A Day in the Life...

Here is a snapshot of my day. Let me start by saying that our power was out last night from 7:00-10:30. It made bedtime "fun," especially considering that we were not home when the power went out and came home to a dark house. So, here is a recap of today:

4:10 AM - Wake up to Tommy's coughing/sniffling/getting out of bed because he cannot sleep. Taylor is sleeping in between us, which means Tommy and I did not sleep well. Taylor tosses and turns all night long. Sleeping with her is like sleeping with a wild animal.

4:50 AM - Consider getting up because I cannot fall back to sleep. No, I will not do it. It is too early.

5:15 AM - Vow that I will get up at 6:00 if I have not fallen back to sleep.

6:25 AM - Wake up. It is time to get moving! The cleaning ladies are coming this morning and I have a lot to pick up.

6:30-8:00 AM - Run around my house picking up toys, clothes, sippy cups, papers, markers, etc. Find leftover banana on my coffee table from yesterday (couldn't clean up last night because there was no power). Make beds. Put laundry away. Wash dishes. Make breakfast.

8:00-8:57 AM - Feed the kids. Listen to all kinds of complaints that my breakfast is yucky. Change Matty. Change Brayden. Ask Taylor three times to get dressed. Throw clothes on myself. Try to look presentable even though showering is not an option. Pack Taylor's snack for school. Pull Taylor's hair back into a ponytail and listen to her complain the whole time that I am hurting her. Order/help all kiddos to get shoes and coats on. Warm up my coffee for the third time. Clean up the breakfast table. Grab backpacks and coffee and run out the door. Fasten Brayden and Matty into their car seats. Drive to the bus stop. I leave the garage door open because I'll be right back.

8:57 AM - Turn the corner to see the bus at the bus stop. It is one minute early. There is too much traffic to get Taylor on the bus before it pulls away. We keep on driving and follow the bus to school.

9:00 AM - I drop Taylor off at school. This is the first time this year I have had to do this, but it was a good lesson to be ready earlier in the mornings.

9:05 AM - Pull back into my driveway. The cleaning ladies are there. They were probably wondering why I was not home but had left my garage door open. I run inside to say hello, grab my purse, and head back out.

9:15 AM - Take Matty to preschool.

9:30 AM - Drop Matty in his classroom. Beg Brayden to stop playing with in the sand table and leave with me. We head to the library to hang out for 30 minutes.

10:00 AM - Go into the gym at Matty's school to volunteer for the trike-a-thon. Help some other parents count the children's laps around the gym on their tricycles. Brady pushed a toddler shopping cart around the gym and did probably 25 laps. I am not kidding! He ran next to Matty while he peddled. By the time Matty's class finished, Brayden's face was beat red and he was a hot mess.

The starting line for the Trike-a-Thon

 

Matty and his girlfriend Mia (she has a huge crush on Matty, according to Mia's mom)

 

Brayden on lap #17

10:45 AM - I have about one hour until I need to pick Matty up from school. Decide to be productive and run to Target for a few odds and ends.

10:55 AM - Park at Target. Put Brayden in the cart. Grab my purse, but if feels lighter than normal. Look inside and realize my wallet is missing. Vaguely remember Brayden pulling it out of my purse yesterday. Taylor took it from him, being the "mommy" that she is. I have no idea where she put it.

11:00 AM - Decide to kill time at Target anyways. It can't hurt to look around and get some gift ideas/look at Christmas decorations.

11:05 AM - Spend my entire time at Target chasing Brayden. He refuses to sit in the cart. I finally persuade him with an applesauce pouch from my purse. It gives me just enough time to leave the store and get to my car before he throws a fit again.

11:50 AM - Pick Matty up from school a few minutes early. Walk the boys out to the car. Wrestle a very-tired Brayden back into his car seat. Any bystander watching me do this would consider calling child protective services because I have to be so forceful.

12:00 PM - Race home to beat the school bus. Greet Taylor when she gets off at 12:12.

12:30 PM - Feed the kids lunch. Beg them not to get crumbs on my clean floors. Watch them run around, do gymnastics, color, etc. Ask the kids if they know where my wallet is. Matty retrieves it from under our couch.

1:10 PM - Put Brayden down for his nap. Tell the kids they can watch a show during quiet time. When I can't find the remote, Matty runs upstairs and retrieves it from his closet.

2:00 PM - Suzie, my babysitter arrives. Hallelujah! Promptly get the heck out of my house.

2:10-5:00 PM - Go back to Target to buy what I'd planned to buy earlier. Go to Starbucks and sit with my laptop for an hour. Ah-mazing! Plan my attack for Christmas shopping. Think about going to the grocery store to pick up a few things, but decide against it. I am enjoying my quiet time at Starbucks too much.

5:00 PM - Walk in the door. Taylor is puking. Taylor and Matty are both ready for their 5:30 swim lesson, but there is no way Taylor is going. Matty has a meltdown because he wants to go. I call my friend Debbie (whose son is in Matty's class) and ask if she can take Matty. She says she'll be right here. God bless her! Crisis averted.

5:15 PM - Load Matty in Debbie's car. Run back inside to a crying/puking Taylor.

5:30 PM - Put together some sort of dinner for Brayden. He only eats yogurt and then promptly rubs his yogurt-stach all over the couch as I am holding a bucket for Taylor to puke in. I run around cleaning out buckets, spraying stains on the couch, picking up spaghetti from the floor, etc.

Taylor sleeping with her barf bucket

5:45 PM - My sweet neighbor drops off ginger ale for Taylor. She drinks some and then promptly throws it up. Brayden thinks sissy is funny and giggles every time she dry-heaves.

6:15 PM - Matty is home. Put both boys in the bathtub. Taylor is downstairs on the couch and has been throwing up about once every 10 minutes.

6:45 PM - Feed Matty. Brayden comes to the table for round two of dinner.

7:15 PM - Brush the boys' teeth, read stories, tuck them in. Brayden is wired after his long nap and decides to have a party in his crib.

8:00 PM - Carry Taylor to bed. Pull out her trundle bed so that I can sleep next to her. She throws up one more time.

8:15 PM - Go back into Brayden's room because he is yelling (and Matty is trying to sleep in there as well). Give him another paci and pick up every stuffed animal and blanket that he threw out of his crib.

8:30 PM - Clean up dinner, put my pjs on, pour myself a glass of wine (never mind that my dinner was Matty and Brady's food scraps). Start this blog.

What a day! All in all, I would consider this a good day. I know that I am going to forget these little details one day, so I wanted to write them down. Someday, I will appreciate how busy my days aere during this season of my life. There is not a single dull moment the entire day! Never can I sit and not think of something I should be doing. Even when I had one hour to myself at Starbucks, I felt a little stressed because of all things I wanted to get done - read emails, update my Christmas card list, organize my calendar, etc.

I hear Taylor gagging upstairs. I better get going... :(