Monday.

I challenged myself to photograph a typical day in our life last week. I didn't make it the whole day, but I got the first half. I guess I need to challenge myself to do a part two now! It was refreshing just taking pictures during the day of the usual happenings, no "look and mommy and smile!!", just simply being observant of what our days are and photographing it.

Kate's always up first at our house. She's always so happy in the morning - makes it hard to be groggy with her around. Aubrey comes out of her room about 20 minutes after Kate, and a little crankier. :)

I try and stay in bed as long as the girls will cuddle with me, but we eventually all go downstairs for a gourmet homemade breakfast. :) Dad is already long gone. (I wasn't quick enough to get any pictures of Steve.)

While the girls eat, I clean the downstairs at lightening speed. I can't relax in a cluttered house. I'm a WAY better mom once the house is clean. I hurry and do the dishes, take the trash out, wipe down the table, and maybe scrub the downstairs toilet and I can breathe again. :)

While I clean, the girls like when I turn on Disney Pandora and dance away. I like to enjoy this scene of a clean living room - this will be the cleanest it looks all day, trust me!

I get the girls all ready for the day. Somehow I got no pictures of this, but I did get one of Aubrey's feet on the potty?

The girls play a little bit while I take a quick shower & get ready. I have mastered taking a three minute (non hair washing) shower, and doing my makeup in about five minutes. I literally set a timer and everything. I'm probably the weirdest person ever for admitting that. Kate loves doing puzzles. She has for a while now. Aubrey went through the same thing. I totally don't mind - it's how both of them learned all their letters by 22 months, so I guess all the repetitive puzzle doing pays off.

I had to sneak this one - Aubrey was doing Kate's hair and assuring her she'd be gentle. I love them!

Oops - this one is out of order, but it's one of the first things I do to start the day. I started making the beds when I first was a stay at home mom and haven't stopped since. I can't explain why it's so satisfying to me. I love hopping into a neatly made bed at night. Even just walking through the room throughout the day and seeing a made bed is relaxing to me.

I promised the girls we'd go on a walk today since the weather was nice, and we happened upon a big pile of gorgeous fall leaves. They spent a good fifteen minutes jumping around in it. We're out of the stroller stage for walks now. It's nice having them just walk and hold hands, and I get to just walk behind and listen to their cute little conversations. When did they get so big?

Snack time. One of my clients brought me a big bag of mandarins from Newcastle. They are the best and sweetest I've ever had. Pretty sure the girls had two each!

After a quick lunch, (bean and cheese burritos & carrot sticks today) I read Kate some books in the rocker and laid her down for a nap. When we are on our last book, she always looks at me with those big blue eyes and says, "One mo please?" and I can never say no.

Aubrey is waiting for me downstairs to play. She loves all sorts of games - Match, Go Fish, Candyland, Chutes & Ladders, Operation, etc. She also loves playing with her Little People princesses. Those things can keep her entertained for a good hour! I love her imagination.

Editing time. After playing with Aubs for a while, I'll let her pick a show on On Demand or play with the I-Pad while I put up a sneak peek for a client or catch up on emails. I know most photographers hate editing, but I actually LOVE it.

Mondays Aubrey has ballet/tap class right in the middle of Kate's nap time. Unfortunately I have to wake Kate up about an hour into her nap (she usually naps for three hours). I drop Aubrey off and then hang out with a cranky, tired Kate in the car. It's a long hour but worth it because I know how much Aubrey loves dance and her friends there. She's always so happy to go.

After this I gave up - part two (from a separate day) to hopefully come soon!