A day in the life...

I have three weeks left of maternity leave after this week, since I don't go back to work until Feb. 22. My twelve weeks off have flown by. So here is what a typical day is like for us while I'm home from work:

8:00a.m. Kenneth gets home from working third shift and going to the gym. Abby is sleeping in the pack n play beside our bed, Bella is propped up in bed beside me drinking her chocolate milk and watching cartoons. I am trying to pretend I'm still asleep!

8:30a.m. We get up! I move Abby (still sleeping!) to her swing in the living room. I go turn on my coffee maker. Kenneth plays with Bella a few minutes, then goes to bed.

10:30a.m. Snack time! Bella has a banana or yogurt or something healthy for a snack.

12:30 Rest time! Bella doesn't really nap anymore (not consistently anyway) so at 12:30 she has 'rest time'. We put her pillow and blankie on the couch, brush her teeth, turn on a cartoon, and she lays down for about an hour. This gives mommy a chance to eat lunch! - unless Abby is fussy, of course!

1:30 Bella has lunch. (she won't eat a big lunch earlier in the day).

4:30p.m. Start supper! Kenneth usually gets up around 5, and he's usually hungry so we eat around 5:30.

5:30p.m. Eat supper, do dishes.

6:30 I take a shower or bath!

7:00p.m. Bella's bath time! She has her bubble bath and plays with her bath toys. When she gets out,I wrap her in a towel on my lap and we sing a song. Then she has to run around the house naked. This is her new routine: she says, "I wanna show daddy naked!" So she runs into the living room and he says, "Bella, you're naked! Where are your clothes?" Then I get her dressed and comb out her hair.

8:45p.m. Bed time for Bella. We brush teeth, use the bathroom, gather up blankets, and I put her in bed. This is actually a process that lasts anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour before she actually goes to sleep...

10:30p.m. Abby has her last bottle of the day.

11:00 p.m. Abby goes to sleep, Mommy goes to sleep!

3:00a.m. Mommy hears a noise and wakes up- Bella is climbing into bed with me!

5:00 a.m. Abby wakes up for a bottle, eats, and goes back to sleep.

7:00a.m. Bella wakes up for chocolate milk and cartoons!

8:00a.m. Kenneth comes home, and the fun starts all over again!

Of course, all these times and events are subject to change! Our day isn't nearly so orderly in real life. In between all this there are dirty diapers, laundry, "potty" accidents, phone calls, dishes to wash, housework, and any number of unplanned events!

For instance, don't imagine that I've been sitting here at the computer calmly typing for twenty minutes. In the middle of this blog entry, Abby woke up hungry and wet. While I was changing her, Bella hollered that she need help to potty. Then Abby spits out her passy and I'm trying to figure out why there's blood on it while I tell Bella I'll be there in just a second! (Abby was hungry and had shoved her fist in her mouth; one of her nails was sharp and cut her little gums!) So finish changing the baby, help Bella potty, then feed and burp the baby, then finish the blog! Thats pretty much how we get things done around here! Boring, its not!