Book Events & Blog Events, Challenges

A Day in the Life 2016

A Day in the Life is a blogger event, hosted by Trish at Love, Laughter, and a touch of Insanity, where bloggers keep track of what they do for a day, and then share it with others.

Hi everyone!  I’m excited to be participating in this blogger event again this year!  I had so much fun participating last year (you can see my post here) and I’m so happy Trish is hosting this event again.


A few notes about my Day in the Life:

  • I’m very long-winded. I overshare. This happens in my day-to-day life so it’s natural that it would also occur in a post all about my day.
  • I have two sons: one is 6 and in 1st grade and the other just recently turned 1. I don’t really like to use their names on the blog so I usually call them Kiddo 1 and Kiddo 2. In this post, I shortened that to K1 and K2.
  • Please excuse any changes in tense and bad grammar. I am usually a member of the grammar police but with this long of a post it’s hard to go through and fix it all. Maybe one day I’ll edit it, but for now, I’ve just copied and pasted the notes I made on my phone throughout the day.
  • This day was a bit different than usual because the spring book fair at K1’s school was going on, and I’m one of the co-organizers, and I work several shifts during each fair. So instead of being home and helping K1 with homework and spending some time with him, I was working at the book fair after school.
 
Okay, so here is my day! The day in question was this past Monday, March 21, 2016.
 

3am K2 wakes up. Get up, make milk bottle, go in his room, take him out of crib, give him bottle and change his diaper. Hubs comes in and takes over and I go to bathroom and then get back in bed. K2 usually goes back to sleep fairly easily after these night wakings but this is one of the days he doesn’t. Hubs and I try different methods of getting him back to sleep for about an hour. Hubs and I discuss how we both might be getting sick. I started feeling a little bad on Sunday and now he’s not feeling well. I hope this is not the case because I have THINGS to do today.

4ish K2 finally goes back to sleep after having more milk and being read a story. Hubs and I go back to sleep, too.

6ish K2 wakes up again. The hubs gets up with him because he usually gets up at this time. I go back to sleep.

6:30 the hubs puts K2 back in crib so he can shower and I can still sleep but k2 isn’t having it. He cries, then is quiet, then cries, then is quiet for about 30 minutes so that I can’t go back to sleep but yet he’s not really crying enough for me to go get him. I’m hoping he’ll go back to sleep.

7 No such luck. K2 is really crying now so I go get him. K1 is awake and going from the bathroom back to his room. I take k2 into my bed with me and then hubs comes out after his shower and lays with us. After a few minutes, K2 signs “eat” so no more time in bed. Hubs washes bottles and I put K2 in high chair and give him some chopped up bananas and Cheerios. Hubs goes downstairs to work (he works from home) and I mess on phone while K2 is eating.

7:15 realize I’m supposed to be doing A Day in the Life this morning, start making notes

7:30 K2 is done with food, so I wash off his hands and face and put him in the living room to play. He makes mad dash for something and I realize he’s going for the UNOPENED gate at the top of the stairs. I get there quick enough and close it before a disaster happens, and double check that the other 2 gates are closed.

7:35am K1 comes out of his room and into the living room

7:40am spend several minutes trying to get cat hair out of K2’s mouth

7:47 text hubs about times K2 was up so I have it correct for these notes, remind him that I’m doing A Day in the Life today, he sends a sweet text back (photo). I continue to write down notes on phone

7:57 Play with k2 a bit. He gives me several hugs and then k1 wants a hug and k2 doesn’t give him one. So k1 kisses him on the cheek and then k2 hugs him! :) k1 says that k2 “is so adorable.” K2 then scratches me with his long fingernails (thanks for that)

8:10 I get text from one of the other co-organizers of the book fair at my son’s school, asking if we’ll be okay without her for the after school shift today. I say no worries. Realize it’s 8:10 and K1 needs breakfast.

8:11 k2 intercepts me on my way to kitchen and wants to be held. I hold him for a minute and then put him in high chair and give him a few Cheerios, which he throws on the floor as I make breakfast for k1

8:17 done making breakfast for k1, take k2 out of high chair and put him back in living room, he throws a fit while I make lunch for k1. Talk to k1 while I’m making his lunch and while he eats breakfast.

8:23 finish making lunch for k1, make bottle of milk for k2, who is whining and obvs needs milk and to take his morning nap.

8:25 give milk to K2, tell k1 to get dressed and ready. Hubs comes upstairs and we discuss watching The Walking Dead today during lunch because we didn’t watch it last night and because I have pool league tonight so we probably won’t be able to watch it tonight and I don’t want to wait until tomorrow (I’m a tad obsessed)

8:35 k2 is done with bottle, take him to his room, change his diaper, burn a few calories getting his pajama pants back on him, and put him down for a nap.

8:40 come out of k2’s room, k1 is all dressed with backpack and shoes on, sitting on couch, playing on iPad, waiting to go to bus stop. (Photo) I grab baby monitor from bedroom, grab my breakfast, sit down at the kitchen table and eat, respond to more texts, and write Day in the Life notes for what happened during the past 30 minutes.

8:46 hubs takes k1 to bus stop. K2 is still making slight noises in crib but he should go to sleep soon

8:54 finish my breakfast and take my medicine. The hubs comes in and tells me about some older kids being mean to k1 at the bus stop and I get angry. I know I can’t protect him from everything but I wish I had been there so I could have said something to those girls. I calm down and try to decide whether I want to read while k2 is asleep or take a shower.

9:00 talk with hubs while he has his breakfast. He says he can watch k2 later while I take a shower so that means I can read now!

9:10 instead of reading, get on Twitter and tweet about A Day in the Life and #readathon. Make reminder on my phone to add #readathon button to sidebar on the blog.

9:20 debate starting a load of laundry but realize I can do that when k2 is awake. Start reading.

9:33 k2 wakes up again. Yay. I read 10 pages. Get him out of his crib and play with him for a bit

9:40 start a load of laundry and then write down some Day in the Life notes. K2 wants my attention and I take some photos of him (photo below left: guess I didn’t clean his face off very well after breakfast). I show him photos and he throws a fit when we are done looking at them. He has the fit-throwing thing down already.

9:43 wash off his face again and burn some calories changing him into a onesie and pants. Set him down in living room and he is not happy about it (photo above right) I play with him some more.

10 K2 is happy playing by himself (for the time being) so I mess around on my phone a bit and then try to read some more

10:18 remove feather from k2’s fingers. Note to parents of young children or parents to be: don’t buy furniture with feathers in it. They will always find their way to your kids’ mouths.

10:25 change extremely dirty diaper

10:30 remove something from k2’s mouth

10:34 put him back down in crib because he’s being especially fussy today. He could be teething but since he didn’t get his usual amount of sleep last night, he could just be really tired. Fingers crossed he naps some more.

10:37 I take baby monitor and book back in my room and settle in for (hopefully) some more reading time. Siri joins me on bed (photo)



10:45 he is not napping and is now throwing a fit. I take him out of the crib because I can tell he’s just getting started and I play with him for a little while.

11:00 hubs comes upstairs for a minute and we talk. I get on FB and see that an old friend has passed. I wasn’t very close with him but my ex was so I comment with my condolences. Sad. He was a funny, nice guy.

11:10 remove something else from k2’s mouth. Guess I should vacuum.

11:14 made the mistake of going back on FB and seeing idiots being idiots. Tweeted about it.

11:15 realize laundry is done, put another load in.

11:25 text with my best friend.

11:30 Remember that Bloggiesta starts today and wonder if I can do anything on my list while k2 is awake. Probably not.

11:35 k2 signs “eat” so I put him in high chair and tear up some string cheese for him, then give him some other food

11:55 Hubs comes upstairs and makes his lunch.

12pm I start to make my food too, but k2 is done and needs a bottle. I make him one and after he’s done the hubs takes him in his room and changes his diaper and puts him down for a nap. I finish making my food and sit down to eat and the hubs and I watch The Walking Dead

1pm We decide to watch Talking Dead

1:17 k2 wakes up and I realize I need to take a shower

1:25 shower time

2 showered, dressed, hair done, come into living room and hubs is changing k2’s diaper in his room.

2:03 Hubs goes back to work and I play with k2.

2:08 k2 does sign for “eat” (it’s the only sign he’s done so far, but I’ve also taught him “all done” and “more” and “milk”) so I put him in his high chair and give him a snack. I check my email and see that my hold from the library is in! Yay!

2:12 do a load of laundry and realize that there is something I can do for Bloggiesta while k2 is awake: write a thank you to my OTSP Secret Sister!

2:32 crossed off goal of sending thank you note to secret sis on my Bloggiesta post

2:35 gave k2 milk and had a snack myself.

2:40 clean off his mouth and hands and help him finish his milk

2:48 put him down in living room and he chases one of our cats (Siri) and she barely makes it out of there. She hasn’t learned to be like her sister (our other cat, Lily) and run whenever k2 comes near. Instead she just stands there and lets him grab her and then meows and hisses when he does grab her. It’s very frustrating.

2:55 put on shoes

3:01 text hubs that I need to go

3:03 leave the house and drop my thank you note into the mailbox on the way to the school.

3:08 get to the school and work at the book fair

3:59 put Day in the Life notes in phone, only one customer at book fair

4:13 no customers. Got online and made reservations at the restaurant/bar where we’ll have the next meeting for my new book club

4:17 texted captain of my pool team to let her know that I’ll be a bit late for pool tonight. Text with the hubs a bit

4:24 start reading

4:30 look around book fair for things for myself and k2 (k1 picked out things for himself on the first day of the book fair)

5:00 volunteers show up for the evening shift so I refresh their memories on how to work the register and then leave

5:08 Get home, go to the bathroom. K2 is napping and wakes up while I’m in the bathroom. Hubs is helping k1 with homework

5:25 I play with k1 in his room for a bit after he’s done with homework.

5:44 hubs and I finish Talking Dead

6:11 k1 comes back into the living room and plays with k2

6:50 leave the house and go back to the school to close the book fair down

7:25 leave school and head to pool

7:40 get to pool league, have dinner while I’m there

9:24 leave pool league. I didn’t end up playing (only 3 people on our team of 5 play each week) and I’m super tired so I left a little early

9:34 got home, spend some time talking with hubs. I have to wait a while until I can go to bed because I have to take my medicine at a certain time so…

10:09 we start watching Last Week Tonight. Hubs falls asleep while we’re watching

10:38 hubs goes to bed and I take my medicine, mess around on my phone

11:01 realize what time it is and wonder why the heck I’m still up. Go to bathroom, get ready for bed

11:10 finally crawl into bed

1:10am k1 wakes up and comes in to my room. He’s scared so I take him back to his room and tuck him in

2:45am k2 wakes up. I get him some milk and change his diaper and the hubs comes and takes over and I go back to sleep. Luckily, this is one of the nights where k2 goes back to sleep, but he gets up again at 5:45. Yay.

I realized when the day was over that I forgot plenty of times when I interacted with our cats. I petted both of them a few times and got onto one of them (Siri) several times for getting on the counters, chewing on things she shouldn’t chew on, etc. I also wish I had taken a few more photos, but oh well.


I had a fun time taking notes and I’m going to be interested to compare last year’s day to this one! Thanks again to Trish for hosting this event! I can’t wait to do it again next year!

Did you participate in this blogger event?  Let me know, or leave a link to your own Day in the Life in the comments!  I’m looking forward to seeing what other bloggers’ days look like!

6 Comments

  1. Michelle (my books. my life.)

    March 23, 2016 at 6:38 pm

    Who knew removing things from babies' mouths would be such a large part of parenting? My 8 month old was literally eating dirt yesterday.

  2. Kay

    March 23, 2016 at 8:20 pm

    Oh my goodness. What a day! I used to help with my daughter's book fair at school and it was a lot of fun and a lot of work. And the text your husband send was so very sweet! He's a keeper for sure!

  3. Literary Feline

    March 23, 2016 at 10:53 pm

    How could I forget about the throwing of the food?! LOL My daughter used to do that. :-) Your post brings back lots of memories.

    I forgot to talk more about my cats too, now that I think about it. Oh well, I did spend time with them too. :-)

    Thank you for sharing!

  4. Laurel-Rain Snow

    March 25, 2016 at 3:26 pm

    Oh, it's probably a good thing we didn't have computers or other tech devices when my kids were little…I groan to think of what those days would look like online…LOL. But there were lots of familiar chords struck as I read through your day with two small children.

    My oldest two were 22 months apart, and those were the times…

    Thanks for sharing, and here's my (boring!) A DAY IN THE LIFE POST

  5. SuziQoregon

    March 26, 2016 at 2:18 am

    That's a long and busy day!! I'm exhausted just reading it.

    Awww – that text from your husband was so sweet!

  6. Trish

    March 26, 2016 at 2:56 pm

    Ugh–I forgot about the cheerios all over the floor. There is nothing more annoying to me than stepping on cheerios in the kitchen! (ok, I can think of plenty more annoying things). Took me a while to figure out what pool league was. How fun! I don't think I know anyone in a pool league. And how disappointing about the book fair. Do parents not buy their kiddos books anymore?!

    Thanks for sharing your busy busy day Andrea!

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