“Free” time

A friend with one toddler and one on the way asked me how I have the time to write this blog.  And the answer is … I don’t, really.  When I’m writing this, I could and probably should be doing something else, like peeing in peace, showering or folding the four loads of laundry that beckon me RIGHT NOW.  Often, though, I want some me-time when either one or both kids is napping.  And the truth is, I have about five half-written blog posts waiting to be completed, but I get interrupted by life.  (This is one of them and I’m set on finishing it before Eliza wakes!)

My life is one of perpetually incomplete projects and half-eaten meals.  I’m not really sure how I make it work, except to detail how a “typical” day might go.  Mind you, there is really no day like another, and errands, events, and naps shortened by the dog barking change everything.  But you’ll get the idea.  I would LOVE to know how your typical day goes and how you spend your time – free or other!

6:30ish – 9 a.m. (when Zach takes his first nap) – non-stop taking care of the dog and kids, getting them up, dressed (well, not the dog), nursed and fed, and playing.  Eliza generally watches a Dora episode while Zach crawls around the kitchen floor while I cook for them. Somewhere in there I try to drink some sips of coffee and eat something.

9 – 10:30ish – eat if I haven’t, check e-mail, unload the dishwasher and/or load it.  If Greg is working from home, sometimes I take Eliza on a quick errand while Zach is sleeping.

11 – 1 p.m. – nurse Zach, play, possibly run an errand, make lunch for both of them, clean it up, and get them down for naps.

1 – 3ish – naps for both of them, when I eat my own lunch if I didn’t manage to do so earlier, fold laundry or do a little cleaning, go through mail, and waste more time on my computer so I feel connected to the world.  Sometimes I work on dinner during afternoon nap-time as well, even if it’s just to chop up some vegetables so I have one less thing to do while they’re both awake.  And sometimes I nap as well, especially lately because Eliza and Zach have both been up in the middle of the night for a few straight weeks.  (This is probably how the laundry is so behind.)

3 – 5:30ish – This is where it gets hairy because I’m generally tired at this point.  I might have another cup of coffee.  I nurse Zach again.  I do whatever I have to do to survive with them and somehow cook.  If Greg is home, at 5 I hand them over to him to watch while I get dinner on the table.  If he’s not home, it’s probably frozen pizza night or I scrounge something up for Eliza and order in for Greg and me after the kids are asleep.

5:30-7 – Eat dinner, bathe them, read stories, pray, and put them to bed.

7:30-10ish – Do more housework, collapse on the couch, think about writing something for this blog, and collapse into bed – but not before “ghost” feeding Zach one last time.

It is definitely a different experience than staying home with just Eliza.  Going from having one kid to having two is not like doubling your work.  It’s more like tripling or quadrupling it.  However, I don’t want to scare my pregnant friend who – in a couple of months – will have “two under two” to deal with.  So if you’re reading this Enna, the answer for you is I have plenty of time to write this blog.  Really.  😉