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toddler jumping
April 17, 2020

Day in the Life: Homebound Edition

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Let’s mix it up today, friends – instead of a week in review, I’m sharing a current day in the life: homebound edition. Here’s what I was up to on Tuesday this week! 

I’d be curious to hear what your current day in the life is like, too, if you feel like sharing in the comments.

6:30 a.m.: Hear Riese crying. It’s my day to get up with her (Matt and I trade off), so I head in to her room. She immediately says: “No! DADDY!!!!” (sigh. I’m still 100% second best over here) but then chills out and accepts the situation after a couple minutes. I get her diaper changed and we head downstairs for breakfast. 

6:45 – 7:30: Breakfast and play time with Riese. I have some toast with nut butter, yogurt, and berries on top (old photo because I forgot to take a new one), plus some tea. Riese has a deconstructed version – toast with nut butter, yogurt and berries on the side. 

toast with nut butter, yogurt, and berries

7:30: Head upstairs with Riese to wake Matt up so we can all get dressed and ready for our workout!

8 – 8:45: Work out in the basement with Matt! As I’ve mentioned previously, we’ve been doing a few of Matt’s brother Drew’s live virtual workout classes each week. It’s fun to work out together, the workouts are challenging, and it’s nice accountability to have them at a set time! Plus we are helping Drew out – he’s a fitness instructor in NYC and all the gyms where he normally teaches are obviously closed. The workouts are open to the public (suggest donation of $10 per person), so if you’re interested in joining let me know. He and his wife Morgana are offering a ton of time options each week!

Anyway – sometimes Riese joins us for part of the workouts, but mostly she’s just thrilled to be allowed to watch Daniel Tiger or Mr. Rogers. 🙂 I feel a bit guilty about parking her in front of the TV while we exercise, but she’s perfectly happy and it’s good for me + Matt mentally and physically so really everyone wins. 

home workout in basement

8:45: Come back upstairs for second breakfast – leftover sausage and egg casserole (<- recipe in that post) from Easter.

Plus a much needed latte… I’m feeling so tired today! I couldn’t fall asleep the night before until close to midnight… too stressed about the state of the world right now… 

leftover sausage and egg casserole with a latte

9: Say bye to Matt as he makes his way upstairs to start his workday!

Riese and I play for awhile – she has decided she wants to “do exercise” too so I set up a little obstacle jumping course for her using magnetic building blocks (affiliate link) and we run laps around the house and jump over the obstacles. She’s really into it. Her other favorite variation of this game is when we move the blocks into a square shape, with one color per side. I call out a color, and she has to jump in or out of the box over that color. 🙂

toddler obstacle course

(If you are at home with a toddler right now too, check this post out for more ideas: at-home activities for toddlers.)

9:30: Riese is looking at some books by herself (whoa, this never happens… she’s just like I apparently was as a kid and always wants to play WITH people vs. by herself… must be an extrovert like me I guess!), so I take advantage and do a bunch of chores. I clean up the hot mess kitchen from breakfast #1 and #2, take out the trash and the recycling, sweep the kitchen floor, and vacuum the living room and kitchen. 

10: Head upstairs with Riese to continue chores! I take a super quick shower while she bumbles around the bathroom (aka tears apart all the drawers), then she helps me start some laundry, change her sheets, etc. 

toddler helping with laundry

10:30: Grab a snack – a PB&J Larabar + another whole milk latte…

peanut butter and jelly larabar

…and then play with Riese! We play hide and seek, play with some kinetic sand (affiliate link), jump over various forts we make, build a house of cushions to hide in, etc. This girl never stops jumping, I tell you – she was practically born jumping. 

toddler jumping

11:30: Matt is taking a work break so we decide on an early lunch because he has to get back at it in time for a 12:30 call.

I whip up some tuna sandwiches (tuna + plain Greek yogurt + dijon mustard) for us with carrots and pickles and some cheese. Riese LOVES tuna sandwiches just like me. 🙂

tuna sandwiches for lunch with pickles and carrots

12: Head upstairs to get in a few minutes of work before Matt has to get back to work! He stays downstairs and plays with Riese and they clean up the lunch mess. I quickly tackle some emails and start to review/make final edits to my Healthy Breakfast Tacos recipe post that’s scheduled to go live the next day. 

12:30: Take back over from Matt and get Riese ready for her nap. I change her diaper, get her in her jammies, we read some books, etc. There’s a lot of stalling and I’m feeling pretty worn out and not super patient, but I do my best. 

1: Riese is down and I go and lie down myself – I’m feeling completely wiped. I have a lot of work to do but decide it can wait a minute while I try to reset. 

1:45: Feeling better and back to work! Finish editing the tacos recipe post, wrap up a few more emails, etc. 

2:30-3:30: Video call meeting. I’ve been scheduling any virtual meetings/calls I have with nutrition clients or otherwise around the 2:30 timeframe because it’s a pretty safe bet that Riese will be asleep at this time, so I don’t have to worry about trying to work around Matt’s crazy work schedule (he always has a lot of calls). 

3:30: Pop downstairs for a quick snack break – cottage cheese with walnuts and pineapple. 

cottage cheese with walnuts and pineapple

3:45: Riese is still asleep (whoa! Usually she sleeps 2 hours literally to the minute – it’s so precise it’s weird – but this must be one of those magical and rare 3 hour nap days, yessss), so I pass the monitor off to Matt and let him know I’m heading out for a short walk. It’s beautiful out and I haven’t been outside yet! 

When I get out the door I realize this is my outfit – teal on green. Lookin’ good. This time in my life will not be known for my stylishness, that’s for sure… but sidenote if you are looking for some cheap but nice leggings for this stay home period of life, the ones I’m wearing are $29 on Amazon (affiliate link) and super comfy – and they have cell phone pockets on the side. They come in lots of colors. 

ridiculous outfit

4:15: Arrive home feeling refreshed. Riese woke up around 4 and is having her snack, so I take over for Matt so he can go wrap up his workday. 

4:55: Matt is done with work and it’s time for happy hour! We made it almost to 5, close enough. 😉 Cheers!

happy hour starts now

I’m feeling REALLY grateful that Matt has been able to tap out of work at around 5 the past week or so – the first few weeks of being homebound he was insanely busy and basically worked all day every day with only super short breaks. This is a big improvement for all of us. 🙂 

5: Make dinner. It’s Taco Tuesday! All that writing about tacos inspired me, apparently. Our sous chef assists from her kitchen helper (affiliate link) and with her toddler knife set (affiliate link) as usual.

making dinner with a toddler

A few of you saw this picture on my Instagram stories and asked for a composting update since our composting bin is in the picture – stay tuned! I’ll share one once it’s hotter outside and our compost starts breaking down more fully. And if you’re interested and missed it, here’s the original post: How to Start Composting at Home.

Anyway! This yellow pepper was supposed to go in the tacos, but we ate it all raw. Whoops!

eating a yellow pepper while cooking dinner

The tacos had ground beef cooked in some Mexican spices along with a can of lentils – you couldn’t taste the lentils and it bulked it up nicely so we had some for leftovers too. Plus a little sauteed onion and some spinach added in to wilt down at the last minute.

beef and lentil taco mix

Yum! I took down four with some grated sharp cheddar added. So good. I was really hungry! 

beef and lentil tacos with cheese

6: Back to work for me! I’ve still got a lot to do, so Matt and Riese head out to the backyard to play while I fire the laptop back up. I get a lot done – update some old posts that need image resizing (trying to make my website faster for you guys!), more emails, other random back end updates and edits for the blog, plan out some recipe content for the coming months, and start writing this blog post. 

At one point, Zara gets stuck high up in a tree outside and Matt has to save her – quite the excitement. I take a quick break to get some pictures, obviously. 😉 

cat stuck in tree

8:30: I’m on a roll with work and then my blog randomly goes down and I’m not able to do any more work in the back end (like post writing) with the blog down… guess the universe is telling me to pack it up for the night. Oh well! 

I head downstairs to clean up the kitchen instead; Matt has just gotten Riese down to sleep and helps me clean up the huge mess from dinner. Nice of him because usually our rule is one person does Riese’s bedtime and the other does kitchen clean up! 🙂

9: I decide a hot bath is in order. I’m obsessed with baths, especially with epsom salt (affiliate link) – such a nice way to decompress and relax, and it feels good if I’m sore from a workout or run, too. 

9:45: Get in bed and read for a bit! I just started reading a new book but I’m not really feeling it, so I think I’m going to start something new… any book recs? What have you read lately that you loved?

10:15 p.m.: Lights out! Goodnight. 

If you like Day in the Life posts, you can see all my previous similar posts on my Day in the Life category page. 

- anne
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28 comments
  • Haley April 17, 2020 · 9:50AM:
    I love this kind of post! My child is a little younger than Riese, so it’s always fun to see what other people’s days are like at a similar stage!
    Reply
    • Anne
      April 17, 2020 · 1:21PM:
      Aw yay - glad you enjoyed!
      Reply
  • Ana April 17, 2020 · 11:03AM:
    A good reminder that quarantine with a toddler in the mix and both parents teleworking is not the time to get a lot of sustained anything done! Good for you for demonstrating flexibility and making it work! PS - Wish I had 1/4 the energy of your jumping bean!
    Reply
    • Anne
      April 17, 2020 · 1:22PM:
      Haha, yep - thanks!
      Reply
  • The Many Thoughts of a Reader
    April 17, 2020 · 11:27AM:
    I have been so exhausted by dinner time! 6 month old and 8 year old. But then I CANNOT FALL ASLEEP. It is the worst.
    Reply
    • Anne
      April 17, 2020 · 1:23PM:
      Ugh, I feel you! I can't imagine having two to wrangle right now... hang in there and I hope you get some rest! <3
      Reply
  • Lisa of Lisa's Yarns
    April 17, 2020 · 11:34AM:
    I think you should def not feel bad about Riese watching tv while you guys work out. All the parents I know who are both working from home and watching their child have them watch A LOT of TV... that's the case for us. My husband and I work in financial services so our work is totally constrained to market hours - so 7:30 to 4. We try to tag team as much as we can, but our son is watching a lot of tv right now... but it's the only way I can get work done without him crawling all over me or trying to shut my laptop... It's been rough. But I am hoping he can go back to daycare on May 4th. Ours has actually been open the whole time as some parents are doctors/nurses/other essential service employees. But my doctor told me to keep him home as I'm high risk due to having RA and being on immune suppressant drugs. It's definitely been a super challenging 5 weeks!! Plus our weather has kind of sucked recently (6+" of snow on Easter!) so that does not help! To offset all the tv he watches during our work day, we don't let him watch tv on the weekends and have it mostly off after we get done working, although we all watch wheel of fortune together at 6:30 as our son loves that show!!
    Reply
    • Anne
      April 17, 2020 · 1:24PM:
      Oof, that sounds so tough. Hang in there! I love that you watch Wheel of Fortune - that reminds me of my grandparents because they always used to watch that show after dinner! I lived with them for my senior year of high school because my parents had to move away and I didn't want to leave the DC area, and I always used to love watching it with them. That and Jeopardy!
      Reply
      • kori
        April 17, 2020 · 3:25PM:
        I wanted to pop in and say that both Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy were part of our childhood that we continued through college, and it was so fun! It always made me think of my grandparents too. <3
        Reply
        • Anne
          April 17, 2020 · 4:28PM:
          Aw, I love this :)
          Reply
        • adrianna May 2, 2020 · 9:15AM:
          our family is the same!! always watched those 2 shows growing up and still do :) so fun and nostalgic and a great way to just relax w/ the family!
          Reply
  • Jenny
    April 17, 2020 · 2:24PM:
    I LOVE those leggings!
    Reply
  • Anita April 17, 2020 · 2:46PM:
    Hello everyone in the house, Nice and intense activity at home,,I cannot see the dog,,where is the dog,,Freya or so? She may be a very important companion on the times working at home! Riese ,,special hello to you little gymnast! And Zara must be very interesting to climb the tree! By the way,I’m anxious to know,, why the cheese on top of everything?. All the best and stay healthy!
    Reply
    • Anne
      April 17, 2020 · 4:24PM:
      Good question! Our dog is actually at my parent's house - my dad wanted to have her with them so he had a walking buddy, so we did a contactless pickup where I put her outside on her leash with her food and my dad came and got her! She's been living the dream - so much attention, treats, and like 6 walks a day. I have a feeling she's not going to want to come back!! And re: the cheese, because it's delicious! :)
      Reply
      • Anita April 17, 2020 · 7:48PM:
        Haha,,?wonderful life for Freya,,many ppl can be jealous with the dog,been spoiled ! Thanks for answer!
        Reply
  • Maxine Isaacs April 17, 2020 · 3:02PM:
    Dear Anne, I loved reading your description of a day in the Mauney household. It brought back so many memories but especially Riese waking you up at 6:30. I was not an early riser so that time was unacceptable to me!!! My son Aaron, with my coaching, asked for "permission" to get up. If it was too early, I would tell him to lie down again until I came in to get him up. It worked for both mornings and naps. Those were easy times in parenting
    Reply
    • Anne
      April 17, 2020 · 4:28PM:
      Yeah, I would definitely love to sleep in later - and so would Matt, he's really not a morning person! We've definitely tried telling Riese it's too early and to sleep a bit more but she's not into it, ha. Maybe when she's older. :)
      Reply
  • Julie April 17, 2020 · 4:44PM:
    Fun post! I'm curious about your composting journey - have you said (maybe I missed?) if you have ever had a rodent issue with it? We are going to start either way, but I must say, that part makes me nervous! Rodents are my biggest fear, even if it's not rational how afraid I am haha
    Reply
  • Ashley April 17, 2020 · 8:54PM:
    Thank you for posting this! I feel like this is so similar to our schedule right now, with one main difference--I am on maternity leave with our 2.5 month old, in addition to caring for our energetic almost 3.5 year old. I have 2 lattes every day and feel exhausted in the afternoon. It's almost like being pregnant again! The fatigue is unbelievable. And we also need some sort of alcoholic beverage as soon as it's socially acceptable :-) Thanks for posting, as I can definitely empathize. You are doing great, so don't be so hard on yourself re screen time. I also let my son watch TV so I can workout in the morning! It keeps me sane. Stay healthy!
    Reply
    • Anne
      April 18, 2020 · 11:34AM:
      Aw thank you Ashley! Man, you have your hands full... hang in there! <3
      Reply
  • Ida April 18, 2020 · 9:54AM:
    Do you guys have a Nugget? I bet Riese would love it! my daughter is 8months old, and it's so fun to read posts of all the things older kids can do.
    Reply
    • Anne
      April 18, 2020 · 11:33AM:
      We do! That's what she's jumping onto in the featured image for this post! It's awesome.
      Reply
  • Roadrunner April 18, 2020 · 12:36PM:
    Great post, Anne, thanks for sharing. I can only imagine the challenges of trying to be an RD, blogger, athlete, and mother/wife, all on the same day, at different times of that day. Well done!
    Reply
    • Anne
      April 19, 2020 · 4:01PM:
      Thank you!
      Reply
  • Gillian April 19, 2020 · 10:41PM:
    Love this post and good to see what everyone else is doing. Thanks for sharing! Our tv rules have gone out the window also - I came down of my high horse very quickly ;) With regards, favourites I am 100% second-best in our house. My daughter is three and it's been daddy daddy daddy forever. It's great they have such a special relationship but I wouldn't mind a look in now and again ;)
    Reply
    • Anne
      April 20, 2020 · 1:22PM:
      Haha totally feel you on all of this!
      Reply
  • Susan J. April 20, 2020 · 6:59PM:
    I am a vegetarian and never have thought of adding lentils to the ground meat substitute when making tacos!. Brilliant idea and it was really good. I had a can of black lentils that I added in and you could barely see it. I will now try and sneak that into the kid's taco meat, she eats meat and this way I can get more nutrients into her meal and she might not notice. Thank you for such a great idea!
    Reply
    • Anne
      April 21, 2020 · 11:31AM:
      Yay! Love it - so glad it was a helpful tip!
      Reply
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anne mauney fannetastic food
Hi, I’m Anne! I'm a Washington D.C. based Registered Dietitian, mother, runner, and lover of travel, adventure, and the great outdoors. I've been blogging since 2009, sharing a mix of lifestyle content, recipes, and fitness tips. Come for the recipes – stay for the fun!
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anne mauney

I’m Anne, a Registered Dietitian and mother. I've been blogging since 2009 and love showing others that eating nutritious foods and staying active can actually be fun rather than overwhelming!

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