It’s a day in the life of the Grossmans. Summer edition!
I’m documenting a day in the life because I know these are going to be the days I want to remember the most. I know there will come a time when I will want to look back at these days and cherish it all, and most likely long for these regular, uneventful days.
These are also my favorite posts to read on other people’s blogs! I love seeing other families’ rhythms and schedules.
For this post, I documented yesterday, a routine Thursday at the Grossman house. Nothing spectacular happened, just a glimpse into what a regular summer day looks like around here.
Our sleep schedule has drastically changed this summer. With evening swim and track practices, our kids have voiced their preference to eat afterward, so we typically eat dinner at 8:30pm these days. Which means bedtime is usually 9:30pm, and the earliest I’ve been waking up is 6:30am!
Just this week, I knew I needed to reset a tad, so I set my alarm to 5:30am, so I can squeeze in some time to work on my blog before everyone gets up.
My alarm went off at 5:35, but after a few days of late nights and early rising, I chose to push snooze and allow myself to sleep a little more. I finally got out of bed at 6:10am.
My first stop is always to take Hazel out to go to the bathroom. We used to just let her out on her own, but recently she has gotten into the habit of crossing our street (where people fly by) and our sweet neighbors have had to walk her back home. I take her out in my pajamas 100% of the time.
Next up, coffee. Ryan has been a doll this summer and makes coffee for both of us. So every morning I come down the stairs to freshly made pour-over coffee waiting for me.
My first cup of coffee I drink black, my second mid-morning cup I put in a little half and half.
I take my cup of coffee to my office (which is also the piano room) and have my quiet time. I’m still making my way through reading the bible in a year. Whenever I get behind, I catch back up by listening to it on audio while I’m driving or walking Hazel. This is my first time ever doing this plan!
My little cozy corner of our house. This is such a peaceful place for me, I just love it! I light my vanilla candle and cuddle up on my chair.
Over two years ago I bought this coffee cup warmer, and I use it every day, even in the summer. It’s the best!
I’m a journal fanatic. I have wrote in diaries and journals my entire life. I’ve kept most of them and they are lined up in a bookcase in my master sitting room. I really should go back and read some of them, they are probably hilarious or inspiring!
My friend Jill recommended this book, so I read a little bit of it every morning after my bible plan.
I got changed into workout clothes and headed down to our basement to do some strength training. This day I did a 20-minute Peleton lower body workout.
I stretched a bit and headed back upstairs.
I made my post-workout drink. I just add a teaspoon of this electrolyte powder into my water and chug. I like this brand because it’s sweetened with stevia and doesn’t have any food coloring.
I changed into my swimsuit and on my way out, was joined by this little guy.
I only wanted to do 10 laps, he said 20. We negotiated down to 12 (for me). He went on to do 20, with an IM for his last four laps (fly, back, breast, free). Meanwhile I stuck with my trusted free and breast alternations, to ensure I could actually breathe and not sink to the bottom of the pool.
Before I headed back upstairs to shower, Josiah asked if I could get down a couple “Ina cookbooks” for him to pick a recipe to make for breakfast.
After showering…
I made our bed…
…and tackled some laundry…
Mounds of sheets from our 4th of July weekend with friends.
Dressed and makeup on. Just in time, as Josiah was calling all of us to the table for breakfast.
He chose a very patriotic version of a yogurt and fruit parfait.
Our partial breakfast crew. Ryan was already working, one teen girl was still sleeping, while the other teen girl ate with us, but refused to be in the picture. After cleaning up, it was time for…
…my second cup of coffee. I drink an Americano with a small pour of half and half. On my way to my office, the kids had found something to do.
There was reading in the living room.
And prepping for a golf date with daddy in the dining room.
Finally sitting down to work for a couple hours on my blog.
Miss Hazel always cozies up in her bed while I write…
Still working on my blog, while the boys have moved onto…
…a game of Risk.
While the girls hurried through their daily summer routine of chores, before heading off to Grammy’s house to hang out.
Around lunchtime, the boys and I ventured out to pick up some groceries. But first, we stopped to grab a small snack…
…from Chick fil A. They shared a large fries.
Then we headed next door to Safeway to pick up a few items I signed up to donate to the concession stand for the girls’ swim meet that night. After that, we drove across the street to…
…Lowry’s, a local farm stand where we picked up some local seasonal veggies…
…and fruit…
I’ve loved stopping by here a couple times a week to pick up fresh produce.
I’ve really limited myself to buying produce from here this summer, only relying on the grocery store for things I need for a recipe that I can’t find at the farm stand.
The result has been much sweeter fruit and tastier vegetables, for less money! I usually stop there on my way to/from evening practices. It’s right next to our grocery store, so it’s a convenient routine.
A very rare treat for a 92 degree day! We almost never buy our kids anything with dye or corn syrup (Naiya is allergic to corn syrup), but the piña colada snoball was calling our name! We all shared a small cup and it was just what we needed!
We drove home and put away the groceries. Here’s what we came home with…
…nectarines, tomatoes, plums, some bite-size local plums, and fresh basil. After that, I heated up some leftovers for lunch.
Fish piccata (breaded tilapia with lemon butter sauce), grilled corn, and caprese salad. The boys, Naiya and I ate together, while Alexia was upstairs with her friend bringing down her old box springs to make room for the girls’ new twin beds. They finally got their wish to no longer share a (king) bed, they now will have their own twin bed.
A quick cleanup of the kitchen, and then…
…some screen time for the kids.
During the summer, if the kids have finished their summer chore routine and worked out (if they don’t have practice that night), they are allowed to have screen time in the afternoon. I started out letting them watch as soon as they were done with their chore list, but it proved not to be a good idea to start the day on screens at 10am. So they now have to find something creative to do or play a board game in the morning, and the screen time slot is somewhere between 2:00-4:00pm. This day it was around 2:30pm.
The boys played a soccer video game on the computer, while Naiya watched Heartland in the library.
While they were having down time, I worked a little bit more.
An espresso and the last of Naiya’s blueberry dream pie she made for the 4th. I I made a few updates for my very part-time job at Kilwin’s (in Fell’s Point), catching up on social media marketing. I try not to have an afternoon coffee normally, but tonight is a swim meet night and I signed up to be a timer which means I will be on my feet for the remainder of the night! #coffeeitis
At 3:45, I took Hazel out for a walk around our field.
When we moved to the farm, Ryan created a trail around the perimeter of our property. This shaded trail is one of my favorites. It’s used for horseback trail riding, family walks, 4-wheeling, and our neighbor uses it to walk her puppy. It’s such a serene pathway!
When I got back home, Alexia was leaving to take her friend home (she lives on the next street over) on the 4-wheeler.
I prepped chicken enchiladas, so that when we get in late from the swim meet, they are ready to be popped in the oven. While I was getting dinner ready…
…these two left to go on their golf date. They met us at the swim meet.
The girls made brownies as well.
At 4:25, I left with Noah and Alexia (Naiya wasn’t feeling well) for the swim meet in time for their 5:15 warmups. I had signed up to be a timer for the meet, and ran into an old friend from Annapolis, who was there with her grandson.
Earlier in the week, we had randomly ran into her at track practice as well, so crazy! At our timer’s meeting, we decided to time the same lane together. From there, I didn’t take many photos since I was busy timing. Alexia ended the meet coming home with a first place in breaststroke, second place in freestyle and none of us can remember what she placed in backstroke! I’m pretty sure I missed her swim for that because I was timing and forgot to peek over at her lane.
On our way home, we learned that a cousin of Ryan’s was in town and would be stopping by our house. So we had a late night around our kitchen chatting and then I finally headed upstairs to put the boys to bed around 10pm. The rest said their goodbyes shortly thereafter and we showered (because it was so HOT and humid all day) and the house was quiet by 10:30. I peeked in and said goodnight to the girls, who were reading, and then headed to bed without reading or doing anything other than closing my eyes, I was wiped!
It was a summer-y laidback kind of busy day, I just love summer break! That’s a peek at what a DAY IN THE LIFE looks like around here in the summer!
Check out what A DAY IN THE LIFE looks like at the Grossman house in Spring, HERE.
Hope you enjoyed seeing what we’re up to! See you back here next Wednesday! xoxo
