Well I am fortunate enough to be a stay-at-home momma to my
sweet little Keylee and a caregiver to another sweet girl part time - Jens. After working in corporate America for 9 years it has been a very fun change. So
now my days are filled with chores, toys, diapers, sing-a-longs and the like - as
well as blog posting, calls for an event I’m planning, and DiY projects in
between. Here is a typical day for me if such a thing exists, they are always different with new adventures and surprises.
As you learned about me yesterday I am NOT a morning person,
so I roll out of bed at about 7:30 after my alarm goes off at 7:25, usually. However,
today Key has decided that she wants to get up early so the hubbs (who is going
to be home from work today) rolls out of bed at 5 till 7 to go and get her and
I follow a few minutes later. Breakfast is fun these days, our child who thinks
she is much older than she is has decided she no longer likes her
booster/highchair so we get to see if she will go for it or not. Some meals she
now eats at the table but some we force in the booster for the messy factor.
Yogurt is one of those forced meals:
As she enjoys her yogurt mess I run in the bedroom and throw
on some gym clothes and pony my hair just in time to get to the door as I hear
a knock for drop off. Jens is here and she takes off running to the playroom
with Keylee following behind her. Our day has officially begun. I grab a banana
to eat for breakfast while I clean up the yogurt. We sing our ABCs as we point
to the letters posted in the dining room, count our numbers also.
The girls
drag out the dress up box and have fun with its contents changing and trading.
We all take a trip to the potty as Keylee announces she needs to go, sometimes
she follows through and other times she just sits there while we read “Are You
My Mother.” A while later Jens takes her turn she, in fact, uses the potty this
time, yay Jens! We are not fully into potty training but are certainly
entertaining any trips they’d like to take. Throw a load of laundry in the washer
(almost out of laundry soap, we’ll have to make some more), notice the load of
towels in the dryer I didn’t fold yesterday, leave said towels in the dryer and
move to something else.
Around 9 Jens lays down for her morning nap and Keylee
and I get our workout in (Key no longer takes a morning nap). She mostly
watches while I workout but occasionally she jumps in a does a few “push-ups”
of her own. After our workout I’m off to get ready and Keylee gets to be on
lockdown in the master bed/bath with me. I drag her some books and toys to play
with into the room but mostly she like to peek-a-boo me while I’m in the
shower.
It’s about 10:30 and Key and I go outside to water the
garden. We had a pretty good little garden this year, the summer heat killed a
lot of our plants but the tomatoes and okra are still going strong. Keylee
loves to water the garden cause she gets to play with the hose and get soaking
wet. We pick a few almost ripe tomatoes to stick in the windowsill and snag a
few okra to cut up and throw in the freezer for later.
11:00 Jens wakes up and we do another set of diaper changes,
did I mention we are encouraging trips to the potty. J Girls run off to play for a
few minutes while I get their lunch plates ready. We set up for and eat lunch.
Keylee is now ok with sitting in her booster because Jens is in the extra high
chair. After lunch we do a quick (I wish) change and go outside to play in the
pool (we got a great deal on a kiddie pool this year for $19. It is an 8 ft
round 24 inch deep pool. Perfect size). Keylee has always loved the water, Jens
likes it a lot more now than she used to. We got Keylee arm floaties this year and
she loves them. She is a child with little to no fear so arm floaties provide
the freedom she wants and safety she needs. According to the girls swim time is
over and they want “out.” We dry off and go in the house for a quick rinse off
in the bath to get off the few chemicals from the pool. Girls are clean, dry
and dressed and we read a few more books before nap time for both of them. Ahh yes!
They are down for nap and I’m off to fold those towels and make that laundry
soap.
Quick aside: this homemade laundry
soap recipe was given to me by a dear friend. She was so excited about it and
really was going to save the world a load at a time. “Less than a penny a load”
she would say. My sweet friend passed this year after battling breast cancer.
She was quite an amazing person; I’ll share more about her with you someday. In
the meantime, here is the recipe if you’d like to give it a try:
Ingredients:
1/3 bar (grated) Fels-Naptha Soap -OR- 1 bar (grated) Ivory Soap
1/2 cup Borax
1/2 cup Washing Soda
1/3 bar (grated) Fels-Naptha Soap -OR- 1 bar (grated) Ivory Soap
1/2 cup Borax
1/2 cup Washing Soda
You will need: cheese grater, (2) gallon jugs, large funnel, large soup
pot
Directions: Grate the soap using a cheese grater or food processor.
In a large soup pot, place about 6 cups of water and the grated soap. Bring to
a boil, then down to a simmer on medium-low for about 5 minutes, stirring
occasionally. Add the Washing Soda and Borax, stirring occasionally, and be
careful to watch for boil over. Let it simmer for about 10 minutes, making sure
everything is dissolved. Carefully divide the hot liquid between the two gallon
jugs, using a large funnel if necessary. Fill the jugs halfway with hot tap
water, put the lids on and give ‘em a good shake. Fill with more hot water, to
an inch or two from the top. Shake again. After a few hours, the final product
will probably contain gel-like clumps. This is normal and improves each time
you shake!
Directions for use: Shake well before each use. Use 1/2 cup per load. This
soap does not cause suds.
For High Efficiency machines, use less
per load since less water is used.
Optional: If you prefer scented laundry
detergent, try adding 10-15 drops of your favorite essential oil, such as
Lavender, Lemongrass, or Orange. (Add after it’s done boiling.)
I also have some business to take care of today, I am the
event coordinator for a non-profit annual gala and some phone calls have to be
made to ensure we are on track with everything. After phone calls and messages
left I’m off to finish up a few bows and fun things for a baby shower I have
tonight for a friend. I’ll do a tutorial on easy hair bows soon for those
little girls in your life. Baby shower gift finished and ready and the girls
are up. I grab some veggies, potatoes and sausage out of the fridge and cut
them up to cook later for dinner.
4:30 and time for snack. Then off to play outside, the
weather is cooling off just a bit so it is actually bearable to play outside a
bit. Swing swing each says so we take turns. I think Keylee would swing forever
if someone would continue pushing her.
5:45 rolls around and Jens’ mom pulls up to pick her up. We
chat about the day and off they go. I throw the veggies in the skillet to cook
up dinner and Keylee runs off to play in the playroom with daddy (he has been
home today, participating in most of our activities but also doing some work on
the side. most days he is not home but we really love it when he is). Bryan
finishes up dinner for me while I run and get dressed for the shower. Grab my
present and with a kiss I’m out the door.
I get to celebrate the birth of a dear friends new baby girl
soon to arrive. Stories of babies and births and sweet smells and not so sweet
smells. Love it!
I’ll crawl into bed tonight having had a full but very fun
day. I am so blessed and really try to be thankful for each moment. Happy
Friday, enjoy your weekend. Mine start tomorrow morning bright and early with a
yard sale to get rid of some of the stuff I’ve been clearing out of the house.
Here’s hoping for no rain.
Daspri
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