Starting today, the kids will be home three days a week. It will be a brand-new adventure for all of us! We are keeping them in school the other two days to hold their spots and to give me time to job search. Our goal is for me to secure a new position as soon as possible, at which point the kids will go back to school full-time.
I’m excited about the opportunity to spend more time with them, though admittedly a bit nervous about how we’re going to fill the long days.
I thought it would be fun to document our first day home together!
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???? – L.J. comes in and asks where Daddy is. I mumble “downstairs” into my pillow, then glance at the clock. 6:15. Nope.
7:00 a.m. – Walk into the bathroom to put my contacts in. Step over two ball caps and a pair of reindeer antlers. Sure.
Go down the hall to get Hannah, then head downstairs. Greet L.J., who is watching Paw Patrol while wearing swim googles, and Mike. Everyone is far more alert than I am.
Say goodbye to Daddy and get breakfast for the kids and myself. Make coffee because, duh.
8:00 a.m. – 9:00 a.m. – The kids play independently while I clean the kitchen, tidy the desk area and clear off the island. These things are easily accomplished at the same time because I can a.) see the kids and b.) Hannah has a special “tattletale squawk” reserved for when L.J. irritates her.
9:00 a.m. – 10:00 a.m. – Hannah goes down for a morning nap. I pull out two worksheets for L.J. from his preschool book and we do a few minutes of “school” together. We trace the letter ‘c’ and talk about the sound that ‘c’ makes. I am so impressed when he completes the activity on the number worksheet all by himself!
After his worksheets, I turn on a show and head upstairs to take a shower. A few minutes later muffled stomping, banging and shouts of “Mommy!” float up the stairs. Apparently a dire emergency has occurred in the 5 minutes I set aside for a shower. An animal cracker probably fell on the floor.
(Nope, he just wanted to come upstairs and had a hard time getting the gate open.)
I get ready while L.J. watches his show and has a snack.
10:00 a.m. – 10:30 a.m. – Get Hannah up, get both kids dressed, give Hannah a snack and load up the car for our outing. Yes, this takes 30 minutes because, children.
10:45 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. – Outing at the park! We first walk the nature trail, where L.J. is quite curious about the fallen trees. We talk about them and he, ahem, waters a live tree. (After announcing, loudly, when we left the car 15 minutes ago that he did not need to use the bathroom.) After our walk, we play on the playground for awhile. Per usual, 85% of the time is spent on the swings.
12:15 p.m. – 12:45 p.m. – Home for lunch and naps. Feed the kids, get them settled, then eat lunch myself. Realize I’ve made it halfway through the day and reward myself with a small slice of cake.
1:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. – L.J. and Hannah nap. I clean up the kitchen, check email/Facebook, text with a few coworkers and search for jobs. Apply to one that looks like a good fit.
3:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. – L.J. gets up at 3, has a snack and watches a show. I get Hannah up at 3:30 and give her a snack.
4:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. – Since the kids are rested, watered and fed, I decide to get grocery shopping out of the way. They usually enjoy this errand as long as a race car cart and deli samples are involved. Check and check.
(They’re watching the dancing dairy characters, if you’re curious.)
We make it about 80% of the way through when Hannah decides she is done. I carry her while pushing the unwieldy cart. As we are nearing the finish line, L.J. gets mad about the yogurt I selected, sassily stating, “I don’t like strawberry bunny yogurt!” It then dawns on him that Hannah is free from the confines of the cart and he is not, so all hell breaks loose.
He’s hollering, I’m pointedly telling him to “Sit. Down.” through clenched teeth. Hannah’s perched on my hip like a sack of rocks. Fancy race car cart won’t steer worth a damn. This is priceless.
We get to the check out line and a nice cashier says he’s opening a lane, come on over. I then hear my name and look up to see a friend walking toward me. She heard L.J. from over in the produce section. She sweetly asks if I need help; I want to crawl under the floor. We chat for a second before I check out and then, mercifully, head for home.
5:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m. – Oh yeah. The Witching Hour. Totally forgot about that. Hannah is just plain irritable. She wants nothing to do with anything. Finally turn on Doc McStuffins. Neither of them watch more than 5 minutes, but they do mellow out a bit.
7:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. – Bath time! Both kids get bathed and groomed. Hannah gets a bottle and goes down without a peep at 7:30. Sure sign she’s tired!
L.J. wants milk, but declines his usual cereal. He gets his milk out of the fridge and remarks, “Oh! I love bunny yogurt!” (Me: *eyeroll*)
He watches an episode of Max & Ruby and I mindlessly scroll through Facebook & Instagram next to him. Then it’s upstairs for 2 stories and bedtime.
8:00 p.m. – F R E E D O M!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
9:00 p.m. – The thuds I hear from upstairs alert me that L.J. is not asleep. I go upstairs and the hamster wheel in his brain is still going 90 miles an hour. It takes 20 minutes of talking through all his thoughts, questions and ideas before he’s settled enough for sleep.
And… The End.
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