A Day In the Life

Prompted in part by Danielle Bean's article describing a day in her life as a homeschooling mother of 8, in part by my friends who say, "I don't know how you do it" an awful lot of the time, and mostly prompted by the fact that this is my little corner of the web. I don't scrapbook. I journal only occasionally. But this is my place to keep a record of the little moments.

Anyway, here it is... a random day... I picked this past Wednesday, just because I can still remember what we did that day.

6:00 am... Alarm goes off. DH turns it off and we both groan and reach for each other. Ten minutes of dozing/cuddling. I consider sleeping in a bit longer and taking the kids to 8:15 school mass, but then remember the plumbing inspector is coming at 8:30... and really, I'm not going back to sleep anyway. So, I get up.

6:20 am... Having gotten dressed, brushed my teeth, washed my face, and pulled my hair into a pony tail, I am slipping out the back door when BigBro stops me. He's completely dressed. "Mom, can I come with you?" "Sure." And we head out the door to 6:30 mass.

6:27 am... Quick hellos to Father and Deacon (who are both much happier to see BigBro than me... or maybe just more surprised), nods and waves to the other "regulars," and a few minutes of quiet before mass starts.

7:05 am... back home. The little kids are waking up and begging for chocolate milk and frozen waffles. DH is heading out the door. Quick kiss and update on our plumbing problem as we part for the day. I make milks while BigBro pops waffles in the toaster.

7:20 am... I check email. Big mistake. I should have gone right upstairs to the treadmill. Oh, but I can't shower yet... it looks like there's still a problem with the pipe that was replaced the day before. Call plumber to schedule a double-check before inspector arrives. Since I can't shower, no point in running, so more time for email/blogging.

8:15 am... Plumber arrives. We flush toilets and run showers. No leaks. He heads out, and I clear breakfast dishes off the table.

8:30 am... I sit down with the kids in the school room and we begin our day with prayer and Saint of the Week (St Matthew). Princess grabs some phonics readers and BigBro starts with math. A knock at the door: the plumbing inspector is here.

8:45 am... The Inspector leaves. I call plumber so they can send the guy over to backfill and pour concrete. Back to phonics and math.

9:20 am... Plumber is back to finish the job. We've moved into the family room to watch Princess' math video, and have to move the blocks/books out of his way.

10:30 am... Princess is done with her school work and joins LilBro at the living room table for playdough fun. BigBro and I start working on the subjects we do together: grammar, Latin, history. While he is working on assignments, I check over the independent work he did all morning. We discuss any issues that came up, and I check off items in his planner.

12:30 pm... School is done and we sit down to eat lunch together... homemade pizza.

1:00 pm... I go upstairs to pray and take a shower (hooray!), with a warning not to make a mess.

1:45 pm... I come downstairs to see bits of paper scattered all about the school room floor. Princess is making a copy of a library book. BigBro is reading on the couch. LilBro has legos scattered all over and proudly displays his "robot." I announce "clean-up time" and go check my email.

2:35 pm... Clean-up has been only minimally done. I call for it again, toss the lunch dishes in the sink, run some water, and sweep the dining room floor. Meanwhile, the kids straighten up the living and family rooms.

2:45 pm... I am shouting for shoes and bathroom stops. We need to leave in 5 minutes to take BigBro to choir rehearsal.

2:55 pm... We drop BigBro at choir rehearsal, meet up with other moms in the parking lot and decide where to go play. One mom and her son ride along in our car, since they need to be back in an hour for choir pick-up as well.

3:20 pm... Finally out of the school parking lot and at the playground. Moms settle into the benches. Kids dive into snacks/drinks and run around.

4:10 pm... Friend and I gather up our kids to go back to school for choir pick-up.

4:35 pm... Back at home, I try to figure out what to make for dinner that can be completed and eaten in the next 35 minutes. Quick chicken casserole. Water is starting to boil for noodles. Chicken is diced. Frozen veggies are steamed. All mixed together with cream of chicken soup and a little milk, some parmesan cheese and breadcrumbs.

5:05 pm... Casserole in oven has 10 minutes to go. Dishwasher has been emptied and re-filled. Kitchen has been swept and counters wiped. Princess is in soccer clothes. I have enough time to pray. Turn on "Penguins of Madagascar" for the kids and go upstairs to pray.

5:15 pm... Oven is beeping. DH is pulling into the driveway. I start dishing out the dinner. BigBro fills water cups for all the kids. DH gets our drinks.

5:20 pm... We pray grace and begin eating dinner. I go over evening itinerary with DH and hear a little about his day.

5:45 pm... I change my clothes, throw my hair back in a ponytail, and call for Princess and BigBro to get their cleats/sneakers on.

5:55 pm... BigBro and I drop Princess at soccer practice (back at Church/School... yes, this is my 4th time there today; yes, I homeschool). We head down the street to the high school and park in back near the track. Deep breath of relief when I see the football team on the practice field and not the track/field.

6:00 pm... BigBro and I are stretching when our friends pull up. BigBro and his buddy run one lap and spend the rest of the time hanging out on the field with a couple of 10 year old girls and a soccer ball. Friend and I run.

6:45 pm... Time to head back over to church to pick up Princess from soccer. I am sweaty and gross, but what can you do? At least I got my workout in. Make a few minutes of small talk with the other moms as practice finishes up.

7:05 pm... Back at home. Send the kids up for showers. Sit and talk with DH for a few minutes.

7:30 pm... DH reads to Princess and LilBro as I take a quick shower. We all pile onto the bed to pray together, and then tuck LilBro into bed. Princess and BigBro come downstairs to watch the ball game until 8pm.

8:30 pm... DH is watching ball game. I am sitting next to him on the couch, reading emails and blogs. Exhaustion is setting in. This is usually "our" time, but tonight, I am feeling tired. I hang in there a bit longer, though.

9:15 pm... I give up. I go upstairs, get ready for bed, pray my night prayers, set the alarm for 6am, and am asleep before my head hits the pillow.