The past few mornings we have been going to the beach for a couple of hours in the morning. The kids wake up so early so we get to the beach before it gets crowded and then we are home for nap time. It has become one of my favorite things to do on the weekends. The kids love the beach so we all just have a good time.
This is one of my all time favorite bathing suits. I was nervous to but it because high waisted bottoms usually don't work that great for me because I have a short torso. But this one is amazing. It comes in so many fun colors and patterns. I also have it in yellow and I just got the striped bottom that comes with this top and it is so cute.
This hat is my absolute favorite and I found so many cute ones here that are super inexpensive. I love that you can wear a big bum or a high pony tail with them.
Monday was Andi's first day of Summer camp. It was her first time ever being in any kind of school setting and it was the first time I have ever dropped her off with anyone other than family. So needless to say I was a nervous wreck. Andi on the other had was so excited and not nervous at all. We walked in and I was talking to the teacher and she just went and started playing. I had to go find her and say bye and give her a hug and she just said bye I love you and kept playing.
When we picked her up she was excited to see us and came running and gave Lincoln and I a big hug. Her teacher said she could't believe that this was Andi's first time in school. She said she was so independent, she fit right in and she was so well behaved. I was just so proud!
So, her first day was a huge success. And when I was putting her to bed Monday night she told me she wanted to live at school! Sh really, really loved it> Gosh, I just love her so much and I am so incredibly thankful that I get to be her Mom. She truly is a special little girl!
My Bathing Suit: Onia (obsessed. It comes in 4 different prints), Shorts: BP, Hat: love this and similar here, Sunglasses: Gucci
Happy Monday! I hope you all had a good weekend. We did but of course it always goes by so fast. On Saturday morning we got out of the house pretty early and headed to the beach before it started raining. My kids LOVE the beach. Lincoln is just obsessed with the water. And anytime he knows we are going to go to the beach he just walks around the house saying "suits" over and over because he wants me to put is bathing suit on him. So on Saturday I actually had to put it on him at 7 am because he would not stop asking me for it. It was pretty funny.
If you have been following me for any amount of time then you know that Nordstrom is my favorite place to shop for myself and for the kids. Nordstrom just has so many cute things to choose from at such great price points for me and for the kids. I love that I basically can shop for the whole family in one place. We spend so much time outside at the beach or in the pool this time of year and Nordstrom has always been a place I go for the kids swimsuits, coverups and sandals for the kids and for me and Matt. They honestly have the most to choose from and they carry so many of my favorite brands for the kids.
I was so excited when I found this shark t-shirt and shark bathing suit that Lincoln is wearing. We love shark week but regardless I thought they were both perfect for summer. And Im obsessed with Andi's whale bathing suit, flip flops and her mermaid backpack. All of them are perfect for summer and we plan on living at the beach and in the pool so they will get tons of use out of them.
Today is Andi's first day of camp and it is also Andi and Lincoln's first day of swimming lessons. So today is a big day and I am just hoping it all goes as smooth as possible. I can not wait until Andi and Lincoln can fully swim. So I am hoping after about three months of swim lessons they will be! They both love the water but its different when they are going in the water with a stranger so I just hope they don't cry the whole time.
My jumpsuit: Free People (comes in three colors, its $88 and I am wearing xxs)It is so comfortable, Earrings: Free People, Necklaces: Made by Mary, Made by Mary, Andi's dress: Baby Gap, Lincoln's outfit is from Janie and Jack. All of our living room furniture is from Ethan Allen. Our bed and night stands are form One Kings Lane.
Today I am finally sharing what a typical weekday is like for me and the kids, although it is going to be changing soon with Andi starting camp and then school. I am pretty sure this has been the most requested topic from my readers/followers, so here goes.
This is a typical day for us. Don't get me wrong, it is not always exactly the same everyday. But I have always been pretty strict about my kids being on a pretty tight schedule. When they were younger I would only break their routine and our schedule for a special occasion. But now that they are a little bit older I find myself ditching my schedule every so often just to switch things up. And if there is something we want to do that doesn't work with their naps then they will just skip their nap. But I try not to do that more than once a week.
Having a strict schedule with my kids has worked really well for them. In my opinion, kids need a schedule and they thrive when they have one. And I have found that to be the case with both of my kids. Having two kids 15 months apart with no help I found that the strict schedule was really the only way I could do it. I really needed them to nap at the same time so that I could have that time to myself to get things done around the house or attempt to get some work done.
With that being said I didn't want this post to be super long so I tried not to get into every single detail of our day. I just wanted to give you guys an idea of what a typical day is like for us and our schedule. So I thought doing an outline (sort of) of our day would be the best way to keep it somewhat short! (yeah right)
If you have been following me for any amount of time really then you know our day starts REALLY early. Andi has pretty much always been an early riser. I'm talking about 5:45 in the morning. For us 6:30 is sleeping in. Somedays by 9:00 I feel like I have done a full day's worth of activities. And I look at the clock thinking it is the afternoon and its only 9:00! Lincoln is also a pretty early riser but luckily not as early as Andi. He is always up by 6:45-7:00. So sometimes the days feel LONG!
5:45 -Andi wakes up and comes into our room now that she is in a bed. When she was in her crib she would sit in there happily for 30 minutes to an hour. Now she comes in our bed pretty much right away and wants to lay in our bed and watch tv. She will usually lay in our bed until about 6:30 and then she starts asking us to get up. I will try to fall back asleep while she is watching tv but it never really happens so my day usually starts at 5:45 when she comes in our room. And about the time we get out of our bed Lincoln usually starts waking up but I will leave him in his crib usually until 7. He never cries to get out of his crib. He sort of likes to just hang out in there.
7am- 9:30am This is usually a sort of hectic time because we trying to have our coffee and make the kids breakfast, get them to eat, this is when I try to get ready and then get the kids to brush their teeth and get them dressed. So everyday Matt makes all three of us breakfast before he goes to get ready for work. The kids pretty much eat breakfast everyday at 7:30. They usually wake up pretty hungry and Andi definitely takes after me and and gets Hangry when she doesn't eat. Matt usually makes the kids eggs, toast, frozen pancakes and fruit for breakfast. That sounds like a lot of food. But let's be honest, they really mainly eat the pancakes. I think we just feel better about ourselves if we give them eggs. Typically we leave the house around 9:30 so trying to get all three of us dressed and ready can be hectic. The kids never want to brush their teeth or get dressed. Of course this is also the time when we play whatever the kids want to play, we have dance parties, and just hang out together.
Like I mentioned, this is when I will get ready for the day. Do my hair and makeup and get dressed. It really depends on what we have planned that day. Somedays I don't get ready at all. But if I am going to, I try to do it while Matt is making the kids breakfast before he leaves for work.
9:30-12-12:30 This is when we typically get out of the house for the morning. We do all sorts of things. Sometimes we have a playdate, or go to the park (if I am not being a freak about the germs), go to the beach, go to my sisters or my parents house, go to the mall. Sometimes we just have to run errands like target and the grocery store. Sometimes we will go out to lunch with just us or occasionally we will meet up with Matt for lunch. It just depends on the day. This is also when I will schedule any Doctor appointments or dentist appointments for the kids.
Sometimes we do just stay home. But I prefer to get out of the house most days. Otherwise we all just start going a little crazy. Mostly because they wake up so early that we start to run out of ideas of things to do at home. Even if it's just for an hour it's best for my sanity that we get out of the house a little bit each day.
12-1 Is always when I give the kids lunch and get them both down for their naps. We eat lunch between 12 and 12:30 everyday and most days we eat at home and I make them lunch. But if we are going to go out to lunch we will try to be home by 12:45 so I can still get them down for their normal nap time (keep in mind we do break this schedule sometime especially on the weekend). So they will eat lunch while I start straightening up the house. And getting them ready for their nap. I don't know why but I have always changed my kids into a t shirt before they nap. I never put them for their naps in their clothes they had been wearing all day.
1-3-3:30 Is nap time. Andi's naps have been all over the place since taking her pacifiers away. Sometimes she will nap great and then other days she won't really nap at all. She use to always take a great nap. Probably because she is so tired from waking up so early. But not anymore. Regardless, I get her ready for her nap and put her in her room and just hope for the best! At least it gives me a little time to myself. Lincoln will usually nap for 2.5 to 3 hours. So he doesn't wake up sometimes until 3:30.
Usually while the kids are napping I will clean up the house. Do the dishes, put away toys, vacuum, mop sometimes cook dinner so it is ready and do laundry. There was a while I was doing BBG during their naps but I am currently taking a break from BBG. I will also try to do whatever work I can. Emails, responding to comments and messages. Maybe start a blog post or post a picture on Instagram. Sometimes this is when I do my "try ons" in my story. No matter what I always feel like I have a million things to do when they are napping.
3-4 Is usually just them waking up and having a snack and playing or maybe watching something on tv for a little while. I will get Lincoln's diaper changed and get them both dressed again depending on what we are going to do.
4-5-5:30 Sometimes we will go out somewhere but typically we stay home and play outside. Either in the water, or on our swing set or with the millions of toys we have in our garage. Sometimes we will play with the neighbors or go for a walk around the neighborhood or up to the neighborhood park.
5-6 - Is when I will cook dinner if I didn't get to do it while they were napping. The crock pot is also amazing. Sometimes I will throw something in the crockpot in the morning because cooking dinner at dinner time can be challenging. Lincoln always wants me to hold him when I am cooking and Andi always wants to help me cook. We usually eat between 5:30 and 6. Matt usually gets home between 5:30 and 6 unless he has a hearing or some other kind of meeting he has to go to at night. But generally he is home for dinner and to help with bath and bedtime.
6-730 - The kids pretty much take a bath right after dinner almost every night. And if Matt is home he will give them a bath while I clean up the kitchen. They love taking a bath. After bath Andi will pretty much always ask for some kind of dessert so then of course Lincoln wants some also. So they will have dessert and play. Then if its not too hot, we will all go for a walk as a family. We will play hide and seek, have a dance party and just spend quality time together. Around 7 we start talking to them about getting ready for bed. And we will brush their teeth. And of course almost overnight after we brush Andi's teeth she wants to have another snack and then we have to brush her teeth again!
7:30-8 Is bedtime. Bedtime was at 7 at one point but since we have taken Andi's pacifiers she never wants to go to bed so of course Lincoln doesn't want to go to bed either. If Matt is home he will put one of them for bed and I will do the other. Lincoln likes to sing songs and sit in his rocking chair before bed and Andi loves to read books in her bed with us.
8-10:30-11- After the kids go to bed I usually shower and get ready for bed myself. I straighten up the house, try to get some work done and hang out with Matt. I honestly don't watch much tv. Unless the bachelorette is on we usually watch sports or whatever Matt wants to watch. I am usually on my computer trying to do things unless we are watching a movie together.
And that is our typical day. Reading this back it sounds pretty boring! But like I said we have days that I break my kids napping schedule now that they are a little older. Especially if we are going to my parents or sisters house because they live farther away so they will usually fall asleep in the car or if it is the weekend. My kids have just always been on a schedule and it has really worked for us.
Things are going to change a little bit this summer and starting in August because of Andi going to camp and then school. She is going to have to be picked up right when Lincoln usually goes down for a nap. So I will do another updated post once I figure out how we are going to do that! They are also starting swimming lessons next week and Andi is going to start dance again.
If you guys have other ideas for more posts like this leave, please them in the comments. Some requests I have gotten are what we eat in a day, healthy meal ideas for the kids, a house tour and organization tips. So let me know if you have any other ideas.
Thanks for stopping by. I hope you guys have a great weekend!
