A Day in Our Life

When I was in High school, Mrs. Walker had us carry around these crying baby dolls for awhile. The baby cried, you put a key in the back and when it cried again you pulled it out. Well, if I could go back now I would tell her it is nothing like real life. Here is what real life looks like with a 2-year old and a 4 month old.

6:30 wake-up Jared for work, make a lunch and breakfast.
7:00-8:30 Wave bye to Jared. Crawl back into bed for a few extra minutes of sleep, nurse Mason back to sleep before he wakes up enough to start cooing at the sunlight coming though the curtains.
8:30-9:30 get Heidi up, change her diaper and eat breakfast. You would not believe how long eating a bowl of cold cereal can take for a 2 year old. Half the time I get tired and feed her myself, if I get up, she will too.
9:30- 10:30 work-out and shower. This is my one sane hour of the day. Mason wakes up during this time, but plays for a few minutes while Mommy plays. My workout is by no means enough to call me a body builder. There are too many pauses to change diapers, calm a crying baby, figure out why Heidi is screaming and throwing her game down and other such things.
10:30-11:00 Feed Mason, put clothes on him and rock him to sleep. Put him down for nap #1.
11:00-11:45 Finish brushing hair and other hygiene matters, like brushing those teeth. Try chasing a 2 around with a toothbrush and hair brush. By this time if I am lucky she is out of her PJ's and in clothes.
11:45 Mason is up. That's right, only 40 minutes. Lovely!
12:00 Feed Heidi lunch. She wants jelly beans, Swedish fish and cookies. She gets PB&J and water. Maybe a cookie.
12:30 prepare Heidi for bed by reading book after book while she wiggles everywhere on one side and Mason squirms on the other. "Mason, MOOOOOOOOOVE!" "Doooon't, Mason."
1:00 put Heidi in crib for a nap. I don't know exactly how long she will play before sleeping so I listen to the monitor to make sure there is some quiet for awhile. Now sometimes Mason's first nap doesn't happen until 12:00ish because he is playing so as I walk back from tucking her in, I pick up Mason who is awake.
1:30-3:00 Play with Mason, practice rolling over, belly time, etc... Feed him, change a diaper or two. Put him down for nap #2 and get Heidi up.
3:00-4:00 Any chores, play with Heidi.
4:00- get Mason. That's right, only 40 minutes again.
4:00-5:30 Play, maybe even vacuum. If it is nice we try to go to the mailbox. Lately we have been playing with a half-deflated balloon, hitting it back and forth with my rubber spatulas.
5:30-6:30 Make and eat dinner.
6:30 This is Mason's grumpy time. I feed him and try for nap #3. Sometimes it lasts the full 40 minutes, but usually about 20.
7:00-8:00 Clean up dinner, put kids in pj's, read scriptures, say prayer and read books. Time for Heidi to go to bed.
8:30-9:30 Rock Mason, Feed Mason and do everything I can to get him to sleep. Doesn't work long.
9:30 Jared gets home. He is taking a firefighting class after work (12-hr shifts) now.
9:30-10:30 Spend time with husband, get ready for bed.
10:30-11:30 Try to get to sleep with Mason who by now has fought sleeping for so long he just cries and can't actually stay asleep. We average 3 times of rocking and bouncing before he will stay asleep.
11:30-1:00 Sleep
1:00 nurse Mason go back to sleep. Did I mention when he is really tired he won't eat which is why we are now up?
6:00 nurse Mason and go back to sleep
6:30 alarm goes off and the day starts again :)

How did I type this? With 1 hand, while nursing Mason during my work-out time. Today is Friday and my body is worn-out and tired. Besides today I am hosting a baby shower, so I could attend (we only have the truck). I have a lot of cleaning to do. Heidi is crying because she wants to wrap up her rubber duck, in a huge blanket and can't. I have lids all over the house, it is 11:00 and we are all still in our pj's. Guess it is time to go.
Real life is hard with two, I don't know how my mom did so many. However, that little doll in school didn't hug back, or smile at you when you entered the room. Those little things make it all worth it to me.