// A Day In The Life : June 3, 2014

It's been a while since I've done one of my "A Day In The Life" posts (uh, a whole year!), so I figured I'd spend the day documenting what I get up to in order to share it here on the blog! No two days are alike at our house, but at the same time they're not too terribly exciting either haha. Even though I don't get into a whole lot, I really enjoy putting together these posts because they're so fun to look back on! I'm going to try to do them much more often. Here's what my yesterday looked like...

6:45am - I set my alarm to wake up before Mike headed off to school (He leaves at 7am each morning so he can study a bit before class starts), but I just was not feeling it this morning. Something about the hum of the fan and the crispness of my sheets... I turned my alarm off, told Mike good morning, kissed him goodbye and then crawled back under the covers. I finally woke up for good around a quarter past 8. I was amazed Toby was still asleep!

8:30am - I sat down to my computer to churn out some work! I was determined to get through my inbox and take care of some business yesterday. I was super productive on Monday and had hoped it would spill over to Tuesday, too. I was stoked that I got as much accomplished as I did. It always helps me to start early in the morning (though my days are most productive if I'm sitting down at my desk no later than 7:30... but those sheets!)

9:15am - I don't know what got into this kid while he was sleeping, but he was knocked out! He slept for a solid 13 hours! Normally he's wide awake at 6:30am so I was totally stoked to get a head start on the day. But look at that dirty face! I swear the kid had a bath right before bedtime haha. He's always getting into something...

10am - I started working on my Things I Love Thursday post for this week and Toby went to check the mail. On his way back in I heard him shout "Can somebody open the door for me, please?" so I hopped up to help. When I opened the back door I saw him standing at the bottom of the steps with this big silly grin and some "flowers" for me. He said he picked them just because he knew I'd like them. My heart! I started crying immediately. Maybe I'm just hormonal, but I couldn't help it. I'm so so lucky that I get to be this little dude's mama. His heart is seriously just so big! He helped me pick a little milk glass vase and fill it up with water, too.

10:45am- I spent the rest of the morning working on to do lists and June's editorial calendar for the blog. I've been loving this new planner that I picked up a while ago and I'm going to do a whole post about it soon! I'm also going to update how I organize my blog content so I can share it here. I'm all about some lists!

11:30am - Mike came home for lunch and I packed up a ModCloth return. Toby had been so well behaved all morning so he earned himself a Dum Dum. Mike's lunch hour always seems to rush by, but we love getting to see him in the middle of the day.

12:30pm - I started making out a list of things I need to pick up at the grocery store here soon. I've got a running list of cocktails and mocktails I plan on whipping up to share, so stay tuned if you're in the mood for something delicious and refreshing! (See! More lists!)

1pm - I worked on photographing one of my absolute favorite Summer recipes, and then I allowed myself a little bit of TV time. TV time has been so rare around here lately. We're actually thinking of nixing our cable subscription completely just to push us out of the house more. (But let's be real - Netflix ain't goin' nowhere!)

2pm - Georgia and Pipkin took a little cat nap on the couch while I caught up on Better Homes & Gardens and painted my nails. Nothing like a little reprieve for the day!

3pm - Mike got home from school and was elated when UPS dropped off a package at the door. Inside was his shiny, new stethoscope (not pictured, obviously). I also ordered a new book for both Toby and the baby. Toby was over the moon with his new National Geographic book. He gets so stoked when new reading material comes in the mail. I think he might enjoy them more than toys!

4pm - I excused myself from the living room so Mike could study and I treated myself to a mid-day bubble bath. The baby is always so active when I get in the bathtub. I love just laying there watching him squirm all about.

4:30pm - After my bath I downed about 17 glasses of lemon water (!!! so refreshing!) and we let Toby play with the pups outside in the backyard. Georgia looks for any chance to jump in the little doggie pools we have in the backyard, so she always needs to be wiped down when she comes inside. I'm pretty sure she thinks it's totally worth it.

5pm - Toby brought me yet another bouquet of "flowers" to add to the ones he had already given me that morning. He added them to my vase at my desk and then toted out my ModCloth return to pop in the mailbox. He loves raising the flag on the mailbox and heaven forbid you let a piece of mail come to (or from) this house without going through him... haha!

5:30pm - My parents invited us all over for dinner last night so on our way we did our typical car-ride tradition: quizzing Mike with his flashcards from class. I'm so so proud of him for doing so well in nursing school so far! He has the highest class average currently (!!!) and he's really enjoying it. I know I look for any and every opportunity to brag on him, but he seriously deserves it. I'm just so impressed! - My mom made a delicious meal for us and after a nice little round of conversation we headed home. We had plants to water!

7:15pm - Toby loves to help water the plants in the yard and garden because he loves using his little watering can I bought for him. We gave everything a nice little dousing and then we enjoyed what was left of the sunshine on the back deck. Our cherry tomato plants are going crazy and our marigolds are in full bloom! We even have squash and jalapenos already budding out. Hazel is always roaming about and making her presence known. (Monday Hazel jumped up on a piece of wood I was painting and tracked white paw prints all over our picnic table and deck... Sigh! She's such an attention hog haha)

8pm - 8pm means it's time for a few bedtime stories and to get tucked in for the evening. Toby asked if he could pick a few books from the baby's room to read and I happily obliged. He's been loving "Daddy Wrong Legs" lately because he loves to read it and laugh. He read both it and an Eric Carle book to me before settling down for the night. He said he's excited for his baby brother to get here so he can read the stories to him, too. I'm telling ya, that kid! He's a keeper!

8:30pm - After Toby was down for the night, Pipkin and Georgia got a turn in the bathtub. Pipkin does not like water. She might as well be a cat. Georgia on the other hand? She lives for it. I'm so glad they're all cleaned up because goodness knows they smell better now! haha Too bad Georgia will be right back in those pools tomorrow...

9pm - After a long, productive day I finally sat back down to my office computer to edit these photos and churn out this post! Better late than never, right? I answered a few emails while Mike studied and then called it a night. We've been going to bed so early lately (Seriously, by 9pm we're out!) and I'm not complaining one bit. 

Today - An early wake up time and I'll be out the door by 6:45am. My Nana has a doctor's appointment at Centennial this morning and both my mom and I plan on taking her. We're making a day of it, I reckon. I have an ultrasound at 1pm (!!! Seeing how big this little bundle is getting!) and I'm hoping everything checks out well. We're getting so close to our travel dates that I'm trying to be extra cautious of anything that could go awry. But that's something for another post entirely! Here's to having another fun, productive day! Hope there's sunshine wherever you are! Thanks for taking a peek at my day! xo

PS; See past A Day In The Life posts HERE!

// A Day In The Life - July Edition

Yesterday was neither exciting, nor unusual in our home. Just a typical Tuesday in the Flynn household. Here's a little glimpse into our day...

I've been waking up a little bit later than I'd like to admit. For a while I was on a steady roll of 7:45am or 8am at the latest. That's probably super late to most people, but that's one of the joys of being self employed + working from home. I've been falling into the habit of staying up too late with Mike, then feeling groggy all morning. I'm trying to kick the habit though! -♥- The first morning task once we wake is to brew a strong pot of coffee and pick out our mugs for the day. It's a dorky little thing, but it's sort of a highlight for us. It's special, and I appreciate that. -♥- Once I had my coffee I sat down at my computer and started returning blog comments. I love doing it and I manage to work it in weekly, but I'm trying to make it more of a morning habit.

After a late start and taking the girls out for their morning potty break, we sat down with Toby to let him work on his "schoolwork." We're pretty strict with Toby's tv/iPad time, though we try not to rule with an iron fist. He has to complete a certain amount of "school" related activities before he's allowed to go outside and ride his gator or go-kart. It's the perfect incentive for him to work hard at learning. So far, so good! I guess we'll see how it goes... -♥- Pipkin and Georgia are always present on the couch. Pip often gets a "broken ear" and we find it a lot funnier than we probably should haha!

Every day I carve out a chunk of time to work on custom painted sign orders. Yesterday was a shipping day so we wrapped and wrapped and wrapped. Then I doodled all of the addresses and Mike ran them to the post office. He came home saying our insurance lady was behind him at the post office and she complimented my hand-drawn addresses. I was a flattered, of course, and grateful that they received anything other than the oh so common eye-roll which one of our post ladies likes to share. She's not very nice! haha -- I charted out my to-do list for the day, which was surprisingly short for once! It was kind of nice, but also a bit depressing when I still didn't manage to accomplish a task that's been on there for a few days!

Lunch rolled around and it was the first meal for me and Mike. We're pretty bad about just skipping breakfast in exchange for a endless pot of coffee, but we're trying to better that. Toby is a creature of habit and eats the same thing almost every morning. I need to be more like him! Toby chowed down on a grilled cheese and applesauce for lunch, and I followed suit with a grilled ham + cheese with an abundance of hot sauce! Mmmm! That's the best way to eat 'em. -♥- Afterwards we headed outside and it somehow turned into an Enid glamour shoot. She's always posted up our on motorcycle like a hot rod kitty. I could probably take photos of her all day. She's kind of the cutest cat ever, in my opinion! (Tater Tot was snoozin' on the deck, but she wasn't really feeling photos at the time)

I had popped over to my Nana's house earlier in the day to see if she needed any help around the house, but she called me a bit later and asked for some assistance painting a room. I was trying to get everyone ready to head over when I walked outside and saw Mike trying to fit in Toby's tiny go-kart. Pretty hilarious when that thing would barely putt along. Toby thought it was the funniest thing. He was cruising in his Gator and he wanted to "race" Dad. I wonder who would've won... -♥- We headed over and even though it's barely a quarter mile away (if that!) I spent that time perusing Instagram to see what was going on.

We were over at Nana's house for well over an hour while Mike helped my uncle paint my cousin's room. I enjoyed sitting around and just chatting with my Nana. She's such a sweet lady. I like that we live so close to her now because she's one of my very favorite people in the entire world. Toby loves going over there, too, because there's always so many toys to play with. Once we got back I put up the newest batch of Stickygrams on our fridge. (The front of our fridge isn't magnetic, boo! So I have to resort to the side only) We're about 2/3 of the way covered on this skinny side!

We ran to the store to pick up some (super unhealthy!) ingredients for a sweet dessert casserole. I was super craving something sweet (you know how it is) and I loved this the last time we made it. Something must be happening with my tastebuds because here lately I'll crave something sweet but as soon as I eat it, I'm like "ugh, NO" Probably for the best haha I'll share the recipe soon in case you have a sweet tooth! Hey, anything that makes me feel a little more domesticated in the kitchen!

Toby decided he wanted to play a video game on the iPad (he loves Temple Run and all of the variations) so in order to earn that time he had to work on his alphabet. He played around with the Elmo alphabet app for a while until he earned the ability to download a game from the App store. He ended up getting the Despicable Me version of Temple Run (seriously, the kid loves that game!) so he was excited to play after dinner.-♥- Mike made some delicious chicken tacos for us for dinner, and we were all stuffed! Of course we each saved a little room for the dessert we made, but I have a feeling it's just going to sit in the fridge haha A little goes a long way!

Toby did everything he needed to do to get ready for bed, and I tried to start the grueling task of removing 2 weeks worth of "mermaid" nail polish. I hate when my fingernails look stained after having them painted! (Any suggestions on how to avoid this?!) Now they're layered up with gold glitter... That'll be fun to remove! -♥- Toby asked us to play his game with him for a few minutes before bed, so of course we obliged. After that we tucked him in, said our goodnights, and then headed to the living room.

The rest of the night was spent watching Suits and Covert Affairs before crawling into an icy cold bed for a good night's sleep. It wasn't a revolutionary day, but it was ours!

Not pictured: Getting so frustrated with my own creative block while working on a client's design I contemplated throwing my computer out the back door (I'll just pick it back up in the morning...I needed to just walk away!), painting the most perfect sign for moms and moms-to-be (I'll be sharing it on Instagram today!), placing an order for even more sign supplies because they're the most fun things to make (It's seriously become this weird passion of mine haha), making polite phone calls and then following them up with very stern emails (ugh), and budgeting. Hey, it can't all be pretty!

Happy Wednesday! xo

// A Day In The Life - June

Yesterday I spent some time documenting the day as it unfolded. I like sharing these types of posts on LCH because no two days are alike in our house. I guess that's sort of the beauty in working for yourself (and from home!) Our wake times vary, our daily routines are almost non-existant, and we're free to plan with only Mother Nature in mind. Here's what our Monday looked like...

8:15am - 9:30am // I woke up and decided to let Mike sleep in a little bit. I made a pot of coffee and planted myself in the living room to blog for the day. Typically I write and schedule the posts the night before. But sometimes I skip my nightly blogging ritual and leave it for the morning. Not a good practice, but hey, it happens!

9:30am - 10:00am // Mike finally rolled out of bed at half past nine and we poured our coffee to enjoy on the front porch. Tater Tot and Toby decided to join us. You've gotta catch the summer day at just the right time, otherwise merely standing outside becomes unbearable. Mike also treated us all to a homemade breakfast of scrambled eggs, biscuits and bacon. Of course we ate it too fast and there is no photographic evidence. I'm sure you'll just take our word for it, right?

10:00am - 12:30pm // Ahh! My office! I spend entirely too much time in front of that computer. (You'd think my office would be more organized... I'm working on it) My to-do started off small, but grew by the minute. Full disclosure: Most of what was added ended up rolling over to today's list. I answered emails, shipped orders, and started feeling antsy so I skeedaddled on out of there.

12:30pm - 1:00pm // Since I was feeling cooped up in my office, I decided to pop outside and see what the boys were up to. Mike was hard at work painting the railings on our deck, and Toby was using our hammock as his own personal spaceship. Tobes and I checked on our apple and pear trees (they're growing!), as well as our garden, and then set out on a wild goose chase to find his shovel (no dice). Enid followed us around like a little puppy. Isn't she gorgeous?!

1:00pm - 5:00pm // While the boys stayed outside and entertained themselves, I opted to take a quick shower to rinse out all of the pool grime in my hair. Chlorine just feels so yucky! I blasted my June mixtape and sang along like an American Idol pro. Someone give me a contract! (Except not really, because I am awful) - After the shower I broke open a Bundaberg Passionfruit soda and about died. That stuff is heavenly! Still doesn't hold a candle to the Peachee, but it's dang close! I also wrote out some penpal letters and got them ready to send. Mike also ran to the post office to ship orders and take Georgia to the vet. Poor girl needed her anal glands expressed... and yes, I know that's exactly what you came to my blog to read haha! Dog life!

After all of that was said and done, Toby settled down for a mid-day nap and I migrated to the couch with Mike to watch a little tv. You can never go wrong with Seinfeld! Seriously, there is not a single episode of Seinfeld that I don't love. I'd watch them fifteen times over and never get bored!

5:00pm - 9:00pm // After Toby woke up from his nap we decided to head over to a local nursery. We're on the hunt for some new flowers for our back deck since the makeover is almost complete. The pickings were a bit slim for what we had in mind, but the colors sure were gorgeous! We ran a few last minute errands just in time for the rains to blow in. They were short but sweet. Toby made it a priority to play outside for the rest of the evening, while Mike and I watched a few episodes of Veep on OnDemand. (Do you watch Veep?! It's hilarious. We love it!)

I also managed to squeeze in a hot bubble bath (because apparently wasting water with two baths is a thing now...) before the end of the evening. Sometimes it's nice to just have a half hour to yourself, ya know?

9:00pm - onward // Toby was tucked in and Mike and I finally had the evening to ourselves. We really look forward to those final hours each night. We get to hang out and enjoy each other's company.  How did we spend it? Oh, you know, just realizing that a hot ham and cheese sandwich is made infinity better with hot sauce (even if it's totally unappetizing in the photo) and playing Call of Duty on Xbox Live. Yeah, we're living the dream! haha I like having someone to laugh with because I'm really really bad at CoD. So bad, in fact, Toby is better than I am. Or maybe just cuter. I think I'm getting better though...

So there you have it friends! A (fairly) typical Monday in the Flynn house. Granted yesterday's work load was almost non-existant and I have a hard time staying cooped up inside when it's nice out. Nevertheless, it was a successful and productive day. Here's to hoping our Tuesday (and yours!) is the same. Thanks for letting me share this little peek into our day! xo