A Day in the Life...

If you have no idea what the heck this is all about, go to http://www.mommiesmagazine.net/news/123
and read this week's At Home Havoc column.

Day 1

Bobby crawls into bed just after 5am. Yikes! Not a good start to the preschool day.

6:20am. The would-be teacher drags her butt out of the warm bed to hit the elliptical machine for some New Years inspired exercising.

6:40. Ahh coffee and a shower. The old one-two combo to survive a morning of toddler mayhem.

7:40 Bye bye Daddy. Boys up and enjoying the hot wheels on the train table. No major fights as of yet.

8:00 Breakfast of ‘baby pancakes’ as Bobby calls them, and fruit cocktail. And they actually eat content at the table for a good fifteen minutes. Bobby even asks for seconds. Could this possibly avert the sporadic snacking throughout the day?

8:30-9:00 Breakfast clean up. Mommy sets up a Little People village on the train table and dresses the boys. Promises of a field trip to the library if only Shane will stop the teething crying and constant drooling.

9:00-9:45 Fifteen minutes of story time on the couch while Shane scrambles up and over the book, almost falls to the floor on his head, then is furious because I won’t let him straddle the arm of the couch. Bobby pissed that his brother is interrupting the story.

10:00-11:00 Library chaos. Shane shoving crusty wood puzzle pieces onto his swollen gums the moment I turn around to grab Bobby from stealing a book from another unsuspecting toddler. All in all, a successful trip. No huge tantrums or mama dramas. Bobby actually gets into his car seat without protest.

11:30 Lunch of chicken nuggets, corn and grated cheese (don’t ask) with a globby mixture of ketchup and ranch for dip. Boys rubbing their eyes.


12:00 Diaper changes (Bobby refuses to try potty once again, big surprise there), milkie, and a group snuggle with the train library book. Then it’s off to bed for BOTH of the boys. Mommy uses veiled bribery to get Bobby to take a nap (we get to bake muffins if he takes a nap. There is our cooking/science curriculum!)

12:50 Mama gets to finish reading the paper and move files around on the computer, then check email when she should be doing lunch dishes and straightening the chaotic living room, and doing laundry.

1:48 Somebody tear me away from the computer. I think the laundry is getting moldy! Is that a Shane cry I’m hearing?

2:00 Shane is out and about. Would-be teacher is cleaning clutter and doing dishes to get ready for the great muffin bake off.

3:00 Bobby zooms out of the room grinning, claiming he’s going to bake a muffin patch. First video of the day for Shane to keep him out of the way (Baby Einstein), and Bobby and Mama get to work on cracking eggs, mixing flour, and squeezing lemons.

4:00 Mmmm, Mama and both boys snack on fresh baked lemon poppyseed muffins. Back to the train table with blocks, hot wheels, and trains.

5:15 Daddy home and Mama officially calls the preschool day over. Boys play, Mommy cooks dinner and all fall into bed by 8:00. What a day!

First day was promising. At Pollard Preschool we covered: reading, science (muffins), table toys (trains, cars, etc.). TV log for the boys: 45 minutes...yay!

ALAS....

That was what you would call a false start, or maybe a false positive. Bobby has not napped at the scheduled nap time since Day 1 (it is now Day 9). Shane continues to cut evil white daggers out of his swollen gums, which possesses him with a demonic whine that lasts ten hours a day (if you add it all up). Neither boy has slept through the night. Mama has not gotten out of bed before the boys, due to the cruel amount of sleep deprivation, and is resorting to coffee binges and several "WHY ME!!!" rants throughout the day.

Coming next week...

Toddler Boot Camp.