Tuesday, July 22, 2014

A Typical Day in the Life of Mandy Alford

During the time of writing this, I would say that a typical day in my life is busy and very involved, but to anyone else who reads it, they may think my life is boring.  I would say that is a word that definitely does not describe the season of life I am in.  There is never a dull moment and I rarely have a moment when there is nothing to do.  I should also say my day is ever changing.  Some days are more productive than others.  Some days mommy gets up earlier, like she should, and some days she sleeps in.  Some days mommy is a rock star and sometimes she feels like she amounts to nothing.  So with that said, here is my typical day:

My goal wake up time is 6:00.  When I do actually get up that early, it is amazing what I can get accomplished and how good the day goes. I can also tell you that by the time you girls are in bed, I am completely and utterly exhausted But on the days that doesn't happen, I can tell you I do not feel like anything has been accomplished.  I feel just as tired as I do when I get up early.  It is funny that I now call 6:00 am early, because back in my teaching days, that was sleeping in! 

Anyway, let us pretend I wake up at 6:00 am every morning. 
I try to get up and do my workout immediately.  If I don't do it then, it most likely won't happen. 
Then I go to the shower to get cleaned and dressed for the day.  After that, I retreat to my chair and ottoman to read the Word.  I LOVE this time.  This quiet time is what prepares me, strengthens me, and encourages me throughout the day.  Without God, I amount to nothing...I am nothing.  With Him I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. 

Usually by this time it is 7:30 or close to 8:00 am.  I usually hear Sally crying up there in her crib and it is time to go grab her and give her some food.  At the time of writing this, Sally is 5 months old and she is eating 5 oz. in her bottle and it is mixed with 2 1/2 teaspoons of rice cereal.  Typically, as it is with any bottle, she gulps it down and then for the next 2 hours can be seen playing in her exersaucer, play mat, and Bumbo while spitting up all over herself.  Sally you can go through about 3-4 outfits per day.  You, my dear Sally, are the reason for my laundry woes. 

At 8:30 am, I hear the Ava Bean waking up and playing in her crib.  So, up I go to get her. Ava getrs her diaper changed and gets dressed for the day.  Ava is 19 months at the time of writing this blog.  Usually, she goes immediately into her highchair to eat her breakfast.  She eats various breakfasty foods, but she almost always has a yogurt and some type of fruit, among other things.  I do have to say that Ava hardly ever finishes a meal.  She is not much of an eater and sitting in a highchair is too confining for a little girl who wants to go, go, go! 

After breakfast, we can be seen playing in the family room.  We might be playing with our teaset, our piano, our linky cubes and magnetic letters, our alphabet train, cookie sheet, balls, etc.  We could be dancing to fun music or singing song to God.  Who knows, really?  But what we do know is happening is a lot of fun!  I am also trying to feed Sally some pureed food during this time.

Around 10-10:30 am, Sally usually has another bottle, gets her diaper changed and gets put in her crib for a morning nap.  She will typically sleep until noon or half past noon.  During this time, Ava and I will usually cuddle on the couch and watch a movie (moomee) and she drinks some milk during this time.  This is our calm down part of the morning that gives mommy a little bit of a breather.  I will say the TV is often on in the background of our day because I like the noise...I prefer tv noise rather than music for some reason.  It is something I would like to change in myself but can't seem to find the strength to do. 

Around 11:30 we do some more playing.  We also like to go outside with the baby monitor during this time if the weather is decent.  If we go outside we play with bubbles, sidewalk chalk, the water table.  During the summer we may fill up the inflatable pool with water and get wet.  We also like to chase bugs, pick things up from the ground and all other sorts of what not. 

Around the time Sally starts to wake up, I get Ava her lunch together.  It can include a variety of foods, but at lunch it almost always includes cheese and, of course, a fruit.  While Ava is eating, I quickly grab Sally and get her fed.  After lunch, diapers are changed, and play time resumes.  During this time, Ava will usually play by herself and Sally plays with her things and I get some reading time in.  I love to read, so anytime you girls will actually play quietly and by yourself and I can sit there and read is welcomed. 

Ava may have a quick snack and will drink more milk before her nap. Ava gets her teeth brushed.   I take both of you upstairs and lay Sally in the boppy while Ava sits on my lap in the chair and we read 2-3 books.  Sometimes, depending on how tired Ava is, 1 book is all that is required to settle her down for a nap.  Ava almost always goes willingly into her crib for naps and bedtime.  Thank you  Ava and, more importantly, thank you, GOD!  You know how much this mommy needs a good sleeper. 

While you are napping, I do many things...or not.   It depends on how tired I am and if some much needed rest is calling my name.  If I am resting that could mean I am taking a nap myself, reading, or watching some tv.  If I am not resting, I am cleaning, organizing, marking things off of my to-do list.  I usually have 2-3 hours to accomplish something here.  If I don't have a freezer dinner ready or leftovers, than I will also use this time to make dinner.  However, I am trying really hard to be good at making freezer dinners 1 day a week that will last us a month. 

Usually Sally wakes up before Ava.  I grab Sally and feed her and change her diaper and outfit, if need be.  Then Ava wakes up.  I can usually hear Ava from downstairs because she bangs/kicks/hits her crib and it resonates throughout the house.  When Ava first started doing that I thought someone was in our house or trying to get in our house desperately! 

When Ava gets up she plays while I finish getting dinner cut up and put on her plate. Ava likes to play in the kitchen Tupperware cabinet or the cabinet I recently cleaned out and has nothing in it.  She also likes to drag things into the kitchen from the family room.  I guess she is just trying to stay close to mommy.  She will eat dinner and Sally will play with one of her toys.  When we all are sitting down to eat, Sally starts to fuss.  It is like she smells the food and realizes it is time for her to start acting up. 

After dinner, we play for a little bit.  Then around 7:45 you girls will go up for  a bath.  Ava gets a bath 3-4 times per week and Sally gets a bath about 2 times per week.  Then Ava gets more milk and gets more books read to her  after her jammies are put on her.  After all the milk has been drunk, Ava gets her teeth brushed and then we read one more book and say our prayers and go to bed.  Sally usually gets one last bottle at 9:00 and then we put her in her jammies and put her to bed, as well. 

After the girls are down in their beds, we usually go downstairs and put all the dishes in the dishwasher and start running the dishwasher load to be cleaned.  We also pick up the toys and clean up the kitchen.  After that is done, we like to have a small snack and something to drink and watch something on TV.  Then we get ready for bed and sack out! 

There are some nights that Sally will wake up around 2:30 or a little later.  Usually a pacifier will be the only thing we need to get her to settle back down for a few hours.  There are some mornings where Sally will wake up around 5:30 and I will typically feed her at this time. 

On the weekend nights (Friday and Saturday) daddy will take care of any night time wake ups (unless he is on call). 

I like to take you girls to play dates during the week and I am finding myself more and more involved in Bible studies and such.  On daddy's on call weekends, we spend a lot of time with mimi and papa and often will go to church with them on Sunday. 

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