Thursday, December 16, 2010

A day in the life with 3 little girls...

Someone asked, so here it goes...
I had someone (without children) ask me what a day in the life at our house is like... I responded, "you don't even want to know." It's true, and honestly, it depends on many factors. No two days are alike and there's certainly a level of who knows what's next when I start any day. BUT, on average, I have a plan and an idea of what will go on in a day and this is a little bit of how it goes. I would like to add pictures of these steps eventually, but in that case, it's liable to never happen... so I'll take a baby step and start here.
On a day without mom's day out (usually Tuesday and Thursday), my day starts at 6:00 when my alarm (set to birds, which I hate, but haven't taken the time to change) wakes me up before the littles (hopefully). I grab a cup of coffee and hit the shower. If I don't get ready before everyone is up, it's likely not to happen. Normally, by the time I get out of the shower, I hear little footsteps and voices upstairs. The big girls usually wake up around 6:15 or 6:30, but they aren't allowed to come downstairs until their clock sings at 7:00. I dry my hair and get dressed as quickly as possible and clean my bathroom (yes, normally every day). Once they are downstairs, the breakfast prep begins and everyone has a demand from what they eat to what plate they eat it on. Adelaide often requests oatmeal or cereal and Lucy usually wants a toaster strudel. I don't bargain with them on how much to eat or finishing their meal, but they know, they don't get a snack until 10ish, so if they don't finish their breakfast they will be hungry. Julianne is usually awake by now with the hustle and bustle going on right outside her room. She gets up and, after a diaper change, is seated pleasantly in her high chair with a cup of milk while I fix her breakfast. She usually likes oatmeal, a waffle, yogurt, a banana... something along those lines.
I start a load of laundry and unload the dishwasher while the girls are eating and I'm working on my second cup of coffee.
After breakfast, the girls put their dishes in the sink and head upstairs to do their chorepacks. Adelaide makes her bed, brushes her teeth and hair, and gets dressed and Lucy does the same (with a little help from her big sister or mama).
Then they head back downstairs to play or they play in the playroom.
I normally get Julianne dressed around 9 or so and then we are typically out the door between 9:30 and 10 to do something... zoo, McWane Science Center, library, playground... whatever. I try to get the laundry folded, hung and put away before we leave, but if not, that is done when we get home. Snack is usually around 10 or so and then lunch about 11:30 or 12. We pick up the toys downstairs right before nap everyday. Lucy and Julianne nap around 1 every day and Adelaide takes about 1 nap a week. During nap, I do different things on different days... I know that sounds stupid, but if I don't have a schedule, I forget what to do... so Monday, I wash the sheets on our bed (I actually do this first thing in the morning and then put the sheets on the bed at naptime) and do a deep clean of the master bedroom and dust the main level. Tuesday, I change the girls' sheets and and dust upstairs. Wednesday I clean the floors (by far my least favorite job) and clean out my purse and the diaper bag. Thursday, is my "desk day" and I pay bills and catch up on my paperwork and junk (and update my blog :) and clean all of the bathrooms . Friday I deep clean the kitchen and clean out the car.
There you have it... my week at a glance. Again, there are days that not all of that gets done, but for the most part, that's what a week looks like in my job.
The girls are usually up by 3:00 and we are driving to gymnastics for Lucy or Adelaide and then I'm cooking supper (if I haven't started something in the crock pot). We usually eat dinner around 5:30 and then I clean up the kitchen and we start bath time. Adelaide and Lucy straighten the playroom and pick out their pj's. Julianne usually goes to bed around 7:00 and Adelaide and Lucy around 8:00. Then Jason and I head back downstairs and I try to finish up getting things put away. Sometimes I just don't have the motivation to finish up, but I always feel so much better if I do. I start the dishwasher and put it on a timer so it comes on during the night and then we usually sit on the couch and fall asleep or I head to bed and Jason snoozes on the couch until he wakes up and finds his way to bed.
Whew... who said a stay at home mama doesn't contribute to the family. I'm tired just from typing what we do every day.
Thanks for reading!!