6:00 AM: I am rudely awakened by the alarm clock, turn it off and resume snuggling with my Honey for 15 more minutes…until I am rudely awakened again by his cell phone alarm, which plays the Entertainer relentlessly until Hubby manages to turn it off.
6:15 AM: Resolve myself to the fact that I must get out of bed now; this will be my only opportunity today to run.
6:30 AM: Leave the house just as I hear #3 stirring. YES! I made it out before the boys woke up. Run four miles at an 8:30 pace, a good run.
7:15 AM: Re-enter the house, and am greeted joyously by all three boys; #3 literally does a running jump into my arms…ready or not! Hang out with them for a little while, get them breakfast, then head upstairs to jump in the shower, after telling my husband to get out of bed now.
7:35 AM: Get dressed, and start on drying my hair. Hubby heads downstairs, boys head upstairs. Now, while I’m distracted with my hair for half an hour, the boys rampage my bedroom. #1 and #2 take it upon themselves to stuff an entire bag of plastic Easter eggs with Starbursts (#1 has to take them to school for tomorrow’s Easter egg hunt). #3 gets a hold of one and uses a single Starburst as a sucker, over a period of ten minutes. Yuck! I have to change him into a new shirt already (he’s only been in the first one for half an hour)! Also, my 5 lb. weights and a metal baseball bat are pulled out from under the bed and used as toys.
8:15 AM: Finish getting the boys ready for the day. Meander around, squandering several minutes that I really don’t have time to squander (including checking in on the ‘ol blog).
8:45 AM: Pack the kiddies in the car, drop #1 off at school, then drop #2 and #3 off at a friend’s house. Remember that I forgot to eat breakfast, go back home to do it, then head back to school to help in #1’s kindergarten class.
9:20 AM: Spend the next couple of hours cutting out templates for paper baskets and stuffing plastic Easter eggs with candy. Observe a Fish and Wildlife ranger show the kids a desert tortoise. Did you know that desert tortoises don’t ever pee? They retain all the water they ever drink to stay hydrated. One of the reasons you’re not supposed to touch them if you encounter one in the wild is because you might scare it so bad that it will pee, and then die!
11:40 AM: Leave school, with #1 in tow, pick up the other two, then head home. Lunch, put #3 down for his nap.
1:00 PM: Make popcorn for an after-lunch snack; #2 decides it’s just as fun to play with the bowl as it is to eat from it…and thus one of the darling white ceramic Crate & Barrel popcorn bowls (which was a bridal shower gift BTW) flies off the table and shatters on the floor. I spend the next several minutes sweeping up the pieces, and the popcorn mess. As I’m cleaning it up, he looks at me with an adorable little smile and says, “Mommy, you’re not mad at me.”
1:30 PM: #1 uses way too much toilet paper to wipe his bum, clogs the toilet, and starts yelling hysterically when it begins to flood the bathroom…and hall…and den…. I get unnecessarily upset with him (and apologize later), and spend the next 20 minutes mopping up the water (4 rugs, 9 bath towels, a set of clothing including shoes, soaked through). Several loads of wash ahead…
2:25 PM: Friend arrives, kids start playing (a.k.a. making a royal mess of the family room).
2:45 PM: The kids are playing nicely, so I sit down on the couch with the Book of Mormon, and read 15 chapters (I had to do some catch up…been a little spotty on my reading challenge the last few days). Fatigue sets in, but I pull through without giving in to an impromptu nap.
4:15 PM: Friend goes home, #3 wakes up from his nap…pretty cranky. Give him a snack, sit down to write this post. Several interruptions…good thing I’m almost done…the boys are fighting now. (#2 likes to beat up on #3, probably because #1 likes to beat up on him).
5:25 PM: Good, they’re all doing better now, happy as clams. I need to go make dinner.
Someone asked me yesterday how on Earth I manage with three kids. Do I even have a life, is there any time for my husband and me…beyond the kids?
(She wasn’t asking it in a rude way, just in a genuinely curious manner…she’s not sure she wants any kids.)
I told her I love my life, I love my kids…they bring me so much joy. I’m planning on having more. Sure, my life revolves mainly around them, but I still have time for myself, my husband still has time for himself, and we still have time together as a couple. It won’t always be like this, and when it’s not, so I am told, I will surely miss it.
Our days sound pretty similar. I agree, though, I wouldn’t trade these times with my young family for anything.
We’re just saving up so we can write the entire Declaration of Independence in the sand.
^ That will be a sight to see.
wow. The thing that impresses me the most is your waking up to run. How do you do it all?
Well, I actually don’t do it all everyday. This day was just one of those days. As for waking up to run, the fact is…making time for running actually helps me to keep an overall balance in my life, and is necessary to maintaining my sanity amidst the general chaos.