Just Another Day in My Extraordinary Ordinary Life

I really love the idea of the Day in the Life posts. I like taking a typical day and chronicling it in words and pictures. The problem becomes that my life and mind and hands are so full most days that I often forget to stop and take pictures every hour and write down what I’ve been doing!

I decided to chronicle my day on Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2015. It was supposed to be a typical day with my kiddos, but it didn’t turn out quite the way I expected. Here’s a peek into a day of my extraordinary ordinary life.

A Day in the Life: Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2015

6:45 – Oops!

My alarm goes off at 5:30am, I’m hoping to get up and get some writing done before I have to wake up my kids to get them ready for school. But I’m tired and I push snooze a few times until all of the sudden my hubs’ alarm is going off and it’s 6:45! I have to jump out of bed because I over slept! Not really the way I like to start my days!

The first thing I do every morning when I wake up is put the kettle on the stove to boil water for my coffee. We use a French Press and love it, but sometimes I miss the quickness and convenience of the Keurig or a coffeemaker with a timer.

Then I have to start waking up my kids. It usually takes me a few times of rousing them before they actually get out of bed, so I have to start a little earlier then necessary.

I head back to the kitchen and start the oatmeal for breakfast. The girls, Kaelyn and Blair, come out to the kitchen to join me. Brenden loves to sleep in, and usually I have to literally drag him out of bed in the mornings.

My coffee is ready and I realize that I don’t have any creamer. When I opened a new container of half and half the day before, it was bad, so I had to throw it out. I had forgotten to pick up more or ask my hubs to pick some up, so I’m left with whole milk in my coffee.

If you know me and my love of my homemade vanilla creamer, you will know this is a very rough start to the morning for me!

I spend LOTS of time in the car driving my kiddos too and from school everyday. It is not my favorite thing to do, but is necessary, and listening to audiobooks makes it a lot more enjoyable! 

7:45 – Kids to school

It’s my morning to take the kiddos to school, so I get them loaded up, go pick up our carpool buddy, and drop them at school. I run back home to pick up Blair (she stayed home with Jer while I took the kids), and head to the gym.

I am not good at mirror selfies!! 

9:00 – Mama time

I meet my friend Meghan at the gym and we drop off our girls in the childcare. We’ve started meeting on Wednesdays and Fridays and it is so great to have a workout partner! We run and workout for about an hour together. Then I go sit with my computer in the lobby area and use the wi-fi to work for about 45 minutes until I have to get Blair from the childcare and go pick up Brenden from school.

It’s been so wonderful for this extroverted mama to have these mornings to workout and talk with a friend! My face gets super red when I work out and it’s a little embarrassing, but hey, this is my real life!

11:20 – Pick-up & lunch

I pick up Brenden from school and make a impulsive decision to grab lunch at Chick-fil-a and then run a few errands. This was not on the schedule for today at all, but I guess that’s what happens when mama doesn’t get enough caffeine in the morning-it makes her do crazy things. I just need my creamer!

The kids and I argued about whether we would eat inside the restaurant or go through the drive-through. In the end, they won and it was the drive-through. I regretted that decision when Blair covered herself and her car seat in ketchup!

12:30 – Running errands

We go to the dollar store because I’ve been working on reorganizing the kids room and I  wanted to pick up some storage containers.

Then we ran to Target for “just a couple things”, which really means I leave with a cart full of stuff! A few more organizing containers, a few toiletries, and then in the check-out line my kids spotted these eos Lip Balms that they have been wanting since seeing them at their friend’s house. They are 95% organic, 100% natural, and paraben, petrolatum, and phthalate free – how can I say no to that!?

1:45 – Quiet time

Whenever we get home after being out some where, the kids fight over who gets to hold our new kitty, Ruby, first. They love her so much, but sometimes I think they love her a little too much!

I’m pretty sure the kitty is planning her escape! 

After a few minutes of play time, Blair needs to take a nap. Brenden settles in to watch Wild Kratts, his favorite show, for his 30 minutes of screen time. I’m telling you, this kid can recite animal facts like nobody’s business. He loves animals and I love that there is a show that is so educational and fun for him to watch.

I take Blair to her room where we read a book and then I lie down in bed with her while she falls asleep. I might catch a little cat nap too. I cherish these quiet moments with her, because I know they won’t last forever!

3:00 – Kaelyn’s home

My oldest, Kaelyn, gets dropped off after school and settles into her quiet time. We’ve figured out that while she loves being with her friends at school all day, she really really needs alone time to decompress and recharge after a long day at school. She gets to read, have 30 minutes of screen time, and then do her rainbow loom or whatever other quiet activity she chooses. This has made her transition to coming home so much better and easier for all of us.

While the kids are occupied playing and Blair is sleeping, I take some time to finish up a blog post. The time always seems to get away from me when I’m working, and all of the sudden it’s 4:30 and Blair’s awake.

We start tidying up the house before Jer gets home from work. But I realize that I don’t have a plan for dinner and I have a haircut at 6:00. I don’t really have time to make anything at this point. Oops!

I have really been trying to do a better job of meal planning, but like I said, I made some impulsive decisions today, I didn’t have a great plan in place, and the day kinda got away from me. Please tell me that you have days like that too?!

5:00 – Jer’s home

Jer gets home. I inform him that I don’t have a dinner plan and suggest he make eggs and french toast. He agrees and gets started on that while I get ready to go to my haircut. I have to say that I am so very thankful to have a wonderful and supportive husband who picks up my slack and covers over my weaknesses because, man, do I have a lot of them!

Our wedding rings are engraved with “Paint Our Love With Grace” and I had no idea just how much that phrase would mean to me after 11 years of marriage!

Before 

6:00 – Haircut

Ah, some time to relax! I get my haircut and then head over to Old Navy to pick up some running leggings. I told myself I had to wait until I had made a habit of getting to the gym before I could get new workout clothes.

It’s been three weeks, and I’ve gotten to the point that I can’t wait until Wednesday and Friday mornings because I need that time! I feel pretty confident that I’ve created a good habit and plan to stick with it! 

After

7:30 – Bedtime

I get back home in time to put the kiddos to bed, which Jer is thankful for. I’m thankful that he’s cleaned up the kitchen and the rest of the house while I was gone. I told you I’m a lucky woman!

I read books with the kids in their room and get them off to sleep.

8:30 – Adult time

Jer and I hang out on the couch talking and catching up on our days, and watching something on TV.  I honestly cannot remember what – probably either HGTV (my choice) or one of those back woods Alaska, Tree House, or Tiny House shows (Jer’s choice). We try to take a selfie and end up cracking up at how ridiculous we look. It’s really too embarrassing to show you most of our “outtakes”!

The cat falls asleep on my lap, which is crazy to me because I am NOT a cat person. I’ve never liked cats and never thought I would like to have one for a pet.

We got this kitty for our kids for Christmas because they had been asking for one, and we figured that a cat is easier than a puppy. (True!) I think we’re lucky because she is sweet, cuddly, fun, and playful, and she’s slowly making her way into my heart.

10:30 – To bed

I’m finishing up reading The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up on my Kindle. The method the book teaches really truly is life-changing, more on that in another post soon! But I can only get through a few pages before I can’t keep my eyes open any longer. Good night!

My Extraordinary, Ordinary Life

Something I am learning in the midst of our social media crazy culture is that my life is not picture perfect. And it never will be.

I have three little loves who keep me on my toes all day long. I’m a work at home mama, who loves the creativity and outlet of my work, but also understands the stress it can put on me and my family. My husband and I have an amazing marriage, but we fight and miscommunicate and hurt each other with the best of them.

My life is not picture picture. And that’s okay. It’s more than okay actually, it’s amazing. My life is extraordinary. Not because I have such special and amazing days. My days can be mundane and ordinary. But I get to spend my them surrounded by extraordinary people I love who bring me so much joy and doing work that brings meaning to my life.

My life is boring and beautiful. It is ordinary and yet, so extraordinary. And I’m willing to bet that yours is too!

Head over to Simply Rebekah to see even more extraordinary ordinary lives in the A Day in the Life… link-up!

What do you want to read next:

To be called Mommy

10 Reasons I am the Worst Mom Ever!

Vaccinating My Child: 15 Reasons I’m Looking for Middle Ground

 

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