11.12.13

Last year I blogged about our day on 10/11/12, so I thought I'd do the same again this year.

The day started with Will waking me up at about 7am. I told him I needed a few more minutes. At 7:40 I decide I can't avoid the day any longer. I was a little concerned about what Will had been up to for the past half hour, but when I walked out of my room I see that Anthony got Will breakfast before he started work and feel grateful for the extra half hour of sleep/lounging in my warm bed. I stayed up too late the night before, and resolve to be in bed by 11 in the future.

For the next half hour I eat breakfast, visit with Will, tidy the kitchen, and check my email and social media.

Lauren gets up around 8:30. She's been sleeping in later and taking shorter afternoon naps. I get her dressed and read Panda Bear, Panda Bear What do you Hear? several times. She has to eat her breakfast quickly because we are headed to the community center.

Water Aerobics is my go-to fitness class, but I have been wanting to branch out a bit. My friend Holly also works out at the community center and I made plans to attend a class with her. The kids are nonplussed about having to wear their coats, and even though it's 22 degrees outside I'm feeling hot as we get in the car after battling the kids to get them in the car. Lauren has been particularly difficult lately.

I finally make it to the Stretch and Strengthen class where I get schooled by a studio full of people 2+ decades my senior (excluding Holly). Post class I visit with Holly and feel motivated to make good, healthy choices.

The kids and I go to the explorer room and the kids climb and play for a few minutes before we head home.

When it is time to go both kids throw fits and again, by the time we get in the car I am feeling warm and frustrated.

I had planned on taking the kids to Wonderscope in the afternoon, but scrap that plan after the trip to the gym. When we get home I turn on the TV for the kids and veg out for a bit, looking at my phone while the kids watch PBS kids.

We eat lunch and then Lauren goes down for a nap.

Will and I do battle over his eye patch. He has done so well wearing it the past four months, but has really lost steam in the last week or two. He fights and cries every time I bring it up. Yesterday (11.11) he met with the ophthalmologist who said he has made a lot of progress with wearing the patch and probably only has to wear it for a few more months, which was encouraging for me, but apparently not enough for Will. I think he only wore the patch for an hour and a half. I was feeling discouraged, so he just watched a movie and I read my book until Lauren woke up from her nap.

Post nap I decide we need to get out of the house. I am feeling claustrophobic and the kids are grouchy so I figure a good dose of Vitamin D will do everyone good. Unfortunately it is still about 30 degrees, overcast and windy.

Lauren refuses to ride on the stroller, insisting instead that I "hold you, hold you," which is her way of saying she wants to be held. We abort the walk and go back inside.

When TJ is done with work we make our way to the park. It is still really cold and I didn't have the kids wear gloves. They both want to swing, but refuse to touch the cold chains. They were so miserable, their faces say it all. Mom fail. They both climb for a few minutes, then we head back home. I keep thinking about how much I hate winter and worry about how I will survive the next four months. Walking to the park for an hour before or after dinner was my go-to move to improve the family morale this spring and summer.

I have ground turkey so I give the kids three options for dinner--stroganoff, spaghetti or tacos. They choose stroganoff and actually ate a few bites each which I count as a success.

Anthony and I decide that an early bedtime is in order. We bathe the kids at about seven.

Lauren gets out first, and Will stays and plays in the water for awhile longer.

Lauren wants to read Panda Bear again. Will wants to listen to Jingle Bells. We do a little of both for a bit.

 
By 7:45pm both kids are down. This is a bit earlier than usual, and they will most likely wake up early the next morning (they did) but they were grouchy enough that we are willing to do that dance.

I make a quick trip to Michaels to pick up a few items for some holiday crafting I have planned with my 25% off coupon.

It was nice perusing the store without busy helpers. I was a bit annoyed that my coupon included discounts on SALE items, but not items that were on CLEARANCE, but was happy with what I was able to get.

When I got home we turned on the the new PBS special about JFK. It was interesting, but we've read and watched a lot about JFK this year, so there wasn't much new.

I work on my cross-stitch and then head to bed around 11:20.

Unfortunately, for the sake of this blog post, Tuesday ended up being the "worst" day of the week last week. I promise I am not usually this negative. Looking back almost a week later it is pretty clear to me that sleep, or lack thereof played a big part in our grumpiness. I know that, but sometimes it is good to be reminded.

November 2013 resolution: get 8 hours of sleep a night.