20 February 2012

A Day in the Life (Through Instagram)

The most often asked question that both Jordan and I get regarding this blog is how I find time to juggle being mom, being a wife, having a full time job, working on our house, and maintaing this blog.


Let me start by telling you, some days I can't. Some days I come home from work beyond exhausted and just don't have the motivation to write a blog post. Some projects, no matter how tiny, take me weeks to complete. I'm not a fan of the idea of shipping Lucy off so I can get work done. She's my number 1 and spending time with her is most important. The only time I did was when I was painting the guest room and didn't want her around the paint fumes. If this blog or these projects ever jeopardized my time with Lucy, I would simply stop.


Weekends are my most productive. I do as much as I can during the weekend (usually Saturday) and take as many pictures as I can Saturday and Sunday while the sun is out. Weeknights are usually busy with Lucy when Jordan is working. By the time I get home from work we play for a while, Lucy gets a bath, eats and then it's bed time. After Lucy is asleep the rest of my night is reserved for editing photos and typing up blog posts for the week. 


I thought it would be fun to take you all through a typical, productive Saturday for me (this past Saturday in particular). These are Saturdays when we have no plans and Jordan works during the day so Lucy and I are on our own. This idea was inspired by Camila's 'In Her Shoes' column on her blog Effortless Style.


5:00 AM - Lucy wakes. I nurse her while watching the last few minutes of 'Easy A' on some movie channel. After a quick diaper change I sneak her into bed with us and we're back asleep by 5:25.


7:15 - Jordan leaves for work. Lucy starts stirring. I convince her to stay in bed for another half hour to snuggle.




7:45 - Our day begins. My plan for the day is to head to Goodeals and look for some vintage gold frames and any other inspirations for the guest room. I also plan to knock out three projects I have planned and finish the wine crate project I started two weeks ago.


8:00 - I start a load of laundry and make myself some quick breakfast (a fried egg and slice of cheese on whole grain toast - a staple breakfast for me) while Lucy plays in her bouncer. 



8:15 - Goodeals doesn't open until 10 so I have some time to do some housekeeping: sorting through junk mail, straightening up, check email, put away dishes, etc. 


8:45 - Showertime for me while Lucy catches up on her Yo Gabba Gabba. 


9:00 - It's time for Lucy to eat again. She falls asleep after eating so I have some time to kill. I spend the time trying on the clothes that Jordan bought me for Valentine's Day as well as the dress I purchased Friday night for Lucy's Baptism (Sunday). Everything fits. Success! I swap laundry out, handle a quick work phone call, organize some of my clothes in preparation for a later project and get myself ready for when Lucy wakes.





10:15 - Lucy wakes up. I get her dressed and we're out to the door by 10:30.



10:45 - Goodeals! It's been a while, I'm excited to explore.


I've got my best thrifting partner in tow. The ladies at Goodeals love Lucy. She's become a regular customer, too. I love shopping with her, whether it's at Goodeals and she's strapped to me in the Baby Bjorn, or if we're walking around the mall with Lucy in the stroller. She's my favorite shopping buddy.




11:00 - After walking the aisles a few times I'm unsuccessful in finding gold vintage frames or anything else I could use in the guest room. Some days I hit the jackpot and other times I find nada. I eye up a few small fixer-upper furniture ideas, but nothing that really stands out to me. I do manage to snag a vintage washboard for my friend Ellen who has been looking for one.


11:10 - I pay and we're out the door and headed to AC Moore. I need some gold spray paint for a wall piece I'm refinishing for the guest room. I settle on the gold metallic paint in the middle. I have to grab an associate to get it for me. That's pretty sad they need to lock up the spray paint! I also grab some spray adhesive for another project and a few canvases (they're on sale!) to keep on hand for future art inspirations.


11:45 - On our way home. I'm starving. I crave Chipotle, but they don't have a drive thru. One of the things I've learned about having a baby is that there is not such thing as "running in real quick" to grab something. McD's drive thru it is. Not the healthiest, but there are no other real options between here and home. I order a grilled chicken sandwich and make a mental note to write a grocery list this week. 



12:00 PM - I scarf down my chicken sandwich and get to work. The next two and a half hours are split between playing with Lucy and working on some DIY crafts. LJ is at an age where she can play independently and keeps herself busy with her toys. She keeps herself occupied while I work on the couch or on the floor next to her. The weather is gorgeous and I luck out that I can do my spray paint project on the deck. Lucy is on the rug in front of the slider so I can watch her play the whole time I'm on the deck, which only take about a minute and a half to do a coat of spray paint.




2:30 - Bug is sleepy so it's naptime. Some days I try to get her to sleep so I can take advantage of an uninterrupted hour. Today, Lucy convinces me to nap with her. Sometimes I just can't resist cuddling this little one. Plus naps during the day mean I will stay up later when Jordan gets home. 

4:30 - Our nap turns into a full on siesta and we are up two hours later. The animals tell me they're hungry as is Lucy. I quickly feed the pets, feed Lucy, and spray one more coat of spray paint on my guest room project. 


5:00 - I decide to do my next DIY project with what little sun I have left to take pictures: my fabric mod podged coasters. I notice one of my tiles has a wonky corner that will be noticeable even through the fabric. I'll have to run back to Home Depot and get another tile, just not today. I nix that project and go upstairs to finish up with laundry and work on a closet project.





7:30 - It's bath time for Lucy. After her bath I get her dressed, put away her laundry and set out her dress for Sunday (her Baptism). 


8:00 - Time for rice cereal and one last nursing for Bug. 


8:30 - Lucy is asleep.


9:00 - Jordan is home and he comes with takeout! Feeling icky, I hop in the shower quick. He does the same after mine and I take the time to give myself a quick mani and pedi for the next day. 



9:45 We settle in for some food and to catch up on the last three episodes of 'The Office' that we have on DVR. My dinner: ale and onion soup followed by Moroccan Salmon. Jordan's dinner: Flat iron steak with smoked cheddar mac and cheese.


11:15 After dinner and our shows I convince Jordan to help me finish up the wine crate project for the guest room. I need his help with the drill to make holes for the rope handles. He's more than willing to help as working in the basement also means he can steal a few minutes on his guitar. 



11:30 - Time for SNL! We spend the rest of the night catching up and spending some good old QT together. 

That's pretty much a typical Saturday. I had a pretty productive weekend as I was able to knock out two of the three new projects I had planned as well as finishing up the wine crate project I had started two weeks back. 

While this was a pretty productive day, like I said before some Saturdays don't work out as easily. Some days Lucy decides she doesn't want to put down and she wants me to play with her all day. Some days we have errands to run and I'm only able to complete one small project in a weekend. Other weekends Jordan has off work and I try not to do many projects so I can spend time with my family.

So there's the answer of 'how do you do it all'? Some days I can't, and others I just make it work. Being a mom and wife obviously come first, but this blog is such a passion of mine that I make the time for it. Even if that means I'm writing posts at 1am on a Tuesday night or snapping 'after' pictures at 7:30am before I leave for work.

Hope you all had fun getting some insight on how Lucy and I spent our Saturday.  

3 comments:

  1. And this is how you stay so slim!

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  2. Oh my gosh how were you able to do this instagram 20 day challenge

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    Replies
    1. This was all in 1 day! Just took pictures throughout a typical Saturday. Although I am doing the March photo a day challenge. :)

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