Apple Moms of Rockland County Monday: Alicia
Meet Alicia Shannon from Rockland County, mom of two: daughter 3 yrs and son 15 months. Thanks Shannon for sharing just a glimpse of your life with your kiddos!
What does a typical day look like for you (walk us through morning/noon/night)? Typically my day starts by 6am when I wake to those familiar sounds of our 15 month old son announcing he’s awake and ready to start his day. We go downstairs for a bottle for him and coffee for me, we snuggle in and catch up on the mornings news. Sweet coffee, my fuel for the day 😉 My husband comes down to begin his day, breezes in to kiss say good morning and goodbye and he’s off. Hopefully our 3 year old daughter is still peacefully snoozing. Thankful for that cup of coffee I am better equipped for how our “threenager” rises…(for those of you Moms know this phase)…its a roll of the dice what I’m going to get 🙂 My favorite part of my day is mornings and even more so now that I have children. I’m grateful that our life allows us to ease into our morning. With my daughter seated at the kitchen counter and my son in his booster at the table, our day begins. Being a SAHM I love being able to serve my family meals prepared and cooked by meal. Healthy and yummy and I know they love it. Breakfast served and cleaned up not to mention my 2nd cup of coffee- I’m up and running! First out of 3 loads of laundry in, a quick vacuum of the downstairs amongst one of the many daily chores and lets not forget the many many small fires I will put out all day right up until bedtime. Our son usually naps around 9 am which is my cue to hop into the shower. If successful I will be able to get dressed and blow dry my hair without a mini tornado shadowing me. A typical day involves errand running on the days my daughter doesn’t have nursery school from 12-2pm three days a week or if it happens to be “clean house week”. Truthfully it can take up to 30 mins to get us all ready to actually leave the house. Typically there is a meltdown on any of the following: getting dressed, teeth brushed, hands washed and the dreadful hair combing. I’m pretty sure usually because it was not her idea to do these tasks first.…Whew.. READY!
11:30 is our usual lunchtime. Our kitchen/dining room aka “our gathering room” is where it’s at. Lunchtime: “ What can I make you for lunch?” My son has several food allergies and I make him everything he eats, and he absolutely loves to eat, now practicing his utensil skills as well. Its messy, everyday, but isn’t that part of being a kid?! Our lunchtime conversation is either going over what our daughter will be doing in school; who’s the helper, what snack will be, what fun stuff she will learn or what we’ll be doing that afternoon at home. I undoubtedly have to plan a lot of time for lunch, cleanup and the time to get our daughter ready to go to school. On school days for my daughter, my son will take a nap which I must utilize this time effectively. I reserve this time to actually concentrate on any on of the following but not limited to: checkbalancing, menu planning, grocery list/ coupon cutting, filing, grocery list, coupon matchup OR I’ll bake something for my sons’ breakfast allergy free; muffins, breads, pancakes. I have found a love for cooking and baking. I pride myself on providing my family with healthy yummy meals on a budget. On days my daughter doesn’t have school I dedicate sons nap time to doing something of my daughter’s choosing. During this phase of being 3 I feel its important to show her the extra love and attention in moments of the day to ease some of the frustrations maybe that we both feel during a typical day. I feel that doing something special just her and I fill us both up with to better handle the remainder of the day. We may play a game, art projects or holiday gift making with our home art supply, and of course baking/cooking. There are those days when she says “ I just want to cuddle you” and we snuggle up on couch with a movie and I relish in the moment. Its 3 pm and my son is awake and its snacktime for the littles and time for me to prepare a delicious healthy meal for my family. Cooking dinner can sometimes be a challenge as we approach what we fondly call the “witching hour”, our house gets louder, bellies are getting hungry, dog needs feeding, toddler needs to be played with and Mommy is eagerly awaiting Daddy’s arrival home from work. Dinnertime used to be horrible. Straight up three year old tantrum horrible. It always started with the pushing back of the plate and the words “This dinner is yucky” Then came the crying, the screaming, the running away from the table, laying on the floor, still screaming. It exhausted us. Depleated us actually. Everynight. During dinner. For months. I’m afraid to say out loud that we “may” have gotten over that hump… I’m def not saying that but it is looking up. Cleanup in the Shannon house. Dishes washed, counters wiped, floor swept and that pot of coffee sleep timer is on. Goodnight kitchen, see you tomorrow.
Baths, PJs and a book read to our boy, goodnight B. Our daughter settles down to watch her favorite show then its time for bed, brush those teeth, wash those hands. We choose a book or 2, kiss goodnight, sleep tight my favorite girl, see you in the morning 🙂 Then its “ME TIME”. With being a mom and particualry a SAHM, my days/nights can easily run together with no end. Its very important for me to regain some sort of balance between taking care of my kids, husband, dog, home and taking care of myself. Down time for me is vital, so is hobbies and my favorite mommy friends help to keep me.. well… sane! Bedtime for me to rest and do it all again tommrow.
What is your favorite memory of being a mom so far? When my daughter was 2, as i was tucking her in and kissing her goodnight, she took my face in her two little hands and said: “mama, your my best friend” in that cute little two year old way.
What is a funny mom moment you have had? When I over hear my daughter pretend play and she says the exact things I tell her which most of the time seems like she’s not listening to me.
In your free time what do you like to do? Craft projects, sew, read or garden
Current favorite show you are watching? RHOeverywhere! Parenthood (even though season just ended:( Mobwives – Guilty! – my guilty pleasures
Book you are reading now? I’m a true crime thriller kinda girl…. so my current book is about the Oscar Pitroious trial.
In your town/county where are you favorite places to go with your kids/family? We love playgrounds – everywhere! We enjoy taking walks around Rockland Lake or Congers Memorial park. We love to go to our local libraries Pearl River and Orangeburg. Its a special treat to drive to an aquarium or zoo.
What makes your county special? I’m fond of the location of Rockland county with the distance from NYC and also the beauty of the Hudson Valley. The school districts are also another reason to love Hudson Valley/Rockland County.
