Day In The Life: Fall 2018

Being that three of my five days during the week are spent with Olivia in daycare and I actually work (livin the dream and maybe one day I’ll get a real job again according to some people. Ahem. Moving on.) I thought I would do my DITL post on one of those days. Don’t judge. I just got off two intense articles with multiple (multiple) expert interviews and personal sources and today was taking it easy, though who knew as a freelance writer you’d have so many GD emails.

You can read more Day in the Life posts by clicking here.

Day in the Life: Fall 2018

Wednesday, October 3rd

Chris is 36, Risa is 33 tomorrow, Olivia is a month shy of 3, and Toby is 9 years old.

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10:40 pm: Olivia wakes up and comes out of her room. Chris goes upstairs to intercept her because I’m writing a blog post. He comes back a few minutes later and says she had to pee. He had taken her to the bathroom, she did an impressive Austin Powers pee, put her head on his shoulder, and Chris carried her back to bed, with a dry Pull up. My heart melts and I wonder if she’s gearing up to night train.

6:00 am- My alarm wakes me since I have a 9:00 therapy appointment after dropping Olivia off at daycare. I snooze it.

6:07 am- It goes off again. Olivia is still sleeping, so I get up and shower and get myself ready. Which isn’t much — I dress, dry my hair, and skip the makeup yet again. It’s hard to decide what to wear since the forecast shows 77 with showers when the entire rest of the week has been in the mid-50s. I decided to wear my jeans that I can roll up into capris and a short-sleeve knit shirt that I bought on girls weekend a few weeks back. I eat breakfast while checking on the monitor every so often to see if Olivia is stirring. I need to go grocery shopping desperately, but right now I have toast with butter and cut up a peach. I page through a Time magazine while I eat at the table.

6:52 am- I reach for my phone and check out how long it will take me to get to my appointment. It says 35 minutes as of now but according to Google Maps, will get worse as traffic increases. I figure Olivia can sleep for a little bit longer. I checked my email and see I have one for my editor of a site where I just turned in two pieces. She wants me to look into writing some more fertility content for them. I see another email from a new client who had sent me over a tax form to fill out and I debate running downstairs quick to fill it out and scan it in for her before Olivia wakes up. I decide to just go for it. Run downstairs and step over Toby laying in the entryway. I print out the W9, fill it out, and scan it back into my computer for later.

 

7:10 am- Pop an estrogen tablet under my tongue because Olivia is still sleeping and I know she’s going to wake up. I have to take estrogen three times a day for the transfer and it takes 7 or 8 minutes to dissolve under my tongue. Chris always says it’s his 7 minutes to talk to me without interruption.

7:11 am- Olivia wakes up. Of course.

7:11- 7:18 am- I’m incapacitated with not being able to talk as she comes out of her room, curly hair everywhere in her PJ Masks pajamas and starts telling me all about her day even though she woke up 20 seconds ago. I make grunts and mmmmm’s! and point in the general direction I want her to go. “I go potty?” she asks. “Mmmmhmm!” I say and off we go. I get her dressed and open up her curtains. By now my tablet has dissolved. She wants a cheese stick and her hair in “two ponies!” and Pick Your Battles so I give her the cheese stick and quickly put her hair up, telling her to stand by Toby for a picture. We did the best we could.

7:36 am- I grab her water cup and a cup of Honey Nut Cheerios, and luckily, she puts her shoes on without a fuss, even though I had to convince her to wear socks. I grab my work bag, slip on some sandals and we head out the door. I tried to listen to a podcast, but Olivia was interested in pointing out all the school buses, convincing me that a guard was catching her (I think she watched too much Brave from our family vacation this weekend) and letting me know again (in case I forgot) that Toby ate her paper doctor hat two weeks ago that she had made at daycare. After a few minutes, I call it quits and put on the Christian radio station.

7:52 am- We pull into daycare. Olivia hasn’t eaten all her Cheerios, but she should be OK. She’s overwhelmed in the front door with the older kids getting ready to go to school. I spend a few minutes talking with S, her caregiver, about the Spanish she’s been working with the kids on and I realize the weird “Playdough nour” Olivia was trying to say to us last night at dinner was her asking Can I have some more? Make mental note to brush up on my Spanish. I kiss Olivia goodbye and she heads upstairs with S to start an activity. I don’t get a backward glance. Clearly, as usual, she’s just fine. I get back in the car, start my directions to get to my therapist’s office and see it’s going to take 35 minutes.

8:08 am- Traffic is at a standstill. At least I’m listening to my podcast now.

8:38 am- I arrive at therapy with time to spare so I check Facebook. I find a restroom and pee and head into the office to wait for my therapist. I saw her one other time several weeks back and she’s a phenomenal infertility therapist, but of course my insurance doesn’t cover her, so I have to pay out of pocket. 

9:04- 10:06 am- Once in her office, I tell her the hormones make me cry at the drop of a hat and proceed to spend the next half hour crying. She makes me a hypnosis recording that I can listen to on my phone leading up to transfer and it’s exactly what I need. I walk out after feeling calmer than I have in weeks.

10:08 am- I get back in the car and punch in directions for a coffee shop halfway between there and home so I can work for a few hours. I see I missed a call from my health coach so I make a note to call her back at some point today.

10:24 am- I arrive at the coffee shop and use my gift card I got from MOPS last week to get a coffee and fill it with some creamer, cinnamon, and nutmeg before finding a table to settle down at. I catch up on notes for this post.

11:00 am- Open up my email and send off the W9 that I filled out this morning to the new client. I reply back to a media relations rep because she had asked about any upcoming work I may have where I could include her client in an interview for. I reply back to a new editor I’m working with for some breast cancer articles after she noticed in my bio that I write on infertility. I say that I would be happy to write about any fertility topics she needs.

11:05 am- I get distracted because I see a phone call from the bank that handles my Gap card and I log into the site, knowing for sure I paid the bill last month. After some sleuthing and swear words under my breath, I realize I did send the payment— to the second account number I had. How do I have two accounts for Gap? Realize I’m going to have to call. Or chat. Decide this is all too fucking ridiculous to deal with right now, so I request a refund from the other account, making another note to delete it when I get the refund and set up an alarm for this evening to pay the actual account I have and owe money for.

11:15 am- Go down a rabbit hole of emails. A publication has paid me, so I note the tax amount I need to take out and put into the tax savings account later. An editor emails me that one of my pieces published and I breathe a sigh of relief she didn’t think it was complete crap. Send the article to the experts I interviewed for it and put it in my online portfolio.

12:15 pm- Log into the new portal I’ll use to receive and take assignments for my new content writing job. There’s a group of women behind me in the coffee shop all meeting each other and I listen in for what they’re meeting about. Because I’m nosy.

12:32 pm- It’s a multilevel marketing job.

12:33 pm- I’m hungry. And I have to pee. Reply back to text messages. Adjust my to-do list for tomorrow. At least I’m in charge of my own schedule, right?

12:37 pm- Think about getting lunch somewhere, but then remember to check my income spreadsheet. Fire off a pitch to HuffPost. Must stop pitching. I’m supposed to be taking it easy this month.

12:38 pm- What company are they talking about behind me? They’re talking about shopping. Fuck, that’s right, I still need to pick up the ingredients for dinner.

12:41 pm- Text back a friend about our weekend plans. We’re deciding where to eat and I still have yet to eat lunch.

12:42 pm- It’s 12:42 and I haven’t written anything yet. Do emails count? Of course they do. I’m working for myself.

12:42 pm- I get a new notification popup from my new client. Oh god, there’s like 6 emails from her.

12:46 pm- I’m hungry. Shut my laptop and pack up. I’ll get my article done at home this afternoon, and I also have two posts for my blog I want to write. But first, hummus bowl at Naf Naf. I drive the six minutes to the restaurant and order the chicken shwarma hummus bowl. I eat while scrolling Pinterest.

1:18 pm- The presidential alert comes on my phone. I look up and see the entire restaurant looking at their phones as well. Numerous Trump conversations are had around me. I entertain myself by listening to them and pinning pumpkin chili recipes.

1:21 pm- Get back in my car. More emails are coming in. I put my phone away because suddenly I’m overwhelmed and start the drive home.

1:30 pm- I see the kid’s consignment store on the way. I have to get an article done, but I veer into it and buy some onesies for my best friend who is expecting. I also have to stop at Target to grab the food for BLTs tonight. Browse the baby aisle and find another gift for my friend. On a whim, I pick up a silicone cactus-shaped teether. For the baby I don’t even have yet. I call it my Hope Teether, and I can add it to the Hope Onesie sitting downstairs in my office. I pay for my stuff.

2:18 pm- I get back in my car and head home for real. Remember I need to find an expert for an article draft outline due at the end of the week. I also need to return the overdue library book in my car, so I make one last pit stop.

2:48 pm- Arrive home and put the groceries away. I go through the mail quickly, let Toby outside and refill my water. I’m relieved it’s still cool in the house because it’s humid outside. The woman on the radio said it was going to drop 40 degrees by tomorrow morning. Weather in Minnesota. Downstairs, I get out my laptop, pop another estrogen tablet under my tongue and quickly catch up on this post again. I have five emails to respond back to, including a source who asks if I want to review her latest book. Which reminds me I have a book review due Friday. Procrastination is kind of my thing.

3:10 pm- Toby is scratching at the door so I go let him back in. Send out an email to a PR rep I’ve worked with before, asking if one of her fertility doctors is available for an interview next week for an article. Reply back to some more emails and texts.

3:40 pm- Ready to write my article!

3:42 pm- Friend texts, confirming our dinner plans for next week. Realize I’m hungry again.

3:47 pm- Shove a banana into my face.

3:52 pm- Ready to write my article!

4:08 pm- And writing I am. I’m feeling good. This is working out great. I feel like the great Jodi Picoult, only instead of writing about the complexities of human nature I’m typing out an article on the self-cleaning abilities of vaginas.

4:19 pm- I get an email reply about the interview with the fertility doctor and they are happy to assist with email responses and could I send over some questions for the doctor? I type up some questions and send them off. I grab my notebook from where I had a phone interview a while back for this client and review their requirements for sources and think I’m good with this one.

4:34 pm- Chris texts me to tell me he’s at the park-and-ride and is driving to go pick up Olivia.

4:42 pm- Realize I forgot to text him back and debate starting the oven for my cauliflower pizza crust. Olivia and Chris will have the leftover takeout pizza from last night, but I’m bloated and want to go easy on carbs tonight. Take a giant drink of water and realize how bad I’ve been with getting in my water goal. Which makes me also realize I still haven’t texted my health coach back yet.

4:45 pm- Send her a text and reply back to my friend.

4:46 pm- Back to writing! I’m going to make myself write until I hear Olivia walk in the door.

5:09 pm- I hear a tiny munchkin voice shout, “Mama!!!! I home!”

5:26 pm- I plug in my laptop and she sits in my recliner. “You nurse me, wit your boobs?” she asks. “Er, yep, that’s right,” I say. Olivia. Stating the obvious since 2017. She’s nursing once a day now, sometimes twice, but this extra estrogen is R O U G H on my boobs and I don’t let her do it long. But with this face looking at you, how do you resist?

5:31 pm- Olivia sits down to dinner and eats pizza. Chris heats his up and I wait for the oven to finish heating for my own.

6:05 pm- I sit down to my own dinner. Chris is cleaning up the kitchen and Olivia is almost done eating. I’ve burned the pizza a little bit as I always do when I make this cauliflower crust but it’s still edible. Olivia goes to play a puzzle and Chris joins her, realizing that she’s ripped the paper off of her puzzle pieces. He goes and gets some glue to glue them back on as I finish cleaning the kitchen and wipe down the table.

6:32 pm- Olivia gets a mini ice cream cone and we all sit back at the table. She wants me to sing “Baby Shark” and “Skip To My Lou” and she gleefully joins in. This is a girl who loves singing. I give her some Juice Plus. 

6:45 pm- Olivia specifically requests that I bring her to the bathroom so she can wash her hands and face. She goes back to her puzzles and I remember a little Halloween craft I wanted to do with my essential oils diffuser, so I grab some black cardstock and scissors and tell Olivia I’m making a surprise for her. She’s so excited she can’t even stand it. The end result isn’t Pinterest-perfect, but Olivia still gets a kick out of it and names the jack o’ lantern Belle, probably because she was looking at her Disney princess puzzle. Now that I’ve done my one craft for the year, I can rest easy.

7:00 pm- It’s bedtime, so Olivia brushes her teeth and wants me to finish brushing. I spread a little more toothpaste on and brush. I tell her she needs to spit out the toothpaste but it’s a work in progress.

She goes to read books with Chris while I throw in some laundry. She had oddly peed in her car seat on the way home from daycare yesterday, and I needed to wash her jacket and clothes. I head back upstairs and get into Olivia’s bed with her and Chris. The plus side of a full-size toddler bed.

Chris reads to her and Olivia squeezes my nose every 10-14 seconds. “Hon hon!” she giggles every time. Chris takes her to go potty one last time and put her pull up on. She tells me to stay there in her bed. I oblige and close my eyes for a few minutes. They come back and get back into bed. Chris says prayers and Olivia sticks her fingers on my face after chewing on them. So gross. I tell her she needs to stop touching my face and she pouts. When Chris asked her if she wants to pray for anyone, she pouts.

7:37 pm- I cover her up, and kiss her. She’s doing her whining cry and finally says she wants her Elsa light on. It is on. Along with her bug light that glows stars, her Minnie bedside light, and her OK To Wake clock. We kiss her again and say goodnight. I don’t have to find my way in the dark because the room lights up like a nightclub with small incandescent lights everywhere. I go out to the kitchen to refill my water. Chris makes a gin and tonic. We head downstairs and I go back into my office to work a little more while Chris inevitably games the rest of the night. It’s fine, though, because I want to finish my article and work on some blog posts.

7:45 pm- I hear footsteps above me. Olivia is already out of her room. This is pretty typical since this is always the time she does her best pooping. But when Chris goes up to get her, he says later she just tinkled. I turn on Grey’s Anatomy and work on this post for a while until I’m caught up.

8:14 pm- Respond back to two emails about my infertility support group I just started at my church. Also reply back to my health coach regarding her voicemail from the morning. Go down rabbit hole with emails from my new client.

9:15 pm- Send off last email. Reply back to Facebook messages and deal with the Gap card issue. I grab some yogurt and mix in my chocolate chip cookie dough mix from my health program.

10:25 pm- After working on my bullet journal planning, I realize I never put the laundry into the dryer. I’m going to be tired if I don’t go to bed soon, but I hate the fact that I’m a night owl.

10:41 pm- Shut off the TV and head upstairs to bed. Chris is still playing video games. I pop my last estrogen pill of the day. Tomorrow is my ultrasound to see how my lining is doing. I text Chris and ask him to restart the laundry when the cycle is over.

11:08 I’m in bed reading when I hear Olivia’s door open. Confused, I come out to see her and she says she has to go potty. I hope this isn’t a new thing, wanting to come out late at night to pee, but I guess it comes with the territory. She pees and I see her pull up is still dry. I kiss her and tuck her back in. Decide to keep reading a bit longer until I’m too tired to.

11:39 pm- Lights out. I really need to start going to bed earlier.