Day in the life - Thursday 21 January 2016

I am 37 years old. I'm a GP (family doctor).

Cameron is 42 years old. He's an architect.

Jasper is 4 years 7 months.

Asher is 2 years 9 months.

Crispin (Pip) is nearly 4 months.

We live in a beachside suburb in Adelaide, South Australia. Our two bedroom house is getting a bit small for us!

~0330

Pip wakes for a feed.

Feed him lying down in bed.

Spend a few minutes mentally mustering the energy to put him back in the cot when I've finished.

Decide I'll do it in a minute.

~0530

Pip is stirring. He's still in our bed, happily snuggled next to me. Oops. This is turning into a pattern!

I am sort of awake.

I look around in the bed. Cameron is not there. Asher is sprawled across his side of the bed. 

Feed Pip in bed. One side, then the other, then the first side again. There can't be any milk left there, but he wants to keep going and it stops him squawking and waking up the house.

0550

Pip has gone back to sleep but Ash is awake.

She talks in one long continuous sentence and loud too. She only does one volume.

"I didn't sleep all night in my own bed cos I didn't want to cos its warm today. Where's Charlie?" 

Her cousins Matilda (10) and Charlie (6) with uncle Troy are over from Sydney for the holidays. Ash adores Charlie. 

She wants a warmie (hot chocolate). I don't know where this tradition started but the kids now expect one the instant they wake up.

We get up quickly, leaving Pip on his own in the middle of the bed. 

I try to get Ash to go past the other bedroom quietly so as not to wake Cameron and Jasper. 

Ash is still talking about warmies and witches and wanting to go to Sydney on a pink plane.

Pip is shocking in the mornings and will often refuse to be put down, so I get to work making Jasper's lunch while Pip is still asleep. Jasper is off to his Early Learning Centre's school holiday program today. During term all their food is provided by the centre, so lunch boxes are still a novelty at our place.

Today I put in a salami sandwich, a packet of teddy biscuits, sliced apple (with awesome new wont-go-brown method, makes me feel like a domestic goddess), strawberries, yoghurt, juice, cherry tomatoes, cucumber and some cheese.

Acknowledge to self that this is far too much food for a four year old, but can't bear to part with any of it.

0600

Coffee.

Pip still asleep!

Yes.

0615

Clean up lunch stuff.

0630

Cameron and Jasper make an appearance.

Don't get round to asking why Cameron slept in Asher's bed. Never mind.

Jasper (after his warmie) reminds me that I promised to make popcorn for his lunch box today. They had a movie day at the ELC yesterday and he missed out on the popcorn! He said by the time the bowl finally got round to him, his grandpa Pop came to pick him up.

At least Pip is still asleep. (Yes!)

Make popcorn. Burn the first batch. 

Make more popcorn. Kids fight over who gets to use the tallest chair watch it pop. Find a spot for it in already overfilled lunchbox.

0700

Pip is up. Cuddles. Kids play with him too.

Ash tries to ride her bike.

She can't really pedal yet.

Check weather. We've had some scorchers recently. Ahh. Going to be glorious!

Have included a Fahrenheit version:

0726 

Jasper checks out his lunchbox. He approves.
Pip feed.

0740
Put Pip in bouncer in front of the TV. He's happy there for now. Yes!

Make beds. 
Cam leaves for work.

0745
Get kids dressed.

As always, have to fight with Jasper to get him dressed. Help him more than he needs.
Realise I can only find one of his shoes.
Brush Ash's hair.

Jazzy checking lunchbox again.

0750
Am trying hard to get the hang of cleaning as I go at the moment. It does not come naturally to me, but with five people in a tiny house it does make life so much easier. It is sort of my New Years resolution. Everything In Its Place.

Clean up kitchen.
Unpack dishwasher.

0800

Jasper rarely eats breakfast before about 9 o'clock which is a bit tricky on school days, when I don't want to be one of Those Mothers who sends their kid to school without breakfast. 

I've gotten on to making him smoothies. Today's is pleasingly simple and pretty good for him:

About 2/3 cup milk

Banana

2 tablespoons ground almonds.

Yum! The almonds make it sweeter somehow, there's no need for sugar or honey, and there's some decent nutrition in there to start the schoolday. I feel pretty happy with this mothering moment.

Pip is still happy in bouncer. Amazing.

Notice Ash is not present and very quiet. Make mental note that she must be up to no good.

0805
Pip grizzling.

Ash appears with her lovely brushed hair back in a birds nest. She's been crawling around in my newly made bed. Oh well. Brush her hair again. Make bed again.

Still need to find Jasper's missing shoe.

Ring mum to see if it's at her place. No. Look in car. No. Bedroom. No.
Now Jasper is not present and quiet.

Find him crawling around under the covers of newly made bed. Uh. Make bed again.

0815
Pop arrives. That's my dad. He often takes Jasper to school, and usually Ash goes too for the ride. It's 20-30 minutes drive each way. So good to have this help.

Pass him Pip while I organise school bags etc.

Give up on lost shoe. Put him in sneakers. It's far too hot for this but it's the best I can manage this morning.

0830

Pop takes both kids to school.
Pip grizzling now even when being cuddled.
Wrap him up, dummy, cuddle, put him to bed while I wave goodbye to my big two.

0837
Kids gone to school
Pip asleep
Omg. 

I've got some time to myself!!

Shower
Hair
IronT-shirt 

Spill milk on freshly ironed shirt.

Consider blaming this on Pip.

0908

Poach eggs, make second coffee.

House gloriously quiet.
Consider sitting outside to eat and put music on.

0910

Still admiring egg-poaching skills.
Hear Pip squawking on the monitor. Heart sinks a little.
Finish eggs quickly, ignoring escalating cries on the monitor.

Pick up Pip, turn the tennis on, give him another feed. How can he need another?!

Anyhow, I do love this time of year!

Finish feed, sing Pip some songs and play with him. He's super ticklish! Can't remember other kids being like that.

Make him laugh so hard he spews in my ironed tshirt.

Put on fresh tshirt that I can't be bothered ironing.
Text my brother Troy, we make a plan to take kids to the pool.

0945
Make bed again.
Find Jasper's shoe in the drink holder compartment of the pusher.
Change Pip's nappy.

0950

Put Pip in bouncer in the kitchen next to me.

Does giant poop in fresh nappy. Change nappy again.

Make snacks for pool. Note not-going-brown apples.

1000

Get kids' gear organised for the pool.

1020
Arrive at Mum and Dad's place.

Troy is there with other kids. Dad took Ash straight there to hang out with cousins.
We plan to go to an indoor pool with slides and water playgrounds.

Decide to wait for mum to get home to join us. Another adult required!

1040

Pip to bed.

1045

I pick up one of Mum's trashy mags.
Kids play their cousins' video games.

1100

Ash asks for some 'adadacado'

I make her a toasted muffin with salmon and avocado.

Ash and Matilda are playing a game pushing each other onto the couch and pull each other up again.
Dishes.
Put away piles of toys and clothes. We have all spent a lot of time at my parents' place recently and there is just stuff everywhere. Oops.

1137 

Pip up.

Troy playing music and kids dancing in the living room.

1215 Mum home.
Make lunch. Yum.

1255
Head to pool.

Pippy screaming but crashes to sleep before we're down the street. Mum does not understand me taking pictures of her. She looks bemused.

Ash goes to sleep five minutes before we arrive at the pool. This will be her only sleep in a long day. But she is pretty cheery being woken up at the pool. And loves her new bathers. She has never really been to a pool like this before, we normally go to the beach. She loves it! Pip wakes when we arrive at the pool too. Take him in for a dip. Total water baby. Fun!

1500 leave pool to pick up Jasper. 
1530 collect Jasper. Pip is asleep again.
1600 stop to get the kids a snack. Despite having eaten the entire contents of his lunchbox, Jasper is still hungry. Amazing.

1630 

Back to mums at kids' insistence, way more fun than our place apparently. Pip awake. Feed him.
Kids playing more computer games. 

1730

Home. Kids tired. Emergency dinner required.

Knock up my current 10 minute wonder, which is tossing some chopped up broccoli in a pan of boiling water for a couple of minutes, throwing in some gnocchi. When the gnocchi is cooked, drain, add a tin of tuna in oil, add Parmesan. Done in 10 minutes. Tastes good. One pot. And includes giving broccoli to children which cancels out most bad mothering moments of the day.

1815 feed pip again
1835 pip asleep 

1845

Wine o'clock! More dishes.

Cameron is doing a low carb diet thing at the moment. Defrost and poach a chicken breast for him and me.
Get kids ready for bed.

1910

Kids in bed. Text from Cameron to say he's on the way home.

Jasper upset as he wants dad to read books, not me :(
I have to suffice as book reader.

We're reading the Faraway Tree to Jasper. Not enough pictures for Ash. She asks 8,000 questions.

1920

Pippy crying, he has lost his teddy. He looks so relieved when I give it back.

So. Sweet.

1930

Songs and lights out for kids, just as Cameron arrives home.
We sit outside and eat our dinner, enjoy some quiet time. For five minutes until we here two sets of knocking at the hallway door. Put kids back to bed.

1945
More knocking at hallway door...

2000
Finally asleep
It's so hot in the house!
Shower

2030

Unpack swimming and school stuff
Wash Jasper's lunch box
Rinse and hang out bathers
Wash dishes

2045

Make lunches for Cameron and I tomorrow. Both working tomorrow. Love a salad jar.
More dishes.

2100

One last push for the day: iron a shirt for tomorrow, pack my breast pump, start putting things in Jasper's lunchbox.


2115

Sit down! Long day. 

2130

Teeth

Bed.

Exhausted!

Still hot outside!

Or F: