The first day of 2014 in the lives of The Angenends

 Remember when... nobody gave Apple computers any credit? When we all figured dial-up was the best we were ever going to have & when enormous car phones were "high tech"?  I never imagined back then, that by my early twenties I would feel nostalgic for things like Lisa Frank notepads, Skip-it's & Polly Pockets. 

It makes me wonder what things that we're familiar with today will change in the near future. It also makes me wish I could have frozen just one day from my childhood to go back & relive whenever I want. Until we have time travel machine, photographs are the best we can do to preserve those priceless memories. So, to start out the new year I wanted to create somewhat of a time capsule of our lives today. I intended to just document an average day in my personal life, but as the day unfolded I ended up photographing a little of the world around me too. 

The celebrations last night woke Mia up & kept her up late into the night. So, for probably only the fourth time in her life, she "slept in" today. Therefore, it was almost 8:30 before I was awake enough to remember I needed to grab my camera, and kick off my first project for the new year. 

Usually, we have eggs, toast & fruit for breakfast, but today we are out of eggs. Apparently, the winter this year has been so cold up North that the chickens have decided not to reproduce. That is why I can almost never find our "Organic, grain fed, cage free" eggs at HEB. So today we're going for cinnamon apple oatmeal. 

First order of business today, write the rent check before I forget. 

Mia was getting impatient waiting for her oatmeal to cool & almost had chips for breakfast. Her own doing of course. 

The spoon is just an accessory.

If I want my day to go right, I need to start it out with a good playlist. Spotify was featuring a hangover playlist for all you party animals out there. Not my cup of tea, but their "get creative" mix did the trick. 

Post-breakfast playtime, and also avoiding the dreaded CLOTHES. 

Mia is most content in the mornings after a good nights sleep & a yummy breakfast. If I'm lucky, this is when I can squeeze in a little "me time" & have my guilty pleasure of the day, coffee. By the way, am I the only mom who doesn't know what it's like to have a HOT cup'o'joe? By the time I even pour my coffee, its luke-warm & once I finally get around to my last sip (up to two hours later) it's ice cold! 

The calm can never last too long! Time do start our chore list. Glass and knives are unloaded first & as quickly as possible, because it won't be long before...

My little helper shows up on the job.

Nap time. This is when I usually go into a small frenzy, trying to decide which project on my "to-do" list I'll tackle first. Anything from taking a shower in peace, to catching up on emails.  Pretty frequently though, I'll end up cuddling with her while I  read whatever parenting, photography or craft book I am in the middle of. 

Lunch time! 

I can't put off getting ready any longer.  Long gone are the days of hour long primp sessions in the bathroom. Today, it's 10 minutes via the breakfast room mirror where I can keep an eye on Mia who is  contained in a high chair and happily chattering between bites of veggie rolls & grapes. 

Off to check the mail & drop that rent check. The office may be closed for New Years Day, but unfortunately bills never take a day off. 

Somehow checking the mail as an adult isn't nearly as exciting as it was when I was a kid. 

Headed to the grocery store to see if we'll get lucky & find some eggs! I swear I just washed this car, but it turns out that rain is just about the filthiest thing ever. 

Mia is all settled in for story time with her best bud, George. I think this might be my favorite picture of the day. 

Our trip to Austin earlier this week left us a little low.

Being the Christmas fanatic that I am, I always have little bit of difficulty coping with drastic post-holiday changes. Spring is sprun at H-E-B and I think I see Valentine's Day creeping around the corner too. 

I photographed this, because I suspect they won't be around much longer. Even for a family like ours, (who does not have cable) we can rarely depend on Redbox to have the movie we want & we usually end up streaming something on Netflix. 

They had eggs, and as usual I came across some other items that we "need".

Grocery prices. It's hard to imagine that these prices will seem shockingly low one day, but I'm sure thats inevitable. 

Laundry. Ugh. I don't like anything about it except....

convincing my daughter that it's cool to run around with a washcloth as a hat. 

More play time. Oh to have the schedule of a 14 month old again! 

Trying to supervise playtime while getting some editing done.  After observing her pull the "child proof" plugs out of an outlet the other day, I've decided it's pretty necessary to keep her in my sight at all times. 

Packing up lunch for my man. On the menu today: southwest chicken breast, baked southwest egg rolls, spanish rice & chocolate chip pudding cookies. I'm a pretty big fan of these recipes, so I'm going to share them.
Egg rolls: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Southwestern-Egg-Rolls/

I  used cheesecake pudding mix instead of vanilla.  I also added a crushed toffee "crust" to the bottom of each cookie.  I think it might be my favorite cookie yet! 

Ryan gets some cuddles (during Mia's second nap of the day) before he heads out for work. 

Playtime. 

Dinner time. Picking up on a pattern yet? In the name of encouraging independence and maturity,  I let her have at it on her own at meal time. Well, at least on the days I'm not too worried about preserving her outfit. 

Which means that she always needs a bath immediately after dinner. 

She always has lengthy and very serious sounding phone calls in the bathtub. 

One time I tried to leave the bathroom with her before she brushed her teeth. She cried & pointed at her toothbrush then grabbed the door frame to try & stop us from leaving. No cavities for this girl! 

Another favorite part of our day. Stories before bed. 

Now I have from about 9:00 until when I go to bed (usually pretty close to 1:00) to do whatever I please. I'd like to tell you I do yoga & study, but that would be a lie. I do often think about yoga though.  Since becoming a mom, I often wonder if I am bad a time management. I never worried about this before, but it seems like I accomplish shockingly little in a day with my toddler constantly at my feet.  I've learned to just wait until she goes to bed before I do any of my "work".  Needless to say, I have never  wondered what I'll do with myself once she is in bed.  Tonight, I'll be enjoying a glass of wine while writing. After all, it is New Years Day!

Cheers.