Day in the Life: Winter 2017

I had this great idea to do quarterly DITL posts since Olivia was born, but I ended up with two: Last winter and this past summer. I had every intention to do one for this past fall and that obviously didn’t happen. But here we go! I have new goals to actually accomplish four this year. Because they’re so fun to look back on! So without further ado:

Day in the Life: Winter 2017

Tuesday January 31st, 2017

Chris is 34, Risa is 31, Olivia is 14.5 months, and Toby is 8 years old.

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7:45 a.m. I wake up and hear Olivia. She slept all night! Score! I go get her from her crib and bring her back to my bed to nurse and hang out for a little bit.

8:15 a.m. We go into her to her room, and I change her diaper and get her dressed. Then we walk out to the living room and I put her in her pack n play, turn on Daniel Tiger and go shower and get ready for the day. I come back to the living room once I’ve finished and pull her back out. She’s enamored with the T.V. and goes to sit on her little couch.

8:45 a.m. I give her a cup of Cheerios and fill up her water. I eat Corn Pops (don’t judge) while I check Facebook. We split a banana out in the living room while she watches T.V.

9:15 a.m. I decide I have some time this morning to make a pot of coffee. After sitting down with my cup on the couch, Olivia chooses that moment to want to nurse, and so I try in vain to sip coffee over her head while she nurses. I’m too paranoid. It doesn’t work and I wait until she’s done.

9:40 a.m. Finish coffee, and go to the bathroom. Olivia comes with and throws Cheerios in my underwear. Topples randomly onto the floor. She’s ok. After, I pour the last cup of coffee and chug it before we get ready to go to Story Time at the library.

9:55 a.m. My phone alarm goes off, reminding me to bring my friend, Amanda, the book I was going to borrow her. I run downstairs to grab it and finish getting Olivia ready: put her socks and shoes on, then her jacket, and start the car.

10:05 a.m. We get in the car, ready to go.

10:09 a.m. Pull into library, for once a few minutes early. We join the group and Olivia sees her best friend. She still acts really shy with everyone else until towards the end.

She gets really excited when the musical shakers come out.

11:00-ish Story Time ends and Amanda and I head out with the babies to the play area to hang out for a bit to chat. I give her the book to borrow. Olivia found a pig mask and proceeded to run around the library with it on, laughing and looking up at everyone passing by, because she thinks she’s hilarious. I have to agree with her.

11:20-ish She trips and falls into a corner of the bookshelf and sobs. It didn’t break the skin luckily, but it’s going to be a gnarly bruise.

11:35 a.m. We check out some books, say goodbye to Amanda and J and get back into the car. You can see the bruise forming.

11:38 a.m. Arrive home. I bring her inside and she’s fussing, overly-tired at this point. I wash my hands, put coconut oil on her cut/bruise, and then bring her into her room to change her diaper and nurse.

12:05 p.m. She fell asleep nursing, so I lay her in her crib, turn on her white noise and shut the door behind me. I make lunch, these Black Bean and Avocado Quesadillas (which I ironically made for my last DITL post…) It starts snowing outside.

12:22 p.m. Sit down to read from my Nook while I eat.

12:35 p.m. Finish lunch and clean up the kitchen. Take out the trash. It’s stopped snowing outside and actually looks pretty nice out, so maybe we can actually get out on a walk. Wash my hands, then go downstairs to let the dog out. Sit down on the couch to finish up the grocery list I started last night.

1:00 p.m. I am done with the list, so I email my editor about an upcoming article, and reply back to some other emails, including finalizing some plans with a girl who won a prize in my giveaway earlier in January. We decide to meet at Target in a few days. I check on Olivia with the camera app on my phone. Still passed out.

1:54 p.m. Write my last email. Olivia is awake. Go get her out of her crib and change her diaper.

2:03 p.m. After I take her diaper outside, I start preparing her lunch. Olivia ends up grabbing the Cheerios cup that she was crying about before when I came up the stairs from outside. She insists on making sure the garbage door is closed when I throw out a paper towel. As I’m working on cooking her quesadilla, she hollers at me in impatience.

2:13 p.m. Sees her quesadilla is done and starts gesturing and screeching like a tiny chimpanzee with big cheeks. I’m sick of her yelling so I take out some blackberries for her to eat in her high chair while her food cools. All throughout lunch, she keeps continuously pointing at her other wedges of quesadillas on the counter. I finally dump all of them onto her plate.

2:23 p.m. While she’s still eating, I clean up the kitchen again. I realize I’m making more work for myself doing this twice, but I get stressed out when the kitchen is messy. I prepare her probiotic and vitamin D and give that to her.

2:31 p.m. Olivia starts throwing food down to the dog, so I know she’s done. Clean her up, get her down and start sweeping the floor while she follows me around, fascinated.

2:42 p.m. After she has pet Toby and squealed at him for a little bit, she gets interested in her Woofer while I go to the bathroom.

Olivia and the dog follow me in. She immediately shuts the door. I forgot to turn on a light, so we’re all in darkness.

2:50 p.m. I get her dressed and we get our jackets on and shoes, and head out the door to get some groceries. I have to get ingredients for a potato soup I’m making tonight. I notice Olivia’s Harry Potter marking.

2:58 p.m. We pull into Aldi and I check to make sure I have my quarter for the cart and my shopping bags. We head in and Olivia goes to work trying to be the cutest baby in the store, smiling and staring to bait anyone around her to notice her, and then hang her head shyly when they do. We grabbed everything we needed, paid and left without any issues. Olivia has been so perfect taking out in public lately, which wasn’t always the case.

3:22 p.m. Get back in the car after unloading the groceries.

3:30 p.m. We pull into the driveway after getting the mail. Olivia got her new Highlights magazine. I tried to get Olivia to climb up the stairs to the living room, but she wasn’t interested. So I took her jacket off and she saw her new magazine and immediately started gesturing at it. I give it to her, and we head upstairs so I can unpack the groceries.

3:38 p.m. Nursing time. While she’s nursing, I respond back to some text messages and emails. Because #multitasking.

3:50 p.m. She’s done, and we start reading her new magazine. I have a few minutes before I need to start making dinner. Normally, she does still take an afternoon nap, but she didn’t seem tired and it was starting to get late.

3:55 p.m. I text Chris to see when he’s planning on getting home. It’s time to start chopping vegetables for this baked potato soup.

4:40 p.m. I’ve made this soup before and it’s incredible, but it’s a ton of prep. I finally finish chopping all the vegetables for the soup. Start cooking the bacon. Chris texts me and says he’s going to be about a half hour late now, which is fine, because I misjudged this soup prep. Prepare the chive cornbread to get in the oven. Olivia is thankfully taking care of herself in the living room, playing and watching T.V. We don’t tend to watch this much, but it’s the only way I can be in the kitchen cooking without her getting into trouble or whining at my legs.

5:30 p.m. Chris gets home and Olivia runs to greet him. The soup is just getting done. Pat myself on the back for perfect timing.

5:40 p.m. Sit down to eat. Olivia loves the soup and corn bread. We’ve been having her practice with spoons.

We get done and start cleaning up. Get Olivia cleaned and out of her high chair. She has a dirty diaper (again) so Chris went to go change her.

6:15 p.m. Normally, while Chris is cleaning the kitchen, I give Olivia her bath and then Chris has been reading to her until it’s time for me to nurse her to sleep. But I have some deadlines approaching for articles and need to leave the house to write them. So I pack up the laptop, say goodbye to Olivia and Chris and leave to go to the coffee shop for a few hours.

6:28 p.m. Arrive at Caribou. Order a hot tea and sit down by the window to write. I work on a pitch for one site and then a pitch for another. I answer back some emails and start writing a post for my blog. It’s not my most productive night, but it’s still all things that needed to get done.

8:50 p.m. They close at nine so I pack up my stuff to head to my car.

9:00 p.m. Return home. Head upstairs to change into pajamas and then go downstairs to where Chris is playing video games. Give him periodic dirty looks while I’m on the laptop until he finally shuts it off at 9:30. We talk for a few minutes and show him pictures I’ve taken of Olivia during the day.

9:44 p.m. Pump, because I hadn’t nursed her since the late afternoon.

10:01 p.m. Finish pumping. It’s a sad amount. I go upstairs to wash my pump parts in the sink.

10:35 p.m. I spend a few more minutes watching T.V. with Chris, before heading up to bed to get ready.

10:51 p.m. Take my heartburn med and vitamin, write in my journal, and get into bed to read. I’m almost done with The City Of Mirrors. Chris comes up and goes to bed.

11:00 p.m. I check on Olivia through my phone one last time and then turn the lights out.