A Day in the Life

There is no sleep button on the baby monitor. Believe me, I've looked. When I hear little squeaks from my bedside table at 6:45am, it's go time! I have exactly 90 seconds until my baby switches from demure babbling to Threat Level Midnight, and at that point, I better be in her room with a warm bottle or I'm going to hear about it. There's no messing around where the morning bottle is concerned! On Monday, I caught her in that sweet 90-second window of time. I can't get over that smile poking over the crib, or the chubby-fingered wave.

After that, it's a flurry of breakfast, play time, bath time and, as usual, an epic game of keepaway between the internet router and the baby. The baby always wins. How does she always win? Even when I hide the router under the couch or behind the bookshelf, she beelines right towards it. It's like she has a sixth sense just for internet routers. If I hadn't already planned her life as a cancer-curing scientist, female justice of the United States, noted philanthropist, billionaire, and caring mother of five.... a detective might be a good backup career choice. Just trying to keep my expectations real, you know.

Here's a picture from bathtime. It's the one and only bathtub picture I'll probably ever post on social media, so take it in, folks! I love her little mohawk.

Then it's time for her morning nap, during which time I scramble to exercise, shower, get ready, and do a few blog things before she wakes up. On some mornings, naptime is actually lay on the couch and watch Netflix time. Or take a nap myself time. But they can't all be Netflix days! And I feel much better and more energetic when I make it an exercising day.

After Claire woke up, we ran some errands and had a lunch date with our friends.

Don't let this smile fool you. A few minutes after this was taken, one of them threw up on the table while the other one sobbed and refused to come out from under the table. Before I had a baby, lunch dates used to be just lunch dates. Now they're lunch and a show!

I try to lump the bulk of my errands together one day a week. It makes for a crazy day, but then I'm not running here and there and trying to share the car with my husband the rest of the week. So, off to Home Depot it was. And of course one cannot go to Home Depot without drooling over all the succulents (figuratively drooling for me, literally drooling for the baby). Oh, succulents. I am so obsessed with you.

When our errands were done, it was time to go home and put the squishy one down for her second nap. During afternoon nap time, I did laundry and swept the floor as part of a new thing I'm trying called Act Like An Adult: Figure Out Stuff Adults Do and Do It. Just pickin' up toys and takin' names. Or something. Also, Netflix happened, and I feel great about it.

Usually, after nap time I go tutoring. But this week is spring break, and most of my students are off spring breaking(?). So, Claire and I went outside for a quick walk and play time until daddy got home. I really want to teach her to love being outside and living an active and healthy lifestyle. One of the things that helps with that? Choosing guilt-free snacks. I have to admit, I've avoided rice pudding and tapioca puddings for years because of the texture I thought was weird when I was little. But I tried these Kozy Shack Simply Well puddings, and the creamy flavor was so good! Plus, with only 90 calories, no gluten, and no sugar added, it's a great snack to reach for when I'm on-the-go outside with my baby.

The rest of the day consisted of  dinner, playtime, and trying to entertain a fussy baby for that last hour before bedtime. We call it the witching hour. It's a time in which clocks seem to stand still, and despite our best efforts, she fusses. We've tried voodoo, woodland tribal dances under the full moon, hypnosis, and staging musical performances for her. I guess my tribal dances aren't what they used to be, because that last hour is definitely fussy! When she went down, our friends came over for family home evening, and it was a great way to end the day.

So there you have it! A day in the life of me. As a bonus, I have two VIP vouchers for free Simply Well pudding (I want to try this chocolate one!). All you have to do is click this link and then leave a comment below. As the old saying goes, it's easy as pudding! ;)

Do you like rice and tapioca puddings?
Which flavor looks best to you?
What does a day in your life look like?