A Day in Our Crazy Life X

There will be a part 3 (and maybe even part 4) to the updating, but let's take a break from that for a bit, since I'm overdue for ADIOCL.  Here it goes!  Wednesday, June 7, 2017.

5:30 AM My alarm goes off.  Due to my late-night binge watching of Home Fires, I hit the snooze and go right back to sleep.  Whoops.

6:30 AM M nudges me awake with a snuggly hug, commenting how we both have slept through our alarms a lot this week, but man does it feel good.  Catching up on rest after a busy spring!  M starts getting ready for work and I hop out of bed for a quick 10-minute workout, since I don't have time for anything longer (squats, push-ups, superman, burpees, and plank 45 seconds each followed by 15 seconds of rest... then repeat... 10 minutes only but I'm thoroughly worked-out after!)

6:50 AM M kisses me goodbye as I'm doing some squats (haha) and leaves for work.  I finish my workout and head upstairs for a quick shower.  C is awake and says she is hungry, so as I'm getting in the shower I tell her she can get herself some cereal.

7:30 AM I am showered, moisturized, dressed and ready.  The older three girls are up and have dived right in to playing with L's new Shopkins set that she got from a friend for her birthday (HUGE excitement!):

7:45 AM I put on the coffee and begin making myself a veggie egg scramble for breakfast.

Because J is still sleeping (yes, another advantage to having a busy spring... J has been sleeping until at least 8, sometimes 9!! every day this week) and I have the extra time, I chop extra veggies and make a double batch of egg scramble.  We have plans to visit Sturbridge Village tomorrow and I will need a quick breakfast.

I have been drinking my coffee with unsweetened vanilla almond milk and a scoop of collagen these days.  I have noticed that my skin is looking more youthful and supple and less... well... haggard... since I started taking it.  I have also been giving it to C in her milk and have been seeing good results with her skin as well.  Time will tell and I'm not sold just yet, but so far so good!

8:00 AM My breakfast is ready.  I eat it standing up while becoming a short order egg chef for the girls.  C and N prefer a fried egg on toast; L likes scrambled.  They take a quick break from their Shopkins to eat, and then they're right back at it.

8:20 AM I sit down to finish my coffee, and since J is still sleeping I whip out the laptop to make an Amazon order and start working on this post.  We don't have much on the agenda today so I let the big girls play.

9:15 AM I hear J starting to sing in her crib, so I tell the girls they will need to take a break from playing and get dressed and do grooming chores.  I shut my laptop and retrieve J.  She requests "peedabada" (peanut butter) on toast and berries, which I give her while I make her an egg.

She eats most of the peanut butter toast (feeding some of it to Kermit as she goes), several large handfuls of berries, and an entire fried egg on toast.  Yep, she always has a big appetite for breakfast!

As she eats I do a kitchen clean-up, and I also cut up all the strawberries we have in the fridge and set them out in a big bowl on the kitchen counter, so the girls can graze on them as the day goes by.  I may or may not have snuck an extra piece of toast and peedabada (actually it was almond butter) myself.

9:30 AM I have to remind the big girls again to do their dressing and grooming; the Shopkins have been so absorbing that they can't tear themselves away.  (Honestly, I'm not sure what the fascination is with food-shaped toys with eyes, but trust me, there's fascination.)  They reluctantly get started and by

10:00 AM they're dressed and ready.  I clean up J and get her down from her high chair.  I decide that I will vacuum a bit, but J gets scared of the loud noise and wants to be held while I do it, so that slows the process down a little.

10:30 AM Grandma H. arrives for piano lessons!  Again it takes the girls a minute to tear themselves away from Shopkins, but they do, and they all greet Grandma.  L takes the first turn heading downstairs for a piano lesson.

10:45 AM I get J dressed and we play a bit in her room.  I'm in the middle of the annual clothes sort, putting away all the winter stuff and getting the summer stuff organized and in drawers.  This year I'm also cutting back a huge amount, because we have somehow accumulated lots of hand-me-downs and everyone has waaaayyy too much clothing overflowing from their drawers and closets.  I just read this article so I'm on a mission.  L and C had their wardrobes cut back by 75% yesterday and today it is J's and N's turn.  So, I pull all of J's clothes out of her closet and clothes bins and haul them into the living room for a huge sort.

11:30 AM I have accomplished pretty much nothing on the clothes sorting.  J is cranky and clingy for some reason (I blame it on her canine teeth, which have been just below the surface for WEEKS and driving everybody crazy) so my attention has been dominated by keeping her busy-- playing, reading books, etc.  Finally I put on about 15 minutes of Wiggles videos for her so I can at least get the clothes sized into piles.

11:45 AM I heat up some Annie's tomato soup for lunch-- we have been really loving Annie's soups for lunches-- they contain less junk than the canned alternatives and so easy the girls can get them ready by themselves.

12:00 PM The soup is ready.  By this time N is having her piano lesson and L is in her room again with the Shopkins.  So I sit J and C down for their soup with Glutino crackers, and TONS of strawberries.

For myself I throw together a quick smoothie-- kale from the fridge, vanilla unsweetened almond milk, a couple of tablespoons of almond butter, half a banana, cinnamon, and a dollop of strawberry jam.  Oh and two scoops of Shaklee protein powder.

Delish.  Looks gross, but it was really good.

C shared a little bit of it with me; as she said she "really likes a leprechaun smoothie".

12:20 PM Although J is getting pretty adept with the straw bowl, it does very little to keep the mess at bay, and it's becoming quite clear at this point that a bath will be necessary.

12:30 PM Into the bath she goes.  While she plays in the water a bit and C is in the bathroom watching her, I clean up the lunch dishes and persuade L to take a break from Shopkins and eat some soup.

12:45 PM I get J out of the bath

"Shark on!" she insists.

N is coming upstairs after her piano lesson.  I get J dressed, put on lotion, read a bit of Thomas' Railway Rhymes and Star Wars ABC to her, then rock her to sleep.

1:00 PM Grandma H and I chat for a minute before she departs.  I offer N some soup and she sits down to eat.  The other girls are back at the Shopkins!

1:15 PM I finally start to make some headway on the clothes sorting in the living room as the girls play.  I finish up J's clothes and get them re-organized in her bins, then place them outside her door to be put back when she wakes up.  I also start up a load of laundry.

2:00 PM I interrupt the girls from their playing so they can complete their daily chores and the small bit of school we have to do.  L writes a few thank-you notes for her birthday gifts, and N does a few question sets on Khan Academy, then we do an All About Spelling lesson.

3:00 PM The girls return to their play and I start to prep our enchiladas for supper.

In case you're wondering, the answer is yes, they really did play Shopkins for most of the day.

This was their setup out on the porch-- it appears that Anna from Frozen, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and a couple of My Little Ponies also joined in the party.

3:15 PM J is awake!

The next thirty minutes or so, while I'm still getting the enchiladas put together, are spent in J trying repeatedly to join the Shopkins game and the other girls trying very patiently (and not-so-successfully) to bring her back into the house and distract her with other toys.  They are very gentle and nice to her, and I intervene a couple of times trying to find ways that they could include her in the game, but in the end she gets frustrated and so another 15 minutes of Wiggles it is!

4:15 PM I tell the girls it's time to stop playing and begin picking up their various messes from the day.  They reluctantly agree and slowly get started.  Most of the messes get picked up.  Slowly.

4:45 PM Everything is ready and I plate up enchiladas various fruits/veggies for myself and the bigger girls.  J gets an almond butter and jelly sandwich since she can't have the cheese on the enchiladas.  M is just arriving home from work.

5:15 PM  We encourage N to finish eating quickly and get her soccer stuff on for practice.  Dad helps her and they eventually make it out the door.

5:30 PM I get J down from her high chair and clean her up.  We put on some Raffi music for her, and L and C help me clean up supper.  L unloads the top rack of the dishwasher and C unloads the bottom, and together they clear the plates while I am putting the enchiladas, fruits and veggies away and managing J.

5:45 PM Daddy returns from dropping N off at soccer.  He takes charge with J for a little while (they play downstairs in the piano room, and from the loud music I'm hearing I'm guessing it's a dance party).  I tackle N's closet and clothes bins to finish up my big sorting project.  J and C are supposed to be finishing up tidying their room but I can tell they're getting distracted by the Shopkins again.

6:45 PM Daddy and J come back upstairs and M departs to pick up N from practice.  I get J in PJs, brush her teeth, read her a few books and then rock/sing to her.  She's awake but looking sleepy as I lay her down and exit the room.

7:00 PM I tell the big girls it's time for PJs and teeth brushing.  I head into N's room and put the finishing touches on my sorting project.  Her clothes drawers are now neat, organized, and not overflowing, and I have a big bag of donation items!

7:15 PM Daddy and N walk in from soccer and she and I chat a bit as I'm bagging up clothes in her room.

7:30 PM L and C are moving sloooowly on their PJ jobs so I hurry them along and they finally get things done.  Daddy finishes up the dishes and then reads a bit of The Borrowers to L and C, and N has settled into her bed, reading There's a Boy in the Girls' Bathroom to herself.  I head downstairs, consolidate my five bags of donation clothes into a corner, switch the laundry to the dryer, and do a bit of writing this post.

8:00 PM Lights out time for the big girls, so I head upstairs to give them hugs and kisses.  After hugs I throw together some overnight oats for the kids to eat for breakfast in the morning.

8:20 PM I head back downstairs and M and I chat for a little bit, then I do some more work on this blog post.

9:35 PM We are asleep!

If you would like to catch up on past editions of ADIOCL, here ya go:

Volume IX: N is 8, L is 6.5, C is 4.5, and J is 14 months old

Volume VIII: N is 7.5, L is 6, C is 4, and J is 9 months old

Volume VII: N is 7, L is 5, C is 3.5, and J is 2 months old

Volume VI: N is 6.5, L is 4.5, C is 3, and J is in utero

Volume V: N is 6, L is 4, C is 2.5

Volume IV: N is 5.5, L is 3.5, and C is 2

Volume III: N is 5, L is 3, and C is 21 months

Volume II: N is 4.5, L is 2.5, and C is 14 months

Volume I: N is 4, L is 2, and C is 9 months