Day in the Life

If anyone is interested in a typical day in our life, here it is! And if no one is interested, then this is just for me so I can look back and remember how exhausted I was and why!

6:47 – Meredith wakes up. I throw her in bed with Jason and go pump. (She refuses to nurse, but she still gets half breastmilk, half formula.)

7:31 – Russell’s awake. Everyone gets up. I give Meredith her sippy cup of milk and take Russell to the potty against his will. Russell sees Meredith’s milk and informs me that he wants his pink milk. I make him some strawberry milk and leave them to their own devices while I make breakfast.

(this photo is the only one in this post NOT from today!)

7:57 – Breakfast! Today is ham, cheese and egg sandwiches on whole wheat bagel thins. Jason reads a Proverb from the Bible to the family and we discuss it while I make sure Meredith’s food is going in her mouth, not her hair.

8:15ish – Jason out the door. I clean cups, table, plates, and pans from breakfast.

8:30ish – Playtime! We play with puzzles and match Easter eggs (which I just brought out today - novelty is always good!) There are a few skirmishes and “no, Sissy, no”s, but overall playtime is going well.

8:48 – Time to get dressed – similar to herding cats. Meredith flips like a fish out of water and Russell thinks it’s hilarious to run away when I get his clothes out. Oh, and I manage to get dressed too.

9:19 – Russell is pushing Meredith’s buttons and she’s crying easily now. Must be her naptime!

9:21 – Time for school with Russell. Today we’re learning the letter J: on Starfall.com, with a couple YouTube videos, reading some books about Jesus, and coloring a few pictures.

10:40 – Meredith’s awake. Time to get ready and go to the gym. Diaper change, potty trip, sippy cup and lovey in diaper bag, coats on, shoes on. In the bustle, Russell is all over Meredith again and she’s crying. I pick her up; he says, “Mommy, I want my sister back.” Too cute – but I don’t know if she wants you back, buddy!

10:54 – at the gym! Drop the kids off in childcare and Meredith is crying…oh well! I head upstairs for a run and some crunches.

11:35 – Pick them up (Meredith did well – only cried a few seconds!) and head to the library to return some books, play, and read a little.

12:24 – leaving the library – yikes, behind schedule!

12:45 – in the door at home. Coats off, shoes off, potty trip, wash hands, I rush to get lunch on the table while Russell whines.

12:54 – lunch on the table. Meredith has some black-eyed peas and Russell notices. “Mommy, want Sissy’s jellybeans.” I explain what they are but give him one anyway, and he eats it. Not sure if he understood me until he announces, “Boys and girls, we have no jellybeans today. And no hot rods, too.”

1:16 – clean up from lunch, another potty trip for Russell in which I beg him to poop on the potty (vs in his pull-up during his nap, which has become a bad habit.) He repeats, “if you poop on the potty you get M and M!”…but still no poop.

1:25 – everyone in bed. Ahhh. I pump again, make a couple phone calls, and generally relax – the only time of day I get to do this.

3:40 – Meredith up! We play on the couch a little until…

4 pm – I wake Russell up (don’t want to mess up his nighttime sleep). Unsurprisingly, he did poop in his Pull-Up. Change him, put him on the potty (he always goes again).

4:15 – I put on Lady and the Tramp for 30 minutes while I start laundry, do some picking up, get Meredith another sippy cup of milk, and take a shower.

4:46 – Get a call from Grandmother – she is home and would love for us to stop by for a little bit. Pack the diaper bag and head out the door.

4:54 – At Grandmother’s! Snack, watch her fire, play the piano, build a road out of shells for Russell’s cars, and play with her plastic fruit.

5:59 – oops, late again. We head home and see that Jason is already there – he is normally home around 6. He plays with the kids while I prepare dinner.

6:36 – dinner! Veggie burgers, baked beans, and corn on the cob.

7:02 – some clean up.

7:10-7:20 – another sippy cup for Meredith, change her into PJs, her bedtime.

7:25 – Jason and I take turns playing cars with Russell and finishing the cleaning.

8 pm-Russell’s bedtime! Time for us to talk, do our Bible studies, for me to prepare for photography sessions or edit photos, blog, sometimes run errands, do more laundry, etc! Oh, and sleep eventually!