Let's start from 12am since technically that is when the day begins, and unfortunately sometimes there is much to do in the wee hours of the morning for us moms of little kids)
12 am: I've been asleep for 1 hour at this point..sometimes less, rarely more.
2am-2:15ish: Allie woke up with a tummy ache. I took her to the bathroom, then after a few minutes of nothing happening I got her a bowl and put her back in bed.
4am-4:15ish: Jensen wakes up and I nurse him to settle him down and get him to sleep. He has been teething bad lately.
4:30ish: Allie wakes up again with a tummy ache. I send her back to bed after giving her a minute in the bathroom again. Let's just say all of these times are "ish" k?
5am-6:30: Jensen is stirring and wakes me up, Trey's alarm starts to go off (he hits the snooze a few times and I can only halfway sleep while this is happening) he is ready to leave to work at 6:30. At this time we usually go say a prayer with Allie and wake her up, but since she was feeling sick I told him goodbye and went back to sleep.
7:00: Jensen is awake, I feed him and Macsen comes in the room. They play for a few minutes and I get the strength to get out of bed :) I look around- the house looks pretty good- I might not have to clean up too much today :)
7:30: Put a TV show on for Macsen and Jensen so I can get going. I make myself some ACV first thing then make Macsen some Instant Breakfast to keep him happy for a few minutes. Today I need to do a few loads of laundry, so I start the sheets first so I can have them dry when Jensen needs his first nap. I gather the rest of the laundry throughout the house too.
8:00: Allie wakes up and feels a little sick still. I make her lay down and eat saltine crackers for a while. I pull up Photoshop and start editing some pictures. I browse facebook once in a while while I do this. I also check my email. Jensen is whiny and I can tell his teeth are bugging him so I give him some advil. I let the kids open one of the bags for the 12 Days of Christmas- its candy. I let Macsen have some but not Allie- she is mad at me but still doesn't feel good. I finally give in and tell her she can have 2 pieces- they are the size of Smarties. I take a picture of the kids with their candy and text it to Mom.
8:30: The kids need some decent breakfast so I scramble some eggs and add some cheese. Jensen likes them, and Allie eats all of hers with some coaxing. Macsen does NOT want eggs. I eat his since I didn't make my usual protein drink yet and spread some Nutella on a piece of bread for him. I take some Christmas cards out to the mailbox in my sweatpants and socks...no makeup or bra. Luckily no one sees me ;)
9:00: Clean up the kids and the kitchen. Dishes are still in the sink from last night and the table is such a mess, so I take a rag to it and the bench, then get a little too into it and pull out the magic erasure.
9:45: My kitchen and dining area looks a LOT better. Now I can breathe. I go change the laundry downstairs. Keep editing pics in the meantime..I call my mom while I'm editing pics. I call her everyday- its my fave. We talk about our plans for the day, what my kids are up to...I tell her about Allie not feeling good,
10:00: Allie is hungry again. She is hungry every couple hours when she is home...its super annoying. I give her and Macsen cheerios to eat on the couch while they play the iPad together. More editing...stop by facebook...respond to some emails...
10:30: Switch the laundry and make the beds. Jensen is starting to get tired, I can tell. Is anyone still reading this?
10:45: I put Jensen down for his first nap. The kids are playing in Allie's room and I tell them to try to be quiet. Luckily they didn't wake him up today, but pretty much every day he gets woken up, even with a fan going in the room...my kids are loud. As soon as he is asleep I sneak into the bathroom and put on some makeup and do my hair. I am lucky to find no huge messes when I emerge from my room and the kids are still playing.
11:30: I have so much to do for Christmas still. I am making a grocery list for tomorrow. I decide I better make the fudge cookie cutters today since the rest of the week is crazy. I go downstairs to look for the ingredients I bought, can't find them, come upstairs and get sidetracked doing something for the kids, remember what I was looking for, still can't find them upstairs, go back downstairs to look again, finally find them.
11:45: Make the fudge cookie cutters while the kids are distracted and the baby is asleep.
12:15: Jensen is awake now and the kids are hungry again. Macsen hates everything I suggest. All Allie wants is candy, and Jensen is just waiting in his high chair whining. I eat a couple pieces of lunch meat because I am starving, then heat up some squash to share with Jensen. While I am doing this I heat up some Ramen for the kids and also am editing pictures between bites.
12:30: Macsen spilled Ramen juice all over. Not sure why I ever expect this won't happen. I clean him up and change his saggy diaper. Yep, he is still not potty-trained. Can you tell me when that is supposed to happen in my day? ;) The plan is for after our trip next month because I don't want to drive 12 hours with him newly in underwear and stop every 10 minutes...then have a bathroom break at Disneyland every 10 minutes too...I eat some leftover salmon and try to share with Jensen but he doesn't want it. I get him out and cleaned off.
1:00: Switch the laundry. I am on the 3rd load now...1 more to go for today. The mountain of clothes on my couch downstairs is growing...I text Trey for the first time today. I realize it is only 1pm...I totally thought it was at least 3 or 4...I look around. The house is a mess...I am going to have to do a lot of cleaning up later. :(
1:30: I am almost finished editing the pics...just a couple more hours and they will be done...I pull out the fudge and put it in the packaging. I need tags for all these treats I will be making for our neighbors...I get on pinterest and find some free printables, then head downstairs to print them. I take Jensen with me because he cries when I put him down. He makes it a little difficult to type and get them printed off, but I manage.
2:00: The kids are hungry again. I am at a loss as to what to give them. I hand them the bag of Pirates Booty (Macsen calls it Pirates Food) I switch the laundry again and bring Jensen downstairs with me. I plug in the tree and let him play with the trains we put around it. He loves it, but only if I am sitting right there with him. Allie and Macsen come down to see what we are playing with and join in. I leave the kids to play for a bit and get some more editing done. I also look in the fridge and figure out what to make for dinner. We have some spaghetti sauce and Chicken leftovers so I'll make some pasta and rice and then everyone can choose what they want. Perfect.
2:30: Time to change some poopy diapers. Yuck. I am soooo excited for the day I don't have to do that ever again...
3:00: 6 Hours on the dot Jensen starts getting really whiny again...more advil...He wants me to hold him a lot. He is acting tired again so I try to get him to take another nap. He won't, but he is excited to go see what the kids are doing so he plays in their room for a while.
3:15: I get a text from my sister of her cute baby boy, respond "Cutie!" Then start on the pics again...almost done.
3:30: I am done! I start getting the CDs made and send an email to my client "Your pictures are done and I will send them in the mail tomorrow!" Then I package them all up, address and stamp the envelope...note to self- bring this with me to the UPS store tomorrow.
4:00: Last load of laundry in the dryer! The mountain is huge! I go outside to check the mail- YAY a Christmas card! My friends are so cute! And artsy! I look through the ads...what great deals are going on this week that I should price match tomorrow? I need to finalize my grocery list...what should I make for dinner this week? I can't think of anything...hmmm...
4:15: Jensen needs another nap. I lay down by him and get him to sleep. I think about how the day has gone. It is a pretty average day in my book..I think about how maybe I should use today as the post I've been wanting to write about. The kids are playing on the stairs and being super noisy, so I tell them to please be quiet about 10 times, each time getting a little less nice and little more mean...and I start this post.
4:30: Mostly done with the blog post. These always take longer than I hope, which is why I don't do this as much as I used to. I start getting a few things together for tomorrow. I won't be home pretty much all day tomorrow and will be leaving first thing in the morning so I need to start planning and getting ready for it now.
4:45: Jensen wakes up...he didn't sleep long :( Oh well. I still haven't put a bra on today. That's just what happens when you stay home all day and no one can tell with a baggy sweater on anyways haha
5:00: Trey texts me at 5:06 "Leaving now" This is the only night of the work week that he is home before 7:30 pm, (besides Friday) but I will only see him a few minutes before his meetings at the church. I decide I better get the rice and spaghetti going soon...the kids want some almonds while they play on the iPad together. I let them, even though we are eating in an hour, because its one of the healthiest things they have wanted to eat today.
5:15: I get the rice going then start the noodles. If you have made it this far in this post you must be really bored...
5:30: Trey will be home soon so I should straighten up the house. I do all that I can in 30 interrupted minutes.
6:05: Trey is home. We corral the kids to the table and eat quickly. They only want plain spaghetti noodles and Jensen won't eat anything but chips...I let him because I'm exhausted and want to talk to Trey for a few minutes. We talk about how Allie's class is lice-free (got an email from her teacher and had been emailing back and forth throughout the day) and talk a little about work. Good things are happening for Trey there, we hope.
6:20: Trey gets dressed for his meetings and heads out the door as I clean up dinner and the kids.
7:00: One hour til bedtime...I think a couple Dove Chocolates will hold me over...I'm going to try and finish this post...Macsen tries to steal one of my Doves and is whining and bugging Allie...maybe he will go to bed sooner tonight, especially since he didn't take a nap and he still needs a few a week. Allie is whining that she is hungry. I tell her she can find something herself. I tell the kids to turn the TV on. Now Allie is thirsty too.
7:10: I am pretty much done with this post and will schedule it for tomorrow...just in case I need to make any last minute changes in the morning. Jensen is whining again...surprised?
7:30: The kids are watching TV and are being so good right now...I don't want to ruin it, but I need to start getting them ready for bed- baths, snacks, teeth brushed, scriptures and books read, prayers said...now I'm rhyming and pretty tired so this post might get a little silly...
8:00: Allie and Macsen WILL be in their beds now. Sippy cups with water in hand.
8:15: Realistically this is the time they will actually be staying in their beds.
8:20: I will take Jensen downstairs and turn off all the lights to make getting out of bed less desirable for the kids and I will start making a dent in the mountain of laundry as I watch some of my guilty-pleasure TV like Vampire Diaries or Covert Affairs...soon The Bachelor will be my folding laundry show of choice...
9:00: Trey will be home around now..maybe sooner, maybe later. We'll talk for a few minutes then I'll get in the shower- I always shower at night. Jensen will be whiny for him but he will watch TV until I'm out.
9:30: Finally some time together! Depending on if Jensen is ready for bed it will be time spent just us or with him watching TV, talking, etc...
10:00/11:00: Read scriptures, say prayers, catch some shut-eye!
11:30: The time I realistically can fall asleep...
Ha! Even though I read over this and it makes me tired, I really LOVE my life as a Stay-at-home mom! I love my home and my kids and doing the things I love here. I am lucky to have photography on the side and this blog to keep things interesting and to keep me busy- I really like to stay busy! Obviously I could spend more time playing with my kids and doing other things at home- but the fun stuff we do together usually happens when we get out and on the weekends. I love that I go to bed exhausted every night from working hard- its good for me and I like to keep moving. Now I am curious, does anyone else's day look like this? Who actually read this entire boring novel of a post?
I also have to say one more thing...if you are a mom who feels like you don't do enough for your kids or are constantly feeling that mom-guilt, I encourage you to do one of these posts (or journal entries) because it made me feel a lot better about the fact that every day when I try to figure out what I even accomplished that day and couldn't name much, heck, I actually did do a LOT and worked SO hard! I'm going to try to not be so hard on myself now...and if you are still reading this you deserve an award or something...really.
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