Pretty Normal Day

Here's a pretty normal day at our house. It's roughly how Wednesday played out. While it was largely a successful day because we got a bunch of school done, it was one of those days that leave me wondering how in the world I'm ever going to get ahead enough to finish those bigger projects that I just have to get done.

7:30am-ish: Wake up, roll out of bed, wander down stairs, find my laptop and check my email. My head is pounding.

8am-ish: Think about breakfast and tell Mika she's going to cook breakfast today with my help (she's learning kitchen skills as part of her homeschooling this year). Change diaper.

8:15am-ish: Chase Josh out of the fridge and cabinets several times. Feed Josh a bowl of cereal because he can't wait until breakfast. Print registration for Woodland Park Zoo homeschool day. Start to fill out flyer. Call zoo with questions and have to leave a message.

8:45am-ish: The kids bring down a circus flyer they made upstairs and tell me about how they are going to put on a circus later tonight. I google circus flyers, show them to Mika, and suggest she try making her flyer more colorful and like the examples (thinking good school project)

9:00am-ish: Realize Mika doesn't know Word well enough to do what I suggested and that Word isn't the easiest program to work with for that kind of project and suggest she come downstairs and I'll help her do the flyer in Publisher.

10:10am: Oh shoot! Taekwondo class started ten minutes ago! We'll go to the 11am class. Sorry Sammy but you only get one hour of taekwondo today. Post about circus flyer.

10:30am-ish: Sammy get your uniform on. Mika find clothes for Josh. Make yourselves some toast for breakfast while I get dressed. Forgo shower...ugh! Get dressed, brush hair (where's my lost brush, I hate this brush), brush teeth, throw on deodorant and perfume to cover any body odor, brush Josh's teeth, change Josh's diaper, get Josh dressed.

10:45am: Oh shoot! I have to mail off that reimbursement today. Grab papers I need to copy, run upstairs, print required mapquest, scan and print two pages, grab pen and highlighter to finish at taekwondo.

10:58am: Get in the car. No Josh, don't fight me on the car seat now! We're late. We've got to go.

11:05am: Arrive at taekwondo. While Sammy is in class, finish reimbursement paperwork, chase Josh off of the door (he likes to hang from the door handle), chat with the other parents, watch the class, nurse Josh, lay Josh down only to have him wake up crying and wanting to nurse, show another parent our LA curriculum (because I knew she was interested so I brought it along) while trying to keep track of Josh

12:20pm: Class is over. Done talking with the parent interested in the LA. Need to talk to instructor about tournaments. Talk to him about it. Round up kids to leave.

1:00pm: Arrive home. Get kids started on LA, math, and penmanship. Wash some of the dishes. Chase Josh out of the kitchen by giving him a snack.

1:30pm: Walk Mika through making pancakes for lunch while continuing to wash dishes. She's afraid of burning herself and starts to cry. Prevent meltdown and talk her through finishing the pancakes.

1:55pm: Eat lunch. Clear table. Get kids to finish LA, math, and penmanship. Check email. Change diaper again. Have Sammy take out recycling.

2:30-ish: LA, math, penmanship is done. Sit down with kids and do history. Read Story of the World, look through two Ancient Egypt library books, do map pages, do coloring pages, get interrupted by two phone calls, one from Woodland Park Zoo returning my call. Josh falls asleep in toddler chair.

3:45-ish: Attempt to start science. Read a few pages of Patrol Dogs. Kids need a break so send them outside to ride bikes for PE. Check email. Call Emerald Downs to give new count for field trip based on emails I just received. Respond to two emails about Emerald Downs field trip Hear kids arguing outside. Call them inside and send each to different rooms for some quiet time apart.

4:30-ish: Let Mika run over to friend's house to see if she can play. Oh shoot! I have to call the library. Call library. Take Advil hoping my head will stop hurting. Start to wash some more dishes. Look up recipe for dinner idea. Talk to husband who's come home and using his laptop on the porch. Let kids play on computer and game cube to keep them busy.

5:30-ish: Wash some more dishes. Get phone call from mom (she calls 1 or 2 times a year). Start making dinner. Check on mummifying chicken. Give Josh a drink to keep him out of the kitchen a bit longer.

6:30ish: Call kids down for dinner. Call Scott in for dinner. Serve dinner. Clear table. Read more of Circus Dreams: The Making of a Circus Artist to kids (science/social studies). Scott gives Josh bath. Demonstrate something in the book. Google Who's Line is it Anyway to show/explain improv to kids.

7:15-ish: Josh is done with bath. Send Mika to take her bath. Show Scott couple of the funnier videos we found.

7:45-ish: Mika is done with bath. Send Sammy to take his bath. Check email. Nurse Josh.

8:20-ish: Start DVD. Family watches Stargate Atlantis episodes together. Mika is reading. Josh is nursing. Sammy falls asleep on couch.

10:00pm: Turn off TV. Kids to bed. Change diaper. Say goodnight to Mika. Try to sleep. Head still hurting and husband is snoring.

11:00pm: Can't sleep. Get up. Write this blog post. Oh shoot! I wanted to do spelling today since we haven't done it in two weeks.

12:15am: Maybe I'll try to sleep again.

Somewhere in there I needed to fit in laundry, paying bills, basic house cleaning, washing dinner dishes, and clearing out a couple of rooms full of clutter so we can move Mika into her own room in the near future.

Sometimes at the end of the day when I'm feeling like I've been run over by a dump truck, I wonder how other people get it all done.