A Day in the Life
I’ve always wanted to do a Day in the Life post like this. I enjoy reading them on other blogs (perhaps it’s my inherently nosy nature about what people do all day). The Littlest Apple didn’t have preschool today, so I thought it would be a perfect day to blog about the details of our day….
5:00 Wake up, make coffee. Read my mom’s group notes and bible for a few minutes, pray for patience and a productive day.
5:10 The Littlest Apple (“TLA”)’s feeding pump alarm is beeping. I sprint upstairs to his room to see if I can turn it off before it wakes him up. He’s awake. He was REALLY tangled up in the tubing (it was around his waist and around his leg about 3 times), and the pump had fallen over. Take him to the potty and attempt to get him to go back to sleep.
5:45 He didn’t go back to sleep. We head downstairs. I ask him to play quietly while I finish my mom group reflections. Amazingly, he cooperates!
6:00Â Cuddle with TLA on the couch.
6:10 TLA drinks Boost and watches Curious George while I drink my coffee (finally!) and check email and blogs.
6:35Â TLA plays with Halloween playdough (time for a new batch!) while I write out my grocery list based on the menu I planned last night.
7:00 Finish my list, then clean up the HUGE playdough mess. I was standing 1 foot away, but somehow I failed to notice TLA sticking playdough all down the legs of the table and underneath it.
7:15 We head upstairs to wake up my husband (“PA”). I change into workout clothes.
7:30 I leave TLA upstairs with PA (and shut the baby gate at the top of the stairs) and go back downstairs to do a workout video. My current favorite is The Firm Cardio Sculpt, and that’s what I do today.
7:45Â TLA realizes that he’s stuck upstairs, and starts screaming from the top of the stairs.
8:10 Cool off. Take TLA to the potty where we argue about whether he will stand up or sit down and whether or not I will help him.
8:15 Prep breakfast. Grapefruit and plain Greek yogurt w/ honey and cinnamon for me, blueberry Greek yogurt for TLA (per his request).
8:20 Sit down to eat. TLA cries for Cheerios with milk. I pray for patience, then give him what he asks for, thankful that he is interested in eating at all.
8:22 Sit down again. TLA wants to drink the Cheerio milk. I get up to give him a glass of milk instead. He immediately spills milk all down his front and screams for me to clean him up. Then he plays with both cup and bowl, and we have a chat about good manners.
8:27 Finally start my own breakfast, read blogs. (currently 307 in my Google Reader). Remind TLA not to put Cheerios in his cup.
8:36 PA joins us in the kitchen to make his breakfast of PB toast. We tag team parent. TLA asks for milk refills 2 times so he can drink the milk from his bowl. Cries when we ask him to eat the cereal first.
8:41 TLA wants what PA has. Oh wait he wants PLAIN toast. We tell him the kitchen is closed, fit ensues. PA heads up to our home office (breakfast in hand) to start his work for the day. I clean the kitchen
8:44 I get TLA dressed for the day, and convince him to brush his teeth by pretending he is a dog.
9:00 TLA and I leave for a walk to the nearby park. We barely make it off of our driveway when TLA has some weird sneeze/cough thing that causes him to choke. We go back to the house for a drink of water.
9:03 Walk to the park. He walks most of the way, but rides on my back for a little bit. He spends most of the time swinging. We also walk over the pond and throw sticks in the water.
9:50 Despite warnings, he is not ready to go and has a tantrum on ground. I lose my patience. I carry him part of the way home.
9:55 We stop to chat with friend/neighbor
10:00 W get home from park, and TLA drinks Boost while watching Curious George. I change clothes w/o showering though I do wipe down with one of those Ponds i’m-too-lazy-to-wash-my-face cloths, realize i need to shave my legs and touch up my toenail polish, but throw on a skirt (and sandals anyway). Too hot for jeans now!
10:15Â Eat some string cheese and pretzels while emailing back and forth with PA (who is working upstairs) about weekend plans, and send email reminders for the meals I organized for a mom in TLA’s class that just had twins.
10:25Â TLA pitches a fit over turning TV off
10:30 We fight over potty time. I lose my patience for the 2nd time today.
10:35 We leave for HEB
111:50 Get home, unload cold stuff, then decide to eat lunch.
12:00 Eat lunch with TLA and PA
12:27 Finish unloading groceries, and I’m fading fast. Thank goodness it is almost nap time.
12:45 Time to head upstairs for naps. TLA is screaming “I’m NOT TIRED and I’m NOT CRANKY!” when he is clearly tired. Naptime battle begins. I usually lay down with him, so we both head to my bed.
1:20 TLA is totally not listening and I’ve been kicked, hit, poked with his squirming. I move TLA to his room by himself. Of course he doesn’t want to stay there. I grab a book, and go sit by him on the bed, urging him to lay still. He continues to ignore me. I’m tired and have reached my breaking point. I burst into tears and go interrupt PA from work to rescue me (something I have never done). PA rescues me, and I go lay down alone in my bed.
1:45 I was so amped up that I never fell asleep for that 30 minute nap I so badly needed.  (TLA is finally asleep.) Now I need to get busy again. Head downstairs and make coffee for me and PA, who is sitting outside TLA’s door working on his laptop.
1:50 Recap naptime issues with PA, discuss what to do differently in the future, and have a coffee and computer break.
2:20 Yikes! Art playgroup is at 4, and I haven’t even started prepping our project or tidying the house. Start prepping art project (fingerprint indian corn)
3:20 Wake up TLA
3:30 Prep snacks for art playgroup, and put on jeans.
4:00 Art playgroup chaos begins! We have 4 mommies, 6 kids and 2 babies today. As usual, TLA is wild. He participates in the project for less than 2 minutes before going to play. Spits his snack, and throws toys. He spends some time in timeout in his room, but I’m staying calm. I really enjoy visiting with my 3 mommy friends today, even though my participation in the conversation is stop-and-go while I’m disciplining TLA.
5:30 PA is done working and comes downstairs just after our art group friends leave. He takes TLA outside to play.
5:35 I start dinner (tonight is Easy Taco Soup) and realize the recipe says to simmer for 1 hr, so we’ll be eating a little later than I thought. Cleaning up from art group while I prep the soup.
6:05 Soup is simmering. I sit down with my laptop to work on room mom duties. TLA’s class Thanksgiving party is next week, and I’ve got to get a sign up sheet ready to go for tomorrow morning! I email back and forth with my co-room mom. PA and TLA dance to Move It Move It, shoot Nerf guns and read books.
7:00 We sit down to eat dinner as a family.
7:28 I clean kitchen while PA gives TLA a bath. Thankfully, there’s not much cleaning to take care of tonight. Love those one pot meals!
7:39 I sit down to blog for a few minutes
7:50 Head upstairs to set up TLA’s feeding pump while TLA goes potty and brushes teeth w/ PA’s supervision/coercion.
8:00 Read stories to TLA, fetch a glass of water for him, sing Twinkle Twinkle two times, then give five kisses and five hugs. I”m thankful that there isn’t much bedtime stalling tonight.
8:20 Back downstairs (a little earlier than usual). PA and I both sit down with our laptops and watch Glee, then 30 Rock. I work on this blog post.
(The rest of this is projected….)
10:00 Take a bubble bath and get ready for bed.
10:45 Get into bed and read until I fall asleep (less than 5 minutes later).
Okay, WOW. Just READING this made me tired, Cara! Do you get up at 5 AM everyday? I don’t know how you do it!
Cassie,
Reading this post (and writing it!) makes me tired too. Tuesday was an extra long day. I normally get up around 5:30 or earlier (mostly because The Littlest Apple does), but I’ve been wanting a few minutes to myself in the morning to get focused and ready for the day before all the crazy begins. It’s hard to do when he gets up so early though. 5 am is my cutoff!! The Littlest Apple is in preschool 2 1/2 days a week, so that helps. (And gives me time to do the cleaning and other errands that I clearly didn’t get done yesterday). You know what amazes me? You moms that have MORE than one kid and/or work too! I don’t know how YOU do it, either!
That is SOOOO my 3 year old. Except I also have a 19 month old and a five year old. So all that craziness is usually inflicted upon the other two kids AS WELL AS me and dad. Oh I relate to the praying for patience. Some days are just ridiculous.
Hey – Question. Does TLA do alright at preschool. We are considering starting him very soon but I am extremely worried that he will hit other kids (or tell them he will “punch them in the eyeball” like he tells us with every other breath.)
Amanda,
If your three year old is like mine, I really don’t know how you do it with a 19 month old (that’s a tough age too!) and a 5 year old in the picture as well!
The Littlest Apple is doing surprisingly well at preschool. I think there is something about the classroom environment and the “rules” of school that help, and he seems to get it. He is being challenged and kept plenty busy which helps. And bless his patient teachers…they’re the best! Your kiddo might surprise you, so I say if you’re considering preschool, go for it!
Okay Cara, I got to 10:00 and felt like I needed a nap! LOL You amaze me over and over again with everything you do. AND, I love your series on the spirited child. My 5 year old has been testing our patience shall we say. Just this weekend my mother in law was inadvertently boobie trapped when she was walking out of the bathroom. Ashley decided to put toothpaste on the door knob! Why? She didn’t know…then yesterday we found that she had written on our new couch pillows with pen, and later in the evening decided to put an A in stick glue on the ottoman. Ah, the joys of “creativity.” LOL
It is encouraging to know that we as mom’s are not alone isn’t it. 😉
I am exhausted just reading your post! Props to you, Cara, for all your hard work.
We have a spirited almost 3YO (and a 5YO and 14month old)…. we had serious, serious sleep issues for years and tried everything. Finally I called the pediatrician and told them “I’m thinking about crashing the minivan just so I can sleep in the hospital”. They recommended we try melatonin to help her fall asleep — this was always her problem, just slowing herself down. Now she gets 1ml at night and she actually…falls asleep. Just wondering if this could help at naptime or night, when you need it.
What we are hoping is that she’ll use it and perhaps get into a rhythm of good sleep and sleep habits. For us, it was 2.5 years of waking up all night long and us getting less than 5 hours a night of sleep. Usually around 4, totally unsupportable and dangerous.