Today we see what a day is like for stay at home mom Calleen and her two kids Daniel-4 and Reagan-2 as she balances day to day activities with specialist appointments.
6am
My day starts with the ringing of the alarm clock; my least favorite sound in the world. Why my husband can’t turn it off on the mornings he doesn’t have to go into work is something I just can’t figure out. Every 8 minutes afterwards it continues to go off. Shut the darn thing off!! At 630 he finally does.
7am
I’m almost back to sleep when I hear the door open to the kids room. It’s Daniel and he wants his morning glass of milk. I’m lucky this morning that he has slept this late. I get him a glass of milk and convince him to lay back down for a little while.
730am
Daniel is back and climbs in bed with me. 5 minutes later, Reagan joins us for some cuddling time.
8am
I turn on a short movie for the kids while I start breakfast. Daniel has been begging for pancakes so that’s what’s on the menu today. While they’re cooking I start the 7 loads of laundry I will do for the day, and empty the dishwasher. I get the kids settled down to the table with their food, then take my husband Paul in a stack of pancakes to the bedroom. Breakfast in bed for him, oh how nice of me. Really I have an ulterior motive, waking him up. I glance longingly back at the bed. I stayed up way too late last night! I hurry back to the dining room as now Reagan wants something, and so does Daniel, oh and I better flip those pancakes before they burn. Frequently I feel pulled in about 10 different directions and like I just can’t satisfy anyone. I also remember that I need to give Daniel his medicine. While I’m getting that, Paul comes in looking for more pancakes. Success! My evil plan worked!
Next I head to the kids room to strip Daniel’s bed for the 3rd day in row. One day they need to make a pull up for little boys that will last all night long! I grab a grapefruit and a granola bar for breakfast; no time to sit and eat, and the pancakes are cold by now anyway.
9am
Trying to hurry to get everyone dressed. If I hurry I’ll have enough time to go to Arctic Oasis and work out before Daniels appointment. Crap, Daniel has fallen back asleep in the recliner. The medicine he is taking makes him sleepy. I go into my room to get dressed and discover that Paul is also back asleep! Well, he has been working a lot lately. I revamp my plans and wake Paul up, then ask him if he could have Daniel up and ready by the time I get back from working out. He mumbles out a response that which I accept as a yes.
930am
I get Reagan ready and we’re off! As I realize that it’s 930 I think about how it’s going to be a short workout today..
10am
I’ve been on the Elliptical for 20 minutes. Reagan is over near the equipment with a friend she has found but I’m afraid she’s going to get hurt. I jump off of the machine and by the time I get back to it the program and all of the info I had is gone. Of course. Oh well, I did it to be a short work out right?
1025am
I go and get Reagan from where she has been playing. She’s not very willing to leave and fights me to put her shoes on. She’s also wet herself. I call Paul as we rush home and to tell him we’re on our way and so he can have Daniel ready. We arrive home and I hurry to change Reagan’s entire outfit. Daniel is up and getting dressed all by himself. Hurray!!! I throw another load of laundry in. Time to shower? Forget it. I’ll just have to stay far away from the office staff.
11am
We leave for Daniel’s visit to the ENT (Ear, Nose, and Throat) doctor. We spend 20 minutes filling out paperwork while visiting with a friend who happened to be there as well. They call us back and we tell us that Daniel will have to have tubes put in his ears. As were leaving the room to schedule his surgery we notice there’s something on the floor. What is it? Reagan has pooped her pants and a piece has dropped on the ground. If only the nurse hadn’t noticed it….
Paul cleans it up as I herd the kids down the hallway. We schedule Daniels surgery for a week and a half away and they say, “That will be $536, after the insurance, and it’s due that day”. Sometimes you wonder why you have insurance. If we didn’t have it, they would give us a break on the price and we’d probably pay just a little bit more.
12pm
On our way home we drive past what will be our new home, Paul hasn’t seen it yet. On the menu for lunch is PB&J. My family seems to have a love affair with PB&J. They usually eat it at least once a day, Paul Included! It’s easy so I’m not complaining. Paul decides he wants Brats instead so I throw those in the broiler. I fill the dishwasher and start another load of laundry. I grab some leftover stir fry and oh good there’s the leftover tapioca pudding! The kids watch a movie while Paul and I go over the calendar.
1pm
My sister calls to say hi but we’re still in the middle of going over the calendar. I have a quick talk with her and hang up. Things keep interrupting! The kids have run off to play.
2pm
Paul wants some help with some paperwork he’s filling out, and the kids want me to play with them. My back is killing me and it needs to rest. I help Paul while trying to get the kids to look at books or something else quiet while we are busy with the paperwork. Shoot! Reagan found the rest of the tapioca pudding and now it’s all over the floor! I clean it up. Daniel comes in and falls asleep on our bed. I manage to talk Reagan into laying on her bed and eventually she falls asleep too.
3pm
Time to help Paul get ready to go to (National Guard) Drill. I really need to rest my back but I help him get ready and cart all of his stuff down to the car and say goodbye. He might or might not be coming home tonight, he doesn’t know yet. I go to lay down so I can rest my back and then the phone rings. If you have a bad back you know that getting up and down can be agony! I get the phone and it’s Paul, he’s forgotten something and needs me to bring it to him once the kids wake up. Although I would love to say no at this point (didn’t I just do for him last night?) I say yes and lay back down. I’m trying not to take anything for my back until night because once it makes my back feel better I do something stupid. I fall asleep reading a book. The kids and I all wake up about the same time.
5pm
I get the kids shoes and socks back on, take pull ups off from nap, and drive out to the base. I decide on the way home that I’m going to be bad and let the kids watch another movie. It’s over my quota for the day but my back really needs to rest. I feed them some leftovers as they watch the movie and I munch down on leftover coconut chicken.
7pm
I get the kids dressed for bed and get them their vitamins and medicines. I feel like a pharmacist dispensing all of this! We have family prayer and I tuck them in bed. Daniel has been complaining the entire time leading up to bed but once he’s there is good and goes to sleep. Reagan gets in her bed willingly but as soon as I am out of the room she sneaks into the kitchen and breaks out the bread. (Which I find all over the next day). I get her back in bed and take a muscle relax because by now, my back is starting to spasm. I lay down with my book surprised that I’m not drowsy.
1030pm
I text Paul to see if he is coming home tonight. He says he is but it will be a while. I’m done with my book so I try to go to sleep, finally nodding off around 1130.
12am
Paul comes home and wakes me up so he can talk to me. Of course I’m rather incoherent, the medicine has finally kicked in.
6am
There goes that blasted alarm again!!
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