A Day in the Life: Momma of Three Littles

I love reading “Day in the Life” series on other blogs and being a fly on people’s wall, learning how they spend their time.  I tracked my Wednesday this past week (jotting down notes every hour or so), and thought it would be fun to share.  

There are surely people out there who are a LOT busier out there, so I’m sure they’ll read this and feel sad.  But, here’s what a typical Wednesday looks like for us!

Disclaimer: I tried to keep this short and task-task-oriented (I failed on making it short, big surprise!), but just know that alongside every minute are more conversations with my kids, more discipline, more hugs, and more ear-pitching volume than I detailed here.  All that is a basic part of every single task we undertake at home, as I’m sure you can relate.

12:15 AM: Fall asleep!

2:30 AM: Hear the baby crying.  At first, I thought it was time to wake up, so I whispered to Brad that I’d be going on a run, but on the way to the nursery I checked my watch and was so happy to see I still had three more hours!  I feed Baby D, then put him right back down.

Fashion blogger, I am not.

5:30 AM: Baby D is up again, and it’s a good time to wake up as I am meeting my running buddy at 6:10.  I feed D, slowly get dressed, pack my water, light reflector vest, and headlamp, then drive the five-minute route to my friend’s.  I’m a little early, so I make a post on Instagram while I wait.

6:10 – 7:15 AM: Run!  (Picture is of creepy shoes hanging out on the trail.) Drive home.  Skip stretching, as always…

7:15-30 AM: Hear big kids are up in their room, but Brad is getting to them; I work on getting my post up for the day.  Brad leaves on his bike and we wave at him through the window.

7:30 AM: Change R’s diaper and get him dressed. Get he and CJ some milk and breakfast.  Quickly shower and get dressed. Put on a five-minute face mask because I have a massive nose cyst-zit. Put bread in the toaster for me.

8:10 AM: Baby D is up, but he’s just talking to himself so I quickly wash off the mask, do my hair and a little makeup.  I make the beds and take a picture of myself, because you know, blogging.  (I was thinking of doing a quick post on my quick “mom makeup” routine or this fabulous shirt everyone should buy…)

8:25 AM: Baby D time!  I feed him while reading scriptures on my phone, then jump when I look at the time.  I get the older kids teeth brushed and usher CJ to get dressed for preschool.  I do her hair quickly and make sure she has everything.  My friend comes to pick up CJ and we wave goodbye to her through the window.

8:50 AM: I reheat my toast and make my almond butter/honey/banana combo.  (You should try it!) R is playing with his cars in the backyard, making a huge mess with dirt but I’m happy if he’s happy.  Dean eats in his highchair along side me.

When he’s done, I give him a spoon to play with while I take out a few loads for recycling.  I try to put away some dishes, but D is done and letting me know it. I get him out, clean up the huge mess that is his high chair, and get him dressed.

9:40 AM: D sits on my lap while I try to fix a blog glitch and post it to Facebook.  A little friend for R arrives at 9:50 for me to babysit while her mom gets a haircut; this is a lifesaver for me, actually, as it helps R be happy!  I get them playing, put D down, then clean.  I clean like a chicken whose head has been chopped off, jumping from one thing to the next, like someone is coming over for dinner at short-notice.  I sweep, vacuum rugs, vacuum the couch, put away clothes, put in a massive load of laundry, and wash random spots on walls and rugs around my house.  I answer a few comments on my FB post.  The kids are moving from one activity to the next, and apparently are having too much fun to read with me, as I offered.

11:10 AM: Mom calls, so we talk while I finish putting away the dishes, fold my cloth diapers, and sort all the lone socks we’ve put in a basket for months.  (Of course, most don’t have mates.)  My friend comes to pick up her daughter.  D wakes up at the perfect time.  I alternate feeding him and trying to escape to a different room away from his brother R, who is distracting him from nursing.

11:40-11:55 AM: Do everything in my power to convince the toddler to get his shoes on and get out the door and to the car for preschool pickup.  It seriously takes this long…  Child wants to do everything on his own, but instead of doing the task at hand, he stands crying about how he wants to do it.  Finally, I get him buckled in his carseat and we’re off.

11:55 AM: Drive to Preschool.  Pick up CJ and her friend.  Pull to the side of the road to watch some construction and everyone loves it.  Drop off CJ’s friend and drive home.

12:30 PM: Vacuum two other rooms quickly while kids wash their hands.  Feed the kids lunch, including D in his high chair who sucks on a banana.  Switch laundry.  Give D a spoon to play with while I change R’s diaper and put him down for a nap in my bed.

1:20 PM: Give D some more food.  Heat up my own lunch (leftovers!) and eat with CJ (who is taking an especially long time to finish her lunch) on one side and D on the other.  I clean him up and get CJ in her bed.  She rarely naps, but had a late night the night before, so I convince her to try.  I change D’s diaper, sing to him, and read him a few books before putting him down for a nap.

1:50 PM: Sit on the couch and take a break.  Instagram it is.  I hear CJ is playing with her dolls in her bed, but that’s what I expected.

2:20 PM: I hear R is up.  I go in to my room and realize he’s been playing with the diffuser instead of sleeping.  Water is everywhere on my side of the bed, so I clean it up.  It’s going to be a late night for us, so I really want him to sleep.  I try to coax him back under the sheets and lay next to him, tickling his face and arms.  Of course, I’m the one who is falling asleep instead of R, who keeps getting mad at me because I stop tickling him each time I drift off.

3:00 PM: CJ calls to us, so I get her out of her room.  She and R play on my bed while I drift in and out of sleeping.  Momma’s getting grumpy, so I call it.  I go in the family room and work on adding a pinterest button to my blog while R and CJ play with trains.

3:45 PM: D is up.  I feed him and get snacks to the older kids.  We make granola bars together.

Sadly, I added chocolate chips while the mixture was too hot so they’re not quite right but we’ll try again.

4:45 PM: While the bars bake, I read the kids books.  R eventually wants to go outside and play instead, so CJ and I keep reading with D on my lap.

5:15 PM: I pump a little to make some baby oatmeal for D.  He wasn’t eating well that day due to congestion, so I want him to get a little real food in him.  I take out the granola bars and let them cool.

5:40 PM: Dinner time.  I heat up leftover homemade pizza, add some healthy sides, warm some finger foods for D, and we eat.

6:05 PM: Wash the dishes with baby D beside me in the rock n’ play.  Break up fights between my older kids, over and over.  Get a head ache.

6:35 PM: Give baths to everyone.  We are trying to go as fast as we can because we have to make it up to the church by 7, in time for a Young Women activity.  Get D dressed in his pajamas, get R dressed, yell at CJ who has been playing in her room instead of getting dressed.  Hug a crying CJ and apologize for said yelling.  Put some library books into a bag.  Get everyone into coats and hustled into their carseats, and book it to the church.

7:08 PM: Arrive on “Mormon Standard Time.”  My president is in charge of this activity and is so kind to let me try to entertain my kids the whole time instead of be really present with the girls.  My friend holds D for a few minutes while I hand out as many snacks as I can to the older two–they dismiss all the healthy ones–and read them library books.  I try to be apart of the activity for a few minutes, while CJ and R loudly chase each other around the room.  Pull out the big guns and let them look at pictures on my phone.

7:55 PM: Baby D is crying and needs to get home, and my older kids are not being entertained by the pictures at all.  We pack up, apologize for leaving early, and head home.  D falls asleep right away, so I bring him inside in his carseat and let him chill.  I refill all the humidifiers.  I then brush the older kids’ teeth, pray with them, read one verse of scripture, then put them in bed.  Threats are made before I close their door.

8:25 PM: Quickly tidy up the front room.  Still lots of clutter, but good enough.  Wake up Baby D.

I get him in his sleeper blanket, then feed him, rock him, sing to him, and put him down.  I feel bad because that is basically his only quality time with mom all day.

8:50 PM: Give myself a big pat on the back and heat up some leftover cake. I eat my cake while watching a replay of some Bachelor.  (I refuse to be ashamed for this!)  (Also, use your kids’ spoons–it makes dessert last longer.)

9:15 PM: Get some more cake.  (I also refuse to be ashamed!) Let the Bachelor continue to play on the background while I fiddle some more with my blog, and trying to figure out the insanity that is Picasa.  (Seriously, that program should be easy but for me, it’s anything but.)

10:15 PM: Brad gets home.  He had had a special work dinner that night.  He tells me about his filet mignon, then gets ready for bed before coming back and watching some sports.  I keep fiddling with the program.  Brad starts falling asleep on the couch.

10:45 PM: Time to get ready for bed.  Brad takes two minutes.  I take twenty.

11:15 PM: Get in bed.  Feel wide awake.  Look at Instagram in hopes it will help me drift off to sleep.

11:35 PM: Turn off the lamp.

11:45 PM: Baby D wakes up.  Feed him and put him down.  (Didn’t have the heart to let him cry.)  Get back in bed.

This is where I should end with “Sleep!” but instead, it will say, “12:15 AM: R wakes up calling for mom and no one else will do.  Repeat at 2:30 AM, alongside a huge tantrum from R…  D wakes up at 5:30 AM.  I skip the morning workout….)

There you have it!  What are your days like?