with a 4 1/2 year old, 2 1/2 year old, and 6 month old twins…
I have been getting a lot of emails asking what my day looks like now that I have consistently been working out from home. I have gotten lots of questions about how I fit it all in. Honestly, it is nuts and I am not getting much sleep these days, but it is all worth it and no complaining. I have decided to really look at the bright side of everything; our mind is a very powerful tool.
Change your perspective, change your life.
Basically, instead of thinking about how little sleep I got last night I focus on the solid hour I got before my alarm went off. Instead of thinking about how awful it is to go up and down the stairs a million times I focus on how wonderful my legs are going to look. Instead of thinking about how exhausted I am from nursing my girls in the middle of the night I focus on cherishing my time with each one of them. I am going to focus on the wonderful people in my life. I am going to focus on how blessed I am to have such an amazing husband and four wonderful daughters.
Since becoming a mom I have always tried to focus on the positive, even more so now that we have four little ones. It was so fitting when I came across this beautifully written blog post. It truly made me want to focus on the positive even more. I am always talking to my girls about choosing happiness and I truly try to practice what I preach.
Choose Happiness
Anyway, here is what our day looked like today. Of course our days are busy, but they are filled with love. They are exhausting, but I wouldn’t have it any other way.
A lot has changed since I last did a day in the life two months ago. McKenzie and McKayla have been sleeping in their own room for quite awhile now and I am getting up before everyone to exercise. So, here it goes…
10pm – McKenzie wakes to nurse.
10:30pm – McKayla wakes to nurse.
11pm – Crawl into bed. 🙂
2am – Sophia wakes up to go potty.
3:45am – McKenzie wakes up to nurse. Oops, I fall asleep in the rocking chair with her.
4:15am – McKayla wakes me up. I put McKenzie in her crib, I get McKayla and nurse her.
4:30am – Get back into bed and fall asleep.
5:40am – Alarm goes off. Oh my!! Instead of focusing on how early it was, I thought about how wonderful it was to get that last hour of solid sleep.
I went downstairs turned on Day #15 – 30 Day Challenge. I had to get up a little earlier because it was a long one and it was a tough one. I was dreading it when I turned my computer on, but once I got started I rocked it!
6:30am – McKenzie woke up for the day. I paused my workout ran up to get her, she watched me finish my workout.
6:45am – McKayla woke up for the day. I paused my workout again. Ran up to get her. Both girls played on the floor.
7:00am – Sophia wakes up for the day. Still not finished since I had to pause it a few times. I bring Sophia downstairs to play with McKenzie and McKayla while I finish.
7:10am – Finally finish. Wow, that felt great!! So excited to have completed it.
7:15am – Nurse McKenzie, then McKayla
7:30am – Isabella wakes up.
7:45am – Make breakfast, this morning I made Sophia pancakes (lucky we had leftover batter) and Isabella “dip” eggs (eggs over easy) and I had a protein shake.
8am – Clean kitchen and play with the girls. We played school, Sophia was the teacher and she had four students.
9:15am – McKayla goes down for her nap.
9:20am – McKenzie goes down for her nap.
9:30am – Sophia and Isabella do a craft. We have been loving crafts around here. For Christmas I asked everyone to get different craft projects for the girls. We don’t need any more toys. This morning they did suncatchers.
9:45am – Help McKenzie and McKayla. They have been struggling with the 45 minute intruder. I typically go up and pat/rub their backs. This time I was able to keep McKayla asleep (McKayla ends up sleeping an hour and a half), but McKenzie comes downstairs with me. The rule in our house is if you aren’t going to sleep you must be happy and McKenzie had a very happy day.
10am – Feed McKenzie some rice cereal and prunes, I like to add these in every few days to make sure they stay regular.
10:15am – I get the big girls and myself a snack. We decided to make some Greek yogurt waffles. We were hungry.
10:50am – McKayla wakes up from her nap. I go get her and put her into her highchair. She eats some rice cereal and prunes.
11am – McKenzie and McKayla are sitting nicely in their bouncer chairs watching their big sisters play, so I sneak upstairs to put clothes away. This seriously never happens.
12pm – Lunch time! I make the girls some peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and I have a turkey wrap.
12:15pm – McKenzie nurses and goes down for her nap.
12:30pm – McKayla nurses, but is not ready for her nap yet. So, McKayla, Sophia, Isabella, and myself play.
1pm – Help McKenzie (pat/rub back), this time I am able to get her back to sleep and she sleeps an hour and a half. YAY!!
1:05pm – I take Isabella upstairs to read and take a nap.
1:15pm – Sophia and I have some time together. We decided to do another craft.
1:45pm – I put McKayla down for her nap.
1:50pm – McKenzie wakes up I go get her. Sophia and I continue with our project while McKenzie bounces in the Jumperoo.
2:15pm – 2:30pm – Ran up and down the stairs helping McKayla, but I was able to keep her asleep. She ended up having a 2 hour nap. The struggle is real.
3:20pm – Mimi arrives!!
3:45pm – McKenzie nurses and goes down for a nap.
3:50pm – Isabella and I go lay in my bed. I fall asleep and she watches a show while snuggling.
4pm – Mimi gets McKayla up from her nice long nap.
4:15pm – Mimi, McKayla, and Sophia have some fun together.
4:30pm – Mimi gets McKenzie up from her nap.
5pm – We feed McKenzie and McKayla rice cereal and sweet peas.
5:15pm – I help Sophia and Isabella make their own homemade mini pizzas.
5:45pm – I eat a turkey sandwich and a sweet potato. (Steve had a work dinner so Mimi stayed and helped me with dinner and bedtime.)
6:15pm – McKenzie takes a bath (we put a baby tub in the kitchen sink).
6:30pm – McKayla takes a bath. Mimi finishes McKayla’s bath while I take McKenzie up to bed. I nurse McKenzie and put her to bed.
6:45pm – I take McKayla up to nurse her and put her to bed. She decides to give me some trouble. I end up going in and out of her room (I was rubbing/patting her back until calm) until 7:45, when she finally falls asleep.
7:45pm – McKenzie and McKayla both asleep.
8pm – Sophia and Isabella both asleep.
9-9:15pm – McKenzie needs help. I ran upstairs to rub/pat her back. She finally falls back to sleep.
Our night begins again, time ti start all over again.
Throughout the day I try to spend a few moments with each of my girls separately, it doesn’t always happen, but I try. Today was a success. I was able to do a few crafts with Sophia and snuggle with Isabella. I nursed McKenzie and McKayla quietly in their room each time. These are the moments I cherish and I hope one day my girls will feel the same.
Today, I did not worry about my house, I actually didn’t do anything in the way of cleaning it, besides putting a few baskets of clothes away. I really wanted to be with my girls and they were my focus. One day they will all be at school and I can clean all day long.
There is a ton of running up and down the stair, but I try to think about how wonderful it is for my legs. I try to focus on the positive.
I want you to know that at the beginning of this post I sound like I am always positive and life is all rainbows and sunshine, it’s not. I try very hard to stay positive, but there are many, many tough moments. I am telling you this because I don’t want you to think everything comes easy to me, some days I work very hard to put a smile on my face, but I do because I know that is what my girls need. I know right now being a mom is now about me it is about me girls. My girls need a happy mom and I am determined to give them that. They deserve the best of me! They deserve all of me.
In the Comments Below:
- What do you do to stay positive?
- When do you find the time to workout?
I was wondering when your girls started going to bed around 7ish? My twins are 4 1/2 months and are still not going to bed until 10ish at night. After chasing around my 6,4, and 2 year old and the twins I am SO ready for bed at night. Hoping they will start going to bed earlier soon. Any suggestions on how to get them down earlier?
As far as working out again…. it hasn’t happened yet =) I have always been a runner and miss it so bad. So far haven’t figured out how to fit it into the day. Hopefully when the time changes, my husband will be home before dark and I can fit a run in!
I would say the twins started going to bed at 7ish at about 5 months or so. It really happened when their naps became more regular and they were able to stay awake for longer periods. The book I read with my older girls was “The No Cry Sleep Solution” and that really helped us. I didn’t follow it exactly but it really helped us. The best thing for us is that they are not allowed to take a nap past 5ish. Once we put them down at 7, if they wake up at anytime we rub or pat their backs; we don’t let them get out of their room until morning. In the beginning weeks we would sit and rock if they seemed like they wouldn’t settle down. I will try and write a post about this in the next week or so. But I hope that helps for now. 🙂 Let me know if you have any other questions. Hang in their I know how you feel, we can do it!! xoxo