A Day in the Life

Lots of bloggers do an annual "day in the life" post with pictures and notes about their day to document their daily lives and how they change (and don't) through the years.  Last Friday I decided to do the same for the first time, and this is what happened...

6am
I shut my alarm off but don't get out of bed.  When I reach for my phone next, it's 6:30.  I check email and a few blogs to ease the transition of waking up, then eventually peel myself out of bed for some time in the Bible (and half a bagel!).

7:10
Since the girls seem to be sleeping in, I decide to sneak in a bit of freelance work.  By "a bit," I mean 10 minutes before I hear, "Maaaaamaaaaaaaaaaa!"  Then there are hugs, kisses, diaper changes/potty runs, getting them dressed, and making breakfast.  I say no to chips, chocolate, and a host of other things before we settle on oatmeal with raisins.

While the girls eat, I sneak off to the bathroom to get ready for the day.
Pookie has been earning money for doing chores for a few months now, and clearing and cleaning the table after breakfast is one of them.  Today, she doesn't not follow through despite several reminders.  After 15 minutes of watching her horse around, I clear two cups, wipe the table, and put a frowny face on her chore chart.  She protests since a frowny face means a fifty cent fine.  Much discussion (and a few tears) ensue.

8
Professor's lunch is a breeze to put together this morning: leftovers from Applebee's!  A friend texts me: I left stuff at her house.  She has time before running errands this morning to help me finish a skirt I started making with her yesterday, so I tell her we'll walk up to her place shortly.
Usually, this time is for tidying up the house, and lately we've added reading time on the couch, too.  However, since we're going up to our friend's house, we run around trying to finish getting ready and find socks and so on.  There may have been some tickling going on, too...

8:45
Out the door!  Sewing, chatting, kids overturning popcorn on the floor.  My skirt is done and lovely.  I'm not much of a skirt person, but this one is cute and will be great when the weather gets hot.  Pookie throws a fit as we leave; she wants to take their little girl's ballet slippers home.  My friend says they're from the dollar store, so I tell Pookie that we can go to the dollar store this weekend and she can buy her own with her chore money.  This does not stop the tears.

10:15
Walking home.  We get pretzels in bowls for snack, but before they eat, we check how much money is in Pookie's spending envelope.  $1 exactly.  We discuss sales tax, the frowny face fine, how much she'll earn this week, and chores that still need to be done.  With that out of the way, I let the girls watch Blue's Clues.

Mama time!  Guilty pleasures: Diet Dr. Pepper, candy, and the Sister Wives book because I got hooked on their show for a time and it was just sitting there on the "New" shelf at the library.  Don't judge me!
Zaboo wanders away from the TV and sits to cuddle with me for a few minutes before wandering back.

11
I look up a recipe for 2-ingredient cookies: oats and bananas, plus mix-ins like chocolate chips, nuts, or raisins.  The girls and I get busy mashing bananas and then we all stir in the oats.  Zaboo tries to eat as much of the mixture as she can while I finish mixing.  She climbs on the table, despite warnings, and gets moved to her high chair.  Chocolate chips make a decent consolation prize.

Once the cookies are in the oven, we work together on dishes...lots of water ends up on the floor, but the dirty dish pile is much smaller.  And Zaboo is so funny. She thrives on playing in the water.  We sing songs and giggle and it's a beautiful part of the day.

The girls go to their room and are playing quietly, so I grab my phone to make a phone call, two minutes tops.  At the 1 minute and 45 second mark, I notice Zaboo has snuck to the kitchen and is leaning too far forward on a chair.  I try to gracefully end my call, but the mechanic gets to hear, "Zaboo, you sit down right...CRASH! WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!"  Cuddles, kisses, mild told-you-so scolding.
What's Pookie up to?  This...

I make her clean up--thoroughly.  And get dressed.

12
Lunch!  Back to the not-any-cleaner kitchen.  Snacky lunch for the girls: salami, mixed nuts, blackberries, cucumber slices, 2-ingredient cookies (not bad; well received).

I have coleslaw and tomatoes for now; I usually eat my lunch while they're napping so that if I eat something different it's not a problem.  Plus it's nice to eat a meal in peace, you know?
We listen to Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle on audiobook.  I'm never sure Pookie's really listening, but she asks me about the story later, and since Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle helps kids overcome things like selfishness and backtalk, I'm more than happy to discuss it with her.
Maintenance shows up to remove fans from our bedroom--they've been there for a WEEK trying to dry out our carpet.  But God is good: our carpet is dry and we can have quiet in our home once more!
Zaboo LOVED the cookie once she tried it.  She is a chocolate mess, so she gets a good scrubbing and fresh clothes and diaper.  We cuddle a minute and she goes down for nap.  I read some Garfield to Pookie (Professor has a collection and she loves these comics...even if she doesn't get the jokes) and head toward the computer to get some more freelance stuff (and this blog update) done.

1:30
Break for lunch (Applebee's leftovers of my own--yum!).  I just discovered Zinio through the library, so I browse through Country Living.  Then back to work.

3
Wrapping up work (for now).  Zaboo's making noise in her crib, but I let her wake up a little before I get her.  We snuggle and fill her sippie cup with water.  Since Pookie's still asleep, I decide to keep the little one busy by "helping" me take leftover chicken off the bones and start a batch of stock.  Zaboo happily munches chicken and gets busy "washing dishes" again with me after.
Super cute: when she wakes up much earlier than Pookie like this, at some point I usually need to use the bathroom.  She follows me, so I take her pants and diaper off her and show her how to sit on the little potty.  She won't be ready to fully train until after we move, but she thinks it's a hoot, so we enjoy that.  Then stories mixed with cleaning up.

4
The 4 o'clock hour is always a hodgepodge of tasks.  Today, I dice onions and split peppers for dinner (stuffed bell peppers), sweep, do more dishes, tidy my bedroom, nag remind Pookie to pick up her toys, get dressed (yeah...somehow that didn't happen yet today....), vacuum, promise to play even though there isn't time at the moment...all so we can enter the perfect storm: the witching hour.

5
Arguably the worst hour of the day for mothers the world over.  Kids are clingy, whiny, hungry, and unable to entertain themselves.  Meanwhile, Mama needs to get dinner prepped, cooked, and on the table while aforementioned curtain climbers place Olympic-size obstacles in her way.  Some days are better than others around here.  Today, since we'd gotten the house (mostly) picked up and neighbor kids were playing outside, we went out to enjoy the nicer weather until it was time to come in and finish getting dinner put together.

6 and beyond
I had every intention of documenting the whole day...but documenting fell by the wayside.  I snapped this picture, which shows that I needed some alone-in-the-kitchen-to-work time (also, Zaboo climbs chairs and counters constantly, and I just wanted to cook in peace!).  Pretty sure I made something with peppers and onions...

I think we rented Cars on Amazon and let the girls stay up late enough to watch the whole thing.  Brushed teeth, let Pookie go to bed in her clothes (her absolute favorite thing to do).

Professor and I played Scrabble and watched a few episodes of The Good Wife if I remember correctly.  Then I fell into blissful sleep...all to wake up and do it again the next day.  And that's a day in the life for 2014!