Mama Diaries - Dec 15

9am - Wake Andrew up to nurse him while reading my Bible. Enjoy some snuggle time before hearing the brush pick-up truck. Hear Grace a few minutes later; I snatch her out of bed and run downstairs to see if we can see the crane picking up brush, but we just miss it. Grace isn't worried - "we'll see it next time, maybe". Dress Grace, diaper Andrew, dress Andrew, diaper Grace.

Grace is pretty clingy this morning; I'm guessing because I haven't had a "normal" day at home with her since last Friday. It's been a fun, but busy couple of days (well, excepting Monday when I was so dizzy I had to spend most of the day in bed), but it often throws her for a loop after too many days without more regularity.

10am -Get Grace's breakfast started with a banana, while I work on laundry and bring Andrew downstairs. She gets really upset though that I didn't let her sit on the counter and help make her oatmeal. After breakfast, she helps me pull the clean diapers out of the dryer and into a basket. She's getting to be a real help!

11:00 am - Andrew gets a bit fussy while I'm trying to clip his fingernails (definitely easier while he's asleep!) and Grace tells me its his "eating time" and "feed Andrew and he stop crying". I nurse him a few minutes, then put him down for his nap.

11:30 am - I run upstairs to grab socks to take Grace outside to play. When I come back down, I find her in the study kneeling before our (Caleb's and mine) chess game. Grace wants to know if she "can look at them". Caleb forfeits the game (finally! ;-) ) and tells her she can, and Grace says "I'm growed up!" We'd been telling her when she's older we'll teach her out to play, and now she's happily playing with the chess pieces, enjoying her "growed-up-ness".

She then finds Daddy's magnetic building set and asks if she can "please play with it?" So we sit on the floor and play for a good while. Grace wants to build a house and make a person out of them, and then enjoys putting all the little balls back in the boxes.

12:00 pm - We snuggle on the couch and watch Barney. Then Grace helps me make her pb & jelly sandwich; she carries everything to her little table for me, then I let her practice spreading the pb and jelly, then put the sandwich together for Mama to cut in two.

1:30 pm - Put Grace down for her nap, and rest a bit myself while both the kiddos sleep. Sweep the house, work on laundry and do a bit of Christmas shopping online.

3pm - Andrew's awake, so nurse him while Christmas shopping, change his diaper and play awhile. We play peek-a-boo while Mama folds a couple loads of laundry.

5pm - Put Andrew down for a nap and get Grace up. She helps me put her laundry away - I sit in the floor with a pile of hangers and as I put a shirt on a hanger, she hangs it up in her closet. Then she put her pants and pajamas in the little nightstand I set up for a small "dresser" for her. She really is getting to be a good helper!

We then spend a long while playing "put the laundry basket on Mama's head". Grace would pretend it was a drum, wait for me to say "what's that drumming on my head?" and burst into giggles. Occasionally she'd steal my line and say "whose drumming on my head?" before I could, followed my more giggles. We then head dowstairs where she plays with the chess pieces in the study, then we go outside and run until Daddy finishes work.

5:50 pm - Daddy's done! And Mama fixes a quick dinner of mac & cheese and baked beans, with hot dogs in both dishes (a merging of our two family traditions for a mac & cheese dinner).

7:00 pm - Daddy bathes Grace while Mama & Andrew fold more laundry, then Mama reads stories with Grace while Daddy bathes Andrew.

8:40 pm - Both kiddos in bed, and Mama & Daddy get some time to finish laundry, cleaning the kitchen and computer work.

10:40 pm - Mama decides it's time to stop blogging and head to bed!