All in a Day's Work

Yesterday (Tuesday, in case it takes me more than one day to write this!) was one of "those" days, so I thought I would blog about it, just for fun.  I know that many of you stay-at-home and work-at-home moms can probably relate to my experiences.  We can all laugh together.  Maybe that will keep us from crying.  Or ripping our hair out.  Or both.

My alarm went off at 5 am, and I jumped out of bed, completely refreshed and full of energy.  Wait, who am I kidding?!  I groggily pulled myself out of bed, rubbed my eyes, and tiptoed into the living room, one slow (and quiet) step after another, telling myself over and over again that a little morning workout is just what I needed to get me going.

I went through the first half of my usual routine before Kellah woke up.  I put the weights down that I had just picked up and made my way to her room, hoping that she would go back to sleep after I nursed her.  Thankfully, she did!  So, back into the living room I went, picked the weights back up and went through my extremely vigorous workout -- basically like Insanity, okay...maybe closer to a combo of Levels 1 and 2 from Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred DVD.  After watching that thing for 30 days in a row awhile back, I practically have it memorized and just can't force myself to follow along one more time.  I think I could probably put it on mute and be able to tell you word for word what Jillian is saying.  She should pay me, really, to do her next DVD series.

When I was done with my workout, I looked at the clock and knew that my time was running short before the daycare kiddos would start arriving.  I pushed the button on the coffee pot, glad that I had taken the time the night before to get the water and grounds ready in advance.  As the coffee brewed, I ran into our bedroom, picked up the basket of dirty clothes, and ran (as best as you can when you are carrying a full laundry basket) downstairs to throw the towels in the washer.  Back up stairs, I jumped in the shower and prayed the hot water would do more to wake me up than my work out had.

Then, I got dressed and did my hair and make-up.  Meaning I threw my hair in a pony tail and put on some mascara so the daycare parents would think I was awake when they left their kiddos with me.  On my way to the kitchen, I hung up my towels in the bathroom and then had to put away several random toys and grab some cups and a plate in the living room.  Carrying my odd assortment of dirty dishes in the kitchen, I stuffed them in the dishwasher, wondering why I hadn't actually started it last night so that the dishes could be nice and clean this morning.  Oh well, I put in the detergent and started 'er up.  Meanwhile, my water was beginning to boil on the stove, so I poured in my Mighty Tasty Gluten Free Breakfast Mix and let it cook a bit.  By this time the griddle thingy was hot so I cracked my eggs and scrambled them up a bit so they would be ready about the same time as my "oatmeal."  While my breakfast was cooking, I popped my prenatal vitamin (nope, not pregnant, but still nursing!), B complex vitamin, and Adrenal Gland supplement thing in my mouth.  Somewhere in there, I had fixed my cup of coffee and used it to down my plethora of pills. Then, I started sipping away at the coffee, again hoping the caffeine would kick in soon, say like in 20 minutes when my first daycare kiddo arrived.

Using my mad waitress skills from back in the day, I carried my plate of eggs, bowl of "oatmeal," and cup of coffee into the living room so I could make the most of the time I had left and multitask -- eat and have my devotions simultaneously.  I grabbed my Bible and opened up to 1 Thessalonians, read chapter 3, and reached for my journal to jot down a few thoughts.  Before I can even get the date down, Kellah is up and at 'em for the day.  Coralyn decides to join the fun, peeping her head out of her door and then making her way down the hallway.

Lawrence was still home, so he took care of Coralyn while I got Kellah out of her pajamas and into her high chair.  It's just so much simpler if she eats with only her diaper on.  Not only does it cut down on blueberry stains on her clothes, but it makes giving her a quick bath in the kitchen sink even faster.  And as you can tell, time is of the essence.  Coralyn meanders to her seat, where I put her plate down before she can inform me, for the 8th time already, "Mommy, I want to eat breakfast."  I have learned that getting her plate ready the night before reduces my stress level dramatically.  We prayed, and I dumped Kellah's blueberries and Cheerios on her high chair tray.  Leaving Lawrence to watch the girls, I ran downstairs to switch out the laundry, moving the towels to the dryer and throwing another load of dirty clothes in the washer.

Back up stairs, I grab a bite of oatmeal and a sip of coffee on my way to the door to greet my first daycare kiddo.  As soon as Lily is situated, Caleb arrives.  This morning he was super tired, too tired to cry, and just let me hold him.  Since he hadn't eaten breakfast yet, I got a little bowl of cereal for both Lily and Caleb.  While all 4 kids munched away, I shoved another bite of my breakfast in my mouth and swallowed some more coffee, wishing there was some way to get the caffeine directly into my veins.

Kellah was done eating, so I threw a towel across my chest (having learned that blueberry stains can easily transfer from her sticky hands, legs, face, and tummy to my nice, clean shirt.  I picked her up and placed her on the counter, on the same towel, took off her diaper, and set her in the water I had prepared while the children were too occupied with food to pick on each other.  Splashing the water over her body and rubbing away any trace of blueberries, I threw the towel back on my chest, and carried the dripping wet Kellah to her bedroom.  At least I was able to get her diaper on before Jameson arrived at 7:15!

Seeing everyone else with cereal, Jameson thought he should have some too.  So that he wouldn't eat all of the other kids' snack, I fixed him a little bowl too.  I even tried to be cute and gave Lily a pink bowl, Caleb a blue bowl, and Jameson a green bowl -- all color coordinating with their cups.  Too bad the kiddos aren't even 2 years old and don't know their colors yet!  :)  I set all three bowls on the coffee table, putting each child in front of his/her respective snack and made my way back into Kellah's room to get her dressed.

As I pulling the shirt over her head, I hear Coralyn scream from the living room, "Oh no!"  And then in great distress, "Lily, that's not yours!"  Not sure what to expect, I return to the living room, where I find 2 bowls of cereal dumped out on the carpet.  Apparently, Jameson didn't like Lily trying to eat from his bowl and as he tried to pull it out of her hands, the cereal went flying everywhere.  I am guessing that is what happened anyway, because it is definitely what took place when Lily reached for Caleb's bowl of cereal.  Great, now all 3 bowls of cereal were empty!

Pulling out the vacuum cleaner, I figured a quick little sweep of the room couldn't hurt.  Once I was finished vacuuming and all the cereal was cleaned up, I wrapped the cord as quickly as possible, not wanting to give even a nanosecond for some little kid to stick it in his/her mouth and get the shock of their little life.  By now, both of the boys were getting pretty fussy, so I decided they could both take an early nap.  I headed into my bedroom to grab a diaper for each of the daycare kiddos and came back into the living room, only to discover that Lily's bowl of cereal hadn't been empty after all.  Throwing the diapers aside, I bent down and picked up the Toasted Squares by hand.  Once done, I changed Lily and Jameson and Caleb's diapers, glad that only 2 were poopy.

Figuring I could multitask yet again, I gathered all the girls dirty cloths to take downstairs with me when I took the boys down for their naps.  I had the basket full, then remembered that I had a bucket of extra dirty clothes soaking in the bathroom.  I plopped the bucket on top of the clothes, and then went to get the sheets off both of the girls' beds.  While slipping the new sheet back on Coralyn's bed, I hear violent shrieking and yelling in the other room.  Taking a deep breath, I go to resolve the problem, whatever it may be.  Evidently, Coralyn didn't appreciate Lily playing with one of the bowling pins, despite the fact that Coralyn had 4 in her hands already.  Explaining that there were enough pins for everybody to have one and distributing said pins, I went back in Kellah's room to change out her sheets too.

With all the laundry ready to go, I grabbed the basket and herded the boys to the basement, shutting the baby gate behind me, locking the 3 girls in the living room for the next minute or so.  After getting Caleb and Jameson in their pack n' plays, I pulled the towels out of the dryer, moved the wet clothes from the washer to the dryer, and loaded the washer back up with the girls' laundry.  Racing upstairs, hoping no one had dumped milk or anything else on the carpet, I threw the basket of towels in my bedroom, thinking I would just fold them when everyone is taking a nap after lunch.

Kellah is getting grumpy now, so I let Coralyn know that I need to changer her diaper and get her ready for a nap too.  Coralyn is busy going to the bathroom, so I tell her I will be in Kellah's room and will come out to play with her and Lily when I'm done.  While nursing Kellah, I hear Coralyn get up from her potty.  No big deal.  BUT then, I hear her pick up the bowl part and dump it into the toilet.  I pray that she got everything into the toilet and not on the rug.  Once Kellah is done, I lay her down in her crib, and tiptoe out and gently close the door behind me, hoping that I don't wake her up in the process.  Again, I take a deep breath and venture into the bathroom, not knowing what I will find waiting for me.

Thankfully, Coralyn had gotten everything into the toilet, and even flushed it!  I washed out her little bowl, wiped her (again, just to make sure), and washed both of our hands extra well. Before I can even suggest that we color a picture, Coralyn announces, "Mommy, I'm hungry."  Okay, I guess the crayons can wait.  We head into the kitchen, where I get both Coralyn and Lily something to eat.  "Mommy, I want some milk too."  Of course you do.  Which means Lily wants her.  I'm actually feeling kind of hungry myself, so I fix a little bowl of walnuts and cranberries for me to munch on while the girls eat their bananas.  "Mommy, what are you eating?  I want some too," Coralyn declares before I even answer her question.

Is there any more coffee?!  I pour myself a much-needed second cup and then start making supper while the girls eat their snack, and mine.  Using my Master Chef skills, I chopped up some potatoes, threw some frozen peas and corn in the bowl, added some broccoli and carrots, a little onion for taste.  I had gotten some chicken out of the freezer earlier to defrost, so I checked on its progress.  Still hard as ice, and as cold too.  Maybe by the time the kids are taking their naps, I will be able to throw it in the oven and cook it!  Setting the potpie ingredients aside, I grab the cantaloupe out of the fridge and cut it into slices, throwing them hapazardly into a bowl for our side dish.

Feeling like I have a good handle on supper, I ask the girls if they are done eating and go get the paper and crayons out for them so they can "quietly" color a picture while Kellah and the two boys take their naps.  Again, what was I thinking?  Obviously, using crayons requires screaming and kicking and being a terror in general.  Oh, and of course, pooping.  Yep, just as we finished picking up the crayons that had been thrown all over (what? you're supposed to color with them?  Apparently, I forgot to mention that minor detail to the girls), I smelt something.  Indeed, Lily had gone to the bathroom, and sadly, she isn't potty-trained yet.  As I am changing her diaper, I hear the boys crying downstairs.

I grab their diapers and a box of wipes to take downstairs.  The girls follow me down, and we make our way into the play room.  I get each of the boys and deliver them to the play room as well, changing their diapers once there.  After emptying the diapers and throwing them away in the trashcan in the storage/laundry room, I figure I can go ahead and switch out the laundry while I am right there.  After the dry clothes are in a basket and the wet clothes are in the dryer, I head back into the play room.

Lily is playing with the piano, using an orange hammer in her right hand and a red hammer in her left (they might have been in opposite hands, but I don't think that really matters) to bang as loudly as she can on the keys.  Meanwhile, Jameson is pressing every single button on the Sing Along Elmo.  "Head and shoulders, knees and," "If you're happy and you know, clap your," "ABCDEFG," "Elmo likes this song!  Let's keep singing!"  Or not.  And we wonder why kids have ADD and ADHD these days?!  Caleb, mind you, is playing with a jungle animal toy that is alternating the sounds of a monkey, lion, and elephant.  Coralyn, bless her little heart, is playing in her toy box, wearing a doll bonnet and pushing the buttons on a teddy bear so that it sounds like an ocean is in the room with us.  

Side note: The majority of these noise-making toys have been gifts from my dear brother-in-law.  He's getting married next summer, and hopefully nieces and nephews will follow in the coming years.  When they do, I am going to buy everything toy I find that makes noise -- multiple, loud, annoying noises -- and give them to Matt's children.  Batteries included.  Sorry, Michele (Matt's finance), it's nothing against you; you just happen to be marrying the person on whom I am seeking revenge :)

Now, back to my day:
I guess Kellah didn't want to miss out on all the action, because I heard her wake up and call out, "Maaaamaaaa!"  I run upstairs to get her, grabbing one of her diapers, a box of graham crackers, and everyone's milk cups with us to take downstairs.  I distribute the snacks and beverages, and for 3.7 seconds, there was silence.  It was golden.  I thought, perhaps, I could take advantage of the situation and make a phone call.  Realized I had forgotten my phone upstairs, so I dash up to get it.  While there, I grabbed the bucket of Kellah's dirty diapers and brought it back down with me.  Peeked my head in the play room...everyone was alive and making lots of noise, so I headed to the laundry room once more.  Changed out the laundry, again, and then joined the madhouse.

The teacher in me just had to come out, so I grabbed some empty plastic bottles, random beads, cushy balls,  paper, and markers.  Why not turn the noise-making into a learning experience.  We put some beads in one container and some soft cushy balls in another container.  We realized that the hard beads made a loud noise and the soft cushy balls made a quiet noise.  We wrote this down on slips of paper and stuck our finding in with the beads and cushy balls.  Then, the kiddos went to town making more noise.  Funny, they seemed to prefer the container with beads.  If they did pick up the bottle with soft cushy balls, they would shake it, frown in disappointment, and toss the bottle aside.  They would then go find the container with the beads and grab it, even it that required pulling it away from someone else.  They also discovered that the bottles were not only great noise-makers, but also excellent bats, swords, and basically any other weapon imaginable.  Needless to say, the containers had to be put away, and the kiddos had to resume making noise with the regular old toys.  They didn't seem to mind.

When I had heard about all I could take of Elmo's sporadic singing, I announced that we were going to clean up the toys and then head upstairs to watch a movie (which would give me time to make lunch).  It's quite the process of picking up and putting away the toys, into their proper bins (as I am pretty OCD about that, even though it doesn't really matter and the toys will just be strewn about the room again in a matter of hours, but for those few hours, it is imperative -- in my mind -- that the letters are with the letters, the balls with the balls, blocks with blocks, and well, you get the idea).  Finally, we were done, so I ushered all 5 kids up the stairs -- carrying Kellah and making sure no one else fell over backwards on the upward climb.

Once in the living room, we continued the clean up fun and put away those toys as well.  Everything in its rightful place, I shut the doors to Coralyn and Kellah's rooms, leaving the kiddos to wander aimlessly up and down the hallway while the video played in the living room.  Originally, I thought Caleb and Jameson (both about 15-16 months) would enjoy the Baby Einstein videos I used back in the day when I started taking care of Carson (and Coralyn was only a few months old).  I thought Lily, too, might get something out of them.  Sadly, I couldn't have been more wrong.  Only Coralyn watches the video, and they are really too young for her.  She is, however, seeing and hearing words (and signs), so maybe that will help her vocabulary and reading ability (when the time comes).  I have started letting Coralyn pick what she wants to watch, and some days she chooses a Baby Einstein and others she sticks with Diego, or her new favorite Busy Town Mysteries (great logical reasoning skills!).

After about 3 minutes of the video, I hear screaming and crying in the living room.  I don't remember if Caleb had hit someone, or Lily had kicked someone, or if Jameson wanted the toy that Kellah had.  All I know is that I wanted the yelling to stop.  I handed out the milk cups again, in hopes that everyone would be happy and I could return to making lunch.  Sippy cups in their mouths, it was quiet once more, and I was able to get the apple slices on the trays.  Then, I hear Coralyn holler at Caleb and know that if I don't intervene she will do more than use her voice to let him know how she feels.  Apparently, he was done drinking his milk and decided to see how his cup worked as a hammer, on Coralyn's leg.  She did not find this amusing.  I took everyone's milk cups and put them back on the counter, so that I could refill them (again!) when I had the chance.  By this point, Kellah was more than done playing in the living room, so I lifted her over the baby gate and opened up a cupboard and set her down in front of 15+ plastic containers.  That should keep her occupied for at least 2 minutes, giving me time to put the pretzel sticks on the trays, next to the apples.

Finally, the movie was over and lunch was ready.  I spread out the blankets, which the kids now know lunch is coming.  So, they hop on the blankets, making it extremely difficult, and dangerous, for me to move the coffee table back into the center of the room, on top of the blankets.  (During the day, I keep it right next to the TV, in an attempt to prevent the kiddos from smacking the screen with toys or even just touching it with their grimy hands.  Despite my best efforts, the screen is covered with fingerprints of 5 different children.)  Once the table is in place, all the kiddos swarm around it, Kellah included.  We have to eat at the coffee table because I don't have enough booster seats for everyone at the kitchen table.  Or enough room around the kitchen table, for that matter.  Not if I want to be in the kitchen and able to get from one side of the room to the other.  So we just kind of have a picnic lunch every day.  It works great, for the most part.  And the boys don't seem to mind that Lily likes to eat all their peas when I turn to check on Kellah in her high chair.  The boys also seem okay with eating each other's pretzel sticks instead of the ones I put on their actual plates.  Coralyn, on the other hand, goes absolutely ballistic if one of the daycare kiddos even so much as glances at her beloved lunch tray.

While the kiddos were eating, and I was going between the living room and kitchen (where Kellah is in her high chair), I figured I might as well sweep the kitchen floor.  And then do a quick mopping too (using a Swifter like thingy).  Perfect, the floor was clean just as the kiddos finished up their lunch -- or were doing more roaming around the living room and down the hallway than actually eating their food.  I grabbed a diaper for everyone and set about changing them all.  With fresh, new diapers on, I herded the 3 daycare kiddos downstairs for their naps and reminded Coralyn to go to her room and "rest" until I came to get her.  While downstairs, I went ahead and moved the dry clothes to a basket, the wet clothes from the washer to the dryer, and started another load of dirty clothes (the last one!).

I came back upstairs and freed Kellah from her high chair.  I thought she had done an excellent job eating her hard boiled egg, grapes, cooked carrot sticks, and Cheerios.  However, when I removed the tray, then her bib (which was covered in bits of partially chewed food), and picked her up (trying my best not to let her touch me with those sticky hands, arms, and legs), I realized that she had been sitting on approximately 3/4 of her lunch.  Oh well...I would deal with the chunks and crumbs later).  I basically gave Kellah another bath, changed her diaper, and nursed her to near-sleep.  Laying her down in her crib and tiptoeing out of the room, I prayed that she would stay asleep as I closed the creaky door.

Taking a deep sigh and enjoying a moment to myself, I walked to the kitchen to grab my smoothie to drink while I got some work done on the computer and made some phone calls.  Oh, and fold all that clean laundry that was overtaking my bedroom!

I had no more than set down on the couch and reached for the laptop when I hear a loud noise in Coralyn's room -- much like 8-10 toy trucks and cars clashing together as they crash onto the floor.  At least she's in her room, I tell myself.  Moments later, I hear the entire bag of building blocks being dumped on top of the trucks and cars.  Deep breath.  Closing my eyes and clenching my teeth, I hear the door open as Coralyn peaks out her head, "I put all the cards in a line, Mommy."    Not wanting her to tell me again and again (as she does if I try ignoring her), I "calmly" walk down the hall (past Kellah's room) and explain to Coralyn, "That's nice.  I don't care what you do, just stay in your room and play quietly.  I'm not going to play with your right now.  I need to get some work done.  I'm going to fold the clothes, and then I will come get you and we can do some "school" stuff together, okay?!"  

Well, it is just about 2 weeks after this day actually happened, and I have only gotten to about 12:45 in the day.  I would try to write about the rest of the afternoon and all the poopy diapers I changed or how we had to run to Hy-Vee to get milk as soon as the daycare kiddos left so they could have something to drink the next day.  I could tell you about our trip to the park and Coralyn needing to pop a squat (yet again!) in the first 3 minutes we were there.  I could add in how Coralyn managed to use up almost an entire bottle of baby oil during the girls' bath -- in the time it took me to take Kellah out of the bath tub (since she couldn't seem to sit still and had nearly drowned several times), wrap her up in a towel, take her to the living room, and get her pajamas on.  I could end the post with our bedtime routine and the joys of trying to brush the girls' teeth, give foot hugs, and taking Coralyn to the bathroom at least 4 more times, checking the closet for alligators and crickets, and leaving the door open just the right amount before she could finally fall asleep.

BUT, every time I sit down to write more in detail about the event's of the day, I get distracted.  Like just now, I thought, "Oh good, Coralyn's at the park.  Kellah's napping.  Perfect opportunity to finally finish that post."  Yeah, Kellah just woke up from her nap...that lasted all of 18 minutes.  Maybe she'll go back to sleep?

Nah, I think it will be another typical day here in the Young house.  I may get frustrated at times, but I have to remember it's all part of my "job" as a mom.  And really, I wouldn't want to have it any other way.  I am SO blessed!  On that note, I will go "rescue" Kellah from her crib and spend some quality time with my precious baby girl (who will be NINE months old on Monday -- seriously, where does the time go?!).