7:15 - boys awake. i can hear a loud 'rrrroooooAAAHAMMMM' coming from the front room. matchbox. at least they left the baby sleeping. call weakly for the litigator (getting ready for work) and ask him to turn on PBS kids.
7:45 - decide to get up. get half dressed.
7:49 - f starts to call. speed dress. forget the hair and washing the face. i'm lucky i have pants on.
7:52 - wander around the house holding the baby, thinking about what i have to do today - like get rid of the laundry that's been living on my couch since yesterday.
8:04 - fire up a pot of oatmeal. between the six of us, we can eat more than 8 big servings. i think the baby eats 2.
8:05-8:13 - up and down the hallway numerous times, reminding the kids to get ready and make their beds. their books and toys are so appealing, they have a hard time focusing.
8:20 - vacuum up a scary mosquito hawk.
8:30 - call the kids to breakfast. send a few of them back again to comb their hair. try to control the amount of brown sugar applied to oatmeal.
8:50 - wipe down various sticky messes. including the baby. call a to empty the dishwasher. check that the other kids are completing their morning jobs - bathroom, living room, other bathroom. this week we're including mom and dad's bathroom in the rotation since they all told me in our sunday 'mom' interview that cleaning the bathroom is their favorite job. huh?
9:15 - on a good day i read a book aloud during breakfast. not today. so we start with history, talking about shakespeare. we have a mock sword battle, with lots of action and constant reminders that we're not actually trying to hit each other, only to LOOK as though we are.
9:40 - we work on our animal reports. we are studying vertebrates and each child (and mom and dad) has a class to study and report on. we decide to make lapbooks because they are more fun. spend some time printing out maps and drawings of animals to include. b continuously wants to look at pictures of rays, in order to be sure he's getting the color right. the other b wants to make sure she has horse behaviors clear. we need more than one computer. meanwhile, f is getting into the game cupboard. every 5 minutes he brings out a new one - his favorites being husker-du and heigh-ho cherrio. i'm certain i didn't spell that right.
10: 20 - the litigator calls to say he forgot his voting envelope (we vote absentee). he's coming home to get it! there was much rejoicing. it spurs b on to make a treat he has been asking for - muddy buddies. we have never actually made them before but now that i keep getting these $3.00 off 3 chex cereals i can let him use up a whole box for a dollar!
10:45 - dad arrives just as the treats are finished. they are pretty good. everyone scoops up a bowl while they chatter at dad about what's inside their heads. all day they will repeatedly say how lucky we are that dad could come home in the middle of the day.
11:15 - i send them out to play in the yard. f keeps dumping dog food into rusty's dish even though it is clear he has a plethora of kibbles.
12:08pm - call them in. clean up the table, stacked a foot high with books, glue, and paper.
12:10 - daily discussion about what is or is not appropriate for lunch food. some days, tuna is on the no list. f eats yogurt and a sandwich. a eats a sandwich, open faced THEY CANNOT TOUCH. b eats a sandwich, leftover meat hunk. b eats a girlish dish of leftover soup with cheese sprinkled over. s eats last nights dinner, and a sandwich. they all eat oranges.
12:30 - get the last straggler (a) out and wipe up various sticky messes. several minutes calling back and forth. 'did you wash your hands? get your books and things for quiet time. don't let the baby in the game closet!'
12:50 - get f settled in his crib. split the kids up into the girls' room and my room. the boys can NEVER be together because 2 boys = enormous noise. b and the girls settle down with several books. a has a stack of books that he will read for 15 minutes, then start playing playmobile/cars/animals getting louder each minute. in half an hour i will have to go remind him to use his quiet voice so the baby can sleep. then again in 30 more minutes.
1:00- it is quiet. things are marginally orderly. sometimes i jump around right now, just because i can. i get a bowl of soup and sit down to check my google reader. after too long at the computer i walk around trying to think of how much time i have and what project i can get away with actually completing. decide on sewing.
2:40 - the problem with sewing is that everything has to come out of its hiding place in order to begin.
3:10 - too late. f crying. go get him out. he points his fingers to the kids' rooms, his hair endearingly tugged straight up as he slept. spend some time reading about tractors.
3:37 - trying to start the sewing again. f having tantrums. he wants everything any one else has. he wants what he already has. applesauce and graham crackers for snack. sort piles of fabric (scavenged and saved for these purposes) into suitable and unsuitable. we need to make library tote bags, its been on my list for 2 months.
3:39 - they all tell me at once which kind they want. the boys optimistically choose 3 or 4. the girls draft elaborate plans. i wonder why i got this project out in the first place.
4:22 - cutting out is done. had to set up the iron and impromptu lesson for girls followed. we don't iron much here. s says, 'aunt jen irons everything she sews'. laugh/sigh.
4:35 - f followed us into the bathroom (only safe place to set up iron) now sucking on the top of dad's shaving cream. he smells yummy.
4:49 - machines out, threaded, ready. the girls have their own 3/4 size machine they share. i like it too, it has hello kitty on it and runs smooth like silk. mine hasn't been serviced since b was born.
5:35 - get the seam ripper.
5:40 - have to turn machine off because f is crawling under the table. wait. call b to come and play with him.
5:48 - f is back. call b again. explain that he is to PLAY with f. s makes fruit salad for dinner while she is waiting for her turn on the machine.
6:20 - 2 bags 90% complete. 2 bags 30% complete. hey, its supposed to be dinner time. this is what happens when dad stays late at work. b starts making pancake batter while s and i clean up the table.
6:40 - call a. he comes. tell him to set the table.
6:42 - call a. tell him now. he thinks b is responsible too.
6:43 - call b to do 20 pick up in the front room.
6:45 - 'mom, i did 30!' '3o what?' '30 pick up'. hugs are in order. also high-fives. we make a triple recipe and it is barely enough. fruit salad and smoothies, scrambled eggs. at least 8 pancakes per kid. even f.
7:30 - bedtime is calling. i give them an extension, since we ate so late. provided they make sure i can walk into their room in the dark without killing myself. clean up the sticky stuff. vacuum up ants. load dishwasher.
7:40 - boys room is halloween land. many cars, animals, legos recruited. every inch of floor is covered with painful to the feet toys. order them to make paths.
7:46 - s is calling plaintively to b to help her clean up their playmobile jungle they set up at quiet time. f is wandering around, poopy. again. he says, 'poop bum'. clearly.
7:55 - path cleared, playmobiles cleaned. those girls don't stop. they have a plan. get f into jammies.
8:00 - prayers. b has tantrum. he doesn't want to stop playing. send him to my room. try to show kindness and love. explain about bedtime extension.
8:05 - really prayer time. f lays on the floor and mumbles...'fahh'...'behh'..repeating what he hears.
8:10 - boys lights out. a always has to give me a kiss and hug, then i have to give him a kiss and hug. glow up the glow in the dark dino and snake. make sure the door stays open.
8:16 - f has to go around and be lifted up to everyone for goodnight kisses. sit at the computer and nurse. blogs are so interesting.
8:25 - get f in crib, check on girls. they explain their plan. each day, they will clean one area of their room. then it will never get too bad. s says, ' i meant to start on monday but i forgot'. get them ready for bed. several trips for water, taking out ponytails, throwing trash away. b asks me repeatedly to remember to tell her to clean off her special shelf tomorrow. then she mentions it in her prayers. i'd better not forget.
8:40 - except for my squeaky dryer, the house is quiet. tidy up. try to find something on tv so i can fold mountain of laundry. can't so sit down and start typing this.
8:50 - remember american idol is on. turn it on, catch the last critique. at least i saw the 'recap' of the songs. too bad, since the performance show is the only one worth watching.
9:00 - try to fold laundry while watching something. so memorable, i can't recall it now. type blog entry at commercials. can't ever do only one thing at a time.
10:00 - blog post mostly written. laundry folded - except for the towels squeaking away.
10:18 - litigator home. rub his neck. it's nice to come home to a new magazine. and lots of free samples we sent away for. those frugal mom websites are really getting to me. today, shower gel and some kind of otc acid reliever. its better not to know.
11:30 - l is ready for bed. but i am not finished. i still have to switch the laundry over, have to go look for some stuff to plan for school tomorrow, really have to finish this post!
11:40 - show litigator the bags we made. tell him plans for boys curtains. he is supportive. he thinks i can do it. i am not so sure.
11:51 - now i need a bowl of wheat chex. then i will have to read scriptures, and then some more reading before i go to sleep. that's just the way i'm made.
