I know what you're thinking. "Janae, give me a break. This keeps happening. What on earth do you do all day? Sit around on the internet while your kids run wild??" Let me tell you what I do. I wrote it down.
8:00 Get the kids up and ready, feed them breakfast (oatmeal and orange juice).
9:00 Start the weekly laundry. Kids play with toys while I feed Enoch.
9:15 Shoes on, baby in the carrier, we all (the kids & I) go out on a walk to the park. I sing every single kids song I know during the 45 minutes I push them on the swings. My arms feel like they are going to fall off.
10:45 Get home, snack time (bananas, graham crackers, and apple juice). I feed Enoch.
11:00 Elijah and Enoch go down for naps. I do dishes, move the laundry on, then work on my calling while Seara reads books from the library.
12:30 Boys get up. I hold Enoch. Lunch time for the older kids - homemade chile, homemade cornbread, and milk from the cow I milked this morning. (Ha, ha! Just kidding about the milk.)
1:30 Seara and Elijah put stickers on paper and color with crayons
2:00 I turn their creations into crowns that they wear around. And I feed Enoch.
2:15 We get out colorful sponges for the kids and they "clean" (ha, ha), while I move the laundry on.
2:45 The kids are distracted and happy. I finally sit down to check my email.
2:47 I find Elijah with the liquid dish soap. Again. The other half is now spread from my dining room, through the front room, living room, down the hall, and into their bedroom.
2:49 I put the kids in front of movie after movie (blast! I really try to avoid those), give them snacks on demand, and spend the next three hours cleaning. Ugh. I feed and tend Enoch in the midst of it all.
6:30 Dinner time: black bean & brown rice soup, tortilla chips.
7:00 The kids play around, I do dinner dishes.
7:30 Pjs, brush teeth, etc. I feed Enoch.
8:00 Bed time at last!!
Lest you fear that Elijah only destroys, let me tell you what I currently love most about him. He loves to talk to me! Seara just isn't a talker. (This is gonna kill me when she turns 16.) But Elijah loves to tell me everything he does. It is so funny!! He can't speak in full sentences (other than things like, "Seara bite you!" which means "Seara bit me!"), but he definitely gets his point across. Here are some of our latest:
Elijah runs to me as Samuel brings the kids in from a trip to the park
Elijah: Swings!
Me: You went on the swings?
Elijah: Yeah. Daddy!
Me: Daddy pushed you in the swing?
Elijah: Yeah. Slide!
Me: And you went on the slide?
Elijah: Yeah. Rocks!
Me: And you found rocks?
Elijah: Yeah.
After church on Sunday
Me: How was nursery?
Elijah: Good!
Seara: [ignores me]
Me: What did you do?
Elijah: Goldfish. And water.
Me: Oh, you ate goldfish and water?
Elijah: Yeah.
Me: What else did you do?
Elijah: Toys. And puzzles.
On the drive home from the babysitters
Me: Did you have a good time?
Elijah: Yes!
Me: What did you do?
Elijah: Toys.
Me: You played with toys? And what else?
Elijah: Movie.
Me: And you watched a movie? Did you have a snack?
Elijah: Yeah. Raisins.
Seara: Icecreampizzabananascandypuddingchocolateapplesaucejuiceyogurtcheesehotdogs.
[They actually did play with toys, watch a movie, and eat raisins. I have no clue what Seara was talking about.]
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
ANOTHER FIASCO, starring: Elijah
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10 comments:
They look so happy! You are doing a great job Janae! You should be wearing a crown too!
Maybe you need to install shelves up at the very tops of your walls, and store everything up there, where no one can reach the dish soap without an extension ladder...
Or take the soap with you to the computer... Climbers are tricky...
Charlie likes to play in the toilet.
Your day sounds like you are a fantastic mother. Very educational and devoted.
Good work Janae. I guess Elijah's trouble making is small compared to some trials... But what a pain!!!
Sheesh! It's funny/sad how many times kids will do something wrong, get a talkin' to about it, and then do it again. Look at the bright side, at least this time you knew exactly what you needed to do to clean it up, right?
Your little conversations with Elijah remind me of Andrew's and mine. I'll definitely miss that part of the toddler days. But one thing is for sure, they have some kind of radar that says "Mom's distracted, hurry and do something you couldn't do if she was watching!" It's a talent they have. It also works when you lay down too. They could be completely occupied (even in the next room) and if I lay down on the couch for a second, here they come running. (Kate is usually in on this one too.) What gives?
Good luck, good luck, good luck. It passes. I promise.
That kid has a talent. That's how we say it in teacher language. You learn how to spin kids' not-so-charming characteristics in a good light. Man, I want to eat at your house. I'm always starving when I'm nursing but unlike you with your cow milking, homemade from scratch everything I'm living off of cold cereal and granola bars. PS Charlotte has had really runny diapers for the last three days. I"m going to see if dairy is the cause. If it is I'll be asking for your (easy) recipes. I can't even imagine what you eat without dairy. I really hope it's not the cause.
Can I move in with you , you're kids sure have it good, you make me feel like a terrible mom...shame on you! J/K
;0)
I totally understand. Jakob is an evil genius, too. Sometimes when I tell me about his "projects," they give me a look that says, "Well, duh, why weren't you watching him?" Ha! They have no idea.....
Ok so you officially need a vacation to somewhere with white sandy beaches so you can relax. Andy's sister is coming out to visit and we will totally take the kids. I will put all of Andy's office equipment in the closet and put a pad lock on it, then put padding all over the walls and they can just bounce around in there until they fall asleep. At meal times, I'll throw in some food through the little cut out window in the door and then hose them off when they are done. So then you won't have to worry about what they are getting into while you are sipping a frozen drink with a big straw hat getting some rays on a beach.
Wow, sounds like your life is as fun as mine, but my one child does the work of your three! Long time no...talk? My Mom told me about your blog and your ring, man that sucks. Maybe you can reset the stones and make it into a "new" anniversary ring?
Talent, eh? I like it, Erin.
Natasha - you're on! :)
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