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!

Simple and Clean/ Paleo Lunch

A common question people have when wondering about a paleolithic diet, or especially how to follow it 1. on a budget and 2. when you have small children and a family and need simple meals, is what do you eat. (see # 3).  

This was literally "thrown together" in a pinch for lunch today, because I had two small children running circles around my feet, ready for their lunch and some rest time, soon.

I took frozen Ahi tuna from Trader Joe's and thawed it in cold water as I went to pick the kids up from school. Next I sauteed the tuna in ghee (clarified butter- you could do coconut or olive oil in place of butter) , coconut aminos (some people use regular liquid aminos but I try to really limit soy), and fresh squeezed lemon juice. I put this over organic romaine lettuce and drizzled it with olive oil, coconut aminos, and lemon juice. Lastly I cut a whole hothouse cucumber up and served it on the side. 

Between all the protein from the tuna, and the fat from the ghee and olive oil, and the fiber from the veggies, I won't be hungry again until supper.  

Try it. Enjoy it!  Eating clean makes you feel great!    

Paleo FAQ's

This is my attempt to try to be concisely informative.  The concise part is where I'm going to struggle, be forewarned.

I could talk for hours about the paleolithic diet and lifestyle, so if you have more questions or want to chat more about it, please leave a comment or contact me directly!  It's one of my favorite subjects.
Also, there's a whole section of posts labeled Paleo if you want to click there and read all the posts I've written about Paleo. (some of them do not directly address food, but lifestyle, because Paleo is not a diet, but a way of life.)

via

1. Why did you "go Paleo"?

Originally, nearly three years ago, it was a means for cleaner eating, to lose weight, and feel better.  The more research I did about it, I learned that it is the best way of eating for autoimmune disorders, so we set out to get serious with it (because I have an autoimmune disorder that sucks and is very difficult to control).  

2. What is Paleo?

It's a lifestyle that resembles the lifestyle of the cavemen, prior to the introduction of agriculture, over 15,000 years ago.  A day in the life of a cavemen looked like this : you eat only what you could hunt or gather, in respective proportions.  A diet high in meat and vegetables, with some nuts and seeds, and little fruit.  You move around all day, spend lots of time outdoors, work hard and play hard, and sleep a lot.  The modern version is to avoid all chemicals and processed items and everything artificial.  Work your body out.  The cavemen would walk around all day hunting and gathering, occasionally having to lift very heavy objects, and sometimes sprint to get away from the lion chasing them.  *Everyone who follows Paleo does it a little bit different, and everyone is very passionate about the way they follow it*

3. What do you eat?

The quick version with our typical eats.  I'm hoping to be able to write in more detail about this soon (meal plans, shopping lists, etc. ) For more detailed daily eats, check out previous posts here, here, here, and here 

Breakfast:
- eggs and bacon with sauteed veggies (sub out the bacon for sausage or ham. go for organic or at least no preservatives and all natural if possible)
-egg muffins or egg casserole (essentially eggs, meat and veggies mixed together and baked in muffin tins. Recipe to come)
-smoothie (recipe here. and here.)

Lunch:
-Meat (get crazy with it. bake chicken for 30 minutes in the oven. Deli Meat. Canned Tuna. Fresh fish. etc.)
-Vegetables (sauteed, broiled, baked, raw, salad, go ahead. Get.crazy.)
-Maybe some nuts and seeds.
-I love to eat cucumbers b/c I have a thing for crunchy foods, so I eat probably one a day.

Snacks And Dinner- same as lunch. I just mix and match.

4. How do you follow this diet with young children?

-We started eating this way when the twins were around six months old.  So starting them young has accustomed them to a certain way of eating.  But they know that what we put in front of them is what we're offering them to eat.

5. How do you follow this diet on a budget?
-I typically shop at Trader Joe's once a week.  I just go in and make my rounds.  By now I could make our weekly shopping trip with my eyes closed.  And TJ's prices are very reasonable for what they have to offer (foods without preservatives, organic options, nitrate free meat options)

6. What do you do when you need a meal in a pinch?
-We don't follow this strictly at 100% b/c it just isn't realistic for where we are in life.  Perhaps over time we'll be able to move into that, but for now, if one meal isn't fully Paleo, we just make the best decision for the time if we're in a pinch. Yes we eat out and yes we eat pizza and pasta and ice cream on vacation or at holiday get togethers.

7. Doesn't it take up a lot of time?
- It really can.  One thing I found easy is to make a meal plan each week, go grocery shopping for the week, have easy breakfast and lunch options that require little prep or cooking.  Often at supper I will just pop the meat and vegetables in a baking dish with seasonings and coconut oil, and bake it for 30 minutes. And supper is done.
-Other ways to make it easier is on the weekends to prepare several meals for the week.  (Grill a whole package of chicken that you can use through the week, make a huge pot of soup, a huge crockpot meal, a whole batch of egg muffins and an egg casserole)

8. What are the benefits? For me, it's a means of  controlling my autoimmune disease.  For all of us, the more closely we stick to it, we all are in better moods, our behaviors are nicer and not as wild (think three year olds) , weight management, clear thinking, clear skin, longevity.   This really could be a very lengthy topic.  Essentially, I can almost guarantee you that if you are struggling with something (depression, anxiety, weight, irritability, IBS, etc etc etc.... the paleolithic diet and lifestyle would dramatically improve whatever your struggle is. Please feel free to chat more with me about this.)

Green Smoothie. Preschooler Tested. Preschooler Approved.

Feeling tired?

Feeling like you've got a cold or some other sickness knocking on your door?

Feeling simply blah and want to feel a power punch of health?

Over vacation, we drank a lot of power smoothies. I love to feed my family high quality, clean, nutrient packed meals, but let's be honest. When there's only one of me during an average week... we're still working on finding a routine that is simplified and flowing.  So, on vacation, I find myself cooking or preparing meals and snacks much more often than I do at home, because I love to do it and have the time. And it's truly restful to me to get creative in the kitchen!  Recipe at bottom of post.  

Recipe
1 whole avocado
4 packets Stevia
3 cups fresh raw spinach
3 cups Unsweetened almond milk
2 cups frozen fruit. (I use a mixture of blueberries, cherries, strawberries, bananas, oranges, pineapple)

I like to layer the ingredients to make sure I get a good mix.

1. Peel and slice the avocado and fruit.
2. Chop or tear the spinach into tiny pieces. 

3. Layer as follows :fruit, spinach, 1 packet of stevia, avocado. Repeat for at least 3 layers.

4. Pour the almond milk over top.

Blend on high until there are no pieces of fruit or spinach left.  Makes 4 servings.

Pour and enjoy.

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 ??