Day in the Life: Spring 2016

I have been wanting to do a "day in the life" post for a while (well really EVER because in all my years of blogging I haven't done one but LOVE reading other people's a lot to see what their days look like) - mainly because I feel like while the days are crazy now, I will look back and almost want these days back when my kids were little and I was constantly tired.  At least that what they say.  :)  After I saw Julia's reminder IG post about her Spring DIL feature, I was determined to do it this once at least before babe #3 makes their debut this summer because after that, I'm guessing life will get even more crazy.

So I am excited to have finally decided on a day of tracking what I'm up to every minute....and finding time to post about it.  Easier said than done for sure!  So here we go.

Monday, April 11, 2016

Jimmy - one week shy of 32 years old

Brittany - 30.5 years old

Charlie - 3 years 8 months and 11 days old

Maddie - 21 months and 1 week old

Baby #3 - 25 weeks and 1 day (in my stomach!)

5:13AM - my alarm goes off to wake me up.  Surprisingly (and thankfully) no children woke me up.  I had every intention to get up and work out....but after a fun weekend in Nashville with my sister and her friends, despite the ability to nap, the late nights got to this pregnant lady more than I realized.  So back to sleep until I finally decide to roll out of bed at 5:51AM (after probably about 10 minutes of social media trolling).

5:53AM - Walk into my bathroom, but then immediately remember that I threw the kids laundry in the washer last night and fell asleep before I could move it.  Since it has their blankets and tags we take to school for naps....I'm glad that popped in my brain to move it this morning because I usually set a reminder (I'm HORRIBLE at remembering to change laundry...I need a legit app for that)

5:55AM: Hop in the shower for a quick shower, hop out, brush my hair and then sit down to read a text from my dad wishing us a happy anniversary (yesterday) that I was already asleep when he sent it last night...and also to put on new fake nails because I ripped off all my nails last night after my flight, so I needed to pop on some new ones.  Yes, I wear fake nails from CVS.  Yes, I know it's weird.  I've been wearing them since freshman year of college.  I really don't think there are many days in the last 12.5 years (OMG how is that even possibly I was a freshman in college THAT long ago - I had to do the math like 5 times) that I can remember not having these nails on.  I'm a horrible nail biter, but don't bite these.  Plus it's like my lifestyle now to always carry nail glue and have it on hand.  Like I said, I'm weird...but it's cheaper than a salon and works for me.  It's funny because there aren't a lot of people that know this because they can never tell they are drugstore glue on nails!

6:13AM: With new nails glued on, I dry my hair and then check the weather to see what I should wear for the day.  Not the nicest day, but the rest of the week...oh my!  Bring on spring time!

6:15AM(ish): Charlie is awake and he comes in to find me.  He is a totally hit or miss morning person - as you can tell from these pictures.  Sometimes in the best mood.  Sometimes the worst.  Sometimes up at 5AM.  Sometimes up at 6:30AM.  You never know with this one (and he loves his bro tanks more than anything)

Luckily, Baby #3 and I are ready to go for the day already (thank goodness I didn't snooze longer!)

6:20AM - Charlie and I go downstairs and after getting the kid's breakfast ready (and my own bowl of cereal)...I hear Maddie wake up around 6:40.  Jimmy is luckily awake already and I hear him pop into her room and get her dressed.  That is always nice, but such a hit or miss (as in sometimes she comes downstairs and you can tell that her dad dressed her....mixed patterns and such), but usually I don't care enough to run back up and change her.  Which is the case today.  Plus she's cute enough to pull it off, right?  (as she is sporting a cute TMNT shirt today)

Even Toby wants his water and food!

I eat my cereal fast, get my water bottle filled (I put lemon in my awesome Swell that my sister got!).  A few more things before I walk out the door - heat up my lemon water (I drink that every morning on the way to work!), get the kids blankets and tags in their backpack for Jimmy and put away any dirty dishes (I literally hate coming home to dirty dishes AND/OR food in the sink.  Not sure if Jimmy feels the same....).  Then I remember that I put Jimmy and I's dark clothes in the washer and I need to change them...so I run upstairs really fast to do that.  Seriously, told you I need an app for that. 

When I have all my stuff to walk out the door, everyone gets a kiss, I make sure Maddie's hair is "presentable" and then Charlie always has to walk me to the door and close it for me.  He wasn't even dressed for school yet - which is always such a fun process - and God Bless Jimmy for his patience in the mornings, as I run out the door.

7:06AM - finally get out the door.  About right on time (my judge is if the high school kids are standing at their bus stop when I leave...bus comes at 7:10 and if I leave after that, I will likely get to work right at 7:30 and I like to get their earlier).  When I glance over, I see our sprinklers are on.  I didn't even realize Jimmy had ever had someone come out to turn them on.  Again, thank goodness for him.

7:28AM - I'm at my desk; got to work without much traffic, so guessing that other people were getting a later start to Monday as well.  I go back and forth these days on what my morning caffeine is.  Sometimes it's my English Breakfast tea with a lemon, sometimes it's a cherry coke and sometimes I stop at Starbucks.  I run upstairs at work and decide on a cherry coke today (my work has like the biggest selection of drinks for free that you can imagine).  Sounds about right after a fun/exhausting weekend.  I open my planner to this week and sigh that nothing is filled out.  While I have a calendar on my phone that Jimmy and I use religiously, I also just like having it written down and love this planner.  But alas, that means filling it out - which I usually do several months in advance and then add things as needed - but apparently I didn't make it this far!

And then - just like that it's time to get to work.  I'm a finance manager at a stock exchange and with it being quarter end and in the midst of updating our rolling forecast, we (me and the girl that works for me) have a busy day ahead!

8:00AM - run upstairs really quick to talk to Lauren and Molly and do a quick weekend catch up (they are my good friends from college that work at the same place, which is super fun!).

10:35AM - finally back at my desk after meetings from 8:30-10:35 (luckily the one from 10-11 ended early!).  I run upstairs to grab a banana right before lunch - my company caters in lunch every day...at 11AM (yes it's early but we are on market time and have an office in NY so we stay synced up with them), so it's almost lunch time.  

I check my phone and see that I have some text messages, one from my friend Emily and one for Jimmy.  Emily's son, Jack, started at the same preschool as Charlie (just a different class) that day, so I wanted to check in and see how he did.  I knew he'd be so pumped (and he was!) and as a bonus they saw my crew walking in, so he was excited to see familiar faces.  YEAH JACK!!  And then one of Jimmy's co-workers had her first day back to work after maternity leave with her first son...and Jimmy is thoughtful like that and wanted to see if I'd send her a note.  She worked at Hallmark with Jimmy and I before so I know her pretty well - so I make a mental note to do that later.  Us mom's have to stick together and encourage each other!!

11:15AM - I head upstairs to grab some lunch (they called it at 10:45 (15 min early), but I usually wait for the line to die down first).  We had Lenny's subs today, which is for sure not my favorite...I got a tuna sub because for some reason I'm not a fan of hot lunch meat (since I need to heat up due to this baby baking).  However, I am not one to complain about free lunch everyday.  

I work on some modeling for work during lunch and then check IG and my email.  LOVE this shanty2chic address planter.  I want to make one!  And then forward the Olathe PAT note to Jimmy about getting our kid's screened for hearing tests to see what he thinks (cannot access gmail, or really anything cool at work due to regulations...so have to look on my phone).  Then it's back to work.

1:00PM - heartburn is kicking in.  I only get it when I'm pregnant (thank goodness!), but it gets worse as each pregnancy progresses.  Thank goodness for Tums...and a water refill!

2:15PM - In an attempt to (a) get up an not sit all day and work and (b) eat smaller/more frequent meals, I finally get a daily reminder to have a snack at 2:15PM.  If I'm not in meetings, I'm usually focused on something at my desk and before I started setting this, I would just sit all afternoon.  With my varicose veins being bad this time around, I do need to get up and walk a bit, so this has helped.  What else helps?  That petitioning I did for healthy snacks in our office! Gotta love the fridge stocked with fruit, carrots + ranch, granola bars and now yogurt.  While some days I pick a cookie, today I was choosing healthy!

4:39PM - I intended to leave work right at 4, but since I was off on Friday, it seems I had a lot more to catch up with than I originally thought.  So leave at 4:39 instead.  In my previous jobs though, it's funny because this would be leaving early - especially Deloitte when we would have to work until 8 or 9PM #publicaccountingproblems  But I do remember to set yet another reminder to move the laundry when I get home.  Because seriously....I think I will remember and then I don't.  Ever.

4:55PM - I get to my kid's school.  Charlie is usually outside from 4:30-5 and loves seeing me pull up!  I always get him first because he loves being a good helper and picking up Maddie too.  Seriously, love picking them up (well as long as they aren't cranky!) because they are usually so excited to see me (and I, them!).  After going to get Maddie in her room, we head to the director's office to get a sticker for each of them - they love that so much - and then to the car.  Which is always so fun.  I always try to bring a little treat for them...so Charlie gets it and then hands it to Maddie.  Getting them into their seats isn't that easy (and Lord help me when we add the baby to the mix), but we've been working on Charlie at least doing the top buckle himself, which is better!

5:24PM - we get home and I'm immediately thankful that Jimmy made the dinner plans for tonight from what he got for this weekend.  He was already grilling brats and heating up some tater tots that were leftover.  And then I realize my laundry #alwayslaundry

5:26PM - Maddie and I head up to change the laundry.  She's a great helper for sure! (well kind of!)

5:28PM - Dinner is still cooking and Charlie and Maddie are playing outside and inside and loving the warmish weather as well.  Jimmy got some extra sand for Maddie that he put in the water/sand table that we got Charlie for his first birthday...so of course, she loves that and all the mess of it!

5:35PM - Dinner is served!  Did I mention after a long weekend and long Monday that I'm thankful for this guy making dinner??  Not the most fancy or healthy meal, but we're happy and fed!  I even found a zucchini in the fridge and sauteed it up. Of course, I'm the only one that ate it (and ate the whole thing), but it was delicious!

5:38PM - oh.....we got a whole 3 minutes to "eat" and then someone has to go potty.  And of course she found some wasabi tape leftover for the weekend that she started having too much fun with.

5:41PM - kids are done eating (I mean seriously, do your dinner last longer - everyone is always "done" before Jimmy and I even feel like we get a chance to sit down and then we shove the food in our faces after.  Charlie actually did eat his dinner - so he requested they all eat dessert.  While Jimmy was in charge, they bought ice cream cones - so of course they all had one of those!

5:45PM - the attempt at ice cream cone sharing begins!!!  Which is nice...and necessary since Maddie didn't finish (or really eat anything for that matter), so she doesn't get dessert.  But when Charlie offers to share with sister, who can say no?

6:00PM - dinner is cleaned up, dishes are in the dishwasher and I start going through all the mail and adult things that came in over the weekend or on Monday.  You know, all that fun adult stuff.  But we did get some fun stuff like wedding invitations!!!  One for my sister's wedding and the other for Jimmy's cousin's wedding.  The bummer is they are both getting married the same time, so since we are all in my sister's, had to say no to his cousin. But filled out both RSVP cards and sent in!

Also - scrounge up the receipts from the weekend and put them in our receipt notebook.  I'm a stickler for making sure that our categories in mint.com are up to date... because seriously, budgeting is just no good with bad data (aka in correct categorization).  Most purchases are easy, but it's the Target, WalMart, Costco trips of the world that I have to keep and needed a place to make sure that Jimmy puts in a place where I can find them.  Enter the receipt notebook. 

6:05PM - Trying to "adult" is hard with these little people running around, isn't it?  This almost 2 year old is rather needy some nights.  I love her, but sometimes I'm all like GIRLFRIEND - I have to pay the bills!!  Haha.

6:18PM - Speaking of, we did get some medical bills in the mail over the weekend.  I like to check my EOB on uhc.com first before I pay (anyone else), so I pull that up on the computer to look at while Maddie has requested and is thoroughly entertained by pulling everything out of my wallet!  I also FINALLY get around to filling out the next month of my planner in the weekly session.  Am I the only weird one that has all different pen colors and uses a different color for different things (i.e. green for when bills are due, black for kids stuff, red for birthdays, etc.)?

6:33PM - I look over and see these three reading a book and playing a game on dad's phone.  Seriously, the sweetest and thankful for a little extra time to finish up my weekly planning and bill paying!  Normally, this time we would go on a walk, go outside, in the basement, but I'm thankful that they are keeping themselves and Jimmy somewhat entertained so I can catch up from being gone all weekend!

6:45PM - we head upstairs to get our bedtime routine started.  This is earlier than our normal lately because it's so much harder to convince Charlie that's it's bedtime when it's light outside!

6:50PM - Ok, so is it bad that I put my pajamas on before 7PM???  Even though it's seems crazy, I couldn't be more happy in my PJs (these are from Soma and I got them my mom and MIL for Christmas and bought some for myself too!).  Oh and then........LAUNDRY sorting.  Seriously.  Why all the laundry?  And how do these little kids have SO many dirty clothes?!  It's unreal!

7:10PM - while I'm sorting away, these two are enjoying their bath. They love the nightly baths so much and Jimmy is pretty good about doing them lately...as it's much harder for me to get down on my knees and bathe them.  

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7:14PM - my adorable little helper gets out of the bathtub first and runs into to sit on my lap and then immediately starts "helping me sort".  Lol.  Well I guess her version of that??  It's the thought that counts, right?

7:16PM - Maddie goes with Jimmy and he puts her PJs on and then brushes her hair and teeth.  Seriously, she a total daddy's girl and I love it so much.  These are the moments between these two that I dreamed about when I found out we were having a little girl and I'm so thankful Jimmy has a sweet girl that looks up to him!

7:21PM - It's MONDAY!  And Charlie won't let you forget on Monday that it's time for the VOICE and we need to watch it.  This is a brand new thing, but I kind of love it that he and I have our "show" and he wants to watch it and even remembers it.  We usually just plop on the couch and watch a few of the artists sing and he goes on and on about how good they are.  Even if I let him stay up late...the later bed time is totally worth it because it's kind of like my special time with just him!

7:40PM (or so) - We walk back to Charlie's room and I snap a picture (as I run downstairs) of the gorgeous sunset from our front porch.  Seriously, we have the best view for sunsets ever!

7:42PM - Charlie is brushing his teeth.  I usually watch him do it and then do a few final sweep throughs after he's "done".  

After teeth brushing, we read one book (usually read three, but since we watched the Voice, it's less), say our prayers and then I lay with him for a bit with all the lights off.  Early in my pregnancy, I would always fall asleep doing this - now I can handle it more and love our snuggle time.  I kiss him goodnight and am thankful he's almost asleep by 8. Seriously, he will do anything to put off bed time lately!!

8:06PM - Since I'm already in my PJs, I plop down and change the TV to watch the Billions episode from Sunday night.  I seriously love that show and we pay for Showtime right now just for that.  But it's so good and is likely good to me because I work in the financial industry...but I still highly recommend!

I also scroll through IG and find something that cracks me up because I'm seriously doing just that!  Thanks Courtney - for posting!

9:02PM - "Wasted" enough time watching TV and even though I'm exhausted, before I hit the sack - I read  few pages in the book Opening Belle (it's a library book I stole from my sister - thanks Lu!).  It's so good and she said that Reese Witherspoon is going to make it into a movie.  Again, it's about a woman on Wall Street (seriously, I promise I'm not crazy, it's just interesting to relate to!).  And of COURSE - my Young Living diffuser with lavender is up and running (thanks, Vanessa, now I'm hooked!!!!).  My favorite thing at night and I've missed it over the weekend!

9:39PM - FINALLY decide it's time for me to go to bed (Jimmy has been downstairs this whole time watching the Royal's game...which it is kind of nice to have some alone time and do literally what I want to do tonight! I set my 2 alarms with every intent of getting up to work out in the morning - because honestly, I feel SOOOO much better all day on the morning's that I do (even though it's so hard to get up and do it). 

I lay in bed for a few minutes and this sweet baby is kicking away and I love it.  With all the hustle and bustle of the day, I feel like this is the only time I get to lay in silence and prop my feet up and wait to feel all the wonderful kids and movement of this sweet baby!

I have no idea when Jimmy came to bed (seriously, did you know there is literally a Royals game on EVERY night?  Ok maybe not actually, but that is what it feels like!) - sometimes I wake up when he does, but this night I didn't! I stayed fast asleep (thank goodness)!

So there you have it folks - a day in the life of Spring 2016 for me and the rest of the Carter clan!