This day in the life is a bit different than others I have done in the past. First of all, it’s a weekend (Sunday). Second of all, it was a really busy Sunday and I wanted to showcase the dress I wore. And third, I had my dear husband take all the pictures so that you could actually see what I was wearing and to give a different vantage point. This was weird for me, but it worked. He did a decent good job, although I’m not a huge fan of having my picture taken all day! He was a trooper!
Here’s the dress I wore. I’ve decided that it is the perfect Momming-all-day-dress. Here’s why. 1) POCKETS. A dress with pockets is this Mom’s dream. I used them Sunday to carry my phone, car keys, etc and to hide things from Ruth (ha!). A dress with pockets is amazing!! 2) Modest, good coverage that is not compromised with bending, stooping, carrying, walking, wiping noses….you know, the everyday Mom duties from dusk to dawn. I never once felt exposed (or cold!) during this day and I feel like this dress could be a workhorse all year round. I put it with boots, tights and a jean jacket (because Iowa winter!), but it could be a really cute spring/fall dress with duster and ankle booties or just an easy summer dress. 3) It has pleats, which are just fun! 4) It’s comfortable, is an easy fabric that doesn’t wrinkle, and has a great fit!
Quick fact about me: I hate ‘getting ready’ for the day. I don’t like changing clothes, fixing my hair, primping or the like. I also don’t like fussing with my clothes all day, adjusting them or pulling up/down hemlines. Annoying. I have found a few companies that put cute, modest clothing as their forefront, and I like that! I realize that it is not socially acceptable to never change clothes, so I prefer to wear the same clothes all day, as in I don’t like to have to change halfway through the day for whatever is next. Ain’t got time for that. That’s especially why I like this dress. It worked for everything from church to cooking to sports events. You’ll see what I mean….
7am- Wake it up Costellos! My alarm goes off but I am slow to get up. Finally I hop in the shower and get dressed quickly (see above, ha). Amelia joins me in the bathroom. She also dislikes getting ready and often waits until the last possible minute. Her mother’s daughter. No privacy for moms, ever.
7:45am- Kids are all dressed and head down to the kitchen. I arrive just in time to make sure the milk doesn’t end up on the floor and to fix hair, a job in itself with 3 girls! They eat and I brush and brush and brush hair, put in ponytails and braids. I manage to keep Ruth from falling off of the island bench, her new favorite place to climb to. The kids enjoy cinnamon Chex 😉
8am- We are off to church! A little later than we should be, and we have to sit in a different section than normal, and the kids can’t see what’s going on. #parentfail. I feel bad when that happens. Ruth only crashes her sippy cup into the pew once and doesn’t run out of the pew, so that’s a win. I teach Sunday school afterwards and J chases Ruth while the rest of us are in class. My class learns about the saints. 1st graders are so fun!
10:30am- Done with class, off to brunch at the in-laws! This has become a Sunday tradition that we all enjoy a lot. We cook and eat together. Adults have now become outnumbered by kids, so there’s a lot of noise 😉 Today we have bacon, sausage, biscuits and homemade gravy, fruit, and hashbrowns. It was yummy.
Buckling car seats, and the dress stays put!
Cooking brunch!
12:15 pm- On the road again! Gabriel is competing in a developmental wrestling tournament and has to get there to weigh in. He’s 72 lbs on the dot. #Iowacornfed I chauffeur Lucy to a birthday party in a town 20 mins away while Gabriel weighs in and J helps him warm up. Amelia throws a fit because she is heartbroken that she does not get to go the the party, so I promise her a sucker at the wrestling meet. {Side note- I find out at the meet that they don’t even sell suckers. Note to self: always check your sources before you make promises. Yep}
Mom’s chauffeur. 3/4 full
1:30pm- I arrive back to the wrestling meet just in time to watch Gabriel’s first match. They’re not officially keeping score, BUT he did will 8-0 🙂 And I didn’t get charged admission! Must have been the dress 😉
2:30pm- After taking turns chasing Ruth around the gym and keeping her from diving head first down the stairs, I leave again to go pickup Lucy. We agree that I’ll take Ruth with me as she is restrained in the car (and maybe she’ll nap?). No luck.
Waiting between matches
3rd match just beginning
3:30pm- Back to wrestling AGAIN. I watch Gabriel’s 3rd match and he owns it. I am SO PROUD of him. He’s come so far in the last year in everything; he’s just really come out of his shell and grown up. He’s such a young man and has such a great heart.
Note Ruth running away. No shoes. She likes to live on the wild side. ALL DAY LONG.
4:00pm- Wrestling is done! We load into the car and head home. We get home and the kids head straight for the trampoline. #goodinvestment
5:00pm- We make dinner. Before you get excited, know that we had mac ‘n cheese. We were taking the night off! Gabriel helped. I ALWAYS have an accomplice in the kitchen. Let’s be real, this is good and bad. Sometimes I just want to cook in that huge kitchen all by my lonesome. But for now, I’ll take my sidekicks.
6pm- The kids make a Christmas card for the cookie tray we are taking for their teachers tomorrow. They all sign it, and it’s adorable. I hide the cookies so they don’t eat them before morning. ‘Tis the season for Christmas cookies!!
7pm- We put those kids to bed! They have not realized that it’s exactly 1 hour before their normal bedtime, but they’re all so tired and Ruth will not quit climbing on the island and chewing on markers no matter where we put them! We pull it off and they are all out like a light. Sunday win for all!! The house is quiet except for my typing and the running dishwasher. 🙂 I do love my dishwasher.
And that’s a wrap! Such a great day and a fun one to document.
Thanks to Cleo Madison clothing for sponsoring this post today!
#4 Ah, The Gaines. A true hard-work-pays-off, sweat-blood-tears and risk-taking motivational book of a truly inspirational Christian couple and family. Great read, especially if you are a Fixer Upper fan. I couldn’t wait to get my hands on this one.
House of Costellos 