When does this happen?

Caution content of this posting may cause drowsiness. No hurt feelings if you skip to the last paragraph.



I used to be able to accomplish a whole list of activities during one day. Now, I often wonder if I even ate, because I feel like I didn't even get one task accomplished. So I decided to keep a daily time line to see what's happening.



7:00 The alarm startles me from my beauty rest…meaning I'm still in debt and will never acquire enough beauty sleep to undo the damage. It truly is a never-ending battle.

7:08 Actually get out of bed, after listening to a few comments by the broadcasters.

7:10 After going to the bathroom and finding something clean enough to put on I finally gain enough courage to wake the sleeping bears (a kindergartener and a three-year-old). A treacherous task because the bears' attitude is never predictable. Screeching, moaning, and even outright roaring are not unheard of.

7:17 The awakening wasn't as bad as expected. I actually have all my extremities and I haven't even reached for the bottle of acetaminophen.

7:18 Potty and hand washing.

7:28 Breakfast for the bears, and it is good thing it only took 10 minutes to decide what to eat. It is a school morning, after all.

7:30 A chance to check emails, facebook, and the blogs I follow.

7:40 Read and sign the papers from school and put them in the backpack, add icepack to the lunch bag, and verify the snack bag made it into the backpack.

7:48 Done eating. Now off to teeth brushing, getting dressed, and hair combing.

8:00 Head to the bus stop. Pause to watch the deer cross the road - a mother and two fawns. Put hair into pony tails. Yes, at the bus stop. Give final directions to be good, listen well, and learn her classmates' names.

8:10 The bus is running behind, but we are back in the house to round up the piles of laundry. Sort whites, lights, darks, and brights (with three girls I often call this my Pepto Bismol load). Begin wash cycle number one.

8:20 Throw on workout clothes.

8:21 Cut an apple for the three-year-old and baby, fill a water bottle, and head for the basement.

8:22 Search house for the workout DVD I borrowed from the library.

8:28 Begin workout.

9:13 Complete enough of the workout to call it accomplished.

9:15 Turn sprinklers on. We are trying to grow a lawn. The final step of our landscaping.

9:28 If only I could spray the front yard in the five minutes I am told it should take.

9:29 Put towels in the dryer and a white shirt (that is not so white) to soak in the washer.

9:30 Just realized I haven't feed the baby breakfast. No wonder she won't let me put her down.

9:35 Time to turn the sprinklers off. Thanks goodness I set the timer to remind me or the seeds would be swimming.

9:43 Wipe a stinky three-year-old-bottom.

9:45 Sit down to eat my breakfast.

9:46 Begin preschool lesson of colors, Q for Quilt, and how many is this?

10:15 Add a load of white clothes and bed sheets to the not so white shirt to run wash cycle number two.

10:18 Pull the dry clothes out of dryer, bring them up to the folding station (a king sized bed).

10:20 Read Pooh's Snapshot Surprise to the three-year-old (way more enjoyable without the batteries:).

10:30 Find and print lesson plans for later. Hey, mark that down as planning ahead.

10:37 Quick search of office for missing credit card.

10:40 Open a yogurt for three-year-olds am snack and pour OJ to go with it.

10:41 Change a stinky baby diaper.

10:42 Shower.

10:47 Clean bathroom after baby had five, count them, five minutes of unattended freedom in the bathroom.

10:54 Put baby down for morning nap.

10:55 Wipe stinky three-year-old bottom. Yes, again.

11:06 Empty dishwasher and put clean dishes away. Listening to Rush Limbaugh in the background.

11:12 Wipe yogurt off the table and chair legs after hearing, "Oops mommy, I spilled."

11:20 Fill dishwasher with dirty dishes and run.

11:22 Wash large dishes in sink.

11:25 Rotate laundry and begin wash cycle number three.

11:30 Outside to turn on the sprinklers and jump on the trampoline with three-year-old. So much more fun the cool fall weather when you don't feel like you have to shower afterwards.

12:10 Ten minutes late for lunch. Any ideas?

12:15 Leftovers. Begin preparing a supper meal. Still listening to Rush.

12:25 Check emails, facebook, and the blogs I follow.

12:26 Delete all the junk emails. What did I do to the people from Viagra and eHarmony that they insist on sending me so much information?

12:30 Eat lunch. 1:00 Laundry continues now with the folding and putting away. Yuck.

1:06 Just multitasking, turned on the straightener to straighten my hair. Something I try to accomplish every three of four days.

1:10 Complete the supper meal.

1:11 Rotate laundry and begin wash cycle number four.

1:15 Back upstairs to fold laundry and do my hair.

1:16 Baby awake, skip laundry and hair to feed baby.

1:30 Hair and makeup. 1:40 Fold laundry. I'll have to put it away another day.

2:00 Turn computer on for three-year-old preschool lesson.

2:01 Change a baby diaper.

2:05 Provide fruit snacks for an "I'm so hungry" three-year-old.

2:30 Turn on sprinklers and play outside.

2:45 Again wondering how I am supposed to wet the front yard in five minutes.

2:46 A walk around the pond, while reading the mail and pushing the stroller, so the three-year-old can ride her bike.

3:00 Final glance at the local paper, advertisements, and coupons on the front step before heading inside.

3:10 Change into work clothes and pull back my hair.

3:20 Check emails, facebook, and the blogs I follow.

3:30 Wait for hubby and kindergartener to arrive.

3:45 Leave for work.



That's all folks. My eight hour day! And what did I accomplish? A couple of meals, watering the lawn, laundry, preschool, miscellaneous cleaning, and a whole lot of mothering, which is why I do it. One long day, written in one short sentence, meaning only one thing: I love what I do and I am thankful I get to do it again tomorrow.