Hi friends! It has been ages since I did a day in the life post – especially a day in the life post on one of my work days vs. mom life days!
We have childcare twice a week – on Mondays from 10 to 4 and Wednesdays from 10 to 6. I can get a little work done on my mom days during naptime as well, but Mondays and Wednesdays are my days to get more focused work done, to take AnneTheRD nutrition client meetings or calls, and occasionally to go to appointments or attend to other stuff that’s not toddler-friendly. 🙂
So – here’s what I was up to this week on Wednesday!
6:15 a.m. – I always seem to wake up right around this time which is annoying if Riese isn’t up yet and if I’m not trying to do an early workout! I usually do early morning workouts (6 or 6:30 a.m.) 2 or 3 days a week, but this is not one of those days, so I try to fall back asleep.
6:45 a.m. – No dice, can’t fall back asleep, and I hear Riese waking up anyway. Matt is in the shower so I get myself up and going and head in to get her up, change her diaper, etc.
7:15 a.m. – Come downstairs and start breakfast! This basically entails Riese flipping out and refusing to be put down, so I do everything one handed. Usually I’ll get her started in her high chair with some fruit before I give her the rest of her breakfast, especially if I need two hands to make whatever else I’m making!
I have some leftover Veggie Egg Casserole and some fruit and muesli, plus yogurt that Riese feeds to me. 😉 Sidenote – Riese LOVES banana and I’ve been giving it to her with a little nut butter on each bite – helps keep her full longer than just the banana alone… especially if it’s a day where she only wants to eat the banana and nothing else.
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We say bye to Matt at 7:20 – he has an early meeting to get to.
7:45 – 9:20 a.m. Bumble around the house cleaning up from breakfast, playing with the dog and cat and various toys, feeding the dog and cat, and getting myself and Riese ready for the day.
I love that our sitter doesn’t come until 10 a.m. – our previous nanny used to arrive at 8 a.m., and while the extra hands were helpful, I love our new routine and am grateful to get to spend morning time with Riese every day of the week now. 🙂
9:25 a.m. – We finally make it out the door! Every weekday morning Riese and I take the dog for a walk or a jog. I’m always proud when we finally get out the door because it’s so many logistics… getting dressed and ready for me and Riese, getting the (outrageously excited and jumping all over us) dog ready and waiting by the door with her leash, collar, poop bags, etc., getting a snack for Riese ready and both of our water bottles ready, grabbing (/trying to find) my phone and hat, getting Riese in the stroller while the dog waits inside, THEN bringing the dog out and attaching her leash to the stroller, then putting sunscreen on both of us… OMG so much. Ha. I can only imagine this with more than 1 child… (not pregnant, just a comment)!
Sidenote – thank you for all your helpful comments on Monday’s blog post about bribery and strong toddler opinions… I’ve been reframing things with the morning stroller and now instead of “please just get in the stroller and I will give you a snack” – I’ve been talking it up and saying “Let’s get dressed, and then you can enjoy your snack in the stroller when we walk the dog.” Same outcome, but framed more positively for both of us. 🙂
(Another sidenote – if you also have a very strong willed child, check out this article that a blog reader shared – I found it helpful! Peaceful Parenting Your Strong-Willed Child)
9:30 – 10 a.m. – Stroller run with Riese and the dog! It’s pretty hot out already but I was craving a workout and our dog is always super happy if we run vs. walk. 😉
We probably cover about 1.5 to 2 miles, which is about my max when the stroller is in the mix. That ish is hard!
10 a.m. – Arrive back home just as the sitter arrives – perfect timing! I always try to time it like this so that Riese is still in the stroller and I can quickly show our nanny the food situation for Riese for the day and then send them right off to the playground, vs. Riese coming inside first, clinging to my legs and crying, etc.
She’s still sad when I say bye, but if she’s still in the stroller at least it’s easy to quickly get her distracted and off to their adventure.
10:10 a.m. – Hop in the shower and get ready for the day.
10:40 a.m. – Head out the door with my work stuff in tow. #WetHairDontCare
I take a bit of a roundabout route to avoid going by the playground or down the street where Riese and our sitter could be walking around… if Riese sees me she’ll get really sad all over again (and so will I)!
I also eat a snack while I’m walking – a peanut butter oatmeal ball from Stomping Ground in Del Ray + an Oatmeal Banana Coconut Cookie (<- recipe).
I packed two of each so I save the other two for the afternoon!
10:50 a.m. – Grab a quick iced latte because I realize I forgot to have coffee this morning and I’m dragging.
11 a.m. – Tour a co-working space in Del Ray! I mentioned last week that I tried one out in Old Town, Alexandria that I really liked, but I discovered there’s one walking distance to our house so I wanted to give it a shot too because not having to drive (and deal with expensive/annoying Old Town parking) would be ideal.
11:05 a.m. – It’s a small space so it was a quick tour! They let me stay and work for the day to test it out, which is what I was hoping, so I set up shop and get going. It’s SUPER quiet (only one other person around) which I actually don’t love because I’d rather have more life/action going on, but the convenience may mean I go with this place over the Old Town one even though I liked the more lively vibe better in Old Town… we’ll see.
My blog post for the day (my Watermelon Mojito Sorbet) is already live (I wrote it and pre-published it on Monday so it would appear on Wednesday morning – I usually do this nowadays since I’m not actively online as early as I used to be), so I spend some time sharing it around on social media, sending the links to the client, and then catching up on emails and blog comments.
12:40 p.m. – Break for lunch! I walk over to Stomping Ground and order their beet salad with roasted chicken added.
It’s really delicious!
While I eat, I listen to an episode of Janet Lansbury’s parenting podcast “Unruffled” that a bunch of you recommended to me in the comments section of Monday’s post. I love that the episodes are mostly only about 20 minutes – perfect!
I listen to the January 22 episode about how to set limits with children (even those as young as Riese). It’s really interesting and helpful! I also got her book (“No Bad Kids: Toddler Discipline Without Shame“). Matt downloaded it on Audible and is going to listen to it in the car on his commute so we are on the same page.
1 p.m. – Take a quick walk around the block (technology free) to reset and get some fresh air.
1:15 p.m. – Back to my desk!
I spend the rest of the afternoon catching up on emails, working ahead on some blog stuff (like starting this post, and another recipe post that’s in the works), and working on some blog redesign to-do items (reviewing old recipe blog posts to see which ones I want to keep/feature – they sent me a massive spreadsheet of links to go through, oof).
At some point I get tired of sitting and set up this makeshift standing desk using a filing cabinet. 😉
Around 4, I eat the rest of my snack from the morning. I probably should have brought something savory and crunchy with me as well because I’m still a little hungry and craving something not sweet or chewy, but oh well!
5 p.m. – AnneTheRD nutrition client call.
5:30 p.m. – Send my client a follow up email, wrap up a few other loose end emails, and pack up and head out the door.
5:55 p.m. – Arrive home – yay! It’s always so fun to come home to Riese – she gets SO excited and runs towards me. It’s the best. 🙂
6 p.m. – Say farewell to our sitter and go upstairs to play with Riese.
6:45 p.m. – Riese starts getting a little manic (throwing heavy wood toys down the stairs, and when I ask her to please keep the toys upstairs with us, she instead starts throwing them at me… ahh, toddlers) so I decide it’s time to get her ready for bed. Usually Matt gets home between 6:30 and 7 but he texted that it would be a late one, so I know I’m not trying to keep Riese up to see him!
7:15 p.m. – Finally get Riese wrangled into her jammies, drinking some milk, and reading a book/singing with me to try to calmmmm things down a bit before bed.
7:30 p.m. – Lights out for Riese. Night, night!
I come downstairs and snack on some crackers and guac while trying to decide if I feel up for making an elaborate dinner. 😉
I eventually decide to throw together a simple rice, beans, and fish situation.
I pan sear some fish rubbed with a little Mexican-themed seasoning…
And then serve it with 90 second brown rice, microwave string beans, and some canned black beans. Easy and fast! Enjoyed with a magazine. 🙂
8:30 p.m. – Clean up the kitchen, tidy up downstairs, and then sort through some mail and packages.
My new purse came – cute, right? Less than $20 on Amazon and comes in a ton of color options, too! I needed a new everyday purse that would match everything – I had two I alternated between but both were basically falling apart after many years of use. I was nerdy excited to put all my stuff away in this. I like the size – not too big, but big enough to fit a water bottle, phone, wallet, etc.
9 p.m. – Head upstairs and get ready for bed.
9:15 p.m. – In bed! Getting in bed early to read is my fave. I start reading the “No Bad Kids” book – interesting, although I wish she went into a little more detail about how to carry out her advice…
9:30 p.m. – Matt is home! Wow, that was a late one. Poor guy! We catch up on our days and relax.
10 p.m. – Lights out! I’m wiped and I have my alarm set for 5:33 am (yes, those 3 minutes matter) to hit a yoga class – oof!
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Feel free to play along in the comments – what’s a typical day in the life like for you?
In other news, I’m off to Monterey, California tomorrow! I’m attending a press trip that takes place Monday to Thursday, but decided to head out early to see my friend Lauren from grad school. I’m excited! I’ll pop back in on Monday with some travel adventures, so stay tuned – or see what I’m up to on Instagram in the meantime. 🙂
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