Tuesday, March 10, 2015

The Days Are Just Packed

Welcome to the March 2015 Carnival of Natural Parenting: Day in the Life
This post was written for inclusion in the monthly Carnival of Natural Parenting hosted by Hobo Mama and Code Name: Mama. This month our participants have given us a special glimpse into their everyday.
***
Life is always busy when one has a toddler!

Busy in a good way, of course. Most of the time.

Our days are filled with all kinds of fun. Breakfast...

Om nom nom.

Baking...

We would probably bake things every day if Bug had his way!

And of course, snuggles. Endless amounts of snuggles. I am so blessed to have a child who is so sweet and loving, who always has hugs and kisses for me and seems to care as much about my happiness (well, sometimes) as I care about his.

I love him so much I can't even.

Bug is an early riser. That means that most mornings, he wakes up sometime between 5:00 A.M. and 6:00 A.M. And no matter how kindly I ask him to try to sleep some more (or grumble at him to get back in bed, as the case may be), once he's up for the day there's no stopping him.

"Wake up, Mommy! It's morning!"

So after we get some food going, we usually have some quiet time at home. Partially because I need time for the caffeine to kick in. Partially because nothing is open that early in the morning. Partially because it's often too dark to go to the park. So we read books, or we color, we do housework, we play Minecraft, or we otherwise just spend time together.

Sometimes, coloring will actually entertain him long enough for me to get something done on my own!

I freely admit that Bug does get some cartoons every day. That's the best way for me to get my workout in, and since exercising helps keep me sane... well, sometimes a mama has to do what a mama has to do, right?

What we do during the day depends on all kinds of different factors. What day of the week is it? Do we have a car? Did we make plans with friends? Do we need to pick up more bananas? On Thursdays, we almost always go to the library for story time, and sometimes we go on Mondays as well (for sign language story time, which is twice a month). There are at least 5 parks within walking distance of us, and we try to go to a park of some sort at least once or twice a week. If we need to go to the grocery store, I usually end up getting Starbucks, because... well, Starbucks. Earl Grey tea lattes. Need I say any more?

Them cake pops, though. (And no, he doesn't get them very often. Stop judging me.)

One of the great things about living in San Diego is the abundance of beaches. There are so many beautiful beaches in this area. And since our weather is usually so pleasant, we can even hit the beach in winter.

Regardless of what we do, we try to get outdoors for at least part of the morning, weather permitting. Burn off some energy and be home by lunchtime.

At Sunset Cliffs in San Diego.

Bug is currently in the process of giving up his daily nap. Which makes life all kinds of fun for me, let me tell you. Most days, he does not nap, and most days he does pretty well without it; later in the afternoon, he might get a bit crabby or have small meltdowns over otherwise inconsequential things, but for the most part he has been handling the shift in his sleep patterns pretty well. (I, on the other hand, have been having a bit more trouble with it, but I am slowly adapting too.) But he does still nap once or twice a week, thankfully.

The elusive nap.

In the afternoons, whether a nap happened or not, we usually just hang out close to home. More reading, playing with his toys, doing jigsaw puzzles. Riding his tricycle outside, decorating the sidewalks outside with chalk.

Our neighbors love the brightly colored sidewalks! Right?

Often at some point, we make a trip to the mailbox. Bug loves going to the mailbox! He loves getting to run around outside, he loves seeing if there is any mail for him. (And often, there is; between his Highlights High Five magazine, books I order him from Paperback Swap, and little packages from his grandma, Bug does get mail with some regularity.)

Ready, set, GO!
Even the AAA magazine is exciting when you're three.

Eventually, it's time for dinner! I also feel blessed to have a child who will eat most anything I put in front of him. Whether it's pasta filled with veggies, omelets, tempeh chili mac, chana masala, stir fry, or something else exciting from one of my many cookbooks, Bug usually happily eats whatever D and I are eating.

More noms!

The bedtime routine starts sometime after dinner; the exact time depends on whether or not he took a nap (he goes to sleep earlier on no-nap days), what time D got home from work (sometimes he gets to stay up just a bit later to get some time in with Daddy), and whether or not he needs a bath.

Bug does get a bath (or a shower) most days. The vast majority of the time, it's just regular, clean water he sits in; he likes bubble baths sometimes, but I often don't use any kind of soap if he hasn't gotten particularly dirty. I try to get his hair wet, but I hardly ever shampoo it.

Why yes, that handle is reflective.

The rest of the evening routine consists of pajamas, bedtime snacks (sometimes it's the rest of his dinner, sometimes it's yogurt, sometimes it's an egg or some carrots or some fruit...), brushing teeth, and books, of course! (We read all day, actually; I couldn't even tell you how many books we read in a typical day.)

In our home, we read books about vegetables. Wearing underwear.

Then it's lights out! Nursing and snuggling. Sometimes a few songs.

And then sleep. Glorious sleep.
***
Carnival of Natural Parenting -- Hobo Mama and Code Name: MamaVisit Hobo Mama and Code Name: Mama to find out how you can participate in the next Carnival of Natural Parenting!
Please take time to read the submissions by the other carnival participants:

20 comments:

  1. Thanks for sharing a typical day with the world. How lucky you are to live near such beautiful beaches, that is one thing I really miss living in the centre of the UK, the sound of the sea. We have lovely countryside on our doorstep, but no beaches!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thanks for sharing your day in the life photos. The beaches on your doorstep look beautiful, how lucky you are having beaches so close to where you live, and of course children love playing on the beach, hours of fun... We live hours from the beach, living in the middle of the UK, although we do have some lovely countryside near by.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The beaches are one way where living in San Diego has truly spoiled me. Being able to go to the beach - and actually swim - year round is pretty nice! Of course, the heat waves in the summer do get pretty old... I guess you can't have everything, right?

      Delete
  3. What a beautiful day with your little one! Bug's penchant for reading reminds me of my daughter at that age (and still, at 8). I'm impressed with his varied food preferences, and loved the pic of his eating breakfast on the rug.

    San Diego sounds wonderful in winter -- very different from my snowy New England! Thanks for sharing!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I do take pride in his eating habits, although I'm not sure how much I can actually take credit for them. He will try almost anything, and there aren't many foods that he refuses outright. Which is good, since I love to cook and I don't like to eat boring foods!

      Delete
  4. Reading about your day makes me miss those toddler years with my own son!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm trying to savor them now; even though they're long and exhausting sometimes, I know that all too soon they will be over with...

      Delete
  5. What a pleasant, low-key day! Is that shag carpeting where he's eating his breakfast?? I don't trust even myself to eat on carpet, if I can avoid it. :-)
    ---'Becca

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It's not precisely shag carpet, but it is a bit shaggier than the carpet in our last apartment! I kind of like it; it's softer, and between the shagginess and the colors, it hides stains pretty well. ;)

      Delete
  6. What a lovely place to live, the beach looks gorgeous and so much fun for a curious three year old to explore! We follow a very similar routine to yours - out in the morning, chilling out at home in the afternoons, although on a much later schedule - 5am is considered the middle of the night in our home! I love that you read so much, we get through a huge amount of books here too. Looks like you both really enjoy each others company. Sam at Love Parenting

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. How I wish Bug slept in more... every now and then, he sleeps in until 6 or even 6:30, and it's a ground shaking, momentous event. (Not really. But maybe a little. To me, anyway.) He's a sweet boy, and this routine has been working pretty well for us for some time now.

      Delete
  7. My toddler loves those cake pops too! I love how happy Bug looks in all the pictures, my girl makes silly faces whenever I ask her to smile for a picture now. We too need a book about vegetables in their underwear. What is the name of this one?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. For awhile, my son's "camera smile" kind of looked more like his pirate face... he had this giant grin, his eyes were squinty, and one was usually closed. It was really quite endearing!

      The book is called "Vegetables in Underwear" by Jared Chapman. It's really quite cute, and Bug absolutely adores it.

      Delete
    2. Lol Thank you! It looks like a fun book, may be it will make eating their veggies more enticing.

      Delete
  8. Oh the sleep and toddler struggle! That's one I know all too well. Baby Boy has been opting out of an afternoon nap for some time, and most recently prefers to fall asleep during or after dinner! Also, we used to read a lot more than we have been lately. I need to get back into that habit, especially since Baby Boy loves it so much!

    Thanks for sharing your day! :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Our dinners tend to be pretty early on no-nap days. Or, depending on what is being eaten, sometimes I just feed Bug earlier and then eat my own dinner after he is out for the night. I'm slowly adapting to the no-nap days, but it's been hard, as you well understand!

      We go to the library almost every week, which ensures that we always have new books to read. He loves reading the library books over and over again, which makes me happy. Raising this boy to be a reader like his mama!

      Delete
  9. My children are/were both early risers. Kieran, at 7, has started growing out of it. Now I often need to open the door around 8:30a.m. so he can join us!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You give me hope! Perhaps Bug will start to sleep in someday, too. :)

      Delete
  10. Clearly I need to visit San Diego — that beach!

    Sounds like you have full & lovely days with your little one. I definitely would not judge a cake pop — you saw that my children eat an all-white-toast diet, right? ;)

    I'm so glad I've yet to have a morning lark for a child. I don't know what I'd do. I have just this last one's traits to discover, but so far he gets up when I do.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh man, you have no idea how lovely that beach was! It's kind of challenging to get to, which means we had it pretty much to ourselves and Bug was able to throw rocks in the water to his little heart's content.

      Delete