Winter Day in the Life 2014

It is time again to join Laura over at Navigating the Mothership for a quarterly DITL post.  You can find Summer 2013 HERE and Autumn 2013 HERE

January 24th 2014

Joss is 3 years 6 months

Jasper is 8 1/2 months

Sometime shortly after 12am Philip comes up to find me asleep with my earphones in attached to my iPad.  He unplugs the earphone bit and moves the iPad over to the bedside table.

2.30ish Jasper is fussing I wake with earphones in my ears and pull them out.  Jasper has been unsettled all night and figure he will need feeding to resettle so move him in the bed with Philip and realize no one brought a bottle up so head downstairs to grab a bottle.  By the time I get back up they are both asleep taking up the majority of the bed so I throw my pillows to the bottom of the bed and decide to top and tail it.

Sometime after 3am Jasper is awake and this time he wants food.  I sit up and manage to nudge Philip over enough to sit and feed Jasper.  We both fall asleep in the process and I only wake when the empty bottle falls on my leg.  I nudge Philip over some more and lay Jasper in the bed with us.

3.58 Jasper is awake again not sure how I get him back to sleep as I am so tired but apparently I do.

6.50 Philip gets up and heads for the shower

7.04 Jasper is up and in crawl all over mama mode so I put him in his cot with a bunch of toys and txt yes you read that right txt Philip to come and grab Jasper when he finishes with his shower as he is on a late and has said he will let me sleep in this morning. At some point he collects Jasper.

7.30ish I hear Joss calling to Philip from the top of the stairs but he grabs her quick before she comes in to me.

Just before 8 Joss gets impatient with Philip who is feeding Jasper and comes upstairs to get dressed on her own.

8am decide I am really awake and should get up but want to avoid the circus downstairs for as long as possible so sit  in bed for 10 min sulking about a project at work that fell through yesterday after 3 long hard weeks of planning by me.

8.10 Stumble down stairs do the rounds of good mornings Philip is working on cleaning the kitchen, Jasper is working on killing himself (this is not a dig at Philip, Jasper actively tries to put his life in danger most of ever single day.  I don't really believe in playpens but this one is so mobile at 8 months hello crawling and climbing up on furniture and pushing stuff over to help him climb on stuff that is too high.  I don't make babies who sit and play with toys apparently) and Joss is watching some programs as she is completely ready for school.  I mention to Philip they screwed up my January pay as there was a problem with one of my time cards that was fixed but not until the cut off date so I may need to transfer money from his account this month.  I grab a bowl of shredded wheat then take Jasper upstairs to help me get dressed and sort some laundry.  I start a load of laundry and try to get Jasper to finish his bottle.  Philip talks to me about a job he is interested in and we discuss what it would mean for our long term goal of moving back to the US.

8.45 Philip get Joss finished and ready for Preschool I hear a melt down about shoes and jumpers he wins on shoes I tell him to wave the white flag on the jumper as she has long sleeves on and it is not that cold.  She gets her own coat on.

9.00 Philip is out the door with Joss and will be back for a ride to the train station.  I make some phone calls in regard to the project that fell through at work and call to check the amount of a final payment we are making this month.

9.20 Philip is back and I drive him to the train station I jibe him about enjoying his last day in his thirties as tomorrow is his birthday and this gets us reminiscing about the fact we met 13 years ago.

9.30 drop Philip off at train station and head to the grocery store to buy the last bits I need for his birthday cake.

10.15 Home again I leave the groceries in the car as Jasper is desperate for a nap so do the whole nap routine and he settles on his own in his cot.  I bring the groceries in and leave them on the counter while I weigh out and start the frosting for Philips cake on the stove as it will need to chill before I can finish it.  Once that is going on the stove I put the groceries away.  Decide I want to make egg salad sandwiches of lunch and have to go look up the timings for hard boiled eggs as it has been so long since I have made them and get those going.   Frosting has all melted and I set that to the side to cool and eggs are finished.  While that has been going on I have been checking some bits for work as I need to make some calls but can't remember who I need to call.

11.00 make some calls for work and catch up on some work e-mails.  Weigh out the ingredients for the cake as the butter needs to soften.  Make up the egg salad sandwiches but with Greek Yogurt instead of mayo and add some fresh dill.  Super Yummy!  Have a look at Facebook while I am eating lunch then I change over the laundry.

12.15 start making the cake wondering if I will make it through with out Jasper waking as it has been almost two hours which is super long for him.

12.40 cake is in the oven just as I close the door to the oven I hear Jasper stiring on the monitor

1.15 Jasper is fed and changed and cakes are out of the oven.  I answer and urgent email then shut down work stuff probably till kids are in bed. I chill out with Jasper for a few minutes until the cakes are cool enough to take out of the tins.

1.40 Cakes are out of their tins, swapped another load of laundry and put away a load of dry laundry.  Decide while Jasper is happy playing with some of his toys I will catch up on Instagram and blogs but as soon ans I sit down I realize that I haven't given Jasper any lunch as he was sleeping while I ate.  I put him in his high chair with some veggie sticks and some fruit wedges and let him enjoy while I chat online with another woman who has the same role as me but in a different area.  Good to know that she is facing the same issues as I am.

2.15 decide the weather is so nice that I will walk the school run so quickly get us organized and suited up.

2.30 leave house to pick up Joss

2.40 arrive at preschool and chat with mums while collecting all of Joss's bits

2.45 Joss is out of Preschool and is none to happy that I walked instead of drove as it has been a while since we have walked home from preschool (it has been raining since before Christmas, it rains in England instead of snow). The first 5 minutes of the walk home is solid whinging and then she is excited because she realizes she can carry Buzz Lightyear on her shoulders like daddy carries her.  The walk home is an endless stream of chatter about everything from tomorrow being a Daddy's Happy Birthday day to how many more sleeps till gymnastics.

3.10 Home again I set Joss up with a snack and settle Jasper for a nap.  I fold some laundry upstairs while I wait to make sure Jasper will settle on his own.

3.30 Decide to let Joss watch TV for a bit while I decide what to do for dinner, Jasper isn't settling so I go up to resettle him and realize he has had a blow out.  I change him and lay him back down in hopes he will nap.  I empty and reload the dishwasher.  I get Joss set up to colour Philip's birthday card which she does for all of about 15 seconds.  It is not going to be a good day for independent play today.  Joss plays her game of "Big Jump" where she jumps off the step stool then demands a high five.

4.00 I give up on Jasper settling for nap and go up and feed him then sing songs with Joss and Jasper which is one of Joss's favorite things to do.

4.30 We make the daily daddy call followed by more singing and me refereeing them while I try to make dinner.

5.00 Dinner followed by cleaning up all the toys. Joss has announced she wants some yogurt with a crushed up biscuit(cookie) for desert and I bribe her by saying all the toys have to be picked up first.

5.30 Joss is in the bath while I get Jasper changed for bed and this is the face I get every night when we change into PJs, since he is already so angry I decide to wipe off all the dried snot on his nose making him even angrier if that is possible.  I then help Joss get ready for bed and set her up with her episode of Max and Ruby so I can finish feeding Jasper and get him settled

6.00 Jasper is settled and while Joss finishes her program I run down stairs and finish off the frosting and start to frost and decorate the cake.

6.20 Joss keeps pushing buttons on the computer and so I turn it off and get her settled and lay down with her for a few minuted before saying good night.

I head down stairs and finish frosting and decorating the cake then upload the last photos to our 2013 photo book and add all the journaling that still needs to be done.

8.20 book is done I just want Philip to have a look before I order it so save it and head up for a bath

8.45-9.15 read some old blog post especially the DITL post and have a laugh at things I thought might never end and less than 6 months later we have moved on to bigger and better problems

9.15-9.45 work on blog post until my eyes start to go funny and decide it is time to head to bed

10.00 In bed catching up on social media

10.20 decide to head to bed but as I am drifting off remember that I left Joss's card to Philip out so run downstairs to grab it.

10.30 head to bed

11.45 Jasper decides he needs to be resettled

Day in the Life Summer 2013

I have wanted to do a day in the life post for a long time probably since Joss was small but everytime I tried  something came up or halfway through the day everything collapsed.  So when I saw that Navigating the Mothership was doing her summer DITL post and inviting her readers to join in and link up I jumped on the band wagon.  It has been a great process and really allowed me to look from the outside at how we spend our days and to also look at what I like and what I would like to change.  I know a lot of days Philip will ask what have you guys done with your day and I just stare at him with a blank look shrug and say "kept two kids alive" and while that is how it feels it is good to actually be able to see the day as a whole.  So here goes the good, the bad, and the ugly:

As I hear Jasper stir I grab my phone to check the time, as it light so early I have been guilty of at times getting up to start the day at the slightest noise.  As Jasper nurses I check social media and read blogs on my iPhone (seriously what did women do while they were nursing before smart phones?).

While I am doing this Philip is showering then gets Joss from her room where she has been patiently (or not so patiently) waiting for him to finish so they can go down and do her breakfast.  I can hear her non stop chatter as she helps him make her breakfast and I doze off as Jasper finishes feeding.

6.50 Philip comes up to say good bye to Jasper and I.  I get up and go to change Jasper before heading down to get Joss to finish her breakfast.  On this particular morning she decides to come up while I am changing Jasper so I go ahead and get her dressed for the day.  She knows it is Thursday so it is "Seb Gym Day" (she does Gymnastics with her best friend Seb and some how over the last six months it has come to be know as "Seb Gym Day")  as she gets dressed she goes through the days of the week which goes something like this."First Wednesday then Tuesday then Wednesday then Tuesday then Wednesday then Thursday which is Seb Gym Day" Yes our whole week rotates around "Seb Gym Day" and on Friday she will ask "When is Seb Gym Day" and I start a week of going though the days of the week till "Seb Gym Day".  I figure at least she is learning her days of the week.

She knows she has to have a pony tail for Gymnastics and decides on the day she wants "Two Pony Tails" or piggy tails. As I start the process of parting her hair she changes her mind and decides she wants one pony tail I confirm her choice at which point she decides no it is a two pony tail day.  She does not want to sit still while I try to part her hair and we end up with a small melt down but pony tails are finally in place.  Jasper chills on the bed while I watch her get dressed and do her hair for her.

7.15 Jasper goes on his play mat and I turn the TV on to Joss' TV programs while I quickly eat and do my hair.

7.40 Jasper is getting tired so I set up Joss with her water and the potty in the living room and let her know that if she gets hungry her toast is still at the table and I am going up to get Jasper settled for nap.  I get up to the bedroom with Jasper and can tell he is going to settle easily and almost give a sigh of relief as I hear Joss at the bottom of the stairs "Mummy I have done a wee in my knickers"  This is Joss' new thing when she is upset I am spending time with Jasper.  I set Jasper in his Moses basket with fingers crossed as he has that drowsy look, grab a change of clothes for Joss, and head down to have her change herself.  I get the mess cleaned up and her reset up and let her know I am going to finish settling Jasper.  I peek in and while he is not asleep yet he is heavy eyed and almost there.  I start a bath as it is early and with Jasper easily settled I will have time.  I tidy Joss' room and grab a load of laundry to throw in while I wait to make sure Jasper is going to fall asleep on his own.

8.15 After starting a load of laundry I quickly jump in the bath leaving the door open so Joss can come in if she wants.  I actually get a bath and get dressed before she wanders in while I am brushing my teeth and joins me.

8.30 I quickly grab the laptop and pay the bills that don't come out direct debit as it is payday for me and switch loads of laundry.  As the weather looks iffy and we are heading out soon I hang it on the racks indoors seriously there is ALWAYS laundry in the machine, drying, and in baskets waiting to be put away.

As Joss' is happy playing I quickly jot down a grocery list thinking if all the planets align this afternoon and there is a good time between nursing and Joss is in good spirits I MIGHT hit the shops (it never happened)

8.55 Hear Jasper stiring on the monitor and know he will be ready for a feed so tell Joss that it is time to feed Jasper which elicites squeals of delight as she knows that it means she gets to play her games on my phone.

9.02 realize I didn't close the notes I had been making for DITL and Joss has deleted them in the process of trying to get into her game as she won't allow me to do it any more this girl is all about "do it myself". Take a few deep breaths.

9.20 Jasper is fed and dressed and I get Joss into our going out routine of sitting on the potty and getting her shoes and her hand bag which keeps her sunglasses and what ever small toys she can shove in it.  At the moment it is play food ham, bread, and knife so she can make ham sandwiches.

Putting her shoes on is all a bit much for my little drama queen

Poor Jasper gets roped into carrying the tax disc I realize I need to put in the car

We are actually out the door earlier than I thought so on top of picking up nappies because I am down to one, and I know if I risk going out with only one Jasper will have a run of blow outs, I decide we have time to stop and get diesel as well at the petrol station which is right next to the grocery store.

With two small kids there is no such thing as popping into a shop for nappies and in true fashion there is a melt down at the check out when I tell Joss no to getting a Bob the Builder magazine.  

10.00 On the road for Seb Gym which is actually in two parts the first is an optional Parent and Toddler session which is open to anyone and as Joss is enrolled in the lessons after we can attend for free.  Jasper has fallen asleep in his car seat and our favorite coach Debbie offers to keep an eye on him so I don't have to risk waking him when tranfering him to his Mai Thai sling.

Joss seems all about the balance beam today which is out of character for her, usually she wants to spend the whole 45 minutes swinging on the rings or waiting for turns on the trampoline.  I am so amazed at how much she has grown since starting gymnastics she has never been one to be afraid of trying things and is quite the dare devil so no fear of heights or swinging around, but her ability to sit and wait her turn and follow direction has gotten so much better even at the parent and toddler session. As soon as she walks into the gym she knows "the rules".

10.45 There is a 15 minute break from the parent and toddler session and the stuctured lessons so Joss and I set up chairs for Seb, his mother Fran, and another mother who we have made friends with and Joss has snack.  As soon as Seb arrives they are off running around like crazy loons.

11.00 Joss goes in for lessons, I love the fact that in a few short months Joss has gone from being shy and not sure she even wanted to go in to standing in the queue and waiting for her name to be ticked off the role as she goes in all by herself.

While Joss is in lessons I feed Jasper while chatting with Fran and the other mother we each have two children ranging in age from four years down to Jasper at 2 1/2 months and it is so nice to chat about how the kids are doing and to share milestones and also chat about challenges and realize that actually our kids aren't so bad, other kids throw tantrums in the middle of the grocery store and refuse to put their shoes on.

12.00 Joss comes out and I chat with her about what she did in lesson while I help her with her shoes. We start the journey to the car park which is huge and busy and I always have a heart in my throat moment as I worry she will run off and get hit by a car as she is so excited by walking out with Seb.

One hot sweaty mama after running after Joss with Jasper in his car seat but two kids safe and buckled into the car.  

12.15 Joss decides about two miles from home that she HAS to wee and she can't make it home. Luckily I have a potty in the trunk of the car and whip into the nearest parking lot.

12.00 Home again, on Thursdays after gymnastics I always feel like I have put a full day in by the time we get home but it is so worth it for all the skills Joss is picking up.

Jasper has fallen asleep in the carseat so I carry him in and leave him in the hall where it is quiet and quickly throw together sandwiches for Joss and I.

Ham and cheese oh yeah we are gormet around here!

I make the mistake of thinking that I can open the mail while Joss and I eat only to find out that a bill we changed last month is no longer coming out direct debit and I have the final notice and that when we changed car insurance that our old insurance did not forward on some of the details and if we don't update the information we will loose our good rate.  

I make the second mistake of thinking I can multitask and deal with paying the bill over the phone, who ever invented voice automated systems did not take into consideration having a three year old in the back ground yelling that she wants to talk on the phone.  

I txt Philip as I am unsure of where the car insurance details are and thus begin a crazy hour of Joss not doing quiet time after lunch as usual, Jasper waking and wanting to be fed right as Philip is trying to ring me an give me the info for the car insuranc,e and having my phone die as it is out of battery, while the cat pukes.  I didn't take a photo of the cat puke you can thank me later.

2.00 Joss finally goes in her room for quiet time favourite story choice at the moment is Daisy the Donut Fairy.  I try not to whip through it in record time as this is the 967th time I have read it this week.

 Jasper finishes nursing and a small amount of order is resumed.

2.45-3.00 Jasper settles for nap, again he is quite happy to go in his Moses basket drowsy and settle himself.  I am greatful for such a chilled baby but on Thursdays especially I feel like he get forgotten and just has to "get on with it". Joss comes off quiet time about 2.45.

3.11 Mama collapses on the couch to try and chill for a few minutes while Joss is playing but as usual this happens

 

3.30 Afternoon snack of strawberries from our Strawberry Picking Adventure the day before

4.00 Jasper is up from nap and Joss and I head up to play with him on out bed. All starts out nice until Joss decides that the flannel I have given him to play with in his hands as I can't find his taggi is hers (techniquly it is but she never uses it).  After a small fit Joss grabs my Lola's Cupcake cookbook from the side of the bed and decides to read Jasper and I a story. It goes something like this "Here is a yummy cupcake *turns the page* and another yummy cupcake *turns the page* look mummy a yummy cupcake".

4.30 We all head downstairs so I can start Joss' dinner and I manage to quickly sweep the kitchen floor.  At some point here Jasper has gone down for another nap.

4.45 Joss sits down to eat while I chat with her the chosen topic is how everyone gets to work.  Daddy rides a push bike to the train, Uncle Richard rides a push bike to work, Grandma drives her vroom vroom car.  I unload and reload the dishwasher as we chat.

5.05 Joss gets in the bath while I nurse Jasper, joy of joy he does a deadly nursing poo that requires a wardrobe change for the both of us.  Luckily the upstairs is set up so I can see the bath from Jasper's changing table and I grab a new pair of pants from the pile in a basket in the hall for me.

I am gosh darn cute even if I poo all over you!

5.45 Jasper chills on Joss' bed while I help her get her PJs on and comb her hair.  Then start the bedtime ritual of "Two Pat" or the two episodes of Postman Pat.

How else would one watch TV?

6.20 Good Night call to Daddy and Joss places her breakfast order of toast with Marmite for the following day.  Good night kisses from Mama and Jasper.  I take Jasper into our room to "whisper sweet nothings" to him and enjoy a few precious minutes with just him.

6.35 Joss is passed out and I get Jasper in his PJs as he is sleepy

6.45 Call with Philip to chat about the day and discuss details of our flat that is finally in the process of being sold.  Jasper falls asleep while we are chatting an I transfer him to his Moses basket.

7-7.25 willfully waste time looking at blogs, Facebook, and instagram.

7.25-7.40 Take advantage of the fact MIL is on vacation I was able to park on the drive and attack mess in car and repack the changing bag for our Friday morning activities

I know I have two small children but it amazes me that it get so bad so quick

7.40 Jasper stirs and it is time for a feed

8.00 Jasper in Moses basket drowsy from feed fingers crossed he will drift off.

8.00-9.00 My mad house cleaning hour.  I deep clean the kitchen and wash all the hand wash items that can't go in the dishwasher, wipe down the counters, organize a cupboard that always spills it's contents as soon as you open it.  I grab all the dry clothes off the racks and do a marathon folding and organizing session so that I can quickly put it away in the morning.

9.00-9.30 look up recipe for refrigerator oatmeal and make a batch for the morning, general shut down of the house windows and blinds closed last quick tidy up while I obsessively check Skype to see if my mom is on.

9.45-10.15 ME TIME! A bath in which I get to shave and exfoliate followed by putting on lotion oh to the small pleasures!

10.15 Dream feed

My work here is done because *in whispered voice* Jasper has been sleeping through the night for almost three weeks. I am almost afraid to type it out after Joss not going longer than 4 hours until she was almost 9 months.

11.15 somewhat drowsy and almost asleep I hear the garage door as Philip puts his bike away and I feel secure enough to fall asleep.