Second Annual "A Day in the Life of a Stay at Home Mom" [AKA What I Do All Day]

I did this last year around this time and thought it'd be fun to do again and see how things change. The biggest change is that I'm not nursing a baby every two hours like I was last year! Haha.

My disclaimers: this is not intended to be an illustration about how busy and chaotic my life is. My days are actually very low-key compared to most people I know. I tried to be as honest as possible about how often I check facebook or nap on the couch. Haha. I'd say this is a pretty good representation of a typical day around here. Other than dinner. I never spend that much time on dinner. And with good reason. So not worth it. And my usual disclaimer: It's seriously wicked long. Feel free to skim. :-)

Thursday, April 3, 2014

6:44 Lena wakes up. I pull her into bed with me, hoping she’ll go back to sleep. No such luck.

6:49 Put on a sweatshirt and sweatpants. Go downstairs.

6:51 Change Lena’s diaper.

6:53 Make her a bottle of milk. Lay down on the couch with her while she drinks it.

7:04 Lay on the couch while Lena gets up and down, playing with the toys and climbing on me.

7:30 Get up to brush my teeth as Luke rushes past me into the bathroom. Make coffee instead.

7:36 Play with Lena while watching the news

7:44 Lucy comes downstairs shirtless

7:47 Pour coffee as Luke gets out of the bathroom. I go in to brush my teeth. Both girls follow me.

7:48 Comfort Lucy after she stubs her toe.

7:49 Put toothpaste on the girls’ toothbrushes. We all brush our teeth.

7:52 Put my contacts in while Lena pulls on my legs crying, “up!” and Lucy instructs me that she wants to wear a dress over a long-sleeved shirt.

7:54 Go upstairs to get Lucy some clothes.

7:55 Get Lucy dressed.

7:58 Go to the basement to get some waffles out of the freezer.

7:59 Put the waffles in the toaster.

8:00 Get Lucy some vitamins and Lena a banana.

8:02 Put Lena in high chair with food.

8:03 Get the girls drinks.

8:04 Get Lucy some ice for her poor aching toes.

8:05 Reheat my coffee.

8:07 Help Lucy with her breakfast.

8:09 Check facebook

8:16 Pick Lena’s banana up off the floor. Get her out of high chair.

8:17 Turn on Netflix for Lucy.

8:19 Back to facebook

8:22 Hear Lena whining in the other room. Go get her.

8:25 Hold Lena while reading a hilarious article. Consider sharing it to facebook, but decide there’s too much profanity. Will share it here instead. 

8:29 Notice Lena pooping.

8:30 Change Lena’s diaper

8:33 Check email, catch up on my blog reading

8:38 Notice Lena has something in her mouth. Try to get her to show me. She takes it out of her mouth and hides it in her armpit. Determine it’s just a smartie she found on the floor. Back to blog reading.

8:42 Lose Internet connection.

8:44 Help Lucy with Netflix

8:45 Realize Netflix isn't working because the Internet is out. Go upstairs to get “Frozen” out of the DVD player.

8:47 Get movie started for Lucy.

8:48 Pry Lucy’s waffle out of Lena’s hand. Get Lena’s uneaten waffle off her high chair.

8:50 Get Lucy some yogurt.

8:51 Get Lena some yogurt when she freaks out over Lucy’s yogurt. Feed her entire container.

8:56 Put Lena down for a nap. Bring down clothes for me to wear and the girls’ laundry.

9:00 Lucy begs for a snack. Cut up some peaches for her.

9:05 Internet’s working again. Check facebook one more time while listening to Lucy sing “Do You Want to Build a Snowman” word for word. J

9:07 Turn off TV. Jump in the shower. Lucy comes in while I’m shaving my legs and says, “Are you done yet? I want you to watch Frozen with me!”

9:25 Start a load of laundry

9:27 Make half an English muffin with peanut butter and a glass of milk for breakfast.

9:33 Sit down with Lucy to watch Frozen while eating my breakfast. (Fall asleep while Kristoff and Anna are running from the wolves.)

11:09 The movie and all its bonus features are done.

11:10 Read a Bible story about David and the Psalms to Lucy. Write our own poems.

11:29 Switch my laundry over.

11:30 Fill my water bottle.

11:32 Google “how many ounces is 750 ml?”

11:34 Play school with Lucy. This involves taking attendance (listing every kid Lucy knows and being chastised if I forget one), doing the pledge of allegiance, going over the last two week’s verses, singing the alphabet, counting to 20, reading a book and drawing a picture of our favorite part, and having recess. We’re just starting “craft time” as . . .

12:09 Lena wakes up

12:10 Change Lena’s diaper. Get her dressed.

12:12 Throw Lena’s diaper away.

12:13 Confiscate a marker out of Lena’s hand.

12:15 Put Lena in the high chair with some peas and a squeezy.

12:16 Make grilled cheese for Lena.

12:23 Warm up some leftover mac n’ cheese for Lucy. Stick Lena’s grilled cheese in the fridge to cool.

12:24 Turn on Eloise for Lucy.

12:25 Give Lena some mac n’ cheese while she waits for her sandwich to cool.

12:26 Clean up the mess I made in the kitchen.

12:27 Give Lena her grilled cheese.

12:28 Force myself to finish my bottle of water before I can have a glass of Dr Pepper.

12:29 Grab a bag of pretzels and pour my Dr Pepper.

12:30 Turn on some worship music and unload the dishwasher. Lena sings along with me.

12:36 Get Lucy some more macaroni.

12:38 Back to the dishwasher

12:40 Get Lucy a drink and a napkin

12:41 Back to the dishwasher

12:48 Refill Lena’s cup

12:49 Finish emptying dishwasher. Refill it.

12:52 Lena starts throwing her food on the floor. Get her down and wash her up.

12:54 Hand wash 2 frying pans.

12:57 Check on two very quiet girls – they’re watching Eloise nicely together.

12:58 Clean off Lena’s high chair

12:59 Confiscate a USB drive Lena found somewhere

1:00 Pick up Lena’s food off the floor

1:01 Take care of miscellaneous counter clutter, wash a cutting board and a cake pan, wipe down counters, pick up all the measuring cups Lena threw on the floor.

1:08 Lena comes into the kitchen crying “up.” Pick her up and notice macaroni on her nose and eyebrow.

1:09 Wash Lena’s face again.

1:10 Confiscate the keys Lena got out of my purse while I was typing the last 3 things.

1:11 Start making myself some lunch.

1:12 Confiscate my wallet from Lena.

1:12 Finish making myself a sandwich and take care of the ingredients.

1:16 Sit down with my lunch and a bread machine cook book.

1:18 Turn Lucy’s movie off. Take care of the ice pack I found on the floor.

1:19 Sit back down to eat. Check facebook and blog reader.

1:37 Play house with Lucy while playing with Lena.

1:41 Read Lena the same book 8 times.

1:50 Lena figures out how to do the ring stacker for the first time. Take a video. 

2:15 Change Lena’s diaper. Put her down for a nap.

2:20 Continue playing house with Lucy.

2:30 Put Lucy down for “rest time.”

2:33 Search the Internet for a pizza dough recipe.

2:35 Lucy comes down asking for a drink.

2:36 Get Lucy a drink.

2:37 Text Justin some things I need from Meijer.

2:39 Back to finding a pizza dough recipe/checking facebook.

2:40 Justin walks in the door. Forgot he was getting out early today.

2:48 Pick up the disastrous house.

3:10 Refill stupid water bottle

3:11 Make pizza dough in bread maker. Clean up mess.

3:20 Start another load of laundry

3:26 Do a super awful workout: 50 burpees, 50 kickdown crunches. Might die.

3:41 Check facebook

3:44 Lena wakes up

3:45 Go get her, change her diaper

3:46 Justin goes upstairs to take a nap.

3:50 Get Lucy started on a Super Why game on the computer.

3:51 Lay on the couch trying to recover from that stupid workout. Lena crawls all over me.

4:06 Lucy asks for a snack. Get her and Lena hulless popcorn.

4:07 Open some mail.

4:08 Go to the basement and get some chicken out of the freezer.

4:09 Throw the chicken in a pot of water on the stove to boil.

4:10 Switch the laundry over. Start a new load.

4:13 Come out of the bathroom to Lena standing by the counter with her empty bowl saying, “Here you go. Here you go.” Get her some more popcorn.

4:14 Get Lucy some more popcorn.

4:16 Text Mom my grocery list.

4:17 Chase Lena around the house trying to get a picture of her with her snack sticking out of her mouth like a walrus.

4:23 Clean up Lena and her snack mess.

4:25 Sit by Lucy and encourage her to finish her game on the computer.

4:30 Get the computer from Lucy to balance my checkbook. Mom texts me back to ask dad something.

4:31 Go ask dad if he needs anything from Meijer.

4:33 Sit back down to do checkbook while girls have a screaming contest.

4:35 Breadmaker timer beeps

4:39 Lucy hits Lena on the head with a plastic golf club. Yell at Lucy. Console Lena.

4:40 Lucy pours water on a piece of paper on the floor. Yell at Lucy. Tell her not to pour water on anything else. Finish balancing checkbook.

4:42 Walk into the living room to see Lucy running away and a wet spot on the rug. Give her a spanking for disobeying me about pouring water.

4:43 Flour the counter to knead the dough. Lena pulls on my legs crying “up.” Lucy climbs on the stool to “help” me.

4:52 Do Lucy’s hair.

4:54 Confiscate my wallet from Lena.

4:55 Do Lena’s hair.

4:56 Get chicken out of boiling water. Dump water down the drain.

5:00 Google “cornmeal substitutions” for my pizza crust.

5:03 Roll out my very pathetic looking pizza crust.

5:09 Lena finds a pile of flour on the floor. Spreads it everywhere.

5:10 Clean the flour off the counters and floors while Lena licks the oven.

5:15 Help Lucy get started washing her hands.

5:16 Confiscate my keys from Lena.

5:17 Finish cleaning kitchen

5:19 Shred chicken in kitchenaid mixer

5:20 Switch laundry over.

5:23 Cut up peppers

5:33 Get out the rest of the ingredients

5:35 Assemble pizza while Lena pulls more stuff out of my purse and my mom entertains Lucy.

5:43 Clean up

5:53 Sit down to check facebook and force myself to finish my bottle of water before I can have a glass of Dr Pepper with dinner.

6:02 Let Lola out of Luke’s room where she apparently got shut in hours ago. Check on the pizza. It’s smelling amazing.

6:04 Get the pizza out of the oven. Wake up Justin.

Chicken alfredo for us. Pepperoni for pickypants Lucy.

6:05 Change Lena’s diaper

6:08 Get the girls their drinks

6:09 Cut the pizza and serve the girls

6:15 Lucy declares she doesn't like it. Tell her she has to bite and swallow one piece.

6:18 Sit down to eat.

6:26 Lucy spits her milk out on the floor. I tell her to get a towel and clean it up.

6:30 I get Lucy a banana

6:39 Lena starts to rub her pizza in her hair.

6:40 I start the bath. Justin takes Lucy upstairs to watch more Eloise.

6:43 Put Lena in the bath

6:47 Fold a load of laundry while she plays

6:49 Lena dumps two cups of water on the floor. I take the cup from her and she cries until I’m done with the laundry.

6:52 Wash Lena and get her out. Slather her in lotion.

7:00 Take her upstairs and put her pajamas on.

7:05 Lena gets on the bed with Lucy. I clean the girls’ room.

7:08 Bounce Lena on the bed.

7:10 Come downstairs to clean up the bath mess and put dishes in the dishwasher.

7:18 Refill my stupid water bottle half-way. (Just have to drink 10 more ounces!)

7:20 Sit down to watch Wheel of Fortune with my parents.

7:29 Pay bills online while watching Ken Jennings’ return on Jeopardy

7:30 Justin puts Lucy in the bath.

7:34 Bring Lena upstairs. Sing 3 songs and rock her, smelling her sweet hair. Put her in bed.

7:42 Pay more bills

7:50 Tiptoe upstairs to get Lucy’s pajamas

7:52 Facebook, email

7:59 Read books to Lucy

8:18 Help Lucy brush her teeth

8:23 Head upstairs with Lucy and Justin. Tell her a story. Sing 3 songs. Pray for Tayton. Put her in bed. She says she’s scared of the wind. I sing her “The Afraid Song” and go downstairs.

8:35 Eat a handful of chocolate chips because I’m desperate for chocolate.

8:37 Clean up the toys.

8:43 Talk to Justin for a few minutes before he leaves for the gym.

8:45 Go upstairs with the computer

8:50 Enter the day’s calories in myfitnesspal. Shocked to see I stayed 100 cals under my goal!

8:54 Chill with facebook, pinterest, etc.

10:00 Watch Parenthood

10:04 Justin brings me a Reese’s Peanut Butter egg. I eat it despite my earlier thrill about staying under my calorie goal. (Only went 62 cals over. It was worth it.)

11:00 Do my devotions (some of Deuteronomy, some of Luke, a Psalm and a few verses of Proverbs).

11:19 Write in my 5 Year Journal.

11:22 Go downstairs, take my pills, take out my contacts, brush my teeth.

11:34 Go to sleep!