A day in the life . . . .

I thought it would be fun to start writing out some of my days for the kids to look back on and see what life was like when they were little. I chose to write out today because it was full of surprises and particularly busy. We don't rush around every day like this, but this kind of day is definitely not unusual!

A day in the life:

5am: Calvin wakes up to eat. I feed him and decide it’s way too early to rise and shine. We lay back down for a little more sleep.

6:40am: alarm goes off and Livia starts crying for milk. Darn, I was hoping it wouldn’t wake her up this morning! Daddy swoops in with a glass of milk and 5 minutes later she starts yelling, “I am done, I am done, I am done!!” consequently waking up her big brother. I guess I won’t be having any alone time this morning after all.

6:49am: Roll out of bed and get the coffee going; read my Bible for a few minutes

7:10am: start making breakfast for the kids.

7:30am: throw on some makeup and do something with the hair. Ask Micah to start getting ready for school. Ask Chris to change Livia and Calvin and think to myself we MUST attempt potty training again, we can’t keep changing two kids all day long! I quickly feed Calvin while Chris finishes helping the kids get ready.

8:30am: gather up snack supplies for Micah’s school (I’m not snack duty today), round up the kids and head downstairs to pile in the minivan. On our way out one of the resident’s stops by and informs us that we have no quarters left and the kitchen towels need washing. I take a mental note to grab some quarters while I’m out today.

9:00am: Drop Micah off at school and head over to the Starbucks parking lot to send a few emails. If I was a normal person I might go inside and order a cup of coffee and work on my computer, but I’ve got two kids in the car that are actually happy and stationary for the moment so we’re staying right here. I try to email a few people about possible summer stays at the IFH and get a few other things in order. After awhile Livia starts fussing and I realize she’s been patiently waiting for ½ hour!

9:40am: Head over to Trader Joe’s and on the way there Livia falls asleep (very unusual for her. . . I guess it was that 6:40am wake up call!). Thankfully there is a Starbucks in the same parking lot as TJ’s so I pull on over and get to work (again).

10:20am: I wake Livie up and grab Calvin and we head in to the store. We grab everything we need and head over to Whole Foods to get some dried beans in bulk. As we come out of the elevator I walk past the coffee stand and think it would be real nice to get a cup of coffee right about now. So, I indulge, but I also have to indulge Livia because that’s the way things work. So, I grab a {glass} bottle of Mango Orange juice and hand it to her. Just as we’re walking up to the cash register I think to myself, you probably shouldn’t let a two year old carry around a glass bottle in a store with cement floors. I immediately hear a crashing noise after that and then she starts to cry (very loudly). After the nice grocer helps us out and gets her a new bottle we are on our way. As I put Calvin back in to the car I see him give me the eyes and I realize it’s time to eat. So I set Livia up with her juice and head to the back of the minivan to feed Calvin. He’s a quick eater and we’re done after about 10 minutes.

11:00am: At this point we are halfway between our house and Micah’s preschool so I decide it would be easier for me to run home and get the groceries upstairs real quick instead of hauling everybody up the stairs in addition to the groceries. I quickly run the groceries up 3 flights of stairs and run back to the car. Livie and Calvin are still happily sitting in their carseats.   

11:25am: We start heading back to Micah’s preschool when I realize I have no gas at all. In fact, the gas meter says we have 7 miles before we run out of gas. Why is it that Boston has NO gas stations anywhere? I finally find one with 1 mile left and we roll in. (phew)

12:00pm: Pick Micah up at preschool and head back home. Everybody is starving. I realize at this point that I haven’t gotten any quarters yet so we pull over at the bank and take a “quick” trip inside to get our quarters for the month. Getting back to the car with 20 rolls of quarters proves to be quite challenging and a little awkward, but we manage.

The only photo I get today, Micah's fish face; right after we get home from school.

12:40pm: Arrive home and fix some lunch. Livia refuses to take a nap (probably because of her mid morning snooze) and I finally coax her in to it around 2pm.

2:00pm: 20 minute workout with Jillian followed by a very quick shower. I quickly put myself back together and realize Calvin is once again, starving. Unfortunately we have to leave for swimming right away.

2:50pm: frantic search begins for Livia’s swimsuit with the swim diaper (and I think to myself once again, we MUST potty train soon!). Livia has taken to carrying her swimsuits around like blankies every place she goes. I assume she must have left it at Church last night so I decide we’ll just buy a swim diaper when we get there.

3:10pm: arrive at fitrec for swim classes and I realize I forgot my wallet. Thankfully I have a stash of quarters tucked away in the van to fill the meter, but I have no way to buy a swim diaper. Swim class starts in 20 minutes and this is the highlight of Livia’s week. We rush down to the pro shop and see if they will enter a credit card number manually. Chris sends me a text with our credit card info and it works.

3:25pm: We rush in to the changing room and get in to proper swim gear. I rush Livia in to class and realize Calvin cannot wait any longer.

3:30pm: I plop myself in a corner and start feeding Calvin while I talk to my mom for a few minutes about our upcoming trip to Palm Springs. Micah is going wild with excitement about his class in ½ hour!

4:00pm: Livia out, Micah in. Livia and I head over to the locker room for a quick shower and I get her dressed. We finish up and walk back over to the pool to grab Micah for a quick shower. At this point I realize that I miscalculated the amount of quarters I should have put in the meter and we barely have enough time to shower and get dressed. AND I just recently paid off one parking ticket and talked my way out of another. I rush Micah to the shower and tell him he has to hurry hurry hurry! Why mommy? Are you going to get another ticket? Yes I am! Let’s hurry!

4:45pm: We finally make it back to the car and I have exactly 1 minute remaining. Yes! No ticket! On our way home, we pick Chris up from the Religious Studies building and I tell him about my crazy day thus far.

5:00pm: We get home and everybody is starving. We try to hold off for dinner, but everybody needs a little snack.

5:10pm: I ask Chris for 15 minutes to lay down before dinner.

6:00pm: Dinner with the guys downstairs. Shortly after dinner Chris needs to leave for a Parish Council meeting.

7:00pm: I make the kids get in to bed early and read some books while I clean up the house and feed Calvin.

7:30pm: We brush the teeth, say our prayers and head in to bed.

7:40pm: Livia starts crying about how “she can’t see” for 20 minutes. I finally figure out that she wants her nightlight (duh) and I give her a tuck (Micah is already sacked out).

8:00pm: Pour myself a glass of wine and start typing about my crazy day. Then I decide I’ll spend tomorrow at home. all. day. long. (maybe we’ll try some potty training!)