A Day in the Life...
I thought I’d do a little “day in the life” post for you to give you a glimpse into what my days are looking like now as a mama of three. I’d say this is the gist of most days -- even when I go back to work this is what our weekends will probably look like -- and as chaotic and hectic and ‘wanna pull my hair out’ as I feel, I wouldn’t change it for the world. Three kiddos is wonderful and awesome and I’m loving every single second of it.
I’m going to walk you back through the past 36 hours or so to give you a little insight into the craziness of the Mooney abode. I will mention that Mike is working -- so he works 11pm - 7am soooooo snoozes during the day so it’s just moi with the kiddos. And these are days that Patrick is not in school, so kinda the perfect storm with one adult working and no children elsewhere.
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7am Sunday: Mike gets home from work, takes a quick shower, and heads to bed. I stir but fall back asleep until I hear a kid scream.
8am Sunday: I hear the older two kiddos stirring and I decide to get up. I had just fed Annie around 5am so I’m sure she’ll be getting up soon too. I get up, brush my teeth, go potty, throw on some new yoga pants and a tshirt, fold the laundry that was in the dryer overnight, take Scooter outside to pee, give him his insulin shot, open the dishwasher to let the dishes dry, then go into Patrick and Rosie's room to get them up. I see that Patrick is in Rosie's bed reading her a book...anddddd he's naked. All of his bedding is off his bed and piled by the door -- he says he spilled his water bottle and it needs to be washed. I quickly go toss his bedding in the washing machine and go back and help him get dressed (he wants to wear another pair of jammies), get Rosie up, hair done, diaper changed, and herd them into the kitchen for breakfast.
8:30am Sunday: I get breakfast started for the big kids and give them their iPads to keep them quiet for a bit longer because Annie is stirring and I go swoop her up to change her and feed her. Once she's happy and fed I pump and put that milk in the freezer and clean my pump parts just to walk into Scooter finishing Rosie's breakfast and she's screaming. I remedy that issue and move both kids into the family room and tell them we're going to leave soon to run some errands and if they're good go to the park.
9am Sunday: Annie is whining (she doesn't like to be set down, #diva) so I pick her up and tell the kids we need to go get dressed...but notice how bright the living room is so I tell them to go sit on the chair and we'll take some pics with baby Annie before we get dressed.
9:15am Sunday: I toss a bag of stuff in the car that I need to drop off at my cousin's, my Tula and infant insert, Annie's diaper bag, and an extra diaper for Rosie. I go get the older two kids dressed and their shoes on and then get Annie dressed and herd everyone to the car -- this process takes 30 minutes. Not.kidding.
9:45am Sunday: Pull out of the driveway to screams from the backseat for "Moana songs!" so I quickly pop in the Moana CD and listen to that music (which, by the way, is a really good soundtrack!).
10am Sunday: Get gas, tell the kids we're going through the carwash (cheap thrills for them), and then wait 15 minutes in the carwash line. Patrick is chatty, Rosie is babbling something I can't understand, and Annie is fast asleep.
10:30am Sunday: Drop off stuff at my cousin's house and head to Target. Tell the kids if they're good at Target we'll hit up the park.
10:45am Sunday: Get to Target, remind kids about being good and needing to ride IN the shopping cart (and not be carried, ahem Rosie). Get Annie in the Tula (still sleeping! WIN!), get the other two kids out, forget reusable bags in car (oops), and head in carrying the 4 week old and holding hands with the other two.
11am Sunday: Target shopping with my crew who was thankfully very good (park bribe worked!) but holy crowded! Diverting attention from toys ("I want that!" was what Patrick said at every aisle, especially the vacuum aisle -- he really wants his OWN vacuum for his birthday! haha!) and grabbing the few things we need. Checkout line was long and the kids were done, so reminded them about going to the park and that pacified them until they could help me put stuff on the belt. Patrick tells me he has to "pee really really bad!" and I ask him if he wants to go at Target or the cool park bathrooms. He said he can hold it until the park. Crisis averted.
11:30am Sunday: Load up the kids and Target items (I only spent $22! SHOCKER!) in the car when it starts to spit rain. Dang. But still said we'd go to the park despite spitting rain and super windy (we were totally underdressed too. Oops). Get everyone in the car, change Annie's diaper before putting her back in her carseat and notice she's wide awake and probably hungry. Gonna be a quick park trip.
11:45am Sunday: Get to the park and tell the kids we have just a short while to play before lunch and rest time. Park is CROWDED but the kids don't care, they were running all over the place and demanding me to push them on the swings or watch them go down the slide. Annie was not amused and I could tell she was over our errand morning and wanted to eat and go home. Patrick goes potty by himself after I walk him into the bathroom and mama bear here snapped at some 10 year old girl giving him trouble for walking out of the stall by himself ("Why are you in here?! Boys don't come in here!!") -- I had to remind this little brat he was 3 and I told him to go in there while I stood close by and watched him. #eyeroll
12:15pm Sunday: Tell the kids it's time to go and fortunately no fighting from them -- they got right in the car. Patrick asked for McDonalds so I told him we could go as a special treat. Hit up the drive-thru and then headed home to eat.
12:30pm Sunday: Get home, Annie fell back asleep so get the big kids out of the car, unload the Target stuff and all of the other stuff I brought, and get the kids seated and get their lunch out. Mike wakes up (yee haw!!) and joins us for lunch, which was perfect timing cause Annie woke up screaming and needed to eat.
12:45pm Sunday: I change and feed Annie and get her laid down for her afternoon siesta and then pump; Mike gets the big kids finished with their lunch and gets Rosie changed and put down for her nap. Patrick watches a show on his iPad.
1pm Sunday: I finish pumping and put my milk away and clean up the kitchen; Mike decides he's "up" so he takes Patrick to the pool to swim. Instead of napping myself I get my 3rd quarter grades finalized, projects graded, emails sent to students and coworkers, and a new Google training made in addition to squeezing in a shower, taking Scooter for a stroll around our yard, new pictures hung in the entryway, load of laundry started, and family room picked up.
4:15pm Sunday: Rosie wakes up so I get her up and change her and get her dressed, then Annie wakes up and I do the same and feed her and get her dressed in a super cute outfit. Rosie is playing with her toys when Mike and Patrick come back in. Patrick goes right to his bed cause "he's tired" and wants to go to sleep, despite me yelling for him to come tell me all about how he got to go down the slide for the first time at the pool. Mike goes and gets him and gets him changed, tosses the swim stuff in the laundry, and we get all of our stuff packed up (and I put on a clean pair of yoga pants and tshirt) and head out to Mooney family Sunday dinner.
5pm Sunday: We get to dinner and immediately Annie is snatched by someone to be held. Patrick and Rosie take off to play with their cousin Lizzy and I get a few seconds to chill for a second and chit chat with my sister in law. We eat dinner, dessert, and chat away about everything and nothing.
6:30pm Sunday: Annie needs to be changed and fed so I take her in the family room to do that. As I'm feeding her my mother in law says Rosie is poopy, and of course I forgot to bring her a clean diaper so I tell Mike it's time to go.
6:45pm Sunday: We are loading the kids in the car and Patrick is having a complete meltdown not wanting to leave (can you say tired?!!) and thrashing about not wanting to get his shoes on or get in his carseat. Lovely.
7pm Sunday: We get home and get the older 2 in the bathtub (after Mike changed Rosie's nasttttyyyy diaper) and Mike throws in Rosie's diapers in the laundry to be washed. I set Annie down and hope she'll give me 5 minutes before screaming so I can get her bag unpacked from dinner, get the big kids' jammies out, fold the laundry from the dryer, and go potty myself.
7:30pm Sunday: Mike gets the older 2 out of the bathtub and lets Rosie watch her "baby baa baa" show on her iPhone while Patrick gets to watch one episode of "Mickey and the Roadster Racers" on TV. I bounce Annie on my leg but she's fussy and not having it so I have Mike heat up a bottle to feed her.
8pm Sunday: Mike brings Rosie's diapers up to do their second wash in the upstairs washing machine and then grabs Annie and feeds her her bedtime bottle while I herd Patrick and Rosie into their room (after a long-winded round of goodnights to everyone/everything and teeth brushing and going potty (the usual stall tactics)). I get them in their beds and fill up their water bottles with ice (nightly demand) and come back in for a story and getting everyone tucked in. They must have been tired tonight because once I left their room at 8:20pm they didn't call me back in 5000 times like they usually do. Win win.
8:30pm Sunday: Annie has an ounce left of her bottle so Mike goes and gets her PJs and sleep sack on before letting her finish and I go grab a quick shower and pop the diapers in the dryer.
9:00pm Sunday: Annie is OUT and in her own crib, Mike grabs his "lunch" (midnight snack) and work stuff and heads out, and I grab a quick snack and take Scooter out and give him his nightly insulin before turning into bed.
9:30pm Sunday: I turn on an old episode of The Office, browse Facebook and Instagram for a bit and fall asleep around 10pm.
11:30pm Sunday: Scooter is whining at my feet and needing to go out to pee. I curse at him multiple times under my breath because I know Annie will be up soon and now he broke up my few hours of consistent sleep I was getting.
11:45pm Sunday: I'm back in bed and check the Netcam to make sure everyone is still sleeping (they are!) and I go back to sleep.
2:10am Monday: I hear Annie crying so I go potty, grab my water bottle, and go get her. I change her and the nurse her for about 10 minutes and put her back down in bed where she instantly falls asleep so I go back to bed myself.
3:30am Monday: Scooter whining again and I am wanting to kill him, but I resist, take him outside to pee again, curse at him more, and go back to sleep.
5:30am Monday: Annie is crying again so again I go potty, grab my water, and go change and nurse her. 10 minutes later she's back asleep and I'm back in my bed sleeping too.
7:15am Monday: I hear the older 2 kiddos awake (about an hour earlier than they usually are) and ignore them because I want a little more sleep. Spoiler: doesn't work.
7:45am Monday: I finally decide I should get up and get them up before Annie wakes up again but I check my phone and see Mike text a little while ago about a late homicide he had and how he was going to be late but not to eat yet. I text him back saying I was just getting the kids up but I'd hold them off of breakfast.
8:00am Monday: I get the older 2 kids up -- get Patrick dressed in new jammies, get Rosie's hair done, changed, and her jammies back on and I tell them they can watch their iPads until daddy gets home. I go grab the diapers from the dryer so I can fold them and start another load of laundry. I go back into the kitchen and unload the dishwasher.
8:15am Monday: I hear Annie before I can get to folding Rosie's diapers so I leave them on the couch to do later and I go get Annie. I get her changed and dressed and then nurse her for 15 minutes and then set her down so I can pump.
8:30am Monday: I finish pumping, put the milk away, and Mike walks in -- thankfully. I WAS HUNGRY.
8:35am Monday: The kids are going nuts cause they want donuts but I steal the donut box for a bit cause these pics HAD TO HAPPEN.
8:45am Monday: Mike holds Annie while the rest of us eat our donuts. Rosie is screaming cause Scooter snatched one of hers and is eating it on the floor. We get her a replacement one. All is well until he does it again, cycle repeats.
9:00am Monday: Mike says he's turning in, so he goes to sleep and I tell the kids we can watch a movie (we were going to go to the park but the weather looked dicey for rain and I had some school stuff and photos to edit I wanted to try and do). They agree -- I set Annie down on the couch on her belly while getting the movie set up and she is OUT. I turn the movie on (Ninja Turtles) and they are all engrossed so I go toss in some more laundry (the rug in the kids' room cause it looked way dirty) before coming back to folding Rosie's diapers. Which I fold and put away for Annie when she gets a big bigger cause they really don't fit her anymore -- so I go downstairs and get some other "bigger" diapers out for chunkalunk Rosie to use until the bigger size 3 Applecheeks come in the mail.
9:30am Monday: Annie is still passed out on the couch but the movie is not holding the kids' attention anymore so they're back by the train table playing with toys. I have my computer out trying to take advantage of some "free" time and I send about a bajillion emails, try to coordinate a field trip for a month or two away while I'm still on maternity leave, edit my pictures from this morning, and reply to a few text messages from friends.
10:15am Monday: Annie is up and soaked through her diaper and onesie so I go change her, switch the laundry and quickly fold the stuff from the dryer, and feed her. While I'm feeding her the older two get super needy and are whining for mom over and over and over again. I finally get them to calm down and watch the end of the movie.
10:30am Monday: Holding Annie since she doesn't like to be set down the older two are going at it and riding the zebra and mouse scooters all over the place and screaming. I convince them to go downstairs and play for a bit and they agree -- woot. I go downstairs and turn the lights on and tell them if they pick up all of the ballpit balls that are all over the basement they can earn quarters for our dinner out tomorrow. Meanwhile I come back upstairs and am holding Annie still while trying to finish up some work stuff, fend off a whining Scooter who wants another treat, and folding and switching out the laundry...again.
11:30am Monday: Patrick comes back upstairs wanting me to have some of his "coffee" he made and then asks to do the "faces" on my phone so we do a few Snapchat filters before I get him to go back downstairs and play with Rosie. I hear minimal screaming and fighting from them so I call that a win. I change Annie and feed her a little more again before setting her down and cleaning up the kitchen to get it ready for lunch.
12pm Monday: I go downstairs and tell the kids we're having pizza for lunch and heat up the oven. I tell them to stay playing downstairs so I can feed Annie and put her down for her nap and then we can eat lunch. I come back upstairs and feed Annie, lay her down for her nap in her crib, come back out and pump and then freeze that milk.
12:30pm Monday: I put the pizza in the oven, cut up fresh fruit and cheese for sides for the kids' lunch, wipe up some dog pee I found in the entry way (arggghhh, Scooter!), take Scooter out, pick up the bomb of toys that went off in the family room, switch the laundry out again and fold it, and sit down for two seconds before Patrick comes running upstairs with Rosie screaming behind him cause he took whatever toy she was playing with.
1pm Monday: Lunch is ready! Thank God. I get the pizza sliced and cooled for the kiddos, grab myself a slice of pizza too, and we all sit down for lunch. Rosie is incredibly whiny which means she's tired and needs to go to sleep, and Patrick keeps pushing her buttons (read: kicking her under the table). I tell them it's time to be finished (after Scooter snatches Rosie's last piece of pizza and she starts wailing) and I get their hands and faces washed.
1:15pm Monday: I tell Patrick to go get his rest stuff together (his pillow + iPad + flip and fold couch) in the living room while I put Rosie down. I check on Annie to make sure she's okay (cause she's napping on her belly :) and then take Rosie in her room and get her changed, hair brushed, new diaper on, and all of her noise stuff turned on in her room so she can sleep.
1:30pm Monday: Both of the girls are sleeping, Mike is sleeping, Patrick is resting (and may be sleeping, who knows!), Scooter is sleeping, and I am not. I switch the laundry again, hop in the shower and shave my legs for the first time in who knows how many days, get out, toss my robe on, and go sit down on the couch.
2:00pm Monday: I open my computer, reply to a few more work emails and student requests, check Facebook, have the Netcams pulled up on my phone so I can watch the sleeping girls and make sure they're okay, and begin this blog post for you...which I'm just about to publish :)
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So! That's a day (or 36 hours!) in the life of Alex currently. Chaotic, hectic, but manageable and awesome. Now that my incision is all healed and feeling about 110% better than it was a week ago, I feel like myself again and feel like I can handle and tackle anything, including life with an almost 4 year old, almost 2 year old, and almost 5 week old. However, I will say, I don't think I could do this stay at home mom thing full time -- cause I'd go crazy! Haha! I love my educational tech specialist job and photography gig, so I don't think I could ever "not" work (and heck, did you read my day above?! I am working even though I'm on maternity leave staying at home!!! I can't escape work!!). I am enjoying my time off with my babies, but am SO GLAD I have a job to go back to to break up these crazy days of solo parenting with all 3 kiddos. I'm glad days like these happen, but also glad that they don't happen every.single.day. Tomorrow will look vastly different cause Patrick is at school and Mike's off the next few days! Anyways, that's all I've got for this little insight post...hope you've enjoyed it! :)
I’m going to walk you back through the past 36 hours or so to give you a little insight into the craziness of the Mooney abode. I will mention that Mike is working -- so he works 11pm - 7am soooooo snoozes during the day so it’s just moi with the kiddos. And these are days that Patrick is not in school, so kinda the perfect storm with one adult working and no children elsewhere.
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7am Sunday: Mike gets home from work, takes a quick shower, and heads to bed. I stir but fall back asleep until I hear a kid scream.
8am Sunday: I hear the older two kiddos stirring and I decide to get up. I had just fed Annie around 5am so I’m sure she’ll be getting up soon too. I get up, brush my teeth, go potty, throw on some new yoga pants and a tshirt, fold the laundry that was in the dryer overnight, take Scooter outside to pee, give him his insulin shot, open the dishwasher to let the dishes dry, then go into Patrick and Rosie's room to get them up. I see that Patrick is in Rosie's bed reading her a book...anddddd he's naked. All of his bedding is off his bed and piled by the door -- he says he spilled his water bottle and it needs to be washed. I quickly go toss his bedding in the washing machine and go back and help him get dressed (he wants to wear another pair of jammies), get Rosie up, hair done, diaper changed, and herd them into the kitchen for breakfast.
8:30am Sunday: I get breakfast started for the big kids and give them their iPads to keep them quiet for a bit longer because Annie is stirring and I go swoop her up to change her and feed her. Once she's happy and fed I pump and put that milk in the freezer and clean my pump parts just to walk into Scooter finishing Rosie's breakfast and she's screaming. I remedy that issue and move both kids into the family room and tell them we're going to leave soon to run some errands and if they're good go to the park.
9am Sunday: Annie is whining (she doesn't like to be set down, #diva) so I pick her up and tell the kids we need to go get dressed...but notice how bright the living room is so I tell them to go sit on the chair and we'll take some pics with baby Annie before we get dressed.
9:15am Sunday: I toss a bag of stuff in the car that I need to drop off at my cousin's, my Tula and infant insert, Annie's diaper bag, and an extra diaper for Rosie. I go get the older two kids dressed and their shoes on and then get Annie dressed and herd everyone to the car -- this process takes 30 minutes. Not.kidding.
9:45am Sunday: Pull out of the driveway to screams from the backseat for "Moana songs!" so I quickly pop in the Moana CD and listen to that music (which, by the way, is a really good soundtrack!).
10am Sunday: Get gas, tell the kids we're going through the carwash (cheap thrills for them), and then wait 15 minutes in the carwash line. Patrick is chatty, Rosie is babbling something I can't understand, and Annie is fast asleep.
10:30am Sunday: Drop off stuff at my cousin's house and head to Target. Tell the kids if they're good at Target we'll hit up the park.
10:45am Sunday: Get to Target, remind kids about being good and needing to ride IN the shopping cart (and not be carried, ahem Rosie). Get Annie in the Tula (still sleeping! WIN!), get the other two kids out, forget reusable bags in car (oops), and head in carrying the 4 week old and holding hands with the other two.
11am Sunday: Target shopping with my crew who was thankfully very good (park bribe worked!) but holy crowded! Diverting attention from toys ("I want that!" was what Patrick said at every aisle, especially the vacuum aisle -- he really wants his OWN vacuum for his birthday! haha!) and grabbing the few things we need. Checkout line was long and the kids were done, so reminded them about going to the park and that pacified them until they could help me put stuff on the belt. Patrick tells me he has to "pee really really bad!" and I ask him if he wants to go at Target or the cool park bathrooms. He said he can hold it until the park. Crisis averted.
11:30am Sunday: Load up the kids and Target items (I only spent $22! SHOCKER!) in the car when it starts to spit rain. Dang. But still said we'd go to the park despite spitting rain and super windy (we were totally underdressed too. Oops). Get everyone in the car, change Annie's diaper before putting her back in her carseat and notice she's wide awake and probably hungry. Gonna be a quick park trip.
11:45am Sunday: Get to the park and tell the kids we have just a short while to play before lunch and rest time. Park is CROWDED but the kids don't care, they were running all over the place and demanding me to push them on the swings or watch them go down the slide. Annie was not amused and I could tell she was over our errand morning and wanted to eat and go home. Patrick goes potty by himself after I walk him into the bathroom and mama bear here snapped at some 10 year old girl giving him trouble for walking out of the stall by himself ("Why are you in here?! Boys don't come in here!!") -- I had to remind this little brat he was 3 and I told him to go in there while I stood close by and watched him. #eyeroll
12:15pm Sunday: Tell the kids it's time to go and fortunately no fighting from them -- they got right in the car. Patrick asked for McDonalds so I told him we could go as a special treat. Hit up the drive-thru and then headed home to eat.
12:30pm Sunday: Get home, Annie fell back asleep so get the big kids out of the car, unload the Target stuff and all of the other stuff I brought, and get the kids seated and get their lunch out. Mike wakes up (yee haw!!) and joins us for lunch, which was perfect timing cause Annie woke up screaming and needed to eat.
12:45pm Sunday: I change and feed Annie and get her laid down for her afternoon siesta and then pump; Mike gets the big kids finished with their lunch and gets Rosie changed and put down for her nap. Patrick watches a show on his iPad.
1pm Sunday: I finish pumping and put my milk away and clean up the kitchen; Mike decides he's "up" so he takes Patrick to the pool to swim. Instead of napping myself I get my 3rd quarter grades finalized, projects graded, emails sent to students and coworkers, and a new Google training made in addition to squeezing in a shower, taking Scooter for a stroll around our yard, new pictures hung in the entryway, load of laundry started, and family room picked up.
4:15pm Sunday: Rosie wakes up so I get her up and change her and get her dressed, then Annie wakes up and I do the same and feed her and get her dressed in a super cute outfit. Rosie is playing with her toys when Mike and Patrick come back in. Patrick goes right to his bed cause "he's tired" and wants to go to sleep, despite me yelling for him to come tell me all about how he got to go down the slide for the first time at the pool. Mike goes and gets him and gets him changed, tosses the swim stuff in the laundry, and we get all of our stuff packed up (and I put on a clean pair of yoga pants and tshirt) and head out to Mooney family Sunday dinner.
5pm Sunday: We get to dinner and immediately Annie is snatched by someone to be held. Patrick and Rosie take off to play with their cousin Lizzy and I get a few seconds to chill for a second and chit chat with my sister in law. We eat dinner, dessert, and chat away about everything and nothing.
6:30pm Sunday: Annie needs to be changed and fed so I take her in the family room to do that. As I'm feeding her my mother in law says Rosie is poopy, and of course I forgot to bring her a clean diaper so I tell Mike it's time to go.
6:45pm Sunday: We are loading the kids in the car and Patrick is having a complete meltdown not wanting to leave (can you say tired?!!) and thrashing about not wanting to get his shoes on or get in his carseat. Lovely.
7pm Sunday: We get home and get the older 2 in the bathtub (after Mike changed Rosie's nasttttyyyy diaper) and Mike throws in Rosie's diapers in the laundry to be washed. I set Annie down and hope she'll give me 5 minutes before screaming so I can get her bag unpacked from dinner, get the big kids' jammies out, fold the laundry from the dryer, and go potty myself.
7:30pm Sunday: Mike gets the older 2 out of the bathtub and lets Rosie watch her "baby baa baa" show on her iPhone while Patrick gets to watch one episode of "Mickey and the Roadster Racers" on TV. I bounce Annie on my leg but she's fussy and not having it so I have Mike heat up a bottle to feed her.
8pm Sunday: Mike brings Rosie's diapers up to do their second wash in the upstairs washing machine and then grabs Annie and feeds her her bedtime bottle while I herd Patrick and Rosie into their room (after a long-winded round of goodnights to everyone/everything and teeth brushing and going potty (the usual stall tactics)). I get them in their beds and fill up their water bottles with ice (nightly demand) and come back in for a story and getting everyone tucked in. They must have been tired tonight because once I left their room at 8:20pm they didn't call me back in 5000 times like they usually do. Win win.
8:30pm Sunday: Annie has an ounce left of her bottle so Mike goes and gets her PJs and sleep sack on before letting her finish and I go grab a quick shower and pop the diapers in the dryer.
9:00pm Sunday: Annie is OUT and in her own crib, Mike grabs his "lunch" (midnight snack) and work stuff and heads out, and I grab a quick snack and take Scooter out and give him his nightly insulin before turning into bed.
9:30pm Sunday: I turn on an old episode of The Office, browse Facebook and Instagram for a bit and fall asleep around 10pm.
11:30pm Sunday: Scooter is whining at my feet and needing to go out to pee. I curse at him multiple times under my breath because I know Annie will be up soon and now he broke up my few hours of consistent sleep I was getting.
11:45pm Sunday: I'm back in bed and check the Netcam to make sure everyone is still sleeping (they are!) and I go back to sleep.
2:10am Monday: I hear Annie crying so I go potty, grab my water bottle, and go get her. I change her and the nurse her for about 10 minutes and put her back down in bed where she instantly falls asleep so I go back to bed myself.
3:30am Monday: Scooter whining again and I am wanting to kill him, but I resist, take him outside to pee again, curse at him more, and go back to sleep.
5:30am Monday: Annie is crying again so again I go potty, grab my water, and go change and nurse her. 10 minutes later she's back asleep and I'm back in my bed sleeping too.
7:15am Monday: I hear the older 2 kiddos awake (about an hour earlier than they usually are) and ignore them because I want a little more sleep. Spoiler: doesn't work.
7:45am Monday: I finally decide I should get up and get them up before Annie wakes up again but I check my phone and see Mike text a little while ago about a late homicide he had and how he was going to be late but not to eat yet. I text him back saying I was just getting the kids up but I'd hold them off of breakfast.
8:00am Monday: I get the older 2 kids up -- get Patrick dressed in new jammies, get Rosie's hair done, changed, and her jammies back on and I tell them they can watch their iPads until daddy gets home. I go grab the diapers from the dryer so I can fold them and start another load of laundry. I go back into the kitchen and unload the dishwasher.
8:15am Monday: I hear Annie before I can get to folding Rosie's diapers so I leave them on the couch to do later and I go get Annie. I get her changed and dressed and then nurse her for 15 minutes and then set her down so I can pump.
8:30am Monday: I finish pumping, put the milk away, and Mike walks in -- thankfully. I WAS HUNGRY.
8:35am Monday: The kids are going nuts cause they want donuts but I steal the donut box for a bit cause these pics HAD TO HAPPEN.
8:45am Monday: Mike holds Annie while the rest of us eat our donuts. Rosie is screaming cause Scooter snatched one of hers and is eating it on the floor. We get her a replacement one. All is well until he does it again, cycle repeats.
9:00am Monday: Mike says he's turning in, so he goes to sleep and I tell the kids we can watch a movie (we were going to go to the park but the weather looked dicey for rain and I had some school stuff and photos to edit I wanted to try and do). They agree -- I set Annie down on the couch on her belly while getting the movie set up and she is OUT. I turn the movie on (Ninja Turtles) and they are all engrossed so I go toss in some more laundry (the rug in the kids' room cause it looked way dirty) before coming back to folding Rosie's diapers. Which I fold and put away for Annie when she gets a big bigger cause they really don't fit her anymore -- so I go downstairs and get some other "bigger" diapers out for chunkalunk Rosie to use until the bigger size 3 Applecheeks come in the mail.
9:30am Monday: Annie is still passed out on the couch but the movie is not holding the kids' attention anymore so they're back by the train table playing with toys. I have my computer out trying to take advantage of some "free" time and I send about a bajillion emails, try to coordinate a field trip for a month or two away while I'm still on maternity leave, edit my pictures from this morning, and reply to a few text messages from friends.
10:15am Monday: Annie is up and soaked through her diaper and onesie so I go change her, switch the laundry and quickly fold the stuff from the dryer, and feed her. While I'm feeding her the older two get super needy and are whining for mom over and over and over again. I finally get them to calm down and watch the end of the movie.
10:30am Monday: Holding Annie since she doesn't like to be set down the older two are going at it and riding the zebra and mouse scooters all over the place and screaming. I convince them to go downstairs and play for a bit and they agree -- woot. I go downstairs and turn the lights on and tell them if they pick up all of the ballpit balls that are all over the basement they can earn quarters for our dinner out tomorrow. Meanwhile I come back upstairs and am holding Annie still while trying to finish up some work stuff, fend off a whining Scooter who wants another treat, and folding and switching out the laundry...again.
12pm Monday: I go downstairs and tell the kids we're having pizza for lunch and heat up the oven. I tell them to stay playing downstairs so I can feed Annie and put her down for her nap and then we can eat lunch. I come back upstairs and feed Annie, lay her down for her nap in her crib, come back out and pump and then freeze that milk.
12:30pm Monday: I put the pizza in the oven, cut up fresh fruit and cheese for sides for the kids' lunch, wipe up some dog pee I found in the entry way (arggghhh, Scooter!), take Scooter out, pick up the bomb of toys that went off in the family room, switch the laundry out again and fold it, and sit down for two seconds before Patrick comes running upstairs with Rosie screaming behind him cause he took whatever toy she was playing with.
1pm Monday: Lunch is ready! Thank God. I get the pizza sliced and cooled for the kiddos, grab myself a slice of pizza too, and we all sit down for lunch. Rosie is incredibly whiny which means she's tired and needs to go to sleep, and Patrick keeps pushing her buttons (read: kicking her under the table). I tell them it's time to be finished (after Scooter snatches Rosie's last piece of pizza and she starts wailing) and I get their hands and faces washed.
1:15pm Monday: I tell Patrick to go get his rest stuff together (his pillow + iPad + flip and fold couch) in the living room while I put Rosie down. I check on Annie to make sure she's okay (cause she's napping on her belly :) and then take Rosie in her room and get her changed, hair brushed, new diaper on, and all of her noise stuff turned on in her room so she can sleep.
1:30pm Monday: Both of the girls are sleeping, Mike is sleeping, Patrick is resting (and may be sleeping, who knows!), Scooter is sleeping, and I am not. I switch the laundry again, hop in the shower and shave my legs for the first time in who knows how many days, get out, toss my robe on, and go sit down on the couch.
2:00pm Monday: I open my computer, reply to a few more work emails and student requests, check Facebook, have the Netcams pulled up on my phone so I can watch the sleeping girls and make sure they're okay, and begin this blog post for you...which I'm just about to publish :)
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So! That's a day (or 36 hours!) in the life of Alex currently. Chaotic, hectic, but manageable and awesome. Now that my incision is all healed and feeling about 110% better than it was a week ago, I feel like myself again and feel like I can handle and tackle anything, including life with an almost 4 year old, almost 2 year old, and almost 5 week old. However, I will say, I don't think I could do this stay at home mom thing full time -- cause I'd go crazy! Haha! I love my educational tech specialist job and photography gig, so I don't think I could ever "not" work (and heck, did you read my day above?! I am working even though I'm on maternity leave staying at home!!! I can't escape work!!). I am enjoying my time off with my babies, but am SO GLAD I have a job to go back to to break up these crazy days of solo parenting with all 3 kiddos. I'm glad days like these happen, but also glad that they don't happen every.single.day. Tomorrow will look vastly different cause Patrick is at school and Mike's off the next few days! Anyways, that's all I've got for this little insight post...hope you've enjoyed it! :)
