I haven't done a Day in the Life post since our early days at WillowBridge. I wanted to try to do this again so I could remember what days are like in this season. I always enjoy looking back at them! So...here goes!
Monday, June 27, 2022
Ryan is 43, Bekah is 44, Braeya is 16, and Lexi is 7 months old
The high for today is 76, and it's sunny
* Ryan gets up early to water the yard that we are in our third week of growing, but it's still fairly damp from last night's watering. So instead, he uses his time to do his devotions, pray, and watch YouTube videos about growing grass, since our adventure is NOT going well. (He forgot we were doing this post today, so he didn't take any pictures of that part.)
* Braeya wakes me up and "talks" to me for a while, and then she gets bored and has her breakfast. I get up, get dressed in comfy clothes, and change the date on the blocks in our living room.
* Ryan gets Lexi up while I suit up in a jacket and my shoes. It's been blistering hot here lately, so a jacket feels very strange. The sun is up, and it's so pretty! Ryan brings Lexi outside, and we go on a walk. Lexi lovvvvvves being outside, so walks are an excellent opportunity for us to work on heeling and other skills and obedience.
* We come home and check on the sprinklers Ryan turned on some of the dry spots before we left. Our grass is patchy at best, but he continues to work hard at watering and trying to coax it to life. Ryan cleans Lexi's paws (something she's getting better at tolerating), and then I bring her inside while he goes back out to continue watering.
* Lexi is READY for breakfast and plops down to await its arrival. In the morning, she eats from a wobbly Kong, and she waits patiently to be released to eat.
* While she eats breakfast, Ryan continues watering, and I make sure the house is ready for the day: I make the bed, put up any blinds that aren't already up, and bring out my day planner and pens for the day. I'm lost without my lists!
* I get my water glass out of the refrigerator, where it's been chilling all night long. I choose my coffee cup for the morning, which today is the "Grateful" cup my sister gave me as a housewarming gift. I get busy drinking from both!
* Lexi is done with her breakfast, so I put the Kong away and turn on her HGTV shows for her. Today we start with Unsellable Houses, which happens to be one of my favorites. She curls up on the couch to rest and watch TV, and I settle in at the table to check my emails that have come in since last night.
* I pull up the social media graphic and text for Ryan's work and prepare to post it. It's Monday, so today's social media theme is "Monday Motivation." Today's post is a quote from Annie Chapman, and I've added a tiny extra thought to go with it.
* I get busy answering emails and checking Instagram, while Ryan gets ready for work. He pauses while getting ready to go move sprinklers, and then resumes getting ready. I'm ready...for the second cup of coffee. Hello, Monday. I see you.
* I decide to go ahead and eat breakfast, which today is yogurt with honey and granola. Normally I would be packing Ryan's lunch right now, too, but today looks different for him, so I'm not doing any packing! Ryan makes oatmeal for his breakfast and joins me at the table. (I normally do my morning work at the dining room table, rather than in the office, so I can spend extra time with Ryan.)
* I send out a couple of texts to hopefully encourage some friends who are facing a hard Monday. I want them to know I'm thinking of and praying for them and that they have what it takes to do hard things!
* Ryan heads out to a coffee meeting this morning with a gentleman who works for the national Love INC office. He tells us goodbye, and I notice Lexi is doing better with the morning goodbyes. She seems to understand the routine more now, and that is good. After he leaves, she crawls back up on the couch, and I return to the dining room table to do some more work.
* I go ahead and do my two writing prompts for today. I am committed to writing for about ten minutes on each prompt, so I set my timer and get to writing!
* I finish my writing prompts right about the same time I finish my first mug of water. (It's 32 ounces and my current goal is to drink four per day. Three is the absolute must, but with the heat we've been experiencing, I've increased it to four.) I decide to knock out my stretch routine, which you might remember, was one of my goals for June. I'm also kicking off a new workout plan this week, so since I'm stretching, I might as well add the workout. It looks easy enough...until I do it! Day one is a 15-minute abs/glute/thigh workout, followed by an 8-minute additional outer-glute workout. Whoa. Way harder than it appears. But I do all of it!
* After the workout, I need more water and a break, so I refill my mug and sit down to catch up on emails again. They replenish quickly, and that doesn't bother me at all.
* Once I've had a little rest from my workout and had some more water, I head into the bathroom to get ready for the day. My crunchy hair is two days old, so it's time for a total restart, which means it's hair washing day!
* While I get ready (recrunching the hair, doing my makeup, etc.) I listen to Marco Polo messages that came in over the weekend. Normally I get right on them, but we had a busier weekend, so I got a little behind. I find both Braeya and Lexi enjoying morning nap/rest time when I'm done, and I tell them I'm proud of them for doing so well! I grab a Rice Krispie treat for a snack (made them for the weekend's festivities, so it's unusual to have them in the house) and continue working on my water consumption and Marco Polos - and an extra half cup of coffee.
* Ryan comes home from his meeting and tells me he plans to work from home the rest of the day. Lexi and I are SO EXCITED to have him here! She can't contain her joy at all when he walks in the door.
* While Ryan tells me all about his meeting and everything he learned, I unload the dishwasher that ran overnight and then put a load of clothes in the washer. I defrost some chicken for our lunch and then cook it on the stove and steam some broccoli to go with it. I give Ryan the love note I would have packed in his lunch if I'd packed it!
* We get to eat lunch together, which is a real treat on a weekday. Lexi eats her frozen Kong for lunch, which makes her so happy. (She loves food as much as I do.) Braeya is still napping. I also fill up my mug the third time today, since my lunch wiped out mug #2.
* After lunch, I clean up the kitchen and switch the clothes from the washer to the dryer. Then it's time for me to find my shoes and purse so I can head out for a coffee meeting of my own! One of my local friends and I made plans a few weeks ago to meet up this afternoon for coffee. I tell Ryan I'm sad to be gone on a day he gets to be home, but he needs to work on my laptop to set it up for work I'll be doing with Love INC, so it all works out.
* I head out in plenty of time to meet my friend and end up having zero traffic to contend with, find a parking place immediately, and they even had tables to spare, so I am able to nab one! The coffee shop is celebrating its 5th birthday, so they have a fun balloon arch and everything. I order a chocolate truffle latte with almond milk, and it is delicious! Sarah and I have a great time catching up, but then she needs to get back home, so I return home as well.
* Ryan is hard at work when I return, and Lexi is waiting for me at the door. Braeya is between naps, and Lexi is ready for her snack. (She gets a smaller frozen Kong in the afternoon. It looks like a pacifier and always makes me giggle.)
* Ryan shows me the calendars and things he had set up for my Love INC account, so I fluff the clothes in the dryer while he does that. Then I fold and put away all the laundry while Braeya and Lexi both watch attentively. Thankfully, today, neither of them "help.")
* While Ryan finishes up his work, I start copying writing prompts for July into my day planner. (They just arrived today via email.) I have a little bit of trail mix for a snack, and then it is time for our next adventure!
* Since we don't have a fenced-in yard for the next little while, we joined a local dog park. I know they are not everyone's favorite, but this one is membership-based, and it has strong policies on being up-to-date on shots and dog behavior within the park. We thought we would try it, and today is our first visit. No one else is there when we arrive, and Lexi has the time of her life running around, uninhibited. She will not even know what to do when our yard is completed! It is so much fun to watch her run!
* We are tired by the end of our dog park adventure, so all three of us kick back on the couch for a quick nap. Unfortunately, we've forgotten to put our phones on airplane mode, so it isn't long before we're awakened by texts and phone calls.
* Ryan gets up and pays some bills, and I start putting dinner together and putting away the dishes that have been drying on the counter. While dinner cooks, I finish copying the July writing prompts into my planner and check my email/Facebook/Instagram.
* Our dinner, which is chicken breasts, sweet potatoes, and butternut squash with BBQ sauce and ranch, finishes baking, so we sit down to eat. I'm well into my fourth water mug for today. Lexi gets her last frozen Kong of the day and devours it as quickly as she can. While we eat, we continue to talk about the conversations we've had with others today and all the things we've learned from them.
* After dinner, Ryan goes back outside to begin the evening watering routine. It will probably take him about three hours to do the whole yard, but it's so windy that it might take longer. Windy days have been a huge problem for us in our watering adventures. I clean up the table and kitchen and settle in to do my Bible study for the day. In my study of Genesis, I'm currently in the chapter where Abraham pleads with God to spare Sodom and Gomorrah and Lot's escape from the city before its destruction. Today my study involves filling out a chart to list things the Bible says about Sodom throughout the rest of Scripture.
* While Ryan is outside, I write his love note for his lunch box tomorrow and tuck it away in the day planner until I pack his lunch tomorrow! I also find a Susie Larson quote that I love, so I copy it into my planner. I try to copy a quote from someone every day, so I have a whole arsenal of encouraging words to read on hard days!
* Ryan is next door visiting with the neighbor, so Lexi and I go over to see them. Ryan switches the sprinklers and then we decide to go for an evening walk. Lexi is SO excited to see so many people out and thinks they are all there to see her. She's really disappointed when her favorite treat-givers aren't in their yard. (It's actually funny to watch her strain to look for them!)
* We come home, do another paw-cleaning, and Ryan goes back out into the yard to water some more. Lexi and I come inside, I change into comfy clothes, and choose a coffee mug for the evening. I go with the orange "Strength" mug Ryan bought me from MudLove last fall, when we were on a date to Winona Lake. I use the Keurig for my evening coffee and settle on the couch to do some Pinterest surfing and blog reading. I turn on America Says, which is one of our favorite things to watch in the evening.
* I find a shirt I think I need for working out, so I send Ryan a picture. (HA!) It actually reminds me of when I went to Trudy's childbirths and kept telling her every contraction was the last one. She eventually asked me to not say that anymore.
* Ryan finishes the watering and comes in to watch TV with me. Lexi is worn out from her day and conks out beside him. I work on putting together this blog and finish my last water. Family Feud comes on, and we decide we need a little snack. I choose homemade granola with a sprinkling of chocolate chips, and Ryan has peanut butter pretzels. After our snack, Ryan washes the non-dishwasher safe dishes from the day. Yes, I recognize what a gift it is to have a husband who enjoys doing dishes!
* It's close enough to the end of the day that I can stop to do my journaling. This is one of my favorite writing practices. I've been doing it (nearly) daily since I was fifteen years old. That's almost thirty years of journaling! WHAT?!!?!?!
* Ryan fills all Lexi's meal Kongs for tomorrow, and she stands close at hand in case he drops any pieces of food as he fills them. :) She's so eager to be on the cleanup crew! Ryan also gets the coffee pot ready for tomorrow morning - filling it with water and getting the beans ground. He also refills all the Keurig reservoir and the water pitchers in the refrigerator.
* I remember I have a thank-you note to write and a Facebook message to follow up on, so at the tail end of the day, I scurry to finish those last two little chores. And then I remember one Love INC chore I had intended to do and forgot to work on. I wasn't tired yet, so I decide to work on it. (It's a form that needs created.)
And that's a wrap on the day! Ryan takes Lexi for her last potty break of the day and puts her to bed. I wash my face, brush my teeth, and that's an end to this day! Thanks for reading along!
