Inspiration Sunday: October 21

Happy Sunday! I’ve been awake since nearly 3am (Forrest being put to bed by a babysitter really threw him off his schedule), so I decided to sit down and write this post. It’s one of those days where I feel like writing a bunch of posts at once, but let’s see if I actually get the time to dedicate to it!

Just like yesterday’s Things I Love post, this will be a bit of a different Inspiration. Because, well, it was my birthday yesterday! Danny and I went shopping yesterday; I wanted to get some birthday things, he was buying fish for his classroom (that seems like a weird trade off), and we wanted to go to lunch. I thought I’d share a few things I’m doing to help me take better care of myself, plus my birthday goodies.

Birthday Goodies

I had a 20% off coupon for Ulta; if you don’t get Ulta coupons, call their customer service ASAP and get signed up to receive them. (They’ll also send you the most recent one.) The awesome thing about the twice yearly 20% off everything coupons is that they work on prestige brands. So I got the Gingerbread Spice palette and the lipstick set for $60. I’ll have reviews of these coming this week, so stay tuned. I also went to Sephora and got my birthday gift; I picked the BIte Beauty gift because I love the Bite lip balm (and they’re always sold out of it at my store). I always feel bad just getting my free gift, so I bought two little Sephora overnight masks. I’ll review those soon as well!

About a week ago, Danny gave me my birthday gift early; he got me a set of tarot cards, as well as a book on witchcraft, because I told him I wanted to learn more about the tarot. I love it so much; it’s been really fun to do little readings every day and learn my deck.

My last birthday gift to myself was this. I’ve been wanting to try these L’Oreal Pure Clay Masks because they’re everywhere on Instagram. However, they’re $12 at my local Wal-Mart and that’s a little bit expensive for a drugstore brand mask that isn’t even cruelty free! However, my local TJ Maxx and Marshall’s has a TON of them for $3.99. So if you’ve been wanting to try them, check first there! I’ll also have a review of these coming these week, so stay tuned.

It’s been a while since I’ve felt like I have so much stuff to review! It feels really nice!

So I’m Taking a Selfie A Day

Hi, I only pose with my hand under my chin.

Anyway, I decided yesterday that I was going to try to take a selfie a day. I find that I go days and days and days without taking photos of myself. I tend to avoid it because I don’t ever feel super great about myself; I’m usually running around and just trying to get stuff done. So the idea of stopping and paying attention to how I look takes a little bit more effort. I think it’s worth it though. Here are my first two! (I’m wearing Too Faced Hot Buttered Rum from the Christmas set in the left photo; and I’m wearing Wet’n’Wild Rebel Rose on the right.)

How’s your Sunday going?

A Day In My Life

"What's it like to be a mom now?" 

That's the question I get asked most now. It used to be about Danny or my job or any number of other things. But now, people just want to know what motherhood is like--especially if they are expecting or not yet mothers themselves. It's something I love talking about because I think it's important to be open about what motherhood is really like. Unlike the (very funny) memes that float around on Facebook or the lifestyle bloggers that gloat in your Instagram feed, motherhood isn't 100% messy or 100% perfect. It's somewhere perfectly in between. 

This is a day in my life when I'm not working. My work days are infinitely more boring than any day at home with Forrest. 

Morning

I wake up, usually, around 5:30am. Both because I have an alarm set and because usually Forrest is awake by then. I get up, let my dog outside, make a bottle, feed the dog, start the coffee, and then run upstairs to grab Forrest. We usually lie in bed while he drinks his bottle (and I change his diaper). At 6am, we migrate downstairs where he plays in the living room while I make my morning coffee and our breakfasts. We eat at 6:30am usually and then play for a while. 

Forrest usually takes his first nap by 9am; I strap him in the Ergo baby carrier, turn on some river sounds on my phone, and walk up and down our driveway until he is asleep. Then, I get some work done at my desk. I write, answer emails, blog, and design for about an hour. Once he starts waking up, we go back downstairs. 

He usually has his mid-morning bottle at 10:30am. I clean up the kitchen while he plays. If I have time, I'll clean the downstairs bathroom and the entryway. At 11am, I put him in his high chair and give him something to snack on (banana, peach, or Cheerios), and make lunch. 

After we eat, we head in to the park to play and walk. I usually try to walk 2-3 miles, while listening to podcasts. 

Afternoon

When we get home from walking, Forrest usually has his afternoon bottle around 1pm. Sometimes, he takes a second nap during this time; sometimes, he just refuses. We play, sing songs, and read books until about 3pm, when I put him back in the high chair and start making dinner. As I make dinner, I narrate, sing songs, dance, whatever, to keep him occupied. 

We eat around 4pm (I know, we're old people). My husband gets home around 4:30pm and joins us. 

Then, we sit in the living room and play together, usually letting Forrest play with the bookshelves. After 5:30pm, it's time to get ready for bed. If it's been a while, Forrest has a bath. If not, he gets his last bottle as we put him in his pajamas and sing songs. Then, we rock in the rocking chair with river sounds for about 20 minutes. He's asleep by 6pm at the latest every night. 

Once Forrest is in bed, the party starts. I clean the kitchen and the living room, wipe down the tables, and clean Forrest's high chair. Then I go upstairs and get any additional blogging or work done that I need to. 

By 7pm, I'm usually done for the day; I'll read or watch TV, but most likely, I'll be planning meals for the next day or meal prepping or working out in front of the TV. 

My "me" hour is usually 8pm-9pm: I'll take a bath, clean the bathroom, or lie in bed playing Sims 3. I'm usually asleep by 10pm, thanks to reading in bed with my heating pad. 

Tell me: what's a day in your life like? 

My Daily Essentials

I have a busy life. 

Those are words I really thought I'd never write. I hate that tendency of bloggers (especially full-time bloggers) to always write or post about how "busy" they are--when, in reality, they're probably not that super busy. Not that this is the busyness Olympics or anything.

But now that I'm legitimately busy, I feel stupid for all the times I thought I was busy in the past. A combination of sleep deprivation (although that's coming to an end), working a full-time job in half-time hours, and taking care of an entire small human has made me realize what it actually means to be "busy." 

The past few months, I've found a few ways to keep myself organized and on top of things, while effectively doing all my different jobs. These are my absolute daily essentials 

1. Bullet journals

I'm a list maker. I always have been and I always will be. I find it easiest, for all the various hats I wear, to keep a running calendar or list of deadlines, things to do, and notes. I started bullet journaling at work 2 years ago and it has worked wonderfully. I keep my bullet journal very simple: I have an index and then a full month master calendar for each month. Each day gets its own page where I record notes, things to do, and deadlines to add to my master calendar. I keep one notebook for my job and one notebook for home and it works really well to keep me feeling sane. 

I also have a "fun" bullet journal where I can do whatever list pages I want--and I don't do daily pages. I keep track of habits, saving, and all the lists I need, from books I want to buy to home improvement projects. 

2. Meal Planning  

Every Wednesday, I sit down and plan meals for the week. I know this seems like a strange day to do it, but I typically go grocery shopping with Forrest on Thursday or Friday morning. I don't use anything fancy: I use Pinterest and make a list in my journal. Then I create a grocery list out of all the recipes and add them to OurGroceries. 

3. OurGroceries

Have you guys ever used this app? I've used all kinds of different ways to try to organize my grocery lists. For a while, I used the basic Notes app on my iPhone, but I needed something better. OurGroceries can sync across different phones, so if Danny and I had the app, I could add a list of things I needed him to do on his way home from work. If I'm grocery shopping with Forrest, I don't necessarily have the ability to carry a notepad (and pen to cross things off). I can, however, hold a phone and tap to cross things out. And I never forget my list at home because it's already with me. 

4. Google Calendar & Reminders

I have an increasingly terrible memory. I used to be able to remember anything without writing it down, but those days are gone, clearly. Just like OurGroceries, it helps me to write things down in a bullet journal (usually my work one); but then I also add everything to my Google Calendar and iCalendar on my phone. I set reminders for 30 minutes and 5 minutes, just in case I forget. If I don't do this, I forget--like the doctor's appointment I completed spaced on at the beginning of June. Oops. 

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What do you use to keep yourself organized? Share with me on Twitter!