Behind The Blog – A Day In The Life

Ever wonder just what a blogger does all day? I’m always curious about what other bloggers do! Today I’m going to share what a “day in the life” looks like for me. About once a year I try to document an entire day. We often focus on taking pictures of the special moments and celebrations, yet sometimes I think it’s the day to day life photos that really tell stories. So today I’m inviting you to come behind the blog if you are so inclined and see what it is I do all day. Unfortunately it doesn’t involve bon bons or soap operas.

Like some other bloggers, I actually do a lot of my baking on the weekends. Weekdays include a lot of running around for me, so I try to do most of my baking on Saturdays (this week that meant making five recipes). During the week I do things like write posts, edit photos, respond to emails, work on long term projects, interact on social media sites, catch up on paperwork and plan ahead for the coming week.

So here we go, a day in the life of Love From The Oven. 6am. Let’s do this thing. Bad cell phone pics and all! Mornings are easier when there is chocolate bread involved. I haven’t done a formal study, but I’m pretty certain this is a fact. I’ll be giving you this recipe soon.

Oh, yeah, hey there dishes needing to be put away…

Time to pack bags for the girls. For my oldest that means lunch. For my youngest that means her speech therapy items, including her augmentative communication device, iPad and rewarding snacks, which at this point pretty much means yogurt melts. They are completely addictive on the toddler scene apparently.

Little G is already hitting the crayons. And yes, she’s always wearing a hat.

Time to check a few emails, the website and Facebook, then grab a shower.

Time to get out the door.

Required items – glasses, keys, lip gloss and my phone, which is usually in my hand or “lost”. That always adds to the morning fun – everyone hunt for mommy’s phone!

Drop the oldest at school.

Then head to our first round of speech and occupational therapy for the day with the little one. It’s 8am and truth be told, I’m already tired.

An hour in speech therapy followed by an hour in occupational therapy. Apraxia is a lot of work, and I’m fairly certain it will be for many years to come, but we are doing everything we can to help this sweet, sassy, spunky kid of ours find her voice.

11am. Back home, and back to coloring.

Time to start a recipe while she’s content, which never lasts long.

Whoops, no buttermilk. Time for some DIY buttermilk making.

Time for lunch for G.

With the bread baking in the oven, and G eating her lunch, it’s time check emails while I hang out at the table with her.

Oh, hi dishes, feel free to wash yourselves.

Time to put the little one down for an attempted nap and get a bit of work done.

Thinking ahead to dinner, I toss some chicken into the slow cooker. This garlic sauce from Trader Joe’s is great in the slow cooker, and I manage get about three meals out of it (with a meal being two large chicken breasts). I usually just shred my chicken in my KitchenAid Mixer when it’s done then combine it with some pasta, add a veggie and call it an easy dinner.

This peanut butter banana bread smells amazing. Can’t wait to share it!

Oh look, someone is back up, that nap thing didn’t work out. About 33% of the time she takes one, the rest of the time, no dice. That big smile, it was an attempt to distract me from the fact that she was coloring in a book. And not a coloring book. Stinker.

Time to get some pictures of that yummy bread. This is my fancy photo set up. Complete with old Ikea box.

Figure out what plates/props to use.

Naturally I then decide to just shoot it on the kitchen table. Figures. Since a buttered piece of hot peanut butter banana bread doesn’t really last, it becomes lunch. It’s rare that I have a “real” lunch, instead it’s either something like this, leftovers from G or a protein shake (I love the Jay Robb shakes).

And while everyone else is drinking their Starbucks in red cups, I’m over here with my fountain Diet Coke. It’s my version of Starbucks. Though it’s not quite as festive during the holiday season.

Around 2:30 now. It’s time to go pick the oldest up from school, then head to our second round of speech and occupational therapy for the day. Four therapy appointments – at the end she still has energy. Me? Not so much.

We are so fortunate to have four amazing therapists. They really are my village helping raise my kiddo. Time to head home, but first I need to get stuck in construction. This is a daily event, but each and every day exactly where it’s at, and what will be blocked, is changed, and try as I might, I always predict it wrong and end up stuck for what seems like for-ev-er. This light took 20 minutes to get through. TWENTY. That was fun. NOT.

Back home. Back to the table. While it may look like she is there all day, in reality she’s there for about 90 seconds at a time, it’s just the only place I can actually get a photo of her. My oldest looking shocked to see clouds moving in. In her defense, we live in the desert.

Time to check some emails, reply to comments on the blog, make the social media rounds and get dinner going. After dinner I get to work on writing a post, my oldest works on homework and G and my husband play. With a box. G in the box. G out of the box. G crawling under the box like a turtle. Whatever works, that’s my motto.

While I usually continue to work while my husband takes care of the girls in the evening, tonight I’m indulging in some Bravo TV. I mean it is the season premiere of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills. It’s about as close to “entertainment” as I get these days.

Don’t you hate it when you pile the laundry on your bed, forget about it and then are painfully reminded right as you are ready to collapse for the night. Yeah, that. While I love fall, it somehow always means that my kids wear at least two outfits a day thanks to the wide spread in temps. Yay, laundry. Laundry put away then time for some reading and off to sleep around 11pm.

So that’s a look at my day. Most days are like this, a lot of running around, fitting baking, photos and other work in throughout the day. Want to see what other bloggers do each day? Take a look behind the scenes and see what a day in the life is like with these bloggers…

Crazy For Crust

What’s Cooking Love

Life, Love and Sugar

Cupcake And Bacon

Love From The Oven