This was a sun-filled and kiddo-focused day (plus wine!). My favorite kind of day. Here’s what it’s like to stay and work from home with two crazy kiddos:
6:45 AM – I wake up and sneak out of bed. Claire only got up once last night – wahoo! No one else is up yet so I turn on the laundry and brew coffee. I review blog comments, hit publish on a post I wrote the day before, and try to wade through my emails. I schedule some social media posts on the Healthy Tipping Point Facebook and the Operation Beautiful Facebook page. I also quickly organize the post for today’s selection of notes for Operation Beautiful. I can’t believe it’s been nearly 6 years and the mission is still going strong; I’ve received over 20,000 notes to date. Crazy, huh?
7:42 AM – Henry, who has been up since 7:20, is really awake so I go upstairs to get him. We talk a bit, and then I pump a bottle for Claire, who is waking up, too.
7:55 AM – I take the kiddos downstairs. I make Henry chocolate milk using my extra pumped milk; I give him some every day that I have extra, and I swear it has helped his immune system so much. He hasn’t had more than a single case of the sniffles since Claire was born! Claire has her bottle, too. We talk to the Husband for a bit. I drink more coffee and make everyone breakfast while the Husband plays with the kids.
9:12 AM – Claire goes down for a nap. While she naps, I rush around, getting dressed for the gym, packing my gym bag, and organizing snacks. Kristien hasn’t left for work yet, so I take James on a quick walk outside. I pump a bottle. Then I play cars with Henry until Claire wakes up at 10:15. We go directly to the car. Whew!
10:30 AM – I’ve dropped the kids off at gym childcare and start my workout. I do 2.0 miles with speedwork on the treadmill, 5 minutes on the stairclimber, and ab work. I do two rounds of these moves – I’ve realized that I do more strength work if I write down my plan first. I take it easy because tomorrow is ab day at bootcamp.
11:15 AM – I shower at the gym and eat a snack. My whole family is addicted to Emily’s sunflower butter balls!
12:00 PM – We drive to the playground. I run into another mom that I kind of know and our kids play together while we talk.
1:00 PM – Henry is getting hot and whiny. I’m really struggling to figure out his napping situation. He rarely naps now, but sometimes, he’ll get so tired and really need a nap. But then he can’t fall asleep at night and bedtime is a baaaaattle. Ugh. Advice? I load the kids into the car, give Henry another snack and some ice water, and cross my fingers that he rebounds because I have an errand to run.
1:45 PM – Crisis averted; we ran our errands and now we’re at home. I make Henry’s lunch (he had a lot of snacks earlier) and nurse Claire.
2:00 PM – Henry sits in front of the TV for quiet time. I make myself lunch.
2:30 PM – Claire and I do tummy time on the floor while Henry watches more TV. I let Claire roll around naked for a bit and then she poops all over the blanket! Whoooops. After I eat, I pump again. Claire goes back down for a nap around 3 PM.
3:30 PM – I turn off the TV and suggest we read books. Henry doesn’t want to read so we play with his trains and his Octonaut toys in his room instead.
4:30 PM – Claire wakes up and joins us.
5:15 PM – Henry takes a bath. I pump a bottle and then I read a book to Claire while I supervise the splashing.
6:00 PM – Time to make dinner! Henry eats in the dining room while I finish cooking a meal for the Husband and I to eat later. Claire takes a nap in her carrier. She is super fussy.
6:45 PM – I herd Henry upstairs. He On the way up the stairs, I pick up tiny sea creatures with my feet (can’t bend over because Claire is still in the carrier…).
7:00 PM – Henry is in bed. Claire and I pick up the house. I pump again. I start rocking her to sleep at 7:20 – she inhales a HUGE bottle but won’t go down. I rock and rock and rock while texting with friends. Finally, Claire is asleep at 8. I put her down and sneak away…
8:00 PM – Dinner for me! I wanted to wait for Kristien, but he’s still not home from work and I’m starving. I had roasted potatoes, steamed broccoli, tomatoes, onions, and tofu with BBQ sauce (oh, just an FYI, I obviously did not photograph or even list everything I ate today). I eat this meal while typing this post!
8:20 PM – Done with the computer. Time for some wine and TV with the Hubbers. <3
10:00 PM – I pump Claire’s last bottle (she’ll eat this one around 3 AM), dream feed her, move her into my room, check on Henry one last time, and try to go to sleep. I lay awake until 11 making To Do lists in my brain (whyyyyyyyyyyyyyy?!?).
We are about to transition our 2 year old to a bed in order to give the crib to new baby. I noticed you said Henry had been up for awhile before you went to get him. How does that work with a bed? One thing that makes me nervous about the bed transition is our son getting up and walking around really early!