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Thursday, October 13, 2011

Guest Post: Jordan Marie from Holding onto the Little Things

I've got a special little treat for you guys today...it's a blog swap! Meaning, you can find me over at Holding onto the Little Things and Jordan Marie, from HOTTLT, is here at Imprintalish. We are both sharing a 'Day in our Life' and letting you see what goes on behind closed doors! You guys all know that I struggle with the balancing thing so I wanted to share how other moms balance work, kids, play and everything in between! I've grown quite fond of Jordan Marie, she is a great source of knowledge on bloggy/techy sorts of things, plus this girl is the most genuine soul on the planet! Check out her Thankful Thursday posts!


Hello!

I'm Jordan Marie, mommy and writer over at holding on to the little things. My daughter Scarlett-Marie was born on St. Patricks Day this year. She is my light and my world. I am a breast feeding, baby wearing, cloth diapering new mother. I love to read and write and talk on the phone or Skype. I am addicted to taking pictures, kissing Lettibug and making her laugh.

I hope you enjoy this guest post..

A day in my life.. or my life in general..

It isn’t always just: eat, sleep, poop. Today it was eat, sleep, eat, poop, sleep. Now I am managing to fit in some writing. Each day is different. Once I think a schedule has been established, Scarlett will do a 180, and I will have to follow.

Today was a perfect example. I started writing this post around nine in the morning and now it is nine at night. Yesterday, Letti took over a two-hour nap. This gave me time to go out on a date with my DVR. We watched The Mentalist, Unforgettable, and part of Teen Mom. Then I even got to take a little nap before Letti woke. But just one day later, Letti took three naps not even totaling 2 hours. Needless to say, I barely got anything done today.


Some of the details of today include: laying in bed with Letti and reading books back to back because she was cranky and didn’t want to fall asleep, but didn’t want to play on the floor either. Instead I let her climb all over her books on the bed. I did dishes with her on my hip. I ate breakfast while playing with her on the floor. I think I accidentally skipped lunch, I brushed my teeth while writing my first post and I barely touched the television. One of her naps was so short I barely got to use the restroom.

To escape Letti’s fussiness, we went on a walk in the evening time. We checked the mail and ended up at the park. We went down the slide a few times, and I pushed her in the swing. I did manage to get some giggles out of her. I pretend bite her and made motor-boat sounds.


Yesterday, after Letti woke up from her long nap, we walked a mile to a different park. Spent time there swinging and picnicking, and then walked the mile back home. We played with toys like usual, and she watched me cook dinner on the counter.

My every day tasks aren’t the only place you see my new life. When you compare my Facebook before and after I started my blog, you see an extreme difference. Before my blog, I psycho-ly updated, and now, well, my updates are mostly just automatic statuses sent from my blog platform when I submit a new post.

I know this might be in the TMI category, but I am lucky if I fit in 3 showers a week. I barely remember to put on deodorant. I spend almost every minute Letti is sleeping on the computer, messing with my blog or replying to e-mails.

I’m not complaining about my life, by no means. I love every single waking and sleeping moment of it. I love trying to juggle and balance it all, even if the balance thing seems nonexistent. I do love how different my life is, and how my schedule and routine has changed since becoming a mother. I love having someone dependent upon me. I love the growth I have made and look forward to each day. I do wish I could tackle more, and I hope one day I can.

If only I could invent and patent (lol) some medicine that would make it so I didn’t have to sleep, or I could clone myself, or I could spontaneous grow a few more arms. Obviously these inane wishes aren’t attainable, but I do know how to not give up, and I do know that I can do anything I set my mind to.

My blog is very new. I have had it for around 4 months, and I have spent so much time dedicated to it. So when Lish asked me what I do for just me, I got to thinking. I’m not sure if I really do anything away from my blog, just for me. But two things that are still in my life, that I am in love with, are shopping and reading magazines. I do love more than anything to read, but I haven’t read anything since 'The Help', which I only spent a few days reading.


I know this post is written with a lot of buts, but I honestly feel like my blog is something just for me. It makes me feel happy. Almost the same level of happiness I get from raising Scarlett. I am almost scared to say that out loud. I hope it isn’t a bad thing, but I really do see my blog, not only as an outlet for me, but hopefully an inlet for others. And what I mean by inlet, is that I really want to help people.

Helping others helps myself. I love knowing I made a difference. Even if it is a small different, I believe every difference matters. I know they are all equally important, but as my blog grows, hopefully my differences can do the same.


And I think the happier I am and the better I feel, can do nothing but benefit Scarlett as well. They say babies know a lot more than we show them. I think my Letti is very in sync on picking up on our feelings! She is one smart cookie, that Letti baby. My life goal is to make sure her and I are happy, daddy too and the rest of our family.

So yes, each day isn't like the one before, each day we grow and learn new things. Each day is typically full of change and we are okay with that.

Loving life and all the challenges within it,

<3xojo

I love this post Jordan! So honest and real, thank you for sharing with us a "Day in your life.' Your words are inspiring and hit the mark for so many moms out there...oh, and I totally get the whole shower thing!! Thanks for sharing!

Pssst..go check out her blog!
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2 comments:

Angee @ October Morning said...

I'm right there with you on not finding time to shower. I don't remember reading that in any parenting book. I also didn't read about peeing while holding your baby. Great post.

Jordan Marie @ hottlt.com said...

rotfl laughing!
i've been there done that.. i feel like, as long as you don't touch anything in the potty while holding the baby, no big deal.. plus i wash my hands!!
i might have even gone as far as feeding the baby while in there.. but shhhsshhh, don't tell anyone. lol. ;)


<3xojo