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A Day in the Life // Three Kids, One Blog, So Much Coffee

Before getting started writing this post, I took a stroll down memory lane and read through some of my day in the life posts from when we just had one & two kids. It’s so funny, because no matter how many kids you have, in that moment, life feels like it is at maximum chaotic capacity & we always wonder how we could do it all with another kid in the mix. And yet, we totally manage to make it work & never look back. I will admit, the first six months was really hard for us, a combination of Claire’s sleep schedule & Brandon’s work schedule, I felt like I could never catch my breath. But we have finally gotten into a really good routine, which I think Spring plays a large part in, but it’s a good feeling!
 
Our day usually kicks off around 6:30, Harper comes in just as Brandon is getting ready to take off for work. She & I go downstairs to start getting things ready for the day. We usually get an hour or so to hang out on the couch together watching cartoons, sometimes I fall back asleep for a little bit if Claire didn’t sleep well. Claire wakes up around 7:15, so I get to feed her a bottle in her room while  it’s still quiet, right now is the best because the sun is just coming up around that time. Then I typically take Claire in the bathroom with me and she hangs out in her bouncer while I take a quick shower or just throw on a little makeup & dry shampoo. Eloise wakes up bouncing off the walls around 8, she’s secretly my favorite to open the door to in the mornings because her little eyes LIGHT UP when I come to get her out of her crib. She already has a million things to say & starts running down the hallway to greet her sissies.
I make coffee & the girls’ breakfast, they’re really into yogurt right now which is the ultimate worst to clean up because Harper usually drips it all over eight layers of whatever tutu/princess dress she is wearing & Eloise manages to look like she applied it as a mud mask. Breakfast has always been our favorite time of day in our house, I love their little fresh faces & sleepy eyes. Spring weather is a total game changer for stay at home moms, sunshine & fresh air right now mean we get to spend the next hour or so outside. We either go for a walk, swing, play sidewalk chalk or just hang out on the porch. The girls favorite thing to do is bring their play table to the porch and set up all of their fake food on it, which can quickly escalate into their favorite game of stacking any/all toys/pillows/anything that isn’t nailed to the ground into a pile somewhere.
Claire goes down for her morning nap around 9:30, so the girls play while I pick up the kitchen from breakfast & take care of laundry. I get everyone dressed & we pack some snacks so we can head out the door for whatever we have planned once Claire wakes up. She is usually awake by 11, so this is when we meet friends for play dates or at outdoor shops, go to the park, the library or bookstore, etc. We love to bring lunch with us so we can stop at our neighborhood park to eat (no clean up!) or meet Brandon for lunch somewhere, otherwise we love to drive thru Chick-Fil-A or make peanut butter + sliced strawberry sandwiches.
Claire & Eloise both go down for their afternoon nap between 1:30 and 2 until about 4, which is when Harper does “quiet time” while I work on my blog & any chalkboard projects. Harper has a big imagination, and really does love to play by herself. She plays dress up or dolls, or pulls out all of her art supplies next to me at the table, knowing she can almost always distract me from what I am working on because coloring is so tempting! 😉

I try to get some sort of dinner prep started & clean up from lunch if we ate at home, and attempt to pick up some of the kids mess from the day. Harper has dance one day a week, which is the day we have our babysitter come watch the other two. It is entirely too chaotic trying to entertain them for an hour & a half while Harper dances, then we usually run some quick errands together afterwards. Harper also has soccer one night a week, but little sisters love coming along since it is outside. Brandon helps coach, so most of the time Eloise runs around with him, while my super sweet not-crawling-yet baby hangs out on the blanket with me to watch. If it isn’t dance or soccer night, I usually have dinner ready around 6 when Brandon gets home from work. Claire is eating most of the things we eat now, so unless she is shoveling green beans in her mouth she is squealing reaching for things from Harper’s plate.

Bath, books & bedtime take another solid hour (or more) we power through it together & even though we are tired, really enjoy the end of the night with the kids. They usually have a case of the sillies, they like to pile more tutus and headbands on top of their night gowns and do whatever they can to get Claire to laugh before she goes to sleep. Once the girls are all asleep (Claire by 7:15, Harper & Eloise by 8) we tag team cleaning the kitchen, picking up the house & whatever else needs to be done before we throw ourselves on the couch to relax. We both may work for another hour or so, but like to turn everything off for a while before bed so we can catch up with eachothers’ day & hang out for a bit. Lately this Spring weather has tempted us to leave the house messy, the work undone & just wander out to the porch with a glass of wine and stay up past our bedtime.


I love reading about other people’s schedules, and seeing how they go about their days, balancing kids, work & life. For those of you who have emailed or asked about transitioning to three kids, you can totally do it! You will slowly but surely fall into a new routine & it will all work out! The trick really is just not trying to do it all. Some days everyone’s outfits match, our meals are healthy & I might get a whole blog post written during naptime. Other days, we are in pajamas all day with yogurt on our faces & we alternate between tantrums & dance parties from dusk til dawn.

There are productive days & there are lazy days, and they all balance each other out. 🙂

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Comments

  1. Talk about timing. I'm 5 weeks into baby no. 1 and trying to establish a schedule before I return to work in May. It's torture on many levels (mainly, I just want to enjoy him all day schedule be damned) and today's first attempt is barely 3hrs in!

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  3. I love this and am glad to know that no matter the chaos you feel with 1 or 2 adding that 3rd or 4th will work out as I prepare to enter the kingdom of three children 3 and under while working full-time outside of the home with no house cleaner or maid or nanny or etc:) We have teeball currently and gymnastics and I feel like those things are so FUN but so energy draining!

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  4. Your day sound like our day. I have two girls, same ages as Harper and E. I love the fact that you "attempt" to do something btwn 11 (after Claire wakes) til 1 (the next nap). Everytime I try that it's a total disaster!!! I feel I am rushed to get back home and get lunch ready. But love the idea of packing the lunch on the go and eating at a park. I live in Michigan and it's still too cold to do that, however, will keep that in mind when the warmer weather makes its appearance. Can you do a blog on foods and the types of foods that the girls eat? I read before you were gonna do it, not sure if I missed it. 🙁 Love your sweet family. XO

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  5. Hi Jessica!

    This was probably one of my favorite posts ever and so timely! We are 10 weeks pregnant with our third (a surprise baby!). We have two girls – 3 1/2 and 2 1/2 – but your post gave me confidence that we will get through it and won't be able to imagine life without our sweet little third baby!

    I currently work full-time but have a flexible schedule. The girls are in daycare part-time five days a week, then we come home and my younger one takes a nap while my older one has quiet time. This gives me the afternoon to work 🙂 For now, this is doable, but we'll see what happens when the third comes along! I might have to cut back on my hours; and your day doesn't sound too shabby as a SAHM / blogger either 😉

    Thanks again for this post! Hope you have a fantastic Wednesday!

    -Sarah http://www.thefrugalmillionaireblog.com

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  8. You totally and utterly amaze me! I love what you said about how you just make it work. I know with two crazy boys…I can't even imagine adding a third into the mix but I love reading about how you get it done!

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  9. I really love your blog! I look forward to reading it! I am seriously considering having kid numero 3 and so I appreciate the day in the life post. Thanks for showing how it really is

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  10. Pretty sure you are super mom. I just adore your blog and really give you so much credit for how well you manage life with three little ones. The girls are insanely adorable and the festivness that goes on in the Garvin house is goals ?? I'm expecting my first (a boy) in September and I've been referring back to all of your new baby posts and hospital bag blogs. It's so exciting and makes me realize how fast time really does go by, I feel like Harper was just baking!

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  14. I love this post! I have three kiddos myself (6, 3 and 10 months) and love reading about how others spend their day. The photo of Brandon and the girls on the soccer field is the cutest!

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  16. Jessica,

    What time does Claire go down for the night? Also, is she still waking in the middle of the night for feedings? I love your schedule. My little guy is just a little bit younger than her and I can't seem to get him to stay up past 7pm. So our day starts pretty early. I'd love to try to push back bedtime. Love this post so much!!! Thank you for sharing. And yay for spring!!

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  17. So sweet!! I love this so much. It's nice to have this moment in time captured, too, isn't it? It's so easy to forget what life was like even just a few months ago, it all goes so fast.

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  18. I have to know how you got Eloise to sleep through the night. My two are the same ages as Harper and Eloise and they both sleep like a cat. One eye open and ready to pounce. 🙂

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  19. Love it! You are an inspiration. I have two kids (10 Months and 2.5 years). Adding an additional baby scares me! I go back and forth about the idea constantly.
    Hey, if you ever would like to sample some Solar Roast Coffee, I can send you a sample kit. let me know. 🙂

    Reply

  22. I love reading your blog and following you on IG! This post is so sweet. I love seeing into other moms' lives, and their schedules. I feel like we'd be friends in real life 🙂

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  26. I love a good schedule!!! and a no schedule day is always nice to throw in here & there. How do you get Eloise to sleep until 8am!!! my Emma will be two in May and 7am is sleeping in for her�� Also is Harper in preschool this year? I have my 3yr old in school a couple days of week and secretly can't wait for next years 3 days a week�� You make it look so easy mama! xo

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  27. I love reading about schedules too. It is not that much different than my schedule with 1 very wild and energetic toddler boy. I will have to go back and read about transitioning from 1 to 2 since Ive been getting nervous about how that will work around my house.

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  29. I love this! You kind of make me feel like I could do three, because it's very similar to my schedule with two! BUT, we're done with two. 🙂 What do you do for dinners? That's my biggest struggle. I feel accomplished if I can keep up with a laundry and dishes, throughout the day, but dinner is a different story. I can never prep and/or cook without Chad!

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  31. What kind of stuff do you do for Harper's quiet time? We've recently started quiet time too and I try to have some different activities, but also have some days where my girl is just totally not into it! Any secrets?

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  33. And here all I'm wondering what kind of wine are you drinking?? hahaha! Looks like a peachy flavor which is always a yummy treat during the bath/bedtime routine! Please do share! Always enjoy your weekly posts. XO

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  34. Yes spring weather is such a game changer! During the winter I feel like I'm ready for bedtime around 4 when it starts getting dark. The nice weather just gives so many more options on activities and I don't feel like a zombie.

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  38. I love the photos you used for this post! Eloise with her feet up…cozy lasagna night on the porch…a wine glass by the tub….you've captured the everyday moments in a way that feels pretty magical. And yet also very real. I simply adore your blog. Thanks for sharing your life with the world!

    Reply

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