A Recitation of My Day in Increments of Time
6:10 a.m.: Roll over and realize husband is in the shower. But alarm did not ring. Realize through groggy haze that I set alarm for 5:45 p.m. rather than a.m.
7:10 a.m.: Wake to the sound of daughter repeatedly yelling "Mommy!"
7:13 a.m.: Crawl back under covers for "ten more minutes."
7:47 a.m.: Shower.
8:15 a.m.: Insist that 7-year old quit playing Nintendo and get dressed.
8:30 a.m.: Feed 7-year old.
8:35 a.m.: Ten-month old baby arrives, sleeping. Put him upstairs for nap.
8:45 a.m.: Son leaves for school.
9:00 a.m.: Begin cleaning kitchen. Urge boys to begin school work. Put laundry from washer to dryer and from dryer to basket. Clean litter box, feed cats.
10:00 a.m.: Finish cleaning kitchen. Three-year old boy arrives. Put potatoes and steak into crockpot and call it "stew."
10:03 a.m.: Fake telephone call to school district office to inquire about enrolling extremely reluctant student in middle school.
10:15 a.m.: Firmly direct extremely reluctant student in method of following directions in writing memoir.
10:20 a.m.: Listen to extremely reluctant student shout, stomp and break pencil. Ignore unwanted behavior.
10:30 a.m.: Baby awakes. Tend to his needs.
10:35 a.m.: Continue to monitor progress of extremely reluctant student. Realize the validity of the viewpoint of those who believe "nature" takes precedence over "nurture."
11:45 a.m.: Mom of 10-month old arrives to spend lunch break with baby. Boys make their own lunch. Prepare lunch for 3-year olds.
Noon: Extra kids arrive for the day. Sisters, age 3 and 1.
12:30 p.m.: Four-month old arrives with stuffy nose. Warm bottle and feed her. Son returns from half-day at school.
12:45 p.m.: Ten-month old returns. Mom points out that he apparently has a cold, which explains his lack of napping. Put one-year old down for nap in playpen. She cries.
1:00 p.m.: Put 3-year old boy to nap on the couch. Put 3-year old girls upstairs to watch PBS before naptime. Put 4-month old down for nap. Rock 10-month old until asleep. Lay him down, pretend he actually continues to sleep. Neighbor boys knock at door. Refuse to let them enter.
1:30 p.m.: Escort 3-year olds to potty. Lay down for naptime. Sternly warn visiting 3-year old that it's naptime. Refuse her demands of "mommydaddy!" "Drink!" "Door open!" "Watch t.v.!"
2:00 p.m.: Wake from light sleep and realize 3-year olds are asleep. Hear baby.
2:01 p.m.: Rock 10-month old and wipe his runny nose.
2:20 p.m.: Hear screaming. Return dozing 10-month old to crib. Rush screaming 3-year old from room to prevent her from waking up others. Leave her downstairs with toys.
2:21 p.m.: Rock 10-month old again. Hear crying. Realize no one intends to sleep. Pick up 1-year old and take both babies downstairs. Warm bottle. Feed 1-year old. Eat entire stack of Ritz crackers and tall glass of Diet Vanilla Pepsi for lunch. Notice crockpot is not even warm. Jiggle plug.
3:00 p.m.: Daughter wakes up. Is crabby. Wants to be held. Neighbor boys return.
3:30 p.m.: Three-year old boy's mom arrives. Ten-month old baby's mom arrives. Wave bye-bye!
4:15 p.m.: Four-month old baby wakes. Feed her bottle. Watch her spit up on jeans. And shirt. And hand. And arm. And chair. And herself.
5:15 p.m.: Mom of extra 1-year old and 3-year old arrives. Visit for ten minutes.
5:35 p.m.: Babysitter of 4-month old picks her up. Due to crockpot malfunction, take kids to McDonald's for dinner.
No wonder I'm exhausted. I had nine--no, eleven children--here today. I dream of solitude. And tomorrow, I get it! I'm leaving at about 1:00 p.m. and don't have to return until 8:00 p.m.
* * *
My son's school is having a coin drive for Katrina hurricane victims. He gave his seventy-five cents of popcorn money to the cause today. I think I might be doing something right!
My husband helped some friends move today. A young stud was also helping move boxes. My husband tells me that he could hardly contain his mirth when the young man picked up a box marked, "China," and said to the homeowner, "When did you guys go to China?"
My daughter and her friend sing the "Hokey-Pokey" song, but they have alternative lyrics. One sings, "Oh, do the okey-dokey!" and the other sings, "Oh, do the huppy-puppy!" I can't stop singing that song . . . much like when I wake in the nighttime and find the Elmo's World theme song running through my head like an uninvited guest.
7:10 a.m.: Wake to the sound of daughter repeatedly yelling "Mommy!"
7:13 a.m.: Crawl back under covers for "ten more minutes."
7:47 a.m.: Shower.
8:15 a.m.: Insist that 7-year old quit playing Nintendo and get dressed.
8:30 a.m.: Feed 7-year old.
8:35 a.m.: Ten-month old baby arrives, sleeping. Put him upstairs for nap.
8:45 a.m.: Son leaves for school.
9:00 a.m.: Begin cleaning kitchen. Urge boys to begin school work. Put laundry from washer to dryer and from dryer to basket. Clean litter box, feed cats.
10:00 a.m.: Finish cleaning kitchen. Three-year old boy arrives. Put potatoes and steak into crockpot and call it "stew."
10:03 a.m.: Fake telephone call to school district office to inquire about enrolling extremely reluctant student in middle school.
10:15 a.m.: Firmly direct extremely reluctant student in method of following directions in writing memoir.
10:20 a.m.: Listen to extremely reluctant student shout, stomp and break pencil. Ignore unwanted behavior.
10:30 a.m.: Baby awakes. Tend to his needs.
10:35 a.m.: Continue to monitor progress of extremely reluctant student. Realize the validity of the viewpoint of those who believe "nature" takes precedence over "nurture."
11:45 a.m.: Mom of 10-month old arrives to spend lunch break with baby. Boys make their own lunch. Prepare lunch for 3-year olds.
Noon: Extra kids arrive for the day. Sisters, age 3 and 1.
12:30 p.m.: Four-month old arrives with stuffy nose. Warm bottle and feed her. Son returns from half-day at school.
12:45 p.m.: Ten-month old returns. Mom points out that he apparently has a cold, which explains his lack of napping. Put one-year old down for nap in playpen. She cries.
1:00 p.m.: Put 3-year old boy to nap on the couch. Put 3-year old girls upstairs to watch PBS before naptime. Put 4-month old down for nap. Rock 10-month old until asleep. Lay him down, pretend he actually continues to sleep. Neighbor boys knock at door. Refuse to let them enter.
1:30 p.m.: Escort 3-year olds to potty. Lay down for naptime. Sternly warn visiting 3-year old that it's naptime. Refuse her demands of "mommydaddy!" "Drink!" "Door open!" "Watch t.v.!"
2:00 p.m.: Wake from light sleep and realize 3-year olds are asleep. Hear baby.
2:01 p.m.: Rock 10-month old and wipe his runny nose.
2:20 p.m.: Hear screaming. Return dozing 10-month old to crib. Rush screaming 3-year old from room to prevent her from waking up others. Leave her downstairs with toys.
2:21 p.m.: Rock 10-month old again. Hear crying. Realize no one intends to sleep. Pick up 1-year old and take both babies downstairs. Warm bottle. Feed 1-year old. Eat entire stack of Ritz crackers and tall glass of Diet Vanilla Pepsi for lunch. Notice crockpot is not even warm. Jiggle plug.
3:00 p.m.: Daughter wakes up. Is crabby. Wants to be held. Neighbor boys return.
3:30 p.m.: Three-year old boy's mom arrives. Ten-month old baby's mom arrives. Wave bye-bye!
4:15 p.m.: Four-month old baby wakes. Feed her bottle. Watch her spit up on jeans. And shirt. And hand. And arm. And chair. And herself.
5:15 p.m.: Mom of extra 1-year old and 3-year old arrives. Visit for ten minutes.
5:35 p.m.: Babysitter of 4-month old picks her up. Due to crockpot malfunction, take kids to McDonald's for dinner.
No wonder I'm exhausted. I had nine--no, eleven children--here today. I dream of solitude. And tomorrow, I get it! I'm leaving at about 1:00 p.m. and don't have to return until 8:00 p.m.
* * *
My son's school is having a coin drive for Katrina hurricane victims. He gave his seventy-five cents of popcorn money to the cause today. I think I might be doing something right!
My husband helped some friends move today. A young stud was also helping move boxes. My husband tells me that he could hardly contain his mirth when the young man picked up a box marked, "China," and said to the homeowner, "When did you guys go to China?"
My daughter and her friend sing the "Hokey-Pokey" song, but they have alternative lyrics. One sings, "Oh, do the okey-dokey!" and the other sings, "Oh, do the huppy-puppy!" I can't stop singing that song . . . much like when I wake in the nighttime and find the Elmo's World theme song running through my head like an uninvited guest.
posted by Melodee at Friday, September 23, 2005
3 Comments:
This entry reminds me of when I used to do daycare at home. Sometimes I had so many kids at my house. I remember once...probably only once, I got everyone to sleep at the same time. There was no place for me to be, because there were children asleep in every room of my apartment. I sat in the hallway and read a book.
Hey! I fake phone called MY son's would-be middle school on Friday, too!
It didn't help.
Thanks for the smile today!
I cannot believe you have that many kids in your house at one time! I could never do it! Enjoy your day tomorrow!!
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