5th Annual Day in the Life of a Stay at Home Mom

Every year, I debate about whether or not to share this. It seems kind of self-indulgent. But I do think it's interesting to see it all written out. I try to be as honest as possible about our screen time, facebook obsession, and horrendous eating habits. I made the spontaneous decision to bring a friend a meal today. I do that about once a year, so don't think too highly of me. Lol. 

Tuesday, April 18, 2017

6:45 Alarm goes off, get up and get dressed in the dark so I don't wake up Levi

6:50 Brush my teeth

6:52 Wake up Lucy

6:54 Make Lucy some waffles and pour her a glass of milk while she turns on Netflix on her tablet

6:56 Make Lucy's lunch (pizza lunchable and frozen go-gurt)

6:58 Pack Lucy's snack (Club crackers and granola bar)

6:59 Make coffee

7:00 Put my bagel in the toaster, search for Lucy's library book

7:03 Butter my bagel, put creamer in my coffee

7:05 Sit down with my breakfast and phone – check facebook, instagram, email

7:20 Wake up Lena, get clothes for the girls

7:24 Tell Lucy to get dressed

7:25 Answer a text

7:26 Put my contacts in

7:27 Tell Lucy again to get dressed, throw my hair into a ponytail

7:31 Wake up Levi, snuggle for a few minutes

7:34 Change Levi's diaper

7:36 Chug coffee and answer another text

7:38 Jot down a to do list and a grocery list

7:40 Buckle Levi into his carseat

7:42 Tell Lucy to turn off her show and brush her hair

7:43 Ask Lucy if she wants to wear flip-flops, have a discussion about respect when she scowls at me in response

7:45 Out the door, buckle kids into carseats

7:51 Pull out of the driveway, girls fight about whether or not zero is a number

7:57 Get to school, walk Lucy into her classroom

8:01 Leave school

8:06 Home

8:08 Set Levi on the floor with some toys, help Lena find her Leappad

8:10 Pull a dust bunny out of Levi's hand and give him a squeezy

8:11 Put some frozen pancakes in the microwave

8:13 Help Levi with his squeezy, give him his pancakes on a plate on the floor

8:14 Turn the heat up (it's only 64* in here)

8:15 Get drinks for the kids

8:16 Fish some kind of cap out of Levi's mouth

8:17 Bring Levi and his pancakes to the living room

8:18 Sit down to do my devotions

8:26 Help Levi wind up a musical toy, back to devotions

8:30 Sit down at computer to type this up

8:37 Help Lena get her undies on

8:39 Put a slice of bread in the toaster

8:40 Scoop some cinnamon apple slices into a bowl

8:41 Get the bread out of the toaster as my phone starts to ring in the other room

8:41 Answer phone and notice Lena shoveling Easter candy in her mouth. Tell her to put it away.

8:42 Spread peanut butter on toast while talking on the phone

8:43 Hand Lena her plate with toast and apples. Fork falls off the plate onto Levi who's sitting at my feet.

8:44 Hang up phone and pick up crying Levi.

8:45 Read books to Levi while he tries to close the book every 4 seconds

8:48 Set Levi down to cruise around the toybox, pick up computer to check email

8:49 Confiscate a pen out of Levi's mouth

8:50 Facebook, blog reader

8:58 Help Levi walk over to Lena to mooch her breakfast

8:59 Words with Friends

9:06 Levi rips Lena's toast out of her hand and shoves it in his mouth

9:09 Clean Levi's face

9:10 Help Lena put bread in the toaster for a new piece of toast

9:11 Spread some peanut butter on a piece of bread for Levi

9:12 Put Levi in his high chair with peanut buttered bread

9:14 Words with Friends while Lena spreads peanut butter on her toast

9:22 Clean up Levi

9:23 Go outside with Lena and Levi to pick up a package that was dropped off

9:24 Open the package while Levi screams because he wants to go back outside

9:26 Put Levi down for a nap

9:27 Clean up Lena, pick up the toast pieces Levi threw on the floor

9:29 Look up recipes

9:32 Search freezer for ingredients

9:35 Clean off kitchen counter, plug in Lena's tablet to charge

9:37 Turn on my “cooking music”

9:38 Go get Lena's cup out of the living room

9:40 Lena helps me put dinner in the crockpot

9:48 Split massive pork loin into separate freezer bags

9:52 Levi is crying. Check to make sure the Binky is in his mouth. Leave him screaming.

9:53 Clean up kitchen

9:56 Help Lena put on a pull-up so she can poop

9:57 Finish cleaning, check on Levi: he's sleeping

10:08 Hide empty Easter eggs around the house

10:10 Make Lena put her undies back on (it was a false alarm – no poop)

10:11 Start picking up the disastrous house while Lena searches for eggs

10:20 Lena found all the eggs. I'm still cleaning

10:27 Get out craft supplies for Lena to play with at the table, continue cleaning

10:41 Sweep dining room floor

10:44 Help Lena glue something

10:46 Sit down with computer – facebook, go down a rabbit trail looking at old pictures

11:05 Send silly snapchats with Lena

11:16 Put some chicken on to boil

11:21 Wander the kitchen looking for a snack

11:22 Settle on a leftover cinnamon roll from Easter

11:23 Lena comes in the kitchen and wants to see the boiling chicken (?), lift her up to see it, share some of my cinnamon roll with her

11:25 Get some yogurt and grapes out of the fridge for Lena

11:27 The chicken is boiling over. Tend to it.

11:28 Cut up some grapes

11:30 Open the yogurt so Lena can put some in a bowl with her grapes

11:31 Put the yogurt away, pour myself a glass of Dr Pepper

11:33 Look at some snapchats, send one to Tater

11:35 Text Niki to buy me some Doritos next time she goes to Sam's Club (she's my personal shopper)

11:35 Put my Lean Cuisine in the microwave

11:37 Get Lena a lunchable and set her up at the table with her tablet (when she sees how clean the table is, she exclaims, "Good cleaning, Mommy!)

11:38 Clean yogurt off of Lena's tablet

11:39 Levi starts crying, put some leftover sloppy joe meat in the microwave for him

11:41 Go to get Levi but he stopped crying

11:42 Check on the chicken, turn heat down to low

11:44 Go get Levi, change his diaper

11:46 Put Levi in the high chair with his sloppy joe

11:48 Sit down with my computer and lunch

11:56 Put more meat on Levi's tray

11:57 Read the first “Day in a Life” blog entry I did exactly 4 years ago

12:00 Help Lena with tablet

12:01 Put more meat on Levi's tray, open the candy bar that came with Lena's lunchable

12:03 Back to reading

12:05 Clean off Lena's hands, back to reading while Lena climbs on my legs

12:14 Forgot about the chicken. Turn off heat.

12:15 Read my second “Day in a Life” blog entry from 3 years ago

12:18 Levi's throwing his food on the floor. Clean him, his high chair, and the floor.

12:23 Change Levi's dirty diaper, get him dressed, tell Lena to get dressed

12:27 Take care of the lunch dishes

12:30 Find Levi's cup

12:31 Change into a short sleeved shirt

12:33 Lena falls and hurts her hand. Console her for a while.

12:34 Shred chicken in mixer as my phone starts ringing in the other room

12:35 Look something up on my mom's computer for her

12:41 Add more ingredients to the chicken

12:46 Put chicken mixture in fridge, Levi in carseat

12:47 Out the door to Family Dollar – get a tin pan, rice, and baby wipes

1:07 Home

1:08 Give Levi some pea crisps

1:09 Make rice (90 seconds in the microwave – I'm a pretty gourmet cook)

1:14 Finish assembling meal, pour into tin pan

1:15 Fill mixing bowl with water to soak, write baking directions on tin pan

1:17 Fix Lena's hair

1:19 Take ibuprofen for the headache I feel coming on

1:20 Get Levi a squeezy and put him in his carseat

1:23 Get the kids in the car

1:24 Go back inside to get the casserole

1:25 Help Lena with her buckle

1:26 Go back inside to get Lena some fruit snacks

1:28 Hit the road

1:43 Stop at Meijer to grab some crescent rolls

1:50 Go to the bakery section to get the kids their free cookie. Get stuck behind a lady ordering a cake

2:00 Leave Meijer

2:15 Arrive at friends' house to drop off casserole, chat for a couple minutes

2:23 Leave

2:43 Arrive at Lucy's school, get in pick-up lane, facebook on phone

2:52 Climb in the backseat to feed Levi snacks

3:00 Lucy comes out

3:03 Leave school

3:08 Home, change Levi's diaper and jeans

3:12 Lucy starts watching Netflix on her tablet. Lena, Levi and I go outside

3:13 Levi sees a tractor in the field and starts scooting across the grass to get to it

3:14 I take pictures

3:17 Run inside to get sweatshirts – it's colder than I thought out here

3:25 My dad gets home and walks Levi closer to the field as the tractor drives right next to our yard

3:33 I put Levi in his car and we walk around, get the mail, search for flowers

3:45 We play in the playhouse

3:50 Back in the car for more walking

3:52 Justin gets home, we chat for a while

3:57 Sit on the deck with the kids to watch the tractor

4:03 Justin comes out and sits with the kids while I go inside

4:04 Pour myself a glass of diet cranberry pop and search for snacks

4:06 Settle for Cheese Nips and sit on the couch

4:10 Justin and the kids come inside.

4:13 Levi notices I'm eating crackers. I throw some to him on the floor while checking facebook

4:15 Crackers are gone so Levi's crying at my feet while Lena begs for candy

4:18 Look up my dinner recipe

4:19 Add cornstarch to crockpot

4:23 Take Levi's shoes and sweatshirt off, tell Lucy to turn off Netflix

4:24 Pick mushy cracker pieces out of the carpet

4:25 Turn on my cooking music

4:28 Peel potatoes while Levi scoots around the house playing with a Barbie and the girls color coordinate their Easter candy

4:34 Chop potatoes

4:35 Notice Levi found one of the girls' candy Whoppers, bite it down to a more manageable size for him

4:36 Don't think I have enough potatoes, peel a couple more, get in water to boil

4:39 Cut up grapes while Levi cries at my feet

4:42 Haul Levi's high chair into the kitchen, strap him in and give him grapes

4:43 Do dishes from making the casserole earlier today

4:51 Levi's done with his grapes, give him spoonfuls of yogurt with strawberries in between dish washing

4:55 Use the last piece of paper towel to clean up a mess I made with the cornstarch

4:55 Go out on porch to get more paper towel. There is no more. Add it to the grocery list on the chalkboard.

4:57 Wash another dish

5:00 The girls come downstairs. Lucy asks if she has to eat what I'm making for dinner and cries when I say yes.

5:01 Lucy storms off with her Boxcar Children book and Lena makes a tower out of mini Reese's peanut butter cups and Rolos

5:01 Look through Lucy's papers from school

5:03 Levi finishes his yogurt and strawberries. Wash him up and get him down while he frantically motions for more food.

5:04 Finish organizing Lucy's papers

5:08 Drain and mash potatoes, add milk, butter, and cream cheese

5:10 Open drawer of measuring cups for Levi to play with

5:13 Clear the table of Lena's craft supplies, Levi starts screaming from the kitchen. He's trapped between the drawer and the cupboard. Rescue him and try to clear the table one handed while holding him.

5:14 My mom walks in. Let Levi scoot over to her, finish clearing table.

5:15 Justin pours the girls' drinks as I scoop food onto their plates and get them to the table.

5:20 Get myself some food, sit down at the table to pray. Rip up pieces of pork for Levi.

5:22 Go back to the kitchen to pour myself another glass of diet cranberry pop

5:23 Sit down to eat. Pour ranch on the girls' plates and give them each 3 baby carrots.

5:25 Levi is throwing all his food on the floor. Lucy is sucking the ranch off a carrot. Neither of the girls is eating a bite of the pork or potatoes. Lena is eating her carrots!

5:36 Get up for seconds.

5:43 Read from our children's devotional.

5:47 Clean Levi and get him down. Change his diaper. Lay him on his belly to encourage crawling/upper body strength.

5:52 Clean the floor around Levi's high chair.

5:55 Take care of my plate, wash a few dishes in the sink, take care of Lena's Leappad that was in my purse.

6:03 Watch Levi play with his cars on the floor, tell Lucy she has 27 minutes to eat 5 bites of her food or 3 carrots before it gets thrown away and she goes hungry the rest of the night.

6:06 Change Levi's dirty diaper while making animal noises to distract him from rolling away

6:09 Cram the Easter baskets and eggs into my closet

6:11 Lie on the floor with Levi while he plays with cars

6:19 Snapchat with sisters

6:21 Clean Lena's chocolate-y hands (she ate 6 carrots so she got to have a piece of candy)

6:27 Facebook on the floor while Levi makes car noises and Lucy tries to choke down half a piece of a baby carrot

6:31 Lucy gives up on the carrots and chooses to go hungry. I clean up hers and Lena's plates.

6:35 Take all three kids upstairs to work on Awana verses. Write them on the white board and erase one word at a time until they have them memorized. (Levi plays with toys and scooches around gleefully.)

7:07 Get Lena a towel to clean up some water she spilled

7:09 Sit down on the couch to watch Wheel of Fortune

7:10 Lucy spills milk all over the table, chair, and carpet. I help her clean it up.

7:14 Throw the milk-soaked towels in the laundry, gather up a few more towels in the bathroom to make a whole load. Start washer.

7:16 Back to Wheel of Fortune while Levi cruises between my mom and me on the couch and around the toybox.

7:34 Help Lena find her tablet

7:36 Get Lena a bowl full of apple slices

7:44 Levi falls and hits his head on the couch. Console him for a while then set him back down.

7:58 Let Levi watch videos of himself on my phone. He cracks himself up.

8:06 Get pajamas for Levi. Help Lena put a pull up on while Justin changes Levi

8:09 Get Lucy a glass of water as Justin puts Levi to bed and the girls head upstairs.

8:11 Upstairs. Read one page of “Hello Kitty's Search and Find” with Lena. Pray for all the girls' grandpas. Snuggle with Lena and talk about what we're going to do tomorrow. Snuggle with Lucy and talk about our highlights of the day. Throw their dirty clothes in the laundry basket. Give kisses and lectures about staying in their beds.

8:29 Downstairs. Type a bunch of this up.

8:34 Check email

8:36 Google “brownie in a mug,” take a picture of the recipe so I don't have to Google it every time.

8:38 Pick up toys on my way to the kitchen.

8:39 Put some dishes in the dishwasher and start it.

8:41 Make my brownie in a mug. Poor a big glass of milk.

8:48 Clean living room while brownie cools.

8:53 Eat brownie while reading the last two years of my “Day in a Life.”

9:12 Facebook

9:20 Turn on Hawaii 5-0. Watch a couple episodes while editing this entry and adding pictures.

11:01 Turn off TV

11:08 Fill my brownie mug with water to soak in the sink.

11:09 Remember about the towels in the washer. Switch them to the dryer.

11:10 Take my contacts out

11:12 Check tomorrow's weather on my phone

11:13 Turn off all the lights, turn the heat down to 60*.

11:14 Go upstairs and turn off the girls' audiobooks. Take pictures of them looking so sweet and peaceful in their sleep.

Mermaid blanket!

11:17 Go downstairs, change into my pajamas in the dark.
11:18 Plug in my phone and get in bed.

See my previous years here: 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016