Day in the Life: Just a Typical Weekday

Oh my!  It's the Monday after fall break for us.  While Monday's are never easy, the Monday after a whole week off of school is definitely not easy.  We had a glorious week off of school last week and had all sorts of fun. If you followed along on Instagram you might have seen many of the highlights. For now though, it's back to the grind.  For us that means back to busy.

Speaking of busy I decided to document a day in the life of me on Thursday before our fall break started.  Some of you will remember Jen's day in the life post from a month or so ago.  I loved reading it and getting a sneak peek into her day.  Day in the life posts from other bloggers are some of my absolute favorites to read. I love seeing how everyone spends their days so I hope y'all will enjoy a glimpse into my day, too.  

Thursday, September 22

6:39 AM

One thing to know about me is that I am not a morning person. I'm one of those people that has to set multiple alarms and hit snooze a million times before getting up.  It drives Mr. crazy, but it's just how I am.  So here I am, finally getting up after my snoozing.  

Another thing to note, my girls used to ride the bus in the morning, but they switched their pick up time to 6:46. I just can't. It's WAY too early and now with me driving them to school we all get to sleep in a bit. For me, sleep is more important than being on the bus over an hour before school actually starts.  

I throw on clothes and take out Walker, our Golden Retriever. 

Then I wake up the girls and make their beds while they are getting dressed and brushing their teeth. I love a good made bed.  On the weekends and in the summer they do it, but on these early mornings when we are rushed I make it for them...otherwise it wouldn't get done. 

7:00 AM

This is when we aim to be downstairs. I finish putting their lunches together, make breakfast for the girls, and unload the dishwasher.

7:20 AM

They pack up their backpacks and we are off to school!

7:30 AM

Dropping them off for a great day at school!

Back at home I find little Boo-Boo already up and making bracelets for his friends. (My in-laws had been staying with us while they were renovating their house so I was able to leave him at home sleeping while I take the girls to school.) He's really into making things for people right now and this has been a task he has been trying to complete. He wants to give one to all of his classmates.

8:00 AM

I make breakfast for him and myself. I typically have a bagel thin or an english muffin and my caffeine of choice. I don't drink coffee (wish I liked it, but I just don't), but need something to get me going in the morning!

Next I work on a post for Savvy Sassy Moms (you'll see it later this week) while Boo-Boo watches a little television.

8:45 AM

We get dressed and ready to head out for the day!  

9:05 AM 

Boo-Boo is ready for school and I am ready to head to my barre class after I drop him off. 

But that is when I get a reminder that things don't always work out as planned. When I got in my car to start it the battery was dead.  I panicked for just a moment and then shot into action.  I borrowed my mother-in-law's car to take Boo-Boo to school and then came home to find my Father-in-law already trying to jump my car so it would start.  I was so thankful he was there because the Mr. was out of town for work and I would have been stranded! I spent the next two hours at the car place getting a new battery. 

Then after that I spent a good 20 minutes with my car manual figuring out how to reset all of my temperature controls, automatic windows, sunroof, etc.  It all had to be redone and I was pretty impressed with myself that I got it all working again.

11:30 AM

Since I didn't get to do my workout class I took this guy on a walk instead.  He was happy! 

12:00 PM 

Next I came home to clean the house. We were going to be heading out of town a few days after this and I am one of those people that can't stand to leave home unless all of the laundry is done and everything is clean.  Walker is never far from my side during the day!

I had just enough time to jump in the shower and get dressed before heading out to pick up Boo-Boo from school.

shorts (similar) // top // shoes (similar) // DIY tassel necklaces

1:15 PM

I throw some food together for my lunch and bring it in the car with me to eat on the way to the preschool. 

1:30 PM

Pick up this smiling face and head to the grocery to pick up a few things. 

2:30 PM

We got home just in time to put stuff away and get the girls off the bus. The first thing they always do when they get home is grab snacks and work on homework. I like for them to get it out of the way!  Plus, we had a really busy afternoon coming up so I knew it needed to be done right away.

3:00 PM

At this time of day in the afternoons, my kitchen counter always looks like this.  Snacks, lunch boxes, notebooks, homework, papers to be signed, etc.  It is a mess!  

3:30 PM

Little Mama is waiting on her friend's mom to come pick her up for cheer.  She takes the girls and I pick up.  Little Mama does a tumbling class from 4-5, then eats a dinner I packed from 5-6, and then has practice for her all-star team from 6-7:30.  It's a long afternoon, but she loves it. She's only able to go to the tumble class if she gets all of her homework and studying done earlier in the week or right after school. 

I do a little laundry and then the younger two and I spend some time picking up and cleaning in the playroom.

Then it's time for them to get dressed for their sports.  Blondie has soccer practice and Boo-Boo has a baseball game.

4:45 PM

We drop off Blondie at her practice.

5:00 PM

Baseball time for this guy!

5:45 PM

After warmups it is finally game time!  I am at the team mom so on this day I was in the dugout helping keep the kids in batting order and honestly just to keep order in general. Little boys feed off each other's energy and things can get rowdy in a flash! 

6:15 PM

While I am still at baseball, Blondie gets picked up by my father-in-law from soccer practice and then she gets home to eat dinner, finish up homework and get ready for bed. 

7:30 PM

After the baseball game I picked up Little Mama and her friend and dropped off our carpool buddy at home.  Then we run through the Chick-fil-a drive through for a late night snack/dinner for Boo-Boo who was still hungry after what he had already eaten after his game. 

8:00 PM

We are finally back home and reunited with Blondie and the Mr. who just got home from a work trip.  

9:00 PM

All kids are finally showered and in bed so I take a few minutes to read the class blogs for my girls including homework and assignments.  Little Mama is becoming incredibly independent with her school work and homework, but I just like to check over everything to make sure we are up to date on it all.  4th grade is no joke! 

9:30 PM

I pack lunches at night and just set it all in the fridge for the next morning.  Remember how I am not a morning person?  So anything I can do at night to help speed along the mornings is what I'll do. I also go ahead and set out their snacks for school, fix water bottles, etc. 

9:45 PM

I look over my calendar for the next week and try to make sure I have everything written in and organized. We'll be on fall break, but we still have a busy week so I want to keep track of it all. 

10:00 PM

I finish up working on my Sparkling Apple Cider Sangria post for Savvy Sassy Moms including the images and setting it to publish on their site. 

10:30 PM

I finally head up to get ready for bed!  I used to be such a night owl and still have my nights where I stay up late, but more and more I find myself just exhausted and ready to climb in bed as early as I can.  First, I am sure to set all my alarms!  

And then finally call it a night!  

And that was the day in the life of me.  :-) Hope y'all enjoyed seeing how I spent my day.  Busy and full of activity, but I wouldn't have it any other way!  

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Safety with Style

This weekend contained a mix of knocking things off the never ending "honey-do" list, and fun fall activities. From the soccer fields to fixing some of our landscaping to ending up running into Carrie Beth's family at our favorite apple orchard - it was a busy one. 

Not to mention this busy little bee turned eight months old this weekend as well. I feel like she was just born yesterday - how is she already eight months old??

And priority one this weekend was baby-proofing. 

Baby Cute has been on the move for quite sometime now. Every day she is one step closer to walking. She reminds me so much of Cute when he was this age - always wanting to be on the go and always on a mission to get on two feet as much as he could. I know I am going to blink and that tiny little baby of mine will be running across these floors. 

Baby proofing is one of those tasks that I know is necessary, but that I put off for as long as possible. Those big cumbersome gates and those squishy foamy things attached to every corner in your home - I just feel like it all deters from my whole home decor vision. 

Sure that vision might currently look like it was designed by a drunken mini human that recently had a major shopping spree at the local Toys 'R Us and ran around with a crayon or two in their hands, but still. 

Know what I don't see gracing the pages of the Pottery Barn catalog - a wonderfully decorated room complete with coffee table squishy edge guard or the latest in door hardware fashioning plastic knob protectors.  

But it couldn't be put off any longer. We live in a tough house to baby proof. We built this home before kids were in play and not once did it cross our minds how many little obstacles we were creating for ourselves and our little ones in the future.

We have four different stair cases, all with different needs when it comes to attaching baby gates. It's been a challenge to say the least.

And Baby Cute has most definitely found her way to the stair cases. 

She crawl/walks her little self over to her favorite one (the one right by our front entry), and takes a little pause to make sure you are watching (or not watching). 

And in two seconds she makes her move. 

It doesn't take her long to make her way up, and it usually gives me a huge heart attack when she decides to take a peek back at you. 

She has yet to lose her balance, but still, her need to make sure you are watching her accomplishment sends my anxiety through the roof. 

We had some metal gates up with The Cutes, but they were tough to install and sometimes they fell, which wasn't kind to either the person they fell on or the floors. I was so excited when I learned of a local company in our area that distributes nationwide - The Stair Barrier.  The Stair Barrier creates safety gates for babies and pets that are not only easy to install, but also take style into account. 

 I loved that The Stair Barrier gates were easy to install as well as un-install when you needed. Whether we are moving furniture or hosting an event that wouldn't require gates, I liked the idea that I could roll it to the side or take it away with just a few easy clicks.

Not to mention they offer a wide variety of options - banister to banister, wall to banister, outdoor, and wall to wall options (coming soon!). After browsing through all the stylish options available, I opted to try the neutral khaki colored banister to banister option for my front stair case. 

I wanted to see how it worked first before buying the remaining three needed, and it is the first thing you see when you walk in my front door. 

One of my favorite things about The Stair Barrier is that it can also be personalized. I thought about doing one with our name, but then saw they had a Welcome Patch one and decided to order that one since it would be seen right when you arrive in our home. 

Now here's the tricky part. I realized my stairs are uniquely designed and somewhat have an issue when installing gates. The wrought iron spindles and the placement of our baluster prevent us from installing gates correctly. The fabric of The Stair Barrier doesn't sit flush with our stair because of this design flaw. 

However, the gate still works with our staircase otherwise, and Baby Cute seems quite perturbed by that.   

Overall the whole installation process was super easy, and with just a few clicks and a quick strap adjustment our gates were up and running. I wish all baby proofing were so easy!

With The Stair Barrier being so easy to put up and take down, I can also see us taking this with us to other places where we might need a gate. Either when we travel or to grandparents homes who might not already have gates in place (especially when they only need them for an hour here or an hour there). 

Just another quick click or two, and its all rolled up and ready to go to take with us. Our sweet Baby Cute will be protected no matter where we go! 

While Baby Cute's been unhappy she could no longer make the dangerous amazingly fun trek up the stairs, The Stair Barrier gate has been such a wonderful addition to our home (and our sanity),  that she couldn't stay mad for long.

She's her normal happy - much safer - self,  and mommy can now concentrate her anxiety efforts in other baby proofing nightmares around our home...like that four sided stone fireplace that sits in our living room (eek!)

Do you have any stylish baby proofing solutions for your home? What tricks or products have you found that work best? 

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**We were given a gate from The Stair Barrier to review for this post. All thoughts and opinions are our own. **