Hellobee

Little Lion turned 1 recently, and with that change came another. I accepted a part time job, working in our gym nursery 3-6 hours per week. While I still identify myself as a SAHM (I really don’t feel like working such a small number of hours would qualify me to be called a WOHM, especially since I get to take LL with me), I wanted to share what a typical day looks like for us on a day where I am working.

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5:45am – Hear LL screaming (definitely the best way to start the day, right?). He is almost always a happy guy, but for whatever reason the transition from asleep to awake is hard on him. We would prefer if LL make it until 6:30am, but we have recently been struggling to make it past 4:30, so 5:45 seems almost blissful. Mr. Lion gets up to go say good morning and get him out of his crib, and I catch about 30 more minutes of sleep.

6:15am – I hear Mr. Lion and LL heading to the kitchen, so I get up and join them. LL munches on half of a banana while I eat the other half and make some coffee. This morning Mr. Lion makes us breakfast.  LL almost always has plain oatmeal with peanut butter and fruit preserves mixed in and a banana for breakfast. Mr. Lion and I have eggs and toast.

6:45am – Mr. Lion goes to get ready for work and I clean up the kitchen quickly while LL finishes his breakfast.

6:50am – LL and I head to the living room to play. We have one gate that blocks off the kitchen and another that we put in the doorway to our bedroom so that the off limits areas aren’t accessible. LL likes to roam between his room and the living room when he is playing. I alternate between playing with him (mostly trying to get him engaged with toys instead of climbing the furniture and “torturing” the cat) and checking my email.

7:25am – LL is ready for his first nap. On working days LL has to be down for his nap by now, or we have to skip it altogether. Since he was up so early this morning he has no problem falling asleep. I turn on his music, read him a story, and then put him in his crib. It usually takes him about 5 minutes to fall asleep once he is in his crib.

7:30am – I change into gym clothes and turn on my Jillian Michaels video for the day. This week I am up to Week 4 of Ripped in 30. I try not to cry during the burpees and renegade rows, and drink about a gallon of water (ok, not really a gallon but you get the idea.)

8:00am – I limp to the bathroom for a shower and get dressed for the day. It still feels weird to put on a YMCA nametag. I started working at the Y when I turned 16, but this is the first time I have worked there since I got married and decided being a teacher was enough work almost 4 years ago. I pack LL’s morning snack and refill his water cup for the diaper bag. I load the bag and my coffee and water bottle into the car.

8:30am – I wake up LL from his nap. Crying ensues…. not only is he furious that I woke him up from his sleep (maybe you should have slept in a bit if you are so tired, kid!), but I also have to change his diaper and get him dressed for the day. To LL, this is clearly cruel and unusual punishment, but a couple rounds of “row row row your boat” and some tummy tickles and by the time we are done he is all smiles again.

8:45am – Out the door and into the car.

9:00am – We arrive at the Y and get signed in. LL has a snack (yogurt pouch and some crackers) while we wait for other kiddos to arrive. Today I am working in the infant room, so he gets to stay with me. Throughout the 3 hours I am there we vary in busyness from 2 infants (6 weeks-18 months) up to about 12. We have 4-5 staff working at a time, but it still can get a bit crazy when multiple kiddos are upset at once. Today we have lots of little ones, and I fight some baby fever cuddling with a precious little 7 week old. Was LL really ever that small?? LL runs around, climbs on everything, and generally makes everyone laugh about how brave, clumsy, and resilient he is. He thinks he is so much bigger than he really is, and he doesn’t let anything slow him down!

12:00pm – Time to head home. LL has worn himself out and falls asleep in the car, so I leave the doors open and let him snooze for a couple extra minutes in the driveway while I take out the trash and pick up some toys in the yard.

12:15pm – Lunch time! We almost always have leftovers from the night before. I let LL get started on his fruit while I heat up our food. Today is pesto/cream cheese chicken and potatoes with some mixed veggies and mandarin oranges on the side.

12:30pm – I clean up lunch dishes while LL finishes eating.

12:45pm – Since LL took a little catnap he isn’t quite ready for his afternoon nap yet, so we read stories and play (and when I say play, I really mean rotate between dangerous stunts).

Cutest daredevil I know

1:30pm – Naptime for LL, rest time for me. This is my only downtime during the day. Normally I would do a couple chores, but today is floors day and the vacuum makes too much noise so I will wait for Mr. Lion to be home to take care of that. In the absence of chores, I sometimes will use the time to blog or work on craft projects, but today I am just not feeling it. I watch an episode of Bones and browse Facebook and Hellobee instead.

3:30pm – LL is up and has another snack. This time he munches on some cheerios and half of a kiwi.

3:45pm – LL is rested, fed, and ready to play! The weather is stormy so we can’t go outside and play or go for a walk like we normally would. We spend the next hour playing (I typically rotate between playing with him for 10 minutes and then give him 10ish minutes to play alone.) LL follows me around the house while I straighten up and fold some laundry.

4:45pm – The witching hour begins (isn’t this supposed to be a newborn thing?). I remember that we have company coming over tonight and that I need to clean the bathroom, and LL has an full blown meltdown every time I leave the room. If I was doing anything but cleaning the bathroom I would let him come with me, but he has an overwhelming obsession with the toilet, and that is not conducive to me getting the bathroom clean. I turn on his Mother Goose Club playlist on Youtube (aka, baby crack). This buys me about 10 minutes (although he would sit there much much longer if I would let him.)

How dare you not take me with you into the kitchen, Mommy!

5:00pm – Mr. Lion is home and takes over entertaining Little Lion while I finish up cleaning and get dinner started.

6:00pm – We sit down to eat dinner together. Tonight we are having buffalo chicken sandwiches. LL eats some of the chicken, but we give him a PBJ sandwich too since the chicken is very spicy tonight. Usually he eats what we are having, but we make exceptions/modifications when what we are eating is too difficult for him to manage.

6:30pm – Mr. Lion gives LL a bath while I clean up the kitchen.

6:45pm – I get my baby snuggle time. We read stories and I sing to LL while he winds down after his bath.

7:00pm – LL is in bed, usually asleep within a minute or two. Tonight he starts fussing about 5 minutes after we lay him down, so I go back in and read him one more story. After that we don’t hear another peep from him the rest of the night (that is, until he wakes up for the day at 4:30 the next morning. Yay…).

7:30pm – Tonight is our church Small Group night, and our group is meeting at our house.

9:30pm – Our Small Group friends have left. I straighten up a bit while Mr. Lion works on plans for our home addition. I spend some time browsing the blogs I follow.

10:00pm – I have been having trouble falling asleep lately, so I am trying to go screen-free for a little while before bedtime. I read in bed for 30ish minutes while Mr. Lion keeps working on his plans. We both go to bed together around 10:30.

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Even though this is my work day schedule, it is pretty similar to our schedule on any given day. We almost always get out of the house after LL’s first nap, mostly because I cannot stand to be in one place for the entire day. We either go to the gym so that I can work out, or we meet a friend, or we have errands to run. It seems like we always have something to do!