A Day in the Life

I did a 'day in the life' post back when Jack was 8 months old.  I thought we were much overdue for an update considering not only has quite a bit of time passed, but another person has joined the family!  Here's a typical day in our life right now while Jack is 3 1/2 and Molly is 5 months old.


5am-ish:  Molly wakes up to eat.  Mark gives her a diaper change, feeds her, and then she goes back to sleep.  For about the last week she's been waking earlier than usual.

7.20am:  Molly is up for the day.  I'm still tiiiiiired so I give her her monkey to play with in hopes that she can entertain herself for a short time and I can doze a little longer.

7.40am:  Molly decides she's over the monkey so we both get up for the day.  I change her diaper then settle her on her playmat while I grab some coffee.  I check out things on the interwebz for a bit while I drink my coffee.

8am:  Molly and I play for a bit and then I offer her a bottle.  Even though she seems hungry she can't decide if she wants it or not.

8.30am:  I hear Jack waking up.  He likes to talk/sing to himself for a little bit in the morning.  I keep trying to get Molly to eat, but she's not cooperating too much.  Guess she's not that hungry.

8.50am:  We head back to get Jack up.  After bouncing around in bed for a bit he gets a diaper change then we head to the kitchen for breakfast.

Today he had yogurt and a banana oatmeal muffin for breakfast

9am:  I set Jack up with his breakfast and then take Molly for another diaper change (dirty diaper this time!).  I realize she's tired so I lay her down for her first nap of the day.

9.10am:  Jack's done with breakfast.  He gets some playtime and watches some PBS shows while I get the bag ready.  We're heading to play with friends later this morning once Molly wakes up.

9.30am:  Jack's turn for a dirty diaper change and then I get him dressed.  I put diaper laundry in the wash and then I start getting ready to leave while Jack plays.

10.20am:  Molly is awake.  I get her ready to go, start the diapers through their wash, put on my wrap, grab everything, collect both kids, and we're out the door just after 10.30, nearly and hour later than usual.

Ready to go!

10.55am:  We finally make it to the park and meet up with friends!  There's playing, lunch and bottle are consumed, more playing, and socializing for me and Molly too.  She's a ham.

Too busy to stop for lunch!  Jack ate a cheese stick and 1/4 of his PB&J while standing up.  Then he was off again for more playing!

1.15pm:  Oh no!  It's starting to rain on us.  Time to head home!  We make a quick exit.  Molly ends up falling asleep in the car, but only for a very short time.

1.40pm:  We arrive home.  I clean up a spill that the dog created by knocking over a cup while we were gone.  I get Molly a fresh diaper, then change Jack's diaper (dirty diaper #3 for the day), then when I return to Molly I realize she has a dirty diaper too.  She tends to like to go in a clean diaper :/  So, another diaper change for her (dirty diaper change #4 for the day!).

2pm:  Everything and everyone is cleaned up.  I start the diapers through their final rinse then I settle down to give Molly a bottle while Jack plays.

2.15pm:  I lay Molly down for her 2nd nap.

2.20pm:  I get Jack settled for quiet time, which includes putting together his train tracks.

Lunch today is dinner leftovers, hamburger with sauteed mushrooms and onions and some honeydew.

2.30pm:  Lunch time for me!  Finally!  I sit down to eat and watch some TV that no one else likes.  Today it's My Teen is Pregnant and So Am I.  Horrific, yet fascinating.

2.50pm:  Molly's up.  I guess we're going to do two short cat naps between the car and this one rather than one real nap.  Oh well, at least it's something!  I settle her on her playmat to play and then switch the diaper laundry over to the dryer.  I sit down to finish up my show.

3.05pm:  Molly is tired of entertaining herself so we have some play time and practice a little with back carrying in our new woven wrap.  There's a pretty big learning curve to use it, especially with back carries, which I can't seem to properly accomplish.  Well she's... up there?  I took her right out because it was a poor wrap job.  Try, try again!

3.30pm:  Time to rescue Jack from quiet time, he did a great job!  Jack wants a snack and to watch Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Road Rally, his newest television interest.

3.40pm:  Once I get Jack settled with a show and a snack, Molly decides she's hungry too.  Time for another bottle.

Today's snack is some banana and graham crackers

Time for a burp

4pm:  Molly has another dirty diaper, time for another change (#5 for the day if anyone is keeping track, I sure am ;) ).  While I'm back in the bedroom I go ahead and make the bed and put away some laundry that I folded last night.

Molly supervises my chores while playing with her little bunny.

4.30pm:  Another dirty diaper for Jack (This makes 6 for the day).  A fresh diaper then we all play for a while.  Molly seems tired, I think this is going to be a 3 nap kind of day.

4.50pm:  I lay Molly down for a nap and head in to clean the kitchen, wash bottles (boo), and pop some sweet potatoes in the oven for dinner while Jack plays.

5.20pm:  I'm finished cleaning, dinner prep can wait a few minutes, and I asked Jack if he wanted to play in the backyard, but surprisingly he's happy inside.  So I sit down for some interwebz time while everyone else is occupied.

5.23pm:  That didn't last long.  Molly's awake.  I get her settled in the Jumperoo for some play time!

5.40pm:  Okay, time to start in on dinner.  I get Molly settled in her seat so she can watch me.

My other helper meanders over eventually.

5.45pm:  Daddy's home!  Yay!  His turn to get Molly a dry diaper :)

Jack is always so excited for Dada to get home!

6.15pm:  We sit down to dinner.  Molly hangs out with us in her bouncy seat.

Dinner tonight:  Pulled Pork Stuffed Sweet Potatoes with Garlic Green Beans

7pm:  Dinner is finished.  I sit and talk with Mark while he's cleaning up dinner while Jack plays and Molly hangs out in her seat for a bit longer.

7.20pm:  Molly is getting tired.  I take her back and get her a fresh diaper and PJs then it's time for a bottle, some snuggles, and bedtime.  This happens while Jack gets some playtime with Dada and we all watch Wheel of Fortune.  It's tradition.

Don't let that sweet face fool you.  She was exhausted.  Nighty-night!

7.50pm:  Time for teeth brushing for Jack courtesy of Dada.

8pm:  Jack's bedtime.  Dada takes him back for a fresh diaper, PJs, and a few books before lights out.  I clean up the family room then collect diapers from the dryer so I can stuff them along with folding a small load of clothes leftover from yesterday's washing while watching TV with Mark.  On tonight's TV schedule: Real Housewives of the OC and Under the Dome(!  So excited for this, loooved the book).  I'm only into highbrow programming, obviously ;)

11.15pm:  We head to bed.  I try to read my book for a few minutes, but can barely keep my eyes open so it's time to sleep!

Menu Plan Monday - Week of June 23rd

Sunday:  Grilled Burgers with Chips and Fruit

Monday:  Stuffed Sweet Potatoes with Green Beans

Tuesday:  Grilled Lime Coconut Chicken with Coconut Rice with Broccoli - carried over from last week

Wednesday:  Chicken Tostadas with Mashed Black Beans and Avocado-Sweet Corn Relish

Thursday:  Leftovers/Freezer Meal

Friday:  Buffalo Chicken Pizza - carried over from last week

Saturday:  Out


I'm linked at Menu Plan Monday hosted by OrgJunkie.com

Weekend Recap (and a Duvet Cover!)

We had a busy productive weekend.

Mark gets off work early on Fridays during the Summer (yay!) so we took advantage of his 2nd early Friday and headed to visit COSI, which had their Big Machines exhibit going on.

After a visit to the play area we spent some time walking around to check out various exhibits (we have been to the play area many times, but we had actually never been to the other exhibits at the new COSI) and then headed outside to see the Big Machines!  Jack loved the trucks and even got to operate a mini excavator!

Big stuff!

Saturday after Mark did some yard work he took over childcare duties so that I could work (mostly uninterrupted) on Jack's duvet cover.  Hours and hours, and take out pizza, and another hour or so after kid-bedtime later, it's finished!  I probably should have split the work into multiple sessions, but I didn't know when I would next get time to work on it (not to mention I lost my craft space so didn't really have anywhere to leave everything set up for an unspecified amount of time) so I ran with it.

I was so nervous about working with this amount of fabric and although I did find it challenging to make sure that everything was measured and cut properly I think it turned out really well!  I'm very happy with the end result.

Lots of fabric!  This is one 43 x 90.5" panel.

Loooots of ironing happened.

At one point I had a darling assistant keeping an eye on things.

Annnnd the finished product!  

Okay, so the duvet cover project.  Here are some notes for those who may be considering undertaking this or a similar project.  As I said before, it was not difficult per se.  I used very basic sewing skills and was dealing with all straight lines.  It was the amount of fabric that was challenging.  It's just a lot of fabric to handle!  I read a lot of tutorials before I started this project.  The ones that I pulled the most info from are:

Sewing 101: Making a Duvet Cover

DIY Duvet Cover Tutorial

Tutorial: Duvet Cover (this one gave me the great idea to use a laser level to aid with some of the cutting.  Brilliant!)

I used Vroom Vroom Vehicles Bright fabric for the top and a flat sheet that I picked up for less than $5 at Walmart.  Using the flat sheet was GREAT because not only was it cheaper than buying fabric off the bolt, but also it was the correct size minus ~4-inches in length.  I didn't have to do a ton of cutting or piece panels together like I had to do for the top.

For the closure I use some plastic snaps that I had on hand and sewed them into the bottom seams.  It worked out really well and because I already had them didn't add to the cost of this project.  Winning all around!

So that took up most of my Saturday.

Sunday my niece came over to play and Mark and my dad and brother moved a hand-me-down washer and dryer set for us.

Pretty sure that was a semi-forced hug, but someone has to take control of the situation :)

Swings were swung (for hours!), lots of running happened, bubbles were played with, and our house was a big mess, but the kids had a ton of fun and I'm sure all will sleep very, very well tonight!

Tried & True Recipe: Corn Pudding

Not the best picture, but I'm not exactly the best photographer.  And I was using my cell phone.  At night.  I promise this is a delicious recipe though and you'll really want to try it!  Definitely not the healthiest side (by far), but a truly yummy addition to any meal and it goes especially well with barbeque!  Here I served it alongside some smoked ribs and southern-style green beans.  This casserole has been served in my family for years and it so easy to put together.  It's also a crowd pleaser.  What more can you ask for?  Make it!  Soon!


Corn Pudding

2 Boxes Jiffy Corn Muffin Mix (or substitute real ingredients)
1 Can Corn (undrained)
1 Can Creamed Corn
4T Butter, melted
8oz Sour Cream

Pre-heat oven to 350-degrees.  Combine all ingredients in a bowl.  Pour into a greased 9x13" pan.  Bake, uncovered, for 45 minutes, or until it starts getting golden brown around the edges.


Enjoy!

Menu Plan Monday - Week of June 16th

Sunday:  Father's Day with family

Monday:  Leftovers

Tuesday:  Fish Tacos with Mango Slaw

Wednesday:  Chipotle Ranch Burgers with Baked Sweet Potato Fries

Thursday:  Grilled Lime Coconut Chicken with Coconut Rice with Broccoli

Friday:  Buffalo Chicken Pizza

Saturday:  Out


I'm linked at Menu Plan Monday hosted by OrgJunkie.com

Big Boy Bed

Jack got a new big boy bed!

Sunday was spent rearranging things to accommodate his new bed.  Before this he was still in his toddler bed (converted from his crib), but he was getting pretty big for it, plus we're going to need the crib for Molly soon so it was time for a new bed!

We removed the crib (obviously!) and rocking chair from Jack's room.  We replaced the rocking chair with a little papasan chair that we picked up at a garage sale this weekend (score!).  We'll be able to snuggle in bed with him to read bed time stories now, but for "rest time" Jack liked to sit in the rocking chair to look out the window at the cars going by and read some books on his own.  His new chair should serve this purpose just fine.

We had to shuffle some things around and the changing table is still in his room for the time being until we can make space for it in Molly's room-to-be so things are kind of squeezed in for right now.  We'll rearrange things again once we finish stage 2 of all this transitioning.  We also brought Jack's train table (which used to be in Molly's room-to-be, which is currently the playroom/office/storage) into his room.  I was a little hesitant about this because he's never had toys in his room before, but so far he's done fine with it and really seems to enjoy having toys in his space.

In Molly's room-to-be we removed the desk and chair ( :(  I'm losing my craft space) and moved the crib in it's place.  We also stuck the rocking chair in there, but we can't easily get to it to use it right now.  As soon as I get a chance I'm going to have to clean out the closet in that room, which we use for general storage (garage sale time!), so we can shuffle things around to have it in more working order.  For the time being the bulk of Jack's toys are going to stay in there so he can use it as a play space.  The dog's cage (which she only uses overnight, her preference) is also in there for the time being, but obviously we're going to need to figure out a different arrangement with that situation.

Ugh... that room is such a mess now.  I feel like as soon as I get things arranged and find a place for everything it's time to rearrange again!  First, I spent time sorting things out, packing things up, and finding places for new holiday toys.  Then, I had to make room for Molly's things once she was due to arrive.  THEN I had to rearrange things a bit more to make room for the train table that was still sitting in our family room a couple of months after Christmas that I was fed up with looking at.  And now it's time to shuffle things around again.  I guess that's what happens when you have too much stuff and minimal space!

For stage 2 of rearrangement (in order to get Molly's room fully functional) we'll move Jack's toys out and store some in his room, some in the family room.  The dog's cage will come out and the changing table will get moved from Jack's room to Molly's room.  Once we get the changing table out of Jack's room we can move the book case to a more desirable spot.

We hope to keep Molly in our room for at least another 6 weeks or so, so we have time before we really need the room ready to go so we'll be working on this not-so-fun project as we have time for it.  I would at least like to get the bed and rocking chair fully functional very soon so that we can use the chair and so that I can start laying Molly down in her bed for daytime naps to help with the eventual transition.

Jack's first night in his big boy bed was Sunday night.  That afternoon we went out and bought bedding and he seemed excited about setting everything up.  Right before bed he was a little hesitant and asked for his bed, but he quickly got over it and took to the bed nicely.  He slept all night without issue so I'll count it as a win :)

He really likes having his train table in his room and has spent quite a bit of time playing back there this week.

I have fun fabric on the way to make Jack a duvet cover for his new big boy bed.

Hope it turns out well!

Gardening 3.0

Back row: Early Girl and Cherry Tomatoes.
Front row: Roma tomatoes and Bush Beans

On Memorial Day we got plants in the ground for our garden.  This is our 3rd attempt at gardening (I think... definitely at least our 3rd) and past years have been... well, I wouldn't classify them as total failures. Every year we've at least produced something, but it's been less than desirable, we'll say that.  Green thumbs, we have not.

Front row: Honeydew, Green Pepper, Jalapeno.
In the middle/back there's a little bitty zucchini plant you
can't really see!

BUT it's a learning experience, right?  So even if we haven't exactly had bountiful harvests we have learned things along the way.  Like where the best sun is in our yard and the fact that putting a garden bed right up against the fence just helps the critters get to the produce.  We moved our beds accordingly :)  

I think Jack is going to enjoy growing his own food.  He had fun helping us get the beds ready and planting.  He also went with us to pick out plants and informed the check out guy, "This my Mama and Dada. And that's Molly!".  Ha!

It's been a couple of weeks now and the plants are definitely growing.  I'll have to get an updated picture to document the process.

This is our year (hopefully)!