Hey, all! When Christy and Amy from 11 Magnolia Lane invited me to join a “Day in the Life” blog hop, I thought, “how fun!” This is something I’ve never done before. I love hearing “real life” stories of bloggers. We’re all connected through social media, but it’s great to dig deeper from time to time, and what better time to start than the first week of school! September, to me, always feels a bit more like what January feels like to most people. A fresh start, if you will. Always filled with so much promise. Mostly promises to myself: to be more punctual, to not forget forms the teachers need, to pack lunches the night before so I’m not bothered with the hassle in the morning. I could call these “School Year Resolutions,” and like “New Year Resolutions” they’re usually out the door after the first week. Lol. It’s the thought that counts, right?
I will say this: this is NOT an organization blog. If there’s one thing I am, it’s honest. I do not claim to have my poop emojis together. But, I’m gonna go ahead and wing this post and see how much I can fool ya! 😉
If you’re new here, I’m Haneen- mom of four; using my art degree around the house. I have three girls (9th grade, 6th grade, 2nd grade) and one boy (starting 4 yr. preschool). Things are a bit different with one starting high school. The early bus time is BRUTAL. And let me tell you- I am the poster child for someone who stays up ridiculously late. I’m not talking midnight. I’m talking I’ll be up working on my laptop and decide to bust out a bag of Sour Patch Kids and start a movie at 2am. I’m WEIRD, but I like my alone time. So, you don’t wanna see any photos of me at 6am. Go ahead and take my word for it that I’m up with my oldest at that time before she heads out the door. And after she’s filled her eye roll quota and walks to the bus, sometimes (most of the time) I crawl back into bed for a few more minutes of respite. But other times I decide to just enjoy the quiet and clean up whatever mess I was too lazy to clean the night prior, before kid #2 comes down the stairs.
Which leads me to 7am. It’s daughter #2’s first year of middle school and she’s used to getting up around an hour later. Ughhh. As much as I get excited for the return of routine and structure and sports that keep my kids busy, getting used to getting up early again is the hardest! Here she is texting some buddies before heading out the door…
She has a bus stop that’s a street away. I stand in the garage and watch her walk down. Toodles to cutie-pie #2! Keeping my fingers crossed that middle school is drama-free for this sweet girl!
Okie dokie, back inside and it’s 7:30am. Time for #3 to get up! Now’s a good time to show you our mini/pseudo mudroom. Our house doesn’t actually have a mudroom, and the closet near the garage was always such a traffic jam. Everyone was constantly in each other’s way. So I removed the doors to the closet, painted some stripes, added some hooks and a bench, and called it a day. No, it isn’t my ideal dream mudroom, but with the doors removed and a bench to sit on to tie shoes, it does free up a little space in this hallway. This is where we store backpacks, jackets, and all sports gear (dance, soccer, pom, and gymnatics).
Have I had my coffee yet? Nope, and I’ll tell you why. I don’t make it at home. I’m hooked on going through the Panera drive thru. It’s like Cheers- everybody knows my name. No joke! I drive my 2nd grader to school (she doesn’t get a bus because we live under a mile from the school), and after we’ve given hugs and kisses and I watch her walk in (which is weird, by the way, to see her walk in without an older sibling) I drive straight to Panera.
I order a caramel latte with skim milk and a pumpkin muffie for myself, and a baguette sliced in half with butter and an apple juice for my boy. Every. Single Day. I’ll start with my coffee order and then they’ll say, “Oh, good morning, Haneen! Do you want the usual?” Call me crazy, but it’s half the reason I go. Makes me feel good. Mama likes someone else handing her her coffee, thank you very much. Also, yes, you’re all starting your pumpkin spice everything as fall creeps in, but I literally get a pumpkin muffie with my coffee whether it’s Halloween or the 4th of July. Don’t ask why. I just like the combo.
SO! Enough coffee talk. This next hour is my happy place. Zane and I come home, I let him watch a show with his baguette and juice (and whatever fruit I cut up), and I do whatever tickles my fancy while I drink my coffee. We usually get home from school drop off and Panera around 9:15, and I allow myself to be lazy til 10. Sometimes I’m scrolling through Instagram and checking email, sometimes I’m reading a magazine, sometimes I’m online shopping. But don’t call me from 9:15-10am. Actually, never call me. I’m a texter.
So, it’s 10am, and it’s time for me to get off my bum. This is when Zane and I head upstairs and he plays with legos in our bedroom while I shower. Don’t you all use your nightstand as lego storage? Just me??
I’m so excited to get back to regular InstaStories! If you’re unfamiliar, they’re videos you post on Instagram that stay up for 24 hours. During the school year, I always do mine around 11am because it’s when I’m showered and dressed and ready for the day. I prop my phone up on my bedroom window sill, valium cheap uk thank the natural lighting for washing out my wrinkles, and start gabbing about anything and everything. Seriously, I love it. It’s a silly part of this job and sometimes I wonder, why is anyone watching this? But it makes me feel connected. Whether I’m talking motherhood, what project I’m currently working on, giving tips, showing some new shoes I bought, complaining about who knows what, or just wishing you all a good day, it feels good. It’s become an online diary of sorts. Except one that goes away so I’m not embarrassing my children for years to come;) Because let me tell you, most of the time I’m a complete nutjob with way too much energy. I’m a nerd, and I’m ok with that.
This is the window sill where my phone is propped for my videos:)
Speaking of sharing new shoes, check out these bad boys! My favorite new heel for fall! You can find them by clicking HERE.
So, my sweet little side kick has preschool Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays from 12-3. So if it’s one of those days, after I’m done making my son wonder why I’m talking at my phone like it’s a person, we drive to school and I’ve got the afternoon to myself. If it’s a Monday or Friday, Z gets to tag along on mommy’s adventures. He can name you every store as I pull in. Not sure if I should be proud of that. Lol Sometimes we run errands, sometimes I have a lunch date with a friend, sometimes I volunteer at his sister’s school, sometimes I’m working (styling, photographig, editing, blogging, etc.) Just depends on the day!
Gonna be honest. After school chaos terrifies me. When I thought about becoming a mom, I had visions of baking cookies and having a constant flow of jazz music playing when the kids returned from school. Like, whaaat? Why did I think that’s what exemplified motherhood? That is not real life, folks! But for today, let’s pretend it is! I’m literally going to play jazz music and bake (pre-made) cookies for this post! For realz, I should do this all the time just so I can feel like I’m living my best make believe life. High fives for faking it. No one will fight during this at all, I bet;)
I literally have a pump of hand sanitizer sitting on the counter right where you walk in from the garage. #germaphobe The first thing the kids do is take off their shoes and (hopefully) put stuff where it all goes. Then they know to go wash up or grab hand sanitizer before getting anything to snack on. While they’re snacking, I go through their backpacks and we go over whatever homework they have for the night. Here’s a wall in the pantry where we display some art and throw some school papers. It works, for now.
Anyone have a good solution for collecting box tops? Ours are just tacked on our bulletin board in a sandwich bag!
I struggle between wanting to give them time to decompress after school and wanting them to buckle down and get homework done right away so we don’t have to think about it later. What do you all do? There’s nothing worse than a kid getting home from an activity/sport at 9pm and still having homework to do. Hey, remember way back when, when you had alone time with your husband at the end of the day? Yeah, me neither. Kids, GO TO BED.
Speaking of beds, all this yapping and did you know I’m also revealing two new spaces? Well, a sneak peek at least. This post is becoming a mile long, so come back soon for the full reveals of two kids’ rooms. YESSSS, PEOPLE! I did it! I ran around like a chicken with my head cut off trying to get this done before school started! Let me see if I can break this down quickly:
The 11 year old and 7 year old shared a room, and Zane had his own room across the hall. Well, gonna admit here that Zane has been sleeping in our bed for a year, maybe? (Came in our bed to snuggle one night when he was sick and never went back. Not sure if that deserves an LOL) So, with that said, I decided his room was a waste of square footage, and to give the 11 year old Zane’s room! Yes, he’ll need his own room eventually. We’re working on making a 5th bedroom out of the sitting room in our master. For now, we’ll make do. I was so happy to give these two girls their own spaces. The closet rearranging may have caused me a few grey hairs, but boy was it worth it. Here’s a few teaser shots! Check back soon (and feel free to subscribe on my home page!) to see the full reveal! I think my favorite part was organizing their closets! Just felt so good to do some purging and color coding. Odd for someone who doesn’t call herself organized, I know. But it looks pretty, and it makes it easy to find things!
Sneak peek of one of the rooms…
I think that about sums up a day in the life of lil’ old me! Did I leave something out? Do you have a question? Do you wanna hear from other bloggers that may have tips on organization and how they keep their poop emojis together? Check out this line up! I love all of these people and I can’t wait to go read their posts!
Amy from 11 Magnolia Lane
Megan from Honey We’re Home
Haneen from Haneen’s Haven
Julie from Less Than Perfect Life of Bliss
Mallory from Style Your Senses
Erin from Sunny Side Up
Sam from Simply Organized
And here are the posts from those who contributed last week:
Jennifer from Dimples & Tangles
Amanda from Dixie Delights
Rebekah from A Blissful Nest
Christy from 11 Magnolia Lane
Thank you for reading! Good luck with your new school year, everyone! Hang on tight! We got this. And if we don’t , we at least have each other, right?
Cheers,
Haneen
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