A Day

I planned and wrote this post two weeks ago when all was well and life was sweet. I never uploaded it and it seems strange to do so now but somehow I can’t bear the thought of this happy day languishing in my drafts folder. So here is September 14th. Pearl was eighteen months old and I was fourteen weeks pregnant.

6:00 am – Peter’s alarm goes off and he’s up. He makes coffee every morning because he’s the best. (I’m currently drinking tea in the mornings because I find coffee too strong for my pregnant stomach first thing. Peter puts the kettle on.) I lay in bed a little longer but not much because…

6:05 am – Pearl cries out from her room. I would love if she slept in later but she doesn’t. No matter what time she goes to bed. I go in to get her but she makes it clear she wants her dad so Peter picks her up and takes her into the bathroom with him while he shaves and gets ready. I go into the kitchen to pour the boiling water for my tea. When Peter gets into the shower, Pearl gets into bed with me and we have a few minutes together while I drink my tea.

Recently, I’ve been struggling to find time in my day to read my Bible and spend time in prayer. My preference is to do this first thing in the morning but since Pearl wakes so early, there isn’t much opportunity. I’ve switched my Bible time to before bed and in the morning I try to sneak in a quick reading of Timothy Keller’s Songs of Jesus.

6:40 am – I get breakfast started while Peter gets dressed. Peanut butter toast for Peter and Pearl and cereal for me because we’ve run out bread. I share my cereal with Pearl when she asks.

7:00 am – We have Bella the Dog for the day so my mother-in-law arrives to drop her off and Peter leaves for work. Pearl eats a little more breakfast but is pretty distracted by the comings and goings.

7:10 am – Pearl gets dressed and her diaper changed. This is the first tantrum of the day. She hates getting changed right now and it is often a struggle. We calm down with some cuddles on the couch with Bella.

7:20 am – I wash my face, put in contact lenses, put on some moisturizer and mascara, brush teeth, etc. Pearl loves to brush her teeth so she will happily “brush” in the bathroom with me while I get ready. She loves it less when I help her to make sure her teeth are actually brushed but, you know, it’s gotta be done.

I get dressed while Pearl pulls all of my purses out of my closet. Currently, I’m very diligent about applying lotion. I know stretch marks are basically 90% genetics but the lotion didn’t hurt last time so I’m sticking with it! Pearl likes it when I rub a little lotion on her belly too.

7:40 am – Laundry. I throw in a load of diapers. We wash diapers every other day.

7:45 am – Tidy kitchen, put away clean dishes from yesterday and load up this morning’s dishes into the dishwasher.

8:00 am – My in-laws brought us bags of apples and pears from their yard. Since Pearl is happily playing, I decide to take the opportunity to deal with some of them. I pull out my apple peeler/corer (awesome $3 thrift store find!) and get to peeling and slicing. Pearl has been happily pulling dishes out of the tupperware cupboard but is soon fascinated by what I’m doing. I give her a little ramekin of apple slices to have a snack at the table.

8:30 am – Most of the apples are peeled and sliced and I seem to be becoming less successful so I opt to call it quits. Pearl’s still happy so I quickly make an apple crisp and the rest of the apples go into the freezer.

I tidy up the kitchen and sweep up a little. Pearl “helps”. I try to really encourage this even though it’s definitely faster and tidier for me to do it myself. Plus, she loves it.

Pearl moves into her bedroom and I join her to play with blocks and read a story. This morning’s book is Red is Best by Kathy Stinson, a recent library find.

8:55 am – Laundry is done so Pearl, Bella, and I go outside to hang it up. Peter installed the clothesline this summer and it makes me so happy.

Bella and Pearl are both very happy to be outside so we spend a little time running around in the backyard. Our days in the backyard will only be fewer and fewer and I want to enjoy them while they’re here.

9:25 am – It becomes clear that Pearl needs a diaper change (not pictured) so we all head inside. I bribe Pearl with plain, unsalted crackers (I don’t know why she loves them so much) to stay still while I change her quickly.

9:40 am – I spend some time on hold with a car seat company, attempting to get information regarding our infant car seat but give up and send an e-mail instead.

The apple crisp is out of the oven and cool enough to eat so Pearl and I share a little bit. She actually doesn’t seem to like it and I am totally okay with that.

I quickly vacuum the living room rug and the carpet in the bedrooms. Both Pearl and Bella hate this.

10:00 am – I set Pearl up to “colour” (A regular pencil and some scrap paper for her to scribble on) while I get lunch ready. Because Pearl wakes up early, she naps early, which means she eats lunch early. My schedule has adapted to hers and I find I’m already hungry. I make tortilla pizzas for lunch, basically a way to use up leftovers.

While the pizzas are cooking and then cooling, I join Pearl in the living room to colour and cuddle.

10:30 am – We eat lunch together. Pearl eats her whole pizza, as well as an extra tortilla. Her recent development is drinking from an open cup. She loves it! It definitely gets messier than a sippy cup but it’s so cool to watch her learn.

11:05 am – Lunch is over. Pearl gets another diaper change and then it’s naptime.

Quick clean-up of the kitchen and then I make myself a cup of tea and sit down to do some writing. Most recently, I’ve begun prioritizing my own stuff to do while Pearl naps. That means I worry less about cleaning bathrooms and checking off to-dos and instead spend the time reading or writing or something else I enjoy.

Pearl naps well but for whatever reason it takes her a long time today. In the midst of trying to settle her, I have to change another diaper and she doesn’t fall asleep until well after noon.

2:00 pm – A friend drops by with a few of her kids. We had planned to have a chat while Pearl napped and the kids played but Bella barks her head off when they arrive and wakes Pearl up. The kids snack and play and my friend and I have a good, if somewhat distracted, conversation.

3:40 pm – Our guests leave, I get Pearl changed and pack up Pearl and Bella to go to the park for a bit.

4:00 pm – Turns out I’ve timed this poorly and not long after we arrive, a group arrives to set up for soccer practice on the field. Since I have the dog with us, we can’t stay. I opt for a quick walk which goes predictably poorly. (Bella on a leach + the stroller is not a good combo.)

4:20 pm – We arrive home. Pearl has a snack of dry granola which she spills over the freshly-vacuumed rug. Bella helps clean up so I forgive her her poor behaviour.

Before getting started on dinner, I do some prep for dinner tomorrow. Thursdays are a work day for me and I try to have as much done in advance as possible. I chop vegetables so I can quickly throw everything in the slow cooker tomorrow morning.

Pearl has decided she wants to wear my hoodie so I help her put it on. She walks around the kitchen and living room with the hood over her face, looking like a tiny Dementor.

4:45 pm – I throw the radio on (CBC Radio 3, pretty much always in our house) and start making dinner for tonight. Peter generally gets home between 5:00 and 5:30 pm. However, Wednesdays are his long days and so he won’t get home until after Pearl goes to bed tonight. Often I won’t bother making a real dinner for just Pearl and I but I feel like it tonight and am throwing together an easy one – Alfredo with Shells and Peas from the Smitten Kitchen cookbook.

5:30 pm – Pearl and I eat dinner. This is the first evening that Peter’s been gone since before the summer and Pearl is thrown by his absence. She keeps waving her fork around, asking for him. (“Dad-Dad” is her most consistent word these days.) As a result she doesn’t eat much dinner.

While we’re eating, my in-laws arrive to pick up Bella. When they leave I give Pearl some plain yogurt because I know she’ll at least eat that.

6:00 pm – Straight from dinner into the bath for Pearl. Bath time is followed by teeth brushing, pyjamas, story time, and cuddles.

6:30 pm – Pearl’s in bed. I go back to the kitchen to, you guessed it, clean up! It’s pretty much the last thing I want to do but it’s so much better to do it now than in the morning. And if I sit down right away, I’ll never get back up! I also finish prepping for tomorrow night’s dinner.

7:00 pm – I send a few e-mails and then bring in the laundry. Here on out, the evening is mine.