Days Right Now

In the past, I've occasionally written about what my daily routines are like. It's been fun for me to look back and see how life has changed and how our routines have adapted to different phases of life.

Last night in my dream, I was writing a post just like that (anyone else blog in your sleep?) so I thought that might be a sign that it's time!

(In my dream post, I made some references to 5 O'Clock Charlie. You guys, my subconscious is a crazy genius that can recall things I don't remember - you know, like the 26th episode of M*A*S*H).

(I also dreamed that my friend picked up a hedgehog from the Bishop's Storehouse - because what good is assistance from the Church if it can't provide you with a pet?)

Anyway, here is a little run-down of what my days are like currently.

Morning

I usually wake up pretty early. Most weekdays I go walking with a friend at 5:45. On these days I set my alarm for 5:30, but I often wake up at 5:15 because I hate waking up to an alarm, and my subconscious knows it! I typically get dressed for my walk and then read my scriptures, pray, and make one last visit to the bathroom. We walk three miles and get home around 6:45.

On days we don't walk, I still wake up pretty early - usually between 5:45-6:00. I typically read, blog, or work on my Sunday school lessons, if none of the kids are awake. Eva typically wakes up in the 5:00 hour. Sometimes a sippy cup of milk and a snuggle can get her back to sleep, but when it can't, I end up having to tote her around all morning. She is always pretty clingy and needy for the first half hour after waking up.

Scotty usually gets out of bed at 6:45. He showers and helps me get the kids lunches ready. Then we have family prayer, and he leaves at 7:15.

The kids roll out of bed at all different times. The first one (with the exception of Eva who may or may not fall back asleep after her 5:00 waking) - typically Nicky, but sometimes Daisy - appears around 6:15. Every now and then, someone will sleep late, but it's not very often. 

Nicky and Daisy each have a morning checklist that they are supposed to complete. They have to get dressed, do their hair, get shoes on, clean their room, get their lunch and backpack ready, etc. Nicky has to feed the chickens every morning. While they are working on their checklists, I pack their lunches and fix breakfast. 

Daisy takes a lot of reminding to stay on task. She would spend all morning staring at a wall if I didn't intervene. I haven't yet thought of a logical consequence to implement when she doesn't complete her check list (it's on our agenda for the next family meeting). She and I fight all morning. It's grrrreeeaaat!

My sister-in-law picks up my kids for school at 8:15. Then I spend the next 15 minutes getting Zoe ready for preschool. We leave for preschool around 8:35. 

While Zoe is at school, I run errands, if I have any. I do most of my grocery shopping online now, so if I need groceries, I'll place my order for a time that corresponds with car pooling. If I just need a few things, I'll pop into a store, but I do anything I can to not have to take Eva in stores. She is very naughty in stores. 

On days when we come home after preschool drop off, I usually plan to do household chores, but Eva never lets me. She hates being home, so once we've left the house, if we come back home, she throws a mega tantrum. Sometimes she stays out in the garage and screams. Other times she comes inside and screams. But it's very common for her to throw an hour-long tantrum because she doesn't want to be home. She also very frequently wants to be held and will cling to my legs. I rarely ever get anything done around the house while Zoe is at school because I spent the whole time managing Eva's tantrums or sitting on the couch with her on my lap. If I'm lucky, I get a load of dishes done. But more often than not, I get the dishwasher half unloaded, and it sits open for the rest of the day. 

Afternoon

I pick up Zoe from school at 11:45, then I have to take her to get an ice cream cone from McDonald's. I engage in what I call "Ice Cream Roulette." I order two kiddie cones ($.84 is my daily expense), and then I see if Eva wants her cone or not (therein lies the gamble). Some days she wants it, and some days she doesn't. I have to order it, though, because I am a sucker and cannot deal with a half-hour tantrum over an ice cream cone. So sometimes I get to eat it because Eva doesn't want it (I always secretly hope she won't want it). 

Our afternoons vary somewhat. We have about three hours before we leave to pick up the older kids. Sometimes Zoe has a friend over. As always, I try to get stuff done around the house without much luck. I always get really tired around 1:00. Eva doesn't usually nap at home anymore (she only naps in the car while I'm shuttling the older kids around - and this does me no good!) so I don't get a break from her where I can be productive. This phase has really taken a toll on my daily activities. Thank heaven I'm not in school anymore. I'd never survive!

Around 3:00 I leave to pick up my kids and my nephews. I take my nephews home, and then we either A) go home or B) go to piano lessons and dance class. On Wednesdays, Nicky has jump rope club after school, so I pick up Daisy and my nephew K-Dawg, take K-Dawg home, drop Daisy off at piano, drop Zoe off at dance class, head back to the school and pick up Nicky and T-Bone, take T-Bone home, pick up Daisy from piano, and then pick up Zoe from dance class. 

Umm.... yeah.

I try to meal plan in a way that keeps Mondays and Wednesdays quick and simple. When we get home from school, the Witching Hour begins. I give my kids 15 minutes of free time, and then they have to do their after-school check lists. The check lists are easy peasy - put your backpack away, clean out your lunch box, play your piano songs three times, and read for 20 minutes (and if they read before bed the night before, they don't have to read after school). I don't think these things should be hard to accomplish, but it's like pulling teeth. Every day, they skip things on their check list and get away with it. Why? Because it's the Witching Hour, and there are at least two kids screaming at any given moment from 4:00-6:00. All of my energy goes into trying to fix dinner and deal with tantrums, so if Nicky and Daisy skip piano practice, I'm none the wiser. 

I've tried various methods for taming this time of day, and I haven't succeeded yet. Luckily Scotty gets home a little earlier with his new job than he used to, so sometimes he's there to help.

During the Witching Hour, 5 O'Clock Charlie could fly over and drop a bomb, and I've never even know.

Evening

We usually eat dinner pretty early. Scotty gets home by 5:00 most of the time. We eat by 5:30 at the latest. Our evenings don't really have a routine. We just do what needs to be done each day. We have weekly Church obligations in the evenings - scouts for Nicky, Activity Days for Daisy, Elders' Quorum meetings for Scotty, and a self-reliance class for Scotty. We also take care of my grandma's lawn, which used to be weekly, but that is tapering off now that it's colder, and the lawn growth is slowing down. 

We start our kids' bedtime routine around 7:30. We aim for them to be in bed by 8:00. They don't have to go to sleep, but we want them in their rooms for the night (we encourage them to read or write in their journals if they aren't ready to go to sleep). We have them shower or bathe, get pajamas on, and brush their teeth. We read scriptures and then each kid gets to pick one song to sing. Then each kid says their individual prayer, and then we say our family prayer. Then we sing one last song that Scotty and I pick. The kids are shipped off to bed, then we visit their rooms to say goodnight and to "bounce the ball." This is where I bounce them in their beds (like a ball), and I say, "Bounce the ball, it's not hard at all to bounce the ball!"

I don't know how this started other than my dad used to do it sometimes when I was a kid, and I must have done it once to Nicky, and it became a thing. If I try to skip it, I get in trouble. The kids must be bounced!

Night

After the kids are in bed, I just want to plop my butt on the couch and never move again. We are always completely wiped out after we put them to bed. Nicky and Daisy are pretty easy to get to bed (though Daisy usually comes out of her room several times to tell us that her foot itches or that her tummy hurts or that her eyelashes are out of place). Zoe and Eva are brutal! There is all sorts of weeping, wailing, and gnashing of teeth with those two. I call them the Tornado Twins for a reason!

I can't even describe the process of getting them to bed because it's too traumatic for me. 

But when it'd done and over with, I can't even move. I just need to go into a Netflix coma and not have to think again until 5:15 the next morning when it begins again.