Don't open my closets..
Yawn. If I think back hard enough I can remember that my morning started out with me just as tired as I am now. Is it sleep deprivation or the interrupted sleep for the past 6 weeks? Or could it be something that I can control? Notice in the first senario I blamed my delerium on someone else. This morning I fed the baby while I daydreamed about having more than three hours between feedings. I don't mind feeding her, I mean far be it from me to stand between someone and their food, but I long for the days that the bottles are cut back. I have to admit that I hate fixing them and equally, if not more, hate washing them. I try to fix them all at once but life doesn't work that way. I should say "my life" doesn't work that way. You see she can't use the nipples that came with the bottles. We have to go for the dinky Similac samples ones that the hospital gave us. I only have five - no four - of them. The fifth is off somewhere with all my ankle socks that escape by way of the dryer (which is now taking its time drying clothes) and the other 49 of the 50 pack of pony tail holders.
Here I am getting off track. I haven't even told you what it is that I do to make my days harder despite the fact that I have more help that most people with an Aunt that comes over 3 mornings a week so I can go to the gym, clean, or run errands. You see getting off track is my problem. Why does our home effect us the way that it does? Here is a typical day for me. Ok wait, I must first say that this is a judgment free zone and you can't think less of me because I own up to my disorganization. Here we go...
I wake up to find 3 bottles on the coffee table and the chennille throw strewn about the couch. I notice the TV tray that has become part of our decor and I am reminded of a grandmother and wonder if I should dig up my canvas tote and start saving condiment packets again (Again, you ask? I went through this phase when I started working after college) Why can't I just pick those up during the night? I hobble over various baby equipment to find the remote that cuts on the TV and controls the volume under some pillows and the Tivo remote by the phone in the kitchen. I try to cut on the tv but I can't because the DVDs piled up in front of the Tivo unit are covering the sensor. I take this as a sign and just give up and move on to loading the dishwasher. It looks pretty full and I wonder to myself why I didn't cut it on last night. Now the big decision. Do I rearrange the load to fit the rest of the dishes waiting to be washed or do I just keep them for the next load? Take one guess. So that was easy... just put in a soap tab and turn it on. On to the next task. Adam wakes to realize that his clothes are not dry due to a dryer with a wicked sense of humor and I realize that my gym clothes are in there too. So I try to decide what to wear. Something generic would do just fine to avoid being the girl who wears the Karate Kid "Sweep the leg" t-shirt every day, but alas it is the only thing available as I spent the next few minutes helping Adam search for a match to the one dry sock in the house. A match that ends up being in the dryer with the wet clothes. My Aunt Cindy walks in after Adam has left and I realize that I did not charge my cell phone last night so I leave the only call me if you really need to instructions. It is so simple. Just PLUG IN THE PHONE, JESS! I notice the pile of unmailed thank you notes and remind myself to remind myself to get some of those 2 cent stamps to go with my old 37 cents stamps I found under the seat in my car, but I don't and later I just put two stamps on each to avoid the hassle. L-O-S-E-R.
I am home from the gym with a pile of groceries that were bought without a list so naturally I can't make a meal with what I bought. My Aunt stays while I eat lunch and putter around the living room making it look like it did the day before all the while knowing that by 8 pm I would be right back where I started. After lunch, I put away the clothes that took all morning to dry and leave the ones that can't fit in our crowded drawers on the leather club chair (until what happens I don't know). I spend half an hour singing the one line I know from each of the kiddy songs I know and trying not to feel bad that she isn't tracking objects like the "what your baby is doing now" email says she should. I see something like a smile so I am satisfied to move on. Sydney's room has a pile of garage sale clothes that need to be washed and put away so I start pecking away at that but she is unhappy now so I have to feed her (where are the bibs? How many do we use in a day?) and change her. Who forgot to put a new bag in the diaper pail? Me. And who put the diapers in there anyway? It must have been someone else who lives in the house... Forget the clothes! It is nice outside and I will be here tomorrow and I can do it all then.
So off for an afternoon walk. We walk an hour during her fussy time. She starts to doze so I stop off at my mom's to allow myself some time holding her while she sleeps (a big no no in the baby routine books, shhh don't tell anyone) as we swing on mom's swing and watch people come home from work. We continue on our walk around the lake and I say a prayer everytime I see a bumble bee since I recently learned from Adam that they WILL sting you. I stop to talk to my new neighborhood friends and members of the secret society that you get to be in when you have a baby. You know what I am talking about. People who would never give you a second thought stop you and talk to you about your precious baby and how great you look and how it will be so much easier in a few weeks. It sounds pointless but really it serves a great purpose in that it makes you feel better about yourself despite the fact that your beauty routine has gone down the drain with last nights formula. Nevermind that you haven't had more than a 5 minute shower and you jumped out of it midstream to make sure that no one kidnapped the baby. Nevermind that your hands look so old from washing them religously so you don't get your baby sick. You have just been told that your baby is super cute so that makes you forget your hands. Life's natural balance. We are home from the walk and I need some water but I skip the water and feed the baby. She is really fussy now but is happy to be held so I try to strap her on the front of me with the baby bjorn carrier and attempt various household chores that don't require bending over or seeing your work as you face forward. I throw something together for dinner and Adam walks in and relaxs with the baby. Now for my much needed water. He starts to help me do a few things but stops to take a few pictures. We talk about work and then promise ourselves that we will weed through the many pictures on his computer so we don't end up with thousands by the end of the year. We eat in shifts, fuss over her and talk about how sweet she is... and finally she is asleep. I put her in her cradle in our room and I decide to just get in bed since I am already in there. i lay in bed wondering why I didn't take my makeup off like I reminded myself to remind myself to do. Adam makes her night bottles and then comes to check on the baby (he is the worrier when it comes to the breathing). He stays up and feeds her one last time. Around midnight, I wake up despite his tip toeing and we stare at her sleeping and talk about how cute we think she is.
Ok, here is the funny part. It is more of mental thing and a daily functioning problem than it is a messy house problem. If you looked at my house you would think it doesn't look that bad. Just don't check the closets.
Here I am getting off track. I haven't even told you what it is that I do to make my days harder despite the fact that I have more help that most people with an Aunt that comes over 3 mornings a week so I can go to the gym, clean, or run errands. You see getting off track is my problem. Why does our home effect us the way that it does? Here is a typical day for me. Ok wait, I must first say that this is a judgment free zone and you can't think less of me because I own up to my disorganization. Here we go...
I wake up to find 3 bottles on the coffee table and the chennille throw strewn about the couch. I notice the TV tray that has become part of our decor and I am reminded of a grandmother and wonder if I should dig up my canvas tote and start saving condiment packets again (Again, you ask? I went through this phase when I started working after college) Why can't I just pick those up during the night? I hobble over various baby equipment to find the remote that cuts on the TV and controls the volume under some pillows and the Tivo remote by the phone in the kitchen. I try to cut on the tv but I can't because the DVDs piled up in front of the Tivo unit are covering the sensor. I take this as a sign and just give up and move on to loading the dishwasher. It looks pretty full and I wonder to myself why I didn't cut it on last night. Now the big decision. Do I rearrange the load to fit the rest of the dishes waiting to be washed or do I just keep them for the next load? Take one guess. So that was easy... just put in a soap tab and turn it on. On to the next task. Adam wakes to realize that his clothes are not dry due to a dryer with a wicked sense of humor and I realize that my gym clothes are in there too. So I try to decide what to wear. Something generic would do just fine to avoid being the girl who wears the Karate Kid "Sweep the leg" t-shirt every day, but alas it is the only thing available as I spent the next few minutes helping Adam search for a match to the one dry sock in the house. A match that ends up being in the dryer with the wet clothes. My Aunt Cindy walks in after Adam has left and I realize that I did not charge my cell phone last night so I leave the only call me if you really need to instructions. It is so simple. Just PLUG IN THE PHONE, JESS! I notice the pile of unmailed thank you notes and remind myself to remind myself to get some of those 2 cent stamps to go with my old 37 cents stamps I found under the seat in my car, but I don't and later I just put two stamps on each to avoid the hassle. L-O-S-E-R.
I am home from the gym with a pile of groceries that were bought without a list so naturally I can't make a meal with what I bought. My Aunt stays while I eat lunch and putter around the living room making it look like it did the day before all the while knowing that by 8 pm I would be right back where I started. After lunch, I put away the clothes that took all morning to dry and leave the ones that can't fit in our crowded drawers on the leather club chair (until what happens I don't know). I spend half an hour singing the one line I know from each of the kiddy songs I know and trying not to feel bad that she isn't tracking objects like the "what your baby is doing now" email says she should. I see something like a smile so I am satisfied to move on. Sydney's room has a pile of garage sale clothes that need to be washed and put away so I start pecking away at that but she is unhappy now so I have to feed her (where are the bibs? How many do we use in a day?) and change her. Who forgot to put a new bag in the diaper pail? Me. And who put the diapers in there anyway? It must have been someone else who lives in the house... Forget the clothes! It is nice outside and I will be here tomorrow and I can do it all then.
So off for an afternoon walk. We walk an hour during her fussy time. She starts to doze so I stop off at my mom's to allow myself some time holding her while she sleeps (a big no no in the baby routine books, shhh don't tell anyone) as we swing on mom's swing and watch people come home from work. We continue on our walk around the lake and I say a prayer everytime I see a bumble bee since I recently learned from Adam that they WILL sting you. I stop to talk to my new neighborhood friends and members of the secret society that you get to be in when you have a baby. You know what I am talking about. People who would never give you a second thought stop you and talk to you about your precious baby and how great you look and how it will be so much easier in a few weeks. It sounds pointless but really it serves a great purpose in that it makes you feel better about yourself despite the fact that your beauty routine has gone down the drain with last nights formula. Nevermind that you haven't had more than a 5 minute shower and you jumped out of it midstream to make sure that no one kidnapped the baby. Nevermind that your hands look so old from washing them religously so you don't get your baby sick. You have just been told that your baby is super cute so that makes you forget your hands. Life's natural balance. We are home from the walk and I need some water but I skip the water and feed the baby. She is really fussy now but is happy to be held so I try to strap her on the front of me with the baby bjorn carrier and attempt various household chores that don't require bending over or seeing your work as you face forward. I throw something together for dinner and Adam walks in and relaxs with the baby. Now for my much needed water. He starts to help me do a few things but stops to take a few pictures. We talk about work and then promise ourselves that we will weed through the many pictures on his computer so we don't end up with thousands by the end of the year. We eat in shifts, fuss over her and talk about how sweet she is... and finally she is asleep. I put her in her cradle in our room and I decide to just get in bed since I am already in there. i lay in bed wondering why I didn't take my makeup off like I reminded myself to remind myself to do. Adam makes her night bottles and then comes to check on the baby (he is the worrier when it comes to the breathing). He stays up and feeds her one last time. Around midnight, I wake up despite his tip toeing and we stare at her sleeping and talk about how cute we think she is.
Ok, here is the funny part. It is more of mental thing and a daily functioning problem than it is a messy house problem. If you looked at my house you would think it doesn't look that bad. Just don't check the closets.
posted by Jessica QW at 3/14/2006 08:17:00 PM
2 Comments:
Ad & Jess,
I just slowed down long enough to catch up on the latest and greatest pictures and stories of how things are going with you all. Sydney is precious and I know that you two are going through many changes with having a new little one in the house. It's like everything that was ever a routine has now completely changed for you. Don't worry, eventually, you'll feel everything start to become more natural to you. There is a story (or poem should I say) that talks about how the chores can wait and the things that you once thought were so important are not that important anymore. The important thing is spending time enjoying that bundle of joy because when she is grown up or gets to the point where she's not at home under your wing all the time, you'll wish you had put the housework off more often and spent a few more precious moments with her. Believe me, it's true. I've sat and reminisced many times (and watched many home videos) and wish my kids were home again. Oh the precious memories we make with our kids.
You both are doing an awesome job as parents, so keep up the good work.
By the way, Jess you should be a writer because you are so good at it. I love reading the blog!!!
Love you all,
Aunt Tracy
Tee hee! Thanks for taking us through a day in the life... I know all the moms out there had some good laughs reading about your day. I feel so normal now! Except I'd have to change my title to "Don't look in the closet, or the guest room, or the master bedroom. . ."
Sabra
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