A Day in our Crazy Life

I've been wanting to write a day-in-the-life post for a while now, and I was inspired the other day by Amy to keep track of the details of our day last Friday, and chronicle it with pictures.  I think it's a great way to keep track of what the girls are up to, and will be a keepsake to look back on this time next year!  So, excuse the boring journal-type post with lots of mundane details, but here goes...

{Yes, this was our day last Friday, September 7.  It's taken me a few days to get this post finished!}

5:41 AM... I wake up, four minutes before my alarm is set to go off, to babbling on the monitor.  C SLEPT THROUGH THE NIGHT!!!  I feel like a million bucks!!

This means I might have a chance to get myself dressed and have some breakfast before everybody else wakes up!

I quietly creep into the room that N and C share and grab C out before she has a chance to wake N.  I nurse her on the couch, and change her diaper.  She plays on the living room floor with a few toys while I sneak into the bedroom and put on my running clothes (we're going out for a run later).  Daddy is awake and getting ready for work.

6:15 AM... C sits in her high chair and munches on a few puffs, and I have coffee and a bowl of cereal while checking my email.

6:30... we kiss Daddy goodbye and he leaves for work.

In a few minutes C is rubbing her eyes.  Even though she slept well, it was a very early wake-up for her.  I take her into the bedroom where N is still sleeping and quietly do my patented bounce-twist-rocking motion that usually works with C.  Within a minute, she's asleep.  As I'm closing the door to C's room, I hear L waking up.

6:47 AM... L wakes up!

(This girl is a very cheerful waker.  She doesn't even mind her crazy mother snapping a picture of her before she's even out of bed.)

I'm happy that this seems to be one of those less stressful mornings where the girls are waking up one at a time, and I can attend to each of their needs as they wake, rather than everyone waking up at the same time and all needing me equally at once.

I take off L's pull-up and we have a tea party together while she sits on the potty.

We put on her underwear.  L plays in the living room while I start to scramble some eggs for the girls' breakfast (a high-protein breakfast has proved necessary to sustain N through the morning at preschool).

7:05... N is awake!

She comes into the kitchen to greet us, then uses the potty by herself while I finish making breakfast.  

7:10... Breakfast time for girls!

Somehow, N's clothes came off before she even got to the breakfast table.  This happens often, if you remember.

I select outfits for the three girls from the clean laundry while they're eating, and make sure N's backpack is packed with a emergency change of clothes and shoes.

7:15... C is starting to stir.  A short nap, but it should sustain her for the morning ahead.  I change her diaper and get her dressed for the day, then set her down to play on the living room floor while I tidy up the breakfast dishes.

7:30... big girls are done eating.  They get down from the table and wash up, then we start the process of getting dressed.  L needs everything done for her but N can mostly dress herself.  We dress, find shoes and socks, the girls brush their teeth while I brush their hair.

8:00... ready to go!

Little sisters can carry {empty} backpacks too, right?

I pack up the diaper bag, and some snacks and drinks for the younger girls.  We all pile into the minivan.

8:16... we depart for preschool.

8:25... we arrive at school, I give N a kiss, and she is escorted inside by a waiting teacher (love that valet service... a lot easier for me than taking all three inside and back out again!)

8:30... we depart N's school and head for the old railroad bed in town that has been made into a running/biking/walking trail-- it's great, because it's safer than running on the road with the stroller.  We stop at the trail head, unload the stroller, and both L and Mama use the porta-potty (I know it's gross, but L gets the biggest kick out of using the porta-potty, and since it has become part of our ritual, it's really hard to say no to her... we just slather on the hand sanitizer afterwards!)  We strap into the stroller and both girls get their snacks-- princess gummies for L and a biter biscuit for C.  I run my three miles on the trail while the gals enjoy the scenery.

{Forgot to bring the camera for this part of the day.}

9:25... we drive back home.  I nurse C upon arrival while L plays in the living room, then put C back down in the crib to see if she'll sleep a little more.

9:40... I take L with me downstairs to start a load of laundry.  There's this hinged-flappy-half-door thing on the wall of our basement stairs (and a hole in the drywall underneath it):

I think the old owners must have used it as some kind of laundry chute.  L likes to sit on the stairs while I'm doing laundry.  She'll randomly pop the door open, roar like a monster and "scare" Mama.

{Needless to say, with all the roaring monsters in the house, C did not go back to sleep.}

10:00... I go back upstairs and get C out of the crib, and bring her downstairs to the playroom with a snack for me and L.  We munch on pita chips and hummus while playing.

(Excuse the complete mess... the playroom is the one room in which I have done zero unpacking or organizing.)

10:30... back upstairs to get ready to pick N up at school.  L uses the potty, C gets a new diaper, and I grab a few things that we need to drop off at our realtor's office.

10:55... C poops in her clean diaper.  Back to the changing table for a lightning-fast diaper change.

11:02... we get back in the van and depart for preschool.

11:11... we arrive at preschool, I unstrap L and C and we all walk inside together.  We greet N, say hello to her teacher, and sign her out.

11:16... we get back in the car.  N is asking, as she does every day, why she can't stay and have lunch with her friends.  (If we paid a little extra per month, N could stay until 12:15 and have lunch at school.  We were waiting to see how our budget would work out, but I'm thinking we'll definitely add this if we possibly can-- N is disappointed to see me just about every day when I pick her up!  Sort of a good problem to have, I guess...)

{On the way home, C falls asleep in the car.  There goes the nap!}

11:25... we swing by our realtor's office to drop off a few last housing things, and then it's home.  The girls play while I throw lunch together (clam chowder and oyster crackers).

11:55... the big girls sit down to lunch and C munches on more puffs in the high chair.  I prepare lunch for myself (a caesar wrap and iced coffee) while they eat in the dining room.

Here is the conversation between N and L at the lunch table:

N: When I eat my food, it goes into my tummy, and then it goes inside the big bag in my belly.

L: Oh... look at the sky!

N: Yeah.  Heaven is in the sky.  That's where Great Grammie lives, in her wedding box.

{Did I tell you that N called Grammie's casket a wedding box, because it was decorated with flowers like at a wedding?}

L: Oh.  Is she in the snow?

N: No, she's in her wedding box.  She lives there, in heaven, with God.

L: Oh.

12:10... the big girls finish and get down from the table.  N keeps C in stitches for about 20 minutes while I eat my lunch by doing this:

{I should be afraid that she's going to pull the curtains down off the wall, but hey... it kept C entertained and gave me a chance to sit down and eat, so... I'll overlook it.}

12:45... I bring C into her bedroom while the big girls play out on the porch.  I nurse her and she falls asleep, despite her earlier nap in the car, thank goodness.

12:55... I take L and N to the potty one last time, then I snuggle with my big girls and we read stories.  L lays down in her crib for a nap, and N lays down on my bed with a book for "quiet time".

1:00... ahhhhh-- quiet in the house.  I sit down to catch my breath and send out a couple of emails to our realtor (letting her know that I dropped things at her office) and to the seller's agent (who needs to drop by and pick up some paperwork).  I said I was done with house stuff, but there are just a few loose ends to tie up.

1:15... I go to the basement to get the morning's load of laundry out of the washer.  I take it outside and hang it on our clothes line.

This is the most calming and therapeutic activity of my day.  Something about the quiet and solitude in our backyard... the sunshine on my shoulders... the smell of the fresh clean laundry... the satisfaction of knowing I'm saving a few pennies by not using the dryer.  I really love it.  Sounds silly, doesn't it?

1:40... I go back inside and hand-wash all the dirty dishes from the day.  (Still no dishwasher!)

2:00... N's quiet time is over, so I go get her from the bedroom, and we do a little chore together that has become an afternoon ritual-- she loves it.  I empty the kitchen trash and she empties the bathroom trash, and we take them outside to the trash barrel together.  Then we check the mail.

2:20... I take N downstairs to the playroom with the laptop and two baby monitors.  N plays in the playroom while I work on the computer planning my youth orchestra's kickoff picnic/party for the next day, and sending emails to parents and my fellow youth orchestra conductor, Sarah.

While I'm working, N asks permission to take some pictures with my camera.  She's very careful with it, and actually takes some pretty artsy shots, so I allow her.

Yep, still in my running clothes.  No shower for me until Daddy gets home!

4:00... Daddy comes home and comes down to greet us.  He quickly changes into running clothes and has himself a run.

4:10... L and C are waking up.  N and I go upstairs and get them, and we all have a snack together... string cheese and more pita chips with hummus.  C has some pureed peaches and oatmeal.

4:30... the girls sit down to watch a little bit of Beauty and the Beast while we wait for Daddy to get back from his run.

4:45... Daddy comes back and stretches out and changes his clothes.  He brings the clean laundry in from the clothes line.  I change my clothes and pack up the diaper bag, and then we're off to...

THE FAIR!!!

What better way to say goodbye to summer than corn dogs, funnel cake and the merry-go-round?

7:30... we walk back to our parking spot, bellies full and fingers sticky.  Lightning flickers on the horizon and we start to feel raindrops just as we are getting into the car.  There's a short shower, but the rain soon stops.

8:00... Lightning continues to flicker in the distance as we arrive home and carry sleepy, happy girls into their beds.

M and I sit down on the couch, watch the Daily Show while M has a snack, and then...

9:00... to bed for Mama and Dada.  We sure are party animals on a Friday night, eh?

Our days are full, busy, tiring... but fun.