Day in the Life

Orignal Posts:

Intro

Morning

Evening

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Some time ago, as I mentioned on my first post this week, my husband asked me what I did all day.


Yes, this was in response to me asking for his help with some household stuff when he came home.
And yes, that was an unappreciated comment...and in response I may have called him out in the court of Facebook where my friends, arm, supported me. To say the least. Ha.


But then I started thinking...maybe he really doesn't know what I do all day.

One of my favorite memes to date.

So, the idea for this whole week started hatching. A few months ago, some of the blogs that I follow started doing these "Day in the Life" posts. And then, Navigating the Mothership announced a "Day in the Life" link up. YAY. It was destined to be. I added this project to my schedule week.


This is maybe my favorite blog project I have done to date. I may have gone overboard. With a capital O-V-E-R-B-O-A-R-D. Tons of photos. Like 400. Ack. But, I think it is going to be awesome to be able to look back in 20 years and say, "That's what my days used to look like."


The beauty of a post like this is that you can just do it anytime. You want it to be a true reflection of a day in your life. Since I wanted to publish this post on Thursday (today) I just picked Wednesday as my day to capture.


So here it is; February 15, 2012.

5:52 am

Our day starts as I hear a muffled cry come across the monitor. A and I collectively groans we glance at the time on the clock. We stayed up a bit later than usual last night and had a little more champagne than usual. It was Valentine's after all. Of course our baby would wake up early today. I grab the camera and get this project rolling.

5:53 am

I stagger into Evelyn's room and turn on the light. I feign a cheery "Good Morning!" song that we have made up, though neither of us seems to be buying it this morning. I grab her out of her crib to take her back in to snuggle with me and get in a morning feeding.

6:20 am

We are still snuggling and feeding. I am trying to decide what intervals I should be taking photos...I settle on whenever the mood strikes. I love that she grabs my hand when nursing. So cute.

6:45 am

We are done eating and are now rolling around the bed and laughing. Normal happy morning self. Just like momma, we gotta eat.

7:00 am

Ev is stripped down to her new clean diaper (first diaper change of the day down), and ready for some real food. I start the load of diapers that has been soaking over night and get to cooking breakfast.

7:15 am

Breakfast is ready, I have spilled coffee all over the place, and we are ready to eat. Eggs, toast with a little left over Ella's Kitchen spinach, apple and rutabaga spread on top, and apple slices for Ev. Breakfast burrito with eggs, turkey sausage, a bit of cheese and arugula for me.

7:45 am

We've both eaten...and fed the dog. Time to head upstairs to get cleaned up.

8:05 am

Diaper change number two complete, a quick feeding annnnnd, baby is down for morning nap.

8:15 am
I survey the morning damage to my bedroom and decide to take advantage of nap time to shower first, then straighten up.

9:00 am
I am showered and dressed. After checking the weather I decide to go with my transitional (read:all the time, regardless of weather) outfit of choice - jeans, cami, cardigan, ballet flats. Oh, and I have straightened our room.

9:30 am
I decide to take further advantage of nap time and actually blow-dry my hair. By now my hair and makeup are both done, and baby is still asleep. Score.

9:45 am

I have, in quick succession:

Realized that the washer got stuck on rinse from when I started it during breakfast - so the water has been running for like an hour and a half. Awesome. 

Noted that my homemade laundry detergent is much to thick to come through the spigot of the container I bought for it. Mental note to find solution. 

Decided that the kitchen is a mess and I don't feel like dealing with it right now. 

And, I have hit the couch with the essentials - Mac, tumbler, monitor and DVR to get some blogging and perusing done since I cleaned the living room, dining room and guest room earlier in the week.

11:10 am
I hear some baby giggles come across the monitor. Holy long nap. She must be making up for getting up so early this morning. I head up and she is a happy smiley baby. Yay! My favorite kind of baby.

11:35 am
A little playtime with creeper Mom taking photos, after a feeding, before it's time to get dressed

11:45 am
Diaper change #3 and we are dressed and ready! I make a mental note to grab a bow since Ev is wearing CLASSIC navy blue and white today (and pink shoes), but inevitably without a bow we will have to deal with "boy" comments all day.

11:50 am
Quick stop in mom's room to grab a few things...and we almost roll off the bed going for technology we aren't supposed to play with. "This will still work with all my slobber on it, right Mom?"

12:00 pm

We are packed and ready to go! On the road. Yay. I meant to head to the commissary today because we def need groceries, but as I am heading out the door realize that it is payday. Um, no thanks. 

An excuse to go to Target instead! Yay! We need a new fitted sheet anyways, plus Starbucks!

12:10 pm
We've turned around because I succeeded in forgetting both a snack and sippy cup for Ev. Good job, Mom. Now we are really on our way.

12:30 pm
We arrive at our second home, I mean, destination. I even have a free Starbucks drink! Score. Evelyn loves watching the baristas do their thing. I like to think it's the noise, but I have a strange suspicion that her addiction to coffee is only a matter of time. If genes have anything to do with it, that is.

1:10 pm

Evelyn let's me know she is clearly done with Target while I am checking out all the new spring gardening stuff.

Alright baby girl, I get the picture.

 She has already eaten a few things while we've been perusing, so we head to check out and I start thinking about lunch for myself. Before we head to the car - another diaper change. (#4 for those counting!)

2:00 pm
I had a great idea for lunch. We head right up the street to my friend Michelle's new Dessert Cafe - Sweet Temptations. I have the Spinach Cheese Quiche for lunch and a Red Velvet Cupcake. Yum. We hang out and chat for a while and I feed Evelyn before heading home. We are well beyond normal afternoon nap time, but she already slept for three hours this morning and is not showing signs of sleepiness.


(P.S. - If you haven't "liked" their Facebook page yet and are local in Hampton Roads - go do it now! You could win free cupcakes for a YEAR.)

3:15 pm
We pull into the driveway, I open the door to reveal...a sleeping baby.

We pick up approximately five minutes after where we left off...

3:20 pm

I bring a sleeping baby into the house...and she has decided that 10 minutes of sleep in the car is enough of a nap for her. Check this energy. "Wow Mom! That was such  refreshing little siesta!"

3:25 pm

We are another diaper change down -I think that's 5 so far- and I have grabbed the iPad to keep me sane while I try and get Ev to go back to sleep for at least a short nap. It's already pretty late in the day for a nap, and she slept for so long this morning I am not optimistic. On the same hand, I'm not totally worried either if in fact she does not show signs of wanting to go back down, since she usually does three hours across two naps.

3:50 pm

My waiting has paid off. Once she started rubbing her eyes and doing her tired routine, I knew it would be worth it, and turns out, I was right! She is asleep for at least a little while.

4:00 pm

I head into my room and decide to give myself 15 minutes of quiet time with Twitter and Facebook.
Mr. Bingley notices that I have no baby with me and decides it is his turn to cuddle with Momma. Don't worry pups, we still love ya, buddy.

4:15 pm

I head downstairs and realize our champagne glasses (toasting flutes from our wedding! How romantical.) are still on the table and need to be washed.
As does the rest of the kitchen mess I left earlier. Whomps.

4:40 pm

By now I have emptied the dishwasher, reloaded it, washed down the delicate stuff, swept the floor, changed over the laundry and my whole kitchen smells like lemon verbena thanks to this stuff - Yum. I also pull out some split chicken breasts to defrost for dinner.


Then, since the kitchen is semi-clean I decide to take a few photos since the hubs and I are thinking of submitting the quirks of our kitchen to HGTV for a show. Momma needs a new kitchen! (those counters are hideous, yes? Laminate that looks like butcher block? Gah. Such a tease.) Plus, we've got that awesome Chinese, er, something on the cabinet...no idea about that. It's attached with about a thousand nails on the back though, so we can't remove it without ruining the cabinet door. 

4:45 pm

I head into the laundry room to put my detergent into my new solution container that I found earlier at Target (the trip was mostly a failure, by the way, did you know they don't sell individual sheets anymore? just the sets? lame.)


...and I get about as far as cutting off the wrapping when the monitor starts showing those familiar red lines. I head upstairs to find one super unhappy baby. I mean look at that face! I grab her, change her diaper (6!) and head downstairs to settle in for a nice long feeding.

5:00 pm

We are settled in, watching the DVR show that I didn't finish from earlier, when in walks my sister from work. Why, hey Aunt Ashley! Daddy seems to be running late so we will need to bump dinner back a little bit.


Which means a later bedtime. Oy.


It shouldn't be too big of a deal because Nana might be swinging by later tonight anyway.

5:20 pm

Ash plays with Ev and the puppy while I head in to start dinner. Chicken Shephard's Pie...since I didn't make it to the grocery store this morning, we are rocking a dish I can make up as I go with what's already in the fridge and freezer.


While I'm in the kitchen Daddy comes home and I miss getting a good shot of him and his baby before he heads up to take a shower. Booooo. He's also not feeling great, it seems that his lunch is upsetting his stomach. Hooter's food can be like that. Uh huh.

5:45 pm

Dinner is well on its way, and Ev is hungry, so she gets a little preview. A stick of celery and some attention from the pup. I think he is warming up to her. Couldn't have anything to do with the food.

6:15 pm

I throw dinner in the oven and A starts the kitchen clean up so we won't have as much to do after dinner. Love that man. Making up for that lunch at Hooters with the waitress "who wasn't even pretty."
Mmm hmm. Sure husband, suuuuure. ;)

7:00 pm

Dinner is served. Evelyn is getting some chicken, sweet potato chunks and mashed potatoes, plus the rest of the Spinach, Apple and Rutabaga puree. The grown ups get the pie and a salad. Tons of veggies on tonight's menu.

7:30 pm

...and we have successfully destroyed our dinner. There are even potatoes in her hair. Geeze. We get the phone call that Nana is not in fact coming over so we get the hurry up defense going on protecting some semblance of bed time. 

7:45 pm

Ev gets some snuggles from Daddy before we head upstairs to get her cleaned up and ready for bed, while Daddy does the rest of the dishes. Once up there, she proceeds to act like a crazy baby smiling and yelling and laughing. 

Oh boy, we are in for it tonight.

8:00 pm

We rock out our goodnight feeding, and then this crazy baby decides to have one last surge of energy while we get ready for story time. In that last photo she had just launched herself forward off my lap to shimmy down my legs toward the dog. Because she ALWAYS wants to play with him. And sadly, he only wants to play with her if there is food involved. Poor baby.

8:30 pm

Daddy finishes reading and we stick Ev in her crib. WIDE AWAKE. And yet, strangely there is no fussing. We do three rounds of "You are My Sunshine" and boom, she's out. Preferring to not question this miraculous occurrence of a tear free bedtime, we tiptoe out of her room and congratulate ourselves. Only a half hour after normal bedtime! Wee!

9:00 pm

By now I have poured myself a glass of wine and gotten caught up with husband about his day, while I finished my little detergent project from earlier. Much more scoop able container, and the excess went into an old clean milk jug until I need to refill it. And, the new jug was only $7. Check that off the list!

9:15 pm

I decide to reward myself with a few Girl Scout cookies for a job well done. Pat self on back, and we get the cute new Valentine's gifts from Grandma ready to go in the wash.

9:30 pm

I get these blog posts going and try to start uploading some pictures while my loving husband brings the trash bins out to the curb. We decide to head upstairs to catch a couple of DVR shows before bed. Wednesday night comedy = awesomeness. Modern Family, Happy Endings. Yay TV.

Fin.