A monthly project featuring ten photos (or more!) throughout the day that show a peek into our extraordinarily ordinary life. Trying something new this month with a video!
Wednesday, October 23, 2019
No.295: Our Extraordinary Ordinary Life // September 2019 Edition
A monthly project featuring ten photos (or more!) throughout the day that show a peek into our extraordinarily ordinary life. This month, I decided to do an hourly recap, inspired by Tabitha’s Day in the Life post.
Tuesday, September 17, 2019
6:30 AM – Grateful for a good night’s sleep. I normally wake up about an hour earlier, so I must have needed the rest!
7:30 AM – Grateful for thirty minutes and 1.75 miles walking on the treadmill.
8:30 AM – Grateful for breakfast with my little beggar. She sits at my side and hopes something will miraculously fall from my plate. Those eyes!
9:30 AM – Grateful for a read-aloud that has the kids calling, “One more chapter!” and a successful science experiment.
10:30 AM – Grateful to find a way to repurpose old, broken crayons. I went through our supplies while the kids made Japanese mandarin duck sculptures with Sculpey clay.
11:30 AM – Grateful for her enthusiasm as she practiced reading. We’re changing everything up again to try to get some reading momentum. I hope this works.
12:30 PM – Grateful for a moment to myself outside during our lunch hour.
1:30 PM – Grateful for plenty of clothes to wash and dry and fold.
2:30 PM – Grateful for the lesson that the smallest acts of kindness can mean so much. My oldest passed on his desk to TJ and secretly moved it into his closet to become a little Lego room. When he revealed what he’d done, TJ was so excited and hugged both the desk and his brother.
____ 3:30 PM _____ Oops, I must have missed this one!
4:30 PM – Grateful that Lucy is almost 100% back to normal, although that means she’s back to her crazy antics and sometimes naughty behavior too.
5:30 PM – Grateful for reducing food waste with Refrigerator Clean-Out Night. We fill the counter with all of the leftovers and little bits of food that need to be eaten up and the kids go to town creating whatever they want.
6:30 PM – Grateful for mild evenings to play outside. I haven’t laughed so hard in a long time.
7:30 PM – Grateful for bathtime to clean up sweaty heads and dirty feet.
8:30 PM – Grateful for a new book to crack open at the end of a good day.
No.282: Our Extraordinary Ordinary Life // August 2019 Edition
A monthly project featuring ten photos throughout the day that show a peek into our extraordinarily ordinary life.
Monday, August 12, 2019
the last week of summer vacation
the last week of summer vacation
No.261: Our Extraordinary Ordinary Life // June 2019 Edition
A monthly project featuring ten photos throughout the day that show a peek into our extraordinarily ordinary life.
Highlights from Friday, June 14, 2019:
- The weather was 76° and sunny, just the perfect early summer day!
- I drank my morning coffee outside in my new mug, a surprise from Mark. We took Lucy out after breakfast to burn off some energy and she got filthy quickly by digging in the flower beds (I swear she’s like a toddler – you turn your head for a second…). M turned on the hose and she was crazy with excitement, trying to drink the water and play tug-of-war. Crazy dog.
- We had Blue Mountain Mystery on repeat for P’s morning movie. It’s his current favorite, although Finding Nemo might be a close second. Both were bought on Second Spin for cheap.
- The second set of eggs on the porch fan hatched! We feel so lucky that we can watch new chicks hatch twice each spring.
P.S. Don’t forget to enter the blogiversary giveaway for a chance to win some of my favorite things! Winner will be chosen at 11:59PM EST on Sunday.
No.166: Our Extraordinary Ordinary Life // August 2018 Edition
A monthly project featuring ten photos throughout the day that show a peek into our extraordinarily ordinary life.
Highlights from Thursday, August 9, 2018:
Such a typical lazy summer day at home. After breakfast, we played outside for a quick second before it became blazing hot and humid. (The high was technically only 88°, but the real feel was more like mid-90s!) The rest of the day included a tempo run, sourdough bread for lunch, and a little lesson planning during naptime. We did Refrigerator Clean-Out Night for dinner and sourdough waffles with vanilla ice cream on top for dessert. It was a good day.
No.141: Our Extraordinary Ordinary Life // June 2018 Edition
A monthly project featuring ten photos throughout the day that show a peek into our extraordinarily ordinary life.
Highlights from Friday, June 15, 2018:
- When the kids woke up, I got to share the exciting news that our newest baby cousin was born last night! We oohed and ahhed over his picture and cannot wait to cuddle him.
- The weather was beautiful: 83° and partly sunny. We’re trying to keep our electric bill down, so the air conditioning was off and the windows were open. Having both a front and back porch seems to keep the house pretty cool for most of the day. I just love when the breeze sweeps through and the house smells fresh.
- The baby is soooo whiny. I don’t know if it’s teething or weaning or just the age, but it makes for a long day. Thankfully, he fell asleep in the Ergo in the morning and then took a cat nap in the stroller in the afternoon.
- I ran a 5K on the treadmill to check my progress and was pleasantly surprised at the results! Runkeeper says it was my second fastest 5K time ever.
- I made sourdough focaccia “pesto pizza” for dinner and I thought it was delicious. We also made a regular cheese and pepperoni for the kids who weren’t so impressed.
- Favorite summertime experience to date: watching fireflies at dusk.
No.119: Our Extraordinary Ordinary Life // May 2018 Edition
A monthly project featuring ten photos throughout the day that show a peek into our extraordinarily ordinary life.
Note: Today I took a more detailed look at our day and took way more than 10 pictures! I ended up narrowing it down to 15. A fun way to change things up.
A Day in the Life – Monday, May 14, 2018
5:10am – I’m wide awake, so I get up for some quiet time before everyone else wakes up. Coffee, a quick IG scroll and then I start working on my to-do list for the day. I e-mail back and forth with Mark – he sends me a new joke every morning and it’s the best. Today’s: “Did you hear about the semi-colon that broke the law? He was given two consecutive sentences.” Har har har.
5:40am – I sneak in a few pages of reading while it’s still silent. Current book is The Art Detective.
5:50am – TJ is awake and sits with me to cuddle. I try to press on with a few more pages, but M is up a few minutes later and I know reading time is done for now.
6:10am – Mondays are my “catch up on everything I neglected all weekend” days. I start a load of laundry and “fluff” the laundry left in the dryer from Saturday. J wakes up around 6:15 and D and P follow soon after. I get dough for a loaf of honey wheat bread going in the bread machine.
6:30am – I run back to put in my contacts and make my bed, but decide to just wash everything so I strip the bed instead.
6:45am – S, my best sleeper, is awake. The two big boys start breakfast – today they’re making everyone french toast with strawberries.
7:00am – I switch laundry and start a new load, then have my breakfast. Lately I’ve been obsessed with oatmeal with brown sugar, frozen Maine blueberries and a handful of walnuts – it tastes like a blueberry muffin! Delicious.
7:30am – The kids clean the kitchen while I get the baby changed for the day. At 7:35, I find ants in the downstairs bathroom, so it sets me on a “sweep and clean EVERYTHING” spree.
7:50am – My hip/groin muscle is bothering me today so I google “hip strength exercises,” do a few types of lunges and plan to complete a better stretch later in the day. For now, icing and Motrin will have to do.
8:10am – I put the bread dough in a pan to rise. The baby asks for “pop pop” and since that’s his favorite food right now, I agree and make a batch of popcorn…even though it’s 8:00 in the morning.
8:30am – I take laundry out to fold, start another load and have the kids strip their beds so I can do their sheets too. When I come out of the laundry room, I find S and TJ playing “fishing” with a Swiffer and a broom. They tell me they caught a salmon and a baby shark.
8:45am – I do my daily check on the baby birds and make a mental note to ask my dad to borrow his powerwasher. The pollen on the front porch is out of control!
8:50am – I head up to the school room to get ready for our day. The baby is already losing it so I put him in the Ergo and he’s sound asleep in five minutes. I call the kids up at 9:00 and our school day begins.
10:10am – We take a quick break so I can switch laundry and put the bread in the oven. When I return, the boys are wrestling – like always.
10:25am – Back to work. We read about George Washington in history, then math for all and reading for J and S. After some tears and “Mama, it’s just SO hard”, I’m online looking for something to help. I suspect we have another one with dyslexia and while that hurts my heart, I’m thankful I have a bit of experience under my belt.
11:30am – Lunch time! We all have various things with the fresh bread: I have chicken salad, D makes a grilled cheese and the others eat it with strawberry jam.
12:00pm – Quiet hour. I break my rule of “no chores” and fold laundry and make my bed instead. At 12:45, I get an email about M’s standardized test results. We nervously log in and…he did great! A relief for both of us.
1:00pm – I agree to an hour of screentime. The isn’t typical on weekdays, but I’m loosening up with summer on the horizon and they’re taking full advantage of it, hah. Some play on the XBox and others watch TV. I take a look at my to-do list (I’m working on a prototype to make into a notepad for myself) and decide to tackle the new religious book. I search my stacks and choose Mornings with Saint Therese. I also start packaging up the baby shower gift and send an email to my cousin.
1:50pm – Mark calls on his way home. We chat a few minutes.
2:15pm – Screens are off and everyone is upstairs to help make beds and tidy their rooms. I find a disaster in the little boys’ room – clothes everywhere! This is what happens when they aren’t supervised during school.
2:25pm – Mark is home! We all have a snack of salt and pepper pistachios and more popcorn.
3:00pm – I retreat to my room to ice my leg and eat chocolate. I post my daily school photo on Instagram and scroll a little. I love seeing all of the Mother’s Day pictures.
3:30pm – The sun finally comes out, so we all play outside for half an hour. The kids ride bikes and play baseball while I push the baby in the stroller. It is hot and sticky, so we go back inside before everyone gets sweaty. Note to self: this summer, head outside right after breakfast so you don’t melt.
4:00pm – I start on dinner. Tonight we’re having roasted chicken thighs and a bunch of sides leftover from Mother’s Day lunch yesterday. While the chicken is in the oven, I hop in the shower. After, I find three little monkeys making “a nest” with my bed pillows. I take a video for today’s “one second a day”. Fun fact: I haven’t missed a single day since we moved here last summer!
5:00pm – Dinner’s ready!
5:30pm – While the kids clean up the kitchen, I put the little boys in the bathtub and check out the new curriculum guides that arrived in the mail. By 5:45, a huge thunderstorm comes out of nowhere. We have a few minor tree branches fall.
6:30pm – The storm has died down, so Mark and the boys decide at the last minute to still head out for Trail Life. I put on a movie for the littles and sit down to start writing this post. 20 minutes later, I get a text from Mark saying that the road to town is blocked with fallen trees and they have to turn around.
7:10pm – They arrive home safely, but the boys are bummed. I suggest a bowl of ice cream – it’s not the same as seeing friends, but it’s yummy!
7:30pm – The kids head upstairs to play quietly and read for an hour. The little ones get a story and are tucked in. I nurse the baby to sleep and then crash into bed. I finish this post, read until my eyelids get heavy and I’m sure I’ll be sound asleep by 9:30 or 10:00. It was a good, long, productive day.
No.110: Our Extraordinary Ordinary Life // April 2018 Edition
A monthly project featuring ten photos throughout the day that show a peek into our extraordinarily ordinary life.
Highlights from Wednesday, April 18, 2018:
- I was awake at 6:00, but stayed in my warm bed for a good 15 minutes before officially starting the day. It was cold!
- The gutter cleaning guys were supposed to come tomorrow, but showed up bright and early today and caught me in a hot mess of an outfit: black leggings, brown socks, an oversized shirt and a navy blue sweater. My pride is officially gone.
- I took yesterday off from laundry (such a rebel), but made up for it with four loads today.
- I baked a loaf of honey wheat bread for lunch. We ate it with ham and white cheddar cheese. Simple and delicious.
- We spent three hours outside in the sunshine. The little kids dug in the dirt and the big kids learned how to make different types of knots. I paced the driveway, drank my afternoon cup of coffee and read my book.
- P took a morning and afternoon nap and his whiny “I want to be held always” mood changed drastically for the better. A miracle!
No.97: Our Extraordinary Ordinary Life // March 2018 Edition
A monthly project featuring ten photos throughout the day that show a peek into our extraordinarily ordinary life.
The First Day of Spring – Tuesday, March 20, 2018
I was awake way too early, my braining firing at all cylinders at 4:30AM. Mark was already up and working from home (a rare treat these days!), so I decided to get up with him so we could drink our coffee together by the fire. It lasted a whole five minutes before the baby woke up, hah! Oh well.
The day was dark and dreary, with rain all morning and hail in the early afternoon. For the first day of spring, it sure didn’t feel like it. I think the high was 37 degrees?! We got our school done before noon and made pepperoni pizza bombs for lunch. I even managed to take a power nap during quiet hour! The kids spent the rest of the afternoon drawing, reading and block-building and I caught up on chores. There really is nothing like slipping into clean sheets at the end of a long day.
My ten photos this month are dark and grainy, but a decent representation. It was definitely one of those days where you’re thankful for a warm house, cozy blankets and a good book.
No.86: Our Extraordinary Ordinary Life // February 2018 Edition
“The most extraordinary thing in the world is an ordinary man and an ordinary woman and their ordinary children.”
G. K. Chesterton
One of my 100 Little Things tasks this year was to complete a “Week in the Life” project like I did a few years ago. For whatever reason, that seems like a monumental task when combined with all of my other responsibilities, so I’m tweaking it into something new: a monthly Day in the Life. Ten photos throughout the day that show a peek into our extraordinarily ordinary life.
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When I scribbled down this idea in my planner, I had no idea it would coincide with the most beautiful spring-like day in February: 75 degrees and sunny! We were about an hour into school when one of the kids asked, “Do you think we could have some recess and go outside?” How could I say no? We spent the rest of the morning riding bikes, swinging and playing basketball. After a fancy lunch of Ramen noodles and a salad for me, we had Quiet Hour while the baby napped (the big two and I read, the littler ones drew with Art for Kids). Then it was back outside! Add in a lot of laundry and a homemade blueberry pie and it was just the best day. The warm sun and fresh air were so good for all of us.
