These posts are such fun for me personally to look back on. The little day to day details get lost in translation with the daily life happening. So here is a Monday in our January, full of all the typically glamorous stuff.
5:30 a.m.: I am quite lucky that we have a treadmill in the basement because athletic wear I do not own and my oh my. I would pity the souls who would have to see me stumble in first thing in the morning. Thankfully no one is awake but myself at this hour. A slow three miles and some dumbbell work later I retrace my steps back up the two flights of stairs...Grabbing some water on my way.
6:30 a.m.: This is what I like to call the "soft wakening." Meaning I sneak into Letty's room and turn off her sound machine, open her blinds, remove all the assorted books and dolls she has accumulated during the night, all before actually waking her. Then I silently hand her her iPad, pull the blankets up over her head so she is in a tent and she's happy as a clam, rubbing sleep from her eyes the whole time. I do this because I value my sanity and her having a few moments to collect herself before getting out of bed seems to be best for us all. Then I go shower and get myself dressed and am back in her room ten minutes later for the "hard wakening." I sometimes have to forcefully remove her, but she's up. We make her bed together and she pads downstairs to Matt who is waiting with the clothes I set out for her the night before and her breakfast. Dom wakes up sometime around now and he also goes downstairs for his first "pa pa" of the day, which to be clear is a pancake.
7:30 a.m.: I folded a load of laundry before it was time to take Letty to school (which is 7:15 if we are being sticklers here). I hate driving her there, I truly do. Good sky or not. And it still breaks my heart to see her little body walking away from me down to the school. Today I didn't even watch. I gave her like a hundred kisses though... and then soldiered on. Back at home I start washing the bathroom towels and then it's bathroom cleaning time, because that's what I do on Mondays. A real fav. Dom is dressed by now (thanks Matt) and just destructing the play room. I also need to mention it was 13 degrees at this point.
8:30 a.m.: I usually have to wake David up around 8 so that he can be ready for school in time. He is more of a process in the morning, all centered around his breakfast. I have to physically place him in front of his yogurt (which he has been eating three spoonfuls of daily since the end of August and yes, it is still a daily issue). He eats his spoonfuls and then starts sipping on his chocolate milk while I get him a pancake going. Then he's dressed and we do our fun hair and teeth routine before heading out to drop him off at school.
9:30 a.m.: After drop off I head off to my weekly Grammy visit. She is turning 93 on Sunday and is absolutely refusing any acknowledgement of that feat. But since she can't use the internet I figure she will be none the wiser. So happy birthday Grammy!! She's in a nursing home now, which some days she doesn't entirely seem to mind. Dom is a big hit with the other residents even though most of the time they only get a shy smile. We visit and he plays around with the books or the blocks.
10:30 a.m.: We say goodbye to Grammy and head on home so we are there by lunch time. It's a nice quiet half hour ride home with Dom just playing games on his iPad. Once home I get Dom his lunch, which today was leftover pizza and some apple sauce. Then I went on a disinfecting rampage because I heard my brother, who we were all with the day before, came down with some sort of stomach thing. There is not much that I hate more than any sort of intestinal issue. Me, fine, whatever. But the kids? Oh the horror! So I ran around with lysol and wipes and sprayed things down and wiped down iPads and cell phones and got out the probiotic stash. The fear sets in...
11:30 a.m.: By now Matt returned from a claim bearing Taco Bell. Which is a super rare treat. The food looks just so gross but it is just so tasty. One bite into it and I feel like I'm a girl of 21 again.... having a late night college snack. Dom is working on his continuing destruction of the play room in between segments of The Secret Life of Pets.
12:30 p.m.: Lunch is all cleaned up. I turned on the diffuser with Immune Strength because if there is a straw I'll grasp at it. Dom is definitely acting tired. Wanting to relax with the movie more and more in between playroom destruction. I'll clean that up here shortly and then cuddle a bit with him before putting him down for his nap at 1. Because I love a good cuddle and well, he's the only show in town.
1:30 p.m.: I put away the last of the towels and then watered the various plants scattered around the house (ten to be exact). I also got Letty's lunch together for tomorrow because well, just one less thing to do later. Dom is down for his nap and I have time to kill before Letty gets off the bus. Matt is out and about so he will go get David at 2 for me. I lay down with a blanket and my book, making sure I have an alarm set so I don't accidentally fall asleep and say, miss the bus and therefore my daughter. Imagine that horror!! Spoiler alert: I fell asleep after not even so much as reading a page.
2:30 p.m.: The kids are officially home! I go through their backpacks and see what has to be done. Letty does her homework (reading ten minutes each day) on her iPad and David does the same just because he wants to not because he has to. They also finish whatever is left in their lunchboxes. Apparently I have slow eaters. David's school sent home his kindergarten registration packet and it makes my head spin a bit because we just did this with Letty and I'm not quite ready yet! Or ever! Dom wakes up around three... probably because of the sudden influx in noise coming from the kitchen directly below his room...
3:30 p.m.: We are having my sister and her family over for dinner tonight, as we alternate on Monday's. The kids are also due for a tubby and so I try to get that over with now so we don't have to kick my sister out to adhere to my very strict bed time. I use this time to get the kid's clothes ready for manana.... because like it or not, it'll be here.
4:30 p.m.: My sister and my niece arrive so it's wine time and niece cuddle time while the kids play and Matt cooks! Letty is holed up in her room like the sullen teenager she is sure to become. I would of course prefer her to be down here with me but I've heard from various sources that it's good to let them have some chill time after a full day of school like that.....So that's where she stays until dinner.
5:30 p.m.: Matt made some sort of pork concoction as well as stuffing and corn from our summer harvest. He also made the kids something special because well, he's Matt. I just love a good stove top stuffing, why yes I do.
6:30 p.m.: The playroom is all cleaned up for the day! The final clean! We have a movie on for the kids then before their nightly ice cream treat. Such lucky little ones! Nightly ice cream?! They chose Pirates, Band of Misfits as their feature film. My sister and her family say their goodbyes shortly before seven as it is almost bed time. So bathroom runs and final diaper changes and teeth getting brushed, all that good stuff happens. Letty decides she wants Matt to read to her tonight so I have the boys. Books about trains or diggers or trucks coming right up!
7:30 p.m.: Once all the kisses and hugs and final rounds of good night David! are over and done with we then head down to the basement for our nightly cardio. Treadmill for Matt, elliptical for me. Forty-five minutes. We really look forward to this work out let me tell you. I read The Martian and he watches The Big Short. In case anyone is like wait Laurie you worked out this morning! Yes, I sure did. But I love the night time one just as much if not more.
8:30 p.m.: We have showered, the wine is poured and the tv is on. We just finished watching The Newsroom for a second time (such a good show!). The finale always gets me. Obviously. We have a brief debate about why oh why they had to end the show after such few seasons!!! And I will have That's How I Got to Memphis in my head for the night....
9:30 p.m.: I recently got Matt on board with re-watching Outlander. Season three is upon us hopefully this spring so this will be a good way to prepare for that. Oh how I just love Jamie and Claire.... happy sigh. Such a good way to wrap up a day if you ask me. Matt probably says "sassy snatch" about thirty times and I giggle each time he does. Hey if he doesn't mind watching it with me I can allow him to make jokes. I guess.
And then it was to bed! Sometime shortly after ten. Never early enough, you know?
Other day in the life posts here.
