A Day in the life

I love reality shows. They are my guilty pleasure. I think it's just because I like to see how others live. Some are in ordinary situations, some extraordinary and some just plain weird. People love to watch people. People are fascinating! 

So I thought it would be fun to document a normal day in our life. I actually wish I would've done this before, especially when the twins were babies. We so quickly forget how we were and what our routines looked like. I honestly can't remember how our evenings were just two short years ago. Other than pictures, I don't remember the details. For me, memories are in the details!

The twins first day of daycare in August of 2011. The first day of our current schedule!

cuddling with the girls after a day of work and school in the early days

Sweet Livvi sleeping while Mommy gets ready for work

sleepy head Lyla and one of the many crazy ways we find her. A whole blog will be dedicated to Lyla and her sleeping habits some day very soon

sleepy head twins, laying in the same position! they were too cute to wake up....

I wake up first in the mornings and get myself ready. I then get Tim up and Liv wakes up on her own and I put her in the bouncy chair.
Funny thing about the bouncers. They are for infants. Newborn to about 11 months?  We use them way beyond that. Lyla used it up til 2.5 years when the twins were born and they have been in them since. If they lay in them they lay flat on the floor. It's funny. So instead we prop them against our bed.
Anyways, Liv sits in her bouncer and I put on Nick Jr for her. Tim showers and gets ready. I start the process of waking up lyla. Some days it is easy and some days it isn't. I dress her and dress Liv. Sean usually is still sleeping when I leave or just waking up. I kiss everyone bye, grab breakfast to go and head to work. Tim dresses Sean and drops all three off at daycare. 

This is how I leave my mornings. Livvi dressed and ready to go, and Sean waiting for Daddy to dress him.

I usually have a very busy day at work. I wear many hats, work hard and really love my job. I love what I do and who I work with and my clients. I oversee hr, ap, ar, cs, operations and manage some client accounts. Every day is different and challenging. 

I leave work at a different time each day. Depends on how my day goes. Once lyla stays kindergarten that will change. I will have to leave at a consistent time each day. Should be interesting.
Tim picks up the kids 1-2 times a week. I use the extra time after work to run errands, grocery shop, chores, etc.  Once or twice I came home and took a nap until Tim got home with the kids. Shhhh, don't tell him! 

the drive home is always fun and entertaining!

Once we are all home I give the kids a snack. Usually carrots, or raisins are the biggest request. I attempt to make dinner while the kids watch tv, play or color. 

after school raisins in the backyard

I don't feel bad about turning the tv on for them and I don't care if people judge me. I have read the research. I understand it isn't the best. But is a stressed out mom who is screaming at her kids because she can't get anything cooked, better?  My kids are physically and mentally simulated constantly at daycare, which can sometimes be a long day. I think it is perfectly fine for them to zone out for a minute. 

Watching Peppa Pig, which they all three love

Everyone's favorite game....jump off daddy onto the bean bag!

So it's dinner time. Sometimes I love to cook. I plan a menu every Sunday. It's 50/50 if we stick with it. I have those days where I just can't cook. I am tired or don't feel good or what I had planned just doesn't look good or the biggest culprit.... we got home too late with no time to cook!  So Tim will run out and get us Moes. That happens too often. I really try to stick to the menu.

welcome to Moe's!

While I cook Tim plays with the kids, reads books, etc. If it is nice outside we always play out in the back yard.  If he is still at work or cutting the lawn or something, I am playing referee while I cook. Someone is always screaming, yelling or crying. Non. Stop. I am constantly back and forth between the kitchen and living room its exhausting. The twins steal snacks and toys from each other and they have melt downs every other minute. I try to let them work it out on their own. But our living room can't be seen from the kitchen so I never know what requires intervention. Seans cry is the exact same for 'I got smacked in the face with a truck' as 'livvi stole my raisins'. His cry always makes me go running because it always sounds so serious! 

Watching daddy mow the lawn

Once dinner is on the table we eat. Always together, and always at the table. Seven Days a week. This is very important to me. We talk about our day. Ask lyla about what she learned at school, who she played with. Then we do our favorite part of the day where we go around the table and ask each other what theirs was. 

Livvi's favorite part of the day is being a Rockstar!

Video: Livvi falling asleep, Lyla dancing, Sean being silly

Video: no words to describe this hilarious dinner time clip!!!!

After dinner and cleaning up the massive mess the twins always make, I take everyone upstairs while Tim cleans the kitchen and washes the dishes. If it's bath night the twins bathe together and Lyla gets a solo bath or shower. 

Then teeth brushed, jammies on then it is play time! ! We horse around a lot, wrestle, chase, have lots of fun!!! I have a bunch of fun videos, most of which come from this part of the day.

We then wind down with all three watching a short show. The twins then go to bed. They are fantastic at bed time. It takes less than a minute. They put themselves in bed and self soothe. Lyla used too but around 4 years old that stopped.
Lyla will play computer games (usually educational) or watch Netflix until her bed time alarm on the ipad goes off. She takes much longer to put to bed. Tim usually reads her a book and cuddles her. She comes up with a bunch of excuses. Some nights are better than others. Once she is sleeping my second shift starts. I do laundry, make stuff for yarn therapy, blog, make lists, plan the week and whatever other projects I may have. Tim and I will watch a show together,  stay up too late, get not enough sleep and do it all again the next day!

Kindergarten starts in three weeks! That will definitely require some adjustments to our routine. I am actually looking forward to a different routine. It feels like we have been on this same one for a while. As much as I love routine I am ready for something a little new!