In which sleeping in and Skip-Bo were the highlights

(I realize today is Friday and this is a recap of last weekend but I forgot that I wrote this post and it needs to be published for all posterity. Or, you know, me.)

Friday night kicked off with a bang. I made a rare big Friday dinner of mesquite pork loin, potatoes and carrots. I know I just said going dairy-free ain't no big thing but I must say, mashed potatoes without butter, sour cream or cream cheese is just a lame poser for mashed potatoes.

We read "Little House on the Prairie" and our nightly family devotionals, "JesusCalling." (If you need a simple but powerful devotional, I really like this one.) Then we put Madeline to bed and watched mucho basketball and the finale of "Project Runway." I was so glad Mondo finally got his win and I'm pretty sure Austin lives on a different Planet Earth if he thinks real women wear his designs.

For the record, I really like Austin (even more when he finally shaved that awful mustache) but I don't know anyone who would wear his voluminous ball gowns or puffy pants.

(I like that I presented myself as a fashion authority in the previous paragraph. Just to make it clear, I buy nearly all of my clothes at Goodwill or Old Navy so I'm pretty sure my authority is the size of the M&Ms I'm forbidden to eat.)

At one point during the evening, I realized my body needs brownies immediately. So I found a recipe for dairy-free brownies and whip them up. They were pretty awful but we still managed to eat half the pan before bedtime.

Poor Caleb had a bad night and was up frequently. I last fed him around 6 a.m. and when I woke up at 8:30 a.m., Joe had both of the kids up and said Caleb was pretty happy. I went back to bed expecting to be woken up in about 30 minutes to feed Caleb.

At 11:45 a.m. (as in FIFTEEN MINUTES UNTIL NOON), I stumbled to the living room and asked why my phone said it was nearly Saturday afternoon. Turns out Joe took mercy on my pathetic exhausted state of affairs and closed the bedroom door instead of waking me up. Turns out my body needed to sleep like a college student after a week of all-nighters. 

(Remember how we thought all-nighters were so cool when we were young? I think it's a sign of old age when you understand why sleep deprivation is a form of inhumane torture.)

As if letting me sleep in wasn't enough, Joe also made a pancake breakfast, washed all of the dishes (and there were a lot from the night before), sorted all the laundry and had loads running in the washer and dryer.

No, you cannot have this man. He is mine and he is a keeper. A KEEPER, I tell you.

He even took the cutest pictures of our kids.

Last weekend shall go down as the weekend Katie discovered Skip-Bo. I found a pack at Goodwill for $.99 and knew it was a great math game for kids. Little did I know that Joe and I would become addicted to it.

We played a couple games with Madeline but since last Saturday, Joe and I have played a couple hands every night. The game is over when someone gets 500 points. On Tuesday night, I had 490 points when Joe passed by me to win. Oh, it’s just GAME ON now.

At one point on Saturday afternoon, Jon and Janna stopped by because they had “something to drop off.” (We were, of course, in the middle of a Skip-Bo game.) That something turned out to be a ginormous ruler. I am enamored with it. I say ginormous because it's over six feet tall. I'll take a picture of it when we hang it but if you've come within at least 10 feet of someone who is on Pinterest, I'm sure you've seen a picture of something similar.

When I see a really cute DIY project, I think, “Oh, that’s cute. Maybe I can find it somewhere and buy it.” When Janna sees something cute in a store, she thinks, “Oh, that’s cute. I can make that.” And then she actually does.

I tell you what. A cake-baking, dessert-making, crafty sister-in-law ain’t a bad thing in life.

We also fed Caleb cereal for the first time. He was not impressed.

On Sunday, a miracle occurred. The clouds parted, the sun shined down and we actually made it to the 9 a.m. service. When this happens, it feels like an extra 17 hours have been tacked onto our Sunday.

So we stopped by our favorite hardware store on our way home from church, expecting to eat some popcorn that they always have available. It's one of Madeline's favorite places because her affection is easily bought by food of any size.

Little did we know the store was hosting several different food vendors so Madeline nearly ate her lunch there sampling chips and salsa, sausage breakfast sandwiches, pickles and, of course, popcorn. 

I'm now convinced those are the world's best pickles and I'm just kicking myself for not writing down the brand name. They were memorable.

Joe was super productive and cleaned up our yard, prepping it for spring. Madeline helped him a lot.

Joe fashioned a throne for her by half cutting down some grasses.

We chose to continue the productive streak by fully catching up on “The Amazing Race” and “Celebrity Apprentice.”

This is why I love weekends.

Homeschooling, Easter and You Tube pranks. You know, the usual.

Madeline’s preschool is on spring break so we spent Monday and Tuesday checking out some school options. We’ve officially decided to (deep breath) homeschool her for kindergarten.

To answer all your questions,

1. Yes, I will be hitting up thrift stores for floor-length denim jumpers and prowling through You Tube for “How to Achieve a Perfect Bun” tutorials.
2. Yes, I will be baking only crusty, hard whole wheat bread from now on.
3. Yes, Madeline will go from social butterfly to socially awkward faster than you can say “wingardium leviosa.”
4. No, I’m not signing up to homeschool her and Caleb for the rest of their school career.

Only one of those statements is correct.

I’m taking this one year, one child at a time. Right now, I’m homeschooling Madeline for kindergarten and we’ll see how it goes. I’m ridiculously excited as well as scared out of my mind to do this. My list of reasons to homeschool is really long. I may type it all out some time so Madeline can understand later and so I can properly explain it to people but not right now. I have some other very important (not really) things to share instead.

Briefly back to explaining it to other people: OH MY WORD YOU GUYS. We’ve decided to homeschool for about 2.2 seconds and I’ve had to explain why about eleventy thousand times. I don’t mind explaining because I know doing something different prompts lots of questions but I just didn’t realize I signed myself up for a year of that. 

I’m learning that this is very similar to deciding to not find out the gender of your baby. People tend to FREAK OUT at your choice. Hence the need to organize my reasons so I don’t splutter and grunt and resort to pointing fingers. “Uh, me like her. Her like learning.”

Anyways, back to the beginning. I am interested in putting her in a homeschool supplemental program/school/thingy once a week so she can have a school-like experience. This girl loves her some classroom structure, a teacher, classmates and crafts. And we all know mama ain’t into crafting. So we visited a couple different options and Madeline was sold on one because the kindergarten class had a fruit break at 10 a.m.

It's the little things, yo.

It was a big step for us to get to the point of ruling out traditional private and public schools and decide on homeschool. Now we have even more decisions. Which program or co-op do we join? What curriculum will we use? How do I not ruin my kid?

This is the point in the post when I say, if you are now or have ever homeschooled a kindergartner, feel free to give me any advice or tips. It’s not unsolicited. I’m asking for it.

This may even be a cry for help.

(Just kidding.)

(Kinda.)

Now onto other items.

Amanda at Impress Your Kids has been doing an awesome series called “A Sense of the Resurrection.” It’s a 10-day experience to help kids learn about the Easter story through their five senses. I’ve only done two days of it but I love it so far.

Yesterday, we read how Mary anointed Jesus’ feet with expensive perform (sense of smell) and decorated reed infusers to make the house smell good. We talked about how Mary was a sinner and how much Jesus loved her. Today we read about the Last Supper, broke a loaf of bread and ate it (sense of taste). We talked about communion and how Jesus was going to be broken in order to rescue us.

Amanda is extremely thoughtful at explaining the Gospel to little kids and I love that this series doesn’t require a lot of extra things (read: crafts). We’ve been following her recommendation to read the stories from the Bible so Madeline isn’t just hearing an abbreviated version but we’re also reading from The Jesus Storybook Bible because it’s awesome, for her and for me.

It’s not too late to start the series if you want to do it with your kids. It’s meant to last 10 days and while I don’t know her last two days yet, I assume you can do them on Easter weekend if you start later this week. I started it yesterday so we have a couple of freebie days if we skip a night or two. (I know myself too well and can easily envision me squeezing in three stories in one night.)

There is no easy segue from Jesus' death, burial and resurrection to a funny You Tube video so I'm just gonna go there.

A funny You Tube video can make my week. Recently Joe discovered some that made me laugh so hard until I cried. Honestly, I watched these videos again to post them here and I cried again. I really, really, really hope you like them.

I give you permission to watch the whole video but you absolutely must watch from the 2:16 mark on. Please. For me.

This one is short. You have time to watch this. Trust me. A worthy use of 39 seconds.

Tidbits

I feel like I've been neglecting this blog. It's not that I don't think about it because I do, probably too much. Every time Madeline says something adorable or I squeeze Caleb's chunky thighs for the 27th time before 9 a.m., I make a mental note to blog about it.

And then the day ends and I'm exhausted and I just want to veg out and watch "Castle" or "Project Runway," dream about the day when "Big Brother" will come back or read through my ever-growing stack of books.

And I don't feel blogger guilt. It's not that. I want to update because this is how I remember my kids' childhoods and my motherhood. I don't scrapbook. I barely take pictures and never actually print them out. I couldn't tell you what I did two days ago. But when I blog, I have those fleeting moments captured forever. 

Or until the Internet breaks down or Google implodes.

So here are some things I need to write out.

--

Madeline: "Mom, I brushed my teeth twice tonight."

Me: "OK. Why?"

Madeline: "Well I don't really like brushing my teeth right now so I did it twice and I won't have to brush them tomorrow."

--

I'm still can't have dairy because Caleb is a much happier little turtle when I abstain. People are constantly telling me it must be so hard and how they could never do it. Know what's hard? Trying to calm a screaming baby who refuses to be calmed. Trust me, you'd give it up too.

I do miss butter, milk chocolate, butter, queso and butter desperately but it's really OK when I find amazing non-dairy recipes. My friend Katy told me to make these chocolate cupcakes and OH MY WORD YOU GUYS. They are amazing. I'm not just saying that because I haven't tasted most desserts in two months or because I'm in love with Katy's to-die-for Southern accent. Even Joe agreed that they were the best tasting and super moist chocolate cupcakes he's had. I will now be making this recipe for the rest of my life. I will say, I wasn't the biggest fan of the tofu icing but the cake part? Oh dude, I want to make them again right now because just thinking about them is torture.

(Sarah? If you're reading this and still can't have dairy, please make these.They will make your week.)

--

Joe shared this knock-knock joke today and it was like a million rays of warm sunlight dappling my day.

Knock, knock.

Who's there?

Jean-Claude van Damme.

Jean-Claude van Damme who?

That's show business!

Joe says you're welcome.

--

Temperatures this week have been hotter than I was mentally prepared for in March. Our closets were not prepared either because I had to hack the sleeves and pant legs off some of Madeline's clothes just so she could go to preschool and not sweat to death. We went straight to hot summer temps. We spent every day outside at a park or in the backyard.

It's been like summer, especially when it came to bath time for Madeline and the water ran brown.

(You might not be able to see it clearly but she wears a rainbow in her feet. She always insists on red, pink, green, blue and purple and I'm very happy to obliged this request. Love this girl.)

She even went outside on Friday morning despite the fact that it was a downpour. She asked to play outside and I said no because, hello, it was gray and nasty and wet. But then I thought about Angie's recent post about encouraging kids to play outside in all the elements (she does run The Risky Kids after all...) so I told Madeline to grab her rain boats and raincoat and go outside. She didn't quite believe me at first but when she realized I was serious, I gained about 47 Cool Mom Points. I told her to not worry about getting dirty and she took my words to heart.

I wish I took pictures of her splashing around the mud, sitting in the wetness. She loved it. Until she didn't. And then she wanted to change ASAP. (I don't blame her; the wet butt had to be annoying.)

--

I've always had a hard time finding good books for Madeline. We go to the library at least once a week (sometimes two or three times) and I'm constantly pulling random books off the shelves. Last time I blogged about this (a.k.a. lamenting this fact), Megan told me to check out "Honey for a Child's Heart."

Oh, Megan. You and Gladys have changed me life. I've been using that book during library trips for the past month or so and Madeline and I have been reading the best books. Seriously. It is so nice to re-read and re-read books that are delightful instead of boring and long (i.e. Madeline's favorite Barbie books).

We recently finished "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" and "Gooney Bird Green" and we both loved them. It is a gift to read books with my girl.

Speaking of reading, Madeline has started to read a little on her own. Her preschool teacher suggested I let her try "Hop on Pop" since she knows all the letter sounds and she did fabulous. I was amazed at how quickly she could sound out and blend words. She was pretty excited too. It is just mindblowing to watch a person grow up and I am just so thankful I get to be her mom.

Her view

Madeline loves to take photos around the house. Most often, I let her snap away and then delete the 130 photos off the card.

This time I decided to keep some of them. I love seeing her perspective.

Daddy's Night

A significant event FINALLY happened last night. Madeline's preschool class had been planning a special Daddy's Night and to say Madeline was excited is like saying Ben should have ditched Courtney.

This girl loves her daddy and would shake with excitement when she talked about how she gets to bring him to school "when it's dark out." She insisted on wearing this outfit and at first I didn't understand. But then she said, "Daddy wears shirts with buttons and jeans and sandals."

She wants to be just like "the basketball player." I'm so thankful she's looking up to a good guy.

At Daddy's Night, she was chosen to lead everyone in the Pledge of Allegiance.

She sang five songs with her classmates.

She made ice cream in a can with her daddy.

Joe is a hero in Madeline's eyes and I love watching their relationship. His love for our kids is a gift to them but also to me. That they will grow up knowing every day that they are loved hard by their dad is beyond money, glamor and root beer to me.

When she came back home, it took her 21 minutes to tell me everything she got to do with her dad. She gets her brevity from me.

P.S. This is currently my favorite preschool song. And it ain't no big thing to ask her to perform.

On March 13, 2012

I know just 24 hours ago, I said I would never do this again. But by 8:30 a.m., I found it amusing how different the day already was from yesterday so I decided to write everything down. Again. I might do this every day this week. Every day is so different. (Also, I might not do this again. I'll let the Spirit lead.)

Writing down my days has explained why I don't make my bed some days. When I get in bed at night, I often get annoyed at myself that I didn't take one minute to make the bed but when I look at this list, I realize why I didn't have that minute.

***

March 13, 2012

3:03 C wakes to eat. I didn't bring my phone to bed. So tired and keep nodding off in the rocking chair. When he finishes eating, I am wide awake and look for my phone. Hard time falling asleep.

7-something Joe brings C to our bed. He already changed his diaper and had been playing with C. Joe sets up the play mat in bed. When I start talking, C wants to eat. I feed him in bed. I carry C to the front room to grab a book and two muffins and read and eat in bed while C plays on mat, my hand rubbing his tummy.

8:01 I call Lifeway to check if "Not a Fan" has been restocked. The salesperson will call me back. I keep reading until I hear M walking to the bathroom. I pick up C and go to the kitchen.

8:30 M asks for muffins and water. I get her breakfast, move the play mat to living room floor and set C down to he can watch M eat. I carry sorted laundry down to the basement and start a rinse cycle for the diaper load. I charge my phone which is about to die. C has big spit-up so I change his outfit and dress myself. C spits up on me immediately so I change into last night's shirt. M asks for dry cereal. She updates our countdown to St. Patrick's Day board.

8:50 I tell M to stop eating and get dressed for school. I set C on the play mat again, wipe down the table, sweep the crumbs and brush my teeth. M puts on a red dress, jeans and pink cowGIRL boots. She brushes her teeth while I brush her hair and clip in her Big Sister hair bow. I put my People magazine in her school bag for Jenn. I strap C into his car seat and grab my clutch. M is excited to ride in Joe's car.

9:09 We drive to preschool which starts at 9:15. I carry C in and hold M's hand. Parents and kids are waiting in the hallway, wondering where the teacher is. I chat with another mom whose son is 2 weeks younger than C. M's teacher comes in and acts like she's late. When she opens the door, everyone learns leprechauns have trashed the classroom. M doesn't say bye in the chaos. I leave while kids are still squealing in excitement and then remember to go back and get the People magazine would of M's bag and give it to Jenn. Jenn and I make plans to hang out tomorrow.

9:23 I drive away and call pediatrician's office to reschedule C's appointment. We get home, I change C's diaper and lay him down awake. I start the wash cycle for diapers. I miss Joe's call when I'm in the basement.

9:35 I call Joe back and talk for awhile while he drives to Richmond. I check on C and he's asleep. I start bringing up boxes from the basement and turn on "The People's Court."

9:50 Joe's cousin calls with questions about the St. Patrick's Day parade. (I'm known as an expert on the matter.) We make plans to meet up then. I bring up more boxes and start sorting into piles of trash, keeps and Goodwill. I start a new load of laundry and it wakes C.

10:22 C takes awhile to calm down, not sure why. I give him his medicine and he gets upset again. 

10:43 C is finally calm enough to eat. I watch TV and scroll through my Reader. I send a couple texts. Lifeway calls me back but I let it go to voicemail so C will keep eating. I send some more texts.

11:03 C is still eating. I know I'll have to leave the house messy, a major pet peeve. I forgot I'm supposed to avoid People.com because I didn't watch "The Bachelor" last night. Finale is ruined. Ben is dumb.

11:17 I make C stop eating and he spits up all over. I change his diaper, his outfit and my shirt. I stick a spoon in the fake Nutella and take a quick bite before heading out the door.

11:31 I park, carry C in and wait in the hallway. When she comes out, M bypasses me and takes the longest drink ever at the drinking fountain. I chat with other moms. M wants me to see the classroom and shows me leprechaun footprints to start on Ireland on the map and lead out the window. I chat with her teachers. On the ride home, M tells me about making leprechaun binoculars, stamps and a letter to the leprechauns. She asks what we're doing today. I tell her we'll go to the park and she asks for a picnic.

11:47 At home, I put C on the play mat and start cleaning up. M asks about everything that is out. I move along the laundry and make our lunches (big salad for me, mac and cheese for her) while M reads on the couch. I fill up our Tervis cups, pack the small diaper bag. I go outside to get the stroller from the car and realize Joe has my car. I bring up the double stroller from the basement. M is worried about spiders on the stroller. I carry the stroller down to the sidewalk because it's too hard to maneuver down the stairs with C in it. I change C's diaper. It's now pretty warm outside so I also change him into a cooler outfit. I set C in the bumbo. I change my clothes, put on flip-flops and pull my hair into a ponytail. I ask M to take off her jeans and try to go to the bathroom. I check my phone and reply to some texts. M asks to bring her purse. It has a book, camera, phone, wallet and glasses.I put away a few things in the dining room and living room to leave it straighten. Joe calls but I don't answer so we can leave the house. C fusses so I move him to the mat and start carrying things out to the stroller. C starts crying. I pick him up and M follows us out. I strap C in and M is excited to stand on the stroller.

12:40 We walk to the park. I call Joe back and leave a voicemail.

12:46 We arrive at the park, find a shady spot, unpack M's lunch and leave C in stroller since he's happy. I start eating and Joe calls me back. C fusses so I pick him up and he slams his forehead into my big earring and cries hard. I tell Joe I'll call him back and soothe C. He has a mark on his forehead. I call Joe back and now M wants to talk to him. C is tired so I try to lay him down but he cries. Now he won't calm down even though I'm bouncing him around. M hands me the phone and I tell Joe I can't talk. M eats her lunch and bounce C around until he falls asleep. I lay him on a blanket and wrap him up. I eat and M asks to eat in the stroller. She is adorable with her glasses on. She watches everything that's happening on the playground and sand area. I finish eating and start writing these notes. M spots a little dog and asks to pet her. We chat with the owner. M throws away the trash from her lunch and runs off to play. I keep writing. C's sleeping well. M runs to me about a small cut on her toe. No idea what happened. Blood equals band-aid at our house so M is excited that she'll get one when we get home.

1:43 C wakes up super happy. I keep writing and watching M. She runs over to me, " Gee, Mom. All the kids keep leaving and I'm, like, what the heck?" I tell her it's nap time and she'll need to leave soon. She runs back to the playground. I change C's diaper.

2:00 I tell M we'll leave in a few minutes. I pack up our stuff and strap C in the stroller. I tell M it's time to go and she goes around to each kid and tells them bye.

2:05 We start walking home. M asks what we're doing today.

2:11 M plays with chalk on our porch while I unload the stroller. I pick C up and tell M to come in for nap. She reminds me about her cut and  gets a Hello Kitty band-aid. I washed her feet and put the band-aid on. We all sit on her bed, sing the doxology and pray together.

2:22 I put in a "Midsomer Murder" episode and feed C.

2:53 I lay C down for a nap, bring up the laundry and start folding. I decide what to make for dinner. Joe tries to call me over and over but my phone is screwed up these days and it won't let me answer. M cries out in her sleep. I check on her and she's stirring. i go in, rub her back and she falls back asleep. Joe and I start texting. I keep folding. He calls again and I can answer. He's on his way but didn't eat lunch and will pick something up now. I change my dinner plans since he won't eat dinner and I ate lunch pretty late. Will just make something for M.

4:00 C fusses and wakes. I turn on "Judge Judy" and charge my phone. C is happy on my lap. I love rubbing his bare legs.

4:07 M comes out of her room and asks for a muffin. I get one for her and set it on a napkin. She sits at the table and tells me her favorite TV show is "Judge Judy." (Her passive way of asking if she can watch it.) I turn off the TV. M asks if we can go back to the park. I tell her she can play in the backyard.

4:14 I put away the folded laundry while carrying C. I change his diaper and M tells me she can't wear shoes because of the band-aid. I move the play mat by the backdoor and lay C down. M goes outside to play. I put away the clean dishes, wipe down the table and sweep under M's chair.

4:33 I start washing dishes. M asks for chalk. I dry my hands and get out new chalk. C is happy on the mat. I finish washing the dishes, wipe down the counter tops, bring up another load of laundry and fold in the toy room by C. 

5:03 C fusses so I put him in the sling and keep folding. M is writing all over the fence and steps. Joe comes home and M is so excited. I put away the laundry and Joe takes C. He makes him laugh by tickling him. I make a dinner plate for M and ask her to wash her hands. I sit on the couch and feed C.

5:31 C is done eating and I give him to Joe. I take a shower, get dressed and put on make-up. I tell M needs to be done eating and to wash her hands. I look in the diaper bag and throw in a few burp cloths.

5:50 Joe loads the kids in the car while I fill up my Katie cup and lock the door. We drive to our small group and pick up Joanna on the way because she's babysitting the kids tonight.

6:30 We have our small group and are starting a new study on "Not a Fan." Vicky made angel food cake and strawberries to celebrate the March birthday people. Very thoughtful because it's dairy-free and it's so so good.

8:55 We load up the kids and start driving home. I am starving. We drop off Joanna and I send a text to Jon and Janna. We have their keys since I drove them to the airport last week. We drop off the keys and drive home. Tell M to get ready for bed. I eat a couple pieces of salami and pretzels before I pick up C. I feed C on the couch and Joe puts M to bed. C doesn't eat very well. He just wants to smile at me. Cute but I'm about to pass out from hunger pains.

10:00 Finally stop trying to get him to eat and hand him to Joe. I make a big salad again. 

10:14 Jaime calls me. Joe changes his diaper, puts him in PJs but when he tries to lay C down but he cries. I try to feed him again. He's still upset so Joe takes him and calms him down. 

10:30 I eat my salad and go through my Reader. Joe comes out of C's room and we watch "New Girl" together. I eat the last of my dairy-free ice cream. 

11:15 I pick up the living room and dining room, check on M, brush my teeth and go to bed. I fall asleep immediately.

On March 12, 2012

This is something I've wanted to do for a long time. I know the time will come when I will wonder what I did when I stayed home with my littles. Today, I wrote down nearly everything I did, even the super tiny mundane stuff. (I told Joe what I was doing but when he saw my notes, he said, "Wow. You really wrote down everything." It's a lot. Consider yourself warned.)

I forgive you if you want to skip this post because it's super long. It's actually longer than super long. I'm just doing it for my record-keeping and for future Senile Katie.

***

March 12, 2012

3:34 C wakes up to eat. I feed him in the rocker in his room and scroll through my Reader and check Twitter in the dark. He lays down easily and I take awhile to fall back asleep.

6:45 C needs to eat again and I pray through the feeding. I should stay up after he finishes but I'm so tired and hope M will sleep in since DST just happened. He lays down easily again and I fall asleep immediately.

8:17 I wake up to C fussing. M is mercifully still sleeping. I'm so glad I slept more. I carry C to the couch and bounce and coo with him in the dark, hoping M will sleep as long as possible. Joe and I start texting while I scroll through my Reader.

8:26 M's up. We cuddle on the couch and she immediately starts talking to C. She asks to hold him. She asks for cereal but we're out. She asks for eggs and toast but we don't have bread. (Am going to the grocery today.) I turn on the lights while she holds C and tell her I can make muffins. She's excited. We go to C's room and I change his diaper while M picks out his clothes. She asks if C has a "I love my big sister" shirt. He doesn't. (Must remedy that.) She picks out a dinosaur shirt and sweatshirt and striped BabyLegs. She tries to put on his shoes but it's a disaster. He's fussing and she's near tears. I end it.

8:56 I set up C's play mat on the ottoman. M tries to put the shoes on again. I end it. Again. I start making muffins. M turns on a Seeds CD and goes to her room.

9:05 M asks to move C's mat into her room. I helped her and she says, "Easy-peasy, Mom."

9:15 Muffins are in the oven. M gets herself dressed and has made a cave for C. I join them in her room and help her zip her sweatshirt and coo to C. M hears thunder and opens her blinds, looking for lightning. She searches for St. Patrick's Day, Easter and her birthday on her Hello Kitty calendar. C starts fussing and needs to eat.

9:30  We're all hungry and check on the muffins together. 6 more minutes. M asks for a snack. I dance with C while he sucks his fist. M reads the backs of new library movies and my parents' copy of "It Could Happen to You." (I'm excited to watch this later. Haven't seen it for years.) I ask M what she wants to do today. "See Peter." 

9:34 2 more minutes for the muffins. M gets out her notebook and a green crayon from her craft drawer. She starts tracing a gold coin. I pull out the muffins. C is totally calm so I place muffins onto the cooling rack. M sharpens a pencil over the trash can. I set a napkin on the table and fills M's water cup. She's excited that I topped the muffins with blueberries and raspberries but I tell her she has to wait for them to cool down so she blows on them.

9:38 I start feeding C on the couch. M comes around the corner, near tears because she dropped the sharpener in the kitchen trash. I tell her I'll get it out when C's done eating. She disappears in the toy room.

9:43 I call for her to check if muffins are cool now. They are and she picks all the blueberries and raspberries off first. She tells me the muffin top now looks like a face. "Mom? I have great news. These are the best muffins ever." I check my phone and realize I never hit send on a text to Joe. Typical.

9:47 M asks if she can tell me what dessert she wants for her birthday. I tell her we can talk about St. Patrick's Day. She wants a green cake with raspberries. Jenn texts me. M says blueberries are her favorite because raspberries taste like mustard. Seeds CD ends. VeggieTales comes on. I texts two of my sister-in-laws.

10:06 C finishes eating and is asleep. M marches around the ottoman to "Keep Walking." I lay C down in his crib and dig through the trash for M's sharpener. I eat a muffin and start baking a second batch. M works at her table with paper and markers. I sort M's laundry and start a load.

10:15 I put away last night's dishes that Joe washed. M wants me to sit with her. I move the easel so she can see me while I'm cleaning the kitchen. I eat a second muffin and turn on the kettle. M asks again what we're doing today. This is my view when I'm at the sink. I try to meal plan and make a grocery list in my head.

10:23 I steep my tea and wash dishes. M comes in the kitchen and draws a peace sign and a flower standing next to me. I remind her to take her vitamin. She asks again what we're doing today. I ask her to clean her room. I realize I forgot to set the timer for the muffins.

10:40 I wipe down the counter, pulls muffins from oven and set them on the cooling rack. M needs help in the bathroom. I wash my hands, add sugar to my tea, put all the muffins in a container and sweep the floors in the main rooms. M wants to brush her teeth but needs help with the toothpaste. The music CD ends and switches to a movie so I turn it off. I steam clean all the floors.

11:03 C wakes up and M comes with me to get him. We stay in his room because of the wet floors. M reads to C the Silly Faces books. I check my phone and respond to some texts. C is doing good so I run down to the basement to move along the laundry. C's still good so I wipe down the table and move the chairs back to the dining room. C's still good so I get dressed and fix my hair.

11:21 I change C's diaper and M finishes cleaning her room. I empty the diaper bag and restock it for today. I text Joe. I'm excited to wear my new wedges. C has a weird spit-up.

11:30 Joe calls. When I hang up, I put C down to get ready to go the store. He cries. M gets her doll ready for the store. C is still crying when I put him in his car seat so I grab the mei tei.

11:38 My mother-in-law calls but I don't answer so we can get out the door this side of noon. I turn off the porch light as we head out and I see my tea, now cold. I never took a sip. I buckle the kids in and C finally calms down and takes the pacifier. I call my mother-in-law back.

11:56 Our talk ends when C cries again because the car has stopped in the parking lot. I put him in the mei tei and he calms down. I realize M has a raspberry stain on her upper lip and I forgot to brush her hair. In the store, M grabs every item from the shelves and puts them in the cart. She loves being a helper. While I load up the groceries, she makes up a song about food.

12:31 We head home and M asks again what we're doing today. When we're home, I put M and C on the porch and take a couple trips to put the groceries on the table. I bring C in and he's asleep. I move the laundry along and can hear him crying. He needs his medicine but will give it to him later when he's calmer. 

12:39 I start feeding him and email my mom to see if she can watch M tonight while Joe and I go to a school information meeting. M wraps up the cord on the steamer, one of her favorite things. She gets my pink highlighter and writes in her journal. She gets out her (paper) cell phone and starts inviting friends over. She asks me if Meena and Quinn (imaginary friends) can come over for a dance party. I say yes. She asks if she can really open the front door to let them in. I say yes. She's thrilled, opens the door and "leads" them to the toy room. I read through Twitter on my phone and read Peter King's Monday Morning Quarterback. I try to remember if I bought anything frozen since I haven't put away the groceries. I keep rubbing C to keep him awake. He's really off schedule.

1:10 C is still eating and M is running back and forth between the toy room and her bedroom. When I ask what she's doing, she just giggles.

1:14 She finally tells me she's setting up a restaurant for Joe when he comes home. She picks out books for me to read during lunch. We read a Little Critter book on the couch. C finishes eating so I change his diaper and set him in the bumbo seat while I put away the groceries. M reads on the couch.

1:25 I make M's lunch (turkey and cheese sandwich with BBQ sauce, cottage cheese and another muffin). I realize I haven't drank anything today and fill up my Katie cup. I read "There's A Nightmare in My Closet," "Two Little Trains," some Robert Louis Stevenson poems, "The Tortoise and the Hare" and "The Little Dutch Boy" while M eats. C has major spit-up.

2:04 I change his diaper and clothes. He pees all over the changing pad. M clears her plate and washes her hands. I put C in the crib to change the cover. M cleans up the books from earlier. C is content in the crib so I lay a blanket over him. M and I talk for a bit in her bed, sing the doxology and pray together before her nap. She asks if I can decorate Sandy for St. Patrick's Day. I kiss her lots and leave. 

2:15 I bring out a load of diapers to fold, wipe the spit-up in the bumbo seat, wipe down the table and sweep the kitchen and dining room. I check on C and he's asleep. I turn on "The People's Court" (don't judge), pick up the front room, make a sandwich and refill the Katie cup.

2:23 I sit down, finally eat and watch TV.

2:34 I bring up the two loads of laundry and start folding. I check my phone and my mom can watch M tonight so I email her back.

2:50 I start eating some dairy-free hazelnut chocolate butter with saltines and keep folding.

2:54 I'm just licking the spoon now.

3:00 My show ends so I rewind "It Could Happen to You" (it's a VHS). C fusses, I give him a pacifier and he falls back asleep. I start boiling a pot of eggs to make hardboiled eggs for the week. I push play on the video but it needs more rewinding. Am reminded why DVDs are awesome. I keep folding clothes and really need to put the lid on the chocolate. The video preview is for "Legends of the Fall."

3:11 I'm still licking the spoon and folding. I set aside M's clothes that need to be hung up. (She loves this chore.)

3:13 Hear the pot boiling, turn the heat down and cover it but don't want to set the timer. Nicolas Cage is totally not convincing as a cop but I still love Rosie Perez's reaction to winning the lotto.

3:21 Finally put the lid on the chocolate. I text Joe and start folding the diaper load.

3:34 The eggs are finished and I can't believe both kids are still sleeping. I regret not showering at the beginning of nap time. I want to put away the dishes but also want to just relax while they sleep. I keep watching the movie.

3:45 They're both still sleeping and I can't stand just sitting so I start sorting more laundry.

3:56 C wakes up and I switch off the movie. It's "Judge Judy" time. I give C his medicine and he eats.

4:33 C finishes eating and I'm loving this alone time with C. He is adorable propped up on my legs. Lots of cooing and smiling and knuckle-gnawing.

4:39 I change C's diaper and he's super ticklish. I set him on the couch next to me and keep sorting laundry. M wakes up and immediately bypasses me to cuddle with C. I turn off the TV and take the hampers back to the bedroom. M is still playing with C so I put away the folded laundry. I pick up the front room and move C to the mat.

5:03 I start prepping dinner, a big salad with lots of topping. I put away the dishes and made a quesadilla for M (She normally doesn't eat a separate dinner but she won't eat the big salad). I knock over the new cottage cheese and it spills all over the floor and under the fridge. M runs to the kitchen because she's worried I broke my ankle. (???) I ask M to put her clothes on hangers. She is excited when she figures out how to bring out all her hangers at once.

5:25 Joe calls on his way home. I made a dinner plate for M and help her put away her closet clothes. 

5:42 M starts eating and I change C's diaper. I check the mail and open a beautiful birth announcement. C starts fussing because he's tired so I bounce him around on my hip. I double-check the diaper bag so it's ready to go when we leave.

5:53 Joe comes home and I hand off C so I can shower. M slowly picks at her dinner because she's busy talking to Joe. I dress and get ready to leave. I fill my Katie cup with juice and sparkling water. (Want root beer so badly.)

6:20 We're in the car on the way to my parents. We drop M off and she's so excited to see Peter. We leave her booster seat because my parents and Peter are going to eat at Cancun. After we pull away, I text Peter and ask them to get a take-out order of chips and salsa for us. It sounds so good.

7:00 Joe and I go to the meeting. C is really good but needs to eat halfway through. C's super smiley and distracting to those around us.

8:45 We leave and I didn't realize it was so late. C falls asleep in the car so I run in to pick M up from my parents. She tells us she got to watch Handy Manny and Kipper and had a chocolate sundae with a cherry. Joe and I are so hungry and start eating chips and salsa in the car. I make Joe stop at Monical's so I can buy a bottle of their French dressing.

9:41 We get home and Joe leaves to vacuum and clean the car. (He's taking my car tomorrow and giving a ride to some colleagues and my car is filthy.) M changes into her PJs and brushes her teeth. I change C's diaper and put him in his PJs. We sing the doxology and say prayers again. M tries to tell me a story about a teacher and taxes (???) but I cut her off because she's clearly stalling. I kiss her lots.

10:04 I feed C and watch "It Could Happen to You." C is nearly asleep when he finishes eating so I lay him down and make a bowl of big salad. Joe comes back home and we finish the chips and salsa and finish the movie. I start typing all my notes from today and load the pictures. It takes forever. May never do this again because it took so long. I'm avoiding Facebook and Twitter because I missed "The Bachelor" tonight. I move the computer to bed because Joe's going to bed.

12:34 Finally finished. Joe's asleep. I'm out.