A Day in the Life | Spring 2013

Time for another DiTL with Navigating the Mothership linking up this season. I picked a Friday this time mostly because I knew I'd be working half of the day and home the other half, so it would be a nice variety of challenges/joys. Also, I kept putting it off all week and finally decided to buck up and do it. I never regret doing these after the fact because I love reading over them. But they are so time consuming! Yes, I realize I make them that way but I just can't help it. :) Maybe next time I won't record actual (psycho-specific) times and that will make this feel less intense?

Friday, April 26 | Truman is 3 years old, Cecelia is going to be 11 months in two days, and my 32nd birthday is tomorrow!

3:15 am | Hear Truman cry, 'Mommy!' a few times. He's still getting over a nasty stomach bug so I worry that a mess will await me when I enter. Instead he is crying and saying, 'I want to sleep in your bed, I'm scared.' I hesitate because I really don't want this to become a habit but he hasn't asked to sleep with us in a few months. Nate comes in (also fearful of the bodily fluids that could assault us at this point) and says it's ok. Glad he can make a decision at 3 am because I sure can't. Get T tucked into bed between us and kiss his little forehead.

5:15 am | Hear Cecelia crying now. She has had an AMAZING week of sleep including two nights in a row where she STTN. But she was technically up at 11 pm last night and Nate rocked her back to sleep, so we can't claim this was a particularly stellar night. But hello, we will take it. I haven't nursed her in the night for 4 days now. This is huge! I go in and nurse my baby girl, wondering if she will fall back to sleep or be up for the day. Check my phone: email, FB, IG, Pinterest, Feedly. The big five. We normally start our work days around 5:45 or 6 so this is a tad early but I feel well-rested and ready to go if CC decides to stay awake.


5:40 am | Pull her off because she is falling asleep again. But she is not happy about this and remains totally awake and angry. Give her the pacifier, head to the bathroom, pick out her outfit. Check the weather and I suppose I will stick with long sleeves for my girl although I wish I could be brave enough for short sleeves! New Baby Gap outfit from consignment shopping. Decidedly French or Kardashian. I also got red shorts to go with this top and cannot wait to show off her chubby legs.


Do Plank-a-day and nearly die. Text Erin the results. Explanation: We have been attempting to do a plank on our forearms (no moving around or changing positions) every day for seven days to see if it gets easier or not. It is never easy, by the way, to hold a plank any amount of time. Apparently when I know I'm going to post my results online I get very motivated because this was a personal best for me--my first time holding it for more than three minutes. Erin is also motivation for me because she is a yoga guru and I am not and it's been fun to have a little friendly competition/check ins with her. My shoulders are quivering but I survived!


5:55 am | Change Cecelia's diaper, get her dressed, wrestle my adorable alligator.


6:05 am | Coffee time. Take Henry outside. Decide to take the tent down because I can't stand how it's swallowing our family room and Truman didn't even play in it yesterday.



6:15 am | Make Truman's breakfast first. Hear Nate get in the shower. Then hear Truman get up and go in the bathroom, too. Make my breakfast. Hear Cecelia tearing up the family room in the mean time. How can we be out of our favorite sausage links? What should I feed my baby now? Sister needs to chow.


6:30 am | Boys are down! Truman runs over to hug Cecelia first, unprompted. Heart-melting moment. Then he sees the tent packed up. Melt-down ensues. Apparently I didn't warn him adequately that it was coming down. Truman gets a rock from Nate for waiting to get out of bed until his clock turned yellow (set to 6:30)....which is cool, but he DID sleep in our bed part of the night, so whatever. Cecelia bonks her head for the first of many injuries today. Truman finally calms down enough to watch a Bob the Builder episode while eating breakfast. The girls sit down to eat together, too.





6:40 am | Up to shower, making our bed first and grabbing my clothes I picked out last night. IG a shot of me in my shower cap. Am I 83 years old or what?


Get dressed, make up, hair straightened. Nate asks me to hand down Truman's clothes for the day. Score! Hear Truman ask Nate how many patients I'm going to see today. Nate tells him 'two' and Truman informs him that 'wow, two isn't a lot.' HA! Good to know they are analyzing how hard I'm going to work today. But Lori is taking a half day so it's really all I can do before picking up the kids at noon. Love to hear Truman get excited over Nate's 12 patients he is going to see today. Must be nice to have all of his patients come to HIM and not the other way around;) Hear Truman ask Nate, 'are those jeans?' in an accusatory fashion, as Nate tries to dress him in the outfit I've chosen. They are chinos, in fact, and Nate sells them hard saying they are great pants to wear when swinging. I've already promised the playground after naps today. He wears the outfit willingly after that.

My outfit feels way too fall-ish but whatever. I'm so excited to wear skinny belts again now that I don't have to pump three times in a work day!



7:10 am | I come downstairs, CC is mad that she can't climb up on top of Truman's chair while he is sitting in it.


Truman freaks out when I say no more TV. Nate comes down to say he did promise T a few minutes of Fireman Sam this morning. Miscommunication on the parents part usually means the kid gets his way. Just this one time. Turn on an episode but warn it will be for 10 minutes max.


7:25 am | Nate leaves. CC is fussy so I decide to nurse her a bit. Haven't been nursing her a second time before work lately but she is all out of sorts. It kind of helps her chill but not really.

7:30 am | Gather up various daycare items. Do our daily calendar. Put on jackets. Another head bonk for Cecelia. Grab T's snack cup for the car.




7:45 am | And we are off after I deny Truman's desire to water the flowers 'really quick'. On the way to Lori's we discuss the amount of traffic on the highway and how I need to catch up to all of the cars passing us by. Back seat driver, extraordinare.



8:00 am | drop off at Lori's. Kisses and hugs and a baby that does NOT cry when I leave anymore, praise Jesus.

8:15 am | Home. Reheat coffee and prep the work day notes. Would normally use this time to pack my lunch and my pump but not today! Holla for half days!


8:25 am | I have 20 minutes before I have to leave. Decide to start typing up this post....and get about 1/1000th done;)


8:45 am | Off to patient number one's house. Mom texts me--they are driving to Colorado today after starting the trip yesterday. I cannot believe they are no longer in Missouri. My GPS is bugging me as I try to figure out the location of my patient's home without it's help.



9:45 am | Done with one, off to number two while I make phone calls to nurses. Arrive at apartment complex and find I have to walk a bit after parking. Good thing it's nice outside today.


10:45 am | Done with two, drive back home to finish up paperwork. I suppose I could go somewhere fun to do this instead of going all the way back to our house but I much prefer dropping off my work bag before picking up the kids anyway. Less to carry inside once I have the precious cargo with me.

11:35 am | Done with paperwork for the weekend and am really ridiculously excited that I won't be typing away tonight. This never happens. Perhaps I should work half days more often. Go upstairs to change clothes and find all of my Lulu yoga pants are dirty. The horror! Suppose I will have to wear actual jeans instead. Dressy!


11:45 am | Off to get my rug rats. Starved, grab a banana. It's nasty and grainy. Call mom on the way to Lori's to see how their trip is going.They get to walk through their apartment tonight but the movers won't arrive with their furniture for another few days. So cute to think of my mom and dad exploring their new city together.

12:00 pm | Lori said the kids had awesome mornings. Truman says, 'Mommy, doesn't she look pretty?' referring to Lori who is all dolled up to visit her daughter this afternoon. My sweet boy made her day with that comment, I think. Drive home as Truman informs me that Kaydin (his buddy) wasn't at daycare because he was riding a REAL train today. Jealousy ensues. Windows are down and we are loving life right about now. TGIF.


12:15 pm | Home and Truman gets his wish of watering the 'flowers' while Cecelia and I observe. Take Henry outside. Kids are fighting over a train as I put things away. They are both yawning which means  the mythical/elusive dual nap might happen today. I try not to get too excited just yet.



12:30 pm | Take Truman upstairs for nap. Turn clock to blue (for nap time sleep).


Make my lunch with my assistant's help. Eat together. Put way too much avocado on my sandwich--good thing sister is a garbage disposal.






1:00 pm | Take Cecelia upstairs and lay her down awake for her nap, pacifier and froggie in hand. Naps have been SO GOOD around here lately. Hoping this trend continues.


1:15 pm | Better start that laundry even though I despise it.


Then sit down to enjoy a little 'me' time and continue typing up this post.


Get caught up and even have time to upload a few pictures. This is epic!  Just realized I skipped a nursing session today--if we had been home together, I would have nursed CC after her first nap. But she had a bottle from Lori right before we came home and I am trying not to nurse right before sleeping, so whoops. My boob is full (yes singular, totally only nursing on one side now. Can you say #lopsided and #selfconcious ?) But very grateful to still be nursing at this point. Did I mention that I might be totally done pumping now? I only pumped once this work week and got 2 ounces. Not worth it. Counted up my frozen milk bags and have EXACTLY enough to make it to one year by sending 2 bottles to Lori three times per week. Amazing how things work out sometimes;)

2:15 pm | Changed the blasted laundry. Get incredibly excited when I spot a twelve pack of Diet Dr. Pepper on the top of our basement fridge. OMG. I thought we were out! Perfect time for a little splurge on my one vice in life. Well, that's not true...coffee, diet soda, alcohol. Liquid drugs. But still in the grande scheme of things it's not horrible. Enjoy my drink of death to the fullest. Time to BlogStomp! some pictures. I have had a lot of emails asking about my photo collages and let me just say again: it's worth the $49!!


My helper, Henry, is really freaked by the dryer downstairs. Constant muffled barks = I want to strangle this puppy face.

3:00 pm | Cecelia is finally up which means she slept for 2 hours! Nurse in rocker, change diaper. Text Dizzy about meeting up.



Wake the beast who is totally grumpy. Entice him by promising Charlotte and swings and he allowed me to carry him downstairs to hit the road. Not sure we even need jackets because it's 66 degrees outside! I hit T's head with my water bottle and tears start rolling.


3:40 pm | Leave for the playground. Cecelia is being hilarious in the back seat screeching and talking. T is ultra whiny and tired. Opposite ends of the spectrum after naps, apparently.

3:50 pm | Arrive at playground. Have a grande old time with Dizzy and kids. Seriously, this weather cannot be beat. It's almost HOT outside and totally packed. Cecelia eats a few handfuls of sand, Truman finally conquers the feat of climbing up a slide, and everyone in Milwaukee seems to have gotten an attitude adjustment by this sunshine. Can't beat it.







5:30 pm | Convince Truman to leave the playground after numerous threats. Cecelia is exhausted and nearing meltdown status which is understandable since she has been playing so hard for nearly two hours. Drive home, Nate calls and says he will pick up a pizza for us. Score! Mom texts that they have officially made it to their new home!


5:45 pm | Home, but we never even make it inside. Play in the back yard a bit watching Truman water flowers, play with a squirt gun, etc. Cecelia goes to town on my water bottle. Still on a high from this weather. Can I say that again? Spring: the best medicine for a worn down, Wicsonsin-winterized soul.




6:05 pm | Nate is home! I change C's diaper inside, preheat the oven, and get back outside with the boys. Truman is now 'washing' Nate's car.




6:25 pm | Inside, time for dinner! Truman does not want dinner. He wants to watch TV. He freaks out and begins the most ridiculous tantrum ever. Nate and I pour beers. Cecelia bonks her head again. Is this number four of the day? Dinner is SO stinking good. CC eats 1.5 pieces all by herself. Truman eats 0. He is aware he will not get anything else for food later and will get no TV until he eats pizza.




7:10 pm | Done with dinner. Can't believe it's this late! Most nights we are done with dinner by 6 and starting baths then, but I guess we can handle a later evening since it's Friday. Clean up, load dishwasher. Get the crew upstairs for baths since we can't skip them on account of a whole sandbox sitting inside Cecelia's skin folds. On the way up Truman licks the freaking banister and says, 'See, I ate that for dinner. Can I watch TV now?' WTF??


7:20 pm | Bath started, T begins melting down again after a short stint of sanity. Does not want to take a bath. Believes it will hurt his non-existant owie on his knee. Tried to reason with him but he is not listening. Time out in bedroom only seems to make matters worse. Good thing CC is being extra cute to make up for her brother's tantrum. Another good thing? This is the first bath of the week where Nate has been present...and I've done a bath every single night. Each evening he has been gone for mostly work-related events, getting home anywhere from 7-9 pm, and it's amazing to have my partner this time. It lets me take pictures, too, but also it's just nice to have him home for dinner and baths for once. I'm really happy that those super late nights are not the norm (but they are normal for Mondays and Wednesdays, but luckily not Tuesdays and Thursdays in addition). I'd be fried by Tuesday every week if he was gone this much and would likely be on my second glass of wine by the time he returned.









7:40 pm | Baths done. Why am I feeling so freaking tired all of a sudden? Jammies on both kids. T still sobbing over who knows what at this point. He hasn't had an episode of three year old dramatics like this in some time. In fact, I can count on one hand the number of full-blown tantrums this kid has had in his life. This is one of the most stunning by far. Good thing I'm documenting it forever! Sort of bums me out to have him lose his mind like this on a DiTL night but whatever. Keeping it real disclaimer: he was out of control, you guys. Sobbing non-stop to the point he didn't even know why he was upset anymore. Dinner, no TV, baths...how could we torture him so?

He then requests that Nate read 'Love You Forever' and I willingly take pictures but cannot actually listen to the words or I will start sobbing. At the end Nate says something about 'Someday you will be a daddy just like me Truman....' and I groan, asking him to stop. I can't handle it! Truman loved it though and was calm and quiet for the entire book. And then he started up again, asking for TV. We reminded him that no TV unless he eats dinner....which will be pizza and nothing else. He is begging for chicken nuggets at this point but we stay strong. I'm sorry, but we aren't asking the kid to eat brussel sprouts here. Pizza? Give me a break, Truman.



7:55 pm | Downstairs. Attempt to nurse Cecelia while Truman loses the rest of his mind over stupid TV. The proposition is simple: eat pizza and you can watch a bit of TV. He knows this is a battle of wills he can't win and he is TICKED. Well, just crying uncontrollably and not really angry or anything. Just really sad and tired, I guess. Cecelia nurses a bit but then pulls off and is squirmy. I think she is over the shenanigans, too.


I ask Nate to handle Truman and take C upstairs for bedtime. We read a book and rock a bit.


No bottle tonight for the first time this week, which makes me nervous since this has been a stellar sleep week with that bottle before bed. But she was only drinking 1-2 oz of it anyway and is obviously exhausted. And I didn't pump today and don't feel like defrosting a bag of milk. I only nursed her three times today but it's usually four at this point. Can't believe how different our nursing relationship has become at 11 months compared to those early weeks...but that is another post for another time. Lay my baby down after some snuggles--she is wide awake and demands to hold two extra pacifiers while she sucks on a third. All of a sudden the nuk has become her best friend at night and I am not complaining. As long as she sleeps.

8:10 pm | Come downstairs and see T sitting on the kitchen counter eating a freaking piece of pizza. Have no idea what Nate said to convince him. But it's working. We won. Boo ya! Never mind the fact that Truman usually goes upstairs for bed by 8 at the latest...he is just now eating dinner and will have to get a bit of TV time as a reward. Very proud of my boy.


8:35 pm | Start a Dinosaur Train for Truman and he knows it won't be a full episode. Get the laundry from downstairs. Hand it over to Nate and start making us Brandy Old Fashioneds. We deserved them, yo.


We have our longest run for half-marathon training tomorrow with 10 miles....yes, 10 miles on my birthday. What a celebration! ;) But despite that distance looming over us we shall partake in another drink because we've earned it. The battle with Truman was impressive on all fronts. Such stamina he showed. So stubborn. Wonder where he got that?

Help with laundry while we sip our drinks. Truman requests another slice of pizza. Hell is freezing over, I guess.

8:45 pm | Truman and Nate go upstairs to start bedtime and I start typing this blog post again. Could seriously go to bed right now----up since 5:15, sunshine, mixed bag of tricks today while flip flopping my PT hat and mommy hat...whew!

9:00 pm | Go upstairs to see Truman's clean teeth, pretending to get knocked over by their brightness. Then tell him four made up stories about Truman and his mommy checking for mail and seeing giant packages on the front porch. Pretty boring if you ask me, but he eats it up. Tonight he keeps telling me, 'Happy Birthday, mommy,' even though it's tomorrow. He's giving me sweet hugs and kisses unprompted. I know he is sorry for how he acted tonight and he is still my sweet boy. Wish I had brought my phone up for this little hug-fest but you will just have to imagine the scene. Say our prayers together and as I list out all that we are thankful for, Truman says 'CHECK' to each item. Hilarious. I love this kid so much even when he is a total punk. Give kisses again and say goodnight. Nate's turn for songs (he is an integral part of bedtime for Truman and my role is pretty miniscule with just four stories. Which is why it's really difficult when Nate isn't home for bedtime with Truman....luckily that is very rare).

9:10 pm | More typing this post. Does it take everyone else this long to compose? Gah. Also can't believe it's my birthday tomorrow and that we are running ten miles in the morning. Very surreal.

10:00 pm | Almost done with this beast but I'm too tired to go on. Upstairs, get ready for bed. Goodnight!


4:00 am | Cecelia is awake. Make Nate go rock her back down to sleep after 35 minutes of crying. At least I didn't cave and nurse her, I suppose, and I'm glad she didn't wake Truman (the worst).

5:35 am | Crap, he is up anyway. Calling for daddy and then he ended up in our bed. Not good but whatever. I swear this hasn't happened in months and now two nights in a row? Sheesh.

6:00 am | And Cecelia is up for good. Before I get up to nurse her Truman says, 'It's your birthday, mommy!' and gives me a huge kiss. I ask him if he knows how old I am and he thinks a minute, and says, 'Five.' Yes, that is right, dear son. ;)



And this is a day in my life. A little bit of everything thrown into a single Friday. Whew.