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. 😉
I can't even pee in peace 