All In A Day's Work {Then}

(Warning: this is a long post.) Several years ago I was looking at a friend's scrapbook albums, and I saw something I thought was neat. She had an album that showed an overview of their day... a picture taken every 15 minutes throughout the day. She did it every year. I thought that was a neat idea. I don't know that I will do it every year, but I wanted to document our day at home before school started (with the idea that I will do it again in the near future to show a day at home now that school has started). However, every 15 minutes seemed like a LOT to put on the blog, so instead I picked up the camera every 30 minutes. Below is our day... Friday, August 19.

My day actually began at 6:45 when Piper woke up, but I decided to nurse her before beginning our photo journey. Once she had eaten, she was wide awake... unlike her sister and brother.

By 7:30 Lila had woken up... mostly. Piper was letting me know she was ready to eat breakfast, and Wyatt was still asleep.

At 8, the girls were eating breakfast. Wyatt was still asleep, although you can see that he is moving (George is blurry).

8:30 found us finishing up breakfast. Wyatt likes to eat his cereal dry. Lila had finished her cereal and was enjoying some yogurt. Piper was also eating yogurt bites.

After breakfast, Wyatt and Lila were ready to play... Wyatt found some winter gear to try on and Lila drew a picture on her easel, among other things. I worked on sorting laundry. By nine Piper was ready to have her diaper changed and go down for a nap. She usually falls asleep pretty easily in the morning.

With Piper asleep, the kids worked on a quiet activity like coloring while I started some laundry.

After I got the laundry in, I hopped in the shower and got ready for the day. The kids watched a short video during that time. Good thing I was quick because by 10, Piper was awake!

10:30... more playing. At this point my camera battery died, so I had to hunt down my charger and plug it in. Then I fed Piper.

The day before this, I had taken some pictures of Piper at 8 months and the sheet I used for a backdrop was still in the living room. Lila and Wyatt decided it would be fun to play with the sheet. Piper decided to follow me around.

The kids used the sheet and some chairs to make a tent. Then they brought toys and books into their tent. I started working on making lunch while my little pumpkin explored the kitchen. She also had a spit-up and crawled through it, resulting in an outfit change.

Lunchtime!

After lunch, I gave Piper some toys (well, actually, I think Lila gave her the toys) to keep her happy in her highchair while I unloaded the dishwasher. Lila and Wyatt played together sending a car back and forth under the sofa.

More playing.

When Piper gets down, it isn't long before Lila is "helping" her play.

It was time to start picking up the mess they had made up till this point. Piper started showing signs of fatigue (and a readiness to eat again).

Two o'clock brings Room Time. What is Room Time? It used to be nap time, but that ended (way too soon for me!). So instead, the kids have room time which is time to play quietly in their room(s). Depending on how the day has gone, how tired they are acting, and how well they are getting along, I will let them spend Room Time together or apart. Piper also spent some time in her room... 2nd nap. Unfortunately the afternoon nap is harder for her to settle down. After she fell asleep, I started in on the laundry again.

Piper was still asleep (I didn't want to risk waking her up by taking a picture). At this point, Lila and Wyatt were doing a pretty good job staying in the room.

But that doesn't usually last for long. They come out for all kinds of reasons... need a drink, need help getting dress-up clothes on, need help breaking apart Legos... or in this case, Wyatt said "I hurt myself". Nothing a little Mommy kiss can't fix.

Of course, sometimes I have go in to solve problems. Like when you try sitting on the edge of your sister's bed (yep, that little piece of wood he has his hand on), and you lose your balance and fall backwards so you find yourself hanging on for dear life. Well, turns out that is kind of scary. And you need Mom to rescue you. And comfort you. Not take pictures of you.

Little sister took a longer nap, but she is once again awake. (She usually takes one longer nap each day, and one shorter nap.) She was content playing in the living room until I went into Lila's room to help/motivate clean up. It wasn't long before she decided to join us.

Next up is a snack and video. (And time to feed Piper again.)

Five o'clock. Time to feed the dogs. Maggie (pictured) takes two pills every day - thyroid medication and an antacid. She is our dog who upsets easily.

Time to start making dinner. This particular day I was trying a new recipe, a French Toast casserole.

Dinner is in the oven. 

Piper was starting to get a little fussy, so she had a pre-dinner snack while I set the table. Ben usually gets home from work around 6:15.

Time to eat!

(I wish I could say the casserole was a new favorite, but it was just ok.)

At the end of dinner, we had some dessert (a cookie-brownie that WAS a hit!). Piper had some after dinner Puffs.

After dinner entertainment... video game for the older kids, looking out the window for Piper. It's unusual that Lila and Wyatt aren't outside playing. Usually that is what they do after dinner (because it is finally cool enough to go outside!).

Eight o'clock... time to get ready for bed!

This was the last picture I took because little Miss Piper was ready for bed as well. Usually Ben puts Wyatt and Lila to bed by reading 1-3 stories (depending on the time), saying prayers and starting their bedtime music. Then running interference for the many reasons they think of to come out of their rooms (water, too hot, too cold, forgot to give Mom a hug, need a bed buddy, etc.) Meanwhile, I put Piper to bed by nursing her and putting her in her crib. Yes, I get the easier job (although Ben would have a hard time nursing Piper!). Some nights I help put either Lila or Wyatt to bed... but usually they want Daddy.

And there you have it! A couple hours of child-free time for ourselves, and then off to bed so we can tackle the next day.