4:00-5:00..... Wake up.
Yes. This one is the worst part. The girl gets up early. Happy.... but EARLY. Which is fine, cause the Dad in the family gets up this early, too, so, this actually gives them a good bit of time to play and hang out with each other before Dad sets off to work. Now, the Mom DOES NOT get up this early, but I've been using this time to shower (very important), catch up on Facebook (also important), straighten up the kitchen, and cook breakfast. I am VERY much hoping, if this early rising keeps up, that I can SLEEP while the Daddy/Daughter bonding happens.
5-7.... Breakfast/Do stuff with Dad
Breakfast includes such yummies as yogurt (any flavor is fine), egg (boiled or fried), croissant, Cheerios, and rice or noodles...... The girl continues to eat a LOT. Bless it.
We also use this time to get in a little quality fun with Dad. Recent activities include putting the new vacuum cleaner together, doing a load of laundry, talking to Buddy (the dog), and making Dad's lunch. Bonding.
7-9..... We go outside to wave goodbye to Dad for the day, then begin our morning of PLAY. We currently like the shoes A LOT, stacking cups, and emptying out an entire box of kleenex (don't worry.... we stuff them all back in so they're ready to be emptied over and over and over again....) We also listen to Raffi, ride our pink horse, work puzzles, and identify Disney princesses. We tried Disney Junior.... but it's a no.
9:00-9:45.... go for a drive. Priss Pot is usually ready for a little nap by then.... and.... the carseat.... remember? PERFECT for putting Peanut to sleep. So, we hop in the car and drive around the University and surrounding areas until she's had a 30 minute or so slumber..... plus, Mom gets out of the house a bit and everyone's happy!
9:45-11:00.... snack and more play. By this time, Jack and Max are usually called in for duty. Some brother playtime is just the ticket to help us make it until lunch. Activities here include being pushed in our red car, eating Cheerios, dumping the Cheerios out of the container and then putting them back in, rolling the ball, and ripping paper. We are so fancy here.
11:00-11:30.....Lunch. She'll eat whatever we've got. Noodles, chicken casserole, English peas, steamed rice, fried rice, blueberry muffins, chicken noodle soup..... girl ain't picky.
11:30 until we give in to the nap..... At this point, we start going into "nap" mode..... cause I figure, when school starts back, I'm gonna need her to be UP from her nap by 2:30 so I can go get the boys from school (OH MY GOSH... I'm gonna be doing CARPOOL this year..... ain't never done THAT before)..... anyway - we get things really quiet in the house, turn on the fans that make a lot of noise, and pull out the quiet toys.... books, stuffed animals, etc. We all start talking in whispers, close the curtains, and keep things calm. She does NOT enjoy going down for a nap, but, somewhere between 12 - 2:30 (yes.. that's TWO thirty, not twelve thirty) (don't really have this part of the schedule nailed down yet), she goes to sleep.
2:30-6:00.... Anywhere at this point, Little Lovely wakes up. Again, this part of the schedule is unpredictable. We gotta work on the naptime part of the day...... But, when she's up, we play some more! Usually, she will pat her bottom and bring me a diaper to change her. She actually does this about a zillion times a day. In an effort to not use 500 diapers in a day, I keep telling her that there is nothing in her diaper and she's fine.... no need to "change diapers"..... but she insists. She'll bring me a diaper AND the wipe container, pat her bottom, and lay down. I think she's been brainwashed by the Pampers company.
After her hundredth diaper change of the day, we play some more. At this point in the day, Mom is usually in the "how many minutes until Dad gets home" mode. Sometimes he gets texts with video to prove my distress. He's usually stuck on Hwy280 or behind an overturned chicken truck (that was a LONG night), but he's always ready to get home.
NOTE: I am typing this on the bed in Mary's room. She is in her crib napping. She just sat STRAIGHT up in the bed, looked around until she locked eyeballs with me, then laid back down and went back to sleep. This is the third time she's done this in the last 45 minutes. Little Angel sometimes just needs to make sure Mom's still around.....Bless.....
Anyhoo.... at 6:00, many things happen..... lately, we've had friends who are bringing supper to our house. This is a MARVELOUS time of the day..... the food has been wonderful and I DIDN'T HAVE TO COOK IT. Can't thank you people enough.....
Also, Joe gets home at 6:00! You know what that means? HE IS IN CHARGE.... that's what that means. And I usually am out the door to take one of the boys somewhere..... band rehearsal, football practice, a friend's house for movie night, etc. Their normal schedule has kicked in and I am learning how to do THAT plus have a new person in my house. So far, so good!
Once we're all back at home....around 8-9ish.... Joe bathes baby girl (more bonding time since he's missed all the fun during the day), gives her one more bottle (we're still keeping her on bottles for now.... good for bonding!), and puts her to bed.
9ish - 2:00am..... You'd think that "bedtime" would be the end of the daily schedule. Oh. No. There's more..... I sleep in the bed in Mary's room for now while she sleeps in her crib.... from 9-2, she does pretty well..... screams out a few times, but she just has to SEE me or HEAR my voice and she goes right back to sleep.... does this three or four times..... until 2. At 2am, she's had enough of the crib and is ready to hop in bed with Mom.... which is totally fine with me.... it's been a LONG time since I've had a little bitty person snuggled up next to me in bed. I've missed it. She does pretty well once she's nestled beside me..... and then she rests peacefully until.....
We start the day over again.
Well, that's it. A day in the life..... We don't get out too much.... keeping things pretty quiet and VERY predictable for now..... once Lil Bit gets used to the routine, we'll branch out. But for now, we want her to know what she can expect and who will be there with her. Every. Day.
And now... here are some snapshots of this ultra-not boring schedule we've got going:
It's hard to ride the pink horse and try to eat Puffs out of this bowl at the same time. Look at the concentration on that face.....
You mean you wanna throw these perfectly good Cheerios away just because they are on the floor? Are you crazy???
Yes. We eat the Cheerios right off the kitchen floor. Don't judge me.
And she put her shoes on by herself.... just can't seem to get them on the right feet. I love her.
New picture of the Culhane cousins. She fits right in.
Finally gave in.... naptime.....
These IKEA stacking cups are her FAVORITE. And she knows how to work them, too.... knows that when one doesn't fit, something's wrong.... and sets to work to fix it. Stays busy and focused on those cups for a LONG time.... Also knows that beating them together makes a lot of noise.....
She's fun.
So, so precious!!
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