a day in the life! [thursday june 27, 2019]

for my own memory-keeping’s sake, i have to say, i prefer a bit of a highlight reel with a touch of humor. 🙂 you know, like a photo album? every single life has highs and lows, greats and horribles. that’s a given. and honestly, i’m most inspired by people who live big and make it seem easy simply by having a good attitude. [example: people who have cats but don’t complain about the cat litter! hate to say it, but… that is not me. the cat litter has me at a loss. haha.]

but… on the flip side! one of the least appealing types of accounts or blogs to me is one of a mother with a seemingly perfect house and invisible children. i mean, i couldn’t paint that picture of my life if i tried, because on good days or not so good day, my babies are my life, and i truly love every bit of it. it’s not glamorous, but these are the days! and there will surely come a time when they want to escape home to do silly things with who knows which friends, but fortunately that day is not today.

[ugh, i totally remember my 15 year old self having a teenage fit over feeling “trapped” at home because i couldn’t drive. geez. did it occur to me at all just hooow ridiculous that was? nope. but no matter what growing pains i felt at whatever age, my parents always handled me with love. thank. goodness!]

anyway! all that to say, i kind of aim for a middle ground when it comes to life documentation. but this… this is a real one! not even prettied up, just a crudely written summary of a regular ole day. but regular days are blessings. regular days are what it all comes down to. i love reading day in the life posts, personally, and one day i know i’ll forget even the dullest little details of life with three littles and a handful of fluffies on a hot summer day!

so! here it is… a day in the life! thursday, june 27th, 2019…

…7am: riiise and shine! i usually get up around 6:30, but the big kids got in our bed around 4 & 4:30 so i luckily fell back to sleep for a smidge after steven went to work around 5:30. uncle hank [aka. my in-laws’ dog] is here at camp stella for a few nights 😉 minnie isn’t a fan of the two larger dog scenario and poops right on the floor. siiigh! everyone awaits their food and diaper changes, but first…. COFFEE!

the tougher parts of the day for me are when everyone needs something at once. rocco gets up saying “hold you” as my coffee pours and the baby is strapped in his seat still with a full diapey and one arm pulled out of his shirt somehow! and i need to go over stella’s commands with her [i use her meals to do that!] but… everyone survives!

…8am: all the kiddos are on the floor playing with baby luca! i have coffee while monitoring kids and pups, each in separate rooms. stella is still kept in the sunroom most of the time, so she and hank play in there and out back before it gets hot. stella is so happy to have a buddy!

also, we’ve had to be super intentional to not use the tv to enjoy a slow wake up period this summer [newborn survival habits die hard!], but it’s been worth it! the kiddos have gotten so good at waking up and just playing instead of asking for a show. thank goodness! my goal this summer haas been for them to learn how to be bored and use it constructively. i kind of feel like kids in general just don’t spend enough time with their own boredom these days! but i digress…

…9am: i’m nursing the baby while popping out a quick blog post, after sending soooomebunny to his room for a small hitting incident, aaaaand then catching the cat peeing. on. a. towel. that’s. on. the. rug. i. just. shampooed. are. you. joking! at this point i am used to this on occasion from minnie the old lady pup and stella the giant baby pup [which is why i just shampooed the rug again!], but ?! this is quite shocking because our cats are always good about that sort of thing! aaand so… laundry, dishwasher, sheet changes, litter box, and kiddo breakfast await. i should double check that the dogs are alive.

…10am: thank goodness for my three little babes and how well they love each other so much of the time! the more the crazier, for sure, but definitely merrier, as they’ve kept the baby safe and entertained while i worked on chores. i’ve started laundry, stripped maddalena’s bed, put sheets on rocco’s, cleaned out the litter, and crated stella for some down time…

aaand i’m crossing my fingers for a shower! luca is sometimes okay in his bouncer while i rinse off, but lately he has been in more of a don’t-put-me-down phase so perhaps he will nap soon? omg. forgot i have to give him his medicine! we’re starting our second week of amoxicillin for his tick bite. womp womp. but unfortunately, we know too much about tick borne illnesses in our home… so, if it does the trick, i’m happy.

also, noticed husband had some packages arrive that are lacking amazon prime logos?! well well well, one is from nordstrom. i bring them indoors.

…11am: gloryyyy! miracles happen! babiest bunny stayed asleep and i showered. meanwhile, the bigger bunnies didn’t even come traipsing through my room/bathroom once to tell on each other or ask for something that i am clearly not going to procure at the moment! wow!

it’s totes smoothie time. also, maddalena is wearing her uniform skirt. haha! we blend, we pour. rocco does the buttons, as dictated by protocol. the kids have music playing on the ipad/tv, i brush my hair for 77 years because small animals created homes in it, then unload the dishwasher while i run the blender on its cleaning mode thing that doesn’t actually remove residual peanut butter.

switch the laundry, start plopping more in. the big kids are leaving disasters in their wake but they’re playing so happily!! rocco is a muuuuch happier person with his big sis home. time to let puppies play while the baby is still asleep.

…12pm: i let the bigger dogs out to play and then feed stella her lunch… i do just a couple commands with her before pouring her a bowl of food [still, she has to wait to be allowed to eat it!] hank still doesn’t want the breakfast i poured for him this morning. he only wants the other dogs’ food but they are each on specific diet plans, so… not this time, buddy! i eat a larabar and it’s not my first… but nursing hunger is reeeaaal.

i take out the bathroom trash downstairs. peek at the baby who is wiggling but still snoozing so far… and consider that my awake chillens may want something more lunchy after their smoothies? they are having a small quarrel over the ipad to tv music at this point, so i switch it to glenn miller on the little bluetooth speaker in the kitchen. rocco would like a pbj with no crusts, and as usual, requires that he monitor production sitting on the counter. maddalena requests a quesadilla. i eat a pbj, too. then i hear the baby!

i snuggle him in my dim bedroom for a little. we nurse and it gives me so much peace. i love nursing. and i love quiet moments with him. it’s a kind of peace you just don’t have anymore when there’s not a baby in the house, so i am mindful to soak it up. i often use this time to say a prayer of thanks, because thanksgivings are another thing i practice being mindful of these days! little habits go a long way, you know?

…1pm: i change luca’s diaper, then rocco slings a lightsaber at maddalena a little too hard for my liking, ha, so he’s sent to his room until he can apologize. and what’s that i spy outside? an amazon prime truck? these deliveries are getting a little weird now that they have their own vehicles and such, are they not? anyway, i’m pretty sure this delivery is for stella!! also, pretty sure it’s a bottle of pet anxiety homeopathy out in the hot mailbox. super. rocco apologizes to his sissy, and the kiddos play on the floor for a little while i take 4,000 lbs of dirty laundry downstairs and start the next load before putting my face on. i’ll probably save mascara for the car, as one does!

i decide to clean up the kids’ kitchen myself because i’m a sucker and i know how i like it! then we sit for a sec on the couch and practice luca giving mommy kisses… i die of too much joy because he is a treasure, that baby!!! anyway, we have an hour until we must leave for an afternoon play date. time to get real because i am going to forget approximately everything. M requests braids… i braid the hair. change the kiddos. pack the snacks. [M & R chose to bring 7 applesauce pouches 🤣]. fill the water bottles. let the bigger dogs out. let little minnie out separately. put the baby down. fill the berkey [our filtered water]. pick the baby up. gather pool stuff. get everyone in the car!

…2pm: okay, so, we need to leave at 2:30 but we leave at 2:45. to be expected! i do my mascara, naturally, and we drive and we drive and we drive because waze took me the most confusing route possible. i remain confused, but i tell my babes just about every day that i love driving around with them. they are the best car buddies and having a car full of my best humans is literally my dream. we finally arrive at our sweet school friend’s neighborhood pool for a playdate!! M is sooo excited to see her friends.

…3pm-5pm: we get there around 3:30, honestly, which is 30 minutes later than planned… the kiddos hop in and i prep my patient little baby and get in with him… we splash around for abouuuut 10 or 15 minutes before the dark clouds roll in and it thunders. ha!!! oh well. everyone out of the pool! we manage to hop back in our cars and hunker down at our friends’ house for a bit! aaand it STORMS. like… hail and all. but we change into dry clothes, all the babes play fabulously, and the moms chat a while.

there’s fiiiinally a little clearing in the bad weather… as in… it’s not hailing and it’s dinner time and we have a decent trek home, so… we say our goodbyes and thanks for having us-es! but not without rocco getting his head bonked on the storm door as we prepare to dash to our car in the rain. back up. you’re okay, you’re okay, just a bonk! okay… GO.

…6pm-7pm: we get home, spread our wet pool items where they won’t get all josie grossie, let the pup out… feed her! aaaand weeee are starving! i’ve had three cheese tortellini on the brain for a good few hours, i won’t lie! steven gets home from an after-work thing. i heat up the tortellini, wearing luca in the carrier, and serve the babes as quickly as i can… then i sit down with some for myself, practically inhaling it. yummmmm!

8pm-9pm: time to roll the bunners on to their bedrooms!! crate the pup. meds for luca. jammies for all. teeth! books! steven starts reading the book that is our latest favorite [strega nona!], and maddalena is suddenly livid, as she doesn’t like the ridiculous voice he’s doing! hahaha. she is so tired she actually cries, but it’s humorous to us, honestly, because she is literally never like that and it’s pretty extreme… naturally, i take a photo while steven continues his terrible voice and we are entertained. but he didn’t make it far because it’s not the shortest book… i took over, and eventually they pass out after books and prayers while i nurse the baby and he dozes, too. as much as i also like to pass out while putting them to bed, i don’t! we have a window man coming in the morning, and apparently we must discuss windows.

10pm-11pm: windows have been discussed! steven usually shuts minnie in our bathroom as he gets into bed [she sleeps there anyway, but we have to shut her in now so she doesn’t have accidents!], and i let stella [and hank] out one last time around 10. then i don’t know when my head hit the pillow, but eventually it did! i probably dropped my iphone on the floor in the process, because that’s my usual routine. i snuggle my little baby, because co-sleeping is the best… and ahhhh… a little hint of rest before another day begins!

aaand there it is! a regular little day. life is funny. hallelujah, aaamen!