A Day in the Life: 15 months

I love love LOVE day in the life posts...I love reading other people's to get a glimpse into what other people do all day, and I love looking back at my own to remember what this season of life was like with a 15-month-old C.  I almost always pick Wednesdays, my day off, since I'm home with C all day and that makes for a much more interesting day and better photos!  These were taken on September 30.  Blair was out of town for work, so I was flying solo all day.

6:45 AM - I wake up without an alarm since I'm used to getting up earlier than this for work.  I normally leave the house at 6:30 so I can be at work by 7, so 6:45 is "sleeping in".

7:35 AM - C has slept in this morning!  (He's normally up between 6:15 and 6:45.)  He yells in his crib until someone comes in to get him, and then he's all smiles.  I get him up and change his diaper, and then he's impatient and wanting breakfast.

7:53 AM - C's eating his typical breakfast of 2 homemade whole wheat waffles (from the freezer), whole milk, and a banana.

8:14 AM - C plays (pants-less, apparently) with his train in the nursery while I box up all of my maternity clothes.  (I had let a friend borrow them and she had just returned them, so time to pack away!)

8:23 AM - Another diaper change and C gets dressed for the day.  It's ridiculous that it's well into the fall and it's still warm enough in Dallas for him to wear shorts!

8:28 AM - I get the stroller ready to go on a walk and find C eating stale Cheerios out of the stroller storage area.  Great.  I grab a KIND bar to eat for breakfast on my walk.  I do not know what/if I would consume food as a mom if it weren't for KIND bars.  On Wednesdays and Fridays, when I'm home with C but Blair is at work, I eat a KIND bar for at least 1, if not 2, meals.  At least they're healthy-ish?

8:40 AM - I throw on some workout clothes and we're out the door at 8:43.  We take a 3.5 mile walk around the neighborhood.  I love using Map my Fitness to GPS our walks, mostly because I can them compare it to my Fitbit which drastically undercounts my steps and feel justified (I NEVER hit 10,000 steps in a day, even when I take a 5-mile walk!)  

9:49 AM - An hour later, we are home.  C fell asleep on the walk and I manage to transfer him from the stroller to his crib to continue his nap.  Woohoo!  I can shower alone!

10:48 AM - C is awake from his nap and ready to party!

10:54 AM - We play in the playroom for a while.  C loves toys that play annoying music at this age.  He also has the attention span of a gnat so he plays with each toy for approximately 12 seconds before moving on to the next one.  He cracks me up!  

12:07 PM - time for lunch (for C, that is).  I make him a veggie burger (his favorite), whole wheat macaroni, and mixed frozen vegetables.  

12:33 PM - C is snoozing for another nap.  He still takes at least 2 naps a day at this age, a short morning nap and a long nap from noon to 3-ish.    

12:38 PM - Somehow, our kitchen looks like this after every. single. meal. that C eats.  How can such a small person create so many dirty dishes?!  I tackle the messy counter and wash all the dishes.

12:47 PM - time for my own lunch (a day I DIDN'T eat a KIND bar for lunch!)  I make myself a veggie burger and a honeycrisp apple (the best!!!)

1:28 PM - time to fold some laundry that I started at some point earlier during the day.  Laundry never ends.  I try to do at least 2 loads on Wednesdays while I'm home.  After I start another load of laundry, I make a huge batch of homemade granola.

4:07 PM - C's up from his nap (3.5 hours!)  I love how much he loves his lovey and cuddles it while he sleeps.  We don't let him have his lovey or his paci except while he's napping/sleeping - when we pick him up out of his crib, he immediately drops both into his bed.

4:11 PM - the granola is done baking, so I take it out of the oven to cool while C plays in the playroom.

4:19 PM - time to run errands! My little partner is buckled up in the backseat ready to go buy groceries.

4:58 PM - we're leaving Kroger, groceries in cart.  C loves going to the grocery store and people watching.  He is turned around like this almost the whole time we shop!

5:31 PM - in the checkout line at Sprouts.  Yes, 2 grocery stores.  I tend to buy most of our produce at Sprouts because the selection and the prices are better than Kroger.  

6:15 PM - On our way home, we swing by a neighbor's house to purchase her hand-me-down PJs that she left out for us on her porch.  I love Facebook garage sales!  

6:41 PM - I put C in the playroom (with the baby gate) for a couple of minutes so I can make his dinner without him completely flipping out on me.  So instead he throws a fit in the playroom as if he hasn't eaten in months and is literally starving to death.  Toddler dramatics at their finest.

6:44 PM - C is FINALLY (ha) eating dinner.  He has not been into vegetables lately ever since he got a stomach bug, so I have taken to hiding/mixing them into his other food that he will eat.....hence this lovely creation of pasta/tomatoes/avocado/chicken/broccoli.  Yum?

7:16 PM - bathtime!  Yes, he's still in the baby tub.  Everyone makes fun of this.  It is so much faster than filling up the big tub!! Plus it is easier for me to wash his hair with him lying down in the baby tub.  I dread the day he (completely) outgrows it!

7:42 PM - lotion, PJs on, teeth brushed, prayers said, and bed with his paci and Lyle, his lovey.  We are so lucky how easily he goes to bed!  We turn off his light, turn on the sound machine, and he rolls over with Lyle and goes to sleep.

9:34 PM - I basically crash on the couch every night after we get C to bed....and I'd like to say that this terrible excuse for dinner is abnormal because Blair was out of town, but the reality is that we eat something like this for dinner at least a couple of times a week, just because we are too exhausted to think about cooking something more real.  I cut up another honeycrisp apple, along with some cheese and wheat thins.  Dinner of champions!

10:23 PM - I always peek in on C before I get in bed, and most nights I take a picture on my phone (the flash doesn't phase him) so I can see how sweet he looks sleeping!  I have dozens upon dozens of these pictures on my phone....so sweet!  After that, lights out and I'm asleep within 15 seconds of my head hitting the pillow!

 These days are busy but so fun!! I love this age and have so much fun hanging out with this little boy on Wednesdays - the perfect mid-workweek break!

Halloween Fun: Frankenstein footprint craft + printable template

I am ALL ABOUT the adorable baby handprint and footprint holiday crafts!!  Do their tiny hands and feet EVER get old?!  We've done the footprint ghost craft a couple of times (just white footprints on black paper, add eyes and mouth, done), so I wanted something different for a recent October toddler play date.  I think these footprint Frankensteins are adorable!!

 Having made way too many handprint and footprint crafts in C's short 15 months on this earth, I like to think that I have it figured out.  I use washable, non-toxic tempura paint (this is Sargent Art brand from Hobby Lobby - $1.59 for a good-sized bottle) and a mini foam craft roller (also from Hobby Lobby) to apply the paint to their little feet.  The foam roller results in a nice, even application of paint and gets it done much more quickly than applying with a paint brush (and dipping their feet into a plate of paint makes it way too gloppy).  I've used a cheap foam paintbrush too, and it works, but it takes longer and the paint isn't as even.

Other than paint and some way to apply it (foam roller, paintbrush, etc), all you need is white construction paper or cardstock, a black Sharpie, a white paint pen or liquid white-out, and a silver Sharpie!  (If you don't have a silver Sharpie and don't want to buy one, you can just do the ear things in black instead of silver).  

This craft is pretty easy and you can embellish it however you want -- we chose to write "Trick or Treat" on ours.  I've included a printable of the "Trick or Treat" design below - just print it on white letter-sized paper and get going with your Frankenstein footprint-making!

Click here to download the 'Trick or Treat" template to make your own footprint Frankensteins!

Halloween Fun: BOO Poem and Ghost Printables

One of my favorite parts of Halloween as a kid was our neighborhood's tradition of leaving anonymous Halloween treats on each other's front porches with a "BOO" sign and corresponding poem -- it's a great way to spread Halloween cheer among your neighbors and, as kids, we loved "sneaking" up to a neighbor's front porch to leave their goodies for them to find.

I thought this was a tradition that all kids grew up with and was surprised when my husband wasn't familiar with it.  Basically, someone starts the process by leaving a bag or basket full of Halloween/fall treats on 2 neighbors' front porches, along with a poem that instructs the recipients to each do the same for 2 additional neighbors within 2 days.  The recipient places the "BOO" sign on their front door or front window so that other neighbors know they've already been "BOO"-ed, so that they don't get picked twice.  If everyone plays along, you can spread the Halloween cheer to over 250 neighbors within 2 weeks!!  It is fun for kids to design the "BOO" sign for their neighbors and do the "sneaking" to leave the bag or basket on the front porch, and it is fun for everyone to see the tradition spread from house to house as more houses bear "BOO" signs on their front doors or windows!

The goodies you include in the bag or basket can vary depending on the age / size of the family you're BOOing.  When we were kids, the bags were normally mostly candy or Halloween cookies....sometimes there was even a bottle of wine or a couple of beers for Mom and Dad!  Since most of the families in our neighborhood have toddlers who are too young for candy, I didn't want our bags to be too candy-heavy; instead, I filled them with Halloween stickers, a Trader Joe's pumpkin bread mix, a kit (from Hobby Lobby) to make a "BOO" garland, Halloween napkins, and a small amount of candy - I figured the pumpkin bread, BOO garland, and stickers were something that the families could enjoy doing together.

It's not too late to start this tradition in your neighborhood!  I've included a printable of the "BOO" poem (that provides the instructions for the recipient) below, as well as a printable of the "BOO" ghost sign that we used (although feel free to make your own - or let your kids design one!)

For the "BOO" poem - print on white or colored letter-size paper:

Click here to download BOO poem



For the "BOO" ghost sign - print on white letter-size paper and then use scissors to cut a ghost shape out of the paper.


Click here to download BOO ghost