A Day in the Life | Fall 2013

I haven't done a weekend day for a DiTL yet! I had to look back at all of these posts I did and figured it was time to capture a Saturday for a change. Ah, Saturdays. You are so glorious.

Saturday, October 12 | Truman is 3 years and 7 months old, Cecelia is 16.5 months old. 

7:05 am | Truman struts into our room and kisses Nate on the forehead. Really into him sleeping so late but this is the third day in a row when he got out of his bed alone. Uh oh. I think the magical days of him waiting for us to come get him might be over, but it was a great run while it lasted since he's been in his big boy bed for a year and a half! He comes and gives me a kiss and says, "you're still my best friend". Ok! I will start my day this way then. Just as a reference, last night was not awesome. Cecelia was up crying for her lost pacifier at 10:30, 5:00, and then 6:15, when Nate pulled a negotiation with her. Apparently he told her she was still tired and needed to keep sleeping, then we could all go downstairs and she agreed. Three wake ups = not cool. But at least she is sleeping past 5 am for the day now. Also of note: Truman was up once at 3:00 scared, needing Nate to tuck him in again. So much broken sleep around here lately.

The (semi) awake members of the family go downstairs. Truman needs time to wake up a bit on the couch with a graham cracker. Note the Christmas jammies that are going to be way too small by then, so we are putting them in the rotation now. They aren't *that* Christmas-y anyway. Silly mommy buying 4Ts for the winter---couldn't imagine the giant 5s fitting my boy but now I will be buying more Christmas jammies in the big kids section, I guess. Sigh. 



7:20 am | Check weather on phone, because we want to go to the apple orchard today but it's supposed to rain. Nates gives me a cute first bday invite. Coffee is made. Henry goes out. Truman is now watching Fireman Sam---lately he has been watching snippets of Cars 2 at every screen time. So we basically have the first fifteen minutes memorized and it's nice to watch something else for a change. Nate sold his old iPhone 4 on Amazon and is getting it all packed up. $165 for a used phone? Deal. 



7:30 am | Make T a waffle with peanut butter. Pour coffee and it tastes like heaven. Get Henry from outside and marvel at the nice weather. Maybe we will do the apple picking after all. Make myself and Nate scrambled eggs-slash-omlettes. I'm really into putting half and half and cheese in our eggs lately.  Seriously annoyed at the fruit flies hovering over my eggs. I feel like these maddening flies are at their peak right now and it makes me abnormally angry to deal with bugs in our house. Two are noted and shall be murdered shortly. Truman comes in to inform me that monkey has a hole and Yaya needs to fix it today. Very upsetting. 





7:45 am | Truman is eating while watching a bit of The Lorax now. We try to limit the morning TV to about 30 minutes but maybe I'll let him watch a little longer this Saturday morning---because I secretly love The Lorax. Nate is entering in Starbucks coupons into our account--he is a man obsessed with a Target deal he found the other night. Something about how 8 pounds of coffee ended up being $6 total or something absurd. I don't know. Our eggs are almost done but aren't very pretty. "Our daughter is sleeping until almost 8:00," says Nate. Totally unbelievable. Sad she is missing our family breakfast--she loves to eat waffles with T at the table and steals eggs off my plate regularly. I eat at the computer and uplaod pics off my camera since I want to use it today. Nate dresses T mid bite--sort of have to hussle this morning for gymnastics. 







7:53 am | The princess is awake!! Unhappy about being tangled in blanket but still very cute upon entry. She 'helps' me make her waffle and she is angry that she cannot immediately wear the hair bow I have placed aside to hot glue back together. She wants it now. Also demands the jack-o-lantern be turned on stat. The child can be very demanding in the mornings and also very clingy to me, but so far she is allowing me to set her down in intervals. Also: holy bed head, batman.









8:05 am | CC eats breakfast, I finish mine, Truman and Nate get ready for gymnastics. Practices saumersaults. IG a hair pic. Can't help it. Cecelia can't sit still to eat and does a round with the pumpkin, grill, etc. I make to do list for today. Seriously love Saturdays so much, especially ones that don't include a long list of stuff to do! Teeth brushing in kitchen. iTunes Radio (my new obsession) is now playing 'The XX' station. In.Love. with finding new bands that I've never heard before.







8:20 am | The boys leave. Us gals considered going, too but are not even close to ready and I will blame Cecelia's late wake up for that. Put away dirty dishes, pack bag for our morning, CC brings me her empty plate which I find highly adorable. Such a big girl lately!

8:35 am | Head upstairs to get us ready. Fire truck heard on the stairs and the world stops for a second. No shower today for me, since I'm telling myself I will run later. Make our bed. CC is ever so helpful while I get dressed, put on my makeup and do my hair. The awesome thing about my short haircut? All I have to do is run the flat iron through my bangs to smooth them out and I'm done. Easy peasy. Cecelia decides to brush her teeth again for good measure and I try to intercept black eyeliner and concealer from being smeared across the bathroom as she plays in my makeup bag.





(not all of the makeup I use, but almost all of the makeup that I own! She keeps handing me everything when I tell her it's messy.)


Cecelia helps me pick out her tutu and hair bow, very adamant about both today. We are really into pony tails with a bow for her bangs lately, so I style her hair a bit. Her outfit is very 'Valentines Day' and not very fall like but I just can't keep her out of pinks and purples most days. She is reading books and correctly identifying pictures by saying a lot of the right words (cookie, ball, dog, shoe, choo choo). Again: Big Girl!

(just realized she is putting a bobby pin in her ear here. Great parenting by me!)


(inspecting her outfit choice)


9:15 am | Nate should be here any minute but I hurry to put away the folded laundry that has been in this basket since Thursday. Cannot handle going longer than a day with this!



9:20 am | Go downstairs and CC comments on all of the 'Cece' pics on the wall. Finish packing up, get Henry in his home for a "tree". 



9:30 am | Nate was talking to Andy and is just now going to the post office to ship his phone. CC and I head out to play for a bit, and to take pictures. A 5K run is just ending near our house and Cecelia dies over the police car lights. I am still loving the 'favorite' tree by our house.

(love our porch decor this year)






(a little concerned with this pumpkin's flesh eating disease. Squirrels! Stop it!)


Tree!







9:45 am | The boys are here, and Nate runs in to change his clothes declaring that it's way too hot for long pants. Truman tells me he had fun at gymnastics, but cried at the beginning because he was scared. We are doing about three different 'child only' activities right now and most times Truman does get a little teary when we leave him. Kind of odd since he does daycare without issues but I suppose change is hard! Truman says there was a new teacher named Rosie, who was very nice and they did the trampoline but not the tunnels or bars. Cecelia notices Truman's sticker from class and wants one of her own so I run in and grab a sheet from inside. Ha, very appropriate---fall stickers! 



10:00 am | Arrive at Cranky Al's for our traditional donuts after gymnastics. Tony and Lois meet us here, and usually we go with Dizzy's family (Charlotte is in gymnastics with Truman) but they aren't here today because they are leaving town. Papa and Yaya will do;) 









10:45 am |  Leave Crank's on a sugar high. It's really rainy now, and we go back and forth about the apple orchard. Make a last min decision to do an indoor playground called The Big Backyard. Nate is not into it and announces, 'this sounds horrible.' But Truman is really excited and doesn't want to do the apple orchard anyway, so we are going for the playground and I pray it's not total chaos. Kind of sad we aren't going to do apple picking this year but I suppose it just wasn't meant to be, since this is the second time we were planning to go and then didn't. I don't feel like getting soaked, though. Kids are chatting away in the back seat. Sweet moment as we listen to their conversation ("Cecelia, we are going to see lots of slides and ladders and balls, ok?")

11:10 am | Arrive. A nice stranger gives us a coupon for one kid's entry at half off. Sweet! I didn't wear socks since we were ill-prepared for this trip so we have to pay $2 for a pair. Annoying. It's not horribly crowded though, and it ends up being a lot of fun! Nate has never come with us before but we've been here probably five times before and occasionally it's not worth the effort with too many rough and rowdy big kids. Today was a good day, though.













(Cozy Coupe's were a huge hit. Christmas gift? Also, love that CC is in the red and Truman picked the pink)


(a little out of focus, but at least Truman isn't grimacing to brace himself for an aggressive crash like all of the rest)




(the boys loved playing basketball. And note my sexy $2 white socks)


12:30 pm | Cecelia is melting down. 


I know she must be hungry, and they don't allow food from the outside here so the healthy snacks I had packed for the apple orchard are out. Instead we get them each a bag of pretzels, a Zbar (kids Cliff bar), and 'organic' chocolate milk. Healthy lunch alert! Oh well, if they don't eat now I feel like they will fall asleep in the car and skip lunch all together. Better than nothing, and a few sips of Cecelia's milk prove that it's really quite tasty anyway.







1:00 pm | Head out after changing CC's diaper. All of us are suddenly exhausted and the kids fall asleep within 10 minutes. It's raining out and great sleeping weather;) I have 16% battery left on my phone from note taking and pics all morning. Annoying. That can't be right. Nate remarks that his new 5s has a billion percent left. Whoopdee doo. Check Timehop on the ride home and see that 4 years ago was Nate's Chicago marathon. Awww, I was 18 weeks pregnant with Truman. Nate says he has aged a lot since that race. Ha. Start thinking about how two years ago I was about 7 wks pregnant with CC. I tend to be pregnant in Octobers, apparently. Burst of baby fever for number three hits hard. Like woah.






1:15 pm | Arrive at home. We each carry a kid to bed and I think about how if we had three, this perfect one-on-one match up would not happen. Maybe Truman won't be napping by then anyway...meh---we could totally do it;). Is she our middle child?


Reheat last night's pizza for our lunch. Start laundry--not into sorting loads today so it all goes in at once. Turn around to see Henry peeing on the rubber workout mat again and get very angry. Clean up dog urine and order him upstairs immediately. I know he hates to pee in the rain but come on. We were home for five freaking minutes and he did it in FRONT of me? Bold, Henry. Bold. 

1:30 pm | Time for plank-a-day. Erin and I are doing a plank on our elbows, no moving, every day for the month of October as a friendly challenge. We are only twelve days into it but it's still really freaking hard. Note to self--never plank again in skinny jeans. Sweating profusely, but I manage to get my best time yet. Not bad considering that two minutes was hard at the beginning of the month. Eat pizza to compensate for being active.  


1:45 pm | Start this post as Nate watches football. I'm so happy to be done with paperwork from yesterday's hectic work day and I'm caught up on emails. So DiTL time it is...these posts are such a commitment with taking notes, uploading pics from camera and phone, collages, writing it out, etc. But always worth it because I love looking back on the details of our lives.

2:45 pm | Nate left to get new door knobs with his dad awhile ago. Our back hallway is so close to being done! I take a breather from picture uploading/collages to make an iced coffee. Change laundry downstairs and note that Nate actually removed the old gold knob. Can't wait to see what he gets! Back to working on this post.



4:00 pm | All caught up on the post above, including all pictures and text. This.Is.Amazing. I mean, I did just spend about two solid hours on it and the day isn't over yet, but still. Dual naps are my favorite ever, btw. Nate calls and needs me to measure the light fixture in the back hall. Oh man, I hope he picks out a good one! Check Instagram and IG one myself. 

(old fixture--hate it.)


4:30 pm | Fold laundry. The kids have now been asleep for 3.5 hours. SLEEP. I love you, so much. Naps and morning start times are great around here lately. We shall see how bedtime goes with this late nap but there is no way I'm waking them up right now.



4:40 pm | I hear Cecelia spinning her crib spindles. Talking to Nate on the phone about some key hooks for the chalkboard wall, but get off with him to get Cease. Woah, stinky diaper aroma filling her room. Horrid. Need to wash her diapers now but at least she doesn't seem upset about the nastiness in her diaper. 

(loves stickers lately--found these all over her leggings from earlier and she liked having them on her face, instead)


Truman wakes and is being silly hiding under his sheet when we go in. Play in his room a bit, reading books in his bed. Truman shows Cecelia how to push buttons on sound machine and says to her, 'goooood jooooob', very dramatically. She claps. So cute when they are sweet to each other.  









5:05 pm | Head downstairs. Truman is hungry--yogurt in a bowl is given to both kiddos. The Lorax is turned back on for a bit. I continue to fold laundry. 

5:25 pm | TV is off, while Truman plays in the big room and CC plays at the sink while I clean kitchen. Can't have my mother-in-law see this mess!

5:30 pm | Speaking of! She and Nate are here and Tony must be coming later, I guess. CC and I start washing diapers. Nate shows us his back hall-related purchases. 

(new globe thingy)

We all start dinner---it's difficult helping chop veggies and set the table with clingy baby C. Boys do a puzzle. CC won't let me put her down at all anymore, so I play with kids in playroom. This time right before dinner is my least favorite even when there are other adults present to help out. So many silly fights over toys, lack of sharing, general whininess. Fruit flies will be the death of me, though. Two more hovering around me--maybe the same ones from this morning. Kids go out with dad to start the grill and get a change of scenery. CC wants boots and we oblige.

5:55 pm | I can help with dinner again. CC is upset outside so I go out to assess and bring Nate the burger patties to start grilling. Truman is also upset about bugs in pumpkins. "The inside of my eye is cold" he declares. Makes a funny face while talking about his inner eye.

6:05 pm | I go inside to get beers and the kids' food ready for dinner. They can eat some of what we are having, but we aren't making them their own burgers and I'm sure the beans will be out for Truman. Nate does bubbles in the backyard with the kids and it melts my heart to see him be such a genuinely great dad.

(second fridge in the basement is always stocked full of booze and extras that we don't want to have upstairs. Also, tried the wheat microbrew below and I liked it a lot!)

6:15 pm | Dinner is served. Tony arrives five minutes later and our family dinner is complete. Love this weekend tradition so much. We eat at least one dinner with them each weekend, sometimes both nights. They are the best.

7:00 pm | Done. Cleaning dishes and loading the dishwasher with Tony as we discuss a patient of mine that we both know, and want to help but he's just not doing well. Yaya fixes monkey. Kids play with Yaya and Nate in the playroom while my father-in-law and I finish up the dishes.

7:25 pm | Nate and Tony start on door hardware installation and the light fixture. Kids come upstairs with me for their bubble bath! Both are really into it lately but this is a lot later than most weeknights, so I know Cecelia will be tired. Truman wants to name the frog washcloth: Froggie-dupee. Okay? CC is definitely tired and as she is crying, I see her bottom left eye tooth is through the gums, finally. Lois comes up for the end of the bath to observe the (controlled) chaos.

7:40 pm | Moving on... jammies in C's room with Yaya and mommy. Hair bows get shown off to Yaya and Cecelia's eyes light up with each 'baba' discovery. Books on the floor. Truman says his best friend has to turn on Thomas, which means 'Mom, let's go downstairs.'

7:55 pm | The kids play with Henry dog after I feed him. Thomas is not working on Netflix, so we go for Jake and the Neverland Pirates instead. I'm fine with 1.5 hours of TV in a day and that will be about what he gets today. Truman also says he is hungry and ate a decent dinner, so I give him and Cecelia some peanut butter puffs cereal. Hang with Yaya on the couch and CC is acting goofy/wild. 

8:15 pm | TV is done. Music from iTunes radio comes on instead. Nate and his dad are drilling really loudly on the door, so it's not like I could really put Cecelia down right now anyway. Looking at a favorite picture/word book with Yaya and I realize it's super late right now! I smell something...'Did you toot, Truman?' He says, 'No, I burped.' Disgusting. Check out our new lock that is fully installed! Very sweet keypad entry, indeed. No more waiting for Nate to let us in with his key when we all get out of his car after a trip. No key necessary! 

8:50 pm | We all say goodnight to Cecelia, and goodbye to Tony and Lois. I take CC upstairs and holy crap, she pooped again! Things have not been right in the diaper department all week and I pray she isn't getting sick. We read three books and she is totally over selfies at this point in the day. Poor girl is usually fast asleep by 8 at the latest, so she is a trooper for making it this long...even with that 3.5 hour nap!

9:00 pm | Lay down my girl who requests 'nigh-nigh' now (!!!) and change into my jammies. Come down to Truman feeling scared of a dragon or tiger. Snuggle on couch with him, as Nate is in the bathroom. Truman won't let me take him upstairs, since he is waiting for daddy because,  "I'm a boy and you're a girl. I need a boy named Daddy to take me upstairs." No use in arguing that one, I suppose!

9:10 pm | The boys head upstairs after some daddy hugs. 

They usually go up around 8 so again, this is a late night for us all. I change cloth diaper laundry, check email and IG. Should I work on this post or watch TV with Nate? I didn't clean today and have laundry to put away, but there's always tomorrow for that ;) Otherwise it's been a pretty productive day, with the most progress being made on this post in the same day I'm recording it.

9:25 pm | My turn to tell Truman his three made up stories. Tonight I basically just recount the day: a story about the Big Backyard, one about gymnastics, and one about Cranky Al's. My buddy says he had a good day and we kiss goodnight. 'Have sweet dreams, mommy,' Truman calls after I leave. 

9:35 pm | Nate goes back upstairs for his song routine and says he will probably work on the back door some more, so no Mad Men tonight for us. Now that Breaking Bad is over, and now that we finished Orange is the New Black, we need a new show! We have heard a lot of people talk about Man Men so we are on the first season, episode three. We'll see. But for now I decide to pour a glass of vino and work more on this post. Erin texts me and that stinker beat my time for plank-a-day, when I thought she wasn't even going to do it today since it was Henry's birthday party! I'll get her back tomorrow;) This has been a fun competition and we tend to be neck and neck each day. {Sidenote--I just did mine for today (Sunday) and if I don't beat her tonight I will be shocked. Extra motivating to redeem myself after losing on a DiTL day!}

10:00 pm | Nate goes up to bed and did not work on the door after all. We are all tired! Still uploading iphone pictures to Diptic for collages. 

10:35 pm | Enough is enough. Just did another hour on this post so that's three hours total! Insane. I'm pretty tired, I suppose, and we are going to try to make 8:30 church tomorrow so I need to hit the sack.

10:50 pm | Actually drag myself upstairs after IG'ing again (grand total of three IGs today, pretty average) and waiting for my last Flickr batch to upload. Brush teeth, wash face, peek in on Truman and go to bed.

6:15 am | Truman calls for Nate and I figure the night is over. But wait! He simply requests a 'super special tuck in' and we all return to sleep until...

7:30 am | OMG. Cecelia is calling for me and this is seriously a new record. She didn't wake up last night! And she slept for 10.5 hours!!! I bring her into our bed because she is in a great mood. We all are;) I even let Henry come up into our bed to celebrate.

(blurry, but whatever)

We hear Truman shortly after and go in there to retrieve him. So glad he didn't get out of his bed on his own today and holy cow, really proud of his sleeping, too. He gets two rocks in his rock jar and we are all high on life. Great moods. Good breakfast. And we totally missed church due to the sleeping in occurrence, but I'm sure God understands just this once. 

That's our life right now. These kids always keep us guessing.