Day in the Life: 18 Months, 3.5 Years

I have been wanting to write a "day in the life" post for quite a while now, just to have a reminder for myself of what these days were like. "These days" feel--at various times--long, fun, sweet, difficult, too short, rushed, mundane, and precious. Every day is different, so I know what I write here won't capture this season entirely, but a snapshot is better than nothing.

For perspective, our current situation: We have been living in Silicon Valley for about four months. Marshall attends preschool full time (about 9:15 am to 4:00 pm), and Declan stays home with me. We're hoping that soon enough I'll land a full time job, so I have an ever-present awareness that these days of lazy (er, less crazy?) mornings, no-schedule hours midday, and do-whatever-I-want naptimes will eventually end. I'm soaking them in as much as I can! (Also, I wrote this post last week and have been dragging my feet on getting the photos loaded.)

5:45 am: Declan is awake. We just got home a few days ago from our biggest trip in years--a full week of travel to Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina--and Declan is still adjusting to the time change. Today's wakeup time is much better than yesterday's (a full hour earlier), so we'll take it! Terry gets up to hang with Dec and I gratefully stay in bed to sleep a bit longer.

6:40 am: I finally get myself up to start the day. I'm pretty good about getting my contacts in, face rinsed, hair brushed first thing in the morning, but I rarely get dressed right away, and I always regret it. It's not bad to hang out in pjs all morning, but when it's time to go I always wish I had gotten myself ready first. Oh well. Declan comes in my room to see what I'm up to and we head out to play in the living room for a while.

7:00 am: Marshall is our sleepy head in the mornings--or, actually, he's usually awake but prefers to just hang out in his bed a while before getting up. Today he's up right around 7:00, ready to "plaaaaaaay!"

7:15 am: I get breakfast going (eggs, toast, and fruit--my favorite) while the boys read, play, hang out with Daddy. Breakfast is the only meal of the day we are guaranteed to enjoy altogether, so we make it a point to sit and (attempt to) relax with the boys. Luckily they love pretty much all breakfast foods so we rarely have to struggle with "take one bite" on repeat during this meal. Today we talk about the weather (more rain on the way, yay!), upcoming events at Marshall's school, and the like.

7:50 am: I suggest a walk after breakfast, since we're a bit early, so we tackle the always-difficult task of getting the kids and ourselves ready for a simple walk around the neighborhood. Marshall has a tough time with transitions--as all toddlers do--so we work through changing clothes, going to the bathroom, and finally getting outside.

8:10 am: We enjoy a 25-minute walk around the neighborhood with the double stroller. The boys generally enjoy walks (once we get outside), and it gives Terry and I a few minutes to chat. It's also a lovely day!

8:35 am: Back home, Terry and I take turns showering and hanging with the kids. They are starting to get to a point where they can handle longer and longer periods of less intense supervision, but we stay close for now. Today Marshall chose to help Declan put on his rain boots, which was such a sweet moment.

9:00 am: Terry and Marshall head out. When possible, Terry tries to take Marshall to school, which ends up being about twice per week. Meanwhile, Declan and I finish getting ready and head out ourselves!

9:30 am: On our way out to the car, Declan starts running loops around our little rock bed in the front yard, so I engage him in a little game of chase. I remind myself what a blessing it is to be able to take our time like this. It wasn't so long ago that I was working full time and we did a lot more rushing around, and I know it'll go back to that soon when I'm (hopefully) employed again. For now, I'm trying to remember to allow these little delays.

9:37 am: Declan and I arrive at our local library to return some books, but the library isn't open yet so we stroll down the block to this neighborhood's main street. One thing I love about the Bay Area is all the small downtowns we have yet to explore.

Today I decide to pop in to a little bakery to grab a mini pastry, and Dec and I share it on a bench outside. He says, "Bench," and seems so happy sitting there. I love these moments. (On the other hand, moments like yesterday when he simply couldn't find anything to make him feel content are a bit harder.)

10:00 am: We're back at the library and head inside to play, grab books, and roll around on the giant teddy bears in the children's section. Declan plays with a little girl, and it reminds me that he really will benefit from getting to socialize at daycare when he gets to go.

11:00 am: We arrive back home. I make some tea for myself, and we hang out reading some of our library books and playing with Scout. A diaper change is thrown in there somewhere, and I update Terry on our day so far.

12:00 pm: Lunch! I serve Dec a snacky meal: hard-boiled egg, cucumber and carrot with hummus, and a banana muffin. I'm not hungry yet, so I chat with Declan while I prep dinner. I explain the process of making broccoli cheese soup (<--I skip the bacon and double the broccoli and we all love this recipe!), and he giggles when I run the immersion blender. If I ever become a cooking show host, my children will be able to say they were my first audience. What an honor for them, right?

12:40 pm: Satisfied with lunch, Declan heads in for his nap. He can usually get himself to sleep on his own, but today he's calling for me after 15 minutes so I rock him all the way to sleep. The peaceful feeling I get when I see my babies sleeping never gets old.

(fun fact: Declan almost always sleeps on his back, and usually with his arms over his head, just like when he was a newborn <3)

1:10 pm: I tiptoe out of Declan's room and start this blog post, eating my lunch of leftover chana masala

and watching Julie & Julia. Then I race around the house tidying up, washing dishes, and working on another cover letter for a job application. I relish this time to myself, to do as I please and keep the house running as I see fit. Usually I use the time to cook, meal plan, clean, organize parts of the house, do laundry, and take breaks to read blogs or browse social media. Declan's nap time gives me energy to tackle the rest of the afternoon and evening, and I am grateful for it.

3:10 pm: Declan is awake, so I wrap up a few more tasks and scoop him out of his crib. We only have a few minutes to hang out before heading to Marshall's school for pickup.

3:50 pm: We arrive at Marshall's school, and Marshall interrupts his class story time to ask me if he can stay to finish the book. I love his sweet innocence; he walks up to me while the teacher is still reading to start telling me all about the book. We gather up his belongings and head out, and he chats to me the whole way home about the book they were reading, what he wants to do at home, and ideas for fun tonight.

4:10 pm: We're back at home, and it's a bit windy and chilly out, so we head inside to play. Marshall is excited about all the new library books, so we read a few. The boys have trouble agreeing on one book, and when we settle on a firetruck book they have trouble agreeing on the pacing (Declan wants to stare at one page and keeps going back to it, but Marshall insists that we keep marching ahead). I make myself another cup of tea and soak up almost two hours of cuddles, giggles, and squabbles with the boys.

5:55 pm: I reheat the broccoli soup from earlier and throw some bread in the toaster to warm up. The boys are doing a great job of playing independently--a rare occurrence!

6:05 pm: The boys decide they want to help me with dinner, so they pull out the kitchen tower and climb up. I'm scrambling to make sure they don't slice fingers on the cheese grater when Terry gets home. He and the boys set the table while I serve dinner. I'm always so grateful to have him home before dinner!

6:13 pm: The boys love the soup (what's not to love about cheesy soup?). We chat about our days and laugh at Declan eating his meal with two spoons.

6:35 pm: Dinner is pretty quick, and the boys all head to the bathroom for bath time. I stay in the kitchen to wash a few dishes, store leftovers, clean the kitchen, and write up a quick workout for me and Terry.

7:05 pm: Declan comes running out of the bathroom and into the kitchen to find me after bath, my cue to step back in to help get the boys ready for bed. I let Declan run around in just a diaper for a second, and then Terry and I tag team pajamas. Terry reads Declan his bedtime story and gets him into bed. Marshall gets a few more wiggles out and then snuggles up with me on the couch for a few books. Terry joins us for a bit and then we bring him to bed together around 7:40.

7:45 pm: Terry and I chat for a few minutes about our days and then start in on a solid leg workout while catching up on a few TV shows. We end up on the couch watching a few more with some cookies and wine to end the day. We also book a hotel for our upcoming night away--just us! It's been almost two years since we had a night away from the kids, so we're really excited to sleep and relax and have uninterrupted conversations!

10:20 pm: Time for bed! I shower, read a few chapters of a new book, and then it's lights out.