullet - Okay, so this isn't traditionally a baby product, but I make my own baby food purees. You could technically use any food processor or blender for the task, but this is what I have on hand thanks to my mother-in-law that is addicted to buying infomercial crap. (I don't personally recommend shelling out the money to buy the blenders specifically targeted for making baby food, because you can't use them for anything but baby food.)

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Let me know if you've documented a life in your day, I'd love to see it. Be sure to stop over at my blog to say hello...I'd love to meet you! Thanks so much for following me through my day. And a special thanks to Ashley for allowing me to share!

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Thank you, Lindsay, for sharing your day with us!