When I think back on what I always wanted as a "grown up", it was to be a wife and a mom and to be able to raise my family. I'm so grateful that what I once daydreamed about is a reality now. With that being said, being a wife and a mom isn't glamorous, or typically very exciting, unless you're looking through the eyes of your four year olds, because at that age everything is exciting.
Although this stage (err every stage) is exhausting, it's so SO great. My girls have developed little fiery personalities and come up with the funniest things like saying "Mom, the truth is..." before EVERY sentence, even if "the truth is" that she wants a banana instead of an apple :)
We try to keep our days fairly busy, but also allow time to just BE. My girls are extremely active, and would love to be doing crafts or running circles around me or talking over each other a hundred miles a minute all day every day, so I find that if I can plan one thing to get out of the house for each day, it helps keep things structured and the flow is better. They go to preschool two mornings a week for just a few hours, which is great for all of us and they enjoy it so much.
My day starts early when my husband's alarm goes off for the twelfth time and we both realize that this is the absolute last moment we have to get him up and ready before he has to literally SPRINT to the 6:58 train he catches each morning to work. We joke because neither of us are morning people and once we finally do open our eyes I'll ask him "Is it a running day or a walking day?" Poor guy gets all his exercise in before 7am!
One thing I love about the mornings is that my girls usually sleep until 8am or later. I cherish these few minutes of calm before the storm to make breakfast, get ready or just enjoy the silence. And coffee. Lots of coffee. I'm currently attempting to eat healthier but I love food so always trying to mix it up with my recipes and try new things. I was on a big health kick a month back which included vitamins, a shot of apple cider vinegar and aloe juice daily, which thankfully stuck with me (even in spite of the occasional ice cream and glass of wine here and there :) (Emily's input: hey now, wine is GOOD for your health!)
When the girls wake up they eat breakfast and we get ready for the day. I love their morning hair and sleepy faces, it's something that puts a smile on my face each time I see it because they're so groggy and cute. After we get going, we're headed out the door to school drop off.
In the short three hours that they're at school, I'm usually trying to make the most of the time by running errands, grocery shopping or prepping dinner for that night. And maybe another cup of coffee while half watching the previous week's Bachelor so a girl can stay up to date ;)
After I grab the girls from school and they chat about what they've learned all morning, we're back home and ready for lunch. My girls love to be a part of the process. Anytime they can help make their food, the happier they are. I have to constantly remind myself to say YES to them when they ask to help, not only so they can learn to do things for themselves but I want them to remember their days with me as times where they learned things and made memories in the process.
While my littles are pretty much done the nap stage, they still definitely need a rest time and I am all for that too. I find that we all have a better day with a little down time and space from each other. So for an hour or so they chit chat in their beds and make up some outlandish story that I can hear over the monitor. I usually spend this time in my oh-so-glamorous basement corner office working on things for my etsy shop, Two Sparrows Headbands. I love creating, and find that it's such a good way to challenge my mind in a new way while being home with the kids. If I'm not sewing during this time, I'm packing up orders or prepping for a new collection.
The time between when my girls get up from nap/rest and dinner usually involves being outside, reading books or letting them watch TV (sometimes more than I'd like to admit, ahem).
I made this recipe for dinner tonight and it was AH-MAZING. My hubby picked out all the sweet potatoes, but he has a weird love/hate thing with sweet potatoes haha! So if you don't, you'll love it. It was delish.
After dinner is bath, stories and bed for the girls. On normal weeks my husband gets home just before this time and we fit in a game or two of chase or hide and seek with the girls. It's by far their absolute favorite part of the day, and they adore their daddy. On busy weeks when my hubby works late, I take advantage of the time by going back to my little space in the basement and working on more headbands and hair accessories. And that's a day! The days sometimes go by fast, and sometimes they drag on and you're begging the clock to tell you it's 7:30 and bedtime is here. Either way, I couldn't be more grateful for this "normal" little life and the job I've been given. Thanks for taking a peek into our day with us :)
No comments:
Post a Comment