January 22, 2016
Day of the week: Friday, a work day for us, "school day" for the kids
Cece: Age 3 years, 1 month
Sully: Age 1 year, 2 months
Me: 33
James: 32
Summit: 8
Confession. I did not do as great of a job documenting exact times or taking good pictures this time. It's good enough to get the idea, however and honestly, represents the truth of juggling two toddlers and a whole lotta responsibility. Ain't nobody got time for pictures!
6:02 AM - my alarm goes off. Everyone slept. Small miracle. Knowing I have a busy morning and have to get the kids to school early today, I get up, pick out my clothes, make Sully's morning bottle, start coffee pot. Take 10 minutes to do a few sit-ups, push-ups and planking. Blood is flowing.
6:20 AM - I get dressed, brush teeth. Usually I'm the last to get dressed but everyone is still sleeping and I'm on a timeline this morning. I throw on a vest to cover sweater. It's always dangerous to get dressed before the kids do, or more like, before they have breakfast and their boogers wiped because those are usually the things that end up on my sleeve or shoulder.
6:30 AM - Check on kids. Still sleeping. I give it another 10 minutes of peace and quiet. Tops. Start making breakfast.
6:34 AM - Check that. Four minutes, exactly. Suddenly everyone is up. Not sure who woke up who but Cece's upstairs now and then I hear Sully crying shortly after. We go down to get him. Cece shows me her clock is green (meaning she's allowed to come upstairs). She's very proud of herself for sleeping through the night (ditto, kiddo).
6:40 AM - Cece requests Curious George. I put it on while I sit with Sully as he drinks his milk. Cece announces that she's the "mom" and Sully is "dad." Her Doggie is the baby and I am the baby sister. She has to go grocery shopping. And then it's time for breakfast.
6:50 AM - Kids eat while I pack lunches. James is dressed and joins us briefly. Sully poops while at the breakfast table (see facial expression below). This is a regular occurrence. Must be his safe place.
7:15 AM - James and I get the kids dressed, feed Summit, pack bags, wrangle kids. These 10 minutes or so are always the most stressful of the whole day. At the last minute I throw in my gym bag (running clothes) and grocery bags. Just in case. Wishful thinking.
7:30 AM - Kids are packed in the car. Small miracle I'm leaving on time. Had to bribe Cece with a lollipop but whatever.
7:38 AM - Arrive at daycare/preschool. Drop Sully off first. Talk with his teachers about how every kid in his class is sick. We all agree he's doomed. Drop Cece off next. She's off and playing before I can put her bag in her cubby.
7:48 AM - Back in car. Leave for Hartford. Have to teach a class at the DEEP (Department of Energy and Environmental Protection). Hope the traffic isn't bad.
8:29 AM - Made it. Traffic wasn't awful. Time to teach.
9 AM - 12 PM - Spreading the good word about mapmaking. I love my job. P.S. - that is not me in the first picture (I'm taking the picture).
12:15 - 1 PM - In a meeting with a DEEP colleague. Talking about finishing one of our collaborative projects (updating CT's National Hydrography Dataset - ie where's the water?).
1 PM - Now I'm hungry. Time to find lunch. Panara sounds good since I can do work there.
1:20 PM - Panara is packed! Long line and no seats. Still, I wait. Finally, an open table.
2:45 PM - Not enough time to go back to the office so I set up shop and settle in. Work stuff and people watching.
3 PM - Squeezed in a quick trip to the grocery store. It's going to snow tomorrow. We need snacks to keep everyone sane. Apparently everyone else has the same idea. Grocery store is pretty busy.
3:50 PM - Arrive at daycare/preschool a tiny bit earlier than usual. My watch tells me I haven't moved enough today (oh, really?). Decide to take a lap around the campus (it's a high school) before going in. Don't quite hit my goal, will need to finish it off somehow later in the day.
4:10 PM - Go in to get kids. Sully first. Quickly realize he's gone downhill today. Bad cold and now it looks like pink eye too. Freaking daycare. Sad boy.
4:20 PM - Pick up Cece from her classroom. Girlfriend is happy so at least there's that. Struggle to get both kids stuff and keep Sully from touching anyone or anything (remember, pink eye). But then he finds the log in/out computer (sorry!). Finally get them out the door.
4:39 PM - We are home. Bring in groceries. The kid's cousin Zachary (lives next door) calls to see if Cece can come play. Sure! Off she goes. Try to keep Sully happy with popcorn. Not sure it works but at least Summit is happy.
5 PM - Attempt to put groceries away and pick up the house a little. Our friends are coming for a spontaneous dinner tonight. Sully is a hot mess. Won't let me put him down. Super fun. But then, I discover my new running shoes were delivered today. So, at least there's that.
5:30 PM - James gets home with more groceries. He gets started on dinner. Friends Kris and Gina arrive. Never did get the house picked up much. Oh well. Good thing they love us. I don't have any pictures here because I have a Sully barnacle hanging off me.
6:30 PM - Cece's back. Time for dinner. And some wine. Way over due on the wine.
7:15 PM - Despite the smile (so Sully) this guy just done. Poor kid is definitely sick. Puffy eyes. Time for PJs, milk and bed.
8 - 8:45 PM - I come back upstairs and everyone is watching Curious George. We play horsey and get Cece into her PJ's. Read books. It's past her bedtime. Good thing it's a Friday.
9 PM - Cece has drawn out her bedtime like a true professional. Books, snack, water, potty, stories, more stories, and finally...sleep!
9:15 PM - Or...maybe not. Back to bed, Cece.
9:21 PM - And, finally.
9:30 PM - Ahh, some adult time. More wine? Yes, please. Then I realize I need 5 more minutes of exercise. Gina is a personal trainer so she's got a plan. It involves these furniture sliders for our feet. Interesting and effective. Check that off the list. Then, more wine. And also, everyone gets a tarot card reading.
11:50 PM - How did it get so late? And also, Sully's up crying. Say a quick goodbye to Kris and Gina and arm myself with a bottle of milk and some Tylenol and I'm off to take care of my sick baby.
12:38 PM - Everyone is sleeping, including James. Oh wait, take a closer look. Sully's not sleeping. But he's not crying, so whatever. Hope the Tylenol kicks in soon. Take one last look at the forecast for tomorrow (today). It's supposed to snow quite a bit. Realize I've been up for almost 20 hours. And the kids will be up in another 5. Better get some sleep.
1:43 AM - Turns out 5 hours was wishful thinking. Cece's up. Crying. I go down. Tell me one more story she says. Good grief!
2:10 PM - And back to bed.
5:56 AM - Sully's up! Down I go. Hoping this is not his morning wake up. I tend to him and then put him back in his crib. Go back to bed, buddy. Fingers crossed that didn't wake up Cece.
6 AMish - I think it did. Cece's coming into our room. And now our bed. She insists her clock is green. I try to recall what time we set it to change to green. Really don't think it's this early but I'm not about to argue with her. I let her come snuggle.
7:31 AM - Sully's up again. Not sure he ever went back to sleep really. I snap a quick picture knowing it's my last in bed for the morning and then go check on him. He's definitely not interested in going back to bed (I try). Everyone is still sleeping upstairs so we hang out in his room for awhile until they are up.
I look at my phone. It tracks my sleep but then, I'm not sure I really want to know what the numbers are. I check and it's bad. Actually, it doesn't account for all the times my sleep was interrupted over night so the 4 hr 45 m it shows is generous.
