Minute by minute account of my day

Midnight:    Baby wakes up and Phil brings him to bed for a nurse

3:00    Nurse

5:00    Nurse, Phil puts him back in his crib

6:20     Up, change paper towels in duck cage and switch them to their recess pen, start Phil's b-fest, make tea, get out Bible

6:45    Baby up, change diapers, cuddle, than down for playtime on his sheepskin (Evi also got up but Phil put her back to bed)

7:10    Nuke tea, start Bible study

7:15    Jubilee up, Phil has mercy on my attempt at a Bible study and has her go back to bed and listen to a tape story. Usually, I just have her play with the baby and a couple of toys at my feet.

7:25    Talkative baby on lap, both girls up and talking, Phil's phone ringing

7:35    Bible study finished. I managed to read a psalm, a chapter in proverbs, and a chapter in Matthew - not much reflection however!

7:35    Baby to bouncer, Sawyer up (early for him) and Evi back to sleep, have Sis get out puzzles to do and turn on the heater so Sawyer can cozy up with a blanket

7:40    Computer time: check email, favorite blogs, and weather - Continual duck updates by Sawyer. Sis not allowed to touch the baby anymore since I have had to remind her several times to be gentle.

7:55    Take pictures of Claudia who is standing on the water heater inside her pen and able to get a full view out.

8:00    Fussy baby, move the crib back to our room and let B play in his crib while Sissy entertains him, make our bed, pick up laundry, wonder if I will ever repair those 3 skirts I move from the bed to the chair and back again every day LOL, give a lesson in how to hold ducks (again), clean cups out of bathroom, wind back up the toilet paper

8:10    Sawyer is looking through the ad flyers and bringing me the ice cream sales section, livingroom pick up (does this stuff escape during the night?), Sis spills my big water cup all over the carpet so I direct her clean up

8:30    Phil hacked into this computer from work so let's see if I can remember…Cleaned out both the duck pens, two older children making a nest/fort on our bed while B nibbles his blanket, heard Sissy fall off the bed while I was picking clover, came in and dealt with that, then pellets, carrots, and fresh water for the rabbits, let out the chickens, collect an egg (why oh why are they laying behind the water dish where I can barely reach!) Heard crying, both children out of the room and S to the corner for talking in an unkind way to his sister.

8:40    Swaddle B up for bed, Itch S's back because he thought he may have been bit by something that sucks his blood (mosquito)

8:45    Try and get dressed, help children solve a puzzle sharing dispute, get out trampoline for Sawyer, small lecture about putting away clothes instead of hiding them to Sis, lesson in putting down the toilet seat to S

9:00    Finally dressed, help settle a sword fighting dispute, S is optimus prime and Sis is Megatron, help solve a jumping dispute, decide there is too much disputing and have children choose separate things to do (J, dinosaurs, S swing) while I sweep the entry way, take S's blanket for sucking his thumb outside his bedroom for the 3^rd or 4^th time this morning

9:10    It is garbage day so watch the first of 4 garbage trucks pick up recycling, sort and start laundry, compliment nice playing, S hollering and upset because he is observing J playing that plant eating dinosaurs are being made into carnivores. Had to interject a couple of times that she can play how she wants, discipline issue with S

9:15    Evi up, pottied, dressed

9:20    Get Evi some books and sit her at the table, start an omlet (S and J help), Evi sets the table, phone call, watch garbage truck

9:40    B-fest finally served: omlet, avocado, kiwi, carrots, and "root beer" (water and liquid flavored stevia), observe and correct for polite manners, turned into quite a training session. Conversation about museums and deserts. Plan a fun camping exhibition to Bend with fishing and hiking. S decides he wants to watch a movie about the desert so he can learn more about the animals that live there, how deep the water is, and if there are sharks

9:50    B up and nursed, spit up all over me and himself, prepare more carrot sticks and serve seconds, change my clothes and B's.

10:10    Mom can I have more food, mom will you make me a belt for my sword, mom will you untie this knot, mom can I be excused, mom mom mom

10:15    Wipe off table and chairs, sweep floor

10:20    Gather children for sock and undie sort, correct for attitude, correct for disrespect, correct for disobedience

10:30    Correct for disobedience, switch out laundry, make peppermint/ginger/lemon, watch garbage truck

10:40    Supervise laundry put away, help Evi fold hers, quick phone call from Daddy, redo J's socks, watch garbage truck, move the other sorted baskets into our room to fold at a later time, supervise room clean up and beds made

10:55    Read aloud, straighten up book shelf while we choose our books

11:10    B down for a nap, finish read aloud

11:15    Play with duckies, put them in their "pond for recess", clean out their water container, sit around the pen and read Make Way For Ducklings

11:35    Help Evi potty, Mat time (dollhouse, cars, legos – 15 minute rotation), correct for whining, deal with who gets what first, cut my fingernails, drink my tea while cleaning up from breakfast and emptying the dishwasher, correct for a bullying act, correct for getting off mats, fix stuck legos, hear B wake up at the 45 min mark and hope he will go back to sleep, chat with Phil on line for a quick minute, correct for disobedience, consult the menu plan for the first time in several days and start making dinner – thaw bacon and stew meat, cook, cut and sauté veggies, prepare remaining ingredients for beef bourguignon, supervise clean up, have Sawyer sit in the kitchen after grabbing a toy from Evi, Sissy to follow for the same offense, deal with attitude, and again, grabbed hot pan and burned fingers, correct both children for time out behavior, assembled all ingredients and put dinner in the oven

1:00    Make pb and j, children seated and served lunch (sandwiches, olives, dried tomatoes, 1 slice of pickle, milk), ducks to dry cage, correct for whining, correct for wiggling, correct for "please and thank yous" more manner corrections, make a cheese sandwich for myself, check B who has had a very restless nap

1:20    Eat lunch, correct for table manners, supervise clearing plates and washing hands, S falls off the stool and injures his pinky, help Evi go potty, get children in bed start a tape story for quiet/nap time, phone call, tape S's two fingers together so he could nooker better (has to move his pinky on his blanket while he sucks his thumb), compliment Sis, correct Evi, correct Evi, put away toy tubs and mate, wipe of table and chairs, sweep dining area, notice that time out corner has peeled paint chips all over the floor

1:45    Sitting down! Resume that computer time I attempted to have this morning

1:47    That was short, time B up and fed, correct x 5 for nap behavior, diaper change

2:10    B in bouncer at my feet, try for computer time again

2:12    Up to put on another tape story, compliments, switch laundry while I am thinking of it

2:15    Try again..Sissy up, correct both Evi and Sis

2:30    Boy am I tired! Baby on my lap

2:40    Evi still not asleep – clearly this is an area that needs my 100% devotion and consistency, hold B and crochet 2 stiches on the floor of the bedroom, B gets fussy, put him to bed, resume crocheting, discover a missed stitch and unravel 2 rows

3:05    Evi asleep, lay down on couch for a quick wink

3:30    Heard a child up to use the bathroom, had to turn down the tape story, heard pounding feet, had to have a child come lay down next to me, heard a baby cry twice, oh well, trying not to be irritated that 20 minutes of a quiet rest doesn't seem possible.

3:40    Older 2 in playroom, dinner out of the oven, redirect S, fashion a sword belt

3:50    Review recipe, correct for disobedience

3:55    Evi up and pottied, pretend to be frightened of a plastic spider, chop and sauté mushrooms, strain meat to separate sauce

4:15    Phone call, S corrected and in time out practicing sitting quietly for several interruptions while mommy was on the phone, correction of not sitting quietly while in time out

4:20    Daddy home, children outside, door left open and Claudia flying into the house, grab her collar so she won't scare the ducklings, everyone out, feed B and watch 10 min of Law and Order

4:35    Notice girls running down the middle of the street and with inside toys, bring it to Daddy's attention, change diaper, put B in bouncer in kitchen, notice Sawyer, Sissy, and neighbor children playing in the trailer of horse poop, fight the urge to intervene on outside supervision while imagining another load of laundry to wash, pour a glass of wine, unload and reload dishes, clean counters and sink

4:50    Sawyer in wanting help finding weaponry (handmade swords, bow and arrow)

5:00    Start the vegetable part of dinner (asparagus and a salad)

5:05    Take fussy baby outside to Daddy, alone in the house for the first time today

5:15    Supervise outside while Daddy checks out a movie choice online, move duckies to their recess pen, observe Evi playing with a dead snake (have Daddy bring her in to wash hands), back inside and out a second later to view an ant colony discovery, get soap and vinegar to douse them with, children in car to go get a movie, resume dinner

5:40    Phil and the children finally leave, make dressing, check FB

6:00    Outside to water raised beds and potted plants and take compost to the chickens, gather egg.

6:10    Phil and children home – they took advantage of the buy one blizzard, get a second for 25 cents deal going on, water potted plants in the front

6:15    Soak beans for tomorrow's dinner while pasta is cooking, ducklings back to dry cage

6:25    Daddy puts B to bed, dish up dinner

6:35    Dinner and a movie

6:55    Serve seconds, put away food/make Phil's lunch, soak dishes

7:00    Could it be, a rare opportunity to crochet

7:15    2 rows crocheted, baby up and fed

7:30    Into the bedroom for laundry folding while Daddy and the children watch the movie, finish Law and Order while folding

7:45    The sound of Sissy crying brings me out of the bedroom folding session. She was upset that the boy in the movie wasn't liked. Sat with her for a few minutes and assured her everything would turn out all right in the end

7:50    Get more laundry out of the dryer and then back to folding

8:25    Put away laundry, rescue Daddy from spit up, phone call

8:30    Help with clean up and getting children ready for bed

8:40    Unload and load the dishwasher, wipe table, sweep floor

8:50    Top off B, swaddle and put him to bed, chat with Sissy about tomorrow's plans and her need for a new purse (she has a fancy paper bag that is ripping)

9:00    I think I am done with chores, get out my Blizzard, discuss the day with Phil

9:20    Get ready for bed

9:30    Watch a little American Idol (we record and watch things in small increments)

9:45ish    Fall asleep!

10:00    Hear B start to fuss, luckily, he goes back to sleep again

And that's my day!

It started all over again at 1:00 a.m.