Sunday, September 9, 2012

A Day in the Life

I always have a guilty feeling whenever I explain to someone that I "have been so busy." Ya know, too busy to return a call, meet up for coffee (more likely ice cream), etc. etc. etc. I feel guilty because I think to myself "I'm a stay-at-home mom, what could possibly make me so busy?!" Noah is no longer a newborn requiring nursing every few hours... He sleeps through the night and takes consistent naps during the day...I have nothing but time, right?!

So I decided to break down my day to prove to myself that it all adds up and that I am, indeed, busy.

3:22am - Noah woke up crying for the first time. This is unusual, so I blame it on teething.

5:24am - Noah woke up crying for the second time. I decided to make him a bottle at 5:33am. After being fed, Noah went back to sleep.

6:00am- Noah woke up at his usual time! He talked to himself in his crib while Mom of the Year over here continued to lay in bed until 6:30am, listening to him coo through the wall.

6:30am- Noah got a diaper change and fed 1/2 of a banana while Michael got ready for work. We said bye bye to Dad.

6:50am- Noah crawled around playing with random things in our bedroom while I got dressed. Good thing I took my shower last night.

7:10am- Played with toys in the living room while watching Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood. Removed Noah from speed crawling towards the pet bowls in the kitchen 1000 times. (Baby gate ordered!) Fed pets and took the dog outside.

7:30am- Went to a local consignment sale and got some gently used toys.

8:38am- Got back home and put Noah down for a nap. During this nap, I ate some Chex, cleaned his new toys, took the dog outside, made some baked potatoes for Noah and I to eat later, and dreamed of being at the beach.

9:20am- Noah woke up rather cranky...He really only slept from 8:50-9:15am. Those darn teeth! I gave him some medicine and fed him a bottle, then a bowl of oatmeal/blueberry yogurt/banana chunks. Cleaned Noah up. Don't forget the poopy diaper!

around 10:30am- After eating, Noah and I spent time in the living room watching Elmo and playing with his new toys. Of course, half of the time he was playing with a plastic bakery box that he found by the kitchen trash. Stepmom called and we discussed upcoming family trip in Gatlinburg.

By 11:15am Noah was laying his head on my shoulder so I put him down for a nap. He went right to sleep! During this nap, I worked on blogger (priorities, right?!), started a load of laundry, started dishwasher, ate my own baked potato, and made a to do list and grocery list.

1:00pm- Noah woke up, had a bottle and a diaper change. Playtime began again. White potato bites for lunch. Took away the video camera and various other items he isn't supposed to be touching. Scooped out chewed up magazine pieces from his sweet little mouth. Spotted a lateral incisor that has broken through the gum..this makes total tooth count of 4 and the hematoma is soon-to-be 5!

1:30pm- Continued playing/wrangling the baby. Continued laundry. Attempted to read an inspiring diary written by a mother of 2 who recently passed away from colon cancer...she was a graduate of Lipscomb University, where I attended. More on that later. Didn't finish because of the "wrangling the baby" part.

2:00pm- Hung up Noah's laundry. Noah and I went for the mail and took the dog out again. Random play time ensues....Playtime goes like this: crawl, toy, stand up, fall down, eat things off the floor, cry, wants picked up and walked around, water play, sensory bottles, routing a plan of escape, pulling on Mommy.

3:00pm- Naptime again! Laundry continued...the folding part.

3:30pm- Noah woke up, literally screaming in pain. Medicine given. Rocked my baby on the floor of his nursery singing..."You are my Sunshine"...tears filled my eyes because I hate to see my baby hurt. And I couldn't help him to stop crying. But it was, oddly enough, the best part of my day because I am honored and take pride in rocking my baby and singing softly in his ear. Who knows, maybe it was my singing that kept him crying so long??

4:30pm- After an hour of rocking him, he finally stopped screaming. Fed Noah dinner of chicken and rice, then resorted to lying face down in the middle of the living room floor, watching Noah chase the family cat from one corner to the other, feeling much defeated as a mother. Exhaustion.

4:46pm- Time to get ready to go to dinner. Tried to watch Noah while applying makeup. Only semi successful...Michael was due home after 5pm. As any normal person would, he might ask what has been done today. The house is a wreck, like a 7 month old tornado struck. Laundry still not finished. Kitchen counters a mess. Room still a mess from the week before. Luckily, he did not ask this...He must have known there would be a price to pay.


5:45pm- Took the dog outside then left the house to meet our friends for dinner at Charlie Bulldogs.

8:15pm- After having a GREAT time with some of our best friends, we arrived home to spend a quality evening together...I mean, sleep. lol We were going to rent a redbox movie but the people already getting a movie were taking way too long, so we just skipped it. Noah got a bottle, diaper change, and was put to bed.

8:15pm + -picked up scattered toys, pinned one too many things on Pinterest, and went to sleep by 10pm. Oh yeah, and took the dog out for the final time. whew, what a day.


So back to the Lipscomb graduate...Her personal blog was written after her cancer diagnosis and the purpose was to discuss savoring each and every day. Together with her husband, she had 2 young boys. She was 2 weeks away from her due date with their 3rd child, when the baby's heart stopped. This caused her to deliver her daughter as a stillborn on their wedding anniversary. A month later, she was diagnosed on her birthday with stage 4 colon cancer. I was really moved by her faith and teared up with gratitude. Every day should be savored. I'm so thankful to have learned something from this young woman's attitude. So although my day was very mundane and "usual", I am filled with joy for the simple things.





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