Showing posts with label in. Show all posts
Showing posts with label in. Show all posts
Thursday, August 17, 2017
A Day in the Life Heads Up Winter 2017
Oops, I'm super late with this quarterly reminder for a Day in the Life! It's winter and it's time.
The details:
Any time from today until January 22nd you should record your day in detail. That gives you two weeks to decide on a day.
It can be as specific or as general as you want. I personally tend to record these days as a note in my phone, including specific times of day as I'm psychotic with details. Totally not necessary for you to do the same, as simple is probably better and means it's less overwhelming! I try to jot down quotes from the kids, to mention my thoughts as things are happening, and to keep track of the nitty gritty details in a day. I would probably remember enough if I just sat down and tried to type it all a day or two later but I don't trust my mommy brain *that* much. So a note on my phone is a must for me.
Snap pictures as you go along, the easiest method being with your phone but if you are feeling extra energetic, a 'fancy' camera also works for a post like this. Sometimes just taking a screen shot of your phone to remember the time of day, or an email you read, the weather forecast, et cetera is helpful as you write up the posts. I also like the seemingly random pictures of messy houses, meals, receipts, pets, the scenery from your parking lot spot, your house, and so on. Making collages for your pictures is helpful when it's difficult to choose which images to post (always a serious issue for me). Again, get as detailed or as general as you want with the pictures, but I think the mundane details are what makes these posts interesting. Don't forget to get pictures of YOU in this post, either. Get your friends and family involved. Maybe purchase a selfie stick (I just got one and you can bet your butt I'll use it this time!) but step in front of the camera for this post.
My method is that I just email myself the iPhone 'note' from the day, and then I paste it into my blog post as a foundation. I'll go back and clean it up, elaborate on thoughts/events, and make sure it's written in English instead of just abbreviations from my note. Then I will add the pictures after that. Whatever method works for you though, as there are many ways to write about a single day in your life!
It's a lot of fun to read back on my own posts, and it's also quite entertaining to read everyone else's day. If you want to play along this quarter, here is what to do:
1. Record any day from now until Sunday, January 22nd. Type it up and turn it into a blog post. You can do it!
2. Email me the following to mylifeintransitionblog at gmail dot com by January 22nd at midnight:
*your blog title,
*your location (state or country is fine),
*the link to your post,
*attach the file of the photo you want to be featured in the round up post.
*optional: give me your Instagram name, perhaps I will attempt to tag everyone over there if extra energetic.
3. I will post everyone's link and picture by January 26th here on my blog. Get the popcorn and clear your schedule for this one!
I love reading these posts from women all around the world, and encourage you to try it even if you aren't a blogger. And it's definitely not just for mommy bloggers, either! You could turn these posts into a photo book, you could let them live online if you have a blog, or you could just look back on them and reminisce about the glory days once life settles down a bit more (ha!). Laura, the original founder of this Day in the Life link up, also records an entire week during one of these quarterly sessions. That is something I've never tackled before, but maybe someday if I'm feeling particularly adventurous. I know she makes those posts into a photo album book and her family is going to greatly appreciate the time it took to record every day events.
I will do these quarterly: January, April, July, and October. USUALLY, you can expect to record your day and post about it in the first fourteen days, send it to me, and I will continue to post the round up by the twentieth of those months.
So pick your day (or week) and get to it!
Sunday, August 13, 2017
Moms Make it Work Kendra Full Time Working Mom in Management
Today on the Moms Make it Work series we have Kendra posting as a full time working mom in a management position. I had a few requests for this type of mom to post and Kendra came through for us via Instagram. She is a fellow Wisconsin girl in healthcare, who suffered a miscarriage so automatically I could relate to Kendra (even without the management-type career). And then the sleeeepp issues. Oh, the sleep. I feel you, girl!! Enjoy;)
Hello, my name is Kendra and I'm a full time nurse coordinator (think of it as mid-level management) and mother of a one year old (July 8th!) living in a suburb of Madison, WI. I've been following Julia since somewhere around her 1st pregnancy and it's just worked out that topics she has shared ended up having relevance in my own life (miscarriage, cloth diapering, pumping, etc.) later on. This series has been so interesting to me, as it began shortly after I returned to work and I feel like my pumping sessions wouldn't be the same without all of these awesome guest posts! I don't currently blog, but I'm on Instagram as kendraoc.
What is your background story?
I grew up in a suburb of Milwaukee, but always dreamed of going away to college. I did a health care apprenticeship in high school where I worked as a nursing assistant in a hospital and then a nursing home, so I knew early on that I wanted to be a nurse. I loved helping people, getting to know all sorts of patients, and I also knew that there are so many different job opportunities in nursing. I went to the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia for four amazing years. While I was there, my mom was diagnosed with stage I breast cancer and while attending radiation treatments with her, I realized that oncology was where I belonged. I worked on an inpatient oncology and bone marrow transplant floor at a major university hospital back in WI after my junior year of college, and ended up with a job there after college when my best friend from home asked me to be her roommate.
I only planned on being back in WI for a year or two, but as the end of my first year approached, I met my husband at a co-worker's party. We dated for 4 years before getting engaged, and have been married now for almost 5 years. He now works for his family's business that is based here, so we're pretty much settled here for quite a while.
I always somehow "knew" that conceiving a child would be challenging for me. Long story short, I don't ovulate on my own for unknown reasons. My husband and I embarked on fertility treatments in November 2011 and were overjoyed to get pregnant on our third cycle in February 2012. We had planned a trip to Paris and Nice, France in March as sort of a last hurrah before babies, so it seemed that things were falling into place. Unfortunately, on our second night in Paris, I had a miscarriage. Our first views of the Arc de Triomphe were in a cab on our way to the American Hospital in Paris. It was an experience that I can't even begin to describe here We got pregnant again our first cycle after the miscarriage, but had a missed miscarriage in June 2012.
We took a small break from things and got pregnant again in October 2012. As if the emotions of the year had not been enough, I got the positive pregnancy test result for my third pregnancy less than 24 hours after sitting at my grandmother's bedside as she passed away.
My husband, fertility doctors, therapist and the OB I chose were so great in supporting me through the vomiting, anxiety, and impatience of this pregnancy. I gave birth to our daughter Elsa on July 8, 2013.
What was your career before you became a mom?
I've worked at the same academic medical center since college, changing roles a few times, but always staying with oncology. I'm currently a nurse coordinator, managing the clinic where patients receive chemotherapy and undergo procedures. I've been in this role for 2 1/2 years.
-What are the best parts of your situations?
Unlike some jobs in nursing, I don't work any holidays or weekends, just M-F. I love the field that I'm in and I'm constantly learning new medications and technology. I've maintained my clinical skills so that I can jump in to do patient care and cover staff for breaks. It can be so satisfying to be able to place an IV on the first try for patient who has been through some rough times.The people are who really keep me coming back: I have a great manager who is also a working mom, a lot of staff that I'm friends with from before I took a management role, and of course some pretty awesome patients.
What are the challenges?
I'm sort of obsessed with my daughter and spending time with her, so obviously I'm thinking about her all day. I mean look at this face:.
More practically speaking though, my commute can take anywhere from 30-60 minutes, and since almost every major roadway is under construction this summer in WI, driving and parking can sometimes be very stressful. On the days I pick Elsa up from daycare, my husband knows I can call with 15 minutes notice because I am stuck in traffic and won't make it. The one and only daycare "event" they had for us around Christmas I missed because it was snowing and it took me an hour and 45 minutes to get there. I cried for about 15 minutes, and then realized at least this year she wouldn't remember that Mommy wasn't there.
Keeping the household in order from cooking, cleaning, bills, grocery shopping, etc. also stresses me out a bit. There just never seems to be enough time, and I've had to lower my standards significantly in the cooking and cleaning departments for sure.
At least one night per week, my job requires me to be the late manager on site. This means I am there until the last patient is gone, which can be anywhere from 5:30 on a great day, to 7ish when we have an emergency patient situation or someone who needs to be admitted to the hospital. I know that's not horribly late or anything, but see the above about my commute, and then factor in a child who is not the best sleeper and pretty much refuses to go to sleep until Mommy is home and can breastfeed her. This means I pretty much fly in the door, grab the child, change my clothes, pull out the boob, and do the bedtime routine.
Is this how you expected it to be pre-kids?
I never really pictured myself SAH, although it is a nice grass is always greener sort of fantasy I have, I think I'll always be working. I did however, think with a job in nursing that I would work part-time once I had kids, but once I took a management position, it sort of locked me into a full time job, at least for now.
-Is this your ideal situation? If not, what is?
I think my ideal situation would be my same job but working 4 days a week instead of 5, in order to get all of the household stuff done during the week instead of letting it take over our weekends.
-Do you see yourself making a career change (whatever that means) in the next 5-10 years? Or is this current set up staying put for the long haul?
I had actually started graduate school for a masters in nursing administration while I was pregnant, but I've put that on hold since I think it's pretty much impossible with my current set up to be doing school while working full time with a child. I think I'll stay in my current role for at least the next 5 years, but at some point I would love to finish my masters to open myself up for different career opportunities.
-Tips on how you make your situation work for you:
1. Daycare: We love the center Elsa goes to, and I have full confidence in her teachers. She is a pretty social child and she lights up when she sees her main teacher and all her little friends. We picked a center that is 5 minutes from our home and my husband's work. He has much more flexibility in when he goes in or leaving early to pick her up if she's sick. When I was pregnant, I assumed he would do most of the daycare drop off and pick up, but after I went back to work, I realized that I enjoy interacting with her teachers and learning about what she's doing. Now I try to do a mix of 5 pick ups or drop offs per week.
2. Hour flexibility: About a month after I went back to work, I had a talk with my boss and told her I was really struggling with the days I was the late manager. I was gone from Elsa from 7 am to close to 7 pm, so we worked out a plan that I come in around 9:30 am the days I am expected to work late. I mentioned that my husband's hours are flexible, and he can even work at home if he needs to, but it also helps that my manager is also very understanding of the need to leave early or come in late for doctor appointments or if Elsa is sick.
3. Use "shortcuts": I use online shopping for a LOT of things. It's just so much easier to order stuff on my Amazon app on my phone while I'm pumping or stock up on clothes on sale online with free shipping and returns than trying to schlep to stores on the weekend or after work. We also used this site Plated for meal delivery a lot this winter, when I was struggling with meal planning. You pick at least two meals for the week and they deliver all the food you need to make it, with things like spices already measured. I love cooking, but deciding what to make, so this worked well for us. In the summer, we use a local farm's CSA, so we have big bags of produce that I actually pick up at work, so I can throw together meals from whatever is fresh that week.
-How do you handle mommy guilt?
Well, I try not to compare myself or my child to anyone else's---I know that we're all just doing the best we can, and that every child is different. I've learned to trust my instincts as a mom and do what my husband and I feel is right for Elsa and right for us, rather than try to read through parenting books or feel bad that I'm not following the latest unsolicited piece of advice. I've also learned that along this parenting journey, things go much better when you don't start saying, "oh, I'll NEVER do xyz".
My best example of all of this would be Elsa's sleeping: I remember when I was pregnant telling people that she would be in our room in a pack and play until 3 months old. Well, 3 months came, and after an awful night of trying to transition her to her own room/crib, my husband and I realized that neither of us actually wanted her out of our room, we just felt like that's what we were supposed to do. We brought her back in the next night and we all slept much better. Around 5 months, I came down with an awful flu and she started teething and we were just not sleeping. I ended up bringing her into bed with us, and she slept better than ever before. Now, at 11 months, she usually sleeps in her crib until about 10:30 and then sleeps with us in bed the rest of the night. I've had lots of advice on how to get her out of our bed, stop nursing her at night, sleep through the night, and on, but my husband and I are okay with our situation for now, so we're not trying to change anything at the moment. Unless I can find someone giving advice who wants to come to my house and wake up with my daughter throughout the night, we'll probably figure things out on our own.
-Advice for new moms struggling with returning to work outside of the home? Or struggling to decide if staying at home is the right choice?
I guess see above about trusting your own instincts, and know that what's right for you might not be right for the next mom. I also agree with what others have said about giving your situation some time to settle before making a big change. I think it's always hard the first few months you go back to work, but then you get into a groove and figure out what works and doesn't work for you and your family.
-How do you keep your house clean? Power cleaning after bedtime? Staying out of the house as much as possible? Cleaning while kids are awake? Purging often? Cleaning schedule?
I never really feel like it's up to my standards anymore, so I suggest lowering these significantly :) I really hate spending a lot of my Elsa time on the weekends cleaning, so I usually have my mom or mother-in-law watch her at our house for a couple hours so I can do a big clean all at once. My husband usually cleans up any toys while I'm nursing Elsa or doing the bedtime routine. I'm not good at doing a whole lot during the week other than dishes and washing cloth diapers. I actually think I finally convinced my husband that we need a cleaning service twice a month, so I think this will make me worry even less about house maintenance.
{Thanks, Kendra! Find the rest of the MMIW series here}
Friday, August 11, 2017
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Monday, July 31, 2017
Week In Pictures
Recent happenings through the eyes of my phone camera.
The couches have helped so much! The front section of our house is looking so much better!
I had a ladies crab night! It was so fun to catch up with crab loving girlfriends and eat delicious food!
The little girls got their Halloween costumes - Star Wars themed! Sprinkles clearly isn't enjoying hers...funny video on my Instagram. :)
My SIL keeps sending me pics of my nephew and it makes me so sad! He is so stinking cute!
Lowe's is all set for Christmas! I always knew they were my favorite home improvement store. :)
Anyone else have snuggly pups and find it SO HARD to get up and leave them in the morning? Makes me want to cry!
Turned on the fireplace for the first time this season! Chimi is a happy girl!
Whenever the fire detectors run out of battery Sprinkles has a heart attack. She was super on the lookout for the boogeyman!!
How my little girl sleeps with me. So sweet!
Since Nate was on boy's weekend, my Friday night consisted of cookies and movie time.
Can't Hardly Wait has the best ending to a movie ever!! Had to download this song (I own the soundtrack but it's not on there) because I love it so much ("Only You" by Yaz)! So 80s and so amazing (the song, I know the movie is '98).
Natey took me to my favorite meal ever...Benihana! So happy.
Hope everyone's Monday wasn't as crazy as mine! Sheesh! But it's done! Woo!!
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A Day in the Life Spring 2015
{There is still plenty of time to document your own Day in the Life or a Week in the Life! Last day to email me your link at mylifeintransitionblog at gmail dot com is Thursday, April 16}
I haven't recorded a weekend day since Winter of 2014, so Saturday was my pick this time. Weekends are seriously everything, right?
Saturday | April 4, 2015
Nate is 33.58 years old
I am 33.95 years old
Truman is 5.10 years old
Cecelia is 2.83 years old
Porter is 8.75 months old
Henry dog is 9.5 years old
My calculator was just used all 6 times for the above stats
6:40 am | I wake up coughing with the most horrible tickle in the back of my dry throat. Literally think I might pop a neck vein from coughing so hard while trying to stifle it. This cold/sinus thing is always the worst in the morning. Cecelia yelled for me at 2:15 am, needing to be tucked in, and Nate and I didn't fall asleep until 12:30 because we binged on Lost. Totally our own faults for being tired right now but really, how awesome is it that I can document only one very brief wake up from one child this night?
7:00 am | Still coughing, failing at falling back to sleep. Check the weather and my email, then the video monitor app. Kids are still asleep but wait! I hear Porter! Yay, miss my buddy and want to bring him into our bed. He just clocked eleven consecutive hours which seems like his sweet spot. I watch him on my phone and he seems to fall back to sleep for a little bit. Maybe I should try to sleep in, too.
7:10 am | He is for real awake and fussing for me. I realize he can't actually speak yet but I can tell he wants his mommy...or maybe I just really want to get him, and Nate isn't exactly springing out of bed to beat me in there. He's still sawing logs, actually. Truman is also moving around so it's a matter of time before the whole crew meets us downstairs. Go get my Porter boy and he is super happy like all mornings with this one.
7:20 am | Downstairs with my babe. I let Henry out. Frost on the ground, I hate you! Put our alcohol away (cocktails of whiskey + ginger beer last night, yum). Open blinds. Porter sits on a blanket while I'm doing all of this but he's getting pretty irritated that he doesn't already have his bottle inserted into his mouth. Make the bottle. Let him drink it alone on his blanket. Seriously, such a game changer, having a baby that can feed himself. Give Henry water, pour the kids their milk to prepare for their entry, make myself ice water. Morning hydration for all!
7:30 am | I head downstairs to get another gallon of milk from our second fridge, and I remember I wanted to grab my Spring banner for the mantel after seeing it on Timehop yesterday. Need to find the kids' Easter baskets, too, but will have to deal with that later. Fluff laundry that has been in the dryer for two days. Get a text from a wrong number. Can't help you there, brother!
7:40 am | Guys come down and they make coffee. I snap pictures of them and say, 'Guess what, guys? It's A Day in the Life today!!' and their excitement cannot be contained.
Porter is done with his bottle so he plays on his play yard a bit. Truman helps me deconstruct the winter mantel for a spring mantel. He and Porter play with the bunny ears that were stored in my 'decorations' box. Truman announces, 'Porter just said "woah" really quiet. He is the best baby brother ever. I love everyone in my family and I love Porter's bunny ears.' I think Truman is either hamming it up for the internet audience of today or else he is just having one of his overly emotional/happy bursts that occur many weekend mornings together.
Don't you like the Halloween pajamas combined with Easter bunny ears? Holidays intertwined!
8:00 am | Coffee is had and it's glorious. Nate changes Porter for me and P is saying, 'Hiiiiiiiiii' and waving at Nate. Truman inspects Nate's weather app so he can properly report the high and lows in each select city. This kid sure does love numbers (probably won't have to use a calculator for division someday, unlike me!) I finish the mantel and greatly enjoy the pops of pink, super tired of the evergreen stuff from winter. Cecelia is stirring in her room but this is awfully late for her to stay in bed.
before and after...
8:05 am | It's breakfast time, and Nate makes Truman a waffle with peanut butter AND Nutella since it's a weekend, plus yogurt on the side. I put some music on the Apple TV and inform Nate that three years ago this weekend, we moved into our house. Crazy. He says I'll be 34 this month and "that's a lot closer to 40. Because 33 is the early thirties but 34 is mid-thirties." Basically he is saying that I'm getting old but funny enough, he is just four months behind me with this age thing;) Whatever. Truman says, 'Knock it off, Nathan' with perfect inflection of his voice to mimic his mother. Nate is copying everything Truman says now and I hear some 'poo poo pee pee heads' in the mix, which is always such a riot.
8:20 am | I'm making my breakfast now and Cecelia finally comes down. Her eye is crusty and red. Oh no!!! How in the heck could she just now get her baby brother's pink eye that started a week ago? I clean her face and decide that she should probably start the anti-biotic eye drops we have left over from Porter's seven day stint. I'll call the doctor on Monday but I'm 99% sure this is the same eye nastiness Porter had, and those drops worked like magic for him. Nate's mom calls to discuss our plans today, since the Easter egg hunt is at Truman's school and Yaya + Papa have come with us for the past three years. The kids see Easter eggs outside at the school and so begins the discussion of the Easter bunny, his/her gender, where he/she lives, etc. We all eat breakfast and try to teach the concept of time to the children who are just beside themselves, waiting for the egg hunt. The boys discuss who Porter would be on Skylanders, if our baby was a character in a video game. I'm not sure what the outcome of that discussion was but I'm positive Porter would be the cutest Skylander ever.
8:40 am | The guys head downstairs for Skylanders time (i.e. Truman's most favorite time of every weekend) while I stay upstairs with the littles. Sis is eating her breakfast, Porter is finished with his waffle so he's now in thecircle of neglect jumperoo. "We already have these Easter eggs" Cecelia informs me, pointing to my little birds' nest with two blue and one pink egg. We talk about our family and how Truman and Porter are the blue eggs, Cecelia is the pink egg, and it's mommy and daddy's nest...but Cecelia is only concerned about what might be inside these decorative/symbolic eggs. Cecelia draws on the easel, I refill coffee, and I hear, "I want to ask the Easter bunny if he's a boy or a girl." We discuss this for the 100th time this week and for the record, I vote 'boy' for the bunny.
Also, took the selfie because I noticed a giant spot of Nutella on my elbow. #FashionBlogger
8:45 am | Cecelia and I take Porter upstairs to change him for the day and convince him to nap. Silly boy had a sneaky poop and it's fairly offensive but he is happy as a clam on his changing table.
9:00 am | I lay Porter down but he doesn't seem too tired, fussing and protesting the nap. Cecelia and I know that our new-found method of encouraging sleep includes letting Porter talk it out a bit, so us gals get dressed with whispers so Porter doesn't get really mad at us. I decide on running clothes since I want to run later. We are officially on week two of half-marathon training, which means we need to clock four miles today. Once the mileage gets higher we'll have to ask Tony and Lois to watch the kids while Nate and I run together but for now, we are just patching the runs in separately and tag-teaming for childcare. Plus I have been taking a child with me in the single Bob which makes for a super fast time, obvi. I make our bed while CC looks at my necklaces. Then she sees the non-Easter bunnies setting out eggs at the school. Busted! 'I not scared of him, the Easter bunny.' We talk about Jesus and I attempt a 'real meaning of Easter' conversation. 'I not scared of him either (Jesus). Or monsters. Or dinosaurs. I not scared of any of them.' So that's good at least! We brush our teeth and take pictures.
9:25 am | Porter is finally asleep so the girls head downstairs to get Easter baskets and to hand Truman his clothes. Boys are playing the Xbox and it seems like an intense game. We find the baskets, I get the newly fluffed load of laundry out of the dryer and fold it up. I start another load in the wash and decide since it's only one load total, I won't sort anything and will just get it done. I don't pay much attention to the clothes as I dump the entire dirty laundry basket into the washer. (THIS WAS A MISTAKE, READ ON AND GUESS WHAT TYPE OF HORROR AWAITS).
9:40 am | We head upstairs, I clean kitchen a bit, sort of wishing it was a 'regular' Saturday without this egg hunt so I could get to work on *really* cleaning the kitchen and bathrooms. But alas, fun times await and it will not include true cleaning time. Tony and Lois arrive and Lois brought the kids fruit snacks for a special treat. Let the sugar high commence! Since Porter is still napping, Lois offers to stay back with him at the house while the rest of us go over to the school. I say I will stay back but she is happy to watch from the window instead.
10:00 am | Easter egg hunt! I think our bunny is officially one of the creepiest in Easter history.
10:35 am | Tony, Cecelia, and I come home with Cecelia's eight eggs. It's pretty cold and windy outside, but Nate and Truman hang out talking for awhile. Porter is still snoozing when we get home, and we update Lois on the Easter bunny's sex: officially a girl! We asked her and she raised her hand to 'girl' so THAT burning question has been answered, thank goodness.
10:40 am | Porter wakes up and the boys come home. We all hang out, try to figure out why Tony and Lois's computer mouse won't work, discuss dinner plans for tonight. It's the night of The Final Four games and Wisconsin is playing at 8pm. I knew Nate would go somewhere to watch the game since we don't have cable and therefore life is VERY VERY hard during March Madness around here. But apparently he wants to watch both of the games and will be leaving around 6pm now. So we decide to bump dinner up to 5 and Lois says she will stay to help with bedtime once Nate goes. Not necessary since I do many-a-solo-parenting-triple-bedtimes but who am I to turn down my mother-in-law?
11:15 am | Lois leaves, then Nate and Tony take Truman and CC with them to run errands. Me and Porter-man get ready for a run. I go to change laundry before we head out and OMG. I somehow washed a disposable diaper and it's exploded every.where.holy.crap. At first I think it was just a Kleenex or something but no, the damage is so much worse. I scoop out the gel crystals from the 'clean' clothes, try to clean out the washer, and mutter curse words under my breath. No clue how a diaper got into our laundry chute but this will teach me to haphazardly start a load of wash without actually inspecting the clothes first. It's pretty awful and annoying so I just dump the wet clothes back into the laundry basket, select 'rinse and drain' for the washer cycle, and let it run without clothes inside to clean it up a bit.
11:30 am | We leave for our run and the washer debacle means I really need to get out, more than ever! I start off way overdressed and shed layers throughout the run. Porter gets bored after two miles so I have to stop frequently to adjust him, then end up giving him my water bottle to gnaw on for entertainment. It works and ends up being a pleasant run, but quite slow for me due to the numerous stops for Porter and the wind sail of a BOB stroller. Whatever, four miles done! I'm sure once I'm running without a stroller I will be fast as lightning (hahahaha).
12:27 pm | We're home and so are Nate, CC, and Truman. The rain barrel blew over and as I go to put it back by the house, rotting, muddy water spills all over my shoes and the sidewalk. Rage. I put the Bob away and restart the failure load of laundry. Truman and Nate are already eating lunch and and Cecelia just went down for her nap. Diaper change for Porter, then he goes into the high chair to eat with the guys. I'm starved and make my lunch: ham and cheese sandwich, part of Porter's banana, and incredibly spicy 'buffalo chicken' flavor potato chips that sound good but are way past my spice threshold I eat them anyway because, famished. Update our grocery list as I make my lunch since we are out of basically everything.
12:45 pm | I eat! Instagram a picture of us with the Easter bunny this morning. We all laugh at Porter being freaking adorable in his high chair.
1:15 pm | Give Porter a pre-nap bottle and Porter tries to claw my face right off of me. Nate leaves to exchange Brewers tickets and to get wine he ordered from a local store. Take boat loads of pictures of Porter after his bottle because I'm a fool for this photogenic child who will actually smile for my camera. Peek at the other images I have taken so far and approve.
1:30 pm | Major diaper disgustingness. OMG. Needs a onesie change and also his plaid shirt is a goner. Pour Truman more milk and he's finishing his lunch while getting iPad time. I head upstairs for Porter's second nap.
1:50 pm | Lay him down and hop in the shower. Finally!
2:00 pm | I'm out of the shower and both littles are now asleep. I get dressed for the day and truly looooove weekends so much because this 'getting ready' process is happening at 2pm. Yes.
2:15 pm | Blow dry hair and marvel at the grays and weird regrowth. Seriously, what is with these inch long, curly, gray hairs these days?? You can see them sticking up from my part no matter where I part my hair (see below). Makeup. Then selfies. I feel like I haven't been too great about getting in front of the camera this time so selfies will suffice.
2:30 pm | Nate is home and Truman is hanging out with his pops. I go downstairs and change the laundry, don't notice any diaper crystals this time. Have a cookie. Text with mom. Check Timehop and baby CC blows my mind.
I'm due for a new phone upgrade and my current iPhone 5 has been acting a bit odd lately. I decide to back up my phone to the laptop since I rarely do this and Nate tells me I'll have to before I get a new phone anyway. Truman is busy checking the weather for us again. He wants 'do something' besides listen to his parents talk. We hear a commercial on iTunes Radio for 'Six pack abs.' Truman asks, 'What is that?' and I tell Nate to show his son;) Truman then tells us, 'Truman the dog had been eating his poop.' Apparently Tony and Truman met a dog named 'Truman' a few weeks ago, and T learned his dog soulmate ingests his own feces. Awesome. Then Truman (the boy) literally wipes a booger on my camera lens. Even more awesome.
3:00 pm | The boys go outside to wash Nate's car. I go downstairs to get the Easter baskets together for tomorrow morning. Super annoyed I don't have any chocolate candy, only jelly beans and malt balls are in our 'For Easter' stash. But then again, there's no need to have 3 Easter basket experiences all full of chocolate. Also my phone won't back up fully on my new laptop because our Apple ID is already on 5 computers. Dig out old laptop to deauthorize it, or something. I hate technology but love it still.
3:30 pm | Both of my nappers are awake. CC has been playing in her room for awhile and Porter is babbling in his crib. So that was two 1.5 hr naps for mister man and about three hours for Cecelia, too. Her room smells like death when I open the door, as she pooped in froggy potty after her nap (apparently). I hate when she does that and doesn't call for me to wipe her right away, and so we discuss proper froggy potty etiquette yet again. I think I might just get rid of the thing and have her make the trip to the bathroom post nap and in the middle of the night. TCB and turn on ceiling fan. CC's eye looks a little better but I use the eye drops on her again because I guess we need to do them four times per day, like we did for Porter.
3:45 pm | Head downstairs and carry both children at same, as if I'm a coat rack for tiny humans. Really wish Nate was inside to get a picture of this nonsense but mostly just happy to make it down the stairs without catastrophic results. Cecelia wants to go outside with the guys so I get her shoes and fleece on, Porter is fussy so I give him a bottle on the couch. Feeling a little behind on the typical weekend schedule, but will try hard not to let the To Do list overtake my mind just yet. I haven't cleaned the house, am still doing laundry, haven't meal planned or shopped. Really want an afternoon coffee right about now and briefly consider making a smallish pot, but decide it takes too much effort and is probably too late in the day for caffeine. I'm officially geriatric with this statement but it's true.
4:00 pm | The kids come inside and want to open the package GoGo sent us, Ports is finished with his bottle so we open up the box-o-goodies. Care packages have always been a special part of my relationship with my mom when living in different cities (high school through present day). Now when she sends boxes to my kids, I feel even more grateful for her thoughtfulness. This time she sent a new homemade sleep sack for Porter, snacks for everyone, homemade flannel pajama pants for CC, and a whole stack of my old 'new reader' books for Truman. T immediately wants to read these books that were mine when I was five and I'm literally blown away by his abilities to sound out words in a book he's never seen before. Literally almost makes me cry to see him read the 'Gus' book cover to cover with minimal help from me.
(plain ice cream cones are a fun GoGo snack she started during her last visit)
4:30 pm | Truman is still reading like crazy and I realize he does best with short vowel sounds instead of long sounds. I wonder if that's because they are mostly working on the short vowels in school right now. Porter and CC are both enjoying some of the snacks GoGo sent (yogurt covered raisins and some organic crackers). Then Cecelia helps me get the load of laundry from the dryer and I get started folding upstairs. P and C have an empty ice cream cone from my mom and I switch the TV to play music instead of golf. You snooze you lose, Nate! He is still outside running the gas out of our snow blower to prepare for spring. Yes. It's coming, I know it is!!!!
4:40 pm | FaceTime with my mom to say 'thank you' for the gifts. The kids have to tell her all about the Easter bunny and candy, plus Truman reads a few pages of a book to her. Porter mostly just squeals and smiles in the background and CC shows GoGo how fast she can run.
4:55 pm | Done chatting with mom, get back to folding laundry and I really want to vacuum before dinner because apparently plain, dry ice cream cones are very messy. Lois arrives for dinner, Tony is on his way, and the kids hide from their YaYa. I put the laundry in the basket and call it 'good enough' for now because at least it's folded and off the couch!
5:10 pm | I quickly vacuum, the kids are running around and then Lois sets up a little Easter project for the kids. She bought stickers and two square pots so Tru and CC can decorate a grass planter. They turn out very cute, and then they go out to actually plant their grass seed. We all get dinner ready (burgers!), I change Porter's diaper and set him up with toys in the playroom, and then Tony arrives just as dinner is almost done. Perfect!
5:30 pm | Dinner time! Truman reads several books at the table for us, skipping around to pages he already knows and getting frustrated with some of the harder books. Cecelia wants to sit in my lap the entire meal and prefers to eat off my plate, of course. Porter shows off for us all by eating a little bit of everything including an apple-spinach baby food that I thought looked pretty disgusting. Apparently he does still enjoy purees.
6:00 pm | Dinner is done so we clean up, the kids get their fruit snacks for dessert since they did eat their meals. They go out to water their new grass seed.
6:15 pm | Nate leaves for the basketball game. Tony, Lois and I play with the kids for a bit then it's bath time for my filthy monsters. I figure going to church in the morning is reason enough to rinse of the dirt a bit. I take Porter up to the bath first, and die over his baby buns. Must take a picture or fifty, a video for added effect.. Tru and CC come up a little later, and then Lois comes up after that.
Sorry, not sorry at all.
6:40 pm | I remove Porter from the tub because he just rode a wave from Cecelia's 'swimming' and dunked under water. That's my cue that his bath time without a bumbo but WITH two older siblings is finished. I get his pajamas on then hand him to Lois, because Cecelia needs me (can't remember why--possibly got splashed by Truman or something). Set out the big kids clothes out for tomorrow morning, scrounging to find appropriate 'Easter outfits' and settling on the same things they wore for Porter's baptism a few months ago.
6:50 pm | I get Truman and Cecelia out of the tub, then make Porter a bottle downstairs. I hear the bigs fighting over something insignificant which is a sure sign of end-of-day exhaustion. Lois reads T and C their books and it's a very sweet moment with the grandma and three kids all on the floor.
7:00 pm | I leave the scene of 'sweet grandmother moment' and take Porter to his nursery to finish his bottle. Another favorite time of the evening: rocking my babe and telling him to sleep tight.
7:10 pm | Goodnight, Porter! Tony leaves after taking Henry outside and I go and help Lois with bedtime. We sing "I'm a little teapot" to Tru and CC and they love it. Then 'You are my sunshine,' which is always one of my song picks for the kids since it was a song my mom (and her mom!) sang to me growing up. Brush their teeth. Lois goes downstairs and I tell my two stories which are basically recaps about the day.
7:30 pm | Night, kiddos! Say goodbye and thankyouthankyouthankyou to Lois before she leaves. She really didn't have to stay and help out but she genuinely wanted to, and reasons like this mean I really did marry into the greatest family ever.
7:45 pm | Beer time, even though I'm without my partner in crime. Turn on TV for background noise and find something on ABC called In An Instant. It's totally terrifying and sucks me in to a black hole of watching for more than two hours. This story was about a guy who nearly died in a farming accident and I have no idea why it was so fascinating. Get to work going through my iPhone pictures, deleting the blurry ones, then uploading the winners to Flickr. Then I email myself the notes for this post and start typing.
Get REALLY into this dumb show, which means I type through 9:00 am at the most, then give up. But whatever, the kid lived through the grain bin incident, people !!
10:00 pm | My new favorite show is done and I am mentally cashed. Text Nate that I'm going to bed. The news comes on and, seems like the Badgers are playing a really intense game with 5 minutes left. A quick Facebook check confirms this as there are many-a-Badger fans in my feed.
10:15 pm | Brush teeth, wash face, check the kids on the monitor, and pass out within three seconds of my head hitting the pillow.
2:25 am | Wake up in a coughing fit, realize Nate is home and didn't even hear him come to bed, continue to cough until I sort of dry heave. This is the pits, man.
3:15 am | Still awake, hacking a lung, when Cecelia calls out for me and needs to be tucked in. Two nights in a row for my daughter needing me in the middle of the night, not entirely sure if she just used her potty and needs me to pull up her covers after that or what is going on. It could certainly be worse! Cough finally subsides and I fall back to sleep.
6:45 am | Wake up for the day, hearing Truman and CC arguing in their room, followed by laughter and song and joking around. They stay in their room until 6:55 when their clock 'finally' turns yellow and we start our Easter Sunday-o-fun.
Thus ends lucky number thirteen for my DiTL undertakings!
I haven't recorded a weekend day since Winter of 2014, so Saturday was my pick this time. Weekends are seriously everything, right?
Saturday | April 4, 2015
Nate is 33.58 years old
I am 33.95 years old
Truman is 5.10 years old
Cecelia is 2.83 years old
Porter is 8.75 months old
Henry dog is 9.5 years old
My calculator was just used all 6 times for the above stats
6:40 am | I wake up coughing with the most horrible tickle in the back of my dry throat. Literally think I might pop a neck vein from coughing so hard while trying to stifle it. This cold/sinus thing is always the worst in the morning. Cecelia yelled for me at 2:15 am, needing to be tucked in, and Nate and I didn't fall asleep until 12:30 because we binged on Lost. Totally our own faults for being tired right now but really, how awesome is it that I can document only one very brief wake up from one child this night?
7:00 am | Still coughing, failing at falling back to sleep. Check the weather and my email, then the video monitor app. Kids are still asleep but wait! I hear Porter! Yay, miss my buddy and want to bring him into our bed. He just clocked eleven consecutive hours which seems like his sweet spot. I watch him on my phone and he seems to fall back to sleep for a little bit. Maybe I should try to sleep in, too.
7:10 am | He is for real awake and fussing for me. I realize he can't actually speak yet but I can tell he wants his mommy...or maybe I just really want to get him, and Nate isn't exactly springing out of bed to beat me in there. He's still sawing logs, actually. Truman is also moving around so it's a matter of time before the whole crew meets us downstairs. Go get my Porter boy and he is super happy like all mornings with this one.
7:20 am | Downstairs with my babe. I let Henry out. Frost on the ground, I hate you! Put our alcohol away (cocktails of whiskey + ginger beer last night, yum). Open blinds. Porter sits on a blanket while I'm doing all of this but he's getting pretty irritated that he doesn't already have his bottle inserted into his mouth. Make the bottle. Let him drink it alone on his blanket. Seriously, such a game changer, having a baby that can feed himself. Give Henry water, pour the kids their milk to prepare for their entry, make myself ice water. Morning hydration for all!
7:30 am | I head downstairs to get another gallon of milk from our second fridge, and I remember I wanted to grab my Spring banner for the mantel after seeing it on Timehop yesterday. Need to find the kids' Easter baskets, too, but will have to deal with that later. Fluff laundry that has been in the dryer for two days. Get a text from a wrong number. Can't help you there, brother!
7:40 am | Guys come down and they make coffee. I snap pictures of them and say, 'Guess what, guys? It's A Day in the Life today!!' and their excitement cannot be contained.
Porter is done with his bottle so he plays on his play yard a bit. Truman helps me deconstruct the winter mantel for a spring mantel. He and Porter play with the bunny ears that were stored in my 'decorations' box. Truman announces, 'Porter just said "woah" really quiet. He is the best baby brother ever. I love everyone in my family and I love Porter's bunny ears.' I think Truman is either hamming it up for the internet audience of today or else he is just having one of his overly emotional/happy bursts that occur many weekend mornings together.
Don't you like the Halloween pajamas combined with Easter bunny ears? Holidays intertwined!
8:00 am | Coffee is had and it's glorious. Nate changes Porter for me and P is saying, 'Hiiiiiiiiii' and waving at Nate. Truman inspects Nate's weather app so he can properly report the high and lows in each select city. This kid sure does love numbers (probably won't have to use a calculator for division someday, unlike me!) I finish the mantel and greatly enjoy the pops of pink, super tired of the evergreen stuff from winter. Cecelia is stirring in her room but this is awfully late for her to stay in bed.
before and after...
8:05 am | It's breakfast time, and Nate makes Truman a waffle with peanut butter AND Nutella since it's a weekend, plus yogurt on the side. I put some music on the Apple TV and inform Nate that three years ago this weekend, we moved into our house. Crazy. He says I'll be 34 this month and "that's a lot closer to 40. Because 33 is the early thirties but 34 is mid-thirties." Basically he is saying that I'm getting old but funny enough, he is just four months behind me with this age thing;) Whatever. Truman says, 'Knock it off, Nathan' with perfect inflection of his voice to mimic his mother. Nate is copying everything Truman says now and I hear some 'poo poo pee pee heads' in the mix, which is always such a riot.
8:20 am | I'm making my breakfast now and Cecelia finally comes down. Her eye is crusty and red. Oh no!!! How in the heck could she just now get her baby brother's pink eye that started a week ago? I clean her face and decide that she should probably start the anti-biotic eye drops we have left over from Porter's seven day stint. I'll call the doctor on Monday but I'm 99% sure this is the same eye nastiness Porter had, and those drops worked like magic for him. Nate's mom calls to discuss our plans today, since the Easter egg hunt is at Truman's school and Yaya + Papa have come with us for the past three years. The kids see Easter eggs outside at the school and so begins the discussion of the Easter bunny, his/her gender, where he/she lives, etc. We all eat breakfast and try to teach the concept of time to the children who are just beside themselves, waiting for the egg hunt. The boys discuss who Porter would be on Skylanders, if our baby was a character in a video game. I'm not sure what the outcome of that discussion was but I'm positive Porter would be the cutest Skylander ever.
8:40 am | The guys head downstairs for Skylanders time (i.e. Truman's most favorite time of every weekend) while I stay upstairs with the littles. Sis is eating her breakfast, Porter is finished with his waffle so he's now in the
Also, took the selfie because I noticed a giant spot of Nutella on my elbow. #FashionBlogger
8:45 am | Cecelia and I take Porter upstairs to change him for the day and convince him to nap. Silly boy had a sneaky poop and it's fairly offensive but he is happy as a clam on his changing table.
9:00 am | I lay Porter down but he doesn't seem too tired, fussing and protesting the nap. Cecelia and I know that our new-found method of encouraging sleep includes letting Porter talk it out a bit, so us gals get dressed with whispers so Porter doesn't get really mad at us. I decide on running clothes since I want to run later. We are officially on week two of half-marathon training, which means we need to clock four miles today. Once the mileage gets higher we'll have to ask Tony and Lois to watch the kids while Nate and I run together but for now, we are just patching the runs in separately and tag-teaming for childcare. Plus I have been taking a child with me in the single Bob which makes for a super fast time, obvi. I make our bed while CC looks at my necklaces. Then she sees the non-Easter bunnies setting out eggs at the school. Busted! 'I not scared of him, the Easter bunny.' We talk about Jesus and I attempt a 'real meaning of Easter' conversation. 'I not scared of him either (Jesus). Or monsters. Or dinosaurs. I not scared of any of them.' So that's good at least! We brush our teeth and take pictures.
9:25 am | Porter is finally asleep so the girls head downstairs to get Easter baskets and to hand Truman his clothes. Boys are playing the Xbox and it seems like an intense game. We find the baskets, I get the newly fluffed load of laundry out of the dryer and fold it up. I start another load in the wash and decide since it's only one load total, I won't sort anything and will just get it done. I don't pay much attention to the clothes as I dump the entire dirty laundry basket into the washer. (THIS WAS A MISTAKE, READ ON AND GUESS WHAT TYPE OF HORROR AWAITS).
9:40 am | We head upstairs, I clean kitchen a bit, sort of wishing it was a 'regular' Saturday without this egg hunt so I could get to work on *really* cleaning the kitchen and bathrooms. But alas, fun times await and it will not include true cleaning time. Tony and Lois arrive and Lois brought the kids fruit snacks for a special treat. Let the sugar high commence! Since Porter is still napping, Lois offers to stay back with him at the house while the rest of us go over to the school. I say I will stay back but she is happy to watch from the window instead.
10:00 am | Easter egg hunt! I think our bunny is officially one of the creepiest in Easter history.
10:35 am | Tony, Cecelia, and I come home with Cecelia's eight eggs. It's pretty cold and windy outside, but Nate and Truman hang out talking for awhile. Porter is still snoozing when we get home, and we update Lois on the Easter bunny's sex: officially a girl! We asked her and she raised her hand to 'girl' so THAT burning question has been answered, thank goodness.
10:40 am | Porter wakes up and the boys come home. We all hang out, try to figure out why Tony and Lois's computer mouse won't work, discuss dinner plans for tonight. It's the night of The Final Four games and Wisconsin is playing at 8pm. I knew Nate would go somewhere to watch the game since we don't have cable and therefore life is VERY VERY hard during March Madness around here. But apparently he wants to watch both of the games and will be leaving around 6pm now. So we decide to bump dinner up to 5 and Lois says she will stay to help with bedtime once Nate goes. Not necessary since I do many-a-solo-parenting-triple-bedtimes but who am I to turn down my mother-in-law?
11:15 am | Lois leaves, then Nate and Tony take Truman and CC with them to run errands. Me and Porter-man get ready for a run. I go to change laundry before we head out and OMG. I somehow washed a disposable diaper and it's exploded every.where.holy.crap. At first I think it was just a Kleenex or something but no, the damage is so much worse. I scoop out the gel crystals from the 'clean' clothes, try to clean out the washer, and mutter curse words under my breath. No clue how a diaper got into our laundry chute but this will teach me to haphazardly start a load of wash without actually inspecting the clothes first. It's pretty awful and annoying so I just dump the wet clothes back into the laundry basket, select 'rinse and drain' for the washer cycle, and let it run without clothes inside to clean it up a bit.
11:30 am | We leave for our run and the washer debacle means I really need to get out, more than ever! I start off way overdressed and shed layers throughout the run. Porter gets bored after two miles so I have to stop frequently to adjust him, then end up giving him my water bottle to gnaw on for entertainment. It works and ends up being a pleasant run, but quite slow for me due to the numerous stops for Porter and the wind sail of a BOB stroller. Whatever, four miles done! I'm sure once I'm running without a stroller I will be fast as lightning (hahahaha).
12:27 pm | We're home and so are Nate, CC, and Truman. The rain barrel blew over and as I go to put it back by the house, rotting, muddy water spills all over my shoes and the sidewalk. Rage. I put the Bob away and restart the failure load of laundry. Truman and Nate are already eating lunch and and Cecelia just went down for her nap. Diaper change for Porter, then he goes into the high chair to eat with the guys. I'm starved and make my lunch: ham and cheese sandwich, part of Porter's banana, and incredibly spicy 'buffalo chicken' flavor potato chips that sound good but are way past my spice threshold I eat them anyway because, famished. Update our grocery list as I make my lunch since we are out of basically everything.
12:45 pm | I eat! Instagram a picture of us with the Easter bunny this morning. We all laugh at Porter being freaking adorable in his high chair.
1:15 pm | Give Porter a pre-nap bottle and Porter tries to claw my face right off of me. Nate leaves to exchange Brewers tickets and to get wine he ordered from a local store. Take boat loads of pictures of Porter after his bottle because I'm a fool for this photogenic child who will actually smile for my camera. Peek at the other images I have taken so far and approve.
1:30 pm | Major diaper disgustingness. OMG. Needs a onesie change and also his plaid shirt is a goner. Pour Truman more milk and he's finishing his lunch while getting iPad time. I head upstairs for Porter's second nap.
1:50 pm | Lay him down and hop in the shower. Finally!
2:00 pm | I'm out of the shower and both littles are now asleep. I get dressed for the day and truly looooove weekends so much because this 'getting ready' process is happening at 2pm. Yes.
2:15 pm | Blow dry hair and marvel at the grays and weird regrowth. Seriously, what is with these inch long, curly, gray hairs these days?? You can see them sticking up from my part no matter where I part my hair (see below). Makeup. Then selfies. I feel like I haven't been too great about getting in front of the camera this time so selfies will suffice.
2:30 pm | Nate is home and Truman is hanging out with his pops. I go downstairs and change the laundry, don't notice any diaper crystals this time. Have a cookie. Text with mom. Check Timehop and baby CC blows my mind.
I'm due for a new phone upgrade and my current iPhone 5 has been acting a bit odd lately. I decide to back up my phone to the laptop since I rarely do this and Nate tells me I'll have to before I get a new phone anyway. Truman is busy checking the weather for us again. He wants 'do something' besides listen to his parents talk. We hear a commercial on iTunes Radio for 'Six pack abs.' Truman asks, 'What is that?' and I tell Nate to show his son;) Truman then tells us, 'Truman the dog had been eating his poop.' Apparently Tony and Truman met a dog named 'Truman' a few weeks ago, and T learned his dog soulmate ingests his own feces. Awesome. Then Truman (the boy) literally wipes a booger on my camera lens. Even more awesome.
3:00 pm | The boys go outside to wash Nate's car. I go downstairs to get the Easter baskets together for tomorrow morning. Super annoyed I don't have any chocolate candy, only jelly beans and malt balls are in our 'For Easter' stash. But then again, there's no need to have 3 Easter basket experiences all full of chocolate. Also my phone won't back up fully on my new laptop because our Apple ID is already on 5 computers. Dig out old laptop to deauthorize it, or something. I hate technology but love it still.
3:30 pm | Both of my nappers are awake. CC has been playing in her room for awhile and Porter is babbling in his crib. So that was two 1.5 hr naps for mister man and about three hours for Cecelia, too. Her room smells like death when I open the door, as she pooped in froggy potty after her nap (apparently). I hate when she does that and doesn't call for me to wipe her right away, and so we discuss proper froggy potty etiquette yet again. I think I might just get rid of the thing and have her make the trip to the bathroom post nap and in the middle of the night. TCB and turn on ceiling fan. CC's eye looks a little better but I use the eye drops on her again because I guess we need to do them four times per day, like we did for Porter.
3:45 pm | Head downstairs and carry both children at same, as if I'm a coat rack for tiny humans. Really wish Nate was inside to get a picture of this nonsense but mostly just happy to make it down the stairs without catastrophic results. Cecelia wants to go outside with the guys so I get her shoes and fleece on, Porter is fussy so I give him a bottle on the couch. Feeling a little behind on the typical weekend schedule, but will try hard not to let the To Do list overtake my mind just yet. I haven't cleaned the house, am still doing laundry, haven't meal planned or shopped. Really want an afternoon coffee right about now and briefly consider making a smallish pot, but decide it takes too much effort and is probably too late in the day for caffeine. I'm officially geriatric with this statement but it's true.
4:00 pm | The kids come inside and want to open the package GoGo sent us, Ports is finished with his bottle so we open up the box-o-goodies. Care packages have always been a special part of my relationship with my mom when living in different cities (high school through present day). Now when she sends boxes to my kids, I feel even more grateful for her thoughtfulness. This time she sent a new homemade sleep sack for Porter, snacks for everyone, homemade flannel pajama pants for CC, and a whole stack of my old 'new reader' books for Truman. T immediately wants to read these books that were mine when I was five and I'm literally blown away by his abilities to sound out words in a book he's never seen before. Literally almost makes me cry to see him read the 'Gus' book cover to cover with minimal help from me.
(plain ice cream cones are a fun GoGo snack she started during her last visit)
4:30 pm | Truman is still reading like crazy and I realize he does best with short vowel sounds instead of long sounds. I wonder if that's because they are mostly working on the short vowels in school right now. Porter and CC are both enjoying some of the snacks GoGo sent (yogurt covered raisins and some organic crackers). Then Cecelia helps me get the load of laundry from the dryer and I get started folding upstairs. P and C have an empty ice cream cone from my mom and I switch the TV to play music instead of golf. You snooze you lose, Nate! He is still outside running the gas out of our snow blower to prepare for spring. Yes. It's coming, I know it is!!!!
4:40 pm | FaceTime with my mom to say 'thank you' for the gifts. The kids have to tell her all about the Easter bunny and candy, plus Truman reads a few pages of a book to her. Porter mostly just squeals and smiles in the background and CC shows GoGo how fast she can run.
4:55 pm | Done chatting with mom, get back to folding laundry and I really want to vacuum before dinner because apparently plain, dry ice cream cones are very messy. Lois arrives for dinner, Tony is on his way, and the kids hide from their YaYa. I put the laundry in the basket and call it 'good enough' for now because at least it's folded and off the couch!
5:10 pm | I quickly vacuum, the kids are running around and then Lois sets up a little Easter project for the kids. She bought stickers and two square pots so Tru and CC can decorate a grass planter. They turn out very cute, and then they go out to actually plant their grass seed. We all get dinner ready (burgers!), I change Porter's diaper and set him up with toys in the playroom, and then Tony arrives just as dinner is almost done. Perfect!
5:30 pm | Dinner time! Truman reads several books at the table for us, skipping around to pages he already knows and getting frustrated with some of the harder books. Cecelia wants to sit in my lap the entire meal and prefers to eat off my plate, of course. Porter shows off for us all by eating a little bit of everything including an apple-spinach baby food that I thought looked pretty disgusting. Apparently he does still enjoy purees.
6:00 pm | Dinner is done so we clean up, the kids get their fruit snacks for dessert since they did eat their meals. They go out to water their new grass seed.
6:15 pm | Nate leaves for the basketball game. Tony, Lois and I play with the kids for a bit then it's bath time for my filthy monsters. I figure going to church in the morning is reason enough to rinse of the dirt a bit. I take Porter up to the bath first, and die over his baby buns. Must take a picture or fifty, a video for added effect.. Tru and CC come up a little later, and then Lois comes up after that.
Sorry, not sorry at all.
6:40 pm | I remove Porter from the tub because he just rode a wave from Cecelia's 'swimming' and dunked under water. That's my cue that his bath time without a bumbo but WITH two older siblings is finished. I get his pajamas on then hand him to Lois, because Cecelia needs me (can't remember why--possibly got splashed by Truman or something). Set out the big kids clothes out for tomorrow morning, scrounging to find appropriate 'Easter outfits' and settling on the same things they wore for Porter's baptism a few months ago.
6:50 pm | I get Truman and Cecelia out of the tub, then make Porter a bottle downstairs. I hear the bigs fighting over something insignificant which is a sure sign of end-of-day exhaustion. Lois reads T and C their books and it's a very sweet moment with the grandma and three kids all on the floor.
7:00 pm | I leave the scene of 'sweet grandmother moment' and take Porter to his nursery to finish his bottle. Another favorite time of the evening: rocking my babe and telling him to sleep tight.
7:10 pm | Goodnight, Porter! Tony leaves after taking Henry outside and I go and help Lois with bedtime. We sing "I'm a little teapot" to Tru and CC and they love it. Then 'You are my sunshine,' which is always one of my song picks for the kids since it was a song my mom (and her mom!) sang to me growing up. Brush their teeth. Lois goes downstairs and I tell my two stories which are basically recaps about the day.
7:30 pm | Night, kiddos! Say goodbye and thankyouthankyouthankyou to Lois before she leaves. She really didn't have to stay and help out but she genuinely wanted to, and reasons like this mean I really did marry into the greatest family ever.
7:45 pm | Beer time, even though I'm without my partner in crime. Turn on TV for background noise and find something on ABC called In An Instant. It's totally terrifying and sucks me in to a black hole of watching for more than two hours. This story was about a guy who nearly died in a farming accident and I have no idea why it was so fascinating. Get to work going through my iPhone pictures, deleting the blurry ones, then uploading the winners to Flickr. Then I email myself the notes for this post and start typing.
Get REALLY into this dumb show, which means I type through 9:00 am at the most, then give up. But whatever, the kid lived through the grain bin incident, people !!
10:00 pm | My new favorite show is done and I am mentally cashed. Text Nate that I'm going to bed. The news comes on and, seems like the Badgers are playing a really intense game with 5 minutes left. A quick Facebook check confirms this as there are many-a-Badger fans in my feed.
10:15 pm | Brush teeth, wash face, check the kids on the monitor, and pass out within three seconds of my head hitting the pillow.
2:25 am | Wake up in a coughing fit, realize Nate is home and didn't even hear him come to bed, continue to cough until I sort of dry heave. This is the pits, man.
3:15 am | Still awake, hacking a lung, when Cecelia calls out for me and needs to be tucked in. Two nights in a row for my daughter needing me in the middle of the night, not entirely sure if she just used her potty and needs me to pull up her covers after that or what is going on. It could certainly be worse! Cough finally subsides and I fall back to sleep.
6:45 am | Wake up for the day, hearing Truman and CC arguing in their room, followed by laughter and song and joking around. They stay in their room until 6:55 when their clock 'finally' turns yellow and we start our Easter Sunday-o-fun.
Thus ends lucky number thirteen for my DiTL undertakings!
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