a day in the life - paige

Sorry, I uh, sort of forgot it was Wednesday.  I swear I never know what day it is.  And then I was pretty involved in some lego masterpieces.  That I'm not sorry about.  I love playing legos with Ry.  Anyway, here is your day in the life post for the week!

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Hi!  I'm Paige and my blog is New Momma Notes.  I'm a stay-at-home mom (for 16 months) turned working mom (first grade teacher).  I write all about the adventures of motherhood with my 17 month old son, Carter and my husband, Christian. Thanks to Ashley for hosting me today!  Here's a little glimpse into a day in our lives.

5:15am I wake up to a few cries upstairs (Carter's room is directly above ours) and check the monitor, he's standing, but after a few seconds he's asleep again.  I doze in and out of sleep until 5:45 when Christian's alarm goes off and I push gently tap him to get up so I can get in the shower on time. 6:07am I get into the shower and get dressed

6:27am I make my first iced coffee and check some blogs while I wait for Carter to wake up.  He's usually up by now. 6:40am I go to dry my hair and I hear that Carter is up.  Christian gets him, changes his diaper, and gets him dressed (in the outfit I laid out last night) 6:55am Carter is eating a waffle and watching Mickey Mouse Clubhouse.  Then he starts running around and I chase him and play "I'm gonna get you"

6:55am I make my second iced coffee for the road, grab a waffle for myself, a snack catcher of Cheerios and Carter's sippy cup of water 7:10am We're in the car for school.  7:35am We arrive at Carter's school (daycare) and I drop him off with his teacher.  He reaches out to her and waves bye-bye to me.

7:45am I arrive at my school and start doing 1 of the 54739 things on my to-do list.  From the moment I arrive at school until the moment I leave, I don't stop.  I eat my pita pizza and chat with my friends for like 5 minutes at lunch before I'm back to work.  Luckily it's a day that I don't have recess duty!  And bonus--my class has Art today so I have an extra long prep time! 4:00pm I rush to pick up Carter, leaving 57487 things on my to-do list for tomorrow.  I bring home a few things to work on later.  

4:10pm Carter's in the playroom and comes running to me and gives me a huge hug.  Obviously, the best part of my day!  We get his backpack and his "report card."  He was cheerful and napped for 1 hour 50 minutes!  I love reading about his day and all of the things he does and learns (which is tons!) 4:50pm We arrive home and he high-tails it to his lawn mower and starts mowing the driveway and the neighbor's yard.  We wander around the neighborhood, picking up everyone's pumpkins.  We walk down to the pond with a fountain and pick up acorns.  Then Carter throws them into the pond and squeals each time.  We walk back to the tree to get hand fulls of acorns and keep throwing over and over.  Then he walks all around the little pond and throws any leaves or mulch or pebbles.  This kid loves to throw.  Eventually he walks up to me, reaches, and says "up" to be carried home.

5:55pm I start making heating up dinner (chicken fingers for him, Tuscan Chicken soup for me).  We eat dinner together.

6:35pm Carter and I sit down on the couch to watch Mickey Mouse when Christian walks in the door.  Carter is obviously exhausted and content to lounge on my lap.  Christian eats dinner and we all hang out in the living room, playing and talking. 7:15pm  I take Carter up to take a bath while Christian cleans and fills the humidifier.

7:35 I read a few books to Carter and then sing a few songs to him before putting him in his crib. 7:50 I sit on the couch and check blogs, facebook, e-mail etc.  Christian suggests we watch Homeland and I'm sold, the work I brought home will have to wait until tomorrow!   (I also have approximately 6 cherry Twizzlers (super long nibs- so good!) and 2 snack size Kit Kats.) 9:45 I'm tired and get ready for bed.  

1. What is the most surprising thing about being a mom?
The ridiculous, all-consuming love you have for your baby.  You don't even know you are capable of feeling so much love and it grows and grows.  
 2. What advice would you give to new mamas?
Write everything down.  I'm so glad I started to blog when Carter was 1 month old.  I tried hard to write down the good and the bad (and we had a lot of rough times in the beginning) and I'm so glad I have this to look back on and remember.  It's amazing how fast time flies and how you can't remember everything.  
3. What are your top 3 baby products?

• Baby Bjorn- It was the only way I could take Carter anywhere without him screaming. 
• Halo Sleep Sacks and Swaddle Me's- we used these for about 5 months. 
• Video Monitor- I can't imagine not having a video.  Definitely worth it! 

Thanks again Ashley!  Now can you come to Pennsylvania and take some good pictures of Carter?!?!  I'm embarassed of my blurry iPhone pics!

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Thanks for sharing with us Paige!  And the only way I get decent pictures of my kids?  Take a million :o).  One of them is bound to turn out, right?