A whole day, from start to finish
Hi friends! Hope you’re having a lovely morning. I’m looking forward to catching a barre class today, picking up a juicer from Facebook Marketplace (it’s the little things), and catching up on work stuff. I’d love to hear what you have going on!
For today’s post, I have an entire day from start to finish. It’s fun to write these every now and again and look at how much the chaos has evolved. (Like this one when P was a baby and Liv was a preschooler!) This was a pretty *normal* day for us right now, with a couple of exceptions: the Pilot was gone (I basically never have a clue if he’ll be around or not. Airline life is a new world, I tell ya) and the girls didn’t have any after-school activities. We’re running around doing dance classes, dance team (!), swim, and gymnastics, so this was a rare treasure when we could just chill at home after school.
Here’s a peek into the day:
6:45am: I wake to the sound of my alarm. This is a MAGICAL thing because usually I’m already awake, from either Liv, Caro, or P (or a mixture of all of the above) waking me up at some point and my inability to go back to sleep. All three stayed asleep in their respective beds, all night, and this is worth a celebration. I squint and look at my phone with one eye open, checking emails, scrolling through Instagram, and within a couple of minutes, Livi walks in. We chat in bed and she tells me about her dreams, and we head downstairs for breakfast. On the way downstairs, I try to wake P, who is still crashed with her arms wide open. She’s usually the early bird -awake by 6 most days – so this is very surprising.
6:55: Livi gets dressed and ready for school while I start their favorite banana-egg-oat pancakes, drink a morning detox drink, and put their lunches and snacks into their lunch boxes. I fill up water bottles, grab their vitamins (they take a kids’ multi, a probiotic, and vitamin D each day), and go back upstairs to try to wake P again. This time I’m successful, and she groggily carries her stuffed sloth downstairs to start the day.
7:20: Both kids are happily eating pancakes, so I rush upstairs to throw on a lululemon outfit + some moisturizer and brush my teeth. I make my favorite collagen coffee
(I use decaf organic coffee from Whole Foods, add a little monk fruit, and then heat up almond milk separately in the microwave. I add two tablespoons of collagen to the hot almond milk, and use my milk frother to froth it up. I pour the almond milk and collagen mixture on top of the coffee and take it with us in my beloved Yeti cup. It’s like a latte but with coffee instead of espresso with a protein boost from the collagen. It’s SO good!), do the girls’ hair while they brush their teeth, tie little shoelaces, slather sunscreen on them, and we’re out the door by 7:45.
9:10: I’m back home from both drop-offs and slam an applesauce pouch before hopping on the Peloton bike.
It’s my only chance for a quick workout, so I do a 30-minute Tabata ride and hit a new PR. This was a tough ride and I feel like I’m struggling to hit my previous PR the entire ride, but it feels awesome when I finally do it. I wash my face and get dressed quickly, and am on a conference call, drinking a smoothie by 10.
(1 cup almond milk, frozen cauliflower rice, 1/2 scoop Truvani chocolate protein powder, 2 tablespoons hemp protein, maca, 1 tablespoon chia seeds, cinnamon, blueberries, Nuttzo, and spinach. I’ve been using the Truvani protein lately and really love the ingredients, taste, and texture. It’s very sweet, so that’s why I only use half a scoop and mix it with the hemp protein.)
Supplements:
(DIM Detox -only for a couple of months – an adrenal booster, and B complex. Ali has been helping me with supplements and I love working with her.)
10:30 I’m off the conference call and get ready to head to a nearby gym for employee orientation. I’m finally going to start teaching classes more regularly, and I’m pretty excited about it! I’ve mostly been subbing classes since last summer. With the Pilot gone so often since he deployed and then catapulted straight into the airlines, it didn’t make sense for me to pay a babysitter more to watch the girls than I’d make teaching the class. So I subbed here and there, mostly barre, TRX, and spin, but I really miss having my own classes. I’m really looking forward to making my way back into the Tucson fitness community and have a couple of current options that include childcare.
11:30 I’m back home! I make the beds, clean up the kitchen and wipe down the counters, run the eufy, start a load of wash, and drink a green juice.
I write a post for WebMD, the meat for this post, schedule social shout-outs, and send a couple of invoices.
12:40: Lunch! I made this Instant Pot soup for dinner one night and saved the rest for easy lunches. It’s one of my favorite combos: chicken, zucchini, bell pepper, sweet potato, carrot, onion, garlic, ginger, turmeric, rosemary, salt, pepper, and chicken broth. (It’s my standard recipe but I added some ginger and turmeric for this batch because I’m trying to eat as many gallbladder superfoods as possible.) I have it with a salad of spinach, cucumber, shredded beet, a squeeze of orange juice, and a dollop of vegan spinach artichoke dip from our Sunbasket delivery.
(Not super pretty but was perfect!)
1:00 I get my nails done and pick up P! TBH I HATE sitting in the chair for 45 minutes because I get antsy, but it’s so nice to have my nails done and not worry about them for two weeks.
3:10 We’re back home from school pick-up and I make the girls a snack plate. They have one almost every day after school. It’s like a cheese board for kids: a mix of random snacky stuff for them to enjoy while they chill for a bit.
I take a little break to snuggle on the couch with them and watch some of the Les Mis 25th anniversary concert that was on PBS. Liv is surprisingly very into my G-rated version of the storyline, and after we watch Samantha Barks crush “On My Own,” I help Liv with her homework. Then both girls head outside to play for a bit.
My snack: an apple with some granola butter (obsessed with this stuff) and chocolate chips, plus a hibiscus hot tea
The next few hours are the usual whirlwind of cleaning and cooking: switching out dishes and laundry, packing lunches, making + eating dinner, and cleaning up the dinner aftermath.
Dinner is a Sunbasket meal. We have two each week and I look forward to them because I feel like dinner only takes 15 minutes or so to prep on these nights. The girls are into shrimp, so thankfully this one is a huge hit.
The girls’ plates:
(I give them fresh fruit with pretty much every meal, so I sliced up some apples to go with it)
my bowl:
6:45: We take the dogs for a 20-minute walk around the neighborhood. P rides her scooter, Liv walks Caro, and I walk Bell. Now that the weather has cooled down a teeny bit, we can walk the dogs more often, and they’re loving it. We figured out on our walk that Bella is going to be 14 in December!! I can’t even believe it.
When we get home, it’s straight into the bedtime rituals: bath, books, brush teeth, story time, checking on Liv every 10 minutes until she’s crashed. In between checking on Liv, I hang out in the playroom and respond to IG DMs and emails.
9pm: Liv is asleep. I turn on Bachelor in Paradise, finish up this post, drink a golden latte, answer blog comments and any leftover emails, and crawl into bed.
11pm: Lights out and ready to do it all over again. 🙂
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Thank you for this post! I either discover new products when you do these type of posts or find you’ve tried something I’ve had my eye on. In this case both. I’m definitely giving Kween Granola Butter + Collagen a try. I’ve been eyeing Truvani’s protein powders but was hesitant about the taste because pea protein is not my fave. Good to know you find it sweet.
you’ll looooove the granola butter!!
I also love these posts and wouldn’t mind them more frequently
thank you for letting me know! i can absolutely do them more often <3
You really are a busy bee. I love how hands-on you are in life and how personalized your blog is. It’s not often you get the sense there is a REAL person behind blogs these days – which is why I’m signing up to it. You remind me of one of my sisters – she never seems to run out of energy and is a great mother like yourself, Gina.
Keep up the great work!
Oh, and congratulations on your latest PR on the Tabata ride! I know how good they feel.
thank you so much, john! i really appreciate it
These are my favorite posts! I feel like your family does so much in a day and I love seeing how it actually goes down! You do a great job of balancing it all, especially considering how often your husband travels.
thank you so much, friend! happy to hear you like these posts – they’re my favorite types of posts to read, too
I feel the exact same way about getting my nails done! I love having them done so they look pretty, but making the time to go sit there for so long feels like I’m missing out on other things. I never felt this way until I had a baby – now time is just so much more precious to me. (I’m also still struggling with self-care since having a baby, and this ties into that. But no need to have my own personal therapy appointment in your blog comments.) 🙂
yes, it totally happened since having a baby. it feels like such a giant waste of time, but then i think about how much time i’d spend paying my own nails or taking polish off when they peeled or chipped every 3-4 days and it’s so worth it. it’s nice to not worry about it! i also love taking off the dip before my appointment so i’m not there as long.
self care is so hard after baby and i feel like it’s so easy to feel guilty about everything (!), but it’s so worth making the time to do things that make you feel like YOU. <3
I love day in the life posts… I also find new products that people actually use and I find it interesting to see how and what people eat … I assume that your husband works odd hours as an airline pilot. I was flying for work across the country and asking all the flight attendants all of the questions. I like to how people make it work for a living and still have a life outside of work. I work lots and have three little kids and sometimes I find it extremely stressful like I cannot get on top of anything … I know everyone has these feelings at some point but I like to hear how people manage.
I would love to try a peloton bike. I have been a mountain biker my whole life and never really got into spinning bc the seats KILL my butt. I’ve tried everything and just cannot get over the bruises that make my other hobbies (horse back riding) painful too. BUT the peloton seems to be so much fun and easy to use at home. Maybe the peloton treadmill.
Sorry for the rambling. You are doing amazing, keep it up.
i totally feel ya on that. a lot of days i feel overwhelmed and like i’m struggling to get things done, but on the rare occasion i feel on top of things, it’s a treat 😉
xoxo
Will airline life be better in the future? It seems like you traded one challenging employment for another! You’re a rock star for handling so much on your own. Loved this post! Thank you
it’s going to be amazing in a few years, and we absolutely love the airline we’re with, but the first year is very hard.
xoxo
Would you mind sharing what brand vitamins you use for the girls?
i use smartypants multivitamin, now foods probiotic, and olly vitamin d dummies (we all take these! i take 2 and the girls take 1)
Love these posts! Would you mind elaborating on the DIM Detox? The reason you’re taking it and which brand you’re using?
i’m taking the pure encapsulations brand and it’s because i have estrogen dominance. in the past, i took dim and it helped a TON, but i took it for way too long and it made my hormones swing the opposite direction. now they’re high again, so i’m only taking it for 3 months and then getting off of it to see if it helps stabilize everything.
Whew! Just when I think that I do so much in one day then I realize after reading this….that I don’t. Haha
I noticed you give your girls vit D every day. I was recently at a continuing ed for work which was given by an MD. It was about health and wellness. Anyway, he went on and on about the Major benefits of vit D and making sure you get enough. Brain health like Alzheimer’s protection, bone health, cancer protection, our emotional health etc.
I also have a new PA that put me on a mega dose weekly. My levels were at 38. 30 is the “Normal standard” in the medical world that they want you to be at (below that is when people would get rickets) but she told me that 50 is when you get the cancer protection etc. Anyway, just interesting info that I didn’t fully realize.
yes, i mostly use it as an immune system support, but it has so many benefits!
As another airline pilot wife here, it’s crucial to my sanity for my husband to write his trips and sims (a lot since he is an instructor too) on our shared calendar. He actually puts the times of when he leaves and returns to the house, not just trip details. I spent way too many confusing years pre-kids trying to decipher those pages, haha!
that’s an excellent tip. he sent me his schedule, which is an excel sheet with a bunch of acronyms i don’t understand sooooo not very helpful.
Can you post the recipe for your instant pot soup? Do you just throw it all in the pot? For how long? Thanks!
yes, i saute the chicken and veggies for about 7 minutes until the chicken is browned, add the spices and broth, then set on sup for 20 minutes
How much nutzo do you put in your smoothies?
it depends on how filling i want it to be. usually 1-2 tablespoons