A Day in our Life: a look at our life behind the blog

I’ve been wanting to write a Day in our Life post for ages now.

Not necessarily because I think anybody wants to read about our average and ordinary lives, but mostly because I think it would be really special to have a snapshot of what our days looked like at this point in life. You might not find much to set us apart from every other family out there – it’s really just a typical day that probably looks quite similar to yours. What makes it special to me though is that it’s real. This is our life and I love it enough to want to remember even the most ordinary parts of it.

As I sat down to write this post, I realized how difficult a task it is to document just one day, considering no two are ever alike. With three people in our house, living three full lives, we’ve always got something extra thrown in the mix. Because it really does seem impossible to define a typical day in the Mercer house, I’ve decided to simply document {this day} – this very moment in our lives.

 
So, here it is my friends, a glimpse into the Mercer household:

5:30 Hubby’s alarm goes off. The first time anyway. It is sure to be followed by at least one or two more “snoozes”. Because he’s got an hour long commute to work each way, he needs to be out of the house by 6:26 to make it to work on time (yes, he’s worked it out down to the minute) – silver lining: he works in a neighboring town, so at least it’s all hiway driving.
 

5:45(ish) After hearing his alarm go off a second time, I can usually find the strength to roll myself out of our cozy bed. Nine times out of ten though, Brady is still sleeping. I like to consider myself a morning person, relishing in the promise of quiet time that those early hours bring before the rest of the world distracts me. In fact, I actually look forward to that time when I go to bed each night (not weird, right?!). Clearly, Brady doesn’t agree.

Once my feet hit the floor, I wander right downstairs and, like many of you I’m sure, head straight for the coffee maker. Nothing beats the smell of freshly brewed coffee first thing in the morning, especially when it’s topped with some steaming hot, frothy milk (find my favorite milk frother here)!

 

Coffee in hand, I park myself at the kitchen table with my laptop in a lovely stream of sunlight and catch up online. This is my time to answer emails, peruse Facebook, and catch up with my favorite blogs. Honestly, this quiet time to myself is one of my very favorite parts of the day! If I’m lucky, and our little guy sleeps in past 7am, I can usually even squeeze in some work on my latest blog post. Thankfully, today was one of those days and I got busy editing photos for our Summer Celebration blog hop.

 

7:32 I hear the pitter-patter of little feet on the floor above me, which means the little man is awake and ready to start his day! Carson has been sleeping in a “big boy bed” (you can check out his new room here) since moving into our new home at the end of January and, though the transition was a fairly easy one at first, it’s been a bit tricky since he discovered he can get out of bed all on his own these last several weeks. This new found independence has brought with it later bed times, earlier wake ups and unpredictable nap times too. A struggle we’ve been trying to deal with for weeks now, but we’re hoping this brilliant Grow Clock (*affiliate link) can help with that. It’s only been a few days so far, but seems to be making a difference. The rule is to remain in his room until the sun comes up on his “alarm clock” and he gets very excited to show us when he’s done it! His sun is set to come up at 7:15am, so I guess you could say he even slept in today 😉

 

As I pack away my laptop, Carson is already waiting at the top of the stairs calling down his “good morning!” with a huge smile on his face, making me fall in love with him all over again each and every morning!

 

After a big bear hug (growling included), we get straight to work getting ready for our day. I dress him, brush his teeth, comb his hair and we head down for breakfast, which today consists of berries and yogurt because Carson refuses to eat anything else lately. At least it’s healthy! We usually chat about what our day is going to look like while Carson shovels food into his mouth as slowly as he can and I unload the dishwasher, tidy up the kitchen and throw in a load of laundry.
 

8:35 Carson has eaten as much as I can coax him to (and then he’ll be asking for a snack as soon as he’s out of his chair!), so I give in and we move on to play time. Usually this would be my chance to have a shower while Carson chills with an iPad on our bed, but since I’ll be heading to the gym soon, there’s really no point today. Instead, we put together puzzles, build marble towers and play trains.

 

And this is what the playroom looks like in less than an hour…

 

9:21 Carson is insisting his tummy is “staaaarving”, so we stop for a quick snack, which also gives mommy a chance to grab another coffee. While Carson is munching down his yogurt popsicle (AKA: a frozen yogurt tube), I pull out my latest crafting project and spread out the mess over our kitchen island.

 

10:02 Crap, totally lost track of time (what else is new?)! Considering I’m supposed to be at the gym by 10:15, I better get my butt in gear and perhaps put some clothes on and brush my teeth! We’re somehow out of the house by 10:13 and pull into our rec. centre parking lot by 10:15 (lucky we live so close!). Our rec. centre offers a babysitting service, which we both LOVE, but it’s so incredibly busy that we have to book our gym times a month in advance. It can be hard to know when I’m able to work out, especially with my unpredictable work schedule as a substitute teacher, but it’s a great way to ensure that I set aside the time to exercise.
 

11:15 After a quick workout, it’s time to head home. Carson never, ever wants to leave, so today I bribe him with a walk to the mailbox before lunch (parenting at it’s finest!). After pulling into the driveway, we walk down the street to grab the mail and can’t help but admire the new flowers next door in Grandma’s garden on the way (have I mentioned that we live next door to my MIL?).
 

11:35 Lunch time and now we’re both “staaaarving!” Carson’s tells me that he’s too hungry to wait for me to actually cook anything, so he has a pb & j sandwich while I munch on my favorite beet salad. For the record, we don’t always make such healthy choices – mac & cheese is one of our very favorite meals and it makes it’s way onto our table at least once a week! 😉
 

12:45 Nap time!!! Carson is twirling his hair and can hardly keep his eyes open as he finishes the last few bites of his sandwich, but he’s NOT tired! Still, he falls asleep almost instantly once his little head hits the pillow … surprise.

Now, this is my chance to quickly hop into the shower (I promise I don’t always wait until 12:45 to shower!), throw in another load of laundry and then get to work on all of my blog stuff. Today I’m finishing up that craft I started this morning and then picking up where I left off on that post from the morning as well. Feeling extra productive this afternoon, I also managed to get all of the laundry folded (maybe because it’s an excuse to sit in front of the TV).

 

I’ve usually got a couple of hours everyday during nap time that I try my best to devote to blog work so that I can keep my evenings free to spend time with my family. Because we’re usually able to knock out our projects on the weekends, this weekday blogging time is when I edit photos, put together posts and schedule social media shares. Lately, it’s also been when I kick back with my third cup of coffee for the day 😉

 

2:36 Guess who’s up! Carson always likes a bit of time to chill when he wakes up from his nap, so we usually park ourselves on the couch to watch a show with a snack. This is usually the only time of the day that he still likes to snuggle, so I happily take it!

 

After veging out for twenty minutes he’s usually back to his energetic self. Today he’s begging to jump on his new trampoline and play with his diggers in his sandbox. I’ve gotta say, we’re absolutely LOVING having a backyard for Carson to run around in (a treat we haven’t had since Carson was born)! *I left my camera inside, so didn’t actually snap any pictures outside.*
 

3:40 Often we’ve got special errands to run or little jobs to do – today, our handsome little man is getting his hair cut. Carson absolutely loves getting his haircut, well not necessarily the hair cutting part, but because we take him to a friend of ours who cuts his hair in her basement while he watches her sweet little boys play. It really is perfect because Carson gets some play time with his friends and Mommy gets to have a visit too! This was a pretty big one as C has always had pretty long, shaggy hair and today we cut every little bit of it off. I think he looks SO much older now! He thinks it’s pretty cool too!

 

5:15 After a ton of fun visiting our friends, it was time to head home and make dinner before soccer practice. Knowing we had to be ready to leave soon, we just warmed up some leftovers to keep things quick and simple. You may have noticed by now that Carson often takes an hour or more to eat (seriously!), which didn’t leave me with much time to put anything else together.
 

5:58 Brady walks in the door ready to scarf down some food before soccer too. Carson is always dramatically happy to see him (let’s face it, this kid is dramatic about everything!) and tell him about his day, though he only seems to remember the last thing he did before dinner and even that’s not a given 😉
 

6:15 After cleaning up the dishes and changing Carson into his jersey, we head down for soccer. We’re actually a few minutes early today, arriving just before the 6:30 start time! Carson absolutely adores playing soccer, which for him consists mainly of visiting with the girls, who also don’t see the point in chasing after the ball. Sometimes, he even plays tag with someone on the other team, though they don’t always catch on to Carson’s game within a game.

 

On the nights that we don’t have soccer, we tend to have a more leisurely dinner, one that we eat together, you know, after Daddy get’s home from work instead of starting without him. Once a week we even call Grandpa & Grandma, who live all the way down in Mexico, to have a video chat, though if Carson had his way, we’d be chatting every single day! Usually after dinner we’ll head out for a walk or enjoy some play time together in the backyard. Once or twice a week, Brady also likes to whisk Carson off to go golfing, which not only gives them special time together, but gives Mommy a much needed break to head to yoga or out for a run.
 

7:30 Head home from soccer to have a bath, read a couple of stories and get that little man to bed. We always aim for 8:00(ish), though mostly that’s wishful thinking.

 

8:15 Once Carson is in bed and I’ve washed up, brushed my teeth and made it into my pj’s too, I tackle a few more things around the house such as starting the dishwasher, watering the plants (inside and outside) and picking up any stray toys.
 

9:26 Finally, my bum hits the couch! This is the time of day that Brady and I really just kick back and unwind together. Brady usually turns on some golf to watch while I play around on Pinterest or lay down with my book beside him.
 

10:45 We’re both exhausted and head to bed where we read a few pages before our eyelids just get too heavy to keep open and we drift off to sleep. That alarm will be ringing again in no time!
 

Some days are absolute chaos and others are all fun without the work. Sometimes our days are full of adventure and other times it’s nice to have a lazy day cuddled up at home. Sometimes one (or all) of us wakes up on the wrong side of the bed and it can throw everything off. Sometimes we have weeks, or even months where things go off the rails and nothing seems easy. Sometimes everything magically falls into place and it feels like we’ve got it all figured out (for the record, I really wish this one happened more often!). Today, was somewhere in the middle of it all, which is where we are most days I think. Regardless, it’s our life – our real life – and I wouldn’t change a single thing about it.

What kind of day are you having today? Here’s hoping it’s a great one!

PS. Find me sharing here and Savvy Southern Style.