24 HOURS WITH JONI OF LAY BABY LAY

I am so excited to have my beautiful friend Joni here today as the third mama in my 24 hours series. Miss Joni Lay writes the uber popular blog Lay Baby Lay with stunning nursery design boards, peeks at her own home + other design work, and even some snippets of her family life with her adorable girls and husband. It has been a true blessing to have Joni as a friend. We met when she was registering at seed factory for her first baby, Vivi. I loved her style and sweet personality. We even worked together on a event for seed factory before getting together for the first time. It is so awesome for me to have a friend so close by that likes so many of the same things and is also juggling family life and creative pursuits. She is extremely inspiring and talented. The girls' shared room that she just posted on her blog is probably my all-time favorite kids room on the internet (and in real life :)). Take it away, Joni!

6:00 or 6:30: I hear Chip getting ready for work, and debate about whether or not I should go ahead and get up and sneak in a shower. Typically I stay in bed.

7:00: Vivi comes out of her room because the light turned green. We usually give her a big hug and lots of praise and go look at the light. She went through a season of getting up really early while she was transitioning to a toddler bed, and so we don't mess around with this. It's worth extra hugs when she stays in her room until 7:00! We go in the kitchen, and I fix her a smoothie or milk.

7:15: I hear Brigette stirring, so I get her up and feed her a bottle while Vivi plays in the sunroom. Sometimes Chip leaves before the girls get up; if he is still there, they will have a bowl of cereal together.
7:30: I put Brigette in her bouncer to be entertained by Vivi, and I fix myself a cup of tea and some kind of breakfast. These days it's usually berries, granola and yogurt.
8:00: Brigette gets her breakfast. Sometimes it's squash, sometimes it's yogurt, sometimes it's fruit. She is close to getting to be adventurous with more finger foods, and I'm looking forward to that.

8:15: We go in Vivi's room and play or read books. I let Brigette roll around on the floor and keep a close eye to make sure she doesn't find anything she shouldn't put in her mouth while I finish my tea.
9:15: Brigette's naptime. I lay her down, and this is typically when I sneak in a shower or get dressed. Vivi likes to take some toys into the bathroom while I get ready.
9:45 or 10:00: Brigette wakes up because Vivi is running around, stomping, or jumping in the house too loudly, against my best attempts to make it stop. This is usually when I try to get everyone out of the house. I change little people clothes, diapers, pack up a bottle and teething biscuits just in case, as well as Vivi's beloved Bear and a few toys for Brigette.
10:15: We go somewhere. Once a week it's the grocery store, where Vivi likes to walk and I usually wear Brigette, in hopes that she will sneak in another tiny nap. Vivi does great and obeys well, but things usually break down at the end when we go to the baby aisle where there are also cards that sing music. I usually have to drag her out of that aisle to go checkout, and if she obeys, then I can count on dragging her out of the checkout aisle because she won't stop organizing the candy. Really, she is a sweetheart till the end; but the cards or the candy will usually hang her up, and it drives me crazy when I see other adults shaking their heads or rolling eyes at my grumpy little toddler.

Other days we will go to Home Depot. I love going there with the girls. I sometimes have to pick up a random item for a project, and walking through the garden section is like a super awesome outing for Vivi. She loves to look at the flowers and hide behind big plants. Sometimes we go to the park if I am feeling really bold. I'm still getting the swing of that with two, mostly because I want Brigette to be able to get out some energy and I also don't want her in the hot sun.

11:45 or 12:00: Lunch. Sometimes we will get bagels. It's right by the grocery store and the Home Depot, so it's an easy trip. We go there so much that the people know us, and Vivi is so comfortable there that it's a very relaxing experience for me, and she is totally entertained licking cream cheese off her bagel and drinking milk for quite awhile. Brigette is entertained watching her and she will gnaw on a teething biscuit, or I may give her a bottle if she seems hungry a bit early.

1:00: We go back home. Brigette gets her bottle if she hasn't already had it, and then her lunch. I usually give Vivi a piece of fruit to keep her happy.
1:30: I start giving out "it's almost tuck tuck!" warnings. Vivi is usually playing hard with her toys at this point, and I give about 3 notices that it's almost time to read books to avoid any meltdowns.
1:45: We go in Vivi's room and all lay on the bed and read three books. Then I either take Brigie into her room and go ahead and lay her down, or sometimes she will stay in Vivi's room while we sing songs and I tuck in Vivi. Either way, all little people are down for naps at 2.
2:00: My time! This is when I usually do work. I try really hard to use this time for projects I really want to do or blogging. I don't do housework or anything like that; it's just for work (which is my outlet!). This is why most of my blog posts go up at 4 p.m. or so, rather than first thing in the mornings. I also typically avoid the email inbox, and tell myself I'll get to it later, adding to the pile of 100 or so starred emails that require a response. I have a problem.
3:45 or 4:00: Vivi wakes up and comes out of her room. This is her TV time, and she watches two yo gabba gabba's.

4:15: Brigette wakes up and gets a bottle and a feeding while Vivi watches TV. Here I can sneak in some quality time with Brigette or do a little housework or get supper started.
4:45 or 5:00: I text Chip to see when he will get home. Sometimes he has to work late until after the babies are in bed. When he comes home before then, it's usually 6:15, but I still like to let him know we are excited to see him, and sometimes we will get the special surprise of him coming home early. I also warn Vivi that TV time is almost up, and then turn it off.

5:00: If Chip isn't coming home for supper, we will usually have something simple like breakfast for dinner or sandwiches and fruit. Otherwise, I try to involve Vivi in cooking if I can. I have found it keeps her much more entertained and makes things go a lot more smoothly. Usually it's her cutting out biscuits, but making her feel involved makes my job much easier.

6:00: Suppertime. We eat in the sunroom, all together. Then it's play time. If Chip is home, he and Vivi usually go have a dance party in her room or play her favorite Dada game "tickle and tackle". I attempt to clean up the kitchen.
6:45: Get Brigette ready for bed. She gets her bottle at 7 and then goes to sleep.
7:00: Brigette is asleep and Vivi gets a bath (sometimes). Then she brushes her teeth, gets into pajamas, and we all read books in her bed and then say prayers, sing songs, do lots of snuggling, and then turn out the light, hopefully by 7:45.
7:45 or 8:00: Free time! Chip and I try to spend this time together. We watch a movie, or play cards by candlelight in the sunroom. Realistically, though, we probably spend two or three nights a week working.
10:00: I think about the email I haven't answered. Then I think that I'll get to it tomorrow. And then I think I should go to bed, but I usually don't get there till 11:00 or 11:30.

**Vivi is also in school now for three mornings a week. On those days, I get up earlier and shower, and she goes to school at 9. and then B and I go home for her nap and then sometimes we will run errands or meet a friend for lunch. I'm trying to be better at getting together with friends. It can be really hard to do with little ones, and you truly have to make it a priority!!

thanks for sharing Joni!

you can also find Joni here: blog | instagram | facebook | pinterest | twitter

witter/ facebook/ pinterest/ instagram/ bloglovin'