A Day in the Life

Yesterday, I wrote down my activities by time and realized, I live a very amusing life:

5:30AM Maggie is hungry. Screaming. Mommy makes a bottle, gives a bottle, feeds the dogs, puts the coffee on and grabs the papers.

6:00AM Bottle inpires morning "activities" and Mommy must change a very smelly diaper. Since Mommy must strip Maggie, Mommy decides just to get her dressed. Mommy's coffee is getting cold on the counter. She poured a cup, but has had no time to drink it.

6:30AM La Nina is screaming. La Nina, her bed and most of her blankets are wet, very wet. The problem: She has decided pull-ups are like diapers and she only wants to sleep in panties. Mommy must strip the bed, wash down the child. Since she is naked, Mommy dresses the child. Daddy has slept through everything.

7AM Maggie is hungry for breakfast. Mommy must scramble a couple of eggs. La Nina wants oatmeal, Mommy makes oatmeal. Mommy reheats coffee for the first time. Approximately 1/4 of a cup of coffee is consumed.

7:30AM Time for morning rituals: Asthma medicine, face washing, hair brushing, teeth brushing, etc. Coffee is still in the microwave from reheating it.

8AM La Nina and Daddy leave for school. Maggie and Mommy get ready for some holiday shopping. Mommy wants to get out early as she is way behind and doesn't have enough holiday spirit to put up with crowd. Mommy gulps down remainder of luke warm coffee in 3 minutes. Mommy realizes she hasn't showered, so does so very quickly with Maggie pounding on the shower door wailing the entire time.

8:45AM With a diaper bag packed with lunch and an extra bottle, Mommy and Maggie head to Target in San Ramon, Mommy's favorite store.

9:00AM Maggie is asleep in the sling as Mommy shops in Target. Mommy is thinking that Maggie has gained some weight since China. Target has been reshuffled for the holidays and in her sleep deprived state lugging 20 lbs of baby weight, Mommy struggles to complete her Target Christmas shopping.

10:00AM Mommy and Maggie (now awake and hungry) head for the van for a bottle and to get the stroller so we can head to the book store. After a quick diaper change, Mommy realizes she has to go too, but a bathroom stop with her wild child is just out of the question.

10:30AM Into the book store we head for a book for La Nina's Christmas party. Mommy realizes La Nina should be involved in this whole process, but the thought of two kids in a book store is very unappealing. Mommy buys a book for the party without La Nina and decides just to show it to La Nina.

11:00AM The bathroom situation is reaching crisis levels so Mommy decides to head home. Maggie can eat lunch and then we can pick up La Nina.

11:30AM Home. Whew! Time for Maggie's Lunch. She absolutely chows down on yogurt, baby food and rice cereal. Her eating is very impressive.

Noon Maggie's lunch inspires more "activity". Another diaper change and then it is out the door to mail a letter and pick up La Nina.

1PM We are back from picking up La Nina. La Nina is exhausted and needs a nap. However, she is mad because Mommy won't let her read the book for the gift exchange at school. Mommy pulls out a special Dora Christmas book that was supposed to be a surprise to appease her and it seems to work. La Nina is down for her nap.

1:30PM Maggie is happily playing. Mommy can return a couple of phone calls, one which is 4 days over due.

2Pm. Mommy realizes she hasn't had lunch. Grabs a protein bar and starts trying to clean the kitchen, but Maggie is being too helpful.

2:30 PM La Nina is awake, happier and ready for her snack. Maggie is game for a snack too. Mommy gets the kitchen clean.

3:00 PM Snack is over, girls need to get out, so we head out front to ride tri-cycles and get pushed in the car. Diaper change is required to make this happen.

4:00 PM After an hour of outdoor play we head indoors. La Nina wants to color, so we get the pens. Maggie is getting cranky. She still hasn't napped beyond Target. Mommy starts laundry so La Nina can go to bed tonight.

5:00PM Maggie melts down and goes for her nap. Mommy is convinced Maggie will be awake until mid-night. Mommy and La Nina start unpacking Christmas ornaments for the tree. The dog, Pete steals LaNina's favorite bear ornament--meltdown ensues. Mommy rescues bear from a very certain demise and the bear becomes the first ornament on our tree. La Nina stops crying because the bear is now safe.

5:30PM The ornaments are out on the dining room table, time to make dinner. Good news is we have some leftovers. Bad news is Maggie is awake and wailing. Mommy grabs Maggie and starts trouble shooting. Not hungry or wet, must be teething. Administers Tylenol and Baby Mozart, Maggie is back down for her nap by 5:45 and Mommy is back in the kitchen. Mommy decides Maggie's Tylenol looked pretty good to her, medicates herself.

6:00PM Daddy is home, but working. Mommy moves laundry, flips on Dora for La Nina and finishes heating the leftovers.

6:15PM As the family sits down for dinner, Maggie wakes up wailing again. Mommy grabs her and brings her to the table. It seems she is really awake this time. Mommy abandons eating to feed Maggie.

6:45PM Bath time. See previous post for details on bath time antics.

7:30PM Baths are complete. Mommy remakes LaNinas bed with clean laundry. Time for La Nina to get ready for bed, but tonight we want to try to get a Christmas card photo of the girls. SO, we begin trying to pose them. It doesn't work.

7:45PM Mommy starts putting La Nina down. Maggie doesn't even look a little tired. She has some quality time with her beloved Daddy.

8:15PM La Nina is down. Maggie is running around like a banchee.

8:30PM On a lark, I decide to try to put Maggie down. It works! She is down by 8:45pm.

8:45PM-11PM: Must get ready for tomorrow. Clean kitchen, pick up toys, make bottles, then sort Christmas decorations and wrap 5 gifts.

11PM Fall into bed and sleep thinking the tree didn't get decorated, the shopping isn't done, we have no plan on the Christmas cards, but the kids are fed, clean and happy. Isn't that all that matters?

Footnote: It took me 2 days to complete this post. It is about Monday, December 13, but Tuesday, December 14 was remarkably similar except my morning was spent running errands and visting with family, and La Nina slept in her pull-up so there was no load of laundry.