July 2013 {our day in the life}

Working at an Advertising Agency for the past 14 years I have spent countless hours profiling client products and target audience behavioral characteristics to understand the best time and place for ad consumption.  This includes researching lifestyle habits, purchase patterns coupled with media offerings to align successfully against the strategic brand objectives.  Throughout the year countless hours of work was brought to life by various clients such as…..

• Disney: when and how do consumers go about planning a vacation
• Allstate: switch auto insurance providers 
• MillerCoors: consider a portfolio of beer

         and the list goes on.....  

I was able to escape that world for an amazing 3 months while learning how to be a mommy of 2 new joys in my life alongside my cutie daughter and VERY hands-on husband.  I am definitely not what anyone would describe as a homebody so during my leave I made sure to enjoy the time with my family and get out and create a memorable summer often times with 3 kids in tote on my own. 

I had always wanted to create 'a day in the life' for my family just like I did in my Strategic Planning days. I started thinking about it first as a marketer... my life was turned upside down, I rarely turn on the TV, never read a magazine or surf the web...traditional media  did not fit into my world, so how would a marketer even find me (or so I thought)?  Additionally, with everyone asking how I do it or complete strangers telling me I have my hands full at the sight of me, this is my response. 

Photography and capturing moments on film has been such an important part of my life....so here it goes profiling a regular day in July one year ago, Kyleigh 2 1/2 and boys 2 months.

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After a few middle of the night feedings and a total of 4 hours of broken sleep my day began at 5:30am with the boys first feeding. My husband had left for work at 4:30am....by 6:30am I had the boys back asleep (note: not sure what time Kyleigh crawled in our bed but guessing around 4am).  

Scott had taken the role of bottle duty and he got me all prepped and set up for the day!  I'm so lucky for his help and currently I can always count on him to keep our kitchen and dishes in order.

Following the feedings I moved the boys into bed. Christian in the bassinet and Caleb in the pack and play. Previously both boys slept in the same space, but we started separating them around this time as they started rolling into each other. 

It's about 6:50am and the boys started waking up again so I rotated them to the swings in order to wake up their big sister. Prior to maternity leave we were both out the door by 6:30 for school and work but oh how things have changes for the two of us. 

I checked her summer school schedule to make sure I don't miss a sprinkler day or anything special prior to picking out Kyleighs outfit.

I'm all set, but Kyleigh clearly is not.

Decided to shift gears, and take advantage of all 3 kids sleeping I empty the dishwasher and straightened up the kitchen.

The time is now 7am and they boys are up raring to go.  With Kyleigh still sleeping I decide to get the boys ready for the day first.  Outfits and diapers....check!

Time check: 7:54am

Ok now boys back in the swing so I can get Kyleigh moving!

Caleb distracts me a bit with some loud screams...but got this under control.

The time is about 8am and it's bottle time. Kyleigh is up finally, but covers her ears to drain out the boys fussing while I make the bottles.  Once the bottles are ready I usually feed both boys together and on special occasions Kyleigh wants to help.

8:36 boys are fed and Kyleigh is finally dressed.  Time for teeth brushing, breakfast and some hand washing prior to starting the journey to school.

Eek it's 9:08 and we are just leaving, Regardless we have a fun journey to school where my crafty little girl gets some coloring in.

Washing hands prior to greeting her friends outside for morning recess (before the hot weather kicks in, summer school starts the day outside).

And we are back home just in time for the 3rd bottle of the day and a morning nap....and some laundry!

2 loads accomplished and some housework....and Christian is starting to wake up while Caleb sleeps on....

Following diaper changes made the bed finally!

During vacuuming Christian decided he needed some love...which I was glad to give him! Then, some more laundry!

Finally finished vacuuming the house and photographing the rooms as we were in the middle of listing our townhome for rent.....the goal of the new house is for our boys to have their own room!

Christian is ready for another round while Caleb sleeps tight....I skipped breakfast but having some quick lunch at about 1pm. 

Caleb decided to join the fun and have lunch with Christian.

With Kyleigh at school decided on mid-afternoon baths, which both boys love.

Every day is a new journey and no two are the same....this was a special Monday as I had a good friend in town from TX. We had plans to meet up for dinner so the boys are all ready for the evening (hopefully).

Yeah, it's 2:30pm and I am finally showered and ready for the day!

And it is Caleb's turn for some love as Christian takes another nap.

One hand free, Caleb is allowing me to edit some photos.

And now some emails....I took a break from designing during my leave, but I did have 2 brides that I committed to prior that I was finishing up:-)

And now time to pick up big sister from school.

It's Disney Junior time as we patiently wait for daddy to get home from work.

Daddy's home and in charge of the boys....now it's Kyleigh's turn for a bath....lets get her all pretty for her friend Steven (my friend Laurie's cutie son from TX she met when she was 6 months old) and his little brother Camden.

OK I think we are almost ready to start packing up and head to dinner...

For those parents with toddlers and babies I'm assuming you can relate? 

Rock Bottom here we come!

I wish I had more restaurant pictures....it was an amazing time and a sight to see, party of 17 parents were outnumbered by the kids!  I wish we had more time together, but it is always great to be with friends whenever we can!

Time-check....we are home @ 10:15.  Thank goodness Kyleigh doesn't have school on Tuesday....time to get all 3 kiddos in bed we have a big day planned for tomorrow.....zoo with the Schuppert girls!

Just a little blogging and bed for me:-)

Keep the good times rolling, next day Zoo trip waiting patiently for the Schuppert girls to meet us at Brookfield!

Bringing it back full circle to the day in the life with the media twist, I didn't realize how much media I actually did consume after putting this together, between TV, Radio, Online, Outdoor, Place-Based....the list goes on.  I can definitely speak from experience in any brainstorm how to target moms like me.

Being back at work for the past year, life has changed so much from this point...between adjusting to working, learning our new neighborhood and all of the different stages as the boys grow and develop.  It has been such a rewarding and amazing journey and I can't wait to see what the future holds for us.

Maybe one day soon I can complete another a day in the life....this time throwing work and school for all 3 kiddos into the mix.