a day in the life - rebecca

Good morning.  Thankfully today is starting out slightly better than yesterday.  Yesterday I woke up to a charlie horse, a head so congested I swear it weighed 20 extra pounds and a pounding headache, not to mention a five mile treadmill run on the calendar (yeah, did exactly happen).  Today it is just the head cold and a three mile run outside.  I can do it...

Today I'm happy to introduce you to Rebecca.  I hope you enjoy a peek at her day!

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Hi, I'm Rebecca and I blog over at Daily Rebecca. I've been married to my husband Andy for 9 years and we have a 2 year old little girl, Grace Ellen and another little girl on the way (due Dec 2012). We live in Michigan and my husband is a first year medical student who's also in the Navy. I'm a recent stay at home mom and I'm loving every minute of it! Here's a somewhat typical day in my life :)

9:05am

I hear Grace playing in her crib so I roll out of bed to get her. Don't hate! She doesn't always get up SO LATE, but she was up past her usual bedtime last night because we were distracted by some family stuff. She usually goes to bed around 8:00 or 8:30 and sleeps till 7:00-7:30. Still a great sleeper and I'm very thankful!

After a quick diaper change and a ritual grabbing of whatever stuffed animals are her favorites this particular day, we head to the kitchen for breakfast.

She asks for "pop, pop, pop! cereal" which translates to Trader Joe's brand Rice Krispies :) I prefer to give her something healthier like steel cut oats, scrambled eggs or organic yogurt with fruit, but this cereal has been a fun novelty lately, so I oblige.

I pour myself a bowl of raisin bran and we sit down to eat together. My husband is a first year medical student, so he's long gone for the day. He usually wakes up around 5:30am to study before heading to school all day. Today he is staying late to study with some of his classmates so we'll eat all 3 meals on our own. We miss him while he's gone but we're so proud of how hard he is working!

9:30am

After breakfast, Grace asks to watch some TV. I'm not a big fan, but I let her watch a little each day. I set her up on the couch with her blankie and favorite toys (for today anyway!) and flip on the Sprout channel.

While she's cozy on the couch, I bring out a bunch of butter for some cookies I'm making later and then I make myself a cup of coffee and sit down with my Bible study stuff. I started a year-long study at my church and I'm loving it so far :)

10:30am

I'm wrapping up my study time and Grace has started playing around the house instead of just sitting like a couch potato in front of the TV. I love watching her budding imagination at work :)

I have a few emails to get out and some blog writing to catch up on so I get busy with that while she's playing.

11:15am

Grace starts saying "Am hungry, mom!" which always makes me laugh. Both for the "am" part and the fact that she's started calling me mom. I much prefer mama or mommy, but the mom thing has been pretty hilarious.

I cut up a plum and some strawberries for my little fruit machine and she gobbles them up in a jiffy. If only she liked veggies this much, I'd be thrilled!

I'm actually writing this post as I go along today, so I work on it while Grace has her snack. When she's finished she runs off to play again and I somehow get sucked into the blog post, Facebook, Twitter and the vacuum that is the internet!

12:15pm

Normally this would be lunch time but since we woke up so late and had a mid-morning snack, I think we'll wait a little while to eat lunch.

I decide to step away from the computer and get started on the frosted autumn leaf cookies I'm making in honor of the official start of fall! The butter is nice and soft now dig into making the cookies.

1:15pm

The cookies are well underway and it's time to get some lunch for the little one.

Chicken orzo soup and some feta cheese. Random, I know. She's a lot pickier than I would like, so I try to get creative.

2:00pm

Someone's getting a little cranky so I know it's time for nap. I try to get her down between 1:00 and 1:30, but today is running behind from the late wake up so we adjust. Gotta be flexible!

Our routine includes a diaper change and some book reading in my bed. Grace LOVES reading which we are so happy about since my husband and I are both avid readers :)

2:15pm

We say a quick prayer and get Grace all cozy in her crib.

It's mama time now! I decide to make the bed and freshen up a bit. Now that I stay at home full time, I just don't feel a huge need to shower every single day or get dressed in non-comfy clothes. I'm also 26 weeks pregnant so the comfiest clothes tend to be yoga pants or sweatpants with a loose shirt.

I straighten up the kitchen and living room so that I can think straight and then my stomach starts to grumble since I'm running on a cup of coffee and bowl of cereal.

2:45pm

Lunch time for me! Today it's leftover chili with a nectarine and bottle of water. Yum :)

I really should be doing something productive like a load of laundry or frosting the cookies, but I'm feeling really lazy so I cuddle up on the couch to watch some Food Network. My favorite shows are on this time of day (Giada at Home and The Barefoot Contessa) so I decide to chill out in front of the tube.

4:00pm

Ok, enough laziness. I've got to get moving if I want to get anything else done before nap is over. Not sure how long Grace will sleep today, but so far it's been an hour and forty five minutes which is a nice mid-day break for me. Although lately Grace is so much fun that I miss her at nap and bedtime :)

I write a bit more of this post and then throw a load of laundry in before whipping up a batch of icing for my autumn leaf cookies.

4:30pm

I just finish mixing the icing and I hear Grace talking in her crib.

She's awake and happy so I decide to keep working on the cookies while she plays.

6:00pm

What was I thinking making a double batch of cookies?! I just finish frosting over 90 cookies and don't ever want to see another cookie! But they turned out really cute if I do say so myself :)



It's also time for dinner. Hubby is still at school (we packed him some chili for dinner tonight) and Grace is getting a chance to finish her bowl of chili from last night. Tonight's half goes down a lot easier because she really, really wants a cookie!

7:00pm

Dinner and cookie are finished and I've had a chance to clean up the kitchen after Fall Cookie Fest 2012. At this point I realize we haven't been outside all day and it's been a gorgeous Michigan fall day. We suit up with sweaters and head out for an evening bike ride around the neighborhood.

7:30pm

When we come home from our ride, Grace desperately wants to play in the sandbox so I sit outside with her for a while. Then my tummy starts to rumble and I realize it's late and I haven't eaten dinner yet! Those cookies really monopolized my afternoon :o) I persuade Grace to come inside and sit with me while I eat. She's still a little hungry so I give her half a banana while I eat some leftover red beans and rice. Yum!

8:00pm

We get a text from Daddy asking if we can FaceTime before Grace goes to bed. We've missed him all day so we're excited to see him via video chat! We catch up on our day and he and Grace play peek-a-boo. We let him know we love him and Grace says goodnight. Gotta love technology for times like this!

8:15pm

It's time to prepare for bed! For us this means a diaper change, getting jammies on, brushing teeth and reading a few books in my bed.

8:45pm

Reading is done and Grace takes a few sips of water before snuggling down with her favorite two fingers and about a million stuffed animals. We turn on her star projector, say our nightly prayers and it's lights out. She talks for a little while but gets quiet pretty fast.

I get back down to the basement to switch over the load of laundry and get another one started. Then I head to the couch with a few of my frosted leaf cookies, a glass of milk and More Business of Being Born on Netflix. I catch up on some social media via my phone and before you know it I hear the side door opening and my hubby is home.

11:00pm

Hubs chills out on the couch for a few minutes to watch some Monday Night Football (with cookies of course!) and I sit next to him and hammer out the rest of this post. Pretty soon I'll head to bed with my library book and read a little before lights out probably at midnight.

Thanks for hanging in there to hear about my whole day!

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What is the most surprising thing to you about being a mom?

How Grace changed my perspective on just about everything. I have such a soft spot in my heart for children now that I can't even bear to hear bad news involving kids. The trivial things in life definitely seem trivial and I can't believe how much I love her and don't mind setting my own needs aside to take care of her.

What advice would you give to new or soon-to-be mamas?

You can do it. You're going to be an awesome mother and you should follow your gut but remain open to wisdom from other women who have gone before you. No two babies are alike so there is a lot to learn about your little one! Also, as controversial as it may be, I highly recommend sleep training. We followed the techniques in On Becoming Baby Wise and have had a wonderful, well-rested little one from early on.

What are your top 3 baby products?

It's been a while since we were in the baby phase, but I'd recommend a few things for when the baby transitions into toddler-hood. 1) Summer Infant Tiny Diner Placemat. This placemat coupled with a pocketed bib really, really helps keep food contained. Not so many lap or floor spills. I love this thing and still use it! 2) A suctioned bath seat like this one. Once baby is learning to sit on their own they want to be sitting rather than laying in the tub, but all the water sloshing around makes it hard to keep their balance. We loved our bath seat and only just put it away recently because Grace is too big to fit comfortably in it. 3) A star projector. Although Grace couldn't appreciate this early on, we started using it anyway. It became a nice signal that it was bedtime and now that she's older she loves to choose which color stars will be shining that night.

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Thank you for sharing your day with us Rebecca!