So I took a ton of pictures (about 100) and used that to document (there's a time stamp) and wrote some down - so this is that. Not every detail, but hopefully boring enough :)
Often on Fridays Ren Man does all of the farming chores. This was what happened this Friday. I do afternoon chores 4-6 days a week - but this was not one of those days. I'll have to pick another ditl-day to include afternoon chores.
BUT Friday is a fairly easy day (Ren Man is home all day, the weekend - which tends to get hectic - is not yet there. It's the calm before the storm) so it's mostly parenting "excitement". But last time it was mostly farming, so it evens out.
7:05 I hear Child F. padding around in her pj'd feet. I think it's her. I was awake from 4-6am (Child D. woke at 4am and then I couldn't get back to sleep), so I'm feeling groggy and sore and I'm not quite ready for the day to start. But Child F. is apt to call out for a wipe after pottying and I don't want the other kids to wake up. I get Child F. re-pj'd and send her downstairs to wait by the fire while I get her some clothes. Ideally we're out the door and headed to school around 7:30. This doesn't usually happen and I'm okay with that. We HAVE to leave by 8am - but I tell myself 7:30 and then maybe she'll actually be on time - instead of on-time for breakfast.
While gathering clothes for Child F., Child D. popped her head up: "awake!" she announced.
"shhhh!" I say quietly and go right to her bed. "Child E. is still sleeping. Quiet, quiet." I pick her up and bring her outside of their bedroom, being careful to minimally creak the floor. I send her quietly downstairs with a promise that I'll bring her clothes.
She waits for me at the top of the stairs anyway.
With clothes in hand, we quietly walk downstairs and find Child F. waiting, as usual, by the fire.
Time to get dressed.
While the girls are starting to get dressed, I check for school closings - just in case. It's snowing at a good clip. I've definitely driven Child F. to school before, only to find the parking lot empty. But today - school is ON!
There's a hitch. Child D. has no clean socks. Well, she does - but they are in the dryer ... some where. Socks are always disappearing. This could be because kids take socks off wherever (Child F. appears to HATE wearing socks, so takes them off wherever she is as soon as she can). Normally I wouldn't worry about Child D.'s lack of sockness, but Ren Man got up late and is still out in the barn - so I'm taking Miss Child D. to school. She needs socks. The temps are barely in the teens.
3 minutes later and there's A Match!
6minutes later and both girls' have hair up in ponies.
7:40 I ask the girls to get their coats on and go out to the mudroom to put on their boots. I run upstairs and check on Child E. (the baby). She's still sleeping. I go to ask my dad to keep an ear out. He's still sleeping. I go to Del and Noah's room where they are quietly laughing and chatting over a book.
"Child E. is still sleeping and I need to bring Child F. to school. Can you guys listen out for her and get her when she wakes up?"
They nod solemnly.
"I'll get her!" Del quickly volunteers.
"Poobah is in his room sleeping and Daddy is outside doing chores if you need a grownup," I tell them.
They nod again, confident with the plan.
7:45 downstairs and putting my own outdoor gear on. I meet the girls in the mudroom and get boots and hats on everyone and then we're out the door. The term "herding cats" enters my mind and I wonder at getting two kids to the car. It's not uncommon that I'm getting 5 kids in the car and this seems about as challenging.
It's the day for the Teddy Bear Picnic, and Child F. is very excited.
Ren Man comes out of the barn.
"You're taking all of the kids?" he asks.
"No, just Child D. Child F. is still sleeping. I guess I should have thought of bringing Child D. out to the barn with you. My dad is still sleeping," I explain. The other car has snow tires, the van does not - but there's only one car seat in the other car right now. I give Child D. the option to stay with Daddy but she wants the car ride.
We're ready to go!
Oh - but the ice! Well, it's not a bad idea to let the van warm up a bit anyway. It tends to turn itself off if you press the gas and it's too cold still.
I got the scraper and did the best I could. Good enough.
On our way we talked about what Child F. was having for breakfast at school (we talk about this a lot), how sad we were that the teddy bear fell and we couldn't get it, how the trees are as tall as the sky (common topic around here), etc.
20 minutes later and we're out of the car and in the classroom changing in to shoes for Child F. and hanging up her coat. Child D. peeks in to the classroom enthralled. I call her name, offer my hand, and we're walking back to the car, headed home at 8:23.
We're home and Baby E. is crying and reaching for me.
"She was happy until she saw you," Ren Man assures me. Always the way. The older two are up and playing video games, as is Ren Man. There may have been some firm words about the living room being a mess and it being too early for video games, too loud, and it wasn't fair that I was busting my butt all day when video games were being played by others. I'm not saying that happened. Just that it might have.
The baby is crying and needs to be changed.
Child D., having waited all morning for breakfast (I don't let anyone eat until Child F. is gone - she seems to have the most food anxiety and it would be really awful for her to see the rest of the kids start breakfast while she has to wait until school. She really doesn't need ANY more food, so we wait until school), is beside herself. The baby's bum change is my priority. Child D. is waiting a little while longer, but isn't happy in the least.
Del is playing peek-a-boo to try and appease the baby as she writhes around on the floor, foiling all of my diapering attempts.
And then I'm mixing up yogurt for all while a baby perches on my hip, mildly happier than on the floor.
At 9:07 we have a smiley 2-year-old with a yogurt-decorated-face.
As well as a baby who is happy to suck down some homemade blueberry yogurt too.
I'm not always great at feeding myself, particularly breakfast. But this morning - yogurt and granola for momma hits the spot.
9:20 The baby is still fussy. She's not totally off formula. She's small (although average for her birth weight) and I would still be nursing her if she was breastfed, so she still gets bottles. She's been not drinking much and when I offer her some while working on an ad for roller derby, answering emails, and checking fb - she sucks down a few ounces.
And she's still sad and wants to be held. Poor baby has been sick with a cold for a week. Her fever is gone but she's still wanting some momma-love.
I check my library card account online. One book overdue. Ugh.
"Noah!" I call, "do you know where a Scaredy Squirrel book is?"
"Yeah," he replies, "I put it in the book bin."
Where it belongs. But where it didn't get returned because we didn't do our usual town run this week due to the snow.
Sigh. I look through the book bins by the front door.
It's in there.
Child D. thinks this is the perfect time for a reading break. Works for me.
9:52 we're snuggling and reading books and making room for a baby who needs more snuggles.
Since Ren Man took the picture of us reading, he thought this might also be the perfect time to take a picture of Noah's eye.
But Noah blinked ;)
Baby E. is still cranky. Let's try a nap. She used to take a long nap at 10-ish but that one has been shorter. And really for the past few days she's taken 3 half hour naps and is clearly exhausted and generally miserable. Poor baby. I'm not feeling super confident the nap attempt will work.
She gets more formula and seems sleepy. I'm checking fb during all of this, curled up on our bed.
But she fusses.
And then closes her eyes.
And fusses.
10:20 Wondering if I should give up.
But there she is settling down and closing her eyes - again! She MUST be tired.
10:42 she's finally out.
A friend just got a placement of two kids - one being 7mos. I'm sure she can use Baby E.'s outgrown clothes that have formed an impressive mountain on her dresser. I leave the 3-6 mos size (have I said Baby E. was small when she came?). I fold them and I'm surprised to see they all fit easily in to a grocery bag. Never forget: folded clothes take up less space.
11:03 finish ad for roller derby and send the email
11:08 emailed a friend about a playdate for the future
Child D. is ready for lunch.
If I start 5-minute-a-day bread now to rise, it will be ready by 2pm. Noah has asked for cheesy bread, so let's make this happen quick.
11:29 quick lunch for Momma , coffee, Child D. to bed. We used to do this whole drawn out thing of me giving backrubs that ended in extreme frustration by me! I often had a fussy baby awake downstairs and Child D. would.not.settle. So this week I've been tucking her in and walking out of the room, checking on her as needed. This means the upstairs gets some cleaning time too. A big bonus. And Child D. is going to sleep quicker and easier. Yay.
Not today. Big clean in the upstairs hallway while she's not falling asleep. The hallway looks great!
12:05 Child D. still awake
I'm done.
I come down stairs and tell Ren Man he may need to check on her. There is added pressure because Baby E. is asleep (thankfully in a different room - that's why Baby E. doesn't nap in her room) - Child D. HAS to stay quiet!
I check fb obsessively and Ren Man convinces Child D. to go to sleep. I do laundry. Dishes. The usual.
The oven is on for the bread.
1:15 Baby E. wakes up! Yay for a long nap.
Put the bread in the hot oven with instructions to Ren Man to pull it out when the timer goes off.
1:30 time to go get Child F. from school. Del wants to go and Ren Man is working on prepping for a class he teaches at the local college. So I bundle Baby E. up too.
By the time we get back with Child F., the bread is ready. Child F. is sad, as she is every day, that while it's snack time for the rest of the kids, it's not for her. She had snack. At school. Right before picking her up. We've offered to pick her up before snack at school so she can have snack at home. That's still being considered.
The bread is salty anyway. I don't always measure and usually eyeballing doesn't work for me. This was particularly disastrous. I made sure to whip up another batch of dough to add to the remaining dough - hoping that it evens the salt situation out.
We cut the salty bread with a big pile of oranges.
Ren Man heads out to do chores after putting the oven on low to keep ribs for dinner warm (ribs that he cooked with the bread). He suggests I make a carrot 'slaw. He'll be longer than usual. There's a sheep that died (presumably of old age) in the barn yesterday that he needs to take care of. I also want him to put air in the van tires (note: he does not do this. I think he forgot.)
4:00pm While I'm contemplating the state of the kitchen (small kitchen=minimal counter space :: small mess=big mess), there's a knock at the door.
Oh yeah.
Speech for Child D.
Everyone is excited.
I remind the older two girls to go find something else to do in another room.
They tend to like to get involved with speech.
To be fair, our speech person is awesome and I'd like to get involved with a speech session too!
But that doesn't maximally help Child D.
Seeing Child D.'s speech person reminds me that I wanted to call Child F.'s special ed person. Child F. is seen at school and I've had no contact with her SPED person, and I kind of want to know how she's doing and what they've been up to so we can reinforce it at home.
Child F. decides to color - something she could do all day every day - and she does a TON of at school. Whenever it's an option - she's there!
Child D. is engaged with speech and it's great to see. She had a honeymoon period but now is not THAT excited about playing with the speech person. She'd prefer Mommy be there, where she can turn and refuse to participate, asking Mommy to answer the questions. So it's nice to see her engaged.
Noah is having "thinking time". Thankgoodness because it's been a whirlwind of video gaming. Really thinking we need to increase the independent "school" work requirement and add some chores in to the rotation BEFORE video games. But for now, he's thinking.
The baby's adorable smile as she goes for dismantling a shelf full of dvds will have to be imagined.
And Del is dipping in to her orange snack.
I may or may not have checked fb again and engaged in a helpful fb conversation while our baby tried to engage with the speech therapy.
4:50 The phone rings. It's Child F.'s SPED person. She's nice and explained the progress she's seen so far, the potential for summer services, various attributes and challenges of Child F., and a suggestion that a notebook be passed back and forth so we can be sure to be on the same page. Before the conversation is over Child D.'s speech person has had me sign the usual form and pointed out times when she'll be over next week. She also compliments my multi-tasking.
Speech done, and the phone hung up, it's time to start dinner. Child D. wants to help. Child E. on my back and we're ready to start shredding carrots.
I think this is the point where I put together another batch of bread dough and had a screaming baby, a needy toddler, and an inquisitive preschooler. When Ren Man came in from chores - it was incredible. He distracted the screaming baby and encouraged me to walk away. I gladly went to ... check fb again! Of course!!
And he finished up dinner. Ribs, bread pudding from left over corn bread, and our carrot 'slaw.
After dinner, I had about half an hour before bedtime. I gathered spare clothes, diapers, wipes, and formula in to a bag. The girls were scheduled to spend a day with their grandmother the following day.
I chose to send the formula can with the grandmother so the instructions would be available at hand. It also would give her a heads up about what type of formula the baby has. So where to put the rest of the formula ... a mason jar! And now feeding formula seems even healthier. Thank you, Mason! ;)
Time for teeth brushing. Our bathroom (like our kitchen) could use a little more elbow room, but it works.
7:12pm and everyone is pj'd and ready for book reading. Sometimes Del and Noah join us - and this was one of those nights. Sometimes it goes really well and sometimes it's chaotic. Often the baby is crying and wanting to be held while the girls also want to be held. But just as often the baby is climbing the furniture. Last night she was doing chinups on her crib rail and walking - lots of walking practice!
And then the big kids went to their room for Ren Man to read their chapter book while I finished with the girls (tucked them in, gave the baby a bottle, waited for them to fall asleep - all while ... checking fb! ;) )
When the 3 younger girls were asleep, I moved to my room to wait for Ren Man to be done with "Noah's" book. Del still had a book to choose and she wanted "An Elephant in the Garden" - a book I'm reading to them on the kindle.
By 8:22pm we're snuggled in to bed to read with lots of questions about the second world war, the "teams", the "good guys", the Jews, gold stars, dads off to war ...
They are off to bed and I go back downstairs just to make sure the crockpot is on for tomorrow's oatmeal. I keep forgetting to make it and I know Child F. really really wants oatmeal and is often sad she misses oatmeal for her school breakfasts (which all sound equally yummy to me).
Satisfied, it's bedtime for me by 10pm. Not asleep by 11pm, I hear Child D. move around and take her to the bathroom. She no longer wears diapers and had worked her way to dry all night, but lately has had two wet nights. So I'm back to waking her in the night to pee. If that means a dry bed, it doesn't bother me.
And then sleep.
That's what Friday was like. What was your Friday like? (Not as many details are required in your response, but welcome! :) )
2 comments:
Thank you, Haz. It's definitely full and exactly what I've always wanted!
The Big Hungry Bear... Love that book and it was always a favorite for my kids!
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