I’ve been dying to write a “day in the life” post for a while now, mostly because I like to reflect, LOVE to write (about anything), & it reminds me of my 25 Things posts…which I adore.
They are like therapy for me.
Not every day is busy. Some days are slow & feel like there is only the gentle waves of life playfully lapping at my heels.
Most days…forget my heels. The freight train of to-do’s seems to take me out at the shins. So, the trick is doing both days gracefully & appreciating them for what they are–in the present (if only this were that simple).
Let’s get to that day, shall we?
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6:00 a.m. Matt’s out of town this week. Perfect–that means it’s my day to get up. Ava’s awake and at least singing to me–something about God & Cinderella.
6:20 I’m finally out of bed, and I stumble to the coffee maker. First stop of the day. Every day.
6:25 I check my email, and make sure today’s post went out–oh, and I published the slide for the home page.
6:40 It’s time for breakfast. Today it’s whole-grain waffles (the frozen kind) & fruit of choice. Ava thinks syrup is a food group. She must know Buddy the Elf.
6:45 I get backpacks ready for the day, and I’m thankful for the fact I remembered to get lunchboxes ready last night.
7:00 Everyone is dressed. They’re all cute so I make them take a couple of pictures.
7:10 Except for me–I throw on my favorite Nike pants, shoes & a baggy t-shirt. It’s school/gym time, baby.
7:20 I put on a face–a little foundation and mascara, that is. (P.S. this is NOT every morning, but maybe 3 or 4 days out of the week–so I don’t scare the other moms)
7:35 We race to the car, me never failing to remind everyone how “late” we are. I think this is my mind’s defense mechanism to actually running late.
7:50 I drop off Gray & then Ava. I have to hop out of the car to get her out, and I’m sad I didn’t put any more effort into my outfit.
8:05 I head home to return more emails, and disassemble our guest room (salvage trellis) headboard…I sold it!
8:50 Time to head to my workout. I basically sweat, complain, and push myself further than I believe humanly possible for the next hour. And yes, one hour there is all I can take.
10:15 I take the headboard down to Troy Antiques. I might as well look around while I’m there. I found some cool bookends & an amazing chest of drawers–got ’em all.
11:30 Finally home. I work on tomorrow’s post–I’m totally behind lately, and blog on the day of or day before. Sometimes I love that…lately, though, it feels good to write when I feel like it, and know that posts can go out whenever. Time to catch back up.
12:15 p.m. I start working on the chest I bought. It’s totally natural and unstained…which is actually a little perplexing. I’ve never had SUCH a blank canvas. I try about 3 different test spot treatments. I’m kind of uninspired by them all. I stain a little of it, and leave the rest for later.
12:40 I set up the tripod and start a new video series…how to strip furniture. After quite a few takes (I can’t stop laughing when I say strip), I finally get the stripper on the top of the trunk I’m working on. I can leave it on for 24 hours, so I get it all covered, and well, leave it.
1:15 I spend some much needed time in the Bible…I’m reading The Message through now & it’s rocking my world. It’s like reading it all for the first time again, reminding me what a moron I am most of the time (and how that’s okay because it’s very little to do with me).
1:40 Okay, okay, it’s time to shower. I’m gross. I take my time and have a cup of coffee while I’m at it–I think I had some lunch in there somewhere, too.
2:15 It’s time to pick up the kids from school–Ava first, then Gray.
3:00 We stop by the grocery store and pick up a few groceries for supper. I hate being this last minute, but sometimes, it does help to not stock up–we definitely waste less.
3:25 Home again. I feed the kiddos a snack while we talk about their days. Grayson literally calls me “his queen” as he pulls a colored queen’s head out of his backpack. Scary and adorable. Ava just says, “we play in the grass,” when I ask what her favorite part of her day was. Over and over. Every day.
4:00 The kids are both spending alone time in their room (which shocks me every day, but they both crave space after spending some time at school), so I set the tripod back up and begin removing the first layer of paint.
5:00 Scratch that–it was 5 layers of paint. Sooo, I’ll have to redo. I semi-clean it up and scoot the trunk over to the side.
5:15 I start on supper–super simple. Grilled chicken strips, roasted asparagus (a regular for us), brown & wild rice.
6:00 The kids and I actually sit at the table. We picnic sometimes, but it felt good to sit at the table. Gray usually says these sweet prayers–one day, I might have to video it just so I can keep it around forever. Dinner is special–and I want to always remember that it is this time we can come together, share our days, our joys, our frustrations….solutions for those frustrations.
6:30 I clean up the kitchen, load the dishwasher, and deny Grayson an ice cream sandwich for the 3rd time. He’s really not letting go. We have a little chat about disrespect vs. respect and accepting my answer the first time. After a bit, (I think) he gets it and we move on.
7:00 Bath time. So much splashing. Floor soaked. Me annoyed. Put in my place when I remember they’re not even 8 years old put together.
7:30 I get them both in bed…Ava doesn’t like to read every night, so I tuck her in and kiss her squeaky clean face, wondering how in the world she got so beautiful & how in the world I got so lucky. I breathe her in deeply, give her a kiss, and turn out her light.
Gray is already in bed with his ships tagging along. I remind him we can only choose one thing to “sleep” with us, and he reluctantly hands over the monster sailing ship to keep Mickey’s pirate row boat instead. We talk about our verse, and what it means for him…he cracks me up on this one, by the way. “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they are the sons of God.” He tells me if I want to be cool with God, I might try keeping peace instead of fighting. Well, thank you, sir, I’m not sure I could make it without you.
And I couldn’t.
8:00 The kids are in bed, and I’m alone tonight, so I totally get on Pinterest. Why not? I also turn on The Bachelor (WHY DO I DO THIS TO MYSELF….and Ben, why do you do this to yourself??), and listen absentmindedly while I pin.
8: 43 I get the kids’ bags/lunches ready for school & feel guilty for sending Ava an Uncrustable for the 3rd day in a row. I tuck some organic carrots in there, and feel a little bit better about it all.
9:10 Lights out. I’m beat.
9:25 But wait. I’m beat, but my brain’s not. I wonder if I should email that guy about that post, and maybe Grayson won’t get in trouble at PE tomorrow. What’s that about anyway? I wonder if I can get the “stripping” video ready for next week? Probably not, because I have too many other things scheduled. I start to ask myself, well…lots of other things.
10:00 Another one finally bites the dust.
Adorable! Love to see what one of your days is like!!! I’m gonna have to schedule in one of these posts soon too!
xo,
Shannon
Thanks, Shannon! Do it!
🙂
shaunna
Shaunna, you’re adorable. Lisa~
Right back atcha, friend.
🙂
shaunna
LOVE this post….reminds me a lot of your 25 things post (which I adore), but I enjoyed this one even more!! It’s nice to read about the bloggers that I love & the life they lead behind the scenes!!
And I can totally relate to that laying in bed, can’t shut your brain off, kind of thing! Happens to me almost every night. Part of being a woman I think, but being blogger somehow makes it worse! Yes?!
Very cute 🙂 It’s always fun to read about someone else’s day. Thanks for sharing 🙂
Is is normal that I would feel exhausted after reading this post, haha! Thanks so much for sharing a peek into your day… My day seems much the same, go go go! But when its all said and done, those sweet moment with your “babies” are what stood out the most 🙂 and I am with Ava, any day I can “play on the grass” I am a happy girl!
Enjoy those moments with your adorable little ones…they are fleeting moments and before you know it you’ll wish you could do it one more time…
It is a good kind of busy…enjoy
Nancy
My day goes something like yours except add one more child and me walking in circles sometimes 🙂
Enjoy your sweet little faces and the yummy smell of just bathed cuties. My girls are all too big for baths and don’t tolerate me kissing them all over…at least not much 🙂
Shaunna you are too cute! I adore’d this post…and the part about the splashing at bath time really hit home for me…to try not to be irritated at their playfulness. Thanks so much for sharing your life with us!! 🙂
I love “Day in the Life” posts – so much fun to peek in on others! You’re the cutest.
Love this post. It reminds me of how things are so busy and hectic at our house. I try and squeeze projects in while they are napping or playing or (shock horror) watching a bit of TV. So glad to know it is the same for you! x
Enjoy your cute kiddos because they grow up way too fast. I am pooped just reading this, but there is so much love, too. That second picture with Ava pouting is the cutest.
Ava is a miniature, adorable you. Book suggestion for you: “Honey for a Child’s Heart”. You will love it. It’s a book about classic children reads. Happy day!
Ooh, thank you, Cara! That sounds great!
🙂
shaunna
Great post! This line “so I tuck her in and kiss her squeaky clean face, wondering how in the world she got so beautiful & how in the world I got so lucky. I breathe her in deeply, give her a kiss, and turn out her light” especially hit home with me. Sometimes when I put my kids to bed I actually end up with tears in my eyes because I feel so thankful they are mine and so beautiful. It makes me forget how challenging they can be!
Great post. Just curious, how old is your little girl? She goes to school all day long? We just do mothers morning out here for 3 hours twice a week.
Ok.. I just bought your ebook and love it. I recently bought my first peice to fix up. I like you have little ones. So, my question is how do you protect them from the potential exposure to lead paint. My first peice was pure wood(so I thought) only to find out that it was actually painted a wood like color with a green coat of paint underneath. Also, I think the top is wood veneer. Anyway, in dealing with such old pieces how do I know my little 8 month old and 2 yr old aren’t being exposed to lead? I don’t necessarily let them be around me when I am working in the garage, but when sanding and priming that stuff gets everywhere and little particles I am sure are landing on their strollers which are stored in the garage. NOt to mention that I am sure some of it is on my clothes and skin even though I wash my hands after I have finished. What are your thoughts on this?
Thanks!
Hey Kristina!
Thanks so much for your sweet comment and great question. Actually in Alabama, it’s against safety regulations to remove lead paint (which does release lead dust into the air)…I would go to Lowes or Home Depot and purchase a lead test kit…if a piece is painted with lead paint, cover it with 2 layers of Kilz or Zissner oil based primer, then paint. It will be safe then…but I still probably wouldn’t use it in the kids’ rooms just to be safe. Hope that helps!!
🙂
shaunna
Whew!! I’m pooped, and inspired! And wow, good for you for going to bed early! I think if I slept more than 7 hrs a night I’d be a lot nicer 😉