It's Not What It Looks Like

Sometimes we bloggers get so caught up in making things picture perfect that readers might think that our kids are well dressed, our homes are always tidy, and our hair and makeup is always done. So here's a little recap of my day, to put your mind at ease:

10am

We finally get out of our respective beds. No joke. Chloe decided that her 5am feeding was time for everyone to wake up and play, so once daddy left for work, she and I took a nap from 8 to 10 to recover from her early morning adventures. Did I mention that we're in the throes of a growth spurt, and she's been eating every hour for the past lol, 3 days? Yeah. Lots of sleep being had over here. Not. We'll take what we can get. 

12pm

Laundry folded and put away, dishes washed, bed made, time for a workout. But Chloe didn't want to be put down so I ended up doing some squats in front of the TV until she calmed down enough to sit in her bouncy chair and watch Tiny Pop so I could do a 5-minute workout, in which I had to stop about 10 times to put her binky back in. I'm on Day 4 of the 30 Day Flat Abs Challenge, but technically it's day 6. I'm 2 days behind and it's not even been a week. Yep.

This is a no-shame, no-airbrushing mom body pic. Not because I'm preaching anything, just because it's the reality of it, and it's part of my journey back to fitness. Nothing wrong with that. And as I kept *mostly* covered up, trust me, you're welcome. Sorry for the poor photo quality; phone selfie in a poorly lit room. You know how it goes. 

1pm

Made a really yummy tuna salad, because I didn't actually eat a real meal yesterday. My dinner was roasted sweet potato wedges - I literally just cut up two sweet potatoes, and put them in the oven. It's all I had time/energy for. So here's my pole caught tuna salad with cucumber, spring onion, heirloom tomatoes, lemon juice, shredded beetroot and mixed greens, topped with a soft boiled egg. Made a double batch and extra egg so I can have a decent lunch tomorrow, too. 

2pm

Popped on the sling and decided to try taking it out of the house for the first time now that Chloe can hold her head up steadily on her own. She usually likes it and falls right asleep, but my overstimulated child was wide awake as we walked to Waitrose less than half a mile away to pick up the spinach I forgot when we did the grocery shopping yesterday. I got my free coffee (perks of having a MyWaitrose card, so if you don't have one, get one!) and sat in the café when I saw another mum from the antenatal classes, all tall and skinny with her fancy pram and designer changing bag. Well, my baby is always well behaved in public, and she was sitting up and looking around and babbling, so I thought I'd be smug about it. Nope, Chloe threw a stink fit and screamed bloody murder for no reason, so after a couple of minutes I just abandoned my coffee, bundled her back up in the sling and walked away embarrassed. Of course, as soon as I stepped foot outside the cafe, Chloe went back to her calm and happy self. Thanks for knocking me down a few pegs, kid. 

4pm

Used the spinach and kale I picked up at Waitrose to make a quick green smoothie in the Nutribullet. I figured it was a better snack option than finishing a big bag of Penn State pretzels (*cough* - yesterday - *cough*) so I blended it up quick and sat down to write this post. Oh, and the first two bananas I peeled were rotten inside. Awesome. Perfect and yellow outside, manky as hell inside. Yum.

I'm planning to make a garlic & herb roasted chicken for dinner, with roasted courgette (zucchini) wedges with a balsamic glaze, and dairy-free mashed sweet potatoes. And now I have to go change a *very* stink diaper that just occurred, and then tackle the pile of ironing hanging from the living room door handle. It's 5pm and Chloe still hasn't taken a decent (more than 20 minute) nap since 8am. Wish me luck!

I'll probably end up posting this at like, 10pm, so don't mind the delay. C'est la vie.

Happy St Patty's Day, btw!