our schedule

here's what my days/weeks look like:

Mon: 4:15am- wake up, feed & dress brynn, throw clothes on, gather baby bags & lunch, strap brynn into her carseat, the husband loads everything into his truck & then grabs a still sleeping alex & deposits her into her carseat.

they're out the door by 5am (on their way to my mother's)

i putz around (laundry, dishes, cleaning) until 6am & then head to work.

6:30-4:00- i work.

4:00- i drive 45 min to get the girls at my mothers. i load them into my jeep, toss bags in the back & head home.

5:45- i'm home. i unload bags- put things away & then unload the girls.

6-7pm- i try & get dinner into alex, feed brynn, give baths, change diapers, read books, watch Nick Jr- etc etc.

7pm- the husband gets home

7:30pm- we put alex to bed

7:45pm- i put brynn to bed (if that is her wish)

8pm- we watch House & maybe Intervention.

8:30- i pump

8:45pm- i put everything together for the next day (pump, lunches, clothing, diapers- etc etc) 9pm- bed time (usually)

Tues- Thurs: (the husband has left the house by 5:15)

5:45am- i'm up, brynn is usually still asleep & alex always is, i throw clothing on & brush my teeth. i load everything into my jeep (pump, lunch- etc)

6:15am- i bring the laundry upstairs & make sure everything is in order (if brynn is awake i feed her & dress her)

6:30am- the nanny & her daughter arrive. she snags brynn & i finish up whatever.

6:35am- i head out the door

7am-4pm- i work.

4:30pm- i get home & spends a few minutes discussing the day & giving kisses. we say goodbye to Kelly Beth (nanny) & her daughter & alex watched Yo Gabba Gabba while i feed brynn & whip up her dinner

5pm- alex eats. i change brynn. i try & scrounge up dinner. 5:30pm-6:30- baths (if needed), diapers, jammies, juice/milk- trying to explain to an 18 month old why dripping milk onto my couch cushions is NOT ok- etc etc

6:30-7pm- Nick Jr & waiting for daddy (while i try & finish up dinner)

7-7:30pm- husband is home, plays with alex, off to bed

7:45pm- brynn. bed.

8-9: eating, pumping, packing, showers- etc etc. 9pm- bed

Fri:

5:15am- i get up, get brynn fed & dressed. toss bags in the car. get dressed, brush teeth, inhale OJ- etc etc

6am- i put a sleeping alex into her carseat and we head out (brynn is in the car as well- of course)

6:20am- drop the girls off at my mother in laws- stay & chat till about 6:50ish

7-5pm- i work.

5pm- i pick up the girls & get home around 5:45

6-7pm- see above. all the same. food, diapers, Nick Jr, dinner- etc etc

7-8pm- play with daddy time! late night (hello friday), off to bed.

8pm- brynn goes to bed. i collapse on the couch.

8:30- pump. consider going to bed. consider acting like an adult & staying up past 9. 9pm- pass out ont he couch- get awoken by the husband."GO TO BED!"

10pm- crawl into bed.

Sat & Sun:

sweet weekend relief. we get up around 7- we laze about, or run errands, get breakfast, debate activites- etc etc. we have started going to church (finally) so we're out of the house by 8 on sundays. we still squeeze in all the things we cannot get to during the week- but i try not to do too much. we're in bed by 9 on Sun in prep for Monday.

Things that help:

- i put everything together the night before. lunches- bottles- clothing- everything i can.

- Kelly Beth: having a nanny saves my sanity. 3 days a week i don't have to rush or worry about anything. she handles the girls & naps & feedings & changing & snuggles - etc etc. she folds laundry & washes dishes- she is a lifesaver.

- the husband hangs with alex once he gets home- it give me about 20 min to focus on miss brynn.

- going to bed early. i simply have to. no choice.

so it's pretty good. Mon & Fri are earlier days but 2 out of 7 isn't bad. brynn doesn't STTN so i do bring her to bed between 1-2am. she nurses & falls back asleep (in our bed) she's a good sleeper & even if she does wake up- a quick nursing session puts her back out.

alex has always STTN (minus 1-2 wakeups for a paci or something) but if she does wakeup then the husband takes care of it.

and i think that about sums it up. i still feel rushed & tired- but not nearly as much as last year. having a nanny come to the house 3x per week is worth every.single.penny. amen.

my biggest accomplishment is actually making it to church. we haven't been in SO FREAKING LONG! i'll admit- we are lazy on Sundays. but i knew we needed to get back into worship & such- so we've found a church that we (so far) LOVE & they have a great kids program so i am 100% satisfied with the girls being well taken care of while we focus on absorbing the sermon.

we took communion this past week. it felt amazing- i haven't taken communion in years (yeesh). i really want to dive in & find a bible study as well- but baby steps. 7:30pm on a Wed night is simply not do-able right now. but we'll see.

so yes- there you have it. a week in our lives. or rather, every week in our lives.

weekend review

i decided to try & get bryn to sleep in her crib this past weekend.

so friday night = bath, boob, warm jammies, lots of snuggles & fingers crossed. i put her down- tucked the wedges against her- plugged in her paci- turned on the baby crack machine + night light= goodnight!

and she did pretty good. a few wails (which were quickly silenced with a paci & a tummy pat) but she basically slept in the crib until 1-2 am (when she started crying i could tell she was hungry- so i simply brought her to bed with me)

hooray- go me! i am a master but the baby in the crib'er- right?

wrong.

because last night she was having none of it. she went down fine- but about 20 min later she REFUSED to be consoled in the crib. straight up- no freaking way mom.

so i picked her up- she fell asleep in about .5 seconds. tried to put her back- WAILING ENSUED!

we did this dance for about 20 min. then i held her- and fell asleep for 40 min- then i woke up & was like- "crap. i need to eat & pump & pack lunches. hmmm- what to do?"

so brandon held her for 30 min or so while rushed around throwing things in bags & pouring milk into bottles.

i then tossed 1/2 a bologna sandwich down my gullet & gargled some mouthwash.

FYI: mustard + mint = not good.

then i crawled into bed with my peacefully slumbering child. crib fail.

but it's ok- we'll try again tonight. she's not old enough to try any kind of sleep training with yet (in my opinion) and i don't mind her sleeping with us- i just want to get the crib idea more appealing to her. so i guess we'll see how it goes.

anyway. this weekend was cold. really.freaking.cold. it's spring- but apparently March didn't get the memo because it was COLD!

to combat this- we went out to breakfast & headed to our local Agway for their annual "Chicken Swap"

breakfast was a classy affair- McDonald's. don't judge. i had a BOGO coupon.

alex had a lovely time consuming 3 gallons of liquid & then peeing all over the place.

diaper change fail.

brynn was pretty happy cooing away- until she decided i needed to feed her IMMEDIATELY. which i did.

in the McD's lobby. go me. sorry old people sitting across from us.

we then headed over to the Chicken Swap...which was outfreakingdoors- um no. it was 90 below zero. so brynn & i hung out in the greenhouse- then brandon brough alex in because, hello, sub zero temps.

once inside, alex obsessed over the waterfall pond.

she "oooh'd" & "ahhh'd" her head off.

brynn looks less than thrilled.

i tried for some sisterly love photos

sisterly love fail. alex was having none of it.

she was more than happy to pose by herself though.

and then she started speaking sternly to the husband because he told her to stop leaning over the pond...

"daddy, NO CAREFUL!"

adorable.

bryn was chill.

ho hum.

we headed home for a nap & then took alex to a local indoor playplace. it cost $10 for her- which i think is way too much- but she had fun.

we did get lost in The Mills & wandered around for 25 min trying to find this stupid place (but the mills are awesome & i think i found my new favorite spot to take pictures. old bricks & wood floors & mill stuff. hooray!)

anyway- eventually we found it & spent about 1 1/2 hours letting alex run around. strike that- more like sit & play with a stuffed teddy bear. i think we'll wait until she's a bit older for this place.

technically she had fun- but it took some coaxing to get her to do anything other than this:

sitting and watching everyone else.

yeah kiddo- i didn't dish out $10 for you to do what you could do to the TV at home.

now we know.

but all in all- good weekend.

we managed to squeeze in grocery shopping & a BJ's pitstop (because you know it's essential that we have String Cheese & Cheeze Its in bulk)

and i picked up the new Jodi Picoult book (which is laughable since i never have time to read these days)

i even threw together a lemon pound cake (that i've already eaten 1/3 of). done.

_______________________________

i had a reader suggest that i let you know what my back to work schedule looks like- good idea. so i think i'll type that up for you guys to give you an idea of what i'm working with every week. ...and perhaps seeing it in black & white will help me further justify wearing the same outfit 3 days a week. because i'm busy. of course.

spring closet cleaning = Coach bags!

it's time for some spring cleaning. of my closet. specifically- bags.

(i also have my eye on the most awesome wall coat rack for Alex's room. it's literally perfect. PERFECT! i was gung ho on buying it until i saw the price tag- erm. yeah. wow.

this is the most expensive wall coat rack i've ever considered buying. for a child's room. what is wrong with me?

but i've decided i simply must have it- i MUST!)

so- i'm selling some Coach bags & wallets. wait, did i just say that?! oh my. yes- i did.

i love my Coach bags. i treat them well & purchase them more often than i need to. and when i can't justify a purchase for myself- i purchase for a friend. nice huh? you want to be my friend right? you should. i'm awesome that way.

so without further dudes- here's what's up:

bag: 2008 Large Madeline Signature Tote- Brown (& matching wallet)
dimensions: 14"L x 5"W x 9 1/4"H; 7 3/4"
price: $300 or BO (for both the bag & wallet)

SOLD!












this bag/wallet is in such good condition- i only used it for a few months & then i moved on to another bag & it's been sitting in the closet ever since (i'm sorry Madeline)

i really loved this bag- you can get an idea of the size from the above picture. it's actually big enough that i considered using it as a purse/minimal babybag - but i never did.

both the bag & wallet are brown with a pink liners (fabric liner in the bag & leather in the wallet)
both are very clean & show minimal wear & tear (as you can see from the above pictures)

it seriously looks almost as good as the day i got it. i can prove it- here's a picture from the day i got it:


(excuse the dog cage & pee pad in the background. this was before i was aware of picture taking etiquette)

see? told you!

the only thing missing is that bow- and it was annoying so no worries.

this bag comes with the silk Coach dust bag & a bottle of Coach Cleaner:




(as you can see- brynn was invited to this picture party)

bag original retail price: $498
wallet original retail price: $198

your price: $300 or BO

next up:

bag: Signature Demi Pouch (& matching wallet)
dimensions: 8 (L) x 5 1/8 (H) x 2 (W)
price: $125 or BO (for both the bag & wallet)







i can honestly say this bag is all but brand new. i can literally count on 1 hand the number of times i actually used it. i think the number is 3- for real.

this was my first Coach bag & i quickly moved on to something bigger (because that's what happens people!) and i haven't used it since.

this is a Coach Original Collection so it still sells on their website: Coach Originals (though i don't think the wallet is for sale anymore)

it's a great size for going out to dinner or dancing (um...what?) or girls night or whatever it is that people do these days.

it comes with the white silk Coach dust bag.

bag original retail price: $148
wallet original retail price: $48
your price: $125 or BO

and there you go! if you're interested in either bag you can shoot me an email @ totally.bird@gmail.com

like i said- asking price or best offer. i'm pretty open to whatever. i priced them out based on what i saw on ebay & etc so they seem more than fair (since i'm including the wallets as well)
but if i'm way off base then feel free to let me know!

i purchase all my Coach bags from actual Coach Stores so everything is legit. the bags have serial #'s which i can give you if needed. i'm a bag snob- you can trust me. pretty promise.

if i can't get them to new homes via this post then i'll try Craigslist- and if that fails, my younger sisters might be getting some early Christmas presents. i'm pretty sure they have their fingers crossed for that.

happy spring cleaning!

(p.s. comments are off because i want to handle any questions- etc via email. alrighty!)