Wednesday, February 26, 2014

A Day In The Life

Before we had children, I didn't understand what a stay-at-home mom did all day long. I assumed it had something to do with sitting around in pj's, watching Oprah, and eating bon-bon's.  Boy was I wrong!    

A few bloggers that I follow post "day in the life" blogs that I always find fun and interesting to read.  They blog about what they do in a given day.  I always enjoy reading them and so I have been doing a few a year myself.  I have many out of town relatives that enjoy them and it also serves as a journal to look back on later.  

So here was my day yesterday:     

5:55am Paisley woke up and I nursed her.  I attempted to get her to go back to sleep, but she wasn't having it.  
6:25am Paisley sat on my lap while I read the Bible on youversion.com.  We read Acts 1 and Proverbs 25


6:45am Warrick woke up and I turned on PBS for him so I could clean the kitchen and start breakfast
I always regret it when I don't load the dishwasher the night before.  
kitchen before... 


kitchen after...


7:15 Tynnley woke up and I began making breakfast... eggs in a basket.  One of my favorites :)  Tynnley and I ate this with fruit and Warrick just wanted toast, fruit, and a blueberry muffin.



8am threw a load of sheets in the washer and got my workout clothes on
8:15am Tynnley had an existential crisis while on the potty.  She sat here for 10 minutes going on and on and ON and ON saying "why is it called a blueberry muffin when it's purple?"  Finally, I just had to agree that it was a purple muffin instead.  

8:30am Paisley had fallen asleep in the highchair... woke her up, nursed her, dressed Tynnley, and got the kids loaded into the car for the YMCA.  Ran back in the house because I forgot to put the chicken in the crockpot.


9:15am  TurboKick at the YMCA with Tamera, Loran, and Katie
10:15am quick shower
10:30am picked the kids up from childwatch and headed over to preschool open gym.  Nursed Paisley.  This picture is the kids favorite thing to do... lay on a scooter while holding the hula hoop while I swing them around the gym.  I am recently learning the importance of helping Warrick get his energy out instead of expecting a 5 year old boy to sit around calmly at home.  So this open gym is amazing... the kids can literally run wild and bounce off walls for an hour.   


12pm Arrive home and make lunch.  After lunch I pondered how the sink got so full again so fast.  But there wasn't much time for pondering, so I unloaded and reloaded the dishwasher.


12:30pm Reading time.  Right now we are reading Little House in the Big Woods.  Warrick wanted to read in his room while camping out.  A string of Christmas lights were the stars in the sky and the kids grabbed their pillows and blankets.   


1pm  Naptime... did you hear the chorus of angels singing?  I did ;)
1:15pm Nursed Paisley while I log onto facebook, check my email and write part of this blog.  Put the sheets in the dryer, folded some laundry and talked to a friend.
3-3:30pm Power nap
Is there anything more precious than a sleeping baby?  I don't think so.

3:30pm Warrick woke up and we did his homework for preschool tomorrow.


3:45pm Tynnley woke up and we did some painting projects.


4:15pm Played junior monopoly or as Warrick calls it "Juniorly Monopular"  


4:45pm dry erase cards 


5pm fed Paisley 2 oz of pumpkin puree... she can't decide if she likes it or not.  


5:15pm Nursed Paisley and set the timer for 15 minutes for the kids to clean up the living room and put their toys and shoes where they belonged.
5:30pm Warrick set the table while I cooked carrots and corn and got half of the chicken out of the crockpot


5:45pm Matt got home and we ate... notice Tynnley the carrot bandit?   


6:30pm  cleaned a fun diaper, soaked a onesie, and then went to Culvers to get ice cream with the kids


7:30pm loaded the dishwasher so I wouldn't have to do it in the morning.  Put Tynnley to bed while Matt put Warrick to bed.  
8pm Put clean sheets on our bed and took sleeping Paisley out of her carseat and put her to bed.
8:30pm Thought about doing some cleaning, but instead logged on facebook, checked my email.
9:15pm bed!  

So that is what a stay-at-home mom does all day long.  Well, that's what I did yesterday... today will be completely different.  How do you spend your days?  Hope you enjoyed reading!  



Thursday, February 20, 2014

Happy Half Birthday Paisley! :)

This is how I looked 6ish months ago!  Time has flown by since Paisley has arrived.

Paisley joined us August 22nd at 4:11am.  We arrived at the hospital around 3am and it went so fast.  This time, the doctor arrived to deliver her (unlike my quick delivery with Tynnley, who the nurse delivered).  Paisley weighed 8lbs 11oz. and was 20 in long.  

When I had Warrick, I read many articles about natural labor and was excited that he came quickly without the use of any pain medicine.  When I had Tynnley, I remember thinking, "I did it naturally before, surely I can do it again."  and I did.  The 3rd time around, I thought, "maybe I should try the drugs".  But she came very quickly, just like the others... and if I can have 3 kids without drugs, you can too!  Trust me, I can barely get through a dental visit without sedatives!

Our first picture as a family of 5 the day Paisley was born.  We only stayed 24 hours... I was so glad they let us leave a day early.  I hate hospitals and was eager to be home.



I couldn't have made it those first 2 weeks without Matt's help.  There were so many nights that I would feed Paisley, he would take her into the living room and hold her until she needed to eat again.  There were several nights that he would do this all night long.  I can't tell you how much this helped me.  I felt more rested and was able to make it through the day without being irritable.  I'm a mean person when I'm sleep deprived.    

Paisley at 1 week old:

Halloween picture:  Paisley (2 months) loves her big bother and sister

 Paisley almost always has 2 of her fingers in her mouth like this, it's really cute.  
Neither Warrick or Tynnley did this and I think it's adorable.

 At 5 months, Paisley tried sweet potatoes for the first time and LOVED them.  Here she is upset that I'm taking a picture instead of feeding her quicker.  I started making her baby food and freezing it since she was 3 months old, so I couldn't wait for her to try it!  

My doctor recommends that babies don't have food til 6 months, but she's been trying some early.  She's had sweet potatoes, avocados, and pears.  She eats an equivalent of 1 two-ounce jar every few days.  And she's still nursing like a champ and has only taken 3 bottles since she was born.  

   Here are pictures of Warrick and Tynnley, both around 4 months of age.  I think that Paisley looks a lot more like Warrick.  What do you think?



At 6 months Paisley:
rolls over 
smiles
laughs
is beginning to sit on her own
drools constantly (there must be teeth coming soon)
enjoys listening to books
takes 2 naps per day
wears 9-12 month clothes (but this is mostly due to the big cloth diaper butt!)
sucks on her middle and index fingers
dislikes cereal, but loves food  

Paisley is such a happy and sweet baby.  We are blessed to have her in our lives.