Luby

First, the backstory. We spent Thanksgiving at Ryan's parents' house in Kahoka and while we were there, Ally discovered several ladybugs in Nana's kitchen. She quickly became obsessed with them flying "loopy loopy!" on the ceiling.

At Christmas, Nana bought Ally a garden decoration ladybug to put in the landscaping right outside our living room window so she could see a ladybug everyday. Nana named the ladybug Luby after the "loopy loopy that bug" fun over Thanksgiving.

Ally's obsession with ladybugs has continued so we decided her big girl room would have this theme when we moved her out of the nursery. She has one request; Luby flying on her ceiling.

The pictures don't really show the color of the room very well. It's a really pretty soft sage green color, inspired by her window curtain panels that are the same color. The name of the color is Christopher Robin's Front Porch Swing (Disney paint by Behr).

Ladybug wall decals that welcome you

Mommy's lightswitch project

Another Mommy project. I bought the letters already painted and added black paint to the edges to help it pop a little. Glued on the wooden ladybugs, wooden beads that make the dots, and tied the polka dotted ribbon.

Sage green curtains with gingham print and ladybugs

Wall decal "Butterfly Kisses & Ladybug Hugs, Sleep Tight Little One Like a Bug in a Rug"

Luby flies!

Her big girl bed with white sheets with black polka dots and a red microfiber comforter with a lady bug pillow sham. the green boxes are empty for now but will make great storage when we need them. They are the same green as the walls and are pretty true to life in the picture. Polka dot picture frame with Mommy & Daddy in it (need a family portrait for it eventually) and a few random ladybug toys.

Ladybug door knobs on the closet

View from the door. Yes, it's a small room.

A Day In the Life...

Everyday Ryan asks me how my day was and what I did, as he has done every single day since we started dating. I love it and it makes me feel good that he cares what my days are like. It's part of our system of checking in with each other to stay connected. Although, now that I'm a stay at home mom and no longer working outside of the home, I don't often have anything to tell him. My answer is usually, "Ohh, it was fine. We didn't really do anything." This is only partially true I have found. What I should probably say is, "It was busy but we didn't really do anything terribly exciting or out of the ordinary."

"What do you do all day?" is a common question to ask a stay at home mom/wife. But, why do we ask this? We don't ask our child care providers what they did all day. We know what they did...they took care of our children, and that's all we expect! Why would we expect to hear a stay at home mom did anything on top of taking care of their children? I decided to, for a day, record every single thing we did to see what all I really do. NOTE: It's not an exciting day and I don't expect you to read every single thing I did. It was more for my own self-reflection.

8:40am	Jace & Mommy up
8:43am	Jace: clean diaper & clothes
8:50am	Mommy breakfast
9am	Sweep kitchen, clean countertops & microwave, clean half bath- constantly checking on/holding/redirecting Jace
9:35am	Breastfeed Jace
9:45am	Mop kitchen
9:48am	Stop mopping to clean up spit up
9:49am	Resume mopping, holding Jace
9:52am	Check on still-sleeping Ally
9:55am	Take pics of upstairs for home listing
10:05am	Make bed while wearing Jace (because my arms are falling off)
10:08am	Take pics of master bedroom
10:12am	Ally up
10:13am	Nurse Ally, Jace begging for attention, chewing on my leg, pulling on Ally's shirt
	NOTE: Mommy needs water & bathroom break
10:18am	Cuddle kiddos & watch Mickey Mouse Clubhouse
10:19am	Mickey not on…calm toddler, play DVR episode
10:20am	Nurse Jace, Ally laying on my legs
10:25am	Mommy bathroom break & water (didn't have to wait too long this time!)
10:29am	Make Ally's bed
10:31am	Ally: "Mommy!! He's STUCK!"…rescue Jace from between fish tank stand and TV stand where he was wedged
10:32am	Take pic of Ally's room…BOTH batteries for camera dead, set to charge
10:35am	Sit down to cool off & enjoy kiddos while they're both happy
10:40am	Wipe down master bathroom
10:42am	Tend to wimpering Jace
10:43am	Breastfeed Jace, Ally demanding more Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, start another DVR episode
10:45am	Ally finally ready for breakfast, get cereal & milk, set Jace down long enough to pour milk
10:48am	Ally eating, Nurse Jace
10:50am	Wrestle Jace to get clean diaper & shorts snapped
10:55am	Chamomilla for irritable Jace who is sleepy
10:56am	Rock & nurse Jace to sleep
11:08am	Jace down for nap #1
11:09am	Get dressed to workout
11:12am	Workout-Cathe Freidrich's Kick Punch & Crunch
12:22pm	Workout complete
12:23pm	Ally wants cottage cheese
12:26pm	Shower with Ally (yes, she can eat that fast!)
12:40pm	Out of shower, minimal makeup done, hair will have to air dry
12:49pm	Ally wakes Jace up after the getting-dressed battle begins
12:52pm	Tantrum ends, Ally asks for help getting dressed & nummies
12:57pm	Nursing done, Ally & Jace wrestling, Mommy making lunch
1:01pm	Jace done wrestling, Ally not…Mommy explains Jace isn't have fun anymore
1:03pm	Mommy lunch
1:05pm	Ally wants lunch (after I asked her and she said, "no thank you") & nummies
1:13pm	Make Ally tortilla with cheese (her request), while Jace chews on my shoulder (ouch!)
1:17pm	Clear Ally's table from earlier eating, Ally eating
1:18pm	Breastfeed Jace
1:19pm	Jace done
1:22pm	Jace spits everything up & then nurses again
1:24pm	Jace done nursing, sits on my lap & plays with toes :-)
1:25pm	Jace decides he needs more…
1:28pm	Jace done, again, Kids play together
1:29pm	Mommy puts laundry away
1:39pm	Redirect Jace to his toys, Vac living room
1:44pm	Help Ally pick out nap time movie
1:46pm	Fish stray food out of Jace's mouth
1:47pm	Start Ally's movie & do night-night nummies
1:52pm	TV off in living room…Quite time for Mommy & Jace
2:01pm	Fold laundry while Jace plays
2:06pm	Nurse Jace
2:11pm	Change Jace's diaper, more chamomilla
2:15pm	Ally yelling from her room, stopped her movie & needs help
2:33pm	Mommy snack, Jace playing
2:35pm	Nurse/rock Jace to sleep
2:55pm	Jace nap #2, Ally still awake in her room
2:56pm	Mommy breathe time, catch up on Facebook, finalize Disney dining plans so I can make reservations at 6am tomorrow
3:27pm	Get Ally up after giving up on her napping, she is completely naked and yelling in her room
3:32pm	Start dishwasher and load of laundry
3:41pm	Put laundry away, bring dry load up to fold
3:45pm	Nurse Ally, only to find that Jace is awake. Carry Ally upstairs while nursing to get Jace.
3:46pm	Both kids climbing on me. Ally wants to play, Jace doesn't.
3:48pm	Ally's game: Kiss Jace, Hug Jace…Kiss Mommy, Hug Mommy…"I love you Baby Jace, I love you Mommy"…Repeat routine.
3:54pm	Ally trying to pull Jace by his hair, very upset Jace…Ally is separated from the situation, Jace gets nummies, Ally apologizes & gives kisses to "make Baby Jace all better"
4:02pm	Snacks for everyone
4:20pm	Rescue Jace who has toppled over trying to climb in Ally's grocery cart, all the while never losing his carrot!
4:22pm	Nurse Jace
4:29pm	Jace hits head on couch while pulling up. Ally: "Mommy, you pick him up?! It's ok Jacer-Man! It's ok, it's ok, it's ok! Eat you carrot. Ok, ok, Here! (as she hands him a toy) You makin' me nuts!"
4:40pm	Take final pics for home listing (now that camera is charged)
4:43pm	Upload and email pics to realtors while kids are playing nicely
4:49pm	Rescue Jace from under Sissy, who is sitting on him
4:50pm	Nurse sleepy Jace, nap #2 was not sufficient
4:57pm	Get ready to go to Baby Boot Camp- food for Ally, Mommy dressed, waters
5:08pm	Snack for Mommy & Ally
5:18pm	Clothes for Ally, once again she's naked
5:19pm	Nummies for Ally
5:22pm	Ally done nursing, Now she wants to play "Mommy scare me!"
5:28pm	Shoes for Ally
5:30pm	Change Jace's diaper
5:35pm	Kids in van
5:40pm	Leave
6:20pm	Arrive at Baby Boot Camp
6:25pm	Nurse both kids
6:45pm	Leave Baby Boot Camp- no show class
7:20pm	Arrive at home, Ryan already home
7:25pm	Nurse both kids
7:45pm	Dinner with family
8:20pm	Change Jace's diaper, more chamomilla, nurse
8:41pm	Kids playing, reading
8:42pm	Send Ally to get her pj's
9pm	Ryan takes Ally to bed, Mommy rock/nurse Jace to sleep
9:18pm	Jace asleep, in bed
9:25pm	Mommy coloring hair
9:41pm	Ally still awake, wants more night-night nummies
9:45pm	Jace suddenly awake

I didn't record anything past 9:45pm because I spent the rest of the evening nursing and putting Jace back to sleep. I think I ended up going to bed myself sometime around 11 or midnight. This also ended up being the night that we made an ER trip at 4am for Jace who ended up having croup.

So, there you have it. This is what a stay at home mom does all day. It's nothing glamorous or exciting and not a lot to share BUT, it's important work for their family. Each smile and sweet hug from the little ones, and a simple comment from the husband about what a great mom you are makes the day-to-day worth it.