In the past few weeks, I've seen hour-by-hour posts on some other blogs and thought it was fun to get a little glimpse into how people spend their day. Again, that just may be my pseudo-stalking, but if it is, I'm thinking that since you all are probably pseudo-stalkers as well you may enjoy getting a little peak into how we spend our day here in the house of chaos.
It all begins around 5:30. That's when Levi wakes up, and I begrudgingly go into his room to give him his bottle. He usually only drinks a couple ounces of it before I put him back in his crib. We have long debated if he actually needs this little snack, but so far, we have found that if we don't give it to him, he just wakes up every 10 minutes or so until we do. Since the whole process only takes 7 minutes total, I figure it's worth it. Oh, and I didn't take a picture of 5:30 because I really didn't want to wake Levi up anymore than necessary...
6:30 Josh has left for work, which means Chipper is now back in bed with me. Levi usually wakes up between 6:30 and 7 for the day (if we're really lucky, he occasionally skips that 5:30 one and makes it until now to begin with) and joins Chipper and I in bed. Levi drinks his bottle and climbs around while I play with him/watch the news/watch a crapload of political ads (it's really fun living in a battleground state!).
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| btw...he's not asleep...the camera's flash was just too bright for his little eyes! |
7:30 Colton has a clock that turns green at 7:15, alerting him that he can get out of bed. He usually wakes up then or shortly thereafter. And when he does, we quickly shift into go-mode around here. Colton needs juice, both boys need diaper changes and to get dressed, I need to get dressed, both boys need breakfast, if it's a school day, Colton needs lunch made, and if it's not, he needs a snack made for the day, I need to make my coffee. It is during this hour that I also try to get any dishes from the previous night taken care of and conquer my daily cleaning tasks. While I'm getting everything done, Colton is watching the Disney Channel or playing on the iPad (we try to encourage iPad...not because it's more educational, but because then I can keep the "Today Show" on...priorities people) and Levi is crawling around...usually checking in on his brother!
8:30 If it's a school day, we HAVE to be out of the house by 8:30 for Colton to be on time. If it's not, we generally leave by 9. Either way, our destination is the same. I either go straight to the gym, or drop Colton off in his classroom before heading over to the gym (his school and my gym happen to be in the same building, so it makes it really easy!).
9:30 Levi, and Colton on non-school days, are having a blast in the babysitting room while I'm a stinky, sweaty mess upstairs. Depending on what our plans are for the day, I may take the time to shower in the locker room and make myself somewhat presentable before picking up the boys. On a side note, people often applaud me for going to the gym every day, but here's the deal people...it's an hour of free babysitting a day! Really, it's a no-brainer! (And I guess in all my excitement to be at the gym (sarcasm), I forgot to take a picture for this hour.)
10:30 Now, we're off to the day's activity. If it's a school day, that's probably an errand (Harris Teeter, Target, and Michaels/AC Moore are visited at least once a week), and if not, I try to do something with the boys that is fun for them...that may be a seasonal activity (ie: farm, pumpkin patch), a trip to the park, playtime with their friends, or even a craft or something at the house. Levi usually takes a little snooze on our way to the activity and then stays asleep for anywhere between 5 minutes and an hour (he's having an increasingly difficult time staying asleep if there's any kind of action around him, which is cool with me because I'm thinking it means we're getting closer to not needing that morning nap!) Today we visited a straw maze and pumpkin patch.
11:30 Still out and about. Today we've moved on to the park.
12:30 I try to get the boys home around now so that they can eat lunch at home (I try to limit our lunches out to one a week both from a cost and health standpoint) and not risk them taking their nap in the car! After lunch, we usually head out back for some more play time or into the playroom if it's not nice out.
1:30 About 1:45, I bring the boys in to get them to start winding down for their naps. For Colton, that means turning on the tv for a few minutes. Levi doesn't really get the whole winding down thing yet, but at 2, I take him back to his room, read to him, and put him down. And then I get Colton, read to him, and put him down. And then I do my happy dance, turn on my DVR (no doubt to some form of reality tv), and spend a few minutes doing some computer maintenance stuff...checking Facebook, checking my emails and responding to anything I need to, reading blogs, etc.
2:30 I generally use the middle hour of the boys' naps to get stuff done...clean up, work on parties, work on projects for the house...whatever is on the agenda for the day. On this particular day, I was working on some letters for a coworkers of Josh's baby boy's nursery (she asked me to do them), a recipe box for an upcoming "bun in the oven" shower, and some hooks for my coat rack. It is very common for our poor back patio to look a mess littered with my ongoing projects!
3:30 Naptime is sadly drawing to a close, and I try to force myself to use the last of it to relax on the couch usually checking out Pinterest or typing up some blogs or even working on printables for upcoming parties. The boys usually wake up between 4 and 4:30, and I make sure I've gotten a shower in before then. Levi is generally up first, and we hang out, but when Colton wakes up, my favorite part of the day begins. I don't know when it started, but for some reason, we now typically spend about 15 minutes or so just hanging out in Colton's bed. The boys are so excited to see each other...and me (like we haven't seen each other all day!), and it's just a really special time.
4:30 Eventually, Colton asks to go outside, so we likely head out front where Colton can ride his bike or power wheel around. While we're out there, he probably takes some time to throw rocks in our ditch, gather some acorns for the squirrels, play with the sidewalk chalk, and maybe even visit with our neighbor across the street (she's almost 2, so they'e just getting to really know each other!). Levi crawls around on the driveway and attempts to put everything in his mouth...I'm thinking this part of our day will be much more enjoyable once Levi can walk! If it's not nice outside, we're probably spending this time in the playroom instead. Obviously, the novelty of our pumpkins hadn't quite worn off by the time I took this picture, but the boys did eventually move on to their more routine activities!
5:30 Josh has called to say he's on the way home, so we've headed inside so I can make dinner. If I can get the boys into the playroom, they're down there playing. If that's not working, though, I turn on the tv in the living room or hook him up with the iPad and Colton is instantly calmed down enough that I can make dinner. Again, that strategy obviously doesn't work for Levi, so he's either back to playing in the dishwasher or some other task. When Josh gets home, he gets changed and then plays with the boys until dinner is ready.
6:30 Dinner is ready, and we sit down at the table to eat together. After dinner, we get into our second go mode of the day. Josh does the dishes and cleans up the dishes while I get both boys in the bath and then into their pajamas. They seem to really enjoy taking a bath together...and it's quicker obviously...so most nights that's how we do it!
7:30 Settle down time in our house. Once again for Colton that means time watching tv (please tell me we're not the only ones who use the tv to calm our children down/keep them distracted so we can get stuff done), usually cuddled up next to me, and Levi is with Josh drinking his last bottle. At 8, it's bedtime for both boys. Josh takes one, and I take the other (and then we switch off who every other day) to get their teeth brushed, read them a book, and put them in bed.
8:30 Levi is fast asleep, but Colton is probably still up, and we're watching/listening to him on the monitor. With the boys in bed, we get our relaxing in for the night...adult tv on, Josh is reading "The Daily" on his iPad, and I'm wasting a little more time on the computer. Oh, and I'm having my special treat of the day...1/2 cup of my ice cream...literally, I have it every night, but it's only a 1/2 cup so I think it's justified!
9:30 Everything is generally unplugged at this point...except for the tv, and we're both fighting sleep. Usually around 10, we head back to the bedroom, turn on that tv, and curl up in there to watch until we fall asleep...
And then it all begins the next day!
*Confession: those pictures were actually taken over the course of 2 days since I was not responsible enough to remember to take all the pictures on day 1! I'm sure the outfits gave it away, but I figured I should come clean.
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Cute post idea!
ReplyDeleteI just have to say the pic of them in their carseats worries me, because the chest clip was not yet pushed up towards his chest. Usually car seat manuals say to align them with their armpits. Not sure what your manual says, but it's worth looking into. Want little guy to be as safe as possible!! Or maybe you just snapped the pic quick and then adjusted everything.....then I'm just the crazy stalker!! Haha!