Walkin' fool.

DSC_0137, a photo by MelissaandSusan on Flickr.

It took her until she was 15 months, but she is a full time walker now. And girlfriend thinks she is GROWN now and won't let you do a confounded thing for her. She wants to walk, climb, stand on anything and everything. She also said "no!" to me twice this morning, something big brother has yet to do. There's a reason I call her Sass.

Day in the life.

I know that one day I will wonder how we spent our days, so here's a typical day in the life. Feel free to skip - this will be boring for anyone but me! Every day is a little different depending on if it's a work day for me or school day for Theo. I picked Monday, because we are home.

6:00 - 6:30: Kids wake up

I get Lucy first, get her to put her paci in the crib, change her diaper and get her a smoothie.

Get Theo up, take off diaper, take him to the potty, put on his undies and get him a smoothie.

Make us all breakfast and eat with the kids (sometimes).

8:00 - 10:00: Morning chores, get ready for the day.

Usually the kids watch PBS Kids while I empty the dishwasher and clean up after breakfast.

Make beds, open curtains, pick out clothes for the kids, throw in some laundry, quick pick up. Then I get each of them dressed, teeth and hair brushed, etc. I get myself ready and figure out our day. *This is hard. I can't shower with them alone and I hate showering at night.

10:00 - 12:00: Errands.

This is usually when we are out of the house. Target, post office, grocery store, park, etc. Sometimes we go walk around the mall. We all get stir crazy, so getting out is important! If we don't go out, we play at home, do some learning games, crafts, playdoh, etc.

12:00: Lunch.

I fix the kids their lunch and clean up the toys and chaos from the morning while they eat.

12:30 - 2:30 or 3: Nap!

Mama's favorite time of day. Kids go down for a nap and I eat lunch, clean up lunch dishes and then play on the computer, watch TV or prep dinner. Sometimes I shower here if I just threw on yoga pants earlier in the day. Rarely do I nap because I always feel groggy and gross if I take a nap.

3:00: Kids up.

I try not to let them sleep past 3, but don't wake them up unless it's after 3:30. Usually we don't go out in the afternoon because by the time we did that and got anywhere, we'd be fighting rush hour to get home and 5:00 is the witching hour around here. Usually the kids play while I fold laundry, make dinner, etc. Sometimes we do run up to the park because it's really close.

5:00: Witching hour.

This is when everyone is melting. Kids are hungry, I'm trying to fix dinner, etc. Susan often has clients on Monday evenings, so she isn't always around to help out (but it's great when she is!). So, sometimes they get to pick a movie so that we can all survive and make it to dinner time.

5:30 or 6:00: Dinner

We try and eat together and we really do almost every night. Not on Tuesdays because I get home late, but every other night we do. After dinner the kids run around and play a bit while I frantically try and finish up dishes, get out PJs, fix Theo a water cup for bed, cut Lucy's meds, etc.

6:30: Bedtime routine.

Susan usually does Monday night baths if she is here. While she does that, I finish dishes and do all the bedtime prep. Once they are clean, I take Lucy and brush her teeth and put on her diaper and PJs. She doesn't nurse anymore and she's always ready to get in her crib. I turn on the sound machine and put her in with her loveys and pacis. She's out fast.

If I am here by myself, Theo plays in the tub while I get Lucy down (don't call CPS, I am like 5 feet away). Then I get him out, brush his teeth and hair, put on his bedtime diaper and PJs and we read a story in his bed. He gets one story and one song and one ticklefest. Then he gets tucked in with his loveys and blanket. Sometimes he knocks out fast and other times, he talks to himself for awhile. They are both in bed at 7:00.

7:00: Mama time!! We usually finish up dishes, clean up the living room, set the dishwasher to run, take out the trash, soak the diapers (if it's wash night) and kind of "reset" the house for tomorrow. If we are doing a crock pot meal the next day, sometimes I will prep it at night. Then we just watch TV, play at the computer, veg out, eat ice cream, etc. I try to be in bed at 10pm.

That's it! Of course, I left out all the times I take Theo to the potty, change Lucy's diaper, let the dog in and out, find missing toys that must be located right.this.minute, cleaning bathrooms, vacuuming, etc. :) We are rarely bored!

2011, in review.

I always love looking back to see how our years go by! This one was harder because to be honest, our sweet little girl made the first half of the year a total blur. She became more manageable somewhere around June, but to that point it was pure survival mode.

January:

Lucy rolls over, Theo sings ABCs, we join Marbles Kid Museum, we get a dusting of snow.

February:

I joined Weight Watchers (didn't last), we had a Valentine's date at home, Gran and Grandad visit Raleigh, we visit Gramma and Papa in Richmond, Theo gets promoted from his high chair to a booster seat at the table, Lucy starts "talking."

March:

Susan's grandad dies, we see lots of family for the funeral (many of whom meet Lucy for the first time), Theo gets a tricycle (he still can't ride it!), we get a new rug, Gramma visits and we play at Marbles, Lucy's first trip to the zoo.

April:

Lucy and I begin a swimming class, we narrowly miss being hit by a tornado and are without power for days (so we packed it in and went to Richmond), our friend Sarah saves gallons of my breast milk from certain demise, we go back to Richmond for Easter, Lucy begins eating solids.

May:

Lucy gets her ears pierced, we go strawberry picking, Susan turns 30-something, Lucy and I fly to Atlanta and back in a day to meet friends and see Aunt Sammy's new house, Lucy sits up, Theo finishes his first year of preschool with flying colors, Gramma visits and we take her to an outdoor concert, Theo begins potty training.

June:

Theo is potty trained, hallelujah!, Lucy pulls to stand, swimming playdate, we visit our friend Kelsi and meet chickens, we visit Richmond and have fun in the fountains, we visit friends in Charlottesville and Melissa weeps all the way home because she wants to move back, Lucy begins to turn a corner towards being a bit easier.

July:

4th of July event in Rolesville (which Theo still talks about), Theo takes a tumbling class, we go on vacation to the Great Wolf Lodge during which Theo gets a terrible burn on his finger.

August:

Theo plays in the rain, Gran and Grandad come to visit, Lucy gets promoted to a big girl carseat, we go to a birthday party at Hillridge Farms, Lucy begins crawling, Gramma visits.

September:

We visit Richmond (twice), Melissa runs (ok, walks) the Charlottesville 4 Miler, Theo starts his second year of preschool, Lucy begins standing unassisted, we fail at apple picking (AGAIN).

October (look out!):

The kids and I attend Heritage Festival in Raleigh, we visit Richmond and NoVA for Alex's birthday party, Lucy takes her last bottle, Melissa turns 30-something, our family visits for Lucy's birthday, we go to the state fair, we go to the pumpkin patch, Lucy turns ONE!, Lucy takes steps, Susan saves Halloween.

November:

Theo turns THREE!, Theo's birthday party at Marbles, we visit Richmond for Thanksgiving, we go to Maymont Park.

December:

Stomach flu 2011, we visit Richmond to celebrate an early Christmas, we meet Legendary Santa, an elf comes to our house, we make many crafts, we have Christmas at home as a family, Lucy takes 10 steps but still won't walk!, we celebrate the New Year with friends and their kids at an early potluck.

WHEW. Are you tired? We didn't even really do much of anything and I'm tired just thinking of it. Writing this taught me three things: 1) I should not neglect the blog, because that makes writing this harder; 2) I visit Richmond a LOT. There is to be no complaining from grandparents about lack of face time with the kids; 3) Our kids were in summer clothes beginning in March. I can't believe they will be back in shorts in three months when I am still taking tags off of winter clothes. Ugh.

We have a lot to look forward to in this new year. A little bit of traveling (but hopefully less, because I am sick of traveling), Theo and I will see The Lion King together in March, Lucy will begin her first year of school this fall and the kids will turn yet another year older. I've said it before, but it's so, so true: the days are long, but the years are so short.

Happy New Year!