a day in the life of alicia

you are invited to spend a day in the life of her.

the gal who you might think has it all together. the mama who seems to do it all.

guess what? she doesn't.

let's fight those lies. this new series is an effort to dispel the superwoman myth. it is a time to be encouraged and a place to be challenged.

i have invited some wonderful women who want to be real with y'all. they want to share their struggles and triumphs. they want to give you a true glimpse into their everyday. it might not be glamorous, but it is real and beautiful.

each thursday this summer, come walk a bit in the shoes of another.

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Hey there, Annalea readers :)

I'm Alicia, mom of three that homeschools and blogs.

You might think I've got it all together...I'm sorry that you've been misinformed.

Bloggers can sometimes put out this glorified persona of being a supermom.

I might be guilty of that sometimes.

With blogging, sometimes we make our lives look easier than they are,

more elegant than we mean to,

or more effortless than it really is.

I love Annalea's idea for a few of us to set the record straight,

right the wrong thoughts,

show y'all we're not trying to be perfect...

so to prove it to you, here's a little look into my day.

My little life.

{Morning}

Step 1: Coffee.

I could never give it up.

Never. Never.

Coffee covers over a multitude of bad mornings.

I'm almost always up before the kids. (my kids are all late sleepers, so I'm lucky that way.)

Usually my hour and a half before the kids wake up consists of me with my bible for a while and then read emails, blogs, and/or write a post for my own.

I'd love to say my next step was to get my sweat on, but honestly...I've been horrible about exercise.

For the past 6 or so months, I've been lazy, lagging, yuck!

I have a love/hate relationship with running.

It's all mental...I just need to DO IT!

Ugh!

By 8am or so, the kids are up, so it's breakfast time...

usually just cereal.

Eggs, if I'm feeling Betty-homemakerish.

If I were writing this during the school year, our next thing would be to start school...but it's summer! Yeah!!

During summer we do a very minimal amount of school, so after breakfast is chore time:

Laundry

Make beds

Unload dishwasher and so on.

All the kids help with this...having to do everything all by yourself is a very lonely feeling.

Most mornings after chores we'll either run errands, go to the library, the kids go play, or whatever...some mornings I'll get out some art supplies for the little girlie while the boys play Legos.  

{Noon}

Right around lunchtime, I start to see a lot of crabby face:

So we'll eat a quick lunch and go outside for a few minutes to blow off any extra energy before naptime.  My littlest is the only napper in the house anymore, and she NEEDS IT!



Naptime around here used to offer a lot more peace and serenity, but since the boys are still up and at 'em, I don't get as much quiet during the afternoon as I once did.

While Sophie sleeps the boys play...either outside or quietly inside.

I have strict naptime rules...sssshhh! (does that sound cranky, because it's meant to :)) 

A few days a week I'll do a little bit of school with the boys.

I truly love this time with them.

Watching a child learn one-on-one like that is truly a blessing.

The afternoon is usually my "list checking" time.

I try to get stuff done...like cleaning, organizing, filing papers, organizing photos (which I reallllly need to do right now), baking, making things for my shop, filling orders, etc.

I used to be fanatical about my to-do list.

I used to get up every morning and make a list a mile long.

This year I vowed to not let my to-do list own me.

I usually only have three to four things that I really need to get done and the rest can wait.

There's too many little moments I was missing trying to get everything done on my list.

{Night}

Before I know what happened, it's usually dinner time.

I make dinner most nights of the week except for Friday.

Friday is pizza night.

Dinner here is not gourmet.

It's homeade, but not gourmet.

I'm ok with that.

After dinner and cleaning up we usually have a little time to play outside, go for a bike ride, play in the pool.

The goal is to have them in bed by 8pm, but during the summer that never happens.

It's usually more like 9 or 9:30pm, which is not my favorite...I like my evenings.

But during the school year, it seems to be easier to get them in bed by 8.

After they're down, I usually retreat to my sewing room or type up a blog post.

Somewhere in the chaos, my hubby and I try to remember to catch up...

it's so hard during the day-to-day craziness to remember to talk, ask each other about their days, follow up on old conversations...this is an area we tend to struggle.  The communication bit...do you ever feel that way?

On the weekends, hubby and I almost always sit down together, chat and watch a movie.

But the weekdays are what can be hard.

This was my word for the year: Breathe.

I've tried to make a conscious effort to stop. Be present. Breathe.

I've learned a lot this year...

Being the planner/organizer/leader/obsesser that I am, I've chosen to:

Plan a lot, but plan in pencil.

Make good food, but eat on paper plates.

Do fun projects, but keep them simple.

Be organized, but be ok if it's not.

To love imperfection, because imperfection IS perfection.

and to

Embrace these moments, because they won't last forever.



Thank you for letting me share with you today!

Thanks for having me, Annalea!

You can visit me at my blog too, La Famille...I'd love to have you over :)



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thank you so much, alicia, for giving us a real look at your sweet everyday.  i pray we can all embrace these moments while they last.
xoxo,
annalea