Hellobee

I spent a lot of time thinking about what my first “official” post here on Hellobee should be about. Should I dive right in with some advice or tips about something? Should I do a roundup of our favorite baby products so far? Should I tell you more about our family?

I finally decided on a day in the life post. These types of posts are always some of my favorite to read on blogs because I love to get a peek into someone else’s life, and I figure this is a pretty good way for you to get to know a little more about me and my little family. So, here’s what a recent Monday in the Garland household looked like. It wasn’t necessarily a “typical” day, as our schedule has been thrown off due to Mr. Garland’s extra duties at work (he’s the assistant director for the theater program in addition to teaching physics, and they have a play coming up this weekend!) but it seems like lately “normal” doesn’t exist, so this is as good of an example as any!

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5:40 – The alarm goes off. I don’t budge. After a few minutes, Mr. Garland reaches over to make sure I’m actually awake, since I slept through the first alarm and this is the snooze alarm. I grab my phone so I can check my email and spend a few more minutes cozy in bed before I give in and drag myself into the bathroom to get ready.

5:45 – Time to get up. Our mornings go by very quickly and there’s no time to waste – I have my morning routine down to a science and I’m dressed and ready to go eat breakfast within a matter of minutes. Mr. Garland hops in the shower while I get dressed (I shower in the evenings to save time in the mornings) and let the dogs out. I pause by Jackson’s room to make sure he’s still asleep and all is quiet. Some mornings he wakes up around this time (or earlier) to eat and then goes back to sleep, but it looks like today will be a day that he sleeps right up until it’s time to go. I head downstairs to make breakfast and enjoy a few minutes on my computer while I’m eating and the house is still quiet.

6:20 – If we’re going to make it to work on time, I have to get Jackson up now. I run upstairs to brush my teeth and get him dressed. I can tell that he just woke up, because I hear him softly babbling to himself in his crib. As soon as I walk in his room he gets excited and stands up to greet me – I love how happy he is in the mornings! I snuggle up in his chair with him and nurse – this is the only time he actually sits still throughout the entire nursing session, so I soak it up while it lasts. After he eats, I get him dressed and ready for the day.

6:50 – We’re all ready to go. I grab Jackson’s lunch bag for daycare from the fridge, Mr. Garland puts the dogs away, and we’re off. We are carpooling this week (sometimes we can and sometimes we can’t) and I love the extra time with him in the car! We don’t get to talk much at all throughout the day, so it’s great to have some time on our 25-minute drive to work to connect and talk without any distractions.

7:15 – I’ve just dropped Mr. Garland off at work; now it’s Jackson’s turn. I love the daycare that he’s at and his teacher is fabulous so I’m comfortable leaving him, but it’s always a little heartbreaking. Luckily, my job keeps me busy so the day flies! He absolutely loves his daycare and starts wiggling and squealing as soon as he realizes where we are. He gives a few sweet smiles to his teacher when he sees her and holds on tight to me while I put away his lunch and bottles. I have to get to work, though, so I can’t linger for long – I snuggle with him for a few seconds and get him settled in with a toy before I sneak out the door.

7:25 – I get to work and immediately dive in – I only have a few minutes before my students arrive, so I fly into action prepping my classroom for the day. This school year has been very hectic and I have almost no extra time during the day, so I have to take advantage of every free second. Today we have a field trip that will likely last most of the day, so anything I want to get done or prepare has to happen right now.

3:40 – Kids are on their way to the bus and the day is over! I duck into a closet in my classroom to pump – normally I pump once during the day, but I didn’t have any time today since we were gone all day. It’s so hard to find consistent times to pump when you’re a teacher! After I pump, I rush to straighten the room and head out to pick everyone up. Normally I stay a little later, but Mr. Garland has to work in the evenings all this week at play practice, so we’re trying to hurry home to maximize our family time.

4:45 – We’re home! The dogs are insanely excited to see us, and we’re thrilled to be here. I plop down on the floor with Jackson and get some play time in – I miss his sweet smile and giggle all day long, so I love getting to play with him when we get home! Normally we have a few minutes to play as a family before we have to start on dinner, but Mr. Garland has to turn right back around and go to work soon, so he jumps into dinner prep while I keep Jackson entertained. We sit in the kitchen and play with the dogs and the magnets on the refrigerator while Mr. Garland puts dinner together – we try to trade off who cooks dinner each night, but he’s really sweet about taking over most nights so I can have some extra play time with Jack.

5:00 – It’s time for an early dinner. Most nights dinner is closer to 5:30 or so, but things are off this week, and with One Act Play season starting soon (a competition between high schools that Mr. Garland is very involved in) it may become more normal. Tonight we’re having a rotisserie chicken that we purchased from the grocery store yesterday, some tortellini with pesto, and asparagus. It’s a quick and easy meal that requires minimal effort – perfect for a night like tonight!

5:30 – Jackson and I are still hanging out and eating, but it’s time for Mr. Garland to head out for practice. I try to convince him to play hooky but he’s too responsible. Jackson and I stay at the table for a few minutes longer, and I know he’s done eating once he starts feeding the dogs his dinner and throwing his water cup on the floor.

Once Jackson finishes eating I let him play for a few minutes before we head upstairs for bath time – I just got a package with one of Mr. Garland’s Christmas presents, and Jackson is thrilled to play with the box and the packing peanuts. It keeps him entertained for at least 10 solid minutes – a lifetime for a 10-month old!

6:00 – Bath! Jackson absolutely adores bath time and starts squealing and giggling as soon as we begin undressing him. I like to let him take his time in the bathtub, but lately he’s had a hard time sitting in the tub (he’s constantly pulling up and trying to explore or climb out of the tub), so we have to rush through it some nights. Once he starts getting mad at me for constantly sitting him back down, I give up and declare that bath time is officially over.

We head into Jackson’s room for some naked time, reading, and nursing before bed. He used to fall asleep while nursing in the evenings, but now he just unlatches and starts babbling to me to signal that he’s done. I miss the cuddles, but it’s pretty adorable. He’s still chatting away as I lay him down, turn his music on, and head out of the room, but I know he’ll be asleep in just a few minutes.

6:30 – The baby is down and the night is officially mine! On a night when Mr. Garland isn’t working, he would have cleaned up the kitchen while I bathed the baby and we’d be cuddling up on the couch to watch some television or starting a board game in the dining room now. Tonight, however, it’s just me and I have a lot of cleaning to do. Seriously, it kind of looks like a bomb went off in my kitchen. I jump in the shower before I get started, then I dive into cleaning and prepping for tomorrow.

7:30 – The kitchen is as clean as it’s going to get tonight, I’ve prepped Jackson’s bottles for daycare tomorrow, and I’ve made his lunch. Time to relax! I settle in on the couch and start a Christmas movie, and pull out my laptop to do some mindless internet surfing.

9:00 – Mr. Garland is finally home (practice was supposed to be over at 8, but it ran late and then they had to wait for parents to come pick their kids up) and he’s exhausted. He falls onto the couch with me and we spend a few minutes talking about our days since we feel like we haven’t had a chance to actually focus on one another since this morning. We’re both pretty worn out, though, and soon we head upstairs to wind down for the night.

9:45 – We climb into bed, I do a bit of journaling while Mr. Garland watches YouTube videos on his iPad, and by 10:00 we are both asleep. Such party animals!

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And then we do it all again the next day! I have to say my evenings are a lot more hectic when Mr. Garland isn’t home, but that’s been happening more and more frequently lately so I guess I’ll need to get used to it. At least we only have a couple more weeks of school before Christmas break!

I’d love to hear what your days look like. Is your spouse home to help you in the evenings, or do you do a lot of it on your own?