A Day in the Life – A Peek into our Everyday

Hey gals happy February! About a week ago I had this idea of sharing a behind the scenes look into our everyday life. Probably because I’m super nosy myself, but I invited you all to vote (over on Instagram) whether or not you were interested in this type of thing and it turns out that most of you are as nosy as I am! Really though, I think it’s fascinating seeing how other mamas make it happen. I love seeing how they juggle all the things.

6:00 AM Wake up

My alarm goes off around 5:45 and it takes me that extra 15 minutes to actually roll out of bed. By this time I usually have two little people who have sometime in the night made their way into my bed and are stuck me like glue. I peel away from them and immediately hop in the shower. I usually can take a decent shower, check email, and even post a few social media posts before the girls wake up and come running out begging for breakfast. My hope is that as I get used to these earlier wake ups I will be able to get in an hour or two of work in addition to getting a quick shower.

7:00 Breakfast

By 7 or 7:15 both of the girls are up and ready for breakfast. They have cereal almost every morning for breakfast. Occasionally, Peighton will switch it up and ask for pancakes (I keep a stash in the freezer) or eggs if we aren’t in a rush. While they eat breakfast they have 20-30 minutes of screen time at the table. During this time, I am making my smoothie and coffee for the morning. I also pack lunches. Peighton takes her lunch every day and on days that Millie has school I pack a lunch for her as well. I usually give Peighton a few options and allow her to choose what she would like in her lunch for the day. The options are typically leftovers from the night before, a sandwich, a salad, or pancakes (Fridays only). She almost always chooses the sandwich although all week she’s been eating salad. In addition to the main dish, I add in some cheese, some fruit, some crackers or pretzels, and sometimes an additional veggie. Millie isn’t picky at all, she gets whatever Peighton gets unless it’s something she can’t have.

7:45-8:00 Get the girls dressed

By 7:45 or so the girls are done with breakfast and we’re ready to get them dressed. Peighton is pretty much on her own with getting dressed. She has a handful of dresses that she loves so I try to make sure that they get washed as soon as she takes them off so that they are back in her drawer. Otherwise, I have to spend my morning explaining where “all of her favorite dresses are.” Millie is even pickier on her selections. I typically allow her to grab whatever she wants from the drawer (almost always a yellow dress) and then negotiate for pants or sweater as weather permits. Some days Millie isn’t interested in getting dressed before it’s time to leave to drop off P on her non-school days and I won’t fight that. Here in Florida, we have such nice weather almost year round that allowing her to leave in her pjs doesn’t bother me. Pick your battles.

8:00-8:30 Finish getting everyone ready

Once the girls are dressed we head into the bathroom to brush teeth and do hair. I started braiding Peighton’s hair at night to keep our mornings relatively calm because brushing a 5-year-old long locks is not a good time. Since we started braiding at night it’s made our mornings much easier. I use this detangler (also lice repellent) and she usually wants her hair in a ponytail or pig tails. I do Millie next then I send them both to the front door to grab shoes. This is when I finally get a chance to throw on some clothes and then we’re ready to go. The last 30 minutes before we have to head out the door is always the most hectic. I’m usually looking for a shoe or a water bottle, my keys, my mind. You know.

8:30 Out the door

The girls’ school is a bit of a drive from our home so we have to be out the door by 8:30 for school drop off.

9:20-2:00 Work time

Two days a week Millie is in school and I come straight home and work. As soon as I get home I usually hop on the computer and do any computer work that I have like answering emails, comments, and social media. I cut myself off at the 1 hour mark and then move on to projects. I can only work on projects the days that both girls are in school so I will work on projects and photograph during this time. I also try not to plan any errands on those days that way I can have focused work time – I avoid Target like the plague on those two days because I don’t have an hour to waste. If I’m caught up on projects and photos, instead of coming straight home after drop off I will work from a coffee shop near the school and plan content + write posts. Ideally, I would spend one day working on projects/photographing and the other day writing. By 1:30 I’m wrapping up and heading back to the school to pick up the girls.

On the days that Millie is home with me the days look a bit different. We will typically drop P off and then run any errands we have then come home. I’ll give Millie a snack and she’ll watch a show while I do some computer work. We’ll play for another thirty minutes and then I make lunch. We eat together at the table then we go for a walk if the weather is nice. She goes down for a short nap (this doesn’t happen every day) and I can do a little more computer work before we have to pick up sissy.

2:30 – 5:00 Play

Once the girls are home for the day, I’m done working until after they’re in bed. When they get home they get a snack and then usually play in their playroom together. This is when I usually pick up whatever mess my house has become throughout the day. I tend not to worry about the playroom mess until Wednesdays (my cleaning lady comes every other Thursday so we pick up the playroom on Wednesdays). The girls love playing in their diner so I usually become their customer and they make serve me funny eats like pickles and waffles 😉 One day a week Peighton has gymnastics so we spend one hour after school at the gym for that.

5:00-7:30 Crazy Hour – Dinner, Bath, Bed

Around 5 is when things start to unravel and I go into survival mode. I cook about 3 times per week always making enough to have the next night.  Usually, there is one night when we have what we call “YOYO” or you’re on your own which means the girls get to choose what they would like. Peighton almost always picks pancakes and Millie will cosign on breakfast for dinner any day. While I cook it’s basically a free for all. Whatever keeps them out of the kitchen so I can finish cooking. During this time Millie will come into the kitchen about 432 times asking for a snack “nack”. Once we finish eating, it’s straight into the bath (most days) for the girls. After the bath, I get the girls ready for bed and we usually pile into my bed for a few minutes and watch some nursery rhymes (Millie’s favorite thing) or a portion of a movie. After about 15 minutes we brush teeth, braid hair and we march over to the girls’ room. They each pick a book, I read them both. Then they each pick a song and we sing them together and I’m out the door no later than 7:30. I go straight from their room into the kitchen and clean up from dinner, pick up around the house, and then I’m ready to get back to work.

8-10:15 Work Time + TV

From about 8 to 10 I nestle into bed with my laptop and some TV. I watch a show (my latest is Younger on Hulu) and write out my post for the next day if I didn’t get it completed that day. I will also work on any back-end work that I need to do like scheduling posts, updating old posts, promoting content, etc.

By 10 – 10:15 I’m brushing my teeth, washing my face, and getting ready for bed

I’m trying really hard to go to bed around this time but I’m a recovering night owl. If I allow myself to get on social media before bed I will be scrolling through Instagram stories for an hour before I know it. I try to refrain. Instead, I keep a notebook by my bed and make a quick to do list for next day or jot down any thoughts that I don’t want to forget by morning. Since my mind is always going a million miles a minute when I lay down, I use a sound app called Relax Melodies to help me fall asleep.

Phew! I hope this makes you feel a sense of normalcy if you, too, have long chaotic days chasing after little ones. This would be considered a very productive day for me. Some days we are all a total mess and I give up any hope for working and go to Target after drop off. Some days we run through Chick Fil A on the way home from gymnastics instead of cooking, or I let them watch way too much tv. Some days I go to bed with dishes still in the sink or toys all over the house because I spent more time playing diner with the girls than actually picking up and that’s okay with me. These days are flying by! One day I’ll look around and there will be no toys around. My home will be way too quiet and my babies will be grown up. So for now, the chaos is the biggest blessing I could ask for and I’m soaking it in.