Logan, Tessa, Tyson - October 2013

A few of the blogs I read have done a sort of "day in the life" post in the last week or so.  I've really liked reading these because it's pretty rare that the blogs or Facebook posts or Instagram pictures give a hint of what real life can be like.  I'm pretty guilty of it too, for the most part I like to keep my complaining off Facebook and post only the pictures that don't show what a disaster the house is most days.  SO... I decided it might be fun to give a rundown of a day in our lives right now.  There are parts of our days that I'm not necessarily proud of, but it will give me a chance to show you that I'm not perfect after all. :)

4-5 a.m. - My alarm goes off to get up and get to work.  I usually set it for 4:15 but don't usually get up until closer to 5 - unless I remember to set my phone at least 10 yards away so I have to actually get out of bed to shut it off.  Yes, I ooze self discipline over here.  I stumble out to the couch usually tripping over a toy that was left on the kitchen floor.  I try to type with the lights off so I don't wake up my early bird (Logan), but he's usually up by 6:30 or so.  Logan does NOT have a whisper voice no matter how many times I hiss "shhhhh!" at him, so I'm pretty sure dad is up around this time too.

7 a.m. - Time to get Logan moving for school.  He's finally allowed to be somewhat noisy.  I feel like the early birds of the world should be allowed to make some noise at 7.  Breakfast for him is usually cereal or toast or a bagel (you'd think he won the lottery if he finds a bagel) that he fixes himself.  Usually the bowl of cereal is up to the very tippy top of the bowl, and I lecture him, again, about wasting food and leaving enough for the rest of us.  We go through cereal like water at our house.  In the meantime I try to squeeze in a few more lines before the rest of the house (read: needier people) get up.  Logan gets dressed, and I step away from the computer to make lunch.  Half of a cheese sandwich (colby jack cheese if he's lucky), an apple, and whatever else remotely healthy I can find to stick in his Spiderman lunch box.  Wouldn't want the lunch room lady to think I'm a bad mom for sending crap, but sometimes that's all I've got.  The bus comes at 7:30, but usually I'm nice and take him to school at 10 to.  By this time the other two have usually woken up - Ty yelling "Mom!  Mommy!  Mom!  R r you?!" from his crib and Tess stumbling out rubbing her eyes and smiling at everybody.  The TV comes on and is turned to Mickey because I made the mistake of introducing Tyson to it, and now that's all he lets anybody watch.  Yes I know who the adults are in this family, but if we want any chance of hearing what's on TV over the roar of his protesting with "Watch! MICKEY!!", then Mickey it is.  Logan and I head off to school.  I watch him meet up with friends as he runs through the gate before I pull away.

8:30 a.m. - I'm back from taking Logan to school.  The TV's still on, and if they're lucky I'll remember to feed the younger two before I hit the shower.  An awful (waffle) for Ty and cereal, no oatmeal, no toast, no a waffle too for Tess.  After the shower I try to do some (read: very little) cleaning.  Breakfast dishes, straighten up the kitchen, start laundry if it's laundry day, etc.  Usually the TV is still on (I KNOW!), but if I'm lucky I've convinced everybody that the toys in the toy room are actually not for decoration.

11 a.m.- Lunch.  Usually a cheese sandwich or corn dog or macaroni and cheese or cereal, more awfuls for Ty.  Yes, healthy.  I'm being real, remember?  Trust me, if I made something healthy it would be a waste of the food and my time.  Last night I told Tess that she had to eat two of her baked ravioli before she could have hot chocolate.  She chewed that last ravioli for 8 minutes. EIGHT!  I looked at the clock when I gave it to her because I couldn't believe she'd been at the dinner table for 40+ minutes, and when I finished the dishes and came back for her plate she was still chewing the SAME BITE!  Then she visibly shuddered as she swallowed it!  So yes, crap food for lunch, okay?

11:30 a.m. - Tess goes to school.  We sing the "skidamarink-y-dink-y-dink" song on our way, and Tess runs up to the door.  I have to watch to make sure she gets through the door because it is heavy, and every time I open it I think it's going to chop off my fingers.  Ty and I run any errands we have to do now.  One kid = less car seats to buckle and unbuckle at every stop.  I will not miss going to the store with 3 kids.  I will miss going to the store with 1 kid.  I have done it for so long now I guess that it's actually really hard for me to walk through the store and not talk about what I see or what we're having for dinner, etc.  I have to really think about not talking to myself out loud when I'm there by myself.  I will miss our errands someday.

Back home to get some more cleaning or work or a whole lot of nothing done.  Ty may or may not take a nap.  Mickey might (probably) make another appearance.

2:15 p.m. - Pick up.  Tess is first.  She runs out of the gate, and just this afternoon I heard her giving out my phone number to a boy so he could have his mom call me.  Oh Tessa dear.  Every day is still "the BEST day, mom!"  She has a new best friend every week and is a smarty pants.  Today they told me she was the only kid in both classes that knew what a question mark was.  How cute is that?  Logan comes next.  Running out of the first grade door with his Skylander backpack and orange jacket.  Good thinking on that jacket since I can usually spot him before he spots me.  If I'm feeling like I need a treat we hit Junction for a baby cone or Stage Stop for some candy for the kids and a DP for mom.

3 p.m.  Homework gets done first.  Logan's first grade math has kicked my butt on more than one occasion, and it makes me feel pretty dumb.  I may have mentioned that one concept they were teaching was stupid, to which Logan told me that his teacher said the same thing.  I've got to say I was at least glad to hear I wasn't the only one.

"Find something to do," are the words out of my mouth most often this time of day.  If it's nice we go to the park, usually with Meridee and her girls. We can kill an entire afternoon that way, and I have to be careful to make sure I've got dinner figured out or we'll be SOL.  If we're home, and I'm feeling caught up and ambitious we will do puzzles or flash cards in the toy room.  The cutest, most hard to refuse thing is when Ty says, "Build. blocks. with. me?"  I've got to get that on video.  Tess will ask to play horses or pet shops, and Logan will want to show me what he's built with Legos or Trio blocks and tell me 4,278 jokes, which will get Tess started on the jokes too.  Oh children, how I love you, but your jokes are terrible!  Terrible!  I listen to a few before I shut them down.  (Here's one you told me this morning: Knock, knock.  Who's there? Cat.  Cat who? Caterpillar. Get it? Caterpillar?) I usually break up a few fights, and sometimes timeouts are handed out.  Dinner gets started.

5- 6 p.m. - Dinner.  If it's not spaghetti or pizza (or waffles in Ty's case), you guys aren't happy.  I finally taught you to say, "It's not my favorite," instead of the old standby's of "I don't like that," "It looks yucky," and "How many bites do I have to eat?"  Super.  By this time of night I have little patience for it, and you guys usually get scolded at least twice for playing under the table or making faces or telling more jokes instead of eating.  Ty's usually fighting to sit on my lap making it impossible for me to eat and either refusing to eat or stealing the good stuff (i.e. rolls) off my plate.  I clean up while you guys spend the next 40 minutes finishing your tiny portions (or not, in Tessa's case).

7-7:30 p.m. - Ready for bedtime.  I am anyway.  Somehow your tiny dinner gives you all a second wind, and trying to get the two older kids to brush their teeth without turning the bathroom vanity into a disaster area or climbing into the bathtub doing circus stunts as you swish with the mouthwash is nearly impossible.  Usually teeth-brushing time is the straw that breaks this camel's back.  If you were going to bet on a time of day to hear yelling at this house, this is it.  Then pajama time, prayer time, reading time.  It's usually a Magic Treehouse book or something we've picked up from the library.  I read for as long as I can stand to practically yell over Tyson screaming or talking or just making noise before I head out to the couch to unwind trying not to notice that the front room looks like a bomb went off with clothes, cars, and books covering, COVERING the floor.  Two seconds later Tess joins me with a, "Can I sit by you?" followed by Logan who has come up with another joke.  This one might be funny if we're lucky.  Tess is back again to tell me a story.  Logan is back needing some water.  Oh, Tess needs water too.  This goes on until either you guys fall asleep or I yell that I'm no longer mom until tomorrow morning and I better not see you out of your rooms again tonight.  I really prefer the first, but sometimes it's the last.  Ty stays up with me until he passes out on the floor after either watching my show if I'm lucky or Mickey if the protests get too loud.  I carry him to bed and follow pretty soon after.

Whew!  That was long, but that's a pretty average day the last few months here in 2013.  Dad is part of our day too, of course, but lately he has been busy recovering from his back surgery and isn't able to be out and about with us too much.  I'm leaving things out, obviously, but I hope this helps at least me to remember what this time of our lives was like. It is SO hard some days but so, so, so good too.  I am thankful that I can see that.  I know I will miss this stage too, even though that rundown probably seems mundane.

Love you all,
Mom