#OneDayHH 2021

Yesterday was my NINTH time participating in #OneDayHH, an annual Instagram challenge created by Laura Tremaine. Since I now have a public Instagram account for this blog, I can share throughout the day, but I also wanted to collect the whole day in a blog post as I always have. It allows me to go more in depth about various things and include exclusive content!! that didn’t make it to Insta.

On OneDayHH 2019, we were making an offer on the house we now live in – a situation that unfolded very fast. It was too early to share about, so I kept it out of my photos. On OneDayHH 2020, I was hiding an early pregnancy that I hadn’t announced yet (only noticeable by my frequent snacking and the fact that I fell asleep at 9:30). I’m happy to say that OneDayHH 2021 involved no secret major life events! I have had ENOUGH MAJOR LIFE EVENTS, secret or otherwise, in the last two years. Thank you very much.

Past years: 2013 // 2014 // 2015 // 2016 // 2017 // 2018 // 2019 // 2020

Tuesday, November 9, 2021

2:00 am. Up with my 5-month-old son, known on the blog as C3. Since he was about 2 months, he only wakes in the night to eat, and then goes right back to sleep. I feel fortunate.

6:30 am. My husband Taylor takes care of the baby after roughly 4 am, so when C3 got up for the day at 6, he got up with him and I was able to sleep until my alarm went off. I can see into the nursery from my bed. <3

6:45 am. Go see my adorable baby and start getting him ready! These are some of my favorite moments of the day with him. He’s always in a great mood at this time. I think I somehow birthed a morning person.

7:15 am. Start the coffee (currently Starbucks Fall Blend); rescue the Roomba, which gets hung up on the same few spots almost every morning. On the rare occasion it completes a cycle, I feel like I should buy a lottery ticket.

We have a slight plant situation on the sunporch right now. I need to trim the pothos (which just came in from outside) and find other places to put them. Some of the other plants will be coming upstairs soon.

7:22 am: Check the forecast, because it’s that time of year when it could be 80 degrees or 40.

7:30 am: This cool toy is actually a ball pit, but we’re using it as a play gym until C3 can sit up. He is happily playing for the moment. I take the opportunity to restock his diaper basket, and also wonder HOW it’s been a year since Alex Trebek died.

7:50 am: My dad arrives a little early to take care of C3. My mom normally watches him on Tuesdays, but she has an appointment this morning, so my dad is filling in. I log on and get a jump on work emails. Taylor brings breakfast, which he cooks for me every day. (#blessed) Most days we have eggs and a waffle, but today it’s sausage and cinnamon bread. I’m using my brand new Lindsey Jenks rainbow mug!

8:00 am: I’m a corporate paralegal, so my work is confidential, but this blurred spreadsheet is my secret sauce. It’s how I keep tabs on all our legal matters and know when I need to do something or follow up with someone. I’m in it all day. My mom once came into my “office,” said “That is a lot of words,” and walked out.

Rufus is already in my lap.

This week’s schedule. Side note: last week I proactively ordered new planner pages, thinking I was getting a jump on the new year. They arrived on Monday and it turns out I ordered another set of pages for 2021. Why are they still selling these in November?? I SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN ABLE TO MAKE THIS MISTAKE.

9:00 am: Having determined that nothing is on fire, I finally get myself ready for the day. Current morning skincare and hair product regimen. I washed my hair last night, so today is a high-maintenance day of carefully applying all the things. Every morning I have to wet my hair, comb it out, apply product as needed, then blow-dry. Seeking an expert to help me experiment with easier mom-friendly curly methods.

After blow-drying, I leave my hair alone for at least 10 minutes and then hit it with Herbal Essences spray gel, which I smooth in while “breaking the cast” of the other products. This step is crucial for minimal frizz.

Over the course of the pandemic I’ve somehow ended up with three foundations/three levels of coverage. I usually use #2, and in fact like it so much I just got a new tube, but today we’re going big!

The Tartelette palette and the L’Oreal Colour Riche eyeliner pencil are two of my holy grail products. Unfortunately the eyeliner has been discontinued for a while, so once this pencil is gone, it’s gone. :(

10:00 am: My workspace. I’ve worked in my sunroom “closet” for the entire pandemic, but we rearranged it slightly when I was on maternity leave. I’ve ordered a second desk (to create an L shape) and a display table from the same person who built this desk. Hoping to have them by Thanksgiving.

10:15 am: Pop a new tart in the owl tart warmer and go downstairs for more coffee. Here’s the state of our fridge. It’s been much cleaner since we got a separate dorm-sized “soda fridge.” (We also keep the ice cream in there.)

Rufus is enjoying the sunshine in the butler pantry.

11:15 am: I learned to sort and color-code my Gmail inbox from a recent Oh, I Like That episode, and now it’s a thing of beauty. I order Panera for all of our lunch, because…

… Nana ShaSha has arrived!

Oh and here’s my very basic OOTD. My new Lucky Brand Ava jeans with frayed hem (I love a frayed hem, I do not know why) and my favorite long-sleeve shirt in Tiger blue. I have a lot of them. And of course, slippers. Taking recs for supportive house shoes – since C3 was born, the ligaments in my feet have been trashed. Who knew that was a thing.

11:45 am: Lunchtime with my parents! I have the Fuji Apple Salad which is my Panera go-to. After we eat, my dad leaves, and my mom and I take the baby for a walk. Can you believe this tree???

12:35 pm: I come home while my mom continues on a longer walk with C3. We just got new cushions for the window seat in the dining room, and I’m really pleased with how they ground the whole area. Rufus is pleased with how well his shedded fur will show up on the cushions. Also, I check in with Noodle because we need his forecast for OneDayHH. It’s a bones day!

12:45 pm: Back to work. Today is a rare quiet day with no meetings. This is the other side of my work area, aka my WebEx/Zoom backdrop. When my display table is ready, it’ll go on this wall and I’ll hang my Hillary Butler painting properly (you may recall it lived over my mantel in my condo before I was married). The tall dresser will probably go in C3’s room, and I’ll find another place to hang my running medals.

1:30 pm: Lately our wifi sputters out regularly. I have to reconnect, then log back onto the VPN. It’s very annoying.

2:00 pm: Taking a minute to say goodbye to the old magnolia tree in our backyard, which has been cut down at the time of this post. :( It was slowly dying, and the conditions in this spot were never going to be right for it to thrive. This experience has felt a little like putting a pet down – you know it’s the right thing to do, but the decision to end a creature’s life is still sad and heavy.

3:00 pm: Cat still wants my attention. I need a snack and grab some trail mix.

3:50 pm: I lived through a several-month renovation while pregnant to get this bathroom. I took this mostly to show off the floor tile. I love it.

4:30 pm: C3 has been a little out of sorts for a few days, and at this point we’ve all seen enough to agree that he’s teething. Taylor just got back from the store with some things to help.

5:05 pm: I’m done working and notice the beautiful sky!

I make the quickest dinner I can think of that sounds good. Taylor is doing his own thing for dinner. We see on the news that our alma mater has a new president.

5:50 pm: Gee, you think a baby lives here? Rufus has fully claimed the Boppy Lounger as a bed, which is fine because C3 is already too tall for it! I’m glad our household can continue to enjoy it.

6:00 pm: Trying to put C3 down early because we’re going out!! He usually goes to bed around 7. This playlist is a key part of our bedtime routine. Unsurprisingly, he is not ready to go to sleep, so we hand him off to his other Nana who’s come to watch him.

6:15 pm: What prep for a basketball game looks like in 2021!

6:45 pm: First Tiger basketball game! I haven’t yelled Go Tigers Go at a Tigers game since February 29, 2020, so I’m very excited! This is also maybe the third time Taylor and I have been out together since C3 was born. We’ve been switching off for Grizzlies games and anything social that comes up.

8:00 pm: Spending most of the game catching up with my college BFF Kathy. I haven’t seen her since my (outdoor) baby shower! We’ve had season tickets together forever.

9:00 pm: Tigers win… and the team is looking good!

9:26 pm: Home. Despite high hopes, the walk between the car and the Forum was not enough to close my exercise ring for the day.

9:45 pm: C3 fell asleep shortly after we left, but is awake again and distressed, which almost never happens. I feel confident that it’s the teething, so I give him a little pain relief and cuddle with him until he falls back to sleep. Poor guy. :( Mouth pain is the worst.

10:00 pm: I didn’t eat much of that kale gnocchi and am starving, but nothing sounds good. I decide this favorite flavor of Clif bar is my best option. It kind of hits the spot. Then it’s time for the hot shower I look forward to all day!! I have a Bluetooth speaker in my bathroom and often listen to a few minutes of a podcast in the shower. Today I decide on the marriage one, but I’m not really in the mood for it and turn it off quickly.

10:20 pm: Night skincare. I LOVE Honeymoon Glow!

10:30 pm: Into my current favorite pajama pants (they’re cozy but not too warm). Taylor comes upstairs and we watch a few minutes of ACS: Impeachment before knocking out. Good night!