Day in the Life

I haven't posted a "day in the life" posting in a long time.  I want to be able to remember what these crazy days were like.

The babies wake up right around 7 am.  They will usually babble and chatter with each other for 15-30 minutes before they start really complaining that we need to come get them.  I roll out of bed, dazed and confused, throw on my robe and drag my feet into the nursery with Jason (who is usually much more chipper than me).  (I've been having some sleep problems lately - more on that later.)  Jason picks up Miles, who is holding Pooh, and I pick up Vivienne, who is holding Piglet.  We carry them downstairs.

Jason starts breakfast - oatmeal and toast, shared with the babies.  The babies are usually pretty thirsty in the morning and eager to get their cups of milk.  We all sit down to eat together.  Well, I actually usually start eating when everyone else is done, because it takes 10 minutes to microwave my steel cut oats.

After breakfast, I usually do the first diaper changes while Jason cleans up the kitchen.  Then, I sit in the recliner with the remote and turn on Sesame Street.  Miles and Vivienne both crawl up into my lap with their lovies (Pooh and Piglet) and we cuddle and watch Sesame Street together.  I love this time.  Sometimes I even fall asleep for a minute or two here or there, but the kids usually move around too much (or decide to explore my facial features) for me to really sleep.

After Sesame Street, the kids usually play together - playing with their kitchen or doing puzzles or getting on their riding toys (motorcycle or horse) or reading books... all sorts of things.  During this time, sometimes I try to get things done, like put in a load of laundry or wash some dishes.  In the morning, we often either go run errands (groceries) or we go to play with friends.  On Tuesdays, I meet with a group of moms from my church.  On Thursdays, we get together with Kristi and her kids and Lindsay and her son (usually going to a park and having a picnic if it's not freezing outside or Marbles or the science museum or lunch).  On Fridays, we often hang out with our friend Pam, going to the Farmer's Market or playground or some other adventure.

After our errands and/or play time with friends, we come home and eat lunch.  I feed the babies first, and then put them down for their naps.  Then I eat lunch and try to take a nap while they're napping.  I used to use this time to get things done around the house, but I have been so tired lately with the pregnancy and sleeping issues.  If I don't nap, I am usually a complete zombie (versus a partial zombie on napping days) by the time Jason gets home.

These days, the kids are napping anywhere from 1.5 hours to 3 hours.  Unfortunately, they rarely BOTH decide to sleep 3 hours, so that is an unusual luxury when it happens.  When they wake up, we usually go for a run.  Before I got pregnant, this was a 6-mile run at least 4 times a week (around 9:30 minute pace, usually 5 times a week with long runs on Sundays).  Now that I'm pregnant and exhausted, it's a 4-mile "something" (running at an 11 minute pace, or even just walking), and it usually only happens 2-3 times a week.  I'm hoping that this gets better as I round the corner into the 2nd trimester.

After our run, we usually play outside, waiting for Daddy to drive around the corner.  When Jason gets home, the babies get SO excited.  They usually run to him (almost like "Thank God someone is saving us from this boring lady we hang out with all day!").  We come inside and play a bit more.  Jason loves to make Mega Blok airplanes and cars and the babies like to crash them.  Sometimes he does this "blanket monster" thing where he gets under a blanket and catches the babies under the blanket with him.  He's a very engaged, fun, loving father.  I am a lucky lady.

We feed the babies around 6, and then take them straight to the bath.  They love bath time, especially when it involves bubbles.  Jason washes them while I get the pajamas ready, set out the towels and usually sneak in some laundry work.  When baths are finished, we play some more.  We're trying to teach the kids to help us clean up.  They usually do a pretty good job, but it's definitely still a learning process.  We read books, and then the kids go to bed at 7 pm.  We usually don't hear from them at all during the night.  It has been months and months since we actually had to go into the nursery to check on them after bed.

After the babies are in bed, we clean.  This includes laundry, cleaning the kitchen (dishes, cleaning up the high chairs, sweeping up all the food on the floor, etc), finishing cleaning up all the kids toys, etc.  This usually takes about 30-45 minutes, depending on the night.  On Fridays, Jason vacuums the entire house, including the stairs.  Did I mention that I'm a lucky girl?

We usually either eat dinner with the babies (just sort of snacking on whatever they're eating) or we eat after the cleaning.

When the cleaning is done and I have had a chance to eat something, I lie back in the recliner and transition into a vegetative state.  We usually go to bed at 10 and then start it all again.