Tuesday, July 27, 2010

Always blame the laundry

Geez, it's been almost an entire month since I last blogged. That's terrible! When people call me out on it, I tell them, "I think about doing it every day, but something always comes up and I never get around to it." I can tell they think it's a cop out. Usually beacuse they something to the effect of, "That's a cop out!" But it's true! My days seem to be passing at warp speed. I don't expect you to take my word for it, though, so I am going to give you a rundown of what a typical day is like around here for me. I know better than to hope for any sympathy (and really, I'm not exactly worthy of any) but at least you'll know that I'm not just neglecting the blog to, you know, paint my nails or something.

7:00 Wake up to feed and change Aaron.

7:30 Put Aaron down to get Ethan breakfast (Abby's still asleep).

7:35 Sit down at computer.

7:36 Aaron starts fussing; pick him up.

7:45 Put Aaron down to get Abby breakfast .

7:50 Pick Aaron up again and get him to sleep.

8:15 Lay Aaron down; load dishwasher.

8:30 Sit down at computer.

8:31 Separate Ethan and Abby, who are wrestling in the living room floor for control of the remote.

8:35 Remember the laundry in the washer and dryer that I never finished the day before. Re-run both machines.

8:45 Get ready to take a shower.

8:47 Aaron starts crying; abandon shower.

9:00 Put Aaron in swing. Fold laundry from dryer.

9:05 Interrupt folding to get Ethan the first of the 12 snacks he will request.

9:15 Clean up milk that Ethan has spilled on the carpet.

9:20 Play a game of Uno with Abby.

9:30 Play a game of Candy Land with Ethan and Abby; referee argument over whether Abby cheated to get the Princess Frostine ice cream card.

9:45 Remember that there are no clean bottles; rush to clean them before Aaron wakes up.

10:00 Feed and change Aaron.

10:30 Prepare to lay Aaron down; abandon plan when Abby's friend from down the street rings the doorbell, sending the dog into a barking frenzy and scaring Aaron half to death.

10:50 Lay Aaron down; sit down at the computer.

10:52 Tell Abby and her friend that they can have a snack when they ask.

10:53 Listen to Ethan explain why Mario could beat Bowser at bowling.

10:55 Remember that I never switched the laundry in the washer to the dryer. Do so.

11:00 Sit down at the computer.

11:01 Tell Abby and her friend that they cannot play with makeup as they are requesting, becuase the last time they did they used 3 of our bath towels to get it off. Ponder how children with 2 million toys each can justify claiming boredom.

11:02 Let Ethan lead me to his room "without peeking" to show me the block tower he has built.

11:05 Sit down at the computer.

11:07 Surrender the computer to Ethan after he hangs on my arm whining about wanting to play games on Nick Jr.'s website.

11:30 Make sandwiches for lunch.

11:40 Spend 10 minutes getting Ethan, Abby and Abby's friend to all agree on a movie to watch while they eat lunch.

11:50 Sit down to eat lunch.

11:52 Aaron starts crying; pick him up and finish lunch with one hand.

12:15 Lay Aaron down; clean up from lunch; remind Abby that her friend has a house that can be played in, too.

12:30 Take world's fastest shower; put on the only clothes that aren't dirty or still in the dryer.

1:00 Tuck Ethan in for nap; threaten his life if he gets up.

1:10 Feed and change Aaron.

1:30 Jump out of my skin when Ethan materializes beside me claiming to have finished his nap. March him back to bed.

1:50 Lay Aaron down; sit at the computer.

1:55 Abby and her friend come back from the other house and--surprise surprise--ask for a snack.

2:00 Remember that there is laundry to be folded; start the dryer again to get the wrinkles out.

2:05 Pour myself a glass of Diet Dr. Pepper. It's not the first of the day, and it will likely not be the last.

2:06 Answer the knock at the door while kicking the dog to keep her from barking. Tell Abby's friend her brother is here to fetch her.

2:10 Play 4 games of Skipbo with Abby to keep her from dying of boredom, poor thing.

2:45 Abby's friend is back. Skipbo is abandoned.

2;46 Remember to return 2 phone calls from the morning--my friends and family are fortunately used to me calling them "right back" about 4 hours after they call.

3:05 Ethan wakes up and requests a snack 47 times in 30 seconds.

3:15 Watch the dance routine that Abby and her friend have created.

3:30 Sit down at the computer.

3:34 Tackle Ethan to keep him from climbing the entertainment center.

3:40 Hear my cell phone ring. Spend 10 minutes hunting for it.

3:50 Feed and change Aaron.

4:30 Dang-the laundry! Start the dryer. Again.

4:40 Closely supervise the kids playing with Aaron to ensure his survival.

5:00 Sit down at the computer.

5:05 Realize I should be figuring out something for dinner.

5:06 Figure out McDonald's.

5:07 Tell Ethan that I enjoy listening to him play Mary Had a LIttle Lamb on the piano, but it loses a bit of its magic after the 23rd time.

5:10 Sit down on the couch to play with Aaron myself.

5:30 Matt comes home. He sees me lounging with a smiling baby, Ethan watching Phineas and Ferb on tv, and Abby channeling Hannah Montana with her pal. He knows better than to be fooled by the tranquility.

Evenings are a wild mix of soccer practice, church, dinner, 7 more snacks, more feeding and changing Aaron, reading books and tucking kids in. Then it's time to collapse myself and prepare to do it all over again.

Hopefully you can see how this is an environment that is not always condusive to blogging. For example, I have been writing this blog post 2 minutes at a time for the last 7 hours. Soon, though, the older two return to school and Aaron's schedule will be more predictable. I figure by September, I'll be settled into the school year groove and be able to blog all the time.

Let's be honest, though. That laundry will probably still be in the dryer.

5 comments:

Juli said...

You just reminded me... I have laundry in the dryer... and I don't have an infant. Here's to September! (If you listen carefully, I think we can almost hear the school busses starting up!) -J

Patty said...

Reading that stressed me out! How do you get anything done? Glad you're surviving, even if you're hanging by a thread. Are you counting the days yet? We have 23 days...Jake's counting, not me. :)

Sarah said...

The re-running of the dryer is quite the hot button in our house. No pun intended. If I had my way, I'd just empty my entire closet into the dryer and live out of it.

P.S. The LEAST you coulda done was post a few new baby pictures! You DO know that's all we really want, right?

Cameron Magee said...

Well I miss you but understand. Do what you've gotta do and we'll still be here, anytime. :)

Melanie said...

I so could have written just about the same thing! I am tired ALL the time; I never get anything finished because something always comes up to interrupt whatever it is i'm doing at the time. And I have one less kid than you do! Though if we do have a third, I am SO waiting until William is potty trained first...oy vay that takes a lot out of you!