March 9, 2011

a day in the life - sj

Good morning everyone!  I hope this Wednesday is treating you well.  I could have used a little more sleep, but what's new.  Today I'd like to introduce you to SJ, I hope you enjoy peaking in to her day!

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Hey everyone! I'm SJ from M&SJ+C.

I'm married to MJ, a Marine veteran turned salesman, and we've been married almost three years. We have the greatest blessing in our lives, our daughter CPJ. She just turned nine months old and is so much fun!

I am a working mama, so my day starts bright and early. I get up around 5:30 (after a few hits of the snooze button...) to get ready for work. MJ gets up around 6:15 and wakes up CPJ. He gets her morning bottle ready and changes her clothes while I gather up her school bag, my purse, and whatever else I'm going to need for the day. My goal is to get in the car by 7:05.

 
Ready to go!

We arrive at CPJ's school around 7:15, and I take her in to her classroom. I chat with her teachers a few minutes before making sure CPJ is settled in. I head out and arrive at work around 7:30, check my emails, and figure out my priorities for the day. I'm an associate editor, so I do a lot of reading, marking, and sending questions to agencies for their approval. Our work depends on agencies submitting changes, so it can be extremely busy or really slow. It just varies by how much gets submitted before each deadline.

MJ heads to work around 9:00. We text off and on through the day to see how each other is doing. He does sales, so his days can be super busy or somewhat slow. He'll get home around 5:30 or 6:00.

 
Sneak peek into my cubicle

More work until it's time for me to leave, around 4:30. I head straight to CPJ's school to pick her up! This is one of the best parts of the day; I love seeing her face light up when I walk through the door. I talk to her evening teachers and read over her chart before loading up her bag and heading to the car.
We get home between 5:15 and 5:30. I get everything unloaded and check on dinner. We're having BBQ beef sandwiches tonight, which have been cooking in the crock pot all day and smell amazing! I throw some fries in the oven and call it a meal.

When MJ gets home, we sit down for dinner. CPJ has some oatmeal and squash for dinner. After dinner, we do the dishes then play with CPJ before it's bath time!

Splashin' in the bathtub

Bath time is definitely another favorite time of the day. This girl loves splashing in the tub, and it's so fun to watch. She has a big grin on her face the entire time.
After bath time, we put CPJ in her jammies, and she gets her bedtime bottle. She usually lays down for the night around 8:00. After that, MJ and I finish up the dishes, get CPJ's bottles ready for school the next day, fold some laundry, and watch a couple DVR'ed shows. We go to bed between 10 and 11, and by that point, I'm definitely ready for some sleep!

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What is the most surprising thing to you about being a mother?
How quickly the time goes! I know everyone always says that the years just fly by, but I never realized it until we had CPJ. I'm one of those moms going, "She's already nine months old?! How did that even happen?" She's growing like a weed and is so much fun to play with. I can't wait to see what she'll be doing in a month or even a year!

What are some tips you would give to new moms or soon-to-be mommas?
The first weeks are the craziest. Once I got past the first few weeks, I felt so much more comfortable taking care of our girl, getting out of the house, and getting into our routine as a family of three. It's such a huge change, but it's so worth it. It just takes a little while to get it all straightened out. The funny thing is I still remember recovery and being in the hospital, but I don't remember the craziness of the first month or so.

What are your top three baby products?
1. A boppy pillow. It was handy to use when breastfeeding and for afterwards when CPJ would fall into her milk-induced coma. It also made a return when CPJ first started sitting; we would put it around her on the floor, so if she fell back, the pillow would catch her.
2. A lovey. We got one for CPJ when she had her two-month shots, and she's so attached to it. It goes everywhere with us, and she takes all her naps with her bunny tucked in her arm.
3. A jumperoo! CPJ loves hers, and it's so fun to watch her go crazy in it. When we first put her in there, she was obsessed with just spinning the frog around, but then she figured out that she can jump around, and she's gone to town ever since.

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Thank you, SJ, for sharing your day with us!

3 comments:

SJ said...

Thanks for allowing me to post!

Anonymous said...

Awwww, such a cute baby and great tips!

-Emily- said...

great post!! our little one loves his jumperoo as well :) You're very lucky to have a sweet hubby to help you out....I know it gets so exhausting!