Day in the Life 06 May 2013

Though I'm so very late to be in the roundup for this, I thought I'd do it anyway, for my own records and my neglected blog!

Monday starts early for me at 2 am!  I'm having trouble sleeping due (I'm guessing) to something I ate.  By 3 am I decide to get up and make some tea, and try to sleep on the couch.

5:45 am - I let the dog out to pee.

6:10 am - I decide to get up to make the coffee and feed the dog.

Waiting for breakfast at the buttcrack of dawn.

6:15 am - Emma must have heard me walking around.  She's awake.  I get her up for a diaper change and breakfast.  She has cheerios into which she dumps the last of the milk, and yogurt with blueberries.  I have one-week-old steel cut oats with raisins and almonds, and coffee with soymilk.

6:45 am - Emma's dad is up, and apparently unaware of any sleeping drama the night before (which is good! as he needs the sleep).  E and her dad play while we all get ready for our days.  The husband is out the door around 7:30, heading for the gym.

Its a gym day for E and myself, too.  While I pack our gym bags and try to clean up breakfast, we accomplish a little playtime.

The Snowy Day

 Next, I let Emma give the dog a treat in her crate before we go.

Since I'd like to do some grocery shopping (see fore-mentioned total lack of milk), I'm aiming to get to the gym as soon as the childcare opens, at 8:30.  We're there around 8:40 - not too bad!  My workout is not at all terrible, despite my lack of sleep.  I think I need to design a tougher workout.

Next the grocery store!  Today we have some clouds and slight chance of rain.  Very exciting!

Trader Joe's for the novelty items.

 Emma must be hungry or sleepy or both, so she's a real crabby patty at the grocery store (refuses to sit in the cart, pulling stuff off the shelf).

"I'm thirsty."

We get home, lug the groceries in, put the dog out, put the groceries away.  Then, its time for lunch.  I'm having a "wrap" with whole wheat lavash and leftover tofu (and chipotle cheddar dressing).  I give Emma tofu and lavash initially.  She eats the bread and refuses the tofu.  She also gets some applesauce and milk.

I clean some stuff up, and by 12:30 its obviously time for a nap.  Emma is carrying her bear around, and a blanket, and saying he's sleepy.   We read two books and rock awhile, and she goes to sleep relatively easily by 12:45.  Holding my hand!  Its so sweet when she wants to do this, especially since she hasn't liked it for the past six months.

Ahh, naptime!  First, I have to start dinner, since I forgot to put it in the crockpot before we left for the gym. We're having some hearty winter fare: super-old spareribs and braised cabbage.

When that's done, I pull out the sewing machine to work on some tops for Emma and myself.

Tasting the beer for the rib braise.

I'm basically testing out the patterns for these today, although E's will be wearable when I'm done if the pattern works out.  The pattern for my shirt fits pretty well.

Though I'm worried about the maternity look - not something I'm wishing to cultivate!  I'll have to ask husband when he gets home.

 

As I'm finishing up, E wakes up.   I swear she heard me open the cookie jar in her sleep!  It was a good long nap for her, however I do wish I could have gotten to some career-development type stuff.  Maybe tomorrow?

Next I feed Emma a snack - apple slices and peanut butter on ak-mak crackers.  And of course a cookie, since she caught me.  While I'm doing that, I also attempt to make radish chips (in order to use up our old radishes) while simultaneously finishing Emma's shirt.  

Doing four things at a time is too many!  Let's stick to two?  Bizarrely, Emma likes her new shirt!  Its based on a tutorial I found recently.  It fits, so I hope I find time to make another.

Somehow it's gotten to be almost 4 o'clock.  We still need to walk the dog.  So sunscreen and hats, dog poo-bags, and away we go.

The weather has (of course) cleared up.  After an itty-bitty bit of rain the air is now very clean and there are pretty fluffy clouds.  Our walk is short: 30 or 40 minutes, to avoid busy streets, dirt paths, and a nasty pitbull.

After our walk, E usually is VERY intent on playing with her stroller.  Since I don't have anything I need to do right away,  I sit and wait with her.  The weather is so lovely and NOT HOT.

The afternoon's activities have left the house looking a disaster.  I clean up, while E busies herself with emptying the book shelf.

Dad comes home around 5:45 and we watch the local news (not kid-appropriate!  very disturbing today, ugh) and play legos.

We have family dinner which Emma of course rejects as a matter of habit.  Then, she decides to do some swiffering of the floors and dog.

Next, she actually eats some beef, and it is bathtime and time to get ready for bed.  I start the dishes and cleaning the kitchen (AGAIN!).

Emma is in bed around 8.  I call a bunch of relatives to arrange a baby shower for my cousin and work on this blog post and holy smokes its 10!  Time to get ready for bed.

Keeping it simple.  It was a pretty routine day.

Wednesday 1-16-2013

Here is the winter installment of Navigating the Mothership's quarterly day in the life.  I thought we were going to have a very easy and drama-free day, but, it didn't turn out that way...

My day starts around seven when I wake up - I slept in!  Probably because I've been fighting some cold-like stuff.  Before I can get my coffee (husband turned on the coffee maker when he fed the dog at six or something), Baby E wakes up.  She's smiling!  We go through our usual morning routine.  First we check the view out her window:

Little bit of snow left over!

Then, we say hi to Dad and the dog, who are still in bed.  Next, its time for a diaper change and then breakfast.  Scones (last night's dinner - I was super tired due to my proto-cold) and milk.

I love carbs!

 I grab some coffee and some scones, then get bundled up to walk the dog.  We're out the door around 7:35.

Its 10F out there!!

I love my morning walks. We go about 3 miles in about 45 minutes, and it can be contemplative and refreshing (if the dog isn't being too bad!).  But the yoga pants and thin hat are not warm enough today.  My toes are frozen.  Even the dog's feet hurt.  Here is the view north towards the Jemez mountains:

Winter Smoggy.

When I get back, its time to get ready for the day.  Baby goes into the pack 'n' play, and husband and I take showers. He goes to work, and I get myself and the baby dressed.  I even dry my hair!  Normally I'm really bad about drying my hair.  The results:

Could be worse!

My main goal is not to look too scary.  We're heading out the door for playgroup (usually we go to the gym on Wednesdays, but I'm trying to take E to more social activities) at about 9:20.  Playgroup goes really well.  Our host was so cheerful and generous, and I met a lot of nice moms and kids! 

Emma had a lot of fun, then cried a bunch and fell asleep in the car on the way home.  Uh oh.  I'm able to get her back to sleep with a little rocking, and I go to start working on my five-year plan.

My goal here is really to try to figure out what I want to do so I can do some "professional development" over the next year or two and maybe start working when E goes to preschool.  Professional development in my free time - ha!

At 12:30, little one wakes up.  Was that 30 minutes, 40 TOTAL?  I was hoping for a two hour nap, ugh.  Plus I am so tired, I just want to rest a little.  I think, maybe she's hungry, and she'll go back to sleep after lunch and a little playtime.

E eats some cheerio's, kiwi, applesauce and milk.  She's been requesting the cheerio's a lot since she can see them from her highchair.  I make myself some pasta with spaghetti sauce - a little too al dente.  Then I let her play while I tidy the kitchen, and swap out the laundry.  She makes me read her a bunch of books, which is okay with me since I'm so tired.

Looking at pictures of Dad's Grand Canyon rafting trip.

Then I change E's diaper, and try again for a nap around 2.  Surely she's feeling tired by now.  I rock her a little and when she's antsy, I put her in her crib, hoping to get her to settle.  I go to read my blogs while I await the results.

By 2:07 she's crying again.  Failure.  I try more rocking - nope.  At 2:30, we decide to have a snack - E has yogurt with mango butter and banana and I make ginger tea.

At 2:55, I try again to get her to nap.  This time, I wind a ball of yarn for a knitting project while I see if it sticks.  At 3:07, I hear a screech.

I go back and try again for another fifteen minutes.  She seems to be telling me she's hungry, so I let her finish her banana.  By this time I'm very frustrated, but I'm determined to win this battle!  Plus, I want to get pizza to cheer husband up at dinner time (he's been a little stressed about work), and I want to be able to take E with me and get it before he comes home.  I'm afraid that if she doesn't nap, she'll be falling asleep by the time it is time to go.  I think, maybe I'm not spending enough time on it?  So I sit with her for another half hour.  NO NAP.  Now its 4, and I decide to get some stuff done around the house.

Somebody is not too happy to be in the cage, be she settles in to play after a while.  I do some vacuuming, swap laundry, put the couch cushion covers in the wash, start the dishes.  E gets fussy, so I decide to get her dinner ready.  Boxed macaroni and cheese and green beans.

While I'm feeding her dinner, I start ordering our pizza for take out.  For some reason, I decide to use the online ordering system rather than call, only to discover that my credit card was declined!!!  Very suspicious, and sad.  So, I have to call the bank.  Of course, someone has stolen my credit card number and bought a bunch of crazy stuff.  I'm really bummed. 

E empties my wallet while I'm on the phone.

Then I scoop her up, and we go get Daddy's pizza.  I pay cash.  And, thank goodness they have a drive-up window.  I don't know how I'd carry a kid and a box of pizza at the same time - crazy!

Dad arrives shortly after we get home.  Its getting late, so he gives the little one her bath and gets her into her PJ's.  She gets a hug and kiss from Mom, then its bedtime.

Mom and Dad enjoy their healthy dinner

Which makes my tummy hurt a little later.  Then we sit on the couch and watch three hours of educational programming on PBS - Nature (koalas), Nova (ICE AGE DEATH TRAP!), and little bit of fire cheetah.  I'm feeling sick-y, so even though I've had a bad day, I only get a few sips of beer.

I give the dog an awkward snuggle.

Then I'm in bed and falling asleep on my book by 10.

Happy Halloween 2012

There were pumpkins.

A viking!

Fun at the park.

Halloween is probably my favorite holiday.  I feel like it retains a lot of the spirit of the old earth-based religions.  We didn't do much more than check out the happenings at the local park and hand out candy at home, but it was a very special day for me because I got to see Emma be so enchanted by the things humans do.  She is not an exuberant person, but she was clearly delighted to see the children dressed up, the pumpkins, and the treats.

What did you do for Halloween?

We made it to the top!

For the first time since we started hiking with the baby, we made it to the top of something!  I don't know why it has become so important to me - maybe because I can see that soon hiking with a toddler will mean scaling back my aspirations (temporarily) yet again.

From the parking lot - the endpoint (for us - the trail keeps going past the ridge) is that pointy rock just left of center.

In any case, it was a great hike.  We chose the Piedra Lisa trail, primarily due to its proximity to our house.  This trail is labeled "moderate" but I feel like it is pretty steep to very steep in places.  My husband found it very challenging with the baby backpack, and I was quite terrified for him on a number of occasions on the way down.

At the top.

Snacks!

The scrub oaks were lovely in the afternoon light.

 

View towards Albuquerque.

A good hike is definitely a cure for the Sunday grumpies.  Also, does it seem like it gets sunnier every year?  These photos seem very over-exposed.

On the "return" to work

Just a few things I've tried and (mostly) loved.  The solution to my career problems probably isn't more education.

I've been thinking a lot lately about working.  I put the word "return" in quotation marks because I never really had an established career, so really I would be starting over again.  As my baby turns one, I feel like it is time to think about the five-year plan for our family.  Certainly, I'd like to put her in preschool by the time she's three or so.  But at the moment, it seems unlikely that I could find a job that would cover the cost of the childcare I'd need in order to work that job.  Since my husband has a good job, working for no pay seems like a waste of my time.  On the other hand, I also feel that Emma could benefit from receiving care from someone who is not her mom, and that it could give me some much-needed adult time and time to think so that I could perform my mothering duties with more focus.

Right now, however, balance is so important to me, and so elusive.  After having hurt my back (and its still not doing great all the time), strength training is at the top of my priority list and it needs to be due to my body type and the demands that are being placed on that tiny body.   Having high-quality family time is also important to me.  And, I like having a little time set aside for my hobbies.  After all that, there isn't a lot of time for a career at this time, yet I worry about spending too much time without working outside the home.  As daunting as the job search would be right now, how would it be two to four years from now?  As it is, I don't know where to start.  I am grateful, in some ways, that I have the luxury of considering this - that I can have a happy and fulfilling life while doing my at-home mom thing.  It is also frustrating.

Day in the Life 18 Oct 2012

Thursday, October 18th, 2012

Inspired by Navigating the Mothership.

Unlike the weeks previous, I manage to wake up before the baby a little after 6 am.  This gives me time to drink my tea and look at the internets.  This is what my glamorous workstation looks like at about 6:45.

Since I know we'll be busy in the evening, I'm glad that I get a chance to walk the dog in the morning!  When I get back, I'm greeted with smiles for me and the dog.  I'm very surprised to learn that Emma has only just woken up - and it is 8 am.  (I later learn that this is probably due to an impending icky cold.)  Emma has oatmeal with blueberries for breakfast while her dad gets ready for work. This is thrilling because I had no idea she liked oatmeal.  Such an easy and healthy breaksfast.

We say good-bye to dad with a little pouting.  We play a bit and I get Emma ready for her day.  Next, its my turn and I set her up with some books while I try to take a shower.  Her new "Ocean Friends" recently purchased by her grandma is a current favorite and should buy me some time!

 We make a trip to the grocery store for some more needed items for Emma's upcoming birthday party on Saturday.  In the next photo, we see that I become ravenous while unpacking the groceries and make a mini cheese sandwich for myself.  Also, note the impulse bakery cookie purchase.

 Emma becomes very tired, and falls asleep for her nap by 11.  I really didn't know when to expect that nap, since she slept so late that morning.  It is a little interesting to me since I'm supposed to meet up with my husband and one of his work friends for lunch, but I want her to get her sleep!  We agree to meet up at 12:30, which means I need to wake Emma up at around 12, which gives me the opportunity to photograph her sleeping since I don't mind waking her up with the camera's exuberant jingle.

 After the usual diaper changes and whatnot, I get the kid loaded up in the car.  She looks pretty happy here!  No shoes, since she only recently started wearing them and she LOVES to take them off.

 It was a pretty fall day outside - not sure this photo captures that beyond my dirty windshield.

 We meet up with daddy at Cafe Trang at 12:30.  The food was very good, and the conversation as well.  The waitress is super in love with Emma's cuteness, and she is especially charming today.  She enjoys some of my stir-fried noodles and some of her dad's egg roll.

 Umm... this is the part where my memory fails a bit between about 2 and 5 pm.  I'm pretty sure Emma took another nap and I finished cleaning the bathrooms.  Also, there was playtime and an attempt at a snack for the girl.

Next, the husband's whole family comes over to visit, since his sister arrives from California to visit for Emma's birthday.  We all go out for dinner at El Patio, which is pretty tasty (I have the carne adovada), and again Emma is just dripping in charm for the waitress.  I think she got a girl crush.

We take husband's sister home with us (she's staying for a couple days) and put Emma to bed (as usual, family dinner takes a while and we get home relatively late).  Then we chat with our house guest for a while and go to bed early since everyone's pretty tired.  OK, not that early - Husband thinks it was around 10.

In any case, I'm sure I fell asleep on my kindle.  I'm currently reading The System of the World by Neal Stephenson which is incredibly sleep-inducing but a good read for where I'm at in life right now.  Its the third thousand-page book in his "Baroque Cycle".

Thanks for reading.  This is my first attempt at a day-in-the-life post, and it turned out pretty brief!  Next time, I'd like to remember to take more pictures (especially outside the house), and possibly take notes so I can provide more details.