A Day in the Life-September 2017

I'll do a Monday:

• 6am-alarm goes off, usually snooze until 615ish
• get dressed, make my bed, put on mascara (that is seriously the only make up I wear on the daily. Besides a little concealer under my sleepy/baggy eyes.)
• make the bed and say prayers and sometimes feed the baby        
• 645am- all the kids awake and getting dressed and making beds and saying prayers, changing baby and dressing him
• 7am-sitting up to the table for breakfast
• if we aren't up to the table at exactly 7am, the whole morning is crazy so lately I work really hard to get up on Mondays and make pancakes, then we reheat them in the toaster for Tuesday and Wednesday and then have scrambled eggs or toast on Thurs and Fri. 
• Recite our theme and read a scripture
• 735/740-walk out the door
• We either drive across our complex/neighborhood and park and walk the last block to drop Ruthie off (the car drop off is crazy, its easier to walk her) or the last couple days they've ridden their bikes all the way from our house. But we really have to walk out the door at 730 to do that.
• 810-Ruthie is dropped off 
• 830-drop off Will. Often feed the baby in the parking lot before we head out.
• 9-10 I try to workout. Molly has been really hating and not wanting to go to the Y's kid care. So I've gone running and done some workouts at home. (more on that later, but I've been researching diastasis recti to find all the workouts that are okay to do and help build your core muscles back up, so that's been busy.)
• After working out, I go grocery shopping. It has been my goal to only go to the grocery store once a week. So on Sunday I write out all my meal plans for the week and make my grocery list of what I need to buy. I have to say, I've been doing really well at this, haha!
• 11am start laundry and cleaning. I've been trying to do it all on Monday so that all of our errands, cleaning, and laundry are just done at the very first of the week and we can just enjoy more after that. But it's pretty crazy--especially if I get in a full workout. So I've started doing more of that on Wednesday as well. 
• 1230 eat lunch with Molly
• 120-leave to pick up Will.
• 140-Pick up Will.
• 210-home and Ruthie gets dropped off
• Go over all the stuff in the kids back packs, read to Will, have Ruthie practice the piano, everyone does a chore (usually washing the sink/mirror in the little downstairs bathroom we have that gets trashed by the kids, unloading the dishwasher, cleaning their room, etc.)
• THEN WE GO SWIMMING. Haha, not every day, but pretty much. IT IS BLISTERINGLY HOT RIGHT NOW AND THERE IS NOWHERE ELSE TO GO. Which I love, 1-because I think the kids don't get enough physical activity at school and 2-we can't really put them into a bunch of extra curriculars, so swimming is their thing! 
• 5pm-I always say we'll only swim for one hour so that I have time for dinner prep, but this week especially (Sterling hasn't been home before bedtime one single time this week) that hasn't happened. So we swim from about 3-5 and then head home. I throw something on like rice and stir fry while everyone showers/baths. Then we eat in pajamas and I read stories and they all go to bed at 730!
• 730-I do dishes, make lunches for the next day, one night a week I do my calling-ward bulletin--and then usually crash and watch one show before going to bed. But we just cancelled netflix and I plan on reading or working on kids baby books. That has been my goal for five years...so yeah.

Like I said, I've been trying to do EVERYTHING to do with housework on Monday's so that is my craziest day. But on Tuesdays we have been doing playdates and on Thursdays library story time/play date with a church group which is nice because Tues and Thurs are when Will is home so it helps fill up the morning for him and Molly. And you'd think I'd have a little bit of time on Wed and Fri mornings, but it fills up so fast! This next week looks absolutely dreadful with about five dental appointments, two doctor appointments, a morning 'coffee and community' at Will's school, a STEM meeting in the evening at Ruth's school, and two extra play dates that I had signed up for in the summer when things were slow and now it's all crashing together so I'll have to start picking and choosing what I go to. Craziness!

 I am loving it, guys. First off, our baby is a dream. I just went looking for the little scrap of paper I scribbled some of his baby blessing onto, and I can't find it (please don't be lost) but in his baby blessing it said he would bring peace and love and joy into our home and I really feel like its true. Everyone adores him and I just can't believe how much I love him! He is my first baby to be truly snuggly. He LOVES to just cuddle into your shoulder/chest and feeling his weight there is just the most wonderful thing. He is soft and squishy and he wakes up SMILING away at me while I change his diaper and clothes. He just makes everything so happy around here.

Second, I feel really great about where we are. I love the ability we have in our house to let the kids play without being so worried about traffic right outside our front door. They run out the front porch to check the mail, there is a random slide beside our house they run over to, we put the hose in the blow-up pool in our driveway. They can ride their bikes up and down the sidewalk. I mean, it's not rural living by any means--and I have to be around much more than I would if we just had backyard I could scoot them into, but it is such a relief! Our apartment is not big, but that one extra bedroom that we've never had is just SUCH a nice thing. I love being home, I love our kitchen, I just feel so grateful to be here!

Third, our schedule. I only have all the kids home from 2pm on. Before that it is a mix of kids. Sometimes just Molly and Russ. I am LOVING that time right now. When you have your first two tiny toddlers at home I feel like it's hard to entertain them, it's hard to be home all the time with very little that gets you out of the house. But now, my schedule is obviously very busy--and so when it's just them I feel like I can just RELISH it. She is my little helper at the store. She will even tell strangers "Ruth is in Kindergarten, Will is in PreK and I am mommy's helper." haha. I so enjoy being able to just enjoy her personality, talk to her without interruptions, and love on her. Then on the mornings when Will is home it gives her a playmate. They play make-believe like crazy these days: mom and dad and sister and brother and restaurant and trains...you name it. So Tues and Thurs are fun because I get to see them interact and enjoy each other. 

It's pretty busy BUT it's all things I like doing. I mean, doctors and dental appointments not so much, but it's all really good. I keep trying to put things in--like letting the kid in charge of FHE treat actually MAKE the treat and teaching new job chores and teaching Ruthie piano and it just feels like every day is so busy and I am just enjoying it all so much. I've been going to bed right at 10pm lately just TIRED (swimming will do that to you) and yet, I love right now. I wouldn't change it at all.

Now, disclaimer, it's taken a bit to get to this point. I am a high-energy person, meaning I like to be busy. The more structured with things that I am, the happier I feel. I wouldn't change being home with my babies for the world, but not being out of the house or on a schedule isn't always easy for me. Actually-last year was pretty great and I had a good system going for getting out of the house. But there were some rough times in there. I think I had a little postpartum blues after Will because after his hospitalization they told me not to go anywhere for a few months and it was winter and there was no sun and it was miserable. Also, after Molly. I mean, everything about that year probably caused depression-the not passing, the horrific landlord and terrible apartment, the screaming baby--so looking back I think there was definitely some postpartum depression after that. I go back and look at journal entries and think "Oh man, I forgot that happened! That was awful too! Four months of taking three kids 3 yrs and younger to the laundromat!" or something else.  We're still in school, etc. but luckily, after this baby I feel so good and I am just going to enjoy our life to pieces until it changes again!