Today

This evening I came home and read on a friends blog that she was going to keep track what took place in her life during a 24hr period, for posterities sake.  Hello?  Why haven't I thought of this sooner!  My kids may want to know what I did with them and myself when they were too young to remember. Today was a goodish day.  So I will give them the details of today.

6:44am  Before rolling over in bed to look at the clock to see that it was 6:44am, I heard baby Boone in his bed crying.  Although, it can't really be considered crying.  Maybe whining.  But not the obnoxious cry that Abi has mastered.  The cute whining that Dakota can get away with because he has a legitimate reason to whine.  The reason:  It has been a full 11.75 hour since his last bottle.  Yes, my squishy little 16 month old still takes a bottle.  One in the morning when he wakes up and one in the evening before bed.  It calms him, which in turn, calms me.

6:46am  I enter the kitchen where the smell of freshly cooked eggs hits me and Carly yells out (with her mouth full of food) "Daddy's making eggs...you want one?"  I decline, as I have plans to hit the gym at 8am and I don't like to eat before I run.  I get Dakota's bottle ready and take it into him where he is kicking the wall and moaning while laying in his pack n play.  Abi is still sleeping in the room, but I leave the door open hoping she will wake up and we can get ourselves all dressed and out the door in 1 hour.  Connor has schlepped into the kitchen as well and would rather have cereal than an egg.  I get that all ready for him while he still tries to wake up.

6:50am  I mosey back into the kitchen to check the schedule for the day.  I realize that I don't run today (I am training for a sprint triathalon and am following a recommended training plan)!  This means I can eat breakfast (who wants cereal sloshing around in your tummy when you are running).  But the chef (Todd) who makes the best eggs in the world has left the kitchen to brush his teeth and I don't want to make an egg for myself, so I have a bowl of Corn Chex.

7:00am  Abi has come into the kitchen as well and wants the same thing Connor is eating.  Carly wants cereal too.  I tell her no, because she will waste it.  She tells me she is hungry and won't.  I make Carly a bowl of cereal.

7:05am  I pull Dakota out of his bed and squish him and kiss him and love him and he gets mad at me.  So, then I just lay him on the floor, change his diaper (singing our "change a diaper" song)and get him dressed for the day (counting each button aloud, certain that he will have his numbers down in no time...who am I kidding, he can barely say "ma").  Then I pull out the clothes for each of the kids to wear during the day and lay them out on their beds.  If we aren't going in public, I usually let them pick their own, but if we are, I am master of their closets!

7:10am  Time for Todd to leave for work.  He grabs last nights leftovers from the fridge to take for work.  I kiss him and wish him luck at his meeting and remind him that I have to work tonight, so he needs to be home a little early.  Connor follows him out the back door telling him something about how awesome he (Todd) is and how he knows he will be the best at work and all the other amazing complimentary things he can think up.

7:15am  The garage door is open and all four kids have scurried to the couch by the front window to chant "trucko-rucko" and wave good-bye to their daddy and blow him kisses.  This is Todd's favorite part of the day.  Every morning, they do this.  If one child is asleep when it happens, their whole day is ruined, so I have been known to wake them up before he is gone to prevent a bad day from starting.

7:17am  I clap my hands and tell everyone to get in their rooms, get dressed, make their beds and put their shoes on.  Carly tells me that I am like Mary Poppins.  I'll take that as a compliment.

7:19am  I head into my bedroom where I attempt to get dressed for the gym while carrying on a conference call with my sister and my mom to discuss the craziness that is her (my sister's) life and what we should do about Sunday dinner and the likes.  Getting dressed one handed with a phone to my ear isn't proving very successful, so I make the bed.  I tell my sister I have to go (we're on a time schedule here!) and I hang up, and quickly throw on the gym garb.

7:30am  Recalling all of the events that need to take place, I start gathering up swimsuits and towels (playgroup at a splash park), my water bottle and earbuds (for the gym), Ike's Jacket and a book to return to the Riches' house, and a diaper bag.  Snacks!  I will need snacks.  I open the pantry and see we have NOTHING.  Old Mother Hubbard must live here.  So then I gather my grocery list that has been growing over the last two weeks and some coupons (I earned some of those rewards dollars from Smith's and a gift card my mom gave me and put them in my purse with good intentions of hitting the store on my way home from playgroup.

7:40am  I comb out Abi's lovely blonde locks.  She "needs" to wear a headband, Carly wants her hair like Rapunzels and Connor doesn't want to get "too wet".  Dakota is playing by the toilet with a toy car. I quickly wipe down the toilet and put some clorox in the bowl with good intentions to scrub it down.

7:45am  I take all of the above items and put them in the van and then I lace up my shoes, holler for the kids and tell them to get out in the vanner.  Carly's socks are on inside out and upside down and her shoes are on the wrong feet.  Who cares?  She takes them off as soon as she gets to the gym anyway.  Connor doesn't even have shoes on.  He's too scared to go to his room by himself to get them so Carly comes to his rescue and goes with him to get them.  Eventually they get out there.

7:55am  I buckle the baby into his seat kissing and squishing him the whole time (he gets mad again).  When I realize I forgot to grab some diapers and baby wipes for the diaper bag!

7:58am  AUGH!!!  I have to get to the gym right at 8 or else I won't be able to get the kids in til 9 (they have only one kids club staff member on hand til 9, then they have 3, and my 4 kids count as 7 because Dakota counts as 3 and one adult can only have 10 kids at a time and there are always other kids there if I don't get there before 8) but I forgot my cell phone.  I run in and grab my cell phone and see a message from Todd.  He forgot something he was supposed to take to his meeting at 10am.  I need to bring them to him.  I text him back telling him how lucky he was that 1) I was running late and 2) That I forgot my cell phone and had to come back and get it.  I don't take my phone with me into the gym and if kids hadn't been kids and I hadn't been a scatter brained me, I would have already been at the gym signing the kids in and riding a bike!

8:00am  The kids and I hop on the freeway.  Carly tells me I am going too fast.  Abi is singing "Oh Christmas Tree" and Connor sees a billboard for Zoorasic Park and tells me that it is $15 per person and we can't go because we are too poor of people to go, but he will put it on his Christmas wish list and we will be able to go.   We are going fast and on an incline.  The big kids pretend they are on a roller-coaster at Lagoon and put their hands in the air and scream....Dakota follows!  The cutest thing EVER!!!!!

8:15am  We arrive at Todd's work and he comes out to grab his box and informs me that his meeting isn't in Salt Lake, but Ogden, so he has to head out earlier than he had planned.  I wish him luck, the kids wave good-bye.  Dakota cries.  He loves his dad and hates being separated from him.  But I remember that I need gas.  I yell out the window (for everyone to hear) "Can I get some gas" to which Todd replies "$20."  That'll do!

8:17am  Back on the freeway and off to the gym!  It worked out well, now I will get there around 9 and there will be enough staff members to take my ginormous crew of kids (4...is it really that many?).  We get off of our exit, fill up vanner with gas and make it to the gym.

8:50am  I am nervous that we won't be able to get in, but decide to give it a try anyway.  There are only 3 other kids there!  Yeah!  We get in and the kids happily run off to play and I grab my water bottle and earbuds to ride my bike for 20 minutes.

9:15am  Weight Lifting Class.  AUGH!!!!!  I haven't been in 3 weeks.  This is gonna hurt.  I am gonna look weak.  It does hurt.  I am weak.  I look at the other people around me with extra weights on their bars and feel defeated.  Why did I eat that whole bag of Almond Joy Pieces?  Why did I eat so late at night after those catering shifts?  Why can't I stop drinking Diet Soda?  Are my Saddlebags getting bigger?  Really?  Am I ever going to have definition in my triceps?  Do I have triceps?  You want me to do what?

10:15am  Put all of the weights back, visit with some of the other awesome and real moms in the class and realize we all rock despite the way we look.  Each of us are doing some different kind of event on the 24th of September.  We all promise to check in on each other and cheer one another on.

10:20am  Gather the kiddlings from the gym.  I am sure they are so relieved when I come to get them, as it must feel like half of the kids they watch leave with me.

10:25am  Try to get the vanner to start.  Lately the ignition has been having a hard time letting the key turn.  Abi says, "It's so annoying when Vanner does this to us."  To which Connor replies, "Mom, we just need a new one."  To which I reply, "No, I love this vanner.  It just needs a little repair."  And I am thinking "cha-ching, cha-ching".  I get it started and the "Check Engine" light is on.  I think "Put it on My Tab" a la Dan in Real Life.

10:30am  I realize I have no drinks and no treat for the kids for the playdate and they haven't had anything since 6:30am.  So we pop into ShopKo for a snack.  How does this store stay in business?  Everytime I have been in, they have little to no customers an their prices are so dadgum high!  I pay $3.49 for a bag of Cheetos (I let the kids pick the treat).  Dakota is screaming, so I let him out of the cart to wander around.  He grabs a pack of gum in a plastic container and starts shaking it.  I ask him to hand it to me and he gets mad and throws it on the ground.  It bursts open and gum flies all over.  Now I am buying $3 worth of gum too!  Great.  I grab myself a bag of Munchies, I deserve them after all that work at the gym and having to put up with 4 kids in a store (good thing there were no customers to observe me as a mother who can't control her children).  Hey, at least I didn't lose Carly this time!

10:39am  We head out of Shop Ko.  Fiddle with the key for a while, saying a silent prayer the van will start and it does!

10:45am  We arrive at the park and the kids change into their swimsuits.  Connor's little boy part is sticking out the top of his waistband, I get frustrated (as this is not the first time) and tell him he can't wear his pants so low and then realize that Abi's bottoms are on backwards.  Whatever.

11:00am  Our friends arrive and the kids want to eat.  Forget the water.  Food, they are starving.  The kids inhald that bag of Cheetos in less than 10 minutes.  Then I have to constantly remind them to go and play, enjoy the water and the slides and the swings.  Dakota has a poopy diaper.  In my haste to leave this morning I only grabbed a pull-up for Carly.  I thought I had grabbed diapers, but it is apparent that I did not.  I put one on Dakota and he is beginning to wear down.  Connor's little man part keeps making an appearance above his waistband.  What is the deal?  It is driving me crazy!!!!

12:25pm  Dakota has had it and it is time to get him home to bed.  I beg the kids to be happy and get in the van.  The moment Dakota is buckled into his seat, he is out.  So sweet!  We head on the road, Carly, my backseat driver says to me, "Mom, you're going to fast."  I was.  How did she know?  I slowed my pace down a bit and then the kids started singing along to "I'm on the Edge of Glory."

12:34pm  We make it home and I slip Dakota into his bed where he falls right back to sleep.  Then I pull all of the other stuff in from the van.

12:40pm  Somebody called.  I have no clue who.  What kind of person am I.  They were surely important.  But during the phone call, the kids are begging to eat.  They are "starving."  I can't eat Ramen Noodles one more day this week.  So I open MY bag of Munchies and pour them each a serving.  Connor informs me that he is allergic to them.  I offer to make him a sandwich and he says no.  I open the fridge for inspiration and find leftover pizza.  I nuk him a slice and he eats it while telling us all about dinosaurs.

12:55pm  I remember that I have to have a clean white shirt to wear for work tonight, so I gather a load of whites and throw them in the washing machine.

1:00pm  The girls are tired, so I turn on a show (Despicable Me) in Carly's room and make a little bed for Abi on the floor and both girls are out within 10 minutes.  I would love to take a nap with them, but there was a stack of medical bills sitting by the phone waiting for me to begin the battle of scheduling payment plans. YUCK!!!!  Connor asks if he can play the computer, and seeing as how I needed to have uninterrupted phone calls, I say yes.

1:15pm  While getting Connor set up with the computer, I see the Soccer Registration information and remember that I need to call 10 parents and remind them about the practice tomorrow night.  So I gather the paperwork for that the the lame bills and head to my bedroom.  The phone calls begin.  First to the parents of all the little soccer players and then to all of the varying assortment of Dr's, Labs, Radiologists, Etc. to discuss payment options for a medical diagnosis that came back as nothing but still is costing us thousands of dollars.  Every phone call had me doubting my "motherly instincts."

2:00pm  Time to throw the clothes into the dryer.  While sitting on hold, I go downstairs and make the swap.   I love the smell of clean clothes!  I love the way it makes the whole house smell clean.  I dance up the stairs so happy to have a quiet home and clean clothes, the sitting on hold part could bring me down, but I'd rather dance.

2:30pm  I gather up the much needed make-up to make myself look presentable and sit down in front of the laptop to watch "The Morning After" while I put my make-up on.  I have 4 to catch up on.  Whilst doing this my Miranda texts me and we carry on a short conversation.  Hearing from her always feeds my soul.  I could do another dance right now...but I am sitting down, so I don't.

2:45pm  Now I must do my hair.  I didn't shower after my workout or after the playdate at the park, but I don't want to, so I choose to just lather myself in some sweet smelling lotion and then I move on to the hair.  Doesn't take much effort to do a ponytail.

2:50pm  I run downstairs to check the laundry and it's dry enough.  I lug it all upstairs and turn on the episode of "So You Think You Can Dance" from when it was the Final 10 (I know, I am so far behind) and watch it while I fold and put away the laundry

3:00pm  Carly wakes up.  She needs cuddles and loves and food.  DANG!!!!  I never made it to the grocery store.  That's gonna have to wait until tomorrow.  There is just no more time left today.  I give her the cuddles and loves.  The food will have to wait til dinner time.

3:15pm  Dakota is kicking the wall.  I crawl to his door and we make eye contact through the crack at the bottom of the door.  He smiles and stands up, I go in and squish and kiss and love him.  He laughs this time!!!  Then wriggles out of my arms and walks into the kitchen.  He's hungry too.  I give him a slice of bread.

3:30pm  Angie calls, and I pull out the iron and ironing board to get that part of the laundry out of the way.  Ironing is always safe to do while on the phone.  But maybe not the best thing to do with Dakota around.  It works out anyway.  I have to put the phone down at one point to get dressed, but we have a great conversation (as we always do) and I feel like one more person in the world loves me and I can carry on with my day.

3:50pm  I head into the kitchen to figure out what the family can eat for dinner while I am away serving ice cream.  Abi comes into the kitchen, awake from her nap.  Smiling groggily and sitting on a chair she says "I'm hungry."  DUH!!!  I know.  I pull out some chicken nuggets from the freezer and toss them on a baking sheet, then preheat the oven.  Todd walks in the door and the kids are all thrilled to see their daddy.  We quickly update one another on the happenings of the day and I tell him to bake the nuggets for 12 minutes, give kisses and I am out the door.

4:10pm  Backing out of the garage in trucko, I see what Todd sees each and every morning.  All four of our beautiful children sitting at the window waving and blowing kisses with their big ole smiles on those sweet faces.  It's hard to go to work.  I don't want to, but it's what I can do to help right now.  Thankfully it is a job that I enjoy doing and Todd can be home with the kids.  It's been good for them.

4:25pm  Arriving at the Leatherby's in Midvale I help load up the Jeep and get ready to head out to the wedding reception we are catering.  We find, when catering, that if we are given say, 2 hours to serve, it always ends up being at the least one half hour extra.  Tonight it was 1 1/2 hours extra.

10:30pm  I get home and the house is silent.  All the kids are sleeping deeply in their own beds, but there is a glow from our bedroom.  Todd is playing some plane game on his iPad.  I laugh, thinking how cute he is and go brush my teeth.  When I return, he is "sleeping"  I kiss him good night and he tells me how tired he is.  Only to sit up 2 minutes later and then go into great detail about the meeting he had today.  I love it.  I remember reading a great book once that said that men don't go into great detail often, and when they do that it is important that we, as women, listen.  Don't interrupt, just listen.  Don't interject your thoughts, as if you do, you will derail them from their train of thought and you will have lost a treasured moment where he is freely communicating with you.  I practiced what I had read and this really sleepy guy ended up talking nonstop until 11:45.  It was wonderful!  He is turning into such a great businessman and is so happy with where his business is going.  If Todd's happy, then we are all happy.

I am now typing this while he is sleeping by my side.  My sweet companion.  He grabbed my hand the other day in the kitchen, turned and looked at our kids who were coloring on the table and said, "This is my best friend.  I am married to my best friend."  That means so much to me.  I am so blessed.