Day in the Life

..with 3 under 3.  My life is a revolving door right now and while we aren't officially on a schedule with a 6 week old babe, we've managed to maintain a semi-normal routine simply because our regular day to day activities with the twins must go on.  To be completely transparent, this day in the life has only really been true for probably the last couple weeks or so.  I mentioned in yesterday's post how impressive full-time stay at home moms are.  It basically took me four weeks to figure out that I needed to actually make a plan for the day or else I would get NOTHING done.  I am notoriously a list-maker, so why it took me that long is beyond me.  Lately we have been filling our day with playdates + errands, going to the park (when its cool enough) and bringing out 'rainy day' toys and puzzles I've stashed away on a random Tuesday afternoon when I am basically out of ideas.  I feel like we have finally hit our groove and are in a really good place.  Having 'plans' helps me get out of bed and moving- or I would just assume sleep the morning away with miss Baker because, hello.. we are all tired.  So, this is pretty much how our days go during the week.

6:00-7:00am -- Baker wakes to eat.  She eats really well during this morning nursing session and will often go back to sleep right away- letting me get another hour or so before the twins wake up.  The morning is when she does her best sleep- and I am usually waking her to eat again by 10:30am.

7:30am-8:00am -- Parker and Jolie are awake at this point.  They used to come in and wake us first thing in the morning, but will now find something to play with (usually their play kitchen or puzzles).  We recently bought a picnic table to go in the play room and those two will sit and play by themselves for what seems like forever.  It doesn't take long before I hear them playing together and I am up and out of bed.  Once they know I am awake- they follow me around like little ducklings.  Even to the bathroom.  I never ever thought twice about the luxury of peeing by myself before I had kids.  The last time I did one of these posts (almost a year ago!) there is a picture nearly identical to this one.. some things just don't change:)

8:30am-9:00am -- On most days I shower before bed, but sometimes if I am able I'll shower in the morning.  "You get ready to go in twenty minutes, mama?" Everything is in 'twenty minutes' with Parker and Jolie these days.  I set them up in my bed with a smoothie and dry cereal (move Baker to her rocker next to my bed..) and hop in for a quick shower.

9:00am -- Out of the shower and I'm dying for a cup of coffee!  I craved coffee during my last trimester of pregnancy and it has carried over to postpartum.  If I don't shower in the morning, coffee is the first item to check off my list for the day.

#girlmom tee // emerald sky

9:15am-9:30am -- breakfast + morning chores.  While I make my coffee and breakfast, I usually unload the dishwasher and get the house ready for the day (dishes, laundry, meal prep for dinner).

Jesus coffee mug // linen + lace shop

Breakfast for me these days is usually peanut butter + banana toast.  I think about it at 2am when I nurse Baker.. thats how much I'm loving it right now.  I also have a habit of eating the same thing for months and months and then never eating it again.  If its not PBB toast I'll eat a bowl of multi-grain Cheerios or oatmeal - wishing the entire time I would have eaten the toast.  Thats what second breakfasts are for, yes?

I always have helpers when I unload the dishwasher.. I think she takes the opportunity to steal some of the cooking utensils to play with.  For whatever reason, the girls l o v e to play in the empty bathtub while I get ready.  Fine by me- keeps them out of trouble and contained:)

9:30am-10:30am -- getting ready.  I blow dry and fix my hair.. and on this day we made plans to meet up with Auntie, so I did a quick version of my makeup routine (i.e. concealer + blush + bronzer + lip gloss) to look presentable.  I don't put it on if we are staying home.  Hair and dress for the twin babes also happens during this time and I haven't quite mastered getting out of the house on time with the girls after doing my hair AND my full makeup.  I'll get there.  Just not today:)

10:30am -- nurse.  I wake Baker to change her diaper, get her dressed and to feed a very hungry girl.  Parker and Jolie stand at the changing table to 'help' me, so it always take a little longer, but its all worth it to make them feel included in all things that have to do with her.

11:15am -- and we are off!  I usually like to be out of the house between 10am and 11am mainly because if we are planning to have any kind of nap that day, I need to be home by 1:30pm for the girls to go down and it not infringe on their nighttime routine.  We can miss nap here and there and it not result in total meltdowns at 5pm, but for the most part we try and limit being out of the house during their typical nap time (between 1pm-4pm).  On those days we are out and about - Jolie will usually cat nap in the car between errands.  Parker is notorious for falling asleep 3 minutes from pulling into the driveway.

We made a couple stops: fill up gas, post office, and then to grab lunch before meeting Auntie.

12:00pm-4:00pm -- playdates + errands. On days when we 'don't nap' we will make a day of it and run what feels like a bazillion errands and usually stop to play or do something fun for the twins at some point.  Typical: lunch, Sams/Costco, Target (<<duh), Barnes and Noble..they have a train table in the children's section - P+J love playing and reading the books..and there is a Starbucks for mama.)  There are several churches in our area that have indoor playscapes that we have been taking advantage of during this summer heat.  It wouldn't be so bad for the twins, but having Baker outside isn't an option unless we can get out before 9am when it isn't sweltering.  We have gone to the splash pad or the pool around that time of the morning.

The Ark in Coppell has an area with tables so we could eat lunch before the girls took off to play.  Lots of other moms had the same idea:)

While the twins ran and played their little hearts out, me, Auntie, Baker and Baby Grayson spent some time catching up.  That girl loves her Auntie.  She was chatting and flirting all over the place!  She's pretty laid back as long as she isn't hungry:)

1:00pm-4:00pm (if we are at HOME) -- Usually when the twins nap, I try to get Baker to take a nap as well.  Even though we aren't on a regular schedule, the afternoon tends to be more structured for her simply because her sisters have a pretty solid afternoon/evening routine.  I still feed her 'on demand' but it is consistently every 3 hours, so I kind of know what to expect as the day goes on.

If Baker is able to sleep at all during 1pm-4pm nap time, this is usually when I'll do laundry, answer emails, and straighten up the house.  The twins are a constant tornado of energy and while I once was able to walk behind them picking things up as they went, since Baker's arrival, I just don't have enough hands to do so.  SO- it stays a shambles until nap time and again until the girls go to bed for the evening.

4:00-5:00pm -- snacks + play.  My straight house is a mess again.  It takes them NO time to undo all my putting away. Toys.Books.Puzzles.Everywhere.  Playtime is usually combined with a snack (right at 4pm) and sometimes a movie if we had a busy morning and the twins are ready to be awake yet.  Afternoon is also when Baker spends some time on her tummy.  This is new for us.. I waited to start tummy time until she was a month old.  Parker kept saying "Hi sugar!" When Baker has the stimulus of her sisters' company, she will lay on her tummy for longer than if she is doing without them.

5:30pm-6:00pm -- bathtime!  We don't take baths every night but when we do (about every other day) it is always of request to have a bubble bath.  I had just fed Baker and while she normally would be content in her bouncy seat while I bathed her sisters, she insisted on being held.  I had plans to bathe her after the twins went to bed anyway, so I just stuck her in there, too:)

6:15pm -- Post bath squeaky clean babe.  She loves to sleep on her tummy.  After the last nursing session of the late afternoon (between 6:00pm-7:00pm) she will sleep through the rest of the early evening.

6:15pm-7:15pm -- dinnertime!  I like to give a bath before dinner time mainly because we have been eating a little later than normal due to the summer hours of light.  Before Baker was born we were sometimes staying at the pool until 6:30pm!  In order not to feel completely rushed after dinner due to an impending bedtime, we've been doing bath before.  Usually we eat together as a family, but Daddy was at the fire station, so is was Annie's mac and cheese, watermelon + grapes, and Bubble Guppies instead.

7:30pm-8:00pm -- wind down. 'Chocolate milk' (1/2 packet carnation instant breakfast mixed in skim milk) and one more toddler show before bed.  Lately its been Peppa Pig or Mickey Mouse.

8:00pm-8:30pm -- bedtime for Parker and Jolie.  If Jordan is home he will rock them in the rocking chair in their room while they sing worship music in the dark OR read a book.. but 9 times out of 10 P+J will choose the music. If it just mama, I'll snuggle them in their beds and chat about the day.  Jo usually stays on topic and tells me all about her day - even when we have spent every moment together..

Please excuse my looking like a 12 year old, makeup-less face:)

..while Parker is just all over the place!  Last night she was talking about something (I couldn't make out what) blowing away and BB putting in her car so it wouldn't blow away - and then her story quickly turned to something about Bubble Guppies and then asking for more chocolate milk.  I just nod and go with it.  She does all the talking.

8:30pm-11:30pm -- dinner/tv/shower/blogging.  Occasionally Jordan and I will wait until the twins are down for the night before eating dinner, but when Jordan is at the fire station, I almost always eat after the girls go to bed.  This is also the time for the hubby and me to catch up on our DVR shows.  That is sort of our thing to do.. Bachelor in Paradise, anyone?  We have approximately 43 shows we love to watch together.  Before Baker was born I was one to wake up early, before the rest of my house, and do my quiet time + spend some time blog planning + blogging.  In this stage of life that just won't happen.  Blogging at night or in the late morning if we don't have plans is the easiest.. and my quiet time (right now I am following the She Reads Truth study: This is the Gospel) is whenever I can get to reading it that day.  I am sure once I go back to work and get into that daily routine again, it will be easier for me to be up earlier - but until baby girl is sleeping through the night and we have a better schedule I'll be fine to 'work' at night.

Our bed time is all over the place right now, so its almost easier for me to stay awake until its time to feed Baker again between 10:30pm-11:30pm (whenever she tends to stir and wake hungry.)  After I feed her I swaddle her up and lay her in the rocker next to my side of the bed.  Sometimes she will sleep for an hour and be up again to eat and other times she will sleep through until 3am before she wakes to eat again.

Writing it all out like this makes me realize how busy we are when I actually make plans.  I am probably just catching up from the lack of doing anything during the early weeks:)  I havent done one of these details posts since last September, and looking back it is crazy how much has changed.  I mean.. my big girls were SO little, just weeks into being potty trained and although I don't feel like things have changed all that much, it really has!

I know eventually we will get back to some normalcy, but right now, this is our normal.