A Day in the Life | Fall 2016

Nate and Julia are 35 years old, Truman is 6 1/2, Cecelia is 4, Porter is 2, and Henry dog will be 11 in a few weeks!

{Entire photo album found here, only 103 for the day, world record for the least amount of photos in a DiTL. I'm so evolved.}

Friday | October 7, 2016

6:15 am | Alarm goes off. Snooze that SOB.

6:30 am | Roll out of bed. Nate kisses me goodbye for the day and asks if Henry peed all over the floor last night. Brief moment of panic, as I don't remember this and might be losing my mind?! But then we agree that it must have been in Nate's dream when he saw me huddled on the floor with 'tons of towels' wiping up dog urine. Instead, I only recall having Cecelia come into our room at 4 am last night, needing a hug after a bad dream. Bonus points that I didn't even get out of bed to comfort her and she went back to bed on her own.

Get up, go downstairs. Say goodbye to Nate again, and he asks me to take out the garbage carts this morning. Do that and take Henry out as Nate pulls away. Pour a cup of coffee and get going on the weekday morning routine. Toast frozen waffles for the kids, pour milks. Make Truman's lunch, which is the same nearly every day: PBJ, Gogurt, Applesauce, pretzels, Kids Clif Bar, whole milk, and a candy snack with a note. 

6:40 am | I hear Porter yell 'Mommy, Mommy, Mommy!!!!!' He now has the Tot Clock in his room and we set it to this time, hoping to get to 7am eventually, since that is when the two big kids come out of their rooms each day. But for now, we are just happy he's making it until 6:40. Get the big guy and praise him for staying asleep this long. Bring him down and he's a bit whiny but pulls through with some waffles. I drink some of the green smoothie Nate left for me and keep getting things ready for the day (i.e. Cecelia's snack, making sure Truman's homework sheets are in his backpack, etc). 

7:00 am | Truman comes down stairs in an excellent mood. Still talking about soccer practice last night. Cecelia remains upstairs and is pouting about T leaving her up there (?), so I go and retrieve her. She pouts for a solid 10 minutes with the lower lip pooch, but then snaps out of it with Porter being a class clown, making pig noises. The trio eats breakfast and giggles, I sit with them and drink my coffee.

7:30 am | Truman is done first, gets dressed and brushes teeth. Cecelia is also finished so I help her get dressed. Super smooth morning so far, thank goodness.

7:40 am | Since they are ready so early, they get a little TV time. Truman picks out a strange show called 'Auggie and the Three Cockroaches' or something. All three of my cockroaches sit and watch the show, Cecelia brushes teeth and I change P's diaper and get him dressed. I put on work out clothes since I plan to run on the treadmill today at some point. Get backpacks ready to go, shoes on the kids.

8:00 am | TV goes off and we head out to school after jackets are placed, it's supposed to get colder as the day goes on but is beautiful right now. We hope to see the wild turkey that we spotted yesterday, but no dice. We did, however, see garbage trucks so Porter was quite pleased. Beautiful time of year in Wisconsin, and I take my first picture of the day! Hang at the playground with mom friends and kid friends. Give a birthday gift to my friend, Ali, since it's her big day this weekend. Cecelia and crew collect leaves that they will bring into class, probably illegally. Truman plays football with his buddies. Porter eyes the very wet slides but does NOT go down them, somehow.

Ready to take on the world!


Obsessed with the changing leaves.


8:15 am | Bell rings! Kids line up, I give kisses and hugs and Porter even gets in on that action. The moms talk a bit longer then we walk home. Ali and I decide to do the zoo after JK pick up. Once back home I text a few other girls with the plan. This is when I decide to do DiTL. I turn on Porter's Thomas movie and decide to type this up really quickly, since I haven't taken any notes yet. Mentally pumping myself up for this to be a heavily documented day. Oh yeah, must take a selfie since I'm lacking on pictures so far! (I didn't even post it here, it was a pretty mediocre photo and I'm trying my hardest to keep the pictures and text minimal this time--so hard!).

8:45 am | There is a tree trimming truck outside of our house, Porter is in heaven. I decide to do my treadmill time, intervals today, since I did run 4.5 miles yesterday on this bad boy, too. I change the laundry because I started a load this morning, when I realized Porter's loveys smelled like death. Run for 15 minutes total, sprinting at 10.0 mph for 40sec, hop off for 20 seconds, repeat. Sweating profusely as this sprinting stuff is not my jam, but I'm trying to mix it up. This burst of speed stuff really does get me amped up and doesn't take nearly as long as a 4-5 mile run! 

9:10 am | Done. Sweaty selfies, seriously so sweaty it's unreal. Porter is still watching his movie. Start packing lunch for the zoo (PBJ, apples, pretzels) and need to eat a real breakfast, the smoothie is not cutting it. 

Disgusting but satisfying sweatiness.


Oh, hey, guys---glad you didn't notice I almost keeled over in the basement.

9:30 am | I eat an egg sandwich and sausage with my guy. He annihilates it! Requests another when we are finished. Ah, the continuous debate on whether Porter is actually hungry or just asking for more food for 'fun'. Get a video of him saying "you're my best mommy, I love you so much." Day is made. 

YUM.

My Porter.

9:40 am | I make the kid another egg sandwich. Listen to my favorite current song by Lord Huron, who we saw in concert a few weeks ago and LOVED. Feeling the caffeine and intense work out, energy is high. 

9:45 am | I decide to shower now, too sweaty to postpone it until nap time  P is eating and playing trains now and since we have entered an amazing time in life with just one child during school, I can shower in peace while he plays. The beauty of this fact is not lost on me, trust. 

After my shower I have to decide how put together I want to be today. The ultimate would be jeans hair down and make up, but I decide to split the difference and wear leggings, wet hair up in a bun and make up. There's no need to go through all the trouble of actually styling my hair just for a day in the life, right?!? I help Porter with his 'broken' egg sandwich and he's back at his tracks again, says he doesn't want to come up to the bathroom with me to get ready. Okay!

Ta-Da, super dressy, just for you. Also, wonderful quality picture, I know.

10:10 am | Selfies with Porter. Gosh, I love him.


OOTD includes a tee shirt of Nate's from 1988 and amazing jeans (hand-me-downs as well).


He pooped but is talking about some game he plays with Cecelia, hoping I won't notice the stench. It's very windy out so we watch the trees blow for a bit. "I love when it rains on my face, my head, my nose." Change diaper and load up various bags, a stroller, water bottles into the van. Holy man, the temp is dropping as we speak!

10:45 am | I get Porter in the van and he is frustrated because he apparently has leaves in his shoes. It's always funny when we pick Cecelia up from school in the van, whenever we have to go somewhere right away. We literally park across the street from our house which is an interesting site for anyone paying attention, I guess.

10:55 am | Cecelia comes outside with her class and she actually got out earlier than this, first time I've seen all 29 kids ready to leave school early. She's excited to go to the zoo with us even though she didn't know we were going to do this ahead of time. Cece and her friend Natalie exchange leaves and they give a group hug to another little girl in the class before leaving. Sissy is starving so I give her some pretzels and Porter gets raisins on the way to the zoo. Get filled in on Cecelia's day a little bit as we drive-- she said she missed centers because she was too busy eating her snack. Kid is always starving after school, too!

11:10 am | Hi, zoo!! Meet our friends Ali and Kerry with their kids. Get to see a lot of different things today like chickens and lions and a red panda that we didn't know existed. Let the kids do the little foot massager chairs which they love, see an elephant leaning over the edge of the moat which was amazing, and do the coin drop at the very end. Highs and lows throughout the trip include CC grabbing random bird feathers from the ground and I told her she could get the bird flu if she touched any more. Biggest high was getting peanut butter cups at the end from Ali, definitely tipped the scales towards 'awesome' for this particular zoo trip. Even though it's really freaking cold all of a sudden, like less than 60 degrees and some of the children were shivering. STILL. We had a good time.

Every DiTL needs a public bathroom selfie, yes?


Brittany the elephant was out of control this day!


Zoo this time of year, love.


Foot massager delights.

12: 50 pm | Pack up and head home. Cecelia says, 'I just love when Porter takes a nap because I get gum. I want to see a tree that's not at all green, only red.' Me, too, sis!

1:00 pm | We are home. CC has me check her school folder. I run down to get the clean laundry for loveys that no longer smell like spoiled milk. 

1:05 pm | I lay Porter down and he's not happy about it, Cecelia is trying to help him calm down by giving him trains but it's only making things worse. I know this nap will be cut short by Truman's school pick up, so I'm a little stressed already. 

Give Cecelia her gum because it's Friday, the one day a week we allow T and C to have gum because they are OBSESSIVE. Talk to sis and unload dishes, then she starts to help me with the dishes. Next we fold laundry and discuss why 75% of our laundry is always inside out. CC helps me make it right side in and is in charge of all undies and socks. Next we go outside and pull our garbage carts inside. Poop patrol for Henry dog. A few porch pictures. I'm starved so I make my lunch (PB cups weren't enough). Grilled ham and cheese, half eaten kid apple, Pringles, and Cordyceps tea. This is a new thing Nate ordered from Amazon that gives you a little kick in the pants without actual caffeine, something about mushrooms as superfoods----it's actually VERY tasty with a little bit of coconut oil in my hot tea, and takes less time to make than a French press of coffee. 

Does Daddy's shirt fit me, Mom? Go Billikens!


Posed like this without me asking, I was really just trying to get the house.


New thing, kind of dig it.

1:40 pm | It's screen time for the girls! Eat, check email--read the weekly update from C's teacher, watch their letter video, start this post. Instagram a picture from this morning, I don't think I've posted anything in two days so it's high time. Help Cecelia with the Kindle, Disney Junior app is acting weird. 

Teenager.

2:50 pm | Sigh. Okay, we need to get moving. CC and I get off of the couch finally, and it's already time to wake P for school pick up. Note: this is the THIRD TIME in one day that we will be walking to school, and by Friday it's getting extremely old. Dreading this part of waking Porter so much. CC is also not listening the best when it comes to getting her shoes and socks on for our walk. Wake Porter and initially he is happy and all, 'Hi, Mommy.' But then his exhaustion shows when I bring him downstairs. Everything is upsetting to him and he will NOT wear his hoodie. Not even pretzel rods stop the tears. Poor third baby.

Oh, babe.

3:00 pm | We walk to school, CC riding her bike, Porter needs to be carried and cuddled while I push the single BOB (empty). He's shivering but won't wear his hoodie. Poor guy just needed his preferred three hour nap, not a measly two hour one!

3:20 pm | We are at school for a few minutes, then the bell rings. Truman's class comes out a few minutes later and it looks like they had a sub---sure enough, Truman tells me right away that his teacher had a doctor appointment and so they had a sub for half of the day. I immediately assume Truman's teacher is pregnant, she is young and has a one year old baby, so....that's my guess!  Porter is super clingy. Truman gives me a kiss then runs off to play kick ball, soccer, and football with friends. We hit up the small and big playgrounds with our friends. Cecelia and her buddies are doing a pretty good job of getting along, they play duck-duck-goose for a bit. Porter loves to walk all along the rail road ties and I manage to chat with my mom friends for a bit. I even meet a new mom from Cecelia's class! There are so many new faces this year, and I'm just starting to remember names and kids. It's turning out to be a gorgeous afternoon with the sun shining and brisk, but not too chilly anymore. Porter eventually does put on his hoodie, btw. 

5:00 pm | We finally leave school! That was probably the longest we've stayed after the bell but the kids were just having a blast. Cecelia announces, "It's like winter, it's so cold" on our way home. Truman pushes Porter for me and Nate is already home---nice and early! On the playground I texted asking him to start the pizza since he got home so early. When we get inside he has the pizzas baking already, thank goodness. 

Let kids decompress with TV while we make dinner for the next 20 minutes. We have a spinach salad, with beets, feta and apples and then our pizza. The kids get apples and pizza. We check Truman's school folder which is packed full of worksheets. Talk to Nate about our days, sounds like his was a good one, too. He teaches a lab on Friday afternoons and it was an easy one, hence getting done early. But sad trombone, he also has to work his first hockey game of the season tonight, so I will be doing bedtime solo and will only get to see my husband for....oh, an hour and fifteen minutes tonight. No bueno. But hey, it's Friday night! 

5:30 pm | Our gourmet dinner is served. C and P are melting down in unison and Nate says, 'Here we go!' He was home for dinner last night, too, which is a RARITY to have two nights of family dinners in a row! But last night he noticed that weekday dinners are basically a giant crap shoot and really not that fun, even with two parents (and especially with just one, as is our norm most days). We go around and say what our favorite part of the day was. Truman says it was the hula hoop game he played in gym, then describes it for us. Cecelia says it was singing a song about blind mice, then sings it for us with a forceful emphasis on 'cut off their tails with a carving knife.' Yikes. Little murderer. Nate says his is when he came home tonight and I say it was when we played for so long on the playground today. Porter informs us that he lost a tooth when he woke up one day and he '

cried and cried and cried' about it. This kid says the most amazing things. I wish I had a video reel of his entire day for this post, he's just a riot. Truman then shows us every single piece of paper from his school folder. This guy is learning so much again! 

5:50 pm | At this point all of the kids are up from the table, and Cecelia is downstairs with Porter playing trains. I swear our kids cannot sit at the table for more than 15 minutes no matter how hungry they are. Truman and Nate are trying to fix Truman's headphones and I clean up dinner. Then my six year old gifts me with arm farts and a heavy discussion about his Cub Scout popcorn selling prizes. Family selfies, of which many are such Christmas card contenders, it's hard to pick just one. Nate leaves for the game. The kids and I have an intense game of tag around our lower level and I'm literally panting for breath, they are all giggling and screaming. It's the best. 

Christmas Card contender. I want my iPhone 7 for the camera capabilities, thank you very much.


Bye, Daddy!

6:30 pm | Fun is over! We head upstairs for a 1:3 bedtime ratio, and although I am outnumbered I am not a stranger to this scenario.  Jammies on, brush teeth, and Truman tries to read Porter and Cecelia a Pokemon book. This doesn't go over well, but I do manage to get an amazing picture of those three before all hell breaks loose. I decide to read them Curious George and pray for the best---they actually do listen, fairly captivated, during a longish book about a naughty monkey. 

Love, love, love.

7:00 pm | Goodnight, Porter P! He doesn't even put up a fight, my sweet boy. I read the Pokémon book to Truman and Cecelia on their floor, and yet again decide that Pokemon is freaking weird. Kisses. Made up bedtime stories. Lights off. Promises of waffles tomorrow morning. 

7:15 pm | I come downstairs and immediately pour myself a glass of wine and get a bowl of dry CTC.  What's that, you ask? Cinnamon Toast Crunch. The bomb, actually. I turn on the TV and am disappointed that Shark Tank is no longer on Friday nights, settle on some random show and bounce around between Hells Kitchen and Dateline. Breathe. Check IG. Work on this post. 

Yes.


I take several breaks to zone out on Dateline, as it's a really intriguing one tonight. Take Henry out, consider watching a Weeds episode (my new favorite show to watch without Nate present, mostly on the treadmill) but decline. First time in the history of DiTL---but I get fully caught up with both the text and pictures in this post. What the heck is happening to me lately?!? Absurd.

9:50 pm | That's enough of that. Head up to get ready for bed, teeth, pajamas, wash face. I hear Nate come home so I go back down and we chat for a bit. He is nowhere near ready for bed yet, it takes him awhile to wind down after a hockey game, but I'm well on my way to being asleep! Read a bit of my book (Razor Girl by Carl Hiaasen, anyone ever read him? So weird but funny!) and go to bed by 10:25pm.

The next morning I wake at 6am to Porter's incessant coughing. My alarm goes off at 6:15 and I lay there for a bit, hoping P is okay and just getting a cold (or recovering from a week long one, take your pick). Then I get out of bed and go for a 4.5 mile run before the rest of the family wakes, and I don't realize that it's a whopping 38 degrees outside until I'm well into my run. I could see my breath, my hands were numb, and I noticed every other runner wore a ski cap and gloves. Not me! But it was still a beautiful run, I came home to the kids and Nate around a fire in our fireplace, looking through my Chatbooks. And then we made pancakes and bought a new Thomas movie, so all was very right in our Saturday morning world.




And thus ends this day in the life. I have about a million others that I've recorded over the years, if you are really dying to read more you can start with this link. Hope you'll play along and record one for yourself, they are fun---promise ;)