A Day in the Life 2018: Amy

Hi everyone, welcome to what could possibly be my favorite blog series of the year–Day in the Life 2018! I absolutely love reading posts like this, so much so that last year we decided to host our own series asking bloggers to detail how they spend their days. If you missed it you can read what my day was like last year HERE.

This year when I planned the series I wanted to go in a slightly a different direction. Last year’s guests were all moms and the series ran right at back to school time, so that was the focus.  This year, I rounded up a group of women that I follow on social media and can see that these are girls who are getting it DONE. Not only do they have beautiful homes, but they are business-savvy women who are living their best lives. I can’t wait to read their best tricks and tips, all the links to the other participants are at the end of this post.

Christy has already shared her day in anticipation of today’s posts. You can click HERE to read how she does things, having known her for over 20 years I can attest that she does “all the things” (mom, military spouse, volunteer, blogger) not only well but also with style, so be sure to check her post out too!

 

Last year I literally chronicled an actual day for you all, today I would be a little more general. My life is very different than it was a year ago as we moved into a new house (which is so much closer to my kids’ schools and activities) and my oldest son is driving now.  I have gone from driving two to sometimes even three hours each day picking up kids and taking them to and from sports practices and activities to a much more manageable afternoon schedule. Moving was a hassle but SO worth it in the end! I am still getting used to having much more time in my day, but I am so grateful for it. I used to have to try to frantically wrap everything up by three pm so I could head out for an afternoon of driving, thankfully that is no longer the case.

Anyway, here’s a look at how my typical day goes now. I am not going to lie, after years of being a bit overtaxed timewise, then moving twice in six months, I am enjoying a respite from the franticness and taking life a little more slowly now. So you may find my day is a little boring 🙂 but it is good for the soul to be able to have a season of doing less.

headboard  |   bedding   |   similar lamps  | blue pillows

We wake up around here at about 6:15 AM. My 16-year-old son is up and getting ready for school by then. He is good about getting up on his own (part of his condition of being able to drive to school is that he has to be ready on time and not be rushing), but his brother is a different story. Middle school is a hard age! Dragging my sleeping 8th grader out of bed isn’t always the easiest, but considering he’s grown two inches in the last two months (!)  his body is craving sleep.

 

{Office post HERE}

While the boys get ready for school, I head to my office with my cup of coffee. I use my Day Designer Planner (which is really my organizational lifeline) to see what the day holds and then start writing down what tasks I need to accomplish that day as well as what errands need to be done. Anything I didn’t complete the day before gets transferred over so nothing drops through the cracks. I also check my email and squeeze in a few other blog-related things like looking at stats, etc. while I drink my coffee and try to wake up.

 

 

After about 20 minutes we have a last minute rush as the boys head out the door. I make sure my boys have eaten enough breakfast–right now it’s all about feeding them enough to meet their nutrition needs and to keep them alert at school so I often reheat filling things like breakfast burritos (I make and freeze them ahead) or make I oatmeal or protein pancakes. Before I know it, they are on their way to school. Sidenote: I make lunches the night before, I usually make their sandwiches and they throw extras and snacks in. If I don’t do it they pack a bag of chips and buy a drink and think that’s good (though I am pretty sure that’s how I lived in high school!) but then they wonder why they can’t concentrate in school.

By seven AM they are both out the door and I have about 30 minutes to myself before I have to wake up my daughter. I love this quiet time! I head back to my office and really get my day organized, continuing where I left off earlier.  I also usually have time to check in on favorite blogs or see what is on sale to share in for future posts, the time always passes very quickly. I find I get easily sidetracked so making lists is my best tool to keep me on track throughout the day. I keep a bullet journal that has all my tasks in it, lists of to-do’s, decor projects, anything that can be part of a list goes in there.

 

 

At 7:30 I wake up my daughter she gets dressed and we eat breakfast together. My current breakfast is an egg, avocado toast and an AIP sausage (more information on how I eat is in this post HERE). I do eat some carbs now, but try to avoid dairy and never eat gluten. I have just learned I feel so much better when I eat this way. My system is still in a long-term recovery from Lyme disease (if you are new here, that story is here) so being careful about the food I eat is a big part of feeling well.

 

her backpack

My daughter is off to school around 8. Her bus is so erratic that we’ve started driving her since the school is just 10 minutes away.  She decided to attend our new neighborhood’s public school this year (after being in private school) which also drastically helps reduce my driving time. My husband works from home several days a week so we often drop her off together, as the youngest I think she appreciates the extra time with both of us and we enjoy it too.

 

 

 

Once we are back from drop off,  if my husband is working from home and the weather is good, we go for a bike ride together. This is one of the best parts of our move and probably my favorite part of the day. Our new neighborhood has miles of bike paths around several lakes so it is ideal for biking, running or walking. Sidenote: my husband gave me a bike 4 years ago when I was in treatment for Lyme, I thought he was out of his mind at the time, that I’d never be able to use it. He promised me I’d be glad to have it someday and he was right. It’s been so much fun to bike this summer! If he’s working in the office, instead of biking I usually take our lab Lucy for a walk when I get back to get some exercise and fresh air before I really start my day.

 

 

Unless I have a blog deadline or something to post first thing in the morning when we get home from biking I try to sit down and have some quiet time. I am currently working my way through the Savor Devotional, and am going through Jesus Calling for the third or fourth time. It’s such an important part of my day, I hate to miss it. I am not awake enough to handle it first thing in the morning or I’d do it then.

 

 

After that, I take a shower, put on makeup and get dressed for the day. I also make the beds (my kids sort of make their own, but I am a neat freak and so I usually straighten them a bit) and usually start a load of laundry. We had a bit of cool weather last week, so I wore one of my fall go-to outfits to run errands.

 

Shirt   |   Vest Here or Here   |  Purse  | Jeans (my very favorites!)  |   Shoes   |   Watch

Mid-morning is the time I usually head out to do things like pick up dry cleaning, grocery shop or pick up things for home and blog projects at Home Depot or stop in HomeGoods. Right now, feeding teen boys, I feel like I grocery shop WAY too much but even with meal planning and keeping an ongoing grocery list, it’s just constant. I meal plan, usually on Sundays (read about my Sunday Routine HERE) and try my best to stay on top of what we need, but my boys just go through SO MUCH food.  They often have friends over too, so I find I need to shop every few days no matter how much I plan or stock up. In the end, I am trying to enjoy the last few years they are at home as much as I can and appreciate the season we are in, huge grocery bills and all.

 

{Read about our real-food pantry in our former home here}

When I get home from running errands, I usually eat lunch (whatever leftovers we have) while I begin to do whatever blog work needs to be done for the rest of the afternoon. I write posts, edit photos, source items, answer emails or comments etc. I am dedicating more time to planning out blog posts these days rather than just going from project to project and sharing them. For those of you who don’t blog that might not make much sense, but with the new house I am spending more time sourcing items and planning what I’ll show on the blog and when. We want to be a resource and not just say “I found it at HomeGoods” (even though often that is the case!) so we can help our readers find what they need, so sourcing the best items takes time.  During the day, Christy and I usually exchange emails about blog-related things and set up our posting schedule, and since we work with a number of brands, that also takes coordination. There is always something to be done, blogging is a very time consuming between communication, social media, writing posts and managing the “business” side of things.

Sidenote: if I have a house project going on, like photographing for a tour, a DIY project, painting furniture etc. I usually start that when I return from walking or biking and head right into it. 

My kids start coming home around three pm. I usually talk to them for a little bit while they have a snack then head back to my office for a little while longer. There is always something to be done, social media to schedule, emails to return etc. A few days a week my daughter has dance or tumbling so once she is home (around four) I help her get ready and drop her off. My middle school son is usually right back out the door to hang out with friends or play sports in the afternoon, and my high school son is usually working on his staggering amount of homework. Around five I stop working and try to figure out what we’ll eat for dinner.

I try to stick to my meal plan but I do juggle the meals around based on what we feel like and who will be home for dinner. Around 5 or 5:30 I start dinner, empty the dishwasher (if my daughter’s home she does it), and do general cleaning up, opening mail etc. I am still working on getting this house organized, so often I’ll quit early to work on a house project like cleaning out a closet etc. in an effort to get us settled here once and for all.

Sidenote: I have my house professionally deep cleaned once a month, sometimes twice a month. It is expensive but I love knowing that it’s clean even though it only lasts a few hours 🙂 I try to spend a few minutes picking up, sweeping floors etc. around this time of day each day I can. It feels good to move around after sitting all day. Read about my favorite cleaning tools in this post here, they make it so easy to quickly tackle floors etc.

 

 

We don’t usually sit down for dinner until about seven–however, each day is different but my husband is usually working until at least that time of day–I try to make everyone eat a meal together as much as we can. We have just a few years with our kids all still at home so we’re trying to make the most of it. We love our new kitchen table and have really had some hilarious dinner conversations already. Some nights we have games to attend. Last week we had our high school homecoming football game so that threw our whole routine completely off, but those nights are fun too. My son’s best friends all still play even though he’s opted not to so he can concentrate on his grades his junior year, but we are sure to be at the games to cheer them all on.

 

After dinner we do dishes (the kids help, they each have a chore) and my husband is great about doing them if he is done with work and has time. I pack lunches, check my daughter’s backpack, then head upstairs, usually to finish the laundry that I started early that morning (ack!).

Once everyone is settled, I get in bed pretty early (usually by nine) but spend time catching up on social media, usually posting on our Instagram, commenting on IG friends’ feeds and watching stories. Sometimes I read or watch You Tube videos too, depending. I am not a night owl by any means, so I am often asleep by 10 or 10:30. That’s about my day, it’s not very exciting but that’s just the season of life we’re in.

Now here’s the other women that are sure to inspire you, be sure to head on over to visit each one.

 

Isn’t this a fun series? I am so glad we had such a great group of women join in this year. If you have tricks and tips for how you manage your time, we’d love to hear them in the comments.

Don’t forget we are giving away a HomeRight Steam Machine, enter to win here!

XO,

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