Blog Everyday in May Challenge…Days 15 and 16

Day 15: A Day in the Life
I struggle with these “day in the life” posts my friends…usually, it’s because I get sidetracked and forget to take pics, but I attempted to do this to the best of my ability the other day to show what my real days are like. This actually knocks out another post from my Q&A session I did awhile ago, as some of you were asking to see our normal schedule and such. Here is a little rundown:
Wake-Up…Rise and Shine 
Little Miss wakes up at the crack of dawn these days…6AM! I get her out of her crib, change her britches (while singing a song…yes, EVERYTHING has a song) and then she has her morning breakfast bottle/sippy (we are working to eliminate the dreaded bottle) while we catch up on morning snuggle and the news in our bed. I give her some toys to keep her occupied, while I make the bed and and Jeff gets ready for work, and then us girls head have breakfast, which usually consists of a waffle/pancake/english muffin and fruit for her, and some type of breakfast sandwich/oatmeal/cereal for me. Cleanup is always fun and I CC plays in the living room while I straighten up and “open” the house for the day. Depending on what we have planned for the day, we head downstairs for her favorite show, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. That way I can catch up on household chores, take the dog out (see, I am talking about Chloe), drink some coffee, and then respond to emails and such. Miss Alex comes to our house around 8AM, just in time for CC’s morning nap, so it’s off to her crib we go for some soothing sounds to put her to sleep!

Mid-Day Antics and Such
Caroline wakes up around 9:30/10AM from her nap and by this time, I’m either doing laundry, drafting a few blog posts, headed to the gym, or helping Jeff with errands around town (cleaners, bank, post office, etc). I can’t tell y’all what a blessing it’s been having Alex help us out these last 2 months of my pregnancy…I am physically exhausted by trying to keep up with CC, and she has been so helpful in terms of doing all sorts of fun activities with her so that I can try to get some rest, finish up the nursery, complete the house spring cleaning, etc. I’m hoping this will make for a much easier transition once Carson is born…I guess only time will tell.
In terms of what goes on throughout the day, it’s all on a case-by-case basis… I have doctor’s appointments every other week now so that goes into the schedule, and Jeff has been traveling for work, so it’s been a crazy whirlwind as of late. For single moms out there, I throw my hands up to you-I don’t see how you do it and MAJOR props go out to you all!
Caroline eats lunch around 11AM, which consists of leftovers from the night before/a hot dog/some type of protein, fruit, crackers, and anything else we can get her to eat…it’s crazy how one day she will eat something and the next day she wants nothing to do with it. We try to incorporate outside play time as much as we can…playing with the water table, taking walks around the neighborhood, heading to the park for some swing time, blowing bubbles, etc.
She usually goes down for her afternoon nap around 1:30/2PM and wakes up about 3:30 or 4, depending on the day…we pray for those 2 hour naps because it makes for an easier nighttime!

Miss Alex goes home around 5PM, just in time for Miss Caroline and I to start cooking dinner so we can all eat when daddy gets home (around 6PM), and CC is great about eating what’s on our menu for the night…her favorites include pot roast, beef stroganoff, grilled cheese and soup, pizza bagels, food off the grill, and BBQ…no, my child won’t eat chicken, but she will eat the heck out of some red meat=weird I know. After dinnertime, we have family time…going on rides in her cozy coupe, playing ball with daddy, taking another stroll around the neighborhood with the dog, reading books, and anything we can do to keep her happy. Around 7:30, bath time calls, which is undoubtedly her favorite part of the day…perfect time to unwind and prep for bedtime. She loves splashing the water, playing with her toys, and she goes nuts when daddy makes a waterfall from her pail. We rub her down with lotion, put her yummies (AKA pajamas on), zip up her sleep sack, turn on the sleep machine, and daddy puts her to bed. Yes, we are currently still giving her a small bottle right before bed to keep her belly full…then it’s off to night night for our angel.
After all that is said and done, you can find me picking up toys, tidying up the house, and then usually I head to our room for some reading, a little bit of TV time, and then lights out around 10PM.
Is it as glamorous as you expected?? HAHA!

Day 16: Something Difficult About My “Lot in Life” and How I’m Working to Overcome It
I have been racking my brain trying to figure out how to dodge this question, or how to best answer it without sounding like Debbie Downer. I think we all are faced with challenges, at one point or another, but I also think that my life has been relatively “easy” compared to some of you out there. I haven’t had to deal with a lot of the terrible things that some face everyday…death of a close loved one, infertility, marriage problems, coming from a broken home, etc, but I do think there are hurdles I’ve had to overcome.
Take for instance, bad relationships. I had my fair share before Jeff and I dated and let me tell you I ALWAYS seemed to fall for the bad boys. You know, the ones that look good on the exterior, but are dark and scary underneath. I had a serious boyfriend in college and I just knew we were going to get married…that is if I agreed to his “5 year plan”. He positioned me with an ultimatum and I walked away-I just couldn’t handle his childlike antics and my friends and family finally convinced me I deserved better. Then there was the “other one”..the one who played me so well that I had no idea he was cheating on me left and right and no one bothered to tell me…yeah, that one stung, too. But I dumped him, moved on without once looking back, and then stumbled into the arms of my dearest Jeff. It really is funny how life changes in an instant.

This is just to say that we can overcome whatever is thrown our direction if we are surrounded by loving, caring people…by people that lift us up rather than pushing us down, and what I am trying to overcome these days is keeping the good in my “inner circle” and forcing out the bad. I am dedicated and loyal when it comes to those I love the most and I know I deserve that, too. So now I am working to overcome letting people walk all over me…it’s just hard to do sometimes.

Happy Thursday everybody…so close to the weekend I can taste it!!