A Day in the Life #15 (Luke 11, Sam 6)

It has been a full YEAR since I did one of these posts, back when I made sure to document one of my last days having a kid home with me during the school day (other than the handful of sick days we've had this school year, during most of which I was sick too).  The fact that I can write those sentences without crying shows some real growth over the last year.  More thoughts coming on that.

I started doing these when Luke was 7 months old and here I am, where he is 11 and I'm still (occasionally) doing them.  I cannot tell you how glad I am to have done these because so much about the little minutia of the day gets lost to time.  I could tell you a general flow of how our average day went at different stages but the particulars of multiple naps and what I did with the boys when they weren't napping...I'm so glad I've periodically documented this.  

My days are a lot different now than they were at any point in my stay at home Mom days and much different how they are going to look over the next 2.5 months!  My kids are out of school now so this documents one of the final days of their past school year!  I am baffled that we are in summer already (also, they got out crazy early this year).  Hopefully I have finished teacher gifts by the time this posts!  Because as of this writing I'm only about halfway there...

Monday, May 20th

5:55am - Get up, make the bed, change into my workout clothes, see Matt off before he leaves for work.  Read for 17 minutes to finish a book I had wanted to finish the day before.

6:40am - Start my 22 minute workout on the Get Healthy U TV app.  This is later than I should have started it because now I won't be done before the boys are awake.  Sam comes down with his alarm at 6:53.  Luke takes a little more urging.  I take MANY breaks in my workout to keep the boys moving and help Sam with his cereal.  

7:10am - Finally finish my workout, put Sam's lunch together (he packed it last night but it needed to go in his bag with an ice pack), change into my running clothes, keep the boys moving along, pull Sam's FIRST TOOTH (he's been wiggling it for weeks), keep urging the boys to MOVE.  We leave for the walk to school much later than I would like but we made it, barely.

7:55am - I stretch near school and then run 3.5 miles, my longest run so far this year.  70°, humid, and sunny.  Not ideal but I love an early morning run and my last one this school year!  Good to get it done, even if I don't like much of the actual running.

8:30am - Home and try to STOP SWEATING.  Drink water, sit under a fan, read some things on my phone, then start this post since I forgot to write anything down so far today.

9:10am - run some books down to the library to return, then eat breakfast and shower.  I like morning runs but I hate how long it takes me to get moving after them.  Just the cooling off, eating, showering...it's a process.  

10:30am - out of the shower, fully ready, hair is dealt with, have put away running clothes, run paper down to the Paper Gator bag we collect for my BIL's school, mixed up sun tea and sat outside.  Sit on the porch with what is left of my tea and read for a good chunk.  

 

11:20am - put away book and mug, do my weekly spot cleaning of the windows & mirrors around the house (my schedule has changed a little in the last 9 years but this is still my basic process).  Clean the bathroom mirrors and vanity top.  The boys' Saturday job is to clean the toilet and the tub leave just the mirror and vanity for me.  Refill the cotton balls and q-tips.  Make my second mug of tea.  Listen to podcasts while I do this.  Sit down to update this post!

12:20pm - Spent 20 minutes sorting through nearly 80 pictures from this past weekend.  We had a few things going on so more pictures than we typically take on a weekend in town. I have kept up this picture tagging system for nearly 10 years so far.  I usually do this twice a week, on Mondays and Fridays and then our bigger trips take longer to get through, as I have time! 

12:45pm - work on this blog post, catching it up to now and editing the pictures I've taken so far.  Then write another blog post that will post later this summer, reallllly trying to get ahead on some non-time sensitive blog posts so I can be on my computer much less when the boys are off.  Also finished up the post that went up two days ago!

1:30pm - Eat a very exciting lunch of leftover baked beans, raspberries, and a cookie.  I hate lunch but it's better when I have leftovers to eat.  Otherwise it can be very hard for me to figure out what to eat (I really need to make a list of options...maybe a project for back to school time).  Then I update my bullet journal and line a day journal for reading/running/biking/tv watching over the last 4 days (I last updated on Friday before much had happened).

2:10pm - work on this post some more, work on another post for later this summer...(I don't normally do this much blogging in a day but I'm trying to get ahead for summer in these last days of the school year!)

2:35pm - I go get the boys and also a niece and nephew.  After school we also do a quick (kinda) photo with all the cousins and family on my husband's side that goes to the same school as our boys (we did one with my side of the family last week...there are enough of them that we do a picture with each side).  Then walk home.  I carry Sam's backpack nearly every day.  I should make him do it but...pick your battles and all.

3:15pm - Home later than usual because of the picture.  My kids pretty much ignore after school routine because we have some cousins over.  Matt got out early and beat us home so I talk to him for a bit while the kids are all over the place.  I start switching out the letterboard for the last day of school coming up, referencing what I did last year but also changing it since this is the first last day of school we have two kids in school!

4:15pm - My sister comes to get her kids and talk to her for about 15 minutes.  Matt watches a class, I try to get the boys through their things once cousins are gone.  Once again remind one of them that we aren't supposed to go outside in just socks...  Apparently today was "clean out your desk day" because we have A LOT of extra stuff to go through.  I find crayons my 5th grader did not touch (WHY did they need them??) and a few unused notebooks and folders, which were definitely on the supply list, too.  Yay.  Get Sam to pack his lunch (Luke has hot lunch tomorrow), eventually changed to Luke's massive pile of desk clean out dealt with.

5:30pm - I start chicken cooking in the instant pot for the casserole I'll make when it's done.  File papers, try to get boys to do their chores.  Summer energy is STRONG in them.  Discuss the basement mess with Matt & the boys.  Once chicken is ready I make the casserole and get it in the oven.  Sync my phone and install an update.  Check with a friend about if 5th grade really does have an online assignment this week (YES.  WHAT.)  Read to the boys, some of our spring picture books for the last time before they'll be packed away for summer books.  We finish just as it's time to eat.

7:00pm - Eat supper, somehow in the 30 minutes between reading books and telling the boys it's time to eat, one has escaped to the sandbox and have to get him back inside.  Eat.  Sam stacks the dishwasher and then takes a shower.  Matt does dishes.  Luke sweeps the floor.  I get the boys clothes and my work bag around for the next day.  When Sam's out of the shower we do family prayers and then Matt has online class and Luke takes a shower while I help Sam fold his laundry (he'll do his socks, underwear and shorts.  I do his shirts.) and then help him put it away.  Lay with him for a bit to talk and he falls asleep.  

8:30pm - Downstairs to guide Luke through some papers from his desk I didn't know what to do with.  Take him up to bed.  Then I hide from all my responsibilities and check IG.  Eat my post-run peach sorbet which I treasure dearly.  

9:30pm - On my computer to finish a post for later this summer that I was just about 5 minutes short on time to finish before pick-up.  Update this post and realize I didn't think to take many pictures post school.  Kids are distracting. 

And that's when I'm finishing this post for the night!  I still might update some photobooks and then read before bed.  The ~7 hours I am alone during the day (when I am home and alone) are very different than the ~7 hours I am on solid Mom duty after school.  It's nice I get a little more time to recharge during the day since our nights are a bit more chaotic with two kids' after school energy and even more so when we're in a sports season.  Pretty soon this will all change though with summer break.  I've never done a summer break one of these, maybe I'll try for one this year!

Day in the Life 1 - November 2013 (Luke 7½ months)
Day in the Life 2 - June 2014 (Luke 14 months)
Day in the Life 3 - November 2014 (Luke 20 months)
Day in the Life 4 - January 2016 (Luke 2 ¾)
Day in the Life 5 - July 2016 (Luke 3 ¼)
Day in the Life 6 - January 2017 (Luke 3¾)
Day in the Life 7 - October 2017 (Luke 4½)
Day in the Life 8 - April 2018 (Luke 5, Sam 2 months)
Day in the Life 9 - November 2018 (Luke 5½, Sam 8 months)
Day in the Life 10 - May 2019 (Luke 6, Sam 14 months)
Day in the Life 11 - November 2019 (Luke 6½, Sam 1½)
Day in the Life 12 - May 2020 (Luke 7, Sam 2)
Day in the Life 13 - February 2021 (Luke 7½, Sam 3½)
Day in the Life 14 - May 2023 (Luke 10, Sam 5)