That is the question stay-at-home moms hate to get asked. It's not really an easy answer. Here is an example of what we do, my day yesterday. Here goes:
I woke up to Justin getting ready for work and Wesley saying "Life." He loves Life cereal. Then I heard Justin help him say the prayer on breakfast. "Bless the food." "Bess food." So, I got up, greeted the boys, and naturally had to use the ladies room. But, our upstairs bathroom is out of order right now most likely due to Wesley clogging the toilet so I had to go downstairs. As I came upstairs I saw Justin pouring cereal for Michael and Wesley. Justin gave me a kiss, then left for work much to the disappointment of the kids (and me). I heard Francesca crying so I went in and got her. I fed her some milk and oatmeal and gave the boys their multivitamins. I also gave Francesca her antibiotic, she needs it to help clear up her ear infection. Then I made some eggs for me for breakfast and took my vitamins and pills. Next, after Michael asked, I turned on KBYU for the boys while I changed and dressed Francesca. I put her in the dress I recently made for her so I could take pictures of her in it and post them on facebook. It took me a minute to find the shoes I wanted her to wear and by the time I was done I came out and Wesley was downstairs getting into trouble in the bathroom. Wonderful. Luckily I had caught him in time. Okay, then I set down Francy to play on the floor while I picked out the boys clothes and brought them upstairs. I changed and dressed the boys, which sounds easy, but man it is a battle every time. They kick and they run away and they mess with their messy diapers. . I noticed I was bleeding from a cat scratch so I had to get a bandaid from our smelly bathroom. I also noticed we needed some more feminine products and other things. So I would have loved to go to the store then but it was already about 9:20 or so and Francy was getting fussy and ready for her nap. I also had just remembered I had to watch my 5 year old cousin while my aunt goes to school. She is going back to college to get her teaching degree. The doorbell rang and luckily it was just my cousin, my aunt was running late so she didn't come in, otherwise would have seen me in my pajamas with no makeup on. I welcomed her in, which Michael was very happy about having her over and told them to watch t.v. I took pictures of Francesca then started transfering them to the computer. Then I put Francy down for her nap. Then, I got dressed and brushed my hair in about a fourth of the time it takes me to get the kids dressed. Next, after checking on the kids again I tidied up the house a little and asked Hayley, my cousin if she wanted some cereal. So I fed her some cereal and of course both boys wanted some more so I gave them some. Then Michael and Hayley chased/played with/petted our cat while I checked favebook/blog/email. I also got a call for Justin, telling me about his first day at work. Thankfully he really likes it so far. Next Francesca woke up and I brought the kids in the kitchen so they could play with some playdough. My aunt came to pick up Hayley and we talked about the south beach diet, which I am currently on, so I can lose some of that pregnancy weight. She told me about some good foods to eat to curb the sugar craving like soy sausage and others. After they left it was time for lunch so I fed the boys leftover grilled cheese sandwiches and milk and I fed Francy baby food. I put Wesley down for his nap at about 12:30. I made spicy herb tilapia for myself for lunch. I also had spinach and cashews. I planned to go to the grocery store when he woke up. Then I looked online for plumbing tips and services and also checked facebook/email/blog again. I updated my facebook and my blog then looked on a coupon website for possible coupons I could use today. The kitchen was full of pieces of playdough and crumbs and garbage. Justin called again and told me more about his new job and I told him about the mess. He got real nervous when I told him about the playdough. I told Michael he had to help me clean up the playdough I motivated him and threatened him and bribed him in every way I knew how to help me clean it up but he only lasted about two minutes. I got the mail and since most of it was junk threw it away. Later Wesley woke up and I put jackets on shoes on all the kids and myself which is anoher thing that takes about ten times longer than you would think it does. We went to the nearest grocery store, we got the car cart, the ones they have little steering wheels in and went shopping. Wesley and Michael don't do well at grocery stores. They run away and climb up on things and open candy and do all sorts of things. Wesley was crying by the time we were done and I was so glad. We all got back in the van to go home but I decided randomly that we weren't going home. I drove the opposite direction. I wanted to go that way becasue I had never been that way. I need to get to know my city better. I found a skate park and right next to that was a playground. Of course the boys wanted to go so I let them play there for a little while. Then Michael had to go pee. of course. I couldn't see a bathroom nearby. of course. So, I let him go in the gutter by the van. Luckily we were the only family there. Right after that I noticed Francesca had cut her very first tooth. Very exciting. I told the boys five more minutes but then Michael was doing the potty dance again so I dragged Wesley into his car seat. Michael ran to the other side of the playground the whole time I was calling him to come over. Well, when he finally came over he walked like a cowboy which means one thing. He had pooped his pants! beautiful. Well, I drove home carefully and proceeded to clean up a lovely lovely mess. Next, I had to feed and change Francy, unload the van, put away the groceries, and a few other things. I put Francy down for another nap and tried to tidy up the house before Justin got home. Justin got home the same time our dinner got delivered. We are in a dinner group where we make dinner for each other and trade different nights. I'll have to blog about that another time. Next after consulting with Justin I submited a request online to have a plumber to come over. Anyway, I told Justin about my day and he told me about his and we got ready for dinner. It was cobb salad and both boys seemed to be interested but only ate the ham and some hard boiled egg. I had some salad then made some chicken to supplement. We sat down and watched a part of the brady bunch while we ate the chicken. Justin wanted to clean up the house for a little while and I got the kids pajamas. Michael and Wesley played games on me and Justin's iPhones. Then we watched Jeopardy as a family and got ready for bed. It's always a battle getting the boys in their pajamas. I got their toothbushes with toothpaste and Justin brushed their teeth. Then we went downstairs in the boys room as a family including Francesca and said family prayers and read some scriptures. After putting the boys to bed I got Francesca a bottle. Then I gathered up all my coupons and coupon books and organized my coupon book with labels and all while me and Justin watched a Star Trek episode. I put Francesca down about nine-ish with lots of fuss. I had to give her her antibiotic and some baby tylenol and some teething gel then she finally fell asleep in my arms. Next me and the mR. got ready for bed; he read some scriptures and I read some of this book I'm reading called "The Uglies." We said a prayer and went to sleep.
*Oh yeah and after reading this I left out a lot of what Wesley did. He kept getting into my laptop and my iPhone and I found him with my black inkpad twice! Luckily nothing was stained. And I probably missed about 3-4 diaper changes, dishes, and catching up on the laundry.
This phase of my life is so much different than like, say, my teenage phase, or my singles ward phase. It's amazing how life can change so much so quickly. But I love it. I love my family and my life. Some days are harder than other days for sure. I do know I need to stop and cherish the time I have with my kids while they are young because they grow up so fast, and I will be in another phase of my life.
So what do YOU do all day?
