August 25 - A Day in the Life

I'm recording this for the absurd posterity of it all, and out of pure gratefulness for my blessed life!

6am - get up & make Dale's lunch & morning coffee, lots of kisses

6:45am - go back to my snuggly bed!

7:15am - cuddle Naomi in my bed & read our favorite Shel Silverstein poems

7:45am - make chocolate chip pancakes with Naomi's chip placement assistance

7:55am - make gluten-free cottage cheese pancakes for me

8:30am - crush turtle pellet food and sprinkle liberally for Skyler's silver dollar-sized pets

8:45am - clean the kitchen, throw in a load of laundry, write a blogpost, sip chai

9:05am - yell at Seth to clean up his bloody nose & stop dripping everywhere

9:08am - physically separate the children to take care of Skyler's bloody lip

9:20am - banish 3 children to different corners, which lasts about a minute

9:24am - call technical support to update my work password & account to match my not-so-new-anymore name
9:30am - clean out the last 2 1/2 years of email in my work inbox (don't think I'll be much help now in locating the missing equipment from 12 south from 2008!)

9:55am - jog 4 miles while Skler rides his bike alongside

10:45am -practice push-ups and crunches with Naomi

10:50am - waste 15 minutes trying to remove the toenail polish from my fabulous pedicure a month ago in Ocean Beach, then decide I'll just have to outgrow it

11:05am - shower.... ahhh!

11:35am - pay medical bills by phone

12:00pm - teach Skyler to whittle sticks into sharp pointy spears (he BEGGED all morning) with my super-cool Swiss Army knife engraved with my name in Switzerland

12:15pm - review knife safety tips with all the kids after I unearth Seth from the basement
12:30pm - make chicken salad sandwiches for lunch, except for Naomi who currently will only eat jelly and butter sandwiches

12:55pm - park kids in front of a movie with their lunch so I can run out & see a patient in town

1:15pm - play cheerleader for a decrepit old lady with behavioral issues "Let's go outside & try to stand up today!"

2:00pm - drive to Niles for a bank deposit

2:05pm - swing by Walmart to pick up water softener salt

2:15pm - run into the library to return books & pick up On the Corner of Bitter & Sweet for book club next month

2:30pm - pull into the driveway, which is now covered with sticks & berries & bikes

2:32pm - hug all 3 kids

2:35pm - hang the wet laundry out on the patio furniture

2:50pm - load the dishwasher, make sure all the bathrooms have toilet paper

3:00pm - eat ice cream on the couch

3:02pm - read stories with all 3 kids on the couch

3:28pm - check out Skyler's growing collection of spears while listening to Vampirates audio book

3:35pm - make Jello

4:00pm - throbbing headache, try to lie down, kids are playing some sort of yelling, barking, running game

4:10pm - make graham crackers & frosting & milk snack

4:15pm - try to start my book club book

4:20pm - take more migraine medicine

4:25pm - set up a tent in the yard, with Naomi & Skyler "helping"

4:55pm - surrender to a dark room with quiet music in a horizontal position

5:00pm - try not to throw up

5:05pm - help Seth find his back pack, & in turn he gets me a cold wash cloth for my head (with coaching)

5:15pm - sleep???

5:40pm - respond to texts from several friends, get the mail
6:00pm - check on the kids playing in the tent

6:03pm - start supper: mac & cheese & broccoli

6:30pm - supper together at the table (Dale is out with Paige tonight), chattering about best friends and favorite books and vacation spots

And so it goes...

Skyler: "Today was a pretty great day!" :-)