Last year, I got the idea to record a whole day's activities on the first Friday of January. It seemed like a good tradition, so I did it again yesterday. Since the boys are so much more active this year, I also recorded what they did. That made for a complicated log with three people, but I guess our lives are just kind of like that now!
I recorded the day as accurately as I could, and I didn't do anything special just because I was writing things down for posterity :)
12:00a everyone asleep (DF and I think that maybe we heard a kid crying at some point during the night, but it didn't go on very long so we didn't get up to check on anyone.)
6:25a DF's alarm goes off. I try to go back to sleep, but then I remember that snow had been predicted so I open Facebook to see what people are saying. Sounds like we have some flakes!
6:45a Get up and look out the window. Hmm, looks pretty slippery out there. Turn on TV to check the news and find that most schools in the area are closed. Too bad DF's office is still open! I tell him to drive carefully.
7:20a Boys get up. They seem semi-interested in observing the snow out the window. We have about an inch in the yard.
7:35a Breakfast time for kids. Gus drops his "spill-proof" cup and spills milk all over the floor, but I don't notice at first so it turns into a huge puddle. Oops!
8:00a I make coffee and eat breakfast while the boys play with the contents of the recycling bin. Fight breaks out over identical yogurt cups.
8:30a Get boys dressed, aka I wrestle two wriggling piglets into shirts, pants, sweatshirts, socks, and shoes.
Morning playtime includes: climb on little chairs to look out the window, fill up containers with blocks and dump them out (hilarious!), sing songs, and wipe snotty noses. I am teaching them to wipe their own noses - they are getting better at it!
I consider if I should take them outside to play in the snow. But after assessing our lack of kid-sized cold weather gear, the disadvantageous adult:child ratio, and the very high likelihood of screaming tantrums (either from cold, having to come inside, or both), I decide against it. Instead, I take pictures of them looking out the window longingly at the snow...
9:15a Snack time. I'm tired of sweeping up cracker crumbs, so I put them in their high chairs for snack in an attempt to contain the mess. They mostly crush up their crackers and fling them off their trays. Ha ha, good try, Mom! I want to eat a brownie, which means I give them some bites too. (I can't eat anything in front of them if I don't share it or they throw a fit.) They appreciate the brownie and do not toss it overboard.
9:30a Sesame Street is on. They sort of watch it, but mostly fight with their toy brooms. They like stomping along with Count to the "Number of the Day" song.
10:00a (Usually, this is when we'd go on an outing of some sort, like the zoo, park, grocery store, etc. Although they are 18 months old, it's still tough for them to stay up all morning. If I let them take a nap now, though, they might not take a second one, and that's just not a good plan for anyone.) Accept reality that we are going to stay home all day b/c I am not taking the risk of driving in this weather. Give them pacifiers to stop the squawking. Snuggle up on the couch to watch more TV. When they get bored of TV, they hop down and chase each other around the house. We build blocks. I try to teach them "Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes," but they aren't grasping the concept of that song. Play tackle Mommy (I lay on the floor; they jump/crawl on me).
11:00a Lunch time. They don't seem very hungry as they mainly throw their sandwich pieces on the floor and spread yogurt all over their trays. Then Gibson wipes kiwi juice in his eye and starts screaming. I wonder how we are all going to last until nap time...
11:30a Mommy snack time. I turn on the Toddler Tunes music channel. Peace! The calm lasted literally 4 minutes until a tackling fight broke out.
12:00p We made it! Nap time! As I try to tuck them in, Gus gets burst of energy and runs back and forth giggling in his crib. But they fall asleep before too long.
Whenever it's nap time, I try to spring into action right away and get essential things done because I never know how long they are going to sleep. If I start to dawdle, an expected three-hour nap will turn into 1.5 and I'll be up a creek. So while they sleep, I do these things: wash my face/put in contacts (decide not to bother showering as I have no plans to leave the house), get dressed, eat lunch, clean up the remnants of boys' lunch, load/run dishwasher (which I can only do when they are asleep b/c they are obsessed with pushing the buttons on the dishwasher and I don't think it's good for the machine to be constantly switching from "temp boost" to "normal"...), fold some laundry, pick up toys, sweep the house, wonder if I hallucinated about mopping yesterday because the dining room floor looks rather dirty, put some chicken on to cook for boys, pay a bill online, check our online bank accounts to make sure there's no unusual activity, shop for reusable sandwich bags, send FB birthday greetings, try to borrow an e-book from the library but have to get on the waiting list, and check out another book (Half the Sky) instead to start reading.
DF gets home at 1:45p. His office closed early due to weather. He tells me about the adventures he had while driving in the snow and helping stranded motorists.
3:00p Boys wake up. What a nice, long nap! I think they were tired from MDO yesterday because they only slept an hour there.
3:20p Snack time followed by fighting over toys. Toys get sent to toy timeout (in the playpen). Boys do not approve of this consequence.
4:00p Boys knock over the coat rack and scare themselves. Much screaming follows. Guess we need to figure out a new barricade method...
4:30p Put pizza in the oven for dinner. Boys are fascinated when I turn on the oven light and spend most of the next half hour watching the pizza cook.
5:00p Dinner time. Gibson refuses to eat veggies, as usual. Gus eats some peas at least. I decide to live on the edge and feed the boys pizza along with their chicken, even though dairy doesn't always agree with them. (Note from the future: it turned out fine! No screaming gas incidents later that night!) I had meant to slice up some veggies for the parents, but I forget until we are nearly done eating. Oh well, there is tomato sauce on the pizza...
5:40p DF and I are sitting in the living room talking. I notice the boys are playing happily together and not fighting. I predict it will last 5 minutes, tops. Instead, they carry on nicely for 20 minutes! They come through the living room sometimes to say hi, then go back to playing elsewhere. The joy ends when they both try to wedge themselves into a too-small toy box and get stuck.
6:40p Getting sleepy, but it's not bedtime yet. (This is another time of day when we often take an outing to Target or Kroger, but the temperature is still below freezing and we don't want to venture out on icy roads.) Instead they get their pacifiers again and we turn on the TV.
7:00p Bedtime snack time, then they play with their brooms. Not really eating much snack.
7:30p Put on PJs. The boys help me carry some dirty clothes out to the washing machine, and I start a load of laundry. Then they eat more crackers and drink some water.
8:00p Time for bed. Brush teeth - we let them try to brush their own teeth, and then I finish them off, which they hate; read a story; sing a song. I forget to check their diapers until I've already tucked them in, so then I have to get them out of bed to change them. They seem confused about this aberration in the bedtime routine.
8:15p Lights out! I think they are asleep by 8:25p or so. I transfer laundry to dryer, unload/load dishwasher, clean off high chairs, debate sweeping again but decide it's not that bad. Have a snack and take an Emergen-C because my throat is scratchy. Then, it's time to relax. I check Facebook/Instagram, read some blogs and news sites. I sometimes play this phone game called Juice Jam, but I've been stuck on the same level for more than a week and it's too annoying so I decide to install a new game called Toy Blast. Seems fun enough.
10:00p Bedtime for Salmonista. Put away laundry and get myself ready for bed. Hope that the snow melts soon so we can escape the house tomorrow!
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