As a reader, some of my favorite blog posts are those that are real, not picture perfect, and something I can relate too. I know that so much of social media is made to look picture perfect…and that’s just not real life. So today I want to share a typical day in my life with all of you! I took a TON of photos on my phone (I’m warning you now!) and they are an unedited, real depiction of my day. I love reading these types of posts when other bloggers do them, and I hope you do too!
This is a random Tuesday in January 2018. Hudson is 5, Sadie is 2 and a half, and Annabelle is 10 months old. And I am 34…if that matters.
Up and at em! Some days I like to set my alarm early so that I can get up before the kids and have some time to myself. This is not one of those days. I woke up around 6am and realized I was in bed BY MYSELF. Jon was already up and Hudson slept in his bed all night. This is a HUGE deal. Hudson typically wakes up in the middle of the night and sneaks in to our bed. Sometimes I don’t even hear him, I just wake up and he’s there. So him sleeping in his bed all night is totally amazing. I tried to go back to sleep but soon enough Hudson came running down the stairs and right in to my bed. Since it’s so dark outside I tried to convince him it was still night time, but he heard Jon in the shower and knew it was morning. So we are up!
Hudson gets a little iPad time and drinks a green smoothie while I get Belle out of bed and nurse her.
With just two kids up, I take advantage of the quiet and squeeze in a little work. I send out some tweets, answer emails, look over my to-do list, and put away clean dishes from the night before.
By 7:00 Belle is ready for breakfast! Every other Tuesday I have a bible study/group for moms at church that I attend. (It’s ABC Moms for anyone in the Grand Rapids and it’s the largest group gathering of moms in the area. It’s my third year and I absolutely LOVE it.) We have brunch as a group so I typically don’t eat breakfast on Tuesdays. Except Jon made cinnamon rolls for everyone this morning so of course I have one. Or two.
7:30 a.m. and Sadie is still sleeping. She fought bedtime the night before so I’m not surprised. But even when she goes to bed on time she usually sleeps until 7:30. #favoritechild
I spoke too soon. Sadie’s up. On my way to grab her out of her crib (yes, she’s 2.5 and still in a crib. She loves her bed and hasn’t tried to climb out so I’m keeping her in there as long as possible) I gather clothes for Hudson for school, and Belle and Sadie for church. Annabelle has a pile of clothes in her room that no longer fit. They’ve been there for a few days. #reallife
Sadie always asks for “a pretty dress” as soon as she wakes up, so she’s the easy one to get ready in the morning. She’s holding her “guys” in this photo. It’s a small Princess Sophia, Amber, and James…and she sleeps with them every night.
Hudson got a Kinder surprise egg for sleeping all night in his bed. I totally just blew his mind when I handed it to him. I found a huge box of them at Costco.
Sadie eats breakfast and whines for my phone. I say no. I have a lot of photos of her looking like this.
I take advantage of the big two being occupied and try and get myself ready for the day. This little lady keeps me company and makes some trouble.
Belle makes her rounds. I put on some mascara and concealer, touch up my curls with the curling iron, and get dressed. And get interrupted approximately 50 times.
I make sure Hudson is dressed and ready for school. He attends a young fives class four mornings a week and loves going.
Belle gets in to ALL THE THINGS.
It’s 8:30 a.m. and time for school! On Tuesdays my mom takes Hudson to school AND picks him up, which is a HUGE help to me. Sadie begs to go to school too….but I remind her we have church and suddenly everything is right in the world. She LOVES going to church. She loves it so much that we signed her up to go in the nursery every Wednesday morning during my mom’s bible study group too.
I nurse Belle one more time and then get her ready for the church nursery. My goal is to get out the door at 9:00 a.m. Getting out of the house always takes 10 times longer than I have planned.
Am running 15 minutes late, as per usual.
9:30 a.m. I roll in to my moms group. Thankfully we are all moms, so there’s a time cushion built in. We eat brunch, talk, and listen to a speaker. I am so thankful for these ladies!
My group is over at 11:15 but I am chatty mc-chatterson today and don’t end up leaving until 11:45. Belle usually naps at 9:30 so going to church at this time totally throws her off schedule. The ladies in the nursery report to me that she slept a little bit but she’s totally not happy when I pick her up. I have no pictures because Sadie does not want to leave and has a melt-down on the way out. Belle falls asleep in the car but wakes up when we get home.
We get home at noon and it’s just crazy town. I rush around to feed Sadie and Belle lunch, Hudson refuses to eat (typical) and then I put Sadie down for her nap by 12:30. Outfit change #1 for Belle. I am exhausted.
During Sadie’s nap I try and do all the things. Hudson has “rest time” on the couch and plays quietly while watching a movie. We’ve hit that sweet spot where I can leave him alone for a little while and he can entertain himself. I clean up the lunch mess and then snap some photos of a new bib for Mabel + Bixby. My mom catches me taking the photos like this. This is pretty much how I get anything done…with a kid on me at all times.
Around 1:30 I nurse Belle and put her down for a nap. She’s tired because she didn’t get a good nap this morning. I could rock her all day. But I hear Sadie crying in her room, so my sweet peaceful moment is over. Usually I have about 20-30 minutes where the girl’s naps overlap and it’s the best thing ever. But not today.
Hudson and Sadie play together while Belle naps.
It’s cold and windy today so no one wants to go outside, which is fine by me because I don’t feel like standing in the cold. Hudson begs for a project to do so I bust out these activity books I got from the dollar spot at Target. They both love it so much it makes me want to find more books just like these.
3:00 p.m. and Belle is awake! The big kids love to go in and greet her after she wakes up!
Then it’s time to play some more. I wanted to snap a photo of the girls playing together in their new kitchen but Hudson keeps sneaking into the photos. I get several cute ones and then this gem. Jon calls to let me know he’s on his way home. Praise God.
4:00 p.m. The big two are always so excited when Daddy gets home and run to the door when they hear the garage open. Jon often works later so him getting home early is a big treat. He immediately gets the kids suited up in their snow gear and takes them outside to burn some energy.
While Jon and the kids play outside, Belle has outfit change #2 and alternates between bouncing and whining while I prep for dinner. I was going to make bowtie fiesta pasta but my mom popped over and said she was going to make stir-fry (my absolute favorite) so of course I scrapped my plans! Typically dinner time is the HARDEST part of my day. Kids are cranky and extra clingy and it’s hard to get anything done. So her helping out today is the best news ever.
Hudson is starving after not eating much all day and comes inside begging for dinner. The house smells sooooo good.
5:00 p.m. we all sit down to eat dinner. Well, not all together. Sadie insists on sitting in the red highchair tonight, which means Belle has to sit in her chair on the kitchen island. So I sit with her while Jon sits with the big kids. I think I’m up at least eight times getting something for someone before I can even sit down and eat myself. All three kids have two helpings. Major mom win!
Then it’s the witching hour. Everyone goes crazy. Belle follows me around while I try and clean up the giant dinner mess and do the dishes.
Jon plays with the big kids. We all play a few rounds of hide and seek.
6:00 bath time! The girls just recently started taking baths together and they both love it so much. Hudson asks to skip a bath/shower and I’m choosing my battles so I agree. I get both girls ready for bed and then take Sadie downstairs.
Jon entertains the big kids while I nurse Belle and get her to bed. Girlfriend is tired. I typically rock her to sleep at night. I know you aren’t supposed to do that but she’s my last baby and I do not care. I’ve rocked all of my babies to sleep. It’s my favorite.
However, she is restless and won’t settle down, which is her sign to me that she just wants to be in her bed. So after rocking her for a bit I put her in her crib and walk out. No tears!
Then I help the big kids brush their teeth and get Hudson’s pjs on. Jon and I tag team the big kids: he takes Hudson to his room and I take Sadie. We read three books, cuddle, put all her babies and kitties in her bed, and then lights out. She’s the easiest! After that I go in to Hudson’s room and lay down with him/cuddle until he falls asleep. I know, I know. But he’s my first baby. And has me wrapped around his finger.
It’s 8:00 p.m. and everyone is asleep! YAY! I treat myself to a few oreos and the bachelor…and write this post! Then I answer some more emails and make my to-do list for the next day.
By 9:30 I am exhausted. I take a shower (I’m a night time shower person….just not enough time in the morning) and then my favorite time of day…bedtime!
Wow, that was long! But that was my day! If you made it to the end, thank you!
This was awesome!!! Loved the kinder surprise egg, getting up 8 times before eating and the awesome mom who helps (I can relate to all 3 of those). You’re right that day in the life are the best type of posts. It was also nice to see other parts of your house. Thanks for sharing Girl!
I love this and it is so helpful to know I am not the only mom with the crazy dinner time, bedtime rush. The baby is always exhausted at the end of the day, and the middle and biggest want to run around and be crazy bc they are so over stimulated at this point as well! Being a mom is exhausting but oh so fun. I nurse all of my babies to sleep. I love it and so don't they so we do what works best for us!
Girl more power to you! I could not handle all of that in one day. but thank you for sharing real life when we often only see the pretty posed pics.
I LOVED this post! I'm also a mom of three with similar ages, so it's so nice to see how you do things! I'm super impressed that your house doesn't look like a tornado hit it!! And I love that you keep it all real.
I have a 4, 3, and 1 year old and this is pretty much my life on the weekends. I do work full time and they all go to the same day care center which is a dream. My oldest will start the dreaded Kindergarten next year. this will throw a lot of things off considering its 8:30-2:45 and I work 8:30 to 4:30…. Thanks for sharing the real life post. There are some of my favorites.
LOVE day in the life posts! thank you!
Love the peek into your life (in the least creepy way possible)! Long live the crib and I lol'ed at "chatty mcchatterson" — somehow I always end up leaving pre-school pickup a half hour later. But mom chat is necessary!
Loved this post!!!
So glad you could end your day with Oreos!! You are great mama.
Isn't it crazy how much work it takes just to leave the house in the morning!?! I try to lay out all the things the night before, but always end up working up a sweat to get us all in the car. Loved seeing your routines and I love that your mom is around to help you out. What a fun arrangement you have!
I love this! Having been through it (mine are now 21,19 and 14 – I know, it goes by so fast) this was a great reminder for me of how valuable every moment with our kids is, and how precious Mommy time really is. Wishing you luck and don't sweat the small stuff.
I also LOVE these posts friend – and so interesting to see how everyones day differs – especially between South Africa and the States – I think a post like this is due soon too! x
Love this post…:-)
Great goals, I want to be healthy too this year. Finally have more time in my business and will take the time to cook more healthy and work out! Looking forward to a healthier year 🙂 thanks for the motivation!