Insanity

No, this post is not an advertisement for the Insanity workout.
And it is not meant to demean anyone who actually suffers from being insane.
It is a (humorous) look at several hours of a day in my frantic life.

Please note I wrote this four months ago and am just getting around to posting it...
__________________________________

My brother likes to remind me the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.

He obviously doesn't have children, right?
___________________________________

It's 4:50 p.m. I'm at my desk at work, wrapping up end of day items. Making sure all the open documents on my computer's desktop are saved in case there is a power blip overnight. I pack up my empty lunch dishes, put my books and phone in my totebag, and verify my sunglasses and keys are right on top.

I grab my bag of pumped milk from the department breakroom, which thankfully is right next door to my office. Literally, I share a door with the breakroom.
I fill up my water bottle and A's Peppa Pig sippy cup with cold water and ice, just like she likes.
I sit back down at my desk to respond to a last minute email that popped up.

Next thing I know, a coworker is saying "Good night Anna, see you in the morning". I look down at the computer clock, realizing it's 5:03 already, and rush to get out the door. This wouldn't be such a big deal except it takes me 30 minutes to get to the sitter's house from my work when traffic isn't bad and I have to pick up the kids by 5:30. And I never know when I'll get stuck behind that one green minivan driver who insists on going 40 mph in a 55 mph zone where there's no opportunity to pass.

In the car, I typically listen to NPR (I know, I turned 30 and now I listen to talk radio. I feel old). This is almost the only way I get news anymore.  When I tire of hearing about the newest disaster our new president has created, I turn on country music and sing along. Sometimes I talk to myself about how to handle an issue at work, trying to talk out the best way to handle it.

At the sitter's house, I almost always make 2 trips to the car. The first is to put the diaper bag in. The second is for A to walk out to the car and climb into her carseat while I walk around to the other side to click in C's carseat. On the ride home, A tells me about her day, usually telling me what she ate for lunch (probably falsely, because she can't really eat Ramen every day, can she?) If she's lucky, I've remembered to pack an applesauce pouch and cheez-its for her to eat on the drive home. If not, I prepare for a hangry meltdown by the time we pass Grandma E's house. (I know A, Momma gets hangry, too!)

Getting in the house is also a task. I can't leave either kid in the car with the doors closed because HOLY COW the heat index is over 100 this week. I usually get A unbuckled from her seat and tell her to walk to the front porch for me. (Thank goodness we live in the country and our house is 1/8 mile off the highway. How do city folk with no garage get their kids inside without accidents?) I get C's carseat out and both of them inside. Then I bring in the diaper bag and my totebag. If I've made a Target run at lunch, there are usually several more trips into the house.

Then the unpacking and repacking begins. Mind you, by this point it's only 5:45 pm. I've been away from work for less than an hour.

Depending on what I wore today, I usually change into junk shorts and a tshirt now.

We cloth diaper both girls. I unpack the dirty diapers and re-pack clean diapers. 2-3 times a week I machine wash the diapers, which adds to the evening frenzy. I pack new clothes for both girls because both had blow-outs today. Cloth diapers have reduced those from when we were using disposables, but HOLY COW three days of no pooping for C after she started peas and green beans, need I say more?!

I unpack C's dirty bottles and toss them in hot, soapy water in the sink. I breastfeed C still as she's not even 6 months yet. I breastfed A until 13 months. I unpack my totebag, washing my lunch dishes and last night's dinner's pots and pans once the bottles are clean. Then I prep the bottles for the next day and place them and a package of baby food in C's lunchbox in the fridge.

I make sure whatever we're having for dinner is thawed enough to cook tonight. If not, it goes in the sink in warm water.

By this point, it's usually 6:30. I sit down to nurse C, who is now, also, hangry. The hubs is just walking out the door at work right now. Sometimes he messages and asks if I want him to bring home Mexican for dinner. Sometimes I say yes. It's the one meal I know A will eat. She loves refried beans, chips and queso dip.

Oh wait, I forgot to get a snack for A. So I stand up, making C angry, and get A a pouch or string cheese and more water. My brain is fried. Between my job as a code official and two crying children, sometimes I just want to curl in a ball and be left alone.

I try feeding C some babyfood. She's been really good at trying new things. In the last several weeks, she's tried sweet potatoes, squash, carrots, peas, green beans, peaches, apples, pears. A  is vying for my attention to read to her or play kickball or some other activity I wish I had more time for.

It's a little after 7 and the Hubs comes in the door. A still gets excited when she sees his car pull up and exclaims "Daddy's home!!". I love it. At this point, I hand off C to him for a couple minutes so I can pee in peace. Then I put C on the floor to play and start dinner while the Hubs showers.

By the time we eat dinner and get the girls ready for bed it's after 8:30 usually. Then I shower, and start working on homework. I can barely keep my eyes open past 9:30, especially when reading textbook assignments.

This is most every weekday night. I know eventually things will slow down a bit. At some point I won't need to prep bottle bags and diaper bags. But we'll trade those tasks for homework and practicing musical instruments and sports. At some point I hope to trade some of the tasks for things I want to do, like gardening and feeding chickens and goats.

Tweet

2016 reading list

The art of crash landing

Tweet

Christmas Eve

Do you hear that?

That is the sound of baby A and the hubs both taking a nap.

That is the sound of silence before the craziness that is Christmas at my great Aunt's house begins.

That is the sound of me enjoying an entire bottle of beer with no interruptions.

This year I did less for Christmas. Partly because it was decided last year we are only doing presents for the kids. Partly because I forgot to bake cookies and make sweets. (Or partly because the Hubs ate all the sweets I made last weekend? There was some fudge and cookies leftover from the stash I sent to my brother in law and sister in law, and it's all gone. And well, the weather has been so nasty fudge wouldn't have set up. I made fudge once during a storm and ended up using it as cake icing.)

This year the Hubs got me a Fitbit Charge HR for Christmas. It came in the mail a couple weeks ago and I've worn it for the last week already. I am shocked/saddened by how little walking I do at work if I have meetings for a majority of the day. I am excited by how this little piece of technology encourages me to get in at least 10,000 steps per day. And (slightly embarrassed?) that sometimes that means jogging in place for 5 minutes at the end of the day. But at least I get my steps in. At least I'm not sedentary.

This year is the first year we've set up a big tree. The Hubs scored it on sale after Christmas last year.  A fake tree that looks surprisingly real, with lights already attached. Just plug it in and add ornaments. I am excited for new personalized ornaments each year. I am excited to start new traditions with our little A.

Tweet

It's been awhile

So the old man in my previous post... his house is being repaired by a local charity. He moved in with a family member while the home is being repaired. When I last visited, the living conditions were worse then they had been in May, and we started moving forward with getting him out of the house completely. But now things are getting better and I'm not so scared of him living there anymore

Baby A is 14 months old now. She is trying to talk. When I pick her up from the sitter, she runs to the door screaming "mama mama", and when the Hubs gets home from work she runs to the door yelling "dada dada". She is starting to repeat what we say to her now. She has a puzzle that has a horse, a cow and a sheep on it. I'll say "What does the horse say?" And she'll say "nay-nay" over and over again. She also knows that cows say "moo moo" and dogs go "bow wow wow". She knows where her belly, ears, eyes and and nose are. And she likes to lift up my shirt and show me where my belly is, too.
She is not sleeping through the night yet, and still wakes up around 1 and 4. Usually at 1 I can rock her back to sleep, but at 4 she needs a bottle. At least she goes to sleep better now. We have a routine now: pajamas, bottle, rocking/singing "Twinkle Twinkle" and then she goes to bed half awake. Sometimes she will cry a little, but usually she snuggles up with her bear and falls asleep. That's how she takes a nap, too.
She eats quite a bit now, and I am trying to diversify her meals, but it seems so hard when produce is out of season! She loves canned peaches and mandarin oranges, and she'll eat almost half a can of mixed vegetables in a setting. She also loves turkey lunch meat and cheese. And bananas. Sometimes she'll eat almost an entire banana for breakfast. She's a fan of cheese-scrambled eggs and sausage patties. And Grandma Betty's mashed potatoes.

The Hubs is out deer hunting today. I hope we get a couple deer for the freezer this year. One of his coworkers got a deer this morning; it was his first deer and he didn't know how to gut it. So he called the Hubs, who left his treestand on opening day to help the guy out. Sometimes I think he's a better person than I could be. I honestly would have told the guy to find other help, that I was busy. The guy told the hubs "This is good karma. You helped me out so you have to get a deer now."

Tweet

To My Baby Kangaroo - February 2015

In February, your dad and I finally decided to eat at a restaurant with you. You weren't quite big enough to sit in a high chair unassisted, so we took turns holding you while we ate Mexican for lunch. 

Your grandpa and uncle like teasing you... and usually make you cry. 

You are starting to be more mobile. You now "wiggle-worm" your way across the floor. You can move backward and forward, but you don't really push off with your legs yet. You seem to use your arms more.  You love jumping in your jumper, and also jumping while being held in someone's lap. 

Tweet

Peppers started

Edited to add: 

I figured I need to write down what I started so I don't have to squint so hard at the picture!

6 each (actually 12 seeds of each) of: 

Turkish Orange eggplant (Baker Creek)

Whitney pepper (long bell pepper)

Boris Banana pepper

Mama Mia pepper

Fooled You Jalapeno (taste of jalapeno without the heat)

Purple Tomatillo

Poblano

Chinese Giant bell (grew these last year and liked them!)

Jalapeno (for when we actually do want heat)

As of the morning of February 13, only the tomatillos had sprouted...

Tweet

to my baby kangaroo - January 2015

I don't call you my baby kangaroo very often anymore.  Usually you are "baby girl" or "chubby monkey" or i refer to your chubby chipmunk cheeks. 

This month you became a lot more vocal and sing and talk to us. It is not decipherable though.  

You also learned how to roll over. The first time,  I was home alone with you and actually got your second roll on camera. That was about three weeks ago. Last weekend you learned how to roll the other direction (from front to back).

You like to roll around on the floor and play with your toys.  You also like to lay on your back and play with your toes,  or chew on them. 

Bath time is in your bumbo seat since you can't sit by yourself yet. You usually get 2-3 baths per week. And then you get lotioned-up, as you have dry skin patches.

You are still exclusively breastfed.  Although you are starting to show an interest in our food at dinner.  At your four month appointment a couple weeks ago,  the doctor gave us some guidelines for starting solid foods.  We are waiting on you to sit up unassisted before we start rice cereal. At that appointment,  you were a little over 15 pounds, and your height and weight were both between the 75th and 90th percentile.

You are also still in cloth diapers. Here was a photo with them all clean. 51 total. I have since then bought some covers to use over disposables. We are going on vacation next month and I don't  want to deal with washing cloth diapers then, but you have major poop-splosions in disposables, so I am hoping we can put a cover over the disposables and contain the mess.

At dinner you sit in your swing. We started strapping you in this week because you squirm so much you fall out of it. 

You constantly drool and chew on everything, including your toys, blankets and me and your dad. Sometimes you chew on my shoulder or neck and I look like I have a hickey. You don't take a pacifier unless you are very tired, which is fine by me because then we won't have a bad habit to break.

Tweet