Dawn and Theresa both posted recently about their "typical" days. Their posts reminded me that I hadn't done a Day in the Life post for a while, so I decided to keep track of our Friday. Friday was typical in that we didn't go anywhere (we have more days at home than not during the week), but untypical in that half the kids were sick. Come to think of it, though... having half the kids sick in January is pretty typical, though.
I was too busy all day to take pictures, though, which probably would have made this post a little more interesting! But here it is anyway, our day:
8:00: Out of the shower, done with morning routine (wipe shower, make bed, clothes in hamper -- including little people's), making waffles for little ones and Katydid. I start laundry and take out trash. Pip follows me around crying "I want a wapple! No, no, no!" until the waffles are done. Kids watching Curious George.
8:30: Chipmunk up. I'm eating my breakfast, finishing a blog post. Kids watching Clifford. Gareth gets his own breakfast.
9:00: Turn off TV to pray and start reading. Pip has gotten into a board game and scattered pieces and cards everywhere. He does help pick it up. Big kids get settled with coloring books, pastels, sketchbooks, colored pencils. It's oceans this morning... F is drawing a pufferfish and proudly signing his name, which he just learned how to do this week.
9:20: I'm reading about St. Anthony and St. Moses when Farmerboy alerts us to the fact that Pip has taken the top off a cup of milk and dumped it all over the coffee table (and floor and toys and books). Pip and I clean it up and Katydid reads about St. Moses.
9:30 ish: Done cleaning up. I start reading from Cheaper By the Dozen. Pop and Farmerboy decide to have a "space race" with their carts and push-arounds. Pip is crying because I took his broom away when he was using it as a weapon. The noise is deafening. I banish Pip and Farmerboy to another part of the house, but still only manage half a chapter.
10:00: send G and K to brush teeth, do chores. Nurse Chipmunk, then change 3 little boys, oversee F changing. Brush little boy's teeth, then take out diaper trash and bags down to garage cans. F picks up rug in family room, then he and twins get everything right back out. Put C in pouch; vacuum rugs in family room and living room. Fold remaining laundry in dryer, switch laundry, start a new load. G unloads and unloads dishwasher, wipes counters and sink, puts out recycling, the heads off to clean toilets. (weekly chore.) K brings and sorts laundry, wipes out bathroom sinks, then cleans shower and bathtub with telescoping scrubber.
11ish: Choice time. Gareth flops down on the couch to read The Dark is Rising. Katydid takes out her "Simple Thoughts" journal, in which she is recording thoughts about faith ala Story of a Soul, and starts writing. (Many of her thoughts are really very impressive and not simple at all.) The three little boys are quiet for the moment, playing with trucks and Playmobil. Chipmunk wants to go to sleep and is not happy with all my bending, so I stop and bounce him a bit while I get a drink and check my email.
11:20: Katydid and I have a discussion about missionaries, China, communist dictatorships, and atheism. Atheism is such an alien concept to her she can't even grasp it. Gareth is still reading; the boys are still playing. I show Katydid some of our books about China and some Sonlight books about missionaries. She asks if she can say a rosary for choice time. Like I'm going to forbid her to say a rosary?? When she starts (using a children's book for a guide), Pip comes over to see what she's doing, and Katydid shows him the pictures. I sit down to listen and make a few notes on this post.
11:40: Predictably, sitting down woke up Chipmunk. The little boys are still quiet, though, and Gareth has just put his book down, so I seize the chance to quiz him on some spelling words. As soon as he gets his spelling book, Pop and Farmerboy start fighting over a tractor. Gareth does an admirable job of concentrating even though Pop continues to wail in the background. I've got him in CHC's Catholic Speller B, about two levels below what he "ought" to be, but he can spell these words. I want to start off at a point where he can be successful.
12:00: Lunch time! Leftover pizza (cheese and mushroom) and apples. Gareth doesn't want pizza, so he makes himself a cheese quesadilla in the microwave. F wants me to put batteries in the tractor he and Pop were fighting over. I hand him a screwdriver and he puts in the batteries himself. Lunch finally ready, I nurse Chipmunk while they eat -- dangerous, because I'm not in the same room.
12:30: I've eaten and kids are doing their chores: Farmerboy clears the table, Katydid rinses dishes and loads dishwasher, Gareth wipes table, counters, and puts away any leftovers. I change diapers and quiz Katydid on her spelling words when she's done with her chores.
1:00: G and K escape outside for PE ;-) The little boys have to stay inside with their colds. Farmerboy turns up with a plastic container full of water and a toy fish. I impress upon him the necessity of staying at the table. Pop wants to play, too, so I give him a toy snake and a container with a tiny bit of water in it. Thirty seconds after sitting down to nurse Chipmunk, I hear that Pop has "used up" his water and wants more. No, he can't have more. (Good thing I put down towels.) I nurse Chipmunk to sleep and put him down. Pip lies down on the floor in my room and goes to sleep. Transfer to his bed is successful. :-)
1:30: I collect F and Pop and read to them. Winter Lullaby, The Snowy Day, No, David!, and Around the Year (Elsa Beskow). Then F goes out to play with Legos and I tuck Pop in and sing Silent Night until he goes to sleep.
2:00: G and K come in from sledding, and I go over their bookwork (math, language, spelling) with them. G shows me a paragraph he wrote and we correct punctuation and spelling.
2:30: G and K are in their rooms working on their assignments. Farmerboy does not want to be by himself for quiet time, because he's "too scared". Unlike the rest of us, F is an extrovert. I let him stay in the living room with me, but I tell him I'm taking a break. Since he's sick, he gets to watch an animal video. I read a few things online and eat a leftover sweet potato with butter and maple syrup and call it dessert.
3:00: F's video is done and he announces that he's done resting. Since -- wonder of wonders -- Chipmunk is still asleep. I ask him if he wants to play a board game. When G and K were his age, we played board games all the time. F loves to play games, but with the little ones around it's often hard. F has been feeling neglected lately, being the classic middle child, so I'm trying to take this afternoon time for on on one with him on as regular a basis as I can manage. We play Harvest Time and Shopping Spree.
3:50: G and K are done with their work. K has done her work and finished reading The Little Flower, a biography of St. Therese. Now she wants to start reading about St. Catherine Laboure. G sits down to have his computer time, and F jumps up from our game to watch. Good timing, as Chipmunk is now up. When I come back with the baby, F says he wants to play Battleship, but I need to nurse the baby. F gets Battleship out anyway, just to stick plastic pieces in the ships.
4:30: The kids are still moving their computer time rotation: G, K, then F. Pip and Pop wake up and cry for a while. This is pretty typical. I get them settled with Cheddar Bunnies and maple milk and <sigh> let them watch Bob the Builder. Waaay too much screen time over the past couple days. Chipmunk is not nursing well. I put him down so he can play and ask the kids to play with him, so I can run down to the basement for some frozen tomatoes. I'm going to make spaghetti sauce.
5:00: I should be starting dinner and doing laundry, but the baby is fussy. The kids watch a recorded Super Why. At least it's about reading...
6:00: Andy's home! I'm just starting dinner. Andy is sick. He says he's had a fever on and off all day, but couldn't get away from work. He changes his clothes and heads to the couch.
7:00 We eat late. Tortellini and red sauce. At least now I'll have sauce to make lasagne later in the week.
The rest of the evening is taken up in chores, more space racing, Kapla blocks, showers (the kids'), reading aloud, and walking a fussy baby who isn't nursing well. The little boys have lights off a little after 9 PM, but G and K stay up reading until after 10. I'm up until after 11 with Chipmunk. But finally, we all go to sleep... looking forward to Saturday.
Angela, your days must fly by. I enjoy reading these types of posts. I'm going to attempt one on Monday. Friday was not a typical day here because I went out for a doctor's appt. Thanks for taking the time to share your "typical" day.
Posted by: Cheryl | January 19, 2008 at 07:32 AM
A day full of wonderful things happening. My kids LOVE Cheaper By the Dozen -- my oldest two have read it umpteen times, and laugh their heads off every single time.
I adore the name Gareth, by the way -- I would have given it to someone for real if my husband had let me.
Posted by: Sally | January 19, 2008 at 07:17 PM
Oh. My. I am exhausted just reading that!But I find these dayinalife posts so fascinating!Thanks for letting me take a peek into yours!
Posted by: Theresa | January 20, 2008 at 12:18 AM