The 21st of September, Again

Last year, I was inspired by Jill over at Baby Rabies to record "a day in the life" - an hourly journal of our typical day, in pictures.

I had so much fun that first time - which was the 21st of September, 2011 - that I decided to record one day each month for an entire year to see how things would (or would not) change over the course of the year.

As I look back through some of the posts, a few things have definitely changed.  My kids are a year older (and at this stage in their lives, a year is a Really Big Deal).  Claire, while still nursing, is no longer nursing.all.day.long.  Jack, while still throwing me into a complete tizzy every now and then with his meltdowns and general three-year-old behavior, is settling down (I think?).

And then, a few things have *not* changed.  I'm still a stay-at-home-mom, who mostly sucks at her "job."  The kids still don't sleep, and this still drives me batshit crazy (seriously, kids...SLEEP, already).  And our house is still a mess that I just cannot keep up with, no matter how hard I try.

I was hoping to get really creative for this last "21st of..." post.  I thought I'd break out the fancy camera and actually schlepp it around with me all day, maybe...or do a compare and contrast of today's pictures versus the pictures I took on September 21st of last year.

I got off to a good start.

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The 21st of August

It's the 21st of August.  Hard to believe that a) I've been recording the 21st of each month, in all its mundane-ness, for almost a year now, and b) my baby is 13 months old.

I kind of failed at recording today (:::SIGH::: - what else is new?) but I'll give it my best shot.  And my best shot will be the condensed version, because it's kind of late and I'm tired and the baby is not sleeping well and blah blah blah...

So, here we go!

Charles took the kids to Starbucks because I guess we don't have any coffee in the house.  He asked me if I wanted anything and I said no...HA!  I lied.  Lucky for me, he knows better.  He returned with iced tea and the breakfast of champions (a "Protein Plate," which should actually be called The World's Biggest Ripoff, but what are you gonna do when you want a hard-boiled egg and some grapes, right?).

After breakfast, I start getting ready for my dentist appointment.  Which is at 9:30.  As I'm getting ready the kids run amuck in the bathroom (as usual).  Which is a mess (as usual).  And which is interrupted by a phone call from the dentist office confirming my appointment at 9:30 - TOMORROW.  So, I'm off the hook for one more day.

And kind of unrelated, this picture shows Claire walking back into my closet...which is where Jack is.  Jack calls the closet the "Wild World," which he picked up from our pal Cat Stevens.  He always asks Claire, "Claire, do you want to come to the Wild World with me?" (only, his "r's" sounds like "w's" and his "l's" sound like "y's").

Since I won't be going to the dentist today, I take the kids outside and Claire gets some exercise.  It's ONLY 71 DEGREES out!  In August!  In Texas!  We stay out until it starts to rain.

Claire has pretty much given up taking two naps a day and is down to one, but today I really need her to sleep and be rested.  We have an appointment at The Nappy Shoppe with Mountainpony Photography for a mini photo session at lunchtime.  Today I luck out and convince her to nap for a bit.

I forget to take any pictures at The Nappy Shoppe!  Boo.  :(

But when we return, Claire has a package waiting for her.  It's her first Breyer horse, a birthday gift from her Auntie Jesika in California.  This gift is a WIN (and not just because I like it).

I get all serious and tell Jack he must stay on the couch for "quiet time" - which requires he sit on his bottom.  Does this look like a boy who's sitting on his bottom?  I think not.

While Jack is resting watching Transformers, I spend some time playing with Claire.  This child is as sweet as she looks (except when she's screaming...then maybe she's not so sweet).

After I get tired of enforcing quiet time, we go out back to play.  Until I notice the myriad of mosquitoes infesting the slide and general back yard area.  Tonight, Dallas (and us, even though we're not technically Dallas county) is getting fogged for mosquitoes.  I don't watch the news but apparently Dallas is the West Nile Virus Capital of Everywhere.

We end up playing out front after Claire's second nap, and Jack and Claire run around with the neighbor kids.  While I drink wine.  From a box.  

I just bought a new domain for my blog, and I'm changing my blog's name, too.  I played around with some logos (and this is why I'm not an artist...!) and ate some Avocado Oil Potato Chips, too.

Maybe my favorite picture of the day...my little Transformer, Optimus Prime, transformed to his truck state.  Jack spends a lot of time transforming (complete with sound effects) these days.  In fact, when things get tense or he gets in trouble or when he wants to avoid me, he "transforms."  Which sounds funny now but is really not that funny when you're telling him to go to his room.

But when he's playing around, it's very cute.

Those little fists next to his ears?  Those are exhaust pipes (in case you couldn't tell).

I told Jack to bring me a book to read, and he brought me, like, ten.  We read a book about Pete the Cat and his groovy buttons, another one called Please, Puppy, Please, and then The Little Red Caboose (are you still supposed to underline book titles?  I know a lot of things have changed since my days in Junior College).

And that's it!  

If you're having trouble sleeping, you can read about some of our past 21sts of the month, starting back in September.  A whole year ago.  Which means that next month will be the last time I do this for awhile.  

I'll try to plan something special!  

The 21st of July - Claire's First Birthday!

Today is the 21st of July.  Claire's first birthday.  Her FIRST BIRTHDAY.  She's a year old, already!  Where, oh where, oh where does the time go?

When I think back to what I was doing at this exact time a year ago today, it's kind of surreal.  I was getting home from the birthing center with a brand new little human.  Today, I spent most of my time chasing that little human around as she took her first few steps yesterday, and takes every chance she gets to practice this new trick.

But I'll save the sentimental stuff for another post. We did a lot of things today and this is going to be long enough as it is without my sappy musings sprinkled throughout!

Oh!  And in case you are new here and have no idea what this is all about, you can see my original "21st of..." post here.

Without further ado...

Good morning, Birthday Girl!  Yeah, she kept me up all night...but she slept in until 7:30.  So I guess that makes it better?

Presents!  Oh my goodness was she excited.  Not about the actual gifts, mind you (except for that horse).  But the boxes!  And ribbons!  Such fun.  Luckily I learned my lesson the first time around and kept birthday shopping to a minimum (and that horse toy was secondhand).

This $12 horse from Kid to Kid was a huge hit!

Claire wasn't the only one enjoying the presents.  This excitement was almost too much for Jack to handle.  No, seriously.  He was so sweet and helpful in the morning, but all the new toys in the house - that weren't for him - were a bit much to take!  We had some sharing issues.  I'm looking forward to these toys losing some of their newness.

That train?  That was Jack's gift to Claire.  Because, you know, *she* totally wanted a train toy, right? Ha!

Do you think a one-year-old is old enough for their own cell phone?  Because I totally bought one for Claire (and on a side note, when Jack was a baby just a few short years ago the toy phones all looked like real phones...this one was labeled as a toy "smart phone" - oh, boy).  Maybe now she'll leave mine alone.

Charles took the kids for a short walk/jog and I did some yoga and drank some really black tea.

Amazing what only 20 minutes of yoga can do to your well-being.

Also amazing what a little hardcore caffeine can do.

Our neighbor's daughter had a birthday this week, too, and her birthday party was at the pool.  We all spent some time in the bathtub pool, which felt like a jacuzzi because it is so freaking HOT.

And then, nap time for the little ones and lunch for me.

I think hot dogs are so nasty...but I love them so much.  I can't help it.  I need to justify this by letting everyone know that we only get the fancy ones.  With one kind of meat in them.  The fact that there are even hot dogs with multiple species of meat means I should not be eating them!  But...they're So. Good.  And Charles can grill the shiznit out of them.  Yum.

After lunch, I try to write but fail.  This is my new writing desk.  It's a family heirloom of sorts.  From back in the day when people were in shape and didn't slouch, apparently.  Because I have been using it for a little over a week now and my back and neck are killing me.  Also, see that lamp? I know, you can't miss it.  I told Charles to get me a skinny little lamp at Target and he bought this beast.

Nap time is over and we get a very exciting phone call.  Our pictures are ready to be picked up at Michael's!  We had some professional pictures of Claire taken (she modeled some headbands for Lolaland Creations - photos were by Polka Dot Cottage Photography).  There is a new Michael's near us and they had a Grand Opening special where custom framing was 60% off and they would take an additional $10 off of the final price.  What a steal, right?

Well, guess what I learned.

Custom framing is FREAKING EXPENSIVE.  Like, way more than twice what I expected and that was after the discount.   And the worst part is not even the cost...it's that they look completely amazing.  Seriously, stunning.  And I cannot imagine framing my own pictures ever again.  I'm going to need to get a job or something, because now I want to frame ev-er-y-thing.

Here's one of the two we had done.  Of course, in real life it's just amazing.  The frame is gorgeous and is streaked with blue. And, when did I start thinking frames could be gorgeous?  Seems like an old person thing to say.

Here is where I need to tell all of you non-Texans how insanely weird Texas weather is.

Today was hot.  Extremely hot.  When we got in the car, the thermometer read 108 degrees.  We went to Michael's and on the way back it started to rain a bit.  In a matter of minutes, the temperature dropped to 83 degrees.  That's a 25 degree change in temperature in just a few minutes!

Also?  This left side of this picture shows what it looked like in front of me (when we got home) and the right side shows what it looked like behind me.  Is it hot and sunny?  Is it warm and rainy?  I DON'T KNOW.  Make up your mind, Texas!

Blue skies?  Cloudy skies?  Both?

Memaw and Grampa met us when we got home for dinner.  And Memaw brought Claire her first cupcake (and a special "big brother" cupcake for Jack).  Tomorrow we are having a family party for Claire and her cousin (who has a birthday next week) and Memaw is making the cake.  She threw these together with leftover ingredients and frosting.  Oh, had I inherited these skills...!

Claire was surprisingly uninterested in the frosting.  Jack, however, was far from uninterested.

And that brings me to right now.  The kids are asleep and Charles ordered us a special treat.

This big, fat, creamy, chocolate chip-filled cannoli is about to find its way directly into my mouth.

It's been a long day and I am going to wrap this up before I steal all of the internet's bandwidth.

I hope your day has been as awesome as mine, and I hope you have dessert.  Because we all need dessert.

And, Happy Birthday to my sweet, sweet Claire Ellen.

What did you do today?

The 21st of June

It's the 21st of June and Claire is 11 months old...and that has me a bit sad.  My youngest, and likely last, child is about to turn a YEAR OLD.  I don't know where the year has gone...but I'll spare you and save the sentimental "I can't believe my baby is one" stuff for next month.

This is the ninth month in a row I have documented the very average and mostly boring details of our day.  I started way back in September, inspired by a post from Jill over at Baby Rabies - and it just happens that this month coincides with another "Day in the Life" post over at Baby Rabies!  So you can check out her post and also check out everyone who recorded their day and linked up to share.

Without further ado, I bring you...the 21st of June!

6:45 AM

Guess what?  It started early.

Claire woke up at 6:45.  Last night was a long night.  Charles took Claire and I slept for another 45 minutes.  Sweet, sweet sleep.

7:30 AM

Breakfast!  I have big plans for the morning.  We are going to the gym.  But first, we eat.

Mmmm.  Grapes.

It was as good as it looks.

The only thing missing from my breakfast was MY TEA.  I ran out of teabags.  This did not go well.  Luckily, Charles came to the rescue and made a quick Starbucks run.

8:30

All I want to do is get out of the house and get to the gym.  They have childcare and this is the highlight of Jack's day - he loves playing with all of the toys.  But OMG GETTING OUT OF THE HOUSE was challenging.  

Jack insisted on wearing long sleeves, even though it's the end of June in Texas (hot, y'all).  His logic?  "I'm cold and I only want my hands and my head to show out of my shirt."  

Umm, can't argue with that, I guess.  But here is his response to my request to please use the restroom while I got his sister dressed:

A few minutes later and we are finally in the car and on our way to the gym, and he's much happier.

9:30

Home from the gym, Claire is quick to fall asleep and  - praise the powers that be - actually stays asleep.  She sleeps for almost an hour (that's practically an eternity around here!) and I let Jack paint (his favorite activity) while she naps.

Painting is one of Jack's very favorite things - but the preparation and clean-up take more time than the actual painting, so I take great steps to avoid it when I can.  But today I was happy I had caved, because he painted me this rainbow:

12:00

It's noon, and Jack is so tired...but, as usual, fighting sleep.  And Claire is cranky and teething.  Fun.

My mom send this postcard in the mail today.  She's visiting my new nephew in California.  I felt this postcard...needed to be included somewhere.

2:00

Jack is at an awkward stage as far as sleep is concerned.  He can certainly go all day without a nap and often does...but on days when he doesn't nap, as the afternoon wears on, he grows clingy, and whiny, and starts messing with his sister and pushing buttons and OMGDRIVESMECRAAAAAAZY.  So around 2:00, Charles went and laid down with him and just a few minutes later, he looked like this:

While Jack sleeps, Claire naps on me and I check some emails.  I wrote a post for Today's Mama that went live today about Raw Vegan Cookie Dough Bites (which I just made for the second time, in a non-vegan version because I love chocolate chips, and they are so good!), and I actually got some feedback, which is nice (sometimes I feel like I send my blog posts into a giant black hole).

And then I have this sweet, sleepy baby on me and I start to get tired myself and I think "Oh, what the heck" and lay down with Claire for an hour.  These opportunities are few and far between.

But at 5:00, Jack is still asleep...and we need to wake him up.

5:00

I know better.  I let Claire do my dirty work.  It goes surprisingly well.

He wakes up like his mama (that would be...umm...not well).  This, along with a distaste for anything even a little bit spicy, might be the only trait he's received from me.

But then I get a smile, and that makes me very, very happy (have you ever tried soothing a cranky poltergeist before??  Because that's what it's like when he wakes up grumpy).

6:00

Charles plays in a local softball league and tonight is his last game (finally).  This is how we eat dinner (well, the kids anyway) - on the floor - because for whatever reason, no one will sit nicely at the table tonight.  So, they win.

7:30

When it comes to late-night activities (and yes, 7:30 PM is now "late" - I wish my 21-year-old self could see me now!), I am kind of a grump.  I like to get the kids bathed and to bed, not be gallivanting around town watching softball games and such.  But tonight was a fun night at the park, and although the guys didn't win the game, I was happy we got out of the house.

There are two funny things about these pictures.  One, Jack has his shoes on the wrong feet (which you can barely see in this little pic, but I asked him repeatedly to switch them and he insisted he was fine, running around with his toes hanging over the edge of his flip-flops for most of the night).  And two, in the bottom-left picture of Jack, he saw me coming and told a couple of kids, mid-Transformer-attack, to "hang on, my mom needs to take a picture!" and made them all wait.  I guess when you're Optimus Prime you can make everyone wait.

9:00

Jack tells me he's cold and get a robe to wear over his pajamas.  He watches Shrek while I nurse Claire to sleep (Charles is out with his teammates for an end-of-the-season celebration).

10:30

Jack is laying next to me as I write this, playing with Optimus Prime and definitely up past his bedtime.  I keep wishing he'd just fall asleep, already - but to no avail.  

OK Ladies and Gentlemen, I need to go get this kid to sleep.  Prepare yourselves for next month, when I get all weepy and sad about my baby turning a year old.

The 21st of May

It's the 21st of May.  Claire is ten months old (which means I need to start thinking about her first birthday party...WHAT!?) and today, we were busy.

When I remembered it was the 21st (again! already!)...and that I was supposed to be taking pictures to document the Excitement of Our Daily Lives...I was kind of happy to realize that I only have to do this FOUR more times (OK, technically I could quit now, I guess, but I want to keep this up for a year and by golly, I'm more than halfway there and not stopping now!).

Today was a busy day, so I'll just break it down by activity rather than hour by mundane hour (you're welcome).

Guess who woke up bright and early, all smiles and giggles, at 6:30 AM?  Well, we know it wasn't me...and if you've been around Jack when he wakes up, you know it wasn't him...

It was Claire.

6:30 AM is the crack of dawn in my world, but I dragged my ass out of bed and for once (FOR ONCE!!) the house was spotless clean and there wasn't a thing to pick up.  And Jack was still sleeping peacefully.  So I did what the good housewife/mom would do, and I started cutting up some of the eight million pieces of produce I picked up at Sprout's yesterday so Jack could have a bowl of fresh fruit to munch on throughout the day.

A peach, a banana, a handful of strawberries and a basket of blackberries later, he had one good-looking bowl of fruit waiting for him.

He still wasn't up by 7:30, so I stuck Claire in her highchair and loaded her tray up with banana, peach chunks, and blackberry pieces.

Mmmmmm.  Claire approved.

Ten minutes later, she was covered head-to-toe in fruit mush, and I had a cleaning project after all.

To the bath!

I'm pretty sure she's wondering WHY I'M TAKING HER PICTURE instead of cleaning her off!

A morning bath was great fun!

Jack woke up shortly after and as I looked around my clean house, I only had one thought: "We must leave."  Because you *know* that a three-year-old and a ten-month-old are pretty much a clean house's Worst Nightmare.

So I asked Jack if he wanted to go the zoo, and he did.

Here's where I'm going to plug the other blog I write for...Today's Mama DFW.  I wrote about how much I enjoy the zoo a few weeks ago, and I thought it would be fun to go today before it gets to be completely miserable outside.

I loaded up the diaper bag and the picnic basket (because picnics are fun!) and slathered the munchkins in sunscreen, and it was off to the other side of Dallas for a morning at the zoo.

It was warm, yes, but we have annual passes so I never feel like we have to see it all every time we go.  We stayed for about an hour and a half...just long enough to visit the Children's Zoo, get attacked by the Lorikeets (no, really...three landed on my hat and got into a huge fight on my head and pulled my hat off and one pinned the other to the ground and started eating his wing while the third flew back to the the top of my head and started pulling at my hair and pecking at my ear while he screeched over and over again in excitement as his buddies brawled...awesome!), enjoy a picnic and ride the carousel.

I'm totally that girl who goes to the zoo to see the...horses.  This little fellow had quite the unique coloring.  I couldn't get his whole body in one shot so I took two and pieced them together...he kinda looks like he could actually be two different horses.

You'd think that a morning at the zoo would make for a nice long nap, but no such luck.  This was as closet to "napping" as we got.

He's awake.  I actually thought he was asleep when I took this picture, but, I was wrong.

While Jack rolled around on the couch watching Transformers, I put up laundry and simultaneously herded Claire.  Between pulling the toilet paper off of the roll (fun!) and ripping this nightlight out of the wall, she kept me pretty busy.  And that's just in our bedroom.

After "quiet time" - which is what we call it around here, even though it's rarely that quiet - I wanted to get out of the house again, and it was off to the pool.  

I should note that this is the first time I've actually gone swimming since living here!

It doesn't get any cuter than this bumblebee bathing suit.

But my day doesn't end there!

Back from the pool, I feed the baby and then change into my yoga clothes.  And I fill up this awesome reusable water bottle and am out the door.

And hi ho, hi ho, it's off to yoga I go!

To make my day better, my phone rings as I'm pulling out of my driveway and it's my favorite yogi.  Jesika!  Icing on the cake.

Yoga is extra awesome tonight.  I am able to do a couple of poses that I was previously unable to get quite right, and this leaves me feeling pleased as punch.

My yogi euphoria is short-lived.  I walk in the door to the sound of (what else?) a screaming child.  Claire is tired, and hungry, and wants her Mama!  It's been a long day for all of us.

She nurses to sleep quickly and easily, for once, and Charles fires up the grill to make me a veggie burger slathered in avocado and some grilled zucchini.  Yum.  It was really, really good.  And I felt really good after I ate it, because it was healthy as it could be.  I remedied that, though...nothing a couple of cookies couldn't handle (to be fair, they were mostly organic and not that bad as far as cookies go).

And now?  Here I sit.  Typing away in high speed because I really want to get this done before Claire wakes up and maybe more importantly, I really want to go to sleep.

I.  Am.  Tired.

Goodnight, all.