A day in the life

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6:45.

It's time to wake up. I rub my eyes, kiss my daughter on the cheek, and tell her I'll be right back as I go to get her crying brother that has recently built this internal clock that deems it necessary to wake up on the 6th hour. Never failing. I slowly slip out of my husband's hold and make my way to the hallway.

I stumble running into the basket of clothes that I had sat out a couple days before {folded mind you} reminding me that I need to put them away today. I open the door, and I see him. I see him standing there, pouting his face, reaching his little arms up at me. I scoop him up, turn off the sound monitor and bring him into our bedroom.

This is one of our favorite times in the morning, as I have the chance to feed him, touch his soft skin, and kiss his sweet little forehead. He attempts to fall asleep, but it isn't long before big sister realizes that he's in bed with her and she can no longer contain her excitement.

"Graham man! You're here! I'm so happy {kiss kiss} to see you! Did you have sweet dreams {squeeze, squeeze."

With his eyes closed, he fling his arms up in the air trying to push her body out of his way.

He's unsuccessful.

7:15

We make our way downstairs. The kids each have a banana, and I attempt to begin to clean up what was the remains {as I like to call it} from the dinner the night before. I wait for the water to boil, then pour it into the kids' bowls of oatmeal. Graham sits where Elliana used to sit, and she sits in his high chair. Her choice, don't ask. He gets a bib. A strawberry bib. And a place mat. A pink place mat. Spoons in, and they go to town.

When they finish, I wipe their faces and rush them to go play already. While I try to finish what I started.

 7:30

Andrew comes downstairs. I finish packing his lunch. Spaghetti and meatballs from the night before. A bowl of vegetables. Three clementines. A bag of pretzels and other snacks. Granola and yogurt on the side. A couple easter eggs in the side pocket. His lunch box is overflowing, and that's just the way I like it. Knowing his belly is full.

He hugs everyone goodbye, and there's a lot of hugs and kissing going around. Except E. She's cranky pants in the morning and there is no getting any kind of kisses out of her. The kids then stand by the window and wave "BUH-BYE" as they watch his car drive on by.


Now, we start our day.

The kids play in the playroom while I finish the dishes and throw a couple loads of laundry in. We then end up upstairs to brush our teeth, switch into our day clothes, and make our beds.

8:30

Nap time for Graham. I go upstairs to feed him and put him down, while E plays. After he finishes, I head back down and we begin our school time. We start with writing the date on the calendar, and talking about the weather today. I then write 2-3 sentences about the plans for our day and E reads them out loud. I circle any words that she may have trouble reading and we repeat them and talk about them. I then use those words to focus on throughout the day with different projects like---spelling it on paper, outlining it with glue, and then adding gems to it.

We then move along to "Star-reading" where she picks a star and picks a book and we look for that sight word. She screams when she finds it! A chocolate chip for every word found.

Our daily craft is next.

Then comes brain quest, some coloring, and finally finish it off with a little math. If we have some time left before Graham wakes up, we go to the learning station and find other things to do.

10:30-11

Graham wakes up. I feed him, and then I use the next 30 minutes-hour to devote to his learning--puzzles, word fishing, talking about colors of the cars, flashcards, and anything and everything else that is around us.

12:00

Lunch time. I wash, cut, and serve. Repeat. I might sneak in a few bites in for myself as well. Throw the wet laundry into the drier {you know, from this morning}, and do more dishes. I let the dog out at this time to go potty, and go grab the mail while I'm at it.

After lunch the kids are always begging to go outside by this time, and I am always more than ready.

1:00

Time to pack my diaper bag for our time out and about.

I run through my list that I have drilled in my head:

1. Extra pair of clothes for Graham, and extra undies and pants for E {haven't had to use it yet, but just in case}.

2. An extra cloth diaper for Graham, cloth wipes, and a bag to put a dirty diaper in.

3. A water bottle to keep refreshed.

4.Sanitizer, floss, tissues, napkins {for the messy kids}, lip gloss, hairbrush, and thermometer.

5. Hair bow & bib.

6. Truck & train for the busy boy.

7. Sunscreen

8. A sticker/doodle pad and crayons for the busy girl.

9. Snacks & sunglasses {because those two go together, obviously}.

10. U by Kotex Sleek Tampons and Cleanwear Pads. Even though I am still breastfeeding, I did unfortunately have the return of the inevitable a few months back, and being constantly on the go meant that I had this added worry in the back of my mind. Now, I prepare myself by having U by Kotex in by bag where I can easily slip into my hand or back of my pocket at any instant.

As an added bonus, you can now head into Walmart and pick up a box of U by Kotex Sleek Tampons or Cleanwear Pads and get a pack of three Goody hair elastics for free, while supplies last.

We're out the door.

"Which park do you want to go to, baby" I ask Elliana.
"Hmm.... how about the neighborhood park" she replies. I never know exactly which of the 8 she will say. They all have a name {even if it's not the real one}, and we're always looking to add more to the list.

The kids play. They run, and go down slides, and swing, and play. I sit {when I can}, and enjoy the beautiful weather. It's the perfect temperature this time of year. Not too hot, and not too cold. It's nice to also have the park all to ourselves. To watch the water from the bench, and hear the beautiful laughter of my children being kids.

I call them back an hour in to enjoy a snack and some water. They scarf it down, gulp it down, and back they go. Elliana's face is red from running, Graham's hair is wet from the heat. They're enjoying themselves. 

Graham then decides he's ready to go home and says "Ca-Ca-Ca" while proceeding to walk to the door. I get it son, I get it. Try telling the sister though it's time to go home. Even though we've been there for two hours.

We make our way back to the car and head home.

3:00

We're home. Graham's unhappy, he doesn't want to go inside.  He would live outside if I let him. We head in, I nurse him and then make the kids some granola and yogurt. They chow it down and of course leave a large mess for me to clean up. Thankfully E is now accustomed to cleaning up her own mess, but I have not yet trained that little one. I'll let him pass since he's still 16 months old.

I get the load of laundry out and fold it {if I'm lucky to not get distracted}, and attempt to throw another load in.

4:00

Cranky monster is rubbing his eyes and whining at me. Nap time mama, did you forget? Ah yes, so I go upstairs, feed him and put him down.

Books. Elliana and I dive into our bag of library books and cuddle on the couch.  

5:30

Graham's awake. I bring him downstairs. Change his diaper {don't worry I've changed multiple today, just haven't mentioned it}, and feed him again. I get dinner started. I pull the vegetables out and start cutting. Peppers. Tomatoes. Onions. Spinach. Pepperoni. Cheese. It doesn't help that I eat a little bit of everything that I am chopping and placing on the pizza.

6:15

PAPA'S HOME!!!!!!!!! And yes it's that exciting for all of us. More hugs and kisses go around, the dog gets let out {because he's barking up a storm and jumping all over Andrew}, and then Andrew quickly runs upstairs to get changed.  

We sit down as a family, as we always do. I hope our children always remember the importance of sitting down for dinner, talking about our day, and thanking the Lord for another day of life.

Andrew goes to mow the lawn while I get the kids bathed. This also means that I jump right in with them, because after the day we had---I needed it bad.We splash. We play with the alphabet letters in the water. And we sit in there far too long.

We get out {eventually} and Elliana requests "SANTA PJ'S!!" What else is new? I'm ready for them to not fit anymore, because it is seriously the end of the world when they are in the washer to be washed. Graham is pretty compliant with what I dress him in. For now.

8:00

We read a couple night time stories, Andrew comes in to shower, and then we part ways. I take Graham man to go nurse him and rock him. He takes E to go facetime with all the family members and wish them goodnight.

I kiss my sweet boy, and sneak out the door and go into our room where I find my other two loves. I snuggle with E and watch as she falls asleep. It's time for us to walk out.

We get a snack, grab the blanket, and it's couch time with the TV on. Roku since we no longer have cable. And it feels nice. To be in his arms. To talk about the day {mostly the kids}, and to have the house quiet and free of any noise. To think.

I fall asleep way too soon, and then we both head upstairs to call it a night. It's been a good day. A great day, and we are ready to see what tomorrow brings.