Friday, November 15, 2013

A Day in the Life: 8 Months Later

Back in March I did a “day in the life” post – at that point Luke was 3 and  potty training, and Livi was just a few weeks old.  Life was crazy chaotic but I’m glad I documented it.  I thought I’d do anther one to compare life then and now.  It’s a little easier, thank God, but, well…definitely not chaos-free. lol!

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Wednesday, November 13, 2013

3:45 am: Livi’s crying.  Change her diaper in her crib, in the dark, aka trying to wrestle a wet pig while half asleep myself.  Sister likes to be on her belly AT ALL TIMES when sleeping so she is perpetually trying to flip over while I simultaneously attempt to change her.  So desperate to finish I only get one of the onesie snaps matched before I zip up her fleece pjs.  Hoping she won’t notice.  Calm her down but I notice she is deep breathing and simultaneously has the hiccups.  This is not going to end well….but I go back to bed. 

 

4:05: Crying again.  Ahhh, the snaps!  Maybe one of them is cold and hitting her leg?!  Go back in, fasten all three, calm her down again by rubbing her back.  She goes to sleep {I’m praying for real this time.}

 

4:22: Back in bed and hopefully for good…

 

7:30: I wake up and it’s bright light outside and I can smell coffee {bless my husband, I knew that man was worth marrying!} My kids never ever ever sleep this late anymore so for a moment I think it must be the weekend and Chris has let me sleep in.  I quickly realize it’s not the weekend, I hear Livi moaning and stumble to get her.  Luke wakes up about 2 seconds later.  Secure milk for my boy and bottle for my baby.  Eyes half asleep.  2 sips of coffee before I feed Livi on the couch.

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She finishes and I drink coffee to try to wake up. 

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Meanwhile, Livi is playing at her toy, aka THE MACHINE OF DEATH.  Sound is broken so it only plays on LOUD and the most obnoxious computer-generated songs.  But it’s good for her to practice standing on her own, and she loves it, so we keep it. 

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8:30: Breakfast for Luke…toast with butter, peanut butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon.  Smells soooo good…

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8:45: Breakfast for me…toast with butter, peanut butter, raw honey and cinnamon.   I don’t even like honey all that much but this local stuff is to die for.  Kids play while I continue to wake up. Yes, I noticed I already wrote that once.  lol

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9:45: Livi is down for 1st nap, I secure Sesame Street on Netflix for Luke, and I hurry to the bathroom for a super fast and not-at-all relaxing shower.

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10:10: Livi’s awake and crying.  Did she even sleep?!  I swear this girl is an insomniac.  I go in and see if I can calm her back down to actually nap.  She is holding her dolls, sitting up, and when I go in she stops crying and laughs at me when she sees me.  Nice. 

 

10:50: Feed Livi puffs, chicken chutney (lol), egg yolks, pureed fruits, then bottle after her food.  She is on day 4 of egg yolks and loving them.  So grateful every time we can add a food to the “approved” list!  I clean the kitchen while she eats the yolks and puffs.

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11:20: Kitchen and Livi are cleaned up.  I do my hair and make-up to actually look human and not scare the daylights out of the bus driver when she comes later. 

11:45: Luke out of jammies and dressed.

11:50: Livi out of jammies and dressed.  Both kids out of jammies before noon = success.  I’m basically top contender for mom of the year, in case anyone was wondering yet. 

 

 

12:00 pm: Livi starts acting super cranky.  I feel like she needs to take a nap, but technically we are on “bus alert” now – the bus comes at 12:15 but we are supposed to be ready early just in case.  I don’t want to chance missing the bus while I’m back in the room calming her down. I decide to stay by the door and try to console her so I don’t miss the bus.  A lovely 15 minutes ensues. 

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12:30: Blissssss.  Luke is on the bus, Livi has actually fallen asleep (!!) and Chris is, for the first time ever, home for lunch!  He started a new job last week that requires a lot of driving and traveling and he’s right near our house for lunch today.  Hooray! 

 

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Lunch is leftover hamburger vegetable soup, pulled from the freezer last night.  Crystal Paine’s recipe and we love it!  I inform Chris that if he’s home it has to be documented today and make him take a blurry photo of us. :)

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1:00: Chris stays home to work and make calls but “he’s not here.”  Time to bake!  I’ve mentioned Luke has a lot of food issues but breakfast foods (aka carbs) are safe for him.  I bake frequently so that he has something to eat.  Today I have a little bit of pumpkin left in the fridge so I am making pumpkin scones. 

 

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I love baking and I light my candle and turn on my Little Women soundtrack, pull out my Pyrex and get to work. 

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Scones are baking and I load and run the dishwasher {aka THE STORY OF MY LIFE}.  I pull out salmon to thaw for dinner.  Aldi’s salmon is wild-caught and amazingly priced.  I buy it all the time!

 

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1:55: Livi’s up and crying.  That nap definitely wasn’t as long as I was hoping for, after this morning.  Bummer.

 

2:15: Livi eats her puffs while I whip up a broccoli-pumpkin-applesauce combination, with some cinnamon oatmeal on the side.  It’s amazing to me that she likes it {babies are crazy!} but she scarfs it down. Another small bottle, too.

 

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2:45:  Livi’s finished and clean and I keep her in the seat, give her some plastic measuring cups and spoons, and put Baby Einstein on the computer for her so I can sit down for a few minutes.  I take out my Bible, Jesus Calling, my gratitude journal, and some more coffee.  I read and write in-between jumping up and down to get the spoons that she drops. 

 

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It occurs to me that I really don’t sit down much in a given day.  Like…less than 30 minutes total so far today.  Crazy.

 

3:15: Luke’s off the bus and wants milk {he gets it at wake-up, bedtime, and after school.  I think he likes looking forward to it.}  We talk about his day and I try to prevent him from squeezing his sister too hard in a hug or trying to ride her like a horse as she crawls.  The things I find myself saying aloud...

 

4:00: Livi’s super cranky and I want to put her in the car to take another cat-nap before bedtime.  Chris can finish up the rest of his work later, so he decides to come with us.  Another unexpected surprise!  Normally he wouldn’t be home until 5:00.  Having him there to help makes a world of difference in how much fun grocery shopping is.  :) We head to Wal-Mart {out of sheer necessity – I’m not a big fan of that store!} and Stop & Shop.

I am so grateful that scarves are in style now!  They make SAHMs look sooo much more put together than they really are.  Or at least me…I shouldn’t speak for other moms.  haha ;)

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5:30: We’re home and I’m prepping dinner {pan-fried salmon, Alexia fries, and salad}. 

We play with the kids and give them both baths before putting them to bed.  Livi goes down about 7:00 and Luke about 7:45 tonight.  I realllllly don’t want to work out, but I’m doing a Thanksgiving Fitness Challenge with some Facebook friends and so I force myself to move on the elliptical.  I am slower tonight but I stay on for 30 minutes.  I lay on the couch afterward, watching a Netflix show, while Chris finishes up work from the day and gets ready for his business trip tomorrow. 

We’re both in bed by 10.  I’M EXHAUSTED!

P.S….that night, Livi was awake at 11:30, 12:30, 1:30, and 3:30.  Deeeeelightful.  

So, that’s a day in my life! I can’t see anyone buying the rights to my life for a screenplay soon, but someday I know I’ll be glad I wrote this.  ;)

 

Happy weekend, y’all! We made it!!!! :)

5 comments:

  1. What a life!! I remember those days well. Enjoy as much as you can. You are a good writer.

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    Replies
    1. Awww, thanks Darlene! I know they will go by quickly - I just want to sleep through the night again. haha

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  2. I have three children ages 7, 5, and 3. Husband and I are expecting our 4th child in March of 2014.
    As I read this, I giggle and I sympathize with you on so many levels.
    I thank God every day we wake up and spending another amazing day here on earth. Being a SAHM is hard mentally, physically and emotionally; but the gratification definitely outplays the hardships and doldrums.

    Hugs!

    -Alicia M

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    Replies
    1. I agree 100%, Alicia! Even on my hardest days I don't really want to do any other job but this!

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