We love doing 'A Day in the Life' posts. Nothing says No One is Alone quite like seeing into another mother's daily life! Today, former TMC volunteer staff and current board member, Brittany, shares a peek into her daily life. Brittany is as candid and honest as they come; read more at her blog: www.thebamblog.com.
I wish there was a numeric formula for a good day. Here’s a peek into my yesterday. It wasn’t such a good day…but it was pretty Normal.
Here’s a Day in the Life of the Meng Family.
7:43: Wake up
How many times the baby woke up last night: 2
Number of children going to school today: 0
Number of showers taken: 0
Number of breakfasts served: 5
Number of Netflix shows allowed for the day: 2
Number of little brothers the twins need to watch while I posts announcements to blackboard in my bedroom: 2
Number of minutes wasted trying to unsuccessfully post a video to my classes: 12
Number of minutes I spend on Pintrest reading articles about High Functioning Autism: 18
Number of minutes it takes to post announcements: 5
Articles of clothing soaked in pee by Silas: 2
Loads of dirty laundry started: 1
Loads of clean laundry to fold: 2
9:40: The time I remember that I am supposed to write a “Day in the Life” post
Number of bounces for this baby boy: 1,000
Eli: 1
Trashcan: 0
Number of dishes loaded into the dishwasher: 37
Number of good memories from our dinner party with 3 college girls last night: too many to count
Temperature outside: 17
Minutes it takes me to thaw the chickens’ water: 5
One scale of 1-10, how much this counter top is driving me crazy: 11
On a scale of 1-10, how happy does this job-well-done make me: 20
Number of texts Aaron sent me this morning: 11
Number of items Eli pulled out from under the sink while I cleaned: See picture above
11:00
Number of children I try to convince to do a Kid Kickboxing DVD: 3
Number of children excited about said DVD: 1
Number of remotes missing: 1
Number of confessions that missing remote was thrown in the trash because it “had no batteries”: 1
Number of minutes I spend yelling at my child: 1.5
Number of minute I spend repairing the self-esteem of sad child after yelling at him: 10
Number of seconds we all enjoy doing the Kickboxing DVD: 23
Number of children screaming at each other because “he is in my space!”: 3
Number of babies wanting to nurse and nap: 1
Number of THUNKS and STOP IT’s coming from the living room while I nurse the baby: 18
Number of minutes it takes to get Eli to sleep: 7
Number of fits thrown by Benji because the DVD is “not real karate,” the jump rope won’t work” and the daily routine is out of whack: 4
Level of irritation I feel before lunch: 9/10
Number of times I apologize for snapping at Micah: 1
Number of times he “does NOT forgive me”: 1
Temperature set on the oven for chicken nuggets: 400
11: 55.
Number of minutes Eli naps before waking up again: 25
Number of minutes I nurse Eli to get him back to sleep: 9
Number of articles of clothing soaked in pee by Silas: 2 (4 if you count a hand towel and bathmat)
Level of sweetness from Benji when he asks to help me peel carrots for lunch: 10/10
Number of lunches served: 4
Level of handsome for my husband before he goes to an interview at 1pm: 10/10
Level of cute for me in this picture (taken by Benji): 2/10
How much I am looking forward to naptime for both Silas and Eli: 10/10
Number of books I agree to read to Silas: 1
Number of books I really read after feeling guilty for being irritated at him about dragging his feet about going to bed: 2
1:00
Number of pages left in Silas’ book when I hear Eli wake up again: 1
Number of minutes I spend trying to unsuccessfully get Eli back to sleep: 14
Number of minutes spent on facebook, trying to regain my sanity: 10
1:23.
Number of minutes spent on the phone with Aaron after his interview as he drives home: 10
Number of minutes we spend rehashing all the good moments of the interview before he goes back to work: 30
Level of sweetness in catching Micah reading “Harold and the Purple Crayon” to Benji: 10/10
2:00: Number of minutes spent picking up the living room: 12
Number of minutes spent watching “Worst Cooks in America: 30
Baskets of laundry folded: 3
Number of minutes spent picking up the living room again: 10
Number of times Micah and Benji ask if their friends, coming over at 3pm, “are here yet”: 37
3:15: Number of boys playing at my house: 6
Number of tea mugs sipped by myself and my friend: 2
Number of Legos on my living room floor: 1,000,000
Number of minutes all the boys play happily together: 60
Number of fits/meltdowns Benji has in the next hour: 7
Number of times he runs out of the house without coat or shoes: 2
Temperature outside: 21
Level of patience I have for Benji: 9/10
5:15: Friends leave and Aaron comes home from work.
My level of exhaustion before dinner: 7/10
Fits thrown by Benji before dinner: 5
Level of patience I have for Benji: 4/10
Minutes I spend making dinner: 25
Number of children who say “YUCK! I DON”T WANT TO EAT THAT DINNER!”: 1
Number of children who refuse to eat dinner and would rather go to bed instead: 1
Number of children at the table who refuse to eat broccoli: 1
Number of teeth we notice Eli has coming in: 1
Number of minutes Aaron spends with Benji lying with him in bed: 15
Number of minutes I spend with Micah, who tearfully tells me that Benji is a “selfish jerk”: 60
Level of sadness at hearing him say this: 10/10
Number of times I disagree with Micah: 0
Number of times I urge Micah to pray for Benji, love Benji, and seek to understand Benji: 15
7:15: Number of baths given: 3
My level of exhaustion: 10/10
Number of stories read: 0
Number of hugs and kisses given: 8
7:48: Number of children in bed: 4
Number of minutes I try to write a blog post: 90
Number of times Eli wakes up while I try to blog: 4
Number of milliliters of Advil we give to Eli: .5
Number of blog posts published last night: 0
Number of chapters read in The Sword of Summer: 2
Level of thankfulness that tomorrow is a new day: 10/10
So, how does a day in our life compare to a day in yours?