Article: A Day in the Life... Stelie Designs

Admit it. You're always curious what the people behind the shops REALLY do all day. Is she a neurosurgeon that knits in her spare time? Is he an accountant that secretly enjoys making jewelry? Here's where we give you a glimpse into what REALLY goes on in these shops. First up- StelieDesigns

I’m Stephanie Giesen-Kath and this is an average day in my fabulous life as a WAHM with 3 ½ year old boy/girl twins.

5:45am- 6:15 - My two sweet children happily knock on our door ready to start their day. (They slept in from their usual 5:00 or 5:15) They climb in bed and we all snuggle as a family. Today they are arguing over which side of mommy they get to lay, we settle that I have two sides and I continue to doze on and off for 15 minutes.

6:15 – 6:45 - We all get up, my husband gets ready for work, the kids play together, I head to the kitchen get myself tea, the kids milk, open the blinds & a few windows on this usually chilly morning, feed and let the dog out. Glance at our calendar and realize we don’t have anywhere to be today.

6:45 - 7:45 - Kiss & hug bye to Daddy. Then it’s storytime with lots of books while intermittently playing with the cat & tickling.

7:45 – 8:30 – I make breakfast, set the table, we sit down and eat, chat about our day, kids put their plates in the sink, I load the dishwasher, clean up the counters and table.

8:30 – 9:30 – It’s playtime! The kids decide on games, we play Dora Candyland (work on the “it’s okay not to win” Paxton always wants to get to the party first) after a few games and lots more tickling, we play memory game, and some dancing to the Backyardigans CD.

9:30 – 10:00 – snack time and clean up.

10:00-11:00 – We head to the basement, the kids are engaging in their imaginations and playing nicely together. I start laundry, go in my office to check email, attach the trailer to their pick-up, respond to email, break up an argument, list a new card, get them a toy, relist an item, update photos, fix another toy, start to list another new card but after another argument ensues I realize, my office time is done.

11:00 – 11:30 – Upstairs to finger paint, I cover the table, get their smocks, paper, paint, and let the fun begin! Today they each made 5 works of art. I wash their paint-filled hands and leave their art to dry.



11:30-12:10pm – Make lunch, we have a picnic in the living room since the kitchen table is full of 10 wet pictures, and our dining room is a playroom. Clean up again.

12:10-1:40 – I let the kids watch tv, I shower, dry my hair, put on some makeup, get dressed, get the kids dressed (yes we were in our pj’s until now) do more laundry and gather their library books. They are now playing dress up, Avery is the pirate (She refuses to wear fairy/princess dresses), Paxton is the fireman, and I get to be the policeman, then we switch. Now they insist we add the fairy wings to them.

1:40-3:15 – Naptime! I sit in their room & read a parenting magazine. (Yes, I confess, I sit in their room sometimes because they ask but mostly because I need them to nap so I can work) Once asleep I head down to the office to finish a listing from earlier, work on client projects, email, touch up photos, format b-day invites. Kids wake up and must sit on my lap making it hard to type, time to quit until later.



3:15 – 4:00 – Snuggle time on the couch until my sweet babes are fully awake, I chat on the phone, gather our things, we get our shoes on and head out to the library.

4:10 – On our short trip to the library we see a large bird, Avery comments “Mommy, there’s the bird that took my fish!” (Her dead fish from the lake 3 weeks ago.) We arrive, return our books, and look for more. I suggest to both kids, we need to save some books for next time. Check out and head home

4:50 – 5:00 – I take photos of some new cards. My fabulous husband arrives home.

5:00 – 6:30 – Daddy takes the kids outside, I start dinner, clean up their now dry works of art, email design options to a client, print b-day invites, set the table, we all sit down to eat, have fun talking about our day, and more clean up.

6:30 - 7:15 – Kids and husband head back outside, I head back to my office to cut & round corners of b-day invites, email and convo’s. Everyone is now back in the house.



7:15 – 7:45 – My husband and I do bedtime routine for my precious little ones.

7:45 – 8:10 – Hubby and I take time to talk just the two of us.

8:10 – 10:00 – I package b-day invites for tomorrow’s mail. Email, make updates to wedding invites, read blogs, update my blog with future posts, check in on etsy, email updated invite to client, turn off computer much earlier than usual. Check in on the kids sleeping sweetly.

10:20 – Get in bed, watch some shows from dvr and finally fall asleep around 11:15ish.