Just One Day

Following the footsteps of several other SMCs who have blogged about a day in their lives, I've decided to add a rundown in a day of the life of me and sweet Tate (check out Shannon at Chasing Rainbows  or Tiara at Me Plus One or Lara at This May Be a Dream Come True, and by the way Lara I'm way later than you!)  It was a bit eye-opening.  I have a bit more time in the evenings than I realized...I should start doing some sort of 15-20 minute exercise DVD!

Here's our day from Tuesday, October 9, 2012

6am Alarm goes off...hit snooze on phone.
6am and 30 seconds Realize I don't hear anything on the video monitor laying on the floor beside the bed!  I shoot straight up in bed panicked.  Pick up monitor (Damn thing wasn't plugged in so battery died!  Have no idea when!)  Plug it in and turn it on and this is what I see and hear...

He is singing 'I've Been Working on the Railroad'.  At the Top. Of. His. Lungs.  I have no idea how long he had been awake.  I fathom a guess for a while because usually he lays about for a few minutes before standing in the crib, but I don't know.  And it's just hilarious.  You can hear his inflections and humor and how much fun he's having.  He sang for a good 10 more minutes.  By the time I made it up there he had climbed out of the crib and was sitting on the floor by the door waiting patiently for me.


6:05 Drag self out of bed, do my business, put on contacts
6:09 Up in kitchen to prep Tate's oatmeal made with Coconut milk (measure it out and put in microwave to cook for a couple of minutes), put Cheerios in bowl, get out his cow milk, get out his plain yogurt and pour the probiotic in it.  Get oatmeal out of microwave.  Put everything on the table for him including ice in the oatmeal to cool it.  (The night before I get everything out I will need down to the paper towels to cover the oatmeal while cooking to expedite things in the mornings).
6:15 Go get child!
6:15:30  He insists we go downstairs to change his diaper (he tends to poop first thing in the mornings and will do so in his overnight diaper.  I'm not getting up any earlier to put him in the bathroom, so until he figures this out on his own, this works for me!)
6:15:50 I'm told I'm not moving fast enough.
6:16 Change diaper
6:20 Very excited to see his breakfast on the table.  He asks (ok demands) the milk now be poured into his Cheerios.
6:20:30 Throw 3 advil down my throat as I have a heinous sinus headache from my hideous allergies.  Feed cat. Put away breakfast makings.  Sit down beside Tate to start putting on my make-up
6:27 Tate wants a paper towel to wipe his face.
6:28 Get towel and come back and put my make-up on while he eats (sometimes I'll down a bowl of oatmeal with him and do my make-up;  I wasn't hungry this morning)
6:37 Try to call Christian in Germany to see how he's doing (He was hit by a car while on his bike on Monday...he's a very lucky man.  Lots of trauma to his face which hit the windshield and some bruises and sprains)
6:39 Done with breakfast and make-up.  Wash some dishes, the rest into the dishwasher. Tate watches pictures of himself and A from Saturday on the phone.  I add some Mucinex to the mix hoping to clear up my nose a bit.
6:44 Meltdown by the pre-schooler when I insist he give me the phone reminding him of our no phone, no tv, no computer, no screen time during the work week. (Since I pulled the phone out in front of him to call Christian I felt like I set a bad example so let him have a few minutes to look at his own photos/videos, but no commercial anything...I do not check email, FB or anything on my phone or computer during the precious minimal time we have in the mornings and evenings during the work week.  And the only time I'll answer my phone is when I'm on call or it's my family who will call twice if it's an emergency)
6:46 Meltdown over.  Thank goodness cause he can go on for 30-40 minutes if he's in the mood!  He's off to play for a bit.
6:51 He brushes his teeth (2 times!) while I get dressed.  I weigh myself.  Sigh.
6:55 Potty time for him.  He requests his Music Together CD be turned on.
6:57 Dancing to music while I dress him
7:01 Zyrtec into Tate then I brush his teeth.  I search for his one jacket that fits still as it's SLIGHTLY chilly outside.
7:05 Keith Urban is requested, so I race to change the music.  He wants Keith Urban...I will be late to work to oblige that request.  Brush my teeth. Finish dressing.  Change cat's water.
7:08 Time to go ... says TATE!  Finish drinking my water.  Grab Tate's lunchbox and my purse.  Turn off lights.  Quick check to make sure everything is unplugged or turned off and head downstairs.
7:14  Downstairs and putting on our shoes.  Tate snacks on snack baggie of cheerios and yogurt melts. There is no morning snack at school and he seems to be starving less than an hour after breakfast...it's about 1/2 cup of cheerios and 10-12 yogurt melts.  Go figure...it seems to get him through.
7:17 Fasten Tate in carseat and we get on our way.
7:24 Arrive at daycare.
7:26 Take lunchbox to classroom and put contents in fridge. Hang jacket on coat rack.  Take empty snack baggie from Tate.  Go to restroom...he brushes two times.  I brush one more time (yep I make him brush and brush well after he eats the second time too!!).  Walk Tate back into parish hall, get him settled coloring a picture and kiss him good-bye.
7:35 Pulling out of parking lot to head off to work.  Traffic light today for some reason.
7:53 Arrive at grocery store next door to office after deciding now I'm starving.  Run up to coffee bar and get a large frozen Vanilla Latte (very heavy on the vanilla and very light on the latter :)  ).  Also get a yummy piece of banana bread (ok cake)
8:01 Arrive at work just a tad bit late thanks to my stop.
8:02 Morning meeting
8:34 See my first patient. Drill.  Fill.  Bill.
12:11pm Finally finishing drilling and filling for the morning.  Some screamers!
12:21 Head off to lunch and grocery store.
1:12 Return to work and nap in my freezing cold office.
1:24 Struggle to open my eyes as I'm so tired.  And so cold.
1:26 Brush and floss.
1:33 See first afternoon patient.  Drill.  Fill.  Bill.  More screamers.
4:58 Finally finished for the day.  More didn't scream than did scream, but one only remembers the screamers.
5:02-5:25 Drive (quickly) to Tate's school while talking (on my car-run bluetooth!) to girlfriend
5:25-5:34 Go into school/daycare, heat up Tate's dinner (chicken, peas, plain yogurt, Happy Tot pouch, grapes and milk) then go out to playground to say hi, give him a kiss and get him situated with his dinner.
5:35-6  PTO meeting (I'm the secretary!)
6-6:06 Gather up Tate and his belongings, say good-bye and get in our car where he begs to watch the videos of him and A from Saturday at Dewberry Farm.  I remind him he is not allowed to look at anything else as this is a slight infraction of our no screen time on school days.
6:14 Arrive home, gather stuff, get upstairs.  Tate goes in living room/playroom to continue watching himself while I: rinse and put all dirty dishes from his lunch and dinner in dishwasher, prepare his lunch for tomorrow, get out all the dishes, dry food items, utensils and paper towels to have ready to go for breakfast in the morning.
6:21 Ask for phone back, he happily obliges but begs for more yogurt.  He's denied and then asks for more milk..that's a big sure.
6:24 I give him his Singulair
6:26 We play together on the floor...well he runs his trains around and I push cars around and just simply hang out.
6:41  Tell Tate it's time for bath, books and bed.  He begs for yogurt again.  I offer him a cheese stick since he can carry this upstairs with no chance of a mess.  He scampers to the fridge and gets out a stick and gobbles it down while I start his bath water.
6:43 Together we load the washing machine with a huge load of dark clothes.  Tate potties.  I turn off the water and he gets in the tub.  He happily lays about and gets his hair and body washed.
6:55  Out of the tub, nightly cuddle time on the towel laden floor (love this!).  Tooth brushing commences and a meltdown ensues when he's not allowed to put a HUGE amount of toothpaste on the brush for his second (last) brushing on his own (he gets to brush two times).  While he was brushing his first time I've lotioned him up and gotten his pajamas top on.
7:04 He's laying about whining while I put the towels away, straighten up a bit, turn on lullaby CD, air purifier and video monitor
7:06  I pick him up off the floor, put him on my bed, hug him tightly for a few minutes and convince him to get his diaper and pajama bottoms on.  He fights letting  me brushing his teeth for a good 10 seconds. (FWIW I do not believe in allowing the word "LET" into our toothbrushing at all.  There is no let.  It is getting done...the hard way or the easy way.  And by hard way I mean holding him down.  He acquiesces every single time.)
7:15 He reads a Thomas book to me, hippo and Sue-Y Bear followed by Curious George.  He then demands I read Curious George.  We turn off lights.
7:27 We climb into the glider after he looks out the window to see the UT flag hanging from Uncle Ryan's house next door. I rock him a bit.  I say 'I love you Baby Tate.'  He sits up offended and for the first time says 'I'm not a baby.'  :(  We say our prayers, sing a song and I tell him good-night in the same exact words I've been saying since the day he was born....
Night Night Tate Tate
I love you
As big as the sky
As far as the moon
And as long as time
I rock him a bit more and he then asks to get in his crib (not his usual MO, usually we rock 15-20 minutes).  He walks over and climbs in.  I get him situated..blanket and loveys and kisses good night.
7:39 I walk out of the room
7:40 Put water on to boil for my dinner.  Piddle around on FB and my SMC forum
8:00 Eat my dinner..spaghetti and meatballs (made sauce and meatballs on Sunday).  Go through a list of 100 private schools trying to figure out deadlines, prices and dates for open houses...panicking at how much it's going to cost and wondering how I'll ever make this decision.  Pick about 10 to really do some research on. Spar with my sister on FB.  Watch Tate toss and turn on video monitor.  He falls asleep around 8:20.
8:58 Go upstairs to fold laundry. Clean up a bit as my housekeeper comes on Thursday, don't want her to see a dirty house LOL! Bring our clothes downstairs for tomorrow, complete with underwear, socks...everything.  Yes we dress in the living room, well I dress him, but I get dressed right down here with him.  Start writing this on my blog.
9:20  Clean up my dinner dishes.  Finish making and packing Tate's lunch.  I have lunch plans tomorrow, so no lunch packing for me.  Organize my purse and bags for tomorrow.  Take everything down and into my car that I can except my purse and Tate's lunch bag.  Empty trash.  Empty cat litter.  Realize I forgot to print some pictures for Tate's school project on "My Family" (so much for being in bed by 10! :(  )  Have to scour hundreds pictures in Shutterfly to find good pics of our cat, his cousins, Christian, Christian's parents and sister.  End up reminiscing as I'm looking through the pics.  Get pics downloaded and ordered to be picked up tomorrow (hope I can make it!)  Check on Tate...make sure his lovey can't fall out of the crib by strategically placing large books around the perimeter of the crib.  Rub his head and whisper 'I love you.'  Come back downstairs and brush teeth. Look at FB.  Shut everything down for the night.
10:20  Head downstairs.  Put trashbag in trashcan in garage.  Turn on alarm. Take shower.  Wash face.  Floss teeth.  Wrap hair.
10:46  In bed!  This time check and be sure monitor is turned on AND is plugged in.  Snuggle in under the covers.  Can't wait to see Tate in the morning!