What do you do all day?

A day in the life.

On being a stay at home mama to two three-year-olds (turning 4 in a hot minute)

This is a picture of what a typical day probably looks like for us. At the very least, it's what my written onto paper, daily routine in 30 minute increments, says a day looks like in our home. I am not a saint, I get tired easily and often, and many days vary from routine.  And we roll with it (ish.)

6:30 I wake up and do my 10 minute morning hygiene routine, in my sleep, trying to find my way to the coffee pot, my recliner and massage cushion, and the book I'm using for my bible study time.

Right now I'm working through Mission of Motherhood. It is life changing if you really dig in and deep and let it sink in slowly, over and over, day by day.

7- finish Bible study. Start cooking breakfast

It's true. We have something along the lines of eggs, bacon, grits, toast for breakfast every day.  I believe in a hearty breakfast to start the day off right. Seems to improve the moods of all.  

7:30 Babies are allowed to come out of their rooms (We use the "OK to wake" alarm clock) Most days the girl baby comes out of her room right around then and the boy is usually awake and out of his room by 8.

Morning cuddles, eat breakfast. The idea is that we eat breakfast together around the breakfast table. Some mornings we eat it in the den, by the fire, watching cartoons.  

8: Start working on cleaning up from breakfast, and get the 3 of us dressed, tidy the house. This is a good time to unload the dishwasher. (But I didn't say I actually do that every day...)

9-12 : Preschool.  During this time I either go to hot yoga or run errands or work on home responsibilities.

12-130- eat lunch. clean up from lunch.  cry about taking a nap.  read stories, sing songs, and get ready for...

Quiet Time. 3-4 out of 7 days of the week the kids are required to stay in their own rooms during this time.  The other days I don't have the umph to fight it  decide they're only little once, so I let them curl up on the couch and watch movies quietly.  

130-3: During their quiet time, I usually work on budget/bills, meal plan, plan the week, emails/blog, etc. Oh and sometimes I take a shower.

3-530: Snack, then straight outside.  We stay outside the whole time. Work in the yard, play with outside toys,  paint, sidewalk chalk, . It just has to be outside.

Sometimes we feed the ducks

Sometimes we feed the fish.

Somedays we hang out with 2 of our 3 favorite boys (my nephews)

Somedays we go to our other favorite boy's baseball games. (My nephew)

*Please note that the below photos taken at the park were after school when it was PJ day at school.  I don't always take my kids in public in their 'jams.  Only sometimes.*

Playing seek and hide at the park

Conquering the dinosaur at the park.

530: I start cooking and bathtime

She loves bathtime, NOT when it ends.

Sometimes we paint the
 bathtub during bathtime.
Because you're only 3
once and clean up is
sooooo simple.

630: Sit down at the dinner table and eat as a family.

We have fancy seafood over pasta with wine every night. OK we don't. This was a special occasion.

7: I clean up from supper/ while Luke starts bedtime routine.

730: Join in the end of bedtime routine, say night night, and kids are in bed.

Folks, this is a raw, rough draft, skeleton version of what our average day looks like.  Somewhere in there, I at least wash and dry the laundry, sometimes I fold and put it away.  And in the middle of the rest of that, I do all the mommy and wifey things that you probably can think of.  I also try to grow and maintain meaningful friendships, and mostly spend a lot of quality time with my kids and my husband.

I am so thankful for all the time I have to be at home, caring for my husband and kids.  Parenting and managing a household is by far the.most.difficult stage of life I've ever had.  However, I would not trade it for all the gold in the world.  My husband and my kids and my parents, siblings, friends, they are worth more than gold. They are my gold.

I LOVE to hear the daily routines of others, whether you're single, married, a parent, working fulltime, or all of the above.  Please share a comment with your daily routine!

Easter 2014

We had a wonderful time celebrating Easter with some of our family.  We hosted at our home, which we always love to do.  I have really been thinking a lot about the meaning of Easter and what it means to me.  I've got a lot of room for growth personally, and to realize that I have the offer to be made new again through Jesus is gives me hope.  

I managed to only get photos of the all the kids, though I fully  meant to do some family photos.  Somehow my camera lens is totally attracted to them.  I'm biased but I find all four of these to be quite easy on the eyes. 

Cooper teaching Luke how to play baseball.  Melt. My. Heart. You can see how much little Luke looks up to him :>)

suave. debonair. 

handsome face

he cracks himself up.  a great trait to have!

handsome face take two. that smile. 

Easter egg hunt! 

We did at least four easter egg hunts, because it was so fun.

relaxing on the hammock over the creek. love that his pillow is his baseball glove.

catching a quick nap

they loved hunting eggs (and the treasures inside!) 

huckleberry luke. down by the creek.

love how they are looking at each other.

all my loves

sweet nap on the hammock over the creek

ah-dorable. love.

we are incredibly blessed and so thankful

Survive and Thrive.

Vacationing well with Twin Three Year Olds.

This post will include my tips and tricks for an enjoyable and relaxing, fun filled vacation with little ones.  Its based around my experience, which was an 11 day vacation with 2 three-year-olds.  

Preparation

1. Week of- Create your packing list. 

2. Day before- wash and dry all clothes. 

    -clean your house (you want to come home to a clean house)

    -do any shopping you need to do for what to take with you. I do not typically do this, I wait until     we are at our destination and buy things then.  That means less to pack, and one less thing to do     before you leave town.  

3. Day of - clean out your refrigerator with anything that will go bad over your trip

    - be sure your pantry and / or freezer has enough in it for a day or two upon returning home.            You won't want a "grocery trip" on top of all the unpacking and returning to routine you have to      do.

    -wash all the dirty dishes 

    -take out all trash cans

    -PACK-

    *We travel so much you would think packing is second nature. And it is. But I nearly have a           panic attack when it's time to pack b/c I dislike it so.much. So I pour a glass of wine and turn the     housewives on to numb my mind from the task at hand.  

    -tidy your house one last time.  no one wants to come home to a cluttered and dirty house.  

    -Change the thermostat in your home (58 in winter, 80 in summer)

The Travel

1. Travel at bedtime or naptime.  We left at bedtime, and came home at naptime, so both ways there was a decent amount of sleep per child.  

2. Take a DVD player with a few movie choices. 

3. Take each child's favorite activity.  Between the naps, movies, and one activity, the travel was roughly not too bad.  

4. Make sure you have their bellies full before you really get started on the trip, and their sippy cups close at hand for them.

5. Have their favorite blankies and/or stuffed animals in their reach so they are comforted.  

The Vacation

1. Keep the children well fed and hydrated, and well rested. This goes a long way with their attitudes.

2. Plan something fun to do for them everyday.  Make sure it is something that will channel their energy to produce good behavior, while getting energy out. (We basically played on the beach for hours a day every day)

3. Take Mimi with you.  Seriously. Having 3 people to take care of 2 little people on a vacation makes it so much more fun.  Plus the kids love getting to snuggle and have special time with their loved one.  

Returning Home

1. Take it easy and give yourself grace getting back into routine.  Don't schedule much for the first few days. You'll have to unpack, catch up laundry, and re-establish a schedule.  

What are your favorite tips and tricks for vacationing with little people???

What I'm Loving

1. The North Carolina Coast. All the beautiful quaint fishing towns along it. And taking ferries to and from the inland to the islands.

Quiet coastal town. Alone on the beach.

Leaving the port on a ferry.
The seagulls stayed behind the boat the whole trip.

2. Movies about quiet, quaint fishing villages, with houses that are alone on the shore, and waves crashing against them.

3. Staying up late and sleeping in.

4. Drinking coffee while rocking on the porch while the breeze wraps me up.

5. Sitting on the beach all day, talking to my mama, watching the babies play and the husband fish

fresh flounder.

puddle jumping.

highwaters. it was a bit cold some of the trip. 

6. Seriously good , local seafood. (think fresh tuna, caught right of the boat. we didn't even cook it...)

That is the shark he caught. Yes we ate it. Yes it was delicious.

7. Not having to get in my car. Anything we need , we can get to on the island by golf cart.

8. Lighthouses. Seeing their lights flashing at night on the ocean.

9. Nightwalks on the beach with flashlights , watching our shadows and chasing crabs.

10. Long Island iced tea with mama.

Right after she arrived.
She was excited for the Long Island's in our future.
I love my mom.  

11. Staying on the beach until late afternoon. So quiet and peaceful.  

Life's A Beach. Don't. Want. To. Leave.

12. Mimi

Storytime with Mimi. LOVE.

 13. Naps!

Waking Up Happy

Waking up happy.
With awesome bed head.
She get it from her mama.

She just started folding her hands and putting them under her cheek right before she closes
her eyes. That's our cue that sleep is about to ensue. Love this sweet little thing.

13. Cooking fresh good food. With the doors and windows open, feeling the breeze, after a long day on the beach, listening to the babies play on the porches.

Our lobster.  Affectionately referred to as "the monster" by our children.

14. Curling up on the couch at night, with the doors and windows open, listening to the waves, watching movies and laughing with mama and husband.

15. Babies on the beach!!

sunbathing and building castles.

chasing that bird

16. HALF BIRTHDAYS!!!

Happy Half Birthday to you!
Celebrate them while you can.
Celebrate every day. 

I'm seriously considering early retirement at this point. Wouldn't you ??