PHFR - A Day in the Life - Homeschooling a kindergartener + two littles

I am linking this post up with Like Mother Like Daughter...

...because this day was most certainly ALL of those things.  Also, I have to say, it gave me quite a sense of contentment with everyday life, as well as little bit of enthusiasm, kind of like documenting an experiment in process... Sorry it's a bit of a long one.

[Pretty], [Happy], [Funny], and [Real] are all mixed in.

I thought it would be fun to do another Day in the Life, now that we've started homeschooling.  It will be interesting to compare this to homeschooling a few years from now...

Last night was a bit rough, following a pattern of rough nights in recent days.  Chickadee woke once or twice and Aaron went to her (which is rough in itself, because he gets up so early, and needs all the sleep he can get).  Sparrow woke up around 1, and nursed and fussed for over an hour.  Finally, I gave him a bottle.  He devoured it, hollered with frustration when it was empty and finally fell back to sleep.  I stayed in his little twin bed (with rails) next to him for a good few hours before finally waking and feeling like it was safe to leave.  

Aaron kissed me goodbye around 5:30 (after, like the wonderful husband he is, leaving the kitchen and living room nice and tidy for me to start our day), and I slept in semi-alert state for a little while, until I heard Chickadee crying.  I went and got her and brought her into our bed around 6:20.  A few minutes later we heard Bluejay get up, and he came and joined us.  We cuddled and talked and slept until Sparrow woke at around 7:15, and then Chickadee and Sparrow started our day (Bluejay generally likes another hour in bed when the rest of us are up). 

We nursed and talked and changed diapers and read books for a while, then I said morning prayers, logged in to take care of some bills, and began to get breakfast (around 8) while Sparrow rearranged the rubber bands in a kitchen drawer, and Chickadee had a ballet costume emergency.  She needed to wear her tutu but she was cold and had no leg warmers like real balleters (as she calls them). We solved it with warm tights, leggings and a sweatshirt over her leotard and tutu. Then she helped Sparrow with his rubber band project, which was actually helpful, as she picked them all up off the floor, while I scrambled eggs, cut up potato patties and made my tea. Bluejay woke up somewhere in this and went about his own business. He refused to join us for breakfast. He (like me) can't eat when he just wakes up. Sparrow and Chickadee take after their father and must eat immediately after the labors of sleep, or the world is a terrible place, mainly for everyone around them. Those three are the definition of "hangry".

8:30-9:00 We ate breakfast and watched Sister Vassa on my phone. Bluejay came in and got them all involved in a game of pretending to be babies. I cleared the table and headed off to start my "day in the life" notes. Soon, the "babies" joined me in the garage by the computer. I went to the bedroom to do my ablutions, put on my contacts, make the bed and get dressed. They followed me, continuing to play their baby game, as well as jumping from the changing table to the bed, and sprinkling water from their "bottle" on each other. Sparrow, always close to my leg, occupied himself by taking things out of the trash and throwing them in the toilet. I talked to the "older" kids about how we have to keep our toilet lids closed during this stage in Sparrow's life. They agreed with understanding and gravity. I made my bed and stopped the jumping, so they went to the boy's room to "make"/jump on the bed there. Sparrow stayed by my side and distributed a package of diapers around the room. I got dressed and then convinced Bluejay to finally get dressed. I had Chickadee pick up her dolls and doll clothes so we could start school. Bluejay then decided he was finally hungry, so school start was delayed while he and Chickadee had apples, cheese and cereal. Sparrow, who had been following me around calling out "Maaaaaa, Maaaaa" and "mowk, mowk, mowk, bo-ol" (Mama, milk and bottle) had a bottle to drink while I took some more notes on our day. 

Almost 10:00 AM. Finally, school time. I'm not going to notate it here, as it will be in my Week 5 post, but it took about an hour, and went very well. I will say that I brought the coloring back a notch, as it had gotten too much for Bluejay, and brought the story reading up a notch, and that was a huge success, for both of us. Sparrow joins right in at circle and story time, I love how he plops himself right down in the circle as soon as prayers are done.  He LOVES routine.

After school, Bluejay helped me clean up a little and headed outside with Sparrow, they climbed on things and played with tools. 

Chickadee headed back to change into a NEW leotard, leggings and faux fur boots. Wardrobe changes are important. 

I did the breakfast dishes and made tea. I would like to note again here that this has been an unusually GOOD day. Yesterday, I did not feel well all day, and just slogged through. I may have done a few dishes. I forced myself to keep going, but I really wanted to just lie on the couch all day and feel sorry for myself. And Sparrow felt that it was therefore necessary for him to whine and need me and whine and also whine, all day, while Bluejay and Chickadee got loads of sheets and blankets out of the linen closet and made forts all over the house. And did I mention I felt sorry for myself? And the whining?

11ish. Snack time for me. I sat outside and had chicken salad and bread and cheese and a cup of tea. Sparrow and Chickadee came by and ate all my cheese. Bluejay brought some of Aaron's sharpies and asked to draw with them, which I let him do with great reservations. They all played in the back yard for a while, then Bluejay and Chickadee asked to go to the front yard to do some weeding. 

 

I let them, as long as Sparrow didn't catch on... he hung around and brought me his current favorite book, Chikka Chikka Boom Boom, saying insistently "BOO BOO! BOO BOO!" (which means Boom Boom).

Here he is, saying "Boo' boo'" to me.

After reading I changed his dirty clothes and loaded all the kids in the van. We made a quick trip out to get diapers and a few other essentials - it was right around the time I usually put Sparrow down for a nap, but I don't trust my afternoon energy levels so I thought we'd better go now. I wore Sparrow in the ergo and the other two walked and did not ask to buy things! And I remembered to bring my bag! Score! (plastic bags have been banned in our county, so you have to bring your own, or pay for paper bags at all stores now). Sparrow ate a babyfood squisher on the way home, since I wanted to get a little lunch in him before nap, but knew he was almost out.

12:30 - we got back, I put a show on for the kids and sat in the rocker in the boys room, cuddling and nursing Sparrow to sleep. It didn't take long today.  He was almost asleep by the time we got home.  I transferred him to his bed and logged into my work computer. 

1ish I responded to a few emails and reviewed some data quickly. Aaron called. We got to chat for a short minute. Then I got the kids some lunch. They just wanted snack food, apple sauce and yogurt, and I didn't push it today. I sat down at my other computer and updated my work hours. They came in to ask to watch another show. I said yes! 

While they watched I microwaved a piece of leftover pizza, and tried to get a little more work done, entering new data into the report I'm writing. I got a little bit done, but then Chickadee came in, wanting to change her clothes again. She needed a dress this time. NOT one of the dresses already out in her room. It must be a new one from the closet.  Opening the closet (and her high-pitched voice) woke the baby. I looked at the clock, not even 2 yet. Not a long enough nap. I charged her to STAY QUIET and went into his room, with the vague hope of getting him back to sleep. I lay him back down, got ready to nurse and climbed in the bed next to him. He didn't even try to nurse. I stayed very still and quiet, worrying that Bluejay had gone into the front yard by himself (which I let him do, but only when I can hear/see him from the window). Sparrow went back to sleep! I heard Bluejay whispering my name at the door and prayed he would stay quiet and not open it. I snuck out of bed.  He did not actually need anything. I helped Chickadee put on her dress. Bluejay asked me to work in the front yard with him. I did not want to. It was hot and the sun wears me out fast. I watered a plant and then headed back to the garage to play "bakery" with Chickadee. She got out her little bakery and gave me instructions on how to set it up, and which hedgehogs to put aprons and chef hats on. Bluejay wanted to play, but she didn't want to let him. I gave her a bit of a lecture about how she should be grateful that he wants to play her games with her. I played for a little while, then said I was done, and she let him play. I worked on my blog post and listened to their game. I read a few of my blogs. The game finally ended when Chickadee refused to let Bluejay's characters eat her food. 

This is an "after" shot of the bakery.  I didn't get one when it was all set up and they were playing nicely.

3ish They asked to watch another show and I let them. I went into the living room to take a bit of a break. I watched my own show (The Office) and ate a chocolate mochi. Yummy! They came in right towards the end. Bluejay, who had really not eaten much today, asked for food. I said yes. He asked for cereal. I gave in. He got a big bowl of rice crispies and a cup of keifer and looked through a version of Homer's Odyssey he'd climbed up on a shelf to get. First he said he wanted to learn about ships from this book of ships. Then he asked me lots of question about who the characters in the pictures were, and if they were before Adam and Eve. Then he asked me if God was in his mother's tummy when he made Adam and Eve. Then he asked me why there was a battle in heaven. "Mom, I just want to know the main reason why there was a fight in heaven." He asks me these types of questions all the time now. Talk about homeschooling. Chickadee looked at pictures on my phone and then asked for cereal too. We talk about Odysseus and Telemachus and a great sea voyage. 

3:40 - Chickadee and I go out to get the mail, because she didn't get to yesterday and was very sad about it. There are some ads and an LL Bean catalog. We sit in the back yard and the children read the catalog while I play with my phone. Chickadee starts crying because there is nothing in the catalog she wants to buy. She wants to buy a bath tub for her babies. They start a game which turns into an argument which runs roughly as follows:

C: I am the boss of this game.
B: You are not the boss! God is the boss.
C: Well, I am the boss of this game.
B: You are not the boss! God is the boss of everyone! Even grown-ups.
C: I am the boss!
B: God is the boss! He is even older than dead people!

Somehow this argument gets resolved. I do not understand how. They team up together to take all the cushions off the lawn furniture and rearrange them into some sort of fort. I sigh. Aaron JUST put it all back into shapely order after having been randomly set around the back yard covered with toys and junk and leaves for a few weeks straight. I mention that they will have to put EVERYTHING back when they're done. They agree and proceed with their project. 

Sparrow is STILL ASLEEP!  Sparrow wakes up. 

4:00 I go get him and bring him outside to see the kids. The fort game is going on with mixed success. There are still some issues with one person wanting to run the show and one person not wanting to be told what to do. Sparrow sits in my lap and I pick at his cradle cap like a mama gorilla while Bluejay practices "reading" Chikka Chikka Boom Boom. He has memorized most of it. Chickadee has memorized pretty much all of it, but he gets mad when she tells him the next line. Sparrow gets fed up with my picking at his head and leaves my lap. I call one of my friends. While I'm on the phone something goes on with the jumping on the pillows and Sparrow screams "Naw naw!" Which is the thing he says most these days. There is much crying and yelling by Chickadee. She is always tired at this time of day, but doesn't often nap any more. She wants Bluejay to play her game with her and is mad because he's pretending to sleep and snoring in the fort. She cries louder. Bluejay runs inside to check for daddy's arrival. Chickadee cries because she wants him to play with her. She goes after him. I hear him say "I'm really really sorry I didn't play with you. I'll play with you now". I think what a nice boy he is. She wants to have real breakfast in their game. She wants potatoes and eggs and cereal. I tell her she just had cereal. I get keifer for everyone. Chickadee cries because her cup is not full enough. I take Bluejay's cup and pour some into hers, defying them all to throw a fit. They do not. Chickadee wants apples. There is one apple left in the house and it's the one she was eating earlier. I cut it up. She cries because she doesn't want it cut up and it's brown. I put it on the table. She eats it and drinks her keifer and stops crying. Bluejay starts in on the questions again ("Is there more numbers than a gugol?"). Sparrow gets things out of the kitchen cupboards. 

4:50 - Aaron arrives home! Hurray! Sparrow jumps in his arms and starts saying "Moow! Moow!" He wants Daddy to show him the moon. It's his favorite thing in the world. Aaron goes to take a shower, after saying hello to all of us. I sit outside with the kids. Chickadee continues to melt down. She cries because she wants Bluejay to play with her. She screams because she is stuck. I ask Bluejay if she is really stuck. He says that the table that they moved for fort building is in the way, and there is a pillow in front of the table so she can't move it. I ask him to move the pillow. I ask her to move the table. She screams. I finally come over there and no one is stuck. I pick her up and put her in her room and tell her that everyone, including all of our neighbors, can't listen to her scream anymore. She will have to do it in her room for now. I leave and shut the door. She screams until the door is shut. Then she stops and is completely fine - I'm pretty sure I even saw her try to hide a smile from me. Sparrow sneaks this opportunity to go in the bathroom and open the shower door, where Aaron is still showering. I take him away. I tell Aaron that I promised the kids we would go to Mike's Produce Stand, just down the street, to get apples.  

5:15 After his shower, we load all the kids in the van to get apples. I try to put the key in the ignition and it won't go in. I panic. Aaron tells me to turn the stearing wheel. It still won't go in. More panic, something is wrong with our van. Aaron tells me I have the keys to the wrong car. Sparrow sees the moon. He shouts "Moow! moow! moow! moow!" all the way to the produce stand. We occasionally acknowledge that yes, that is the moon, and he is satisfied. The kids are making plans to buy honey sticks. We get lots of apples, and they pick out their honey sticks. The girl at the register admires all of their eyelashes.  This happens everywhere we go. We load back in the van and head home. Aaron puts a show on for the kids while I get dinner. Sparrow sits with him and reads Chikka Chikka Boom Boom. When we like something around here, we are serious about it, at least for a week or so. I make salad and put chicken drummies and vegetable samosas in the oven. That's the extent of my cooking generally, these days. Their show ends just in time for dinner and they sit down at the table while I'm finishing up.

6:00 Chickadee asks what is for dinner. I tell her. She asks if they are dinosaur chicken nuggets. I say no, they are drummies. She starts to cry. Aaron gets them all fizzy water while I serve up the plates. Everyone eats their chicken, even Chickadee. Aaron is tired. Sparrow says he is done right away, but Chickadee hand feeds him his chicken and he eats it. Bluejay clears his plate and the kids go outside. Aaron rests for a minute and I show him our shopping scores finds and update him on our day. Then the kids start calling for him. He goes to them and I deconstruct the fort and set the chairs back together.

7:00 Aaron goes to lie down with an ice pack while the kids play outside and I work on my blog. Bluejay is digging a trench and Chickadee is planting seeds. I get Sparrow and put him in the bath (which he loves). I remake Bluejay's bed, which he had completely stripped during the morning jumping. Bluejay and Chickadee come in. I ask if either would like to get in the bath with Sparrow, Chickadee declines because she does not want a bath with boys tonight. Bluejay gets in. I go clear the table and start the dishes. Bluejay shouts with excitement that Sparrow pooped in the potty! Indeed, he had climbed out of the bath and done his business in the appropriate place. General excitement ensues. Aaron goes to take care of it and I start making his lunch for tomorrow. Chickadee visits me. The boys get out and everyone wants food. They get cheese crackers. Aaron puts Chickadee in the bath, and then sits at the table with me. We breathe. The boys come in and Sparrow is still naked. Aaron goes to put a diaper on him. He comes back and as he sits down, Chickadee shouts that Sparrow has gotten in the bath tub with his diaper on. I go get him out and change him again, while telling Chickadee to empty the tub to prevent further mishap. I put on his pajamas despite his strong protestation. Aaron takes Chickadee out and puts on her pjs, the kids brush their teeth and play hide and seek in the house. I brush MY teeth and put on my pjs. Lights are turned off.

8:00 Bedtime. Aaron takes Sparrow off to bed. I read a chapter of Little House in the Big Woods to the other two, while they each have a glass of milk and half a newton. I tell Bluejay I am taking Chickadee to bed and he needs to find a book to look at while I do that. He is a little sad to be alone (even though we do this every night), so I take him to our bed and get him set up. He brings his glass of milk and spills it all over the floor, Aaron's clothes and a curtain. I clean it up. Chickadee calls to me from her room because I'm taking so long. I shush her from the other room, knowing that Sparrow is not cooperating with Aaron and will use any noise as an excuse to avoid sleeping. I get Bluejay set up and climb in bed with Chickadee. We say a prayer and she is asleep in a few minutes. I sneak out of her bed just as Aaron is leaving the boys room. We go in to Bluejay, and Sparrow wakes up. Aaron goes back to him. I go in the living room and turn off the last lights, shut the sliders, etc. Aaron comes back and and we tell Bluejay needs to go to bed. I offer to go with him, since I know Aaron is extra tired today. He says he doesn't need me and can go to bed by himself. Aaron and I get in bed. Bluejay comes back. He says he is cold. I get a blanket and go tuck him in and whisper his prayer with him.

9:00 Aaron and I get in bed and turn off the lights. We talk for a few minutes, and go to sleep.

THE END.

PHFR - What it REALLY Looks Like

I've been really pleased that despite being in the adjustment period of adding a newborn to two toddlers age 3 and under, the house has been relatively tidy at the end of every day.  HOWEVER, I felt it behooved me to document a little more of the reality of the situation - partly just to make Aaron laugh when he gets home.  This is a quick post to show what our house REALLY looks like, at least before the baby naps every day.  And he doesn't usually take a solid nap until after 11:00 so this is most of our day.  

{Pretty} and {Happy} and maybe even a little {Funny}

This sweet babe.  I put Chickadee's hat on him while he was in the baby carrier so I could run out and take the diapers off the line.  It used to be my hat when I was a little girl.  I think he's manly enough to pull it off.

{REAL} and {Funny}

The children's bathroom.  I need to find a child lock for the medicine cabinet.  I already don't keep anything too toxic in there, but this morning while ostensibly going to put on pants Chickadee climbed in the sink and got into the cabinet.

The office.  Not bad, not bad.  Just some trains, books, a baseball hat and a jelly fish stuffed animal on my work desk.

The living room.  Also not bad - I got all the laundry (that was currently done) folded and put away yesterday, so just toys are out.

Oh yes, and the top of my desk.

Dining room and kitchen.  I HAVE to get the kitchen tidy to think straight.  It's almost always the first thing I clean up.  Because whatever else happens, these people need to eat.  And I do too.  Sparrow has gained 2 1/2 lbs since birth.  That's in less than 4 weeks.  I have never been this hungry, and so far, I'm still LOSING weight.  This mama has to eat!

And last but not least, the garage-turned-play-room.  Note the children NOT fully naked.  This is also a victory.  Why is it so hard to get toddlers to keep their clothes on?  This is something I generally give up on at some point during the day.  Daddy usually gets home to children in various states of undress.

What's funny and real in your world these days?  

A Day in My Life, the Two-Toddlers Edition

I love reading A Day in the Life posts on other people’s blogs so I decided to write one myself.  It definitely made for an entertaining day, and I’ll be interested to look back on this when I am no longer in the midst of full-on toddlerdom. So, here is my day, as it occurred on Friday, June 1st, 2012.  I suspect I was a little too thorough in my documenting.  However, the only pictures I managed to get were a few I took with my cell phone:

5:45 a.m. I wake up and actually get to say hi to Aaron before he leaves for work. This rarely happens. I only wake up this time because I have just finished nursing Chickadee for the fifteenth time this past night. I get back in the bed, on Aaron’s side in the hopes that I can sleep for a little bit before Chickadee discovers me. That last about 15 minutes. She moves on over to nurse again and blessedly falls back to sleep.

6:30 a.m. I hear Bluejay wake up and head into his room.  I lie down with him and try to go back to sleep.

7:20 a.m. I hear Chickadee and slip out of Bluejay's bed to go get her. We head to the living room and I shut all windows.  It’s going to be hot today and that’s the best way to keep the house cool. I nurse her while checking emails and facebook and doing a tiny bit of my daily bible reading on my phone. I text Aaron to say I'm thinking of him.

7:45 a.m. We head back to the office/diaper changing room to do a diaper change.  Aaron texts back funny and inappropriate things. I cheer up. While Chickadee airs out after her diaper change I check my blogs on the computer, and hope she doesn't pee on the chair.  I start to watch a video on YouTube. Chickadee gets bored and leaves for the living room. I am vaguely aware of some banging and clashing, I hope it is just toys.  I finally put my parental hat back on and go check on her.  It is not toys, she is going through my desk drawer and there are pencils, paper clips and a calculator on the floor.  

8:10 a.m. I pick her up, one pencil still clenched in her little fist, and go outside to take some clothes off the line. On the way back in we watch a baby frog hopping along on the patio, who has just graduated from the tadpole stage in our pond.  It doesn’t even really know how to use it’s legs yet.  Chickadee eats the pencil eraser.

8:15 a.m. It occurs to me that Chickadee might be hungry so I open the fridge to see what I can make her.  She rushes past me and stands on the vegetable drawer pointing out "jhuicshe! abbpple!"  It’s actually a lime.  I make her a bowl of yogurt and apple sauce, and a sippy cup with 3/4 water, 1/4 juice and I make myself some toast with butter AND nutella (I need my energy), and a cup of coffee.  The whole time I’m making it she is calling out “jhuicshe! JHUICSHE!” more and more urgently.  That girl loves juice.  We don’t often keep any in the house anymore, just so I don’t have to constantly tell her no.  I set her in the high chair with her breakfast.

8:30 a.m. Chickadee shovels yogurt and applesauce into her mouth in silence for a good 10+ minutes.  She doesn't need much help to eat.  A nice little break for me! She pushes her bowl to me then pulls off her bib and shoves it across the high chair tray onto the ground, taking a big pile of yogurt with it. I wipe her hands and face and put her down. I try to sit down and drink the rest of my coffee. She straddles my leg like a horse and bounces up and down chanting "mo-MMY, mo-MMY, mo-MMY!"  We play This is the Way the Lady Rides, and Trot, Trot to Boston.

8:35 a.m. I seductively suggest going to put on my contacts and make the bed, whispering this idea in her ear. Chickadee agrees. As soon as I take off my glasses and cannot see, she pulls a long piece of toilet paper roll and heads out of the bathroom with it. I catch her and rip it off. She trots away.  When I have my contacts on, she comes back from the other bathroom, carrying the basin to the potty seat and wiping it with her paper.  Even though I clean it every day of course Bluejay used it last night. I wash her hands.

8:45 a.m. I make the bed, but only because my mom is coming over.  I may have made it one other day this week, I can’t remember. Chickadee helps by smoothing out the sheets. I thank her for being so helpful and she smiles joyfully and smoothes faster, wrinkling them up.

8:50 a.m. Bluejay wakes up and calls out “I have to pee!!” I go grab him and transport him to bathroom, where he does his business and then dumps it into the big toilet.  Chickadee wants to do that too, but she dumps and bangs more enthusiastically than her brother did, splattering drops everywhere. Bluejay intervenes, telling her “it's all done”. I wipe more things down. My friend calls and leaves a message, inviting us swimming. Bluejay gets his new motorcycle shirt and heads straight to the garage to play with his trains.

9:10 a.m. I call my sister to see when she and my mom are getting here.  They are going to babysit the children tonight so Aaron and I can go on an early date to celebrate our anniversary which is next week!  I ask Bluejay if he wants to go swimming with his friend. He says "I don't want to swimming I want to stay here with you and Chickadee". Hmmm, that’s unusual. I call my friend back and tell her I'm waiting to find out when my babysitters are getting here. Bluejay asks to ride bikes and I use that to convince him to get dressed. I make the kids beds while he is getting dressed, and then dress Chickadee. She hightails it when she sees her clothes in my hand. I distract her with a bag of hair ties while I put them on, then I put her hair in pigtails.

9:25 a.m. I get a backpack to put Chickadee in for our walk. I argue with Bluejay about which backpack to use, he wants me to use the blue frame pack and I want to use the ergo. I win!  Chickadee gets her baby doll after shouting for it.  We're off on our bike ride/walk. We walk around neighborhood, with Bluejay zooming in front on his bike, and Bluejay covets a neighbor boy’s red bike with pedals (his is a balance bike with no pedals). We call daddy to tell him what Bluejay wants.

9:45 a.m. We get back and Bluejay begs to go in the ergo. I take Chickadee out and load him in.  He is heavy! I put him down and he sits on the kitchen counter while Chickadee stands on the step ladder. I give him a leftover blueberry pancake and he drinks juice while I pack snacks. Chickadee eats most of his pancake. He asks to take a nap with his new scissors (he just got his first pair of toddler scissors). I put him on his bed while Chickadee busily tears the last piece of pancake into tiny pieces. He comes back to the kitchen to tell me he wants “leven bottles” (that’s eleven, for going down for a nap an hour after he woke up). Chickadee wants one too. The number increases to “eleventeen”.

10:00 a.m. I check my work email and review a training agenda for Monday. I go back to the kitchen and scoop up Chickadee who is asking to "hold dyou". I try to pick up a bit (because my mom is coming) and swoop by the icon corner. Which reminds me, so I light the lampada and say a few prayers, holding Chickadee. Then head back to the children's bedroom where Bluejay calls out to show me he how he cut his new bedspread with his scissors.  I did not realize he had actually taken them with him for  his “nap”. I take them away and put Chickadee in the rocker with a book. I call my friend back and say that we'll come swimming. I try to sit down and take a break. Bluejay comes in and shakes the rocker fast, making Chickadee cry. I take him out of the room and turn on Netflix. He says "You can watch Thomas with me, Mom. You can be alone with me, Mom". My heart contracts.  Chickadee comes in wanting to be held. I put her in my lap and we all watch Thomas the Tank Engine while I update my Day-in-the-Life notes.   Chickadee asks to nurse.  My sister calls.

10:30 a.m. Chickadee and I put on our swimsuits and I lotion her up with sunscreen.  I pack up the swim bag and go try to get Bluejay to get ready.  He does not want to stop watching Thomas or put on his swim gear.

10:50 a.m. I load all the gear and snacks into the car. I pause the show, Bluejay is sweet and does not put up a fuss, as I tell him we’re going to stop Thomas for now but we can watch it later.  He reiterates, however, that he does not want to go swimming. I tell him that that is fine, he can just play with his tractor and watch us. He thinks that is a good idea. I load the kids into their carseats and we head off. We’re supposed to be three towns south of us in 10 minutes, but I hope the swimming plan is pretty flexible.  Note that the pieces of pancake are still on kitchen floor. I dole out salami and string cheese on the way, which involves reaching way back to the car seats while trying to keep my eyes and attention on the freeway.

11:05 a.m.  I miss my exit. And of course it is the last one for about 4 miles! Sigh. I use Voice Memo on my phone to update my Day-Notes so that I will not forget all of these important details. I am feeling bummed about the extra driving, and decide to play Cow I Win to cheer myself up.  But I think gloomily that there will not be any cows. Then I see one! I win!  Bluejay says no, HE wins, but it was definitely me. Only I don’t tell that to the toddler.

11:20 a.m. We arrive at our friends’ condo, and I fail at parallel parking. I unload the kids, it’s perfect timing as they are all just heading to the pool. We have a wonderful time swimming. As soon as Bluejay sees his little friend D in his swim gear, he is eager to put his own on. Both the children love the pool, I hold Chickadee, although she insists on holding onto one of those big water noodles too, which makes it a bit tricky. Bluejay swims around by himself the entire time, wearing his water wings and using another pool noodle to help him. He is pretty much consistently in the pool from 11:30 until we get out at almost 1 PM, except for a few times when he gets out so that he can jump back in and have me catch him. He wears a pair of D’s goggles, and tells everyone who will listen “I’m swimming! I’m a good swimmer!”

1:00 p.m. We get out, the kids drink juice boxes that my friend brought, a special treet. I change them out of their swimsuits and get them dressed. It is so warm we barely need towels. We say goodbye, and my friend helps me carry everything to the car (she carries Chickadee). Chickadee eats apples happily in her seat. She’s a tired girl, her usual naptime is around noon.

1:15 p.m. I am driving back, and Chickadee starts to cry pitifully about her "eyeshs". I debate pulling over, but know she is just exhausted and her eyes want to shut. Bluejay and I sing the ABCs (or as he calls them “ABCD’s”) and Twinkle Twinkle Little Star and Open Them, Shut Them to her until she falls asleep.

1:30 p.m. We arrive home. It is HOT outside. I get out of the car and Bluejay starts crying because HE wants to open my door. I unbuckle him from his car seat and shut my door so he can open it, and he climbs in the front seat and locks me out. Fortunately he knows how to unlock it. I bring him inside and restart Thomas so he'll stay quiet while I transfer Chickadee, who is still sleeping in running car. I go out, turn the car off, carefully remove Chickadee’s shoes, take her out of the car seat and transfer her to her bed.  Fortunately I’ve managed to keep it pretty cool in the house. I go back outside and bring in the swim stuff and snack bag, and then sit down for a minute to catch my breath. Aaron calls. I check facebook, text my brother back (he is coming down to visit with the baby in a week!!), and sit with Bluejay for few minutes. I unpack the swim bag, hang the towels and suits to dry and put the snacks back in the fridge. Turn on more fans. Pick up the pieces of pancake off kitchen floor.

2:00 p.m. I warm up a plate of pasta for Bluejay and I, and pour him a glass of keifer. When I bring it in he is hanging up the Fisher Price chatterbox phone. "That was Nonna" he says importantly. I sit down and take one bite of my pasta before Chickadee cries. I run in and nurse her back to sleep. When I come back Bluejay says sadly, "I can't call Nonna. My phone is broken." He asks to watch more Thomas. When I agree he cheers up and says his phone is fixed. He is hungry. Eats everything I put in his mouth.  I remember to get a glass of water and try to make Bluejay have a little too.

2:30 p.m. I decide to risk taking shower, even though the baby is asleep. I am going on a date tonight, after all! When I am heading in to the shower I glance in the mirror and notice that I forgot to put sunscreen on myself when I did the babies! My back and shoulders are lobster colored.  I haven’t gotten a sunburn in years! The water does not feel good on my back. My HAIR does not feel good on my back. It is a short shower. I get out and find the Burt's Bees after-sun lotion. That feels good. I gaze at myself in the mirror and think about how my face looks old. I go get a piece of See’s candy from my secret stash left over from Mother's Day and eat it. I do not feel better. Time to snap out of this.

3:00 p.m. Bluejay and I go to the garage to “play trains”. I suggest going pee first but he says he already did. We start to play and he instantly says "I have to pee!"  We hurry to the bathroom and he pees, then spends a long time washing his hands. He decides he wants to wear his old shark bathrobe over his clothes. Then we can't find a particular Thomas train (he has about 8 Thomas’s, let alone all the other characters). He goes rushing into his room to look for it, where Chickadee is sleeping. Amazingly, she doesn't wake up. I find a Thomas in the living room but it is not the right one. I offer him a popsicle or a story to make up for it. He picks the popsicle. Chickadee wakes up. We go get her, get the popsicle and head outside where it is still hot. Thank goodness for our covered patio. They both climb in the double stroller and play there. I think how if I were not using every spare minute to document my day on my phone, I'd be playing solitaire on my phone. I am hopeful that my mom or sister will be here soon. I play spider solitaire on my phone. Bluejay gives me the last of his popsicle but Chickadee rushes over to get it. She eats it. I watch her brand new white swim cover up get covered in FD&C Red #7. I wonder if oxygen bleach will work. Bluejay brings me a baseball glove and asks me to throw with him. Then he decides the sandbox would be more fun. Aaron texts me more funny and inappropriate things. I cheer up again. Bluejay and Chickadee take turns riding Chickadee's scooter and ramming it into the water table. Bluejay gets out his camera. “I'm going to take a picture of you!  I'm going to focus on you," he says. I wonder why it is not even 3:30 yet!

3:30 p.m. I wash the popsicle off Chickadee's face with water from the water table. It's only been in there one day, I justify to myself. The FD&C Red #7 does not come off her face. It sure isn't likely to come out of her dress then. What kind of popsicles am I giving my children?  Bluejay buries my feet in sand. I play solitaire and check Facebook while kids play. Then they both want to get in my lap at same time, getting sand all over me. Remember how I just took a shower? I hold them both, then put Bluejay down and nurse Chickadee. My freshly showered and lotioned legs are covered with sand.

4:00 p.m. We head inside and find that Nonna (my mom) is here! She brings a few items for the garage sale we’re planning to hold tomorrow. I take off Chickadee's swim cover and soak it in oxygen bleach and soap. I brush her hair and get her dressed although she will not come out of Nonna’s arms. Both the kids only want Nonna now! I do the dishes then get Chickadee a snack. Both kids want to use Nonna's clicker to lock her car. The food works to distract Chickadee. Bluejay sees her crackers and wants some too. He hits his head on the edge of the counter but doesn't want me to help him. Then he wants pineapple tidbits. But not in his cracker bowl, not in that bowl either! He starts to panic. I tell him to take a deep breath then suggest he has them in a teacup. That sounds good. He eats them rapidly while my mom tells me about her various things. Chickadee starts discarding her remaining food items on the ground, saying "auh ooh" (uh oh), while Nonna hurries around cleaning her up. Bluejay needs a little of Nonna’s attention so I take Chickadee back to my room and let her play with silly putty (I know, it’s not wise) while Bluejay goes to show Nonna his trains. Chickadee and I read "Boy with a Drum" and I sneak the silly putty away.

4:30 p.m. I bring her out to the garage to join Bluejay and Nonna and sit down at the computer to have a quiet minute, but my sister arrives. I chat with her for a bit. Aaron gets home. He and I get a few minutes to say hello and talk outside, then Chickadee joyfully discovers he is here and takes him over. I unpack Aaron's lunch and wash some vegetables for my sister who is making dinner for Nonna and the kids. Then I nurse Chickadee to make sure she's tanked up before we go out. Aaron takes a shower.

5:00 p.m. Bluejay comes running out to see me. He doesn't know Aaron is here yet!  He is super excited. He tells him "I need you to still hold me." I head back to the bedroom to get dressed for our date and decide against make-up, it is too hot for that. My sun-brightened face looks lovely enough with just a little mascara. Aaron takes Bluejay for a bike ride. It's just what he needs. I chat with my mom and sister and deflect my sister’s comments on where we're going and what I'm wearing. Kind of. I go back and change my shirt. Aaron and Bluejay come back from their bike ride.

5:30 p.m. Nonna engages the children in Bluejay’ brand new Thomas book. We kiss them and slip away without major goodbyes, they seem pretty happy. We stop to get gas and Aaron asks if I remembered to go to bank and get change for the yard sale (the ONLY thing he asked me to do). I did not. We decide to try to make it to the bank before they close at 6. On the drive Aaron coaches me on yard sale ettiquete and says he will set up the couch in the garage so we don’t have to sit in the sun all day. It supposed to be just as hot tomorrow. We discuss plans for getting the babies to my mom’s house in the morning. We pull into the bank parking lot at 5:49 p.m. Aaron runs in to get change. We arrive at restaurant at the geriatric hour of 6:00 p.m.!  Our anniversary date (and the 4th date we've had since Chickadee was born) begins.

I’m going to leave you out of our date details, we are just pretty giddy to have a few hours together sans children.  Suffice it to say that our dinner hour is indeed consistent with the party celebrating a 90-somethingth birthday at the table across from us. The restaurant eventually did fill up with more of the “younger/middle-aged” crowd. And I could not stop laughing that amongst all the Italian décor, there was a motivational poster on the wall in the ladies room.

8:30 p.m. We get home. The kids are playing in the garage with Nonna and my sister.  They are excited to see us but very tired.  Chickadee is wearing Bluejay’s backpack, Bluejay is wearing Chickadee’s bike helmet.  Chickadee climbs in my lap and tries to get my dangly earrings. I take them off before she rips them out and she takes them from my hand. I let her play with them for a minute and then take them back. She cries and crumples to the ground with great indignation. My mom feels sorry for her and offers her all the earrings she has. Bluejay tells Daddy everything that he has been doing and takes him to the “farm” around the “corner”. Which is apparently in the living room. I take Chickadee into the living room and thank my mom and sister while they wrap things up. I give Chickadee to my mom for a minute to run back and change my clothes, in order to make nursing easier. Chickadee gives everyone a good night kiss. Then she notices’ Nonna’s car keys and wants to make it beep again. “Beeb beeb” she says earnestly. Bluejay is still talking about the farm with Aaron. I carefully extract the keys from Chickadee’s hands and help her to say bye bye to them. We head back to the bedroom, still saying “beeb beeb, beeb beeb”.  We close the curtains, turn out the light and sit in the rocker to nurse. Chickadee kicks around for a bit but quickly settles into sleep. This is one of those nights where she falls so deeply asleep she is just limp in my arms. I carry her to her bed and put her down. I open the window and cover her with a sheet, then slip out. 

9:00 p.m. Bluejay and Aaron are saying prayers. He comes to me to be picked up. I try to take Chickadee’s helmet off his head and he gets upset “I want to wear it! I want to wear it!” I acknowledge that he wants to wear it and wait a few minutes. I let him hold the candle (unlit) that he asks for. We finish prayers and Aaron and I chat while he fills bottles. Then Bluejay kisses and hugs me and says that Daddy has to brush his teeth. They go to bed and I head to the computer. I check out FB and my blogs, then download pictures from my phone.

10:00 p.m. I go wake up Aaron who has fallen asleep with Bluejay. I should have done it earlier, but I got lulled into the abyss that is the internet. We try to wake up enough to do a little bit of prep for the yard sale, but we are so tired. We head outside to enjoy the coolness of the air, finally. Then we decide to go to bed.

10:30 p.m. Before I even get to climb into bed Chickadee cries.  I head in and nurse her.  It is 11 PM before I can turn my own light out.  Goodnight!