Just Another Day

Dear World,

I am lucky enough to be a stay-at-home-mom.  What that generally entails is sleeping in, eating a late breakfast, catching The View, chatting with girlfriends on the phone, going out for lunch, an afternoon run or trip to the gym, 5 o'clock glass of wine, early dinner, reading, and bed by 10.  It's pretty nice.

Hahahahah!

I decided to track my day, minute for minute, to really catch a glimpse in the life of a hands-on stay-at-home-mom.

Wednesday, September 29, 2010

5:30 - Marcus wakes up waaaaay too early.  Dave gets up with him, brings him in bed with us.

6:30 - Marcus wakes me up.  Start your engines.

6:35 - First cup of coffee, watch Marcus play

6:45 - Stand on the patio and catch 58 seconds of a gorgeous sunrise before I'm needed again.

7:30 - Make breakfast for Marcus.  Steel-cut oatmeal with peanut butter and 1/2 banana and strawberry yogurt

7:45 - Alexandria wakes up

7:50 - Make my last cup of coffee

7:55 - Make breakfast for Alexandria.  Cereal with milk and 1/2 banana, orange juice, and water

8:05 - Dave leaves for work

8:11 - Marcus shows signs that he needs a nap

8:14 - Continue laundry, fold clean clothes

8:22 - Put clean clothes away, make my bed

8:30 - Alexandria and I create an activity on the computer where she takes "inventory" of household items (lamps, pillows, chairs, doors, etc).  The word is accompanied by a picture of the item.  She chooses every picture.

9:00 - Alexandria takes "inventory" of household items

9:12 - I eat a breakfast of cereal, milk, 1/2 banana, and green juice

9:19 - Clean up from breakfast

9:21 - Alexandria asks for orange juice with food coloring

9:27 - I get to brush my teeth and take my vitamins

9:28 - Alexandria needs a band-aid

9:34 - Rotate laundry, fold clean laundry

9:43 - Alexandria done with inventory

9:45 - Begin making sunflower and zinnia seed terrariums

10:12 - Clean up from terrarium project

10:16 - Alexandria begins decorating a straw hat with leftover craft supplies

10:21 - I get dressed

10:29 - Read one article on Huffington Post!

10:33 - Rotate laundry, begin folding laundry

10:39 - Alexandria needs a snack

10:48 - Finish folding laundry

10:49 - I get a snack!  Fat-free strawberry yogurt, crackers, and 22 oz water.

10:57 - Begin recopying notes.  Just kidding.  Alexandria wants "help" with her hat

11:06 - Recopy notes, 2nd attempt

11:11 - Alexandria needs help.

11:16 - Alexandria does not need help.  She just wants me to sit there while she ate her snack.  We agree that I can sit 2 yards away from her while recopying my notes.

11:23 - Alexandria done with her hat

11:30 - Marcus wakes up, Alexandria directed to begin picking up from the hat project.  I get Marcus dressed.

11:35 - Alexandria is finished cleaning up from her project, and is asked to pick out clothes for our outing to the beach.  I finish cleaning up from the morning projects.

11:59 - Alexandria still not dressed, but does not want my help.  Both kids are playing upstairs.  I circulate the aquarium water.

12:30 - We finally leave the house, packed with snacks (2 apples, string cheese, small pita rounds, pretzels, and edamame)  We bring water, sunscreen, and hats.

outing... flea market, walk along the beach, play at the beach playground, sand too hot, kids are hot and cranky, and the elevator in the parking structure is broken.

2:37 - We're home.  We unload the car, get cool drinks, change out of hot clothes.

2:45 - Dave calls.  We plan the next two months around his travel schedule, including Alexandria's birthday.  Alexandria requests repeatedly to talk to Dave.

3:00 - Off the phone with Dave.

3:10 - Chit-chat with neighbor
3:18 - Alexandria tells me she wants to do "something awesome."

3:23 - Get kids in bathing suits

3:30 - Turn on sprinkler in back yard for kids to play

3:35 - Sweep the floor while the kids are outside

3:47 - Check email, and make plans for the weekend with family

4:28 - Begin making dinner for the kids

4:37 - Kids eat early (they've been waking up really early, so I'm going to try giving them another meal before bed).  I sit with them to ensure that Marcus doesn't throw his plate of food on the ground.  Marcus throws a lot of food on the ground.  I give up.  I call my mom to cement plans for the weekend.

4:43 - I eat again!  Vanilla yogurt with protein powder.

5:49 - Start the bath

This is usually the part of the night when the day begins to unravel.  Alexandria is tired and asks a million questions to which she knows the answer, or that don't have an easy-to-understand explanation.  For instance, she'll ask, "Mommy, what's that?" pointing to the shampoo bottle.  She knows it's the shampoo bottle.  I ask, "What do you think it is?"  "It's the shampoo bottle."  "Why did you ask if you already knew?"  "Why is it called 'shampoo'?"  Mind numbing.  "Why are they pajamas?"  "Why is it a rug?"  I have to walk away or I'll get too frustrated with the constant interruption to whatever it is I'm trying to accomplish, like getting Marcus dressed, putting toys away, putting clothes away, etc.

This is what we accomplished during the unravelling: kids take a bath, get out, get jammies on, Alexandria watched a Leap Frog video (rare), I read 4 books to Marcus, and then both kids got hungry again.  They ate an egg, cottage cheese, strawberries, half of a banana, milk, and yogurt.  Then we brushed teeth, sang a lullabye, did hugs and kisses, and went to bed by 7:45.

8:10 - Marcus starts crying, and just wants to be rocked to sleep.  I oblige.

8:21 - Start cleaning up from dinner: Clean dishes, table, and placemat.  I mop the floor because it's officially too gross to deal with.

9:03 - Done.

I take a few minutes to read the day's news and decompress.

 

9:45 - Dave calls to tell me he's on his way home.  He'll be home in 30 minutes.

I put out the trashcan, pick up odds and ends, and head upstairs.  I recopy notes until 11:30 and fall asleep after a few minutes of tossing and turning.

When the day is over, I have been without support for 14 hours.  In the process, I have:

Made 3 full meals and at least 4 snacks for the kids

I ate 2 complete meals and a several snacks

Washed dishes 3 times

Put away 7 piles of clothes

Changed 5 diapers

Wiped down the kitchen table 3 times, the counters 4 times 

Climbed the stairs 26 times, for a total of 540 steps (that's 1/2 of my 30 min. stairmaster workout at the gym!)

Studied for a total of 45 minutes for my new career.

Staying at home with a four year-old and an 18 month-old beats is the hardest thing I've ever done.  But, like I said in this post, it's the most satisfying job I've ever had the priviledge of holding.

I'll do it again tomorrow.