Currently running around like a crazy person. Thankful for guest posters. Enjoy a day in the life of Lisa!
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Hi there! My name is Lisa & I blog (here & there) over at Tales of a Young Housewife. I married my high school sweetheart, Steve, five years ago & since then we have welcomed our two daughters, Aubrey Jane (2.5) & Kate Brielle. (7 months) Steve works full time managing a sports facility & I stay at home with the girls. I recently opened a baby portrait photography business, which I'm slowly getting started. I enjoy traveling, shopping, & taking bazillions of pictures of my cute girls. Here is a rundown of what our days usually look like around here.
7:00 - Our day usually begins around seven. Kate is always the first to get up. I feed her in bed & we try to get a good snuggle sesh in before we have to get up for the day. Within half an hour, Aubrey usually joins us & wants to get the show on the road. Daddy starts getting ready for work, & eventually we all end up downstairs eating breakfast together. I am a lazy breakfast maker - we don't have anything too exciting usually. It's typically a bowl of cereal, eggs & toast, or a waffle with peanut butter, always with some sort of fruit. Kate has some pureed fruit for breakfast, sometimes with a little oatmeal.
8:30 - Once I clean up breakfast, I put on a show for Aubrey so I can pick up the house quickly. I feel once my house is clean, I can relax and spend the rest of the day playing with my girls. I love getting it out of the way first thing in the morning. I hurry and do the dishes, wipe down the table/counters, vacuum/bona the floors if needs be, make the beds, & I'm typically done by the time "Sofia the First" or "Doc McStuffins" is over. Kate usually chills in her exersaucer or crawls around while I clean.
9:00 - We head upstairs to play for a bit until it's time for Kate to nap. Play time is filled with puzzles, coloring, blocks, books, & more puzzles. Aubrey loves those puzzles! Kate is starting to be able to play more with toys which Aubrey just loves.
9:30 - I nurse Kate to sleep in the rocking chair (I know, bad habit, but I don't care because I love those quiet "slow down" moments in my sometimes hectic days) & lay her down. Aubrey hops in the tub while I shower in the attached shower. She loves bath time and it's nice that we can see & talk to each other while I get ready for the day! I don't feel productive until I'm showered & dressed, so it's a must-do, even if I just get into workout clothes after the shower.
10:30 -Once we are both dressed, teeth brushed, & hair combed, we head downstairs & play so we don't wake little sister up. This is mine & Aubrey's one on one time for the day so I love to really give her my full attention & do lots of hands on stuff with her. Downstairs we do activities like play with play-doh, blow bubbles, paint, make bead necklaces, or sometimes a fun (very simple) craft. Once baby sister is up, I will change her & this is when we do any errands we have for the day. If we don't have any errands, play dates, or lunch dates with dad (my fave!), we will go on a walk around the lake, or play at the park at the end of our street. If we don't leave the house at least once per day, we will all go crazy. (I speak from experience. Winter is hard!)
12:00 - Lunch time! A typical lunch for us is cheese quesadillas, carrot sticks, & grapes. Kate has some sort of pureed fruit or veggie. After lunch is cleaned up, we head in the backyard to play some more - Aubrey loves her trampoline & slide & would play out there all day if I let her. On hot days, I'll fill up her little pool to splash around in.
1:00 - Nap time for Aubrey! I use the word "nap" loosely, because 80% of the time Aubrey just plays in her room the whole time. I guess I should really call it "quiet time." Some days I'll get lucky and she will nap, but I'm starting to accept that our napping days are over. While Aubrey "naps", Kate and I spend a little one on one time before it's time for her nap. It doesn't take much to amuse that girl - a couple games of peek a boo & a few "3 Little Monkeys" songs & she thinks you are hilarious. Around 2:00 I put her down for her nap & I get a little time to myself with NO. KIDS. It took a while to get some "kid-free" time into our routine but it's been working the past couple months and I'm enjoying it while I can! It gives me time to do deep cleaning, blogging, editing pictures if needed, etc. Sometimes I just go lay down in bed and close my eyes and enjoy a few minutes of peace.
2:30 - Usually Aubrey starts calling for me around this time (unless she naps, then it's a little later). Right after her quiet time is when we have "learning time." Right now we are working on sight words, letter sounds, & tracing. She loves learning time and is great at memorizing so I try to challenge her by adding a few new things each day. Kate typically wakes up around 3. This next hour or so we try to keep ourselves busy playing some more (this is the part of the day where I get a little antsy and am ready for Steve to get home. Believe it or not Minnie Mouse puzzles get old after about 5 times!) Sometimes we go back outside if it isn't too hot, or we just play inside.
4:30 - Daddy is home! After reuniting with us, we typically leave the house and do SOMETHING - go to the gym, (the girls love the daycare there), run an errand, go play at a park, etc. A lot of times we'll do a short gym session and then take Aubrey to the pool there. As much I love the health benefits of the gym, I mostly love having some one on one time with Steve, even if we are short of breath on the treadmill next to each other! It's also fun to have my own little "personal trainer" since all those machines totally confuse me.
5:30 - Dinner time! We are not chefs by any means, so our dinners are usually quick, simple, but healthy. Tonight was salmon, steamed veggies, rice, & beans. (Kate had pureed peas - sounds mouth watering, no?) One of us keeps the girls entertained while the other makes dinner.
6:30 - Steve plays with the girls while I clean up dinner. (I cannot relax until there are no dishes in the sink.) After that, we hang out as a family, doing whatever. Tonight we had a little water gun fight in the backyard. :)
7:30 - We start putting the girls to bed. Jammies, teeth brushing, story reading, prayer saying, song singing & snuggling in the rocking chair, & then it's lights out. I love kissing those sweet girls goodnight.
8:00 - US time! One thing we have always made a priority is to get those kiddos to bed by 8! Sometimes we'll have a straggler (cough KATE cough), but once the girls are asleep it's our time to relax together, & enjoy some kid-free time. We enjoy catching up on DVR'd shows. Lately we've been loving "Whose Line is it Anyway". Steve makes fun of how hard I laugh at those guys.
10:30 - Around 10:30 we typically head upstairs for the night. After checking on the girls together and swooning over their perfect little angel faces sleeping, it's prayers, kisses, & lights out!
Our day definitely doesn't always go this organized and smoothly - there are plenty of days where the schedule flies out the window and I just have to do my best. (Kate will randomly miss a nap, toddler tantrums here or there, a dr appt, etc. etc.) However, this is typically what our day looks like & I love spending my days taking care of the people I love the most.
Ashley's Questions:
What is the most surprising thing to you about being a mom?
To be honest, how much I thoroughly enjoy it! I was never a baby person growing up, I was the youngest sibling, youngest cousin, etc. so I was used to being the baby. I didn't enjoy babysitting or anything! However, I did know I wanted a family & I'm sure glad I made the decision to become a mom because it is the most amazing, fun, challenging, & satisfying "job" I've ever had (or will ever do!)
What advice would you give to new or soon-to-be mamas?
Relax. Whatever tough stage you are in with your baby - whether it be sleep issues, nursing problems, temper tantrums, etc etc, the stage will be over before you know it (and then you will be on to a different puzzling stage!) I would also say to take lots of pictures and videos with YOU IN THEM. I barely have any pictures with my mom when I was little and it always made me sad, so I make sure to have my husband take pictures with me in them sometimes.
What are your top three baby products?
1) So cliche, but a great baby carrier! We loved the Moby wrap during the newborn stage, & now we use the Ergo almost everyday. I don't know how I would ever leave the house with both kids without having Kate strapped to me!
2) Aden + Anais bamboo swaddling blankets. Neither of my babies were swaddled for very long, but I use these for everything. They are perfect for warmer weather, which we get a lot of here in California. I always have one in my bag - it makes a great nursing cover too.
3) Sophie the Giraffe teether. I don't even know why I buy any other baby toys, this squeaky teether keeps Kate busy & helps her little gummies feel better - win win! Even Aubrey likes to play with it for some reason.
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Thank you for sharing your day with us Lisa!
1 comment:
Love these!
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