A Day in the Life

Last Thursday, actually!

5:15 - Wake up to feed Betsy. I don't find nursing little babies in bed very comfortable, so we go to the couch in the living room and I check Feedly while she eats.  

5:45 - She falls right back to sleep, but I'm too lazy to swaddle her again and try to put her down in the bassinet, so she just goes into bed with us.

7:30 - I wake up again and sneak out of bed leaving Betsy still asleep. Adam, Claire, and Maggie have been up for about forty-five minutes. I eat toast, eggs and fruit for breakfast with them.

8:00 - Maggie walks by and I ask her what's so stinky. She says, "um, this right here" and points to her poopy diaper. I change her and clean up breakfast. Adam hears Betsy crying and gets her ready for the day.

8:10 - Feed Betsy.

8:30 - Adam leaves for work. Claire and Maggie are playing with their princess little people in the nursery. I stick Betsy in her activity gym, get ready and make our bed. I move Betsy into her bouncy seat, get the girls ready and make their beds.

9:10 - Figure I totally have time to vacuum real quick but then realize how late it is. Get everyone's shoes and socks on and usher them into the car. 

9:20 - Leave for church, proud of myself for not running late and remembering to take the double stroller out of the trunk before going grocery shopping.

9:30 - Drop Claire off at Catechesis.
9:40 - Get gas at Costco. Betsy and Maggie are both screaming when I get back in the car. Betsy is not a fan of her car seat and Maggie is not a fan of listening to her baby sister cry.

9:50 - Park and walk in the store, stopping by the books first for Maggie to pick out one to read. Disney princesses, of course! Betsy immediately falls asleep in the carrier.

11:00 - Get groceries, pay, buy two hotdogs at the cafe, and load everything into the trunk. 

11:05 - Pull into the garage and leave the girls in their seats while I take all the groceries inside and put the frozen stuff away.

11:15 - Feed Betsy in the front seat. 

11:25 - Drive back to church. 

11:30 - Pick up Claire and talk with my friend Christine while our kids run around.

11:55 - The four year olds are fighting over a stick and the two year olds are picking flowers out of the church garden, so we say goodbye.

12:00 - Drive home. Claire immediately drops her doll in the way back and screams the whole time, with the other girls following suit.

12:10 - Eat lunch. We have the hotdogs from Costco, carrot sticks, and apple sauce.

12:30 - Feed Betsy and text Adam about how the day's going.

1:00 - Put a sleeping Betsy down on the couch, wedging her in with the nursing pillow. Of course, she immediately wakes up, but she's mostly content there while I finish putting away the groceries.

1:30 - For the last hour, Claire and Maggie have been pretending the boxes from Costco are boats and carriages. Maggie starts to throw a big fit and I realize it's time for stories. Have them each pick out a library book and read.

2:00 - Tuck Maggie into bed and ask Claire to gather all the toys she needs for quiet time in the guest room. Rock and feed Betsy while watching some of When Calls The Heart on Netflix.

2:30 - Put Betsy in her bassinet and prioritize the chores which can't be done while wearing a baby. That means writing two cards for baby gifts.

3:00 - Just as I'm finishing cleaning up the toys, I hear Betsy crying. Trying more rocking, nursing, and TV watching.

3:30 - She wakes up as soon as I try to put her down. Give up, strap her in the baby carrier, and ask Claire if she wants to get out of quiet time to help me bake brownies for an event this weekend. Between the baby I'm wearing and the preschooler on the stool in front of me, I can barely see anything. But at least Maggie is still sleeping!

4:00 - Finish brownies, wake Maggie up from her nap, let them watch one episode of Tumble Leaf and one episode of Daniel Tiger. Betsy's asleep in the baby carrier, so I start making dinner. When Adam was on paternity leave, we browned a whole bunch of ground beef with onion and garlic and freezed it in one pound portions. I grab some out of the chest freezer, add a can of plain tomato sauce and season it with salt, pepper, basil, oregano, and thyme. Grate some Parmesan cheese, cut up some watermelon, and set the table.

5:00 - Feed Betsy while Claire beads some necklaces and Maggie works on a puzzle.

5:30 - Adam's home! Hand him Betsy and hide in the bathroom for a few minutes until the timer for the spaghetti beeps.

5:40 - We all sit down to dinner. Claire tells us about "preschool." Betsy starts crying a lot. I scarf down my dinner while Adam holds her and then we switch.

6:00 - I just hold the fussy baby while Adam loads the dishwasher and helps gets the girls' shoes on, navigating Claire's fit about wanting to change into a church dress. We nearly abandon our plans.

6:30 - Load everyone into the car again. Thankfully Betsy has finally stopped crying. We arrive at the church for a surprise baby shower for the young adult minister. Neither Maggie nor Betsy appreciate the surprise part! We all have cake and talk with friends. 

7:30 - Head home. Adam changes Claire and Maggie into their pajamas, brushes teeth, reads stories, says prayers and tucks them into bed. I change, feed, rock, and swaddle Betsy then put her down in her bassinet.

8:30 - I wash the dishes while Adam tidies up the house. Normally we'd have to make lunches for tomorrow, but Adam's team is going out for lunch and my family is coming to visit.

9:00 - We fold the mountain of laundry that actually should have been folded the night before, but we stayed up late (Adam working and me finishing a book.)

10:00 - We're just finishing creating a Facebook event for a meeting at church when my family arrives! We chat with them and help my brother set up the air mattress in the playroom. 

10:30 -  We all watch the series finale of The Middle and get ready for bed.

11:00 - Lights out!

P.S. Lots more day in the life posts right here.