Day In The Life: Spring 2015

The day I selected to document is Monday, April 6, 2015

Tory is 3 years, 7 months
Aden is 16 months
Andi and I are both 34 years

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12:31am: I hear Aden cry out from his crib and glance at the clock to see what time it is. 12:31am? 2:31am? I can't tell. It makes no difference, I suppose, as I get out of bed and walk across the hallway to Aden's room. I feel around in his crib for his pacifier, lay him back down and plug the pacifier in his mouth. Aden starts rocking his head back and forth against the crib mattress which is his tell-tale sign he's putting himself back to sleep. Good.

2:15am: Tory runs into our bedroom and tells me she sees a polar bear in her room. I reassure her there's no bears in there, and take her to the bathroom. She goes potty, and I return her back to her bed. Nine times out of 10, when Tory wakes up in the middle of the night in hysterics it's because she has to use the bathroom ... she just isn't coherent enough to express the feeling in words.

7:25am: I awake to hear Aden talking in his crib, and I'm shocked to learn it's 7:30am in the morning. Tory's still asleep and Aden seems happy, so I leave him to play in his crib for a bit while I check my e-mail, Facebook, Instagram, etc. on my iPhone. I also notice Andi is no longer laying in bed. He must've left for work at some point, but I'm not sure exactly when.

While laying in bed, I also do a mental check to see how I'm feeling today. I've had a killer cold/sinus infection for the last three weeks and I *think* I'm finally turning a corner to feeling better. I do wake up with a dull headache, but that's nothing a few Ibuprofen can't fix.  

7:40am: Tory wakes up and walks into my bedroom. "Is it a regular day or Easter Day?" she asks me first-thing. I tell her Easter is over now (it was Sunday), then we have an extensive conversation about when Easter will happen again, what holiday to expect next, and what day it is today. Ah, life with a three-year-old.

7:50am: Tory and I walk into the kitchen to start making breakfast and I'm greeted by a mess of dishes on the countertop from Easter yesterday. I start cracking on unloading and loading the dishwasher while simultaneously making Tory breakfast. I have a hard time doing anything else in the morning until my kitchen is cleaned up.

I haven't heard from Aden in a while, so I check the baby monitor and am surprised to see he fell back to sleep.

8:15am: Tory eats a frozen waffle and a banana for breakfast. She wants to butter the waffle by herself, but it takes twice as long to let her do so. I bite my tongue and wait patiently for her to finish. Andi cuts "banana handles" on Tory's bananas, and now she requires me to do the same. It's more difficult than it should be to cut the peel around a banana just so without slicing the banana right off. (Also? It looks ridiculous.)

8:30am: My kitchen is clean - ahhh. I'm feeling more zen now. I scarf down a banana (peeled the normal way) so I can take my antibiotic and an Advil Cold and Sinus pill.

8:45am: I hear Aden making noise in his crib, so I go to retrieve him. I'm really surprised he slept this late in the morning which is definitely not the norm for him. He's in a good mood as always and says, "See!" as he points to things around his room. I pick him up and he points to the light switch. "On!" he says, as he flicks the switch on and off a few times. I change Aden's diaper and carry him to the kitchen to get him started on breakfast.

Meanwhile, Tory is in her room dressing herself for the day. This is a new form of independence she's showing, and I'm trying reallllly hard to be supportive of her clothing choices. It is helpful and one less thing I have to do for her in the mornings, so I try to focus on that. Today she's chosen a long-sleeve blue dress, pink leggings and orange socks which is actually quite acceptable. There's also two hair clips fastened to the top of her head.

8:50am: I make Aden a bowl of Cheerios, some warm oatmeal with applesauce mixed into it, and cut up some strawberries onto his high chair tray. He scarfs it all down in no time flat.

9:00am: Tory wants to help me make a cup of coffee, so she pushes a red kid's chair to the kitchen counter and climbs up to the Keurig machine. I set the coffee cup under the machine and tell her to push the button.

9:30am: I clean up Aden's hands and face after breakfast, and wash up his high chair tray. I also wash his baby bottle from last night in the sink. (Yes, Aden still takes a few bottles of soy formula a day. I'm not ready to part with them just yet.)

9:45am: After breakfast, I make my bed and get dressed for the day. No shower for me this morning, so I spray some Fresh Hair dry shampoo in my hair and call it good. Seriously, this stuff is a tired mama's best friend! Can't live without it.

Meanwhile, I hear Tory squabbling with Aden over something in the hallway. "Aden bumped into me!" she comes tattle-tailing into my room. "Tell him that is not nice and to give me a hug!" I tell her to go tell him herself, and she runs off to chase Aden down for a forced hug.

10:00am: The kids play independently with toys while I pack up Tory's things for swimming class. Tory loves this Aquadoodle drawing mat she got from Andi's parents for Easter. I text Andi's mom a picture of her playing with it.

Of course, no morning is complete without me having to intercept Aden from playing in the toilet. Like a moth to a flame for this kid! I bring Aden into his bedroom to get him dressed for the day.

10:30am: I load the kids into their car seats and we leave for swimming class. I bring along Aden's blue push-car which we'd be lost without during Tory's 30-minute swimming session. I look ridiculous pushing this big plastic thing through the pool area, but it keeps Aden occupied and that's all that matters.

*Mental note to take those cases of wine out of my car. Over the weekend I told Andi it makes me feel like I have a drinking problem. He said we're just fiscally responsible because they were on sale.

On the drive to swimming, Tory rambles on from the backseat and asks me to guess what she's thinking about: "There's a royal party and Cinderella is wearing a beautiful dress... can you guess what it is?" she asks. "A royal ball," I reply. "Yep! You got it!" (It wasn't hard considering she mentioned "Cinderella" and "royal" as clues...). Aden babbles away from his car seat saying "wah, wah, wah" to the Music Together CD playing in the background.

10:45am: We arrive to swimming class. It's a rainy, cold day so we rush to get inside the building. Inside the locker room, I help Tory change into her swimming suit. I tell the kids they can play in the waiting area for 5 minutes before Tory's class begins.

11:00am: Tory starts swimming class while Aden and I sit near the pool. She has the friendliest instructor who does silly things like pretending to use a swimming flipper as a telephone. Tory thinks her instructor is hilarious which wins all her trust and attention during class. Today they work on kicking their legs and putting their faces in the water. Tory can swim underwater for 4 seconds which is an improvement over last week.

11:30am: Tory showers after class, and I help her get dried off and dressed again. We leave the pool and I resist the urge to swing through the Panera Bread drive-thru that just opened up in the same parking lot. We have food at home, I don't need it ... I tell myself over and over.

Noon: Back at home, I make lunch for the kids and I. Tory requests a butter sandwich which is easy enough. I make Aden a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and a turkey and cheese sandwich on croissant for me. While Aden's eating, I take videos of his latest tricks and finally capture him saying "pat-a-cake" and counting "1, 2, 3."

(video)

12:30pm: I clean up the kitchen after lunch while also swapping text messages back and forth with my friend Lindsey.

1:00pm: I make Aden a bottle of formula and read him a few books in the rocking chair before nap time. Tory crawls onto my lap, too, and we all read stories together. I lay Aden down in his crib and get Tory situated for rest time in my bed with an episode of Team Umizoomi.

1:30pm: My sister calls, so I talk to her on the phone for a bit. I throw in a load of laundry downstairs, put away the kids' Easter basket goodies and re-dose myself with more cold medicine. I'm so tired of being sick!

Tory is still laying down in my bed, but is quickly losing focus. I bring my laptop into the bedroom and type up a few blog posts while she lays next to me.      

2:30pm: I pull out the craft supplies for Tory and I, and we set down at the kitchen table to make something. I cut a few cards from construction paper and make thank-you's to send to family for their Easter presents. Tory cuts and colors a picture of a chick, and also glues cotton balls to a picture of a bunny rabbit.

3:30pm: I do another load of laundry and my side-kick Tory helps me. "I'm the mommy so I get to take the clothes out of the dryer," she tells me. I guess I didn't realize doing laundry was such a privilege!

4:00pm: Aden wakes up from his afternoon nap and Tory plays with him while I pick up all the craft stuff on the dining room table. I post a photo of Tory making a craft on Instagram, and change another load of laundry downstairs.

4:30pm: Tory's becoming increasingly whiny and dramatic, and tells me she "needs some privacy." Days can get a little long now that she no longer naps in the afternoon, so I've found the best thing to do is let her have a few minutes of quiet time when she needs it. Usually that works to snap her out of a tantrumy-mood. I set Tory up with another cartoon in my bedroom and leave her alone for a bit.

5:00pm: It's 5 o'clock wine time! I pour myself a glass and turn on the news. I fold a load of laundry while Aden plays nearby in the living room. Suddenly he's choking on something so I rush to his aid and find a Gatorade bottle cap in his mouth. I have no idea where he found it. Ugh.

5:20pm: Aden knee-walks over to his high chair and starts to fuss indicating he's ready for dinner. I warm up some chicken, green beans, potatoes and grapes for the kids to eat.

When I walk into my bedroom to tell Tory it's time for dinner, I find her curled up fast asleep in my bed. That never happens! I wake her up and carry her into the kitchen to eat dinner. Hopefully she didn't sleep too long to ruin bedtime.

Meanwhile, Andi sends me an iMessage that says he'll be home from work after 7:00pm, and to eat without him. I warm up some frozen chicken and wild rice soup in the microwave and sit down to eat.    

6:00pm: I clean up the dinner dishes, and do another load of laundry downstairs. Seriously, it never ends! Cleaning and laundry. Cleaning and laundry. Aden finds his way to the corner of the living room and looks at some books on the floor. He's lifting the flaps and saying, "Peek! Boo." I sit down on the floor and read a few books to him.

6:30pm: Bath time. I gather up Aden's pajamas and a nighttime diaper, and run some water in the bathtub for him. Tory showered after swimming class, but insists on getting into the tub with Aden too. The kids play in the tub, then I towel them off and get them into pajamas.

7:00pm: I make Aden a bottle of formula, and read to him in the rocking chair while he eats. He lays down for bed so easily, and I'm thankful for that. Such a far cry from his sister's bedtime antics!

7:15pm: I put on my own pajamas and crawl into bed with Tory to read a few stories. She selects two Fancy Nancy books and a good night animal book. Andi comes home from work while we're laying in bed reading.

7:30pm: I take Tory to the bathroom, then tuck her into bed. She says, "My grandma always stays with me, but you guys don't." Yep, sorry kid. Good-night.

I start drafting this blog post, but I'm too tired to sit at the computer. I know nighttime is my "alone time" to get things done, but my brain is crap in the evenings. I don't have much energy to do anything productive.

Tory yells out from her bedroom that she's scared and can't see in the dark ... even though there's tons of light from her fish tank and her handheld flashlight. I check on her and tell her to go to sleep.

7:45pm: Andi lays on our bed next to me and recaps his day at work while he eats some leftover chicken and wild rice soup. We talk about some work stuff for a while. He also books the kids and I flights to Nebraska to visit my family in June.

8:30pm: I turn on a DVR'd episode of Revenge and say good-night to Andi as he heads downstairs to sleep for the night. He's coming down with the same cold I've been battling, plus he has to leave early tomorrow morning for the airport. Just easier that way sometimes.

9:00pm: I watch an old episode of Revenge, then turn off the TV. I read The Hypnotist's Love Story on my iPhone for a few minutes before drifting off to sleep. Good-night!

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