A Day in My Life: Stacey

This post is the first in a series of posts where we get a glimpse of the everyday lives of other people, read about their day-to-day routines, perhaps glean a few helpful tips and tricks, but, most importantly, leave feeling encouraged!  What this is not: the place to play the comparison game.  Everyone has unique struggles and stresses and nobody is perfect!  (Okay, end of rant…steps down off soapbox…)

So I thought I’d start with my own life.  Here’s a semi-typical Monday for you…

6:15 crawl out of bed after hitting snooze for, uh, 45 minutes.  I’ve been trying and trying to get back into the routine of getting up between 5 and 6 a.m. each day.  I’ve always been a morning person, so those first few hours of my day (before Landon wakes up) are pretty crucial productivity hours.  However, on Mondays I like to ease into the week and just do some of my favorite morning routine things:

• Oil Pulling–I swish a tablespoon of coconut oil around in my mouth for twenty minutes.  Lots of purported health benefits to this, that were even supported by my dentist at my latest appointment!  It seems to make my teeth really white, so I do this about three mornings each week.
• My glass of ACV with essential oils–today’s blend of oils was lemon, grapefruit, peppermint, and ginger which is not really great tasting, but does do great things for my digestion first thing in the morning!
• Devotions–I’m working on a read-through-the-Bible in 2 Years program which I’m really enjoying.  Plus prayer time and just talking to God/committing the day to Him.  Sometimes I work on my list of 1000 gifts (which is basically just a list of things that are blessings to me).  I also work on studying Colossians and committing that book of the Bible to memory.
• Brain Games–I try to do this Monday through Friday as a way of getting my brain working in a way in which it is not typically challenged during my day-to-day.  Today I completed a “7 Little Words” puzzle which is a free app on my iPad.  Three days each week I like to do the free version of Lumosity, and then on Fridays I round it out with a Sudoku puzzle.
• News–I can be terribly out of touch with what’s happening in the world, so I like to read through some news headlines and catch up a bit.
• A business, self-help, or inspirational nonfiction reading–I like to have a book going that helps grow me professionally or personally.  Today was one chapter of The Best Yes by Lysa Terkeurst.  Entertaining writing that’s been challenging my choices for my time.

8:00  Landon is waking up (and has been for the past 20 minutes, but I’ve been ignoring him while I finish my morning routine…the morning routine is crucial for starting the day off on the right foot).  Go in and talk and get him up and dressed for the day.  Come downstairs for breakfast.  I’ve already eaten during my morning hours (a breakfast of blueberries, yogurt, and granola chased with plenty of black coffee), but the little man likes his two eggs and two oranges.  I take my morning supplements: Juice Plus and fermented cod liver oil.  Yep, not the best taste first thing in the morning, but it does give me good energy for the day, so it’s worth it to me.

8:45  “School time” with Landon.  This is really more for me than it is for him at this point, but it helps me to be intentional with teaching him things and really engaging with him first thing in the morning.  Today we talked about the color blue, sang “If You’re Happy and You Know It,” and listened to a Bible verse song about Creation.

9:00 Get Matthew off to work.  The Hubsters came down with a bug a few days ago, so he went into work a little later than normal so he could catch some extra sleep.  I pack him a lunch of whatever leftovers we have in the fridge and send him off to work.  Then I go get myself put together a bit so Landon and I can leave, too.

10:00  Quick trip to Hobby Lobby for some Valentine’s card making supplies.  I plan on making exactly one Valentine just for Matthew, so one sheet of stickers will do just fine.  This is part of my new hobby of card making/hand lettering which I do about once per week and has become a really fun creative outlet for me since last summer.

10:40  Hit the gym.  A lot of days I like to get my workout done as part of my morning routine, but today I have some extra morning hours since I don’t teach on Mondays, so I opt for a morning workout.  Landon goes to Kids’ Klub which is a really inexpensive child care option that my gym offers.  The ladies are great, and Landon loves going.  (I realize this is a luxurious way to workout that many people cannot access…rest assured, I do many workouts at home and/or early in the morning before my people get up because that often works the best with our schedules!)

I knock out five minutes of jump rope, a little bit of foam rolling, and then two supersets of squats/pullups and deadlifts/pushups followed by some alligator walks.  This whole thing takes maybe 35 minutes.  Exactly how I like my workouts: short but effective!

Head to the locker room to rinse off, touch up my hair and makeup, and put on non-gym clothes.  Although, admittedly, sometimes I take off one pair of yoga pants just to shower and put on a clean pair of yoga pants.  Ah well…

11:50  Drop off Matthew’s phone at his office.  He has a habit of forgetting it at home, but always needs it for scheduling and the like.  We decide to stay and have lunch as a family in the break room.  It’s kinda’ the best part of the day.  Also, props to the bank for having high chairs in the break room!  I love how family oriented Matthew’s office is!

1:00 Landon struggles to stay awake on the five minute drive home which is just about the cutest thing, but perks up just long enough for a few stories before nap time.  He crashes hard, per usual.

It is nap time and my hours of power!!  For someone who loves being productive, nap time is golden.  Mondays are the day that I try to take care of household odds and ends/appointment scheduling/bill paying, etc. as well as my lesson plans for my students for the week.  I brew a cup of tea, grab some chocolate, and get to work.

3:15  I decide that I might need a nap today too.  Not to toot my own horn or anything, but, um, I’m kinda great at napping.  10-20 minutes and I’ve got energy for the rest of my day.  I lay down for approximately 60 seconds, and, right on cue, Landon wakes up from his nap.  It never fails.  Best way to get a child to wake up?  Just lay down and try to take a nap yourself.  I close the door, turn off the monitor, and lay down again.  He can wait ten minutes.

3:45  We go outside since the sun is actually shining today, and the little man just loves to be outside exploring.  We make a “snow pizza” and “snow pickles” (his ideas, not mine!) and just spend lots of time putting our boots in the snow and making footprints.  This time is hard for me.  I want to be present.  I want to be all there with him.  I don’t want to miss a nanosecond of seeing him grow up!  But for a person who just loves being productive, it’s hard for me to relax and be all there sometimes.  God is working on me through this and reminding me that my value does not come from what I do.

4:45 Come back inside so I can take care of a few phone calls that I meant to do during nap time.  Landon colors on a packing slip and a box that came in the mail.  Sweet!  I love it when he’s in his own little play world being imaginative which also allows me some flexibility to do some things.

5:15 Make a quick dinner!  My dinners aren’t always this nutrient dense, to be perfectly honest, but I can make a salad dinner in thirteen (yes, thirteen) minutes that is really satisfying and easy to pack in a Tupperware container to take to Matthew.  Tonight’s salad was: spring mix and kale, red pears, green onions, raw cheddar cheese, dried cherries, and walnuts topped with broiled garlic herb chicken and a homemade raspberry balsamic vinaigrette that I had made sometime last week.

6:15  Head off to Growth Group.  Our Bible Study meets every other Monday night, and we really enjoy the fellowship with a smaller group of believers than meets on Sundays.  We study Romans, eat lots of popcorn, and then the guys and girls split up to share prayer requests.  It’s great.  Even Landon loves it.

8:30 Head home and get Landon a quick snack and into bed.  I’m not a huge fan of the bedtime snack thing, but when he says “Eat!  Hungry!” I figure I should give him something.  He’s still keyed up from playing with his little friends, but goes down without a fuss.

9:15  Snuggle with the Hubsters.  We haven’t been alone at all today, so we catch up and chat and discuss a few scheduling items for the week.

9:30  Do the “evening routine.”  I throw in a load of laundry, clean up the toys, clean up the kitchen, and make the coffee for the morning.  This evening routine is absolutely crucial to a calm, relaxed, and productive morning for me.  It just sets me up for success.  There aren’t many dishes since we had salads for dinner, so it doesn’t take too long.  Also, I’m in love with my programmable coffee maker.  The next morning, I got home from a morning workout and there was a hot pot of coffee waiting for me.  I mean, who doesn’t want to start the day like that?

10:15  Head towards bed.  Wash my face, take out my contacts, spray some magnesium on my stomach, etc.  My evening supplements typically include oral magnesium as well as topical magnesium and a big tablespoon of collagen mixed with water.  Read a few pages of The Girl in the Spider’s Web and set the alarm for a morning easy run at the gym to recover from today’s strength training workout.

How ’bout you?  What’s your day look like?  Do you have any must-do things in your day that make you feel great or set you up for success?  Comment below!

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