a day in the life - meg

Keeping it short and sweet this morning... enjoy a day in the life of Meg!

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Hi! I'm Meg, and I blog over at The Smyser Family. My husband, Josh, and I have been together since high school and you can read a lot more about us here if you'd like. Our daughter Madison was born in August of 2010.

We are very fortunate to own our own business (started by Josh's parents) so I am able to work from home and stay home with Madison. :)

I love organization, lists, and schedules...so we typically stick to a pretty tight schedule most days, but we still have fun! I'm documenting this last Monday...which was pretty hectic and off our normal schedule...but that's life!

7:36am I wake up, run to the kitchen to pour her milk (she won't drink ice cold milk), and jump in the shower.

7:55am Madison is starting to wake up. She is rolling around and talking to her beloved Piggy in her crib. Good Morning!

8:04am M gets a diaper change, all lotioned up, and we get her dressed for the day.

8:18am M gets to watch Mickey Mouse Clubhouse while she drinks her milk.

8:32am M says, "Ba," meaning she wants a banana, so breakfast for M consists of a banana and some oatmeal.

8:53am She's done so I put away some dishes away and tidy the kitchen while M plays.

9:02am I eat a bowl of cereal while M plays and steals bites of my cereal.

9:13 Pack up M's stuff, change her diaper and we're off to run errands. We stop at the post office to get our mail (we live in a tiny town), and then to Farm and Fleet quick, and then to Super Target. (No cute pics of her at Target because we were in a rush...and...well, you'll see why.)

10:20am We are ready to head to the check out lane at Target when I realize one of M's Uggs is missing!!! Whaaaat?!? We retrace our steps...meaning I run through Super Target like a mad woman with my head down looking for her silly Ugg. No luck, so we get checked out, and run to Guest Services to report the missing Ugg and leave my cell number.

10:47am Arrive at my Chiro appointment. 2 minutes late. My MIL was able to meet me there to watch M during my appointment. After my appointment, we chat for a bit while M plays with her G'ma in the waiting room.

11:30am Target calls...the Ugg was found! Yay! Back to Target quick. We live about 25 minutes from Target (and most civilization), and as we're driving home M falls asleep...I take the long way home to let her sleep a bit longer. She still likes 2 naps a day.

(Of course she took of her shoes and socks.)

12:30pm We arrive home and I immediately change her diaper. Then, it's time for lunch for M (Milk, Gerber crunchies, mashed sweet potatoes, cottage cheese and berries). My husband is in the house since my new dishwasher (yay!) was delivered and he has started the installation process.

1pm Play time and helping Daddy with dishwasher. I scarf down a sandwich quick.

2pm My power is out and the water is off (for installation safety) when my husband realizes he needs some connector part and heads to the nearest hardware store in the little town next to us. He leaves.

2:15pm I get a text from Josh because the hardware store doesn't have the part so he has to head into town. :( Right at this time I notice someone is a bit smelly...so time for another diaper change.

3:12pm Dad home...with a surprise for M! (Josh always buys her stuff I would have said no too...I don't let her have the candy though - choking hazard I think). She also get's a snack of a fruit pouch and some water.

3:46pm The installation is complete! Yay! Time for a diaper change for M and she goes in her crib for a nap! I watch her roll around for a bit, and then settle in.

4pm I clean up our kitchen, then bag treats for tonight. Thanks to Pinterest for the ideas! Then, I start working on this post check FB, Pinterest, read some blogs....

4:42pm I check the monitor and she's still sleeping, so then I start working on this post.

5:25pm I can't believe she's still sleeping! I assume she'll wake up soon, so I start getting together her stuff for dinner tonight. Tonight we have our Annual Company Dinner with our employees and their families (we only have 3 employees) at Old Chicago. It's not until 7pm, which is late for our family...but it's the only time that worked for everyone.

5:30pm M wakes up. I feed her a snack to hold her until dinner. Then, we play and read books together.

6:15pm We head out to dinner. M does GREAT...which is a relief. She has good days and bad days at restaurants, and I was worried since we'd be out past her bedtime. It probably helped that there was another 1 year old and a 5 year old...and we were in part of the restaurant where she should safely get out of her high chair and play with the other kiddos a bit, too. (I snapped this pic of Josh holding M and Ellie. M isn't sure what to think about her Daddy holding another little girl! Sadly, my cell died after this picture.)

9:20pm Bedtime routine (an hour later than normal!!!) No bath tonight since it's late...just lotion, books, jammies, and kisses.

9:35pm I hop on my laptop to finally order our holiday cards. Josh goes to bed a bit early because he has a super busy Tuesday ahead of him.

10:20pm I head to bed...exhausted...as usual.

1. What is the most surprising thing about being a Mom? Umm. EVERYTHING. For me though...I think just how much you can love another human being. I didn't consider myself very motherly before having M...but that has most certainly changed! Also...that you can function on less sleep than you think...it isn't always pretty...but you can do it!

2. What advice would you give new or soon-to-be Moms? Just do what you think is best for you and your baby. You will get a lot of advice...but take what you want from it. Also, don't forget to take time for you and your significant other.

3. What are your top 3 baby products? The Boppy Pillow - I breastfed M for 15 months, our Video Monitor - especially as she got a bit older, too, it's awesome to be able to check in on her and SEE what she's up to...it helped (me) when we were sleep training her, and a good stroller - it's great to get fresh air and exercise with your little one.

Thanks, Ashley, for letting me a part of this series and your fantastic blog!

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