A Day in the Life {Winter 2017}

Tuesday February 7, 2017

............

Kent is 29

I am 30

Caris is almost 4

Liza is 2 

All pictures were taken with my stellar iPhone4 camera

in a house with amazing natural light

(this is a joke)

5:30am Kent's alarm goes off. He brings me a box of cereal, at my request, because I'm starving. I fall back asleep after I hear him lock the deadbolt. He's off to Breakfast Club at Chick fil A.

7:24am I wake up and check the time. WOW Caris slept in for the second day in a row. LIFE IS AWESOME. {We're usually awake at 7,when she's allowed to leave her room} A somber Caris comes to my bed to inform me that "Liza ruined my paper"

Mom "Hmm.. how? She was in her crib the whole time"
Caris "In the middle of the night"
Mom "Ok I'll take a look at it"

7:30-8:00am Liza greets us with a super bad dirty diaper. I change her on my bed and they discover the box of cereal. They eat cereal in my bed while I cook a few pieces of turkey bacon.

8:00-9:00am Caris eats a cinnamon raisin english muffin and milk. Liza declines breakfast (She just ate her weight in KIX) and decides to read princess books to Caris instead. Caris helps her with the names and also chuckles and says things under her breath like, "She doesn't know how to say John Smith." I pack our lunches for the Science Center.

The girls get dressed (I help Liza) and play while I shower/get ready. This includes playing "fetch" with a plastic coat hanger and Liza discovering the printer in the hall closet. She beckoned for her partner in crime "Caris! C'mere. Caris! C'mere" until I caught her. I tell myself my hair can stretch another day with the help of dry shampoo (It can not. But I go with it.)

{On Monday/Wednesday mornings we go to the Y. Wednesdays are also story time at the library. Thursday mornings we have two hours of bible study} 

9:20am We leave for the Science Center and "The wheels on the bus" is playing before we leave the garage. In the driveway I realize Kent has the membership pass that we need. BUMMER. I call Kent twice- back to back- and he picks up. Calling back to back is the parental code for "I just broke both of my legs and can not care for our children anymore" or "We are on the way to have an emergency tonsillectomy" And I called during his weekly meeting with the senior pastor. GO ME. We drive to church and wait for Pastor Suits to meet us. He greets the girls, gives me an exciting update on his ministry and hands over the pass.

On the way to the Science Center, I confirm that it doesn't snow in Florida and try to explain how most cars can drive in the snow, very slowly, and big trucks come to move the snow out of the street. Caris talks about snow like CS Lewis talks about Narnia. We also play "Guess What Princess I'm Thinking Of" Example: "I'm thinking of a princess that has short, dark hair and seven small friends" 

10:30am Arrive at the Science Center! Just 30 minutes late and it's surprisingly not too crowded.

10:30-12:30pm Play, attend a story time, have an unfortunate potty accident, eat lunch (PBJs and string cheese) and try not to judge the mom wearing a "Vegan Vibes" tank top, spandex pants and Birkenstock sandals. The struggle is real.

1pm-1:45pm Liza naps from 1-3 everyday. Insert all the praise hands here. I start a load of laundry (see unfortunate potty accident above) and then complete one and half days of bible study homework while consuming tortilla chips and a Coke Zero. Caris plays alone, for the most part.

1:45-2pm I have 15 spare minutes! I check my Instagram account (I never post, I just look at bloggers and artsy people. I realize this makes me pathetic) My Mom Game is going strong after returning home and throwing on a sweat shirt and fuzzy socks. 

2pm-2:45pm From 2-3 everyday I send time with my oldest. Today we play 3 games of Uno and she wins all 3 fair and square. She plays in the backyard while I sit and watch. "Look! No hands!" We talk and she asks me questions like, "Wanna feel my breath?" Yes. Yes I do. 

3pm Liza wakes up. Tears are shed because diaper changes post-nap are hard. We leave to run some errands (bad idea, but we're missing key dinner ingredients for tonight). 

3pm-4:45pm We donate one bag to Goodwill (I'm showing off for you guys!), buy a few things at the Dollar Tree and buy groceries at Aldi. I surprise them with lollipops while grocery shopping- not as a bribe- just as a treat. And to shop in quiet peace. One daughter slowly becomes unraveled during the ride home. It's that time of day. On a happier note, every five minutes in the car I have this conversation with Liza

Liza "Mama"
Me "Yeah?"
Liza "Hi"
Me "Hi"
Liza "How are you?"
Me "Good. How are you?"
Liza "Good"

So, take a 20 minute car ride. We have this same exact exchange at least 4 times. It's adorable.

4:45pm I put the groceries away and the girls play. Caris walks around outside in rain boots while holding her umbrella. She saw clouds and has high hopes for rain (it never does). Caris is brought to tears when she finds Liza with an open bottle of sunscreen. I think I hear Kent's car TWICE- we go outside- false alarm both times! Worst feeling ever! I switch the laundry to the dryer and chastise myself for acting like a desperate stay at home mom. winkyface

5:06pm Kent's home! He takes Caris outside to swing and I fix dinner- which is just heating up taco meat he cooked yesterday- and preparing some toppings. Liza wanders around the kitchen asking to eat and for "water peas"

5:30-6:00pm We stuff our faces with burritos, even the girls, and we talk about our day and Kent's ministry questions/goals/stories. I, once again, proclaim my love for sour cream.

6:00-6:30pm I clear the table, Kent plays Monster with Caris until a small tee-tee accident (which I predicted), they clean up the main area of toys and shoes. So.many.shoes! Kent salvages half of a cantaloupe. It's the story of my life: I buy a cantaloupe, let it sit too long and then ask Kent to work his magic. The girls eat squishy cantaloupe and Caris does "school work" in a notebook.

6:30-7:00pm The girls change into jammies, we read a bible story, Kent reads Green Eggs and Ham, they brush their teeth (with Kent's help) and are in bed by 7!

The picture below looks tense, but it was a great conversation. We were reading the story of Jesus wandering in the desert.

Caris "What does it mean to lie?"
Dad "To not tell the truth. It's a sin. Do you ever lie? I do."
Caris "I sin a lot"
Dad "Yeah, so do I. And Mommy does. That's why Jesus had to come and die to take away our sins"

(Parents must record these conversations to combat the 8,000 bang-your-head-against-the-wall conversations that make you want to gift them with a one way ticket to live with their grandparents for an extended period of time)

7:00-8:30PM Kent does the dishes while listening to a podcast on his wireless headphones (fancyyy) then reads his nightly Charles Spurgeon book (who IS this guy??) I ahem... read blogs and wander around the internet. 

8:30-10:15PM We catch up on the Celebrity Apprentice episode that we missed the night before. 

10:20PM Retire to bed. Kent has me watch a video about a hipster church in Portland. Click here to watch. I know you're dying to... I try to fall asleep after it, but can't ignore the Jimmy Fallon interview with Coach Bill Belichick that he pulled up. Click here to watch it--to balance out the hipster church video. I fall asleep and Kent stays awake looking at hipster church websites.  

And that was 2-7-2017 for us

Thanks for following along!