A Day in the Life of Me

Hi! I am Amanda Mengel. I am a mama of two beautiful girls, they are the sweetest and they are the drive behind my passion for writing. I am a wife to my wonderful husband, Zack. The girls definitely keep us busy and on our toes!  

A typical day, if my husband and I aren’t working, starts with our youngest, Harley, waking the whole house up as she pitter-patters through the living room and into our room. “I waked up!” is usually what she yells! Once we’re all out of bed, Zack and I make our coffees and usually one of us starts breakfast. At this point, my oldest has fed our dog, Axel, and let him out and probably helped with her little sister more than she wants to- God bless her, she’s the best little helper. 

Before noon comes around, the kids usually want to get in the pool. I think my husband secretly wanted to before they even thought to ask! We have a garden with tomatoes, zucchini, jalapenos, snack-sized peppers, and onions. At some point we tend to the garden by watering it and pulling weeds that have popped up outside. It’s nice to let the kids swim while we tend to the yard. 

We have chickens- YES, chickens. Those little stinkers are fed and given water twice a day. It’s so fun to watch the kids play and chase after them.  

I typically beg Zack to smoke something on the grill for dinner-yes, I’m admitting that I do this, don’t tell him. I am always ready for his ribs, brisket, steak, or spatchcock chicken. As the smoker is going and the chores are taken care of, we like to let the kids ride the four-wheeler or we all hop on the Can-Am and take a ride through our property and the neighborhood. Sometimes we stop at the park to play and see the ducks, or even fish.  

Once the kids have had enough of being outside, they like to find a movie to watch after baths are finished. Our youngest says she’s a mermaid in the tub- adorable. Our oldest doesn’t have much of a bedtime routine, since she can get herself to sleep now. She does, however, prefer us to tuck her in and turn her sound machine on. She loves the lavender scented room spray before bed, too. The little one likes to be rocked and sung to. Her current preferred songs are either “Last Night” by Morgan Wallen, “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star”, or “Johnny Johnny, Yes Papa”. Then, she says, “night night” and that means she wants to be put into her big girl bed.  

Zack and I are happy to be at the point where we have no children waking during the night- it feels amazing. Our schedules vary quite a bit from one another, so the days off with family are so nice to have. I am a teacher and Zack works a shift-work schedule. We usually get so much done once the kids go down and have time to spend together or catch up on the day. After we talk about plans for the next day, it’s movie time and lights out.  

Seeing the kids play outside, play with each other, talk, etc. always gives me ideas for writing. They are constantly feeding me scenarios that I could write new books about. Our family will always be the reason behind my why.  

Amanda ♡