A Day in the Life 2013

A Day in the Life 2013

• 5.21.2013

Have you every wondered what a typical day at the Nelson home looks like?  I blog about both the little and big things that happen in our lives, but the details of the day to day are often overlooked. So I thought I'd let you have a peek at what we do around here, since we are such interesting people and all.  (Ha. *Snort!*)  But really, I love the routine we have during the warmer months from about April through November.  It's a good life we got here and I want to remember it.

This was last Wednesday May 15, 2013.

Rise and shine!  My alarms, I mean children, wake up anywhere from about 6:45AM till well after 8:00AM.  It depends on the day.  A late bedtime does not guarantee a late morning either.  We just go with the flow.  Last Wednesday I was lucky and got to sleep in till 8:15 or so.  (Note: Bron was out of town the night before.) 

I look how I feel: a little blurry.

I often bring Levi back to bed with me to nurse and snuggle.  Then sometimes we chat and sing.  Jed climbed into bed with us too that morning.  He and Levi "wrestled" for a while before I turned on some cartoons on the tablet for Jed so Levi could nurse undisturbed.

I usually try to conquer a chore or two in the morning while the boys are content to play by themselves.  On this particular morning, however, they were in desperate need of a bath.  We'd been spending our evenings outside playing!  (Read: dirty sweaty children)

Next, time to get dressed and unbutton the house.  I love this time of year because I get to leave the windows open all day, feel fresh breezes, and listen to the birds.

Time for breakfast!  I whip up a hot breakfast two or three mornings a week.  That morning we just had milk, cereal, and bananas.  A breakfast of champions!

Yup, I still give Jed a sippy cup from time to time when I'm feeling lazy.

Jed brought his birthday card to the table with him to read.  I love those details.

Finally, time to head outside for a run!  I brushed my greasy hair back into a pony tail and climbed into my workout gear.  The boys actually love their rides in the stroller.  These runs of mine have become kind of therapeutic.  The boys are content, I'm doing something for myself, and we are all getting a little vitamin D!

The boys have earned the nicknames Lead Butt and Lard Butt respectively, but only when I'm pushing them in the stroller, of course.  That morning I actually dropped Jed off to play with his neighbor friends and took the light weight child.  Levi snuck in his morning nap and I ran five miles.  Woohoo!

Oh yes!  And don't forget to fill the dog dish and take the trash to the curb.  Wednesday is trash day.

The views on my run.  Aren't they gorgeous?  Long country roads, wide open spaces, and hills.

I feel so lucky.  I love Idaho.

Then Dani and I chatted it up while the boys played outside with their friends.  The Youngs have the coolest toys in their backyard.

We have no idea why Rhett likes to sit on Levi, but Levi doesn't seem to mind.

Admiring the baby spiders in the strawberry plants.

Then it was time for lunch.  On the menu: leftover taco meat, tortillas, cheese, and avocado.  Yum!  (No worries, I helped Levi with his avocado you see below.)

After lunch, Jed and Levi played in the front courtyard while I got things cleaned up... until Levi face planted into the cement.  Then it was suddenly time for naps.  (Oh yeah, and I also had to discipline Jed a few times before and after lunch for beating up on his brother.)

 It's 1:37PM and 73 degrees in the house. Perfect conditions for nap time: the most sacred hours of the day.

Indeed, afternoon naps are the most sacred hours of the day.  It wasn't until Levi was about seven months old that I was actually able to start coordinating their naps together.  And I don't take these quiet hours for granted!  This is when I usually shower, edit pictures and blog, and sometimes tackle a project and clean the house.

Last Wednesday I lingered a little too long on the computer (so relaxing!) and then hurried to shower and get ready.  Then I began tackling the fridge.  Cleaning it from top to bottom had been on my "to-do" list for weeks.  I started but didn't finish because Levi woke up.

Levi is such a happy baby!  What did I do to deserve him?  We cuddle and nurse and play a while (or finish up my chore) before going into Jed's room to wake him up.  That's probably one of Levi's favorite things: attacking Jed.  He gets so excited and practically nose dives from my arms onto Jed's bed.  Jed is a heavy sleeper.  We wake him around 4:00PM everyday.

Then it was cookie making time.  I committed to taking cookies to the Relief Society service activity that night.  Really, I think it was just their way of making sure I'd show up!  Anyhow, we whipped up some chocolate peanut-buttery goodness in the Bosche.  Jed snitched the dough as his afternoon snack.

We made sure to deliver a few cookies to our neighbor, Amy, too.
(Her family's story is not mine to share right now.)

Then instead of folding those last two batches of laundry, I joined Jed and Levi outside in the front courtyard to play with some water guns.  Play with water or fold laundry?  Um, that was an easy choice!
 

Learning to refill

Gotcha!

When I took a break to water my flowers, I decided the boys weren't wet enough.  So I sprayed them down a bit.  Looks like fun to me!  Then Bron pulled into the driveway and we snuck up on him with our water guns.  It wasn't too long before Bron got a hold of the hose though and you can guess who won the fight.  Haha  Jed kept going back for more!

I left Bron and Jed to fend for themselves for dinner--Bron made crepes--while Levi and I headed up to the church for dinner with the ladies in our ward.  (I took Levi because Bron was tired from driving all day and Jed chills better than Levi.  Levi is still high maintenance.)  We ladies wrapped presents, sewed pajama pants, and gabbed the evening away.

I arrived home around 8:30PM with a very tired baby.  So it was jammies, nursing again, and off to bed with the little man. 

Next was Jed's turn.  We got his jammies on, brushed his teeth, said a family prayer, and Jed's favorite part of bedtime: a story.

With both boys in bed, I picked up and straightened the house a bit and then collapsed on the couch next to Bron.  It had been a busy day!  But a really good day too.

And that folks, is how we do it round here.


P.S.  If you're wondering about the fridge and laundry, I got it all done on Thursday.