A Day in the Life: Thursday Edition

I really kind of loved doing this post back in March about what I did all day. So, lucky you, I did it again. I know. . . . it’s pretty much a non-stop carnival over here. This was a Thursday a couple of weeks ago.

7:15 a.m. Wake up. Check my email, look at Google Reader and Instagram.

7:30 a.m. Bart calls from NYC. We talk briefly as he walks to work.

7:40 a.m. Ella is awake. I go get her out of bed, and she drinks some cocoa, we draw a few pictures, and then I change her diaper, before getting dressed myself and packing her some crackers to take on our walk.

8:00 a.m. Meet up with some friends to do a four mile loop. Ella is an angel child.

9:00 – 9:10 a.m. One of the girls who walked with us comes back to pick up some of our books so she can read them to her nieces over Skype.

9:10 – 9:40 a.m. Ella and I eat breakfast (cereal with fruit for me, yogurt with fruit for her).

9:40 -10:15 a.m. I shower, dress, put on my make up and do my hair, get Ella dressed, gather up the library books, renew a few items on my phone, and we head out the door to storytime.

10:30 – 11:10 a.m. Storytime about monsters. Ella is delighted by the whole thing as usual.

11:10 a.m. – 12:05 p.m. I pick up my books on hold, Ella gets about a dozen board books which we read together and then she wanders around for a bit, plays a computer game, and then eats grapes with Ralphie’s little girl while Ralphie and I visit.

12:05 – 12:15 p.m. On the drive home, I stop to get gas and Ella sobs the whole time when she realizes she forgot to pick out a new puppet at the library.

12:15 – 12:45 p.m. Our apartment gym has a little playroom off of it and we stop there on our way into the complex where Ella and I play with the puzzles. There is a diaper change too.

12:50 p.m. Home again. A quick snack for Ella (cream cheese, jam and crackers), but she burns herself on the jam when I let it warm up too much in the microwave while I’m wiping off the table and there is a lot of crying. She eats her snack while I unload the dishwasher.

1:05 – 1:15 p.m. I get Ella ready for a nap.

1:15 p.m. Baby down! I make myself some lunch, finish cleaning up the kitchen, import a CD onto my phone, write a note to one of my grandparents, chat briefly with Bart online, and plow through a couple Cybils titles (I’m judging for non-fiction picture books again this year).

3:00 p.m. Ella wakes up, and we have a snack together (pretzels, apples and peanut butter), while I flip through Family Fun and Better Homes and Gardens.

3:25 – 3:40 p.m. Ella requests a game, and she chooses Play-Doh. I make some very unimpressive snakes.

3:45 p.m. Off to the Austin library to drop off some things that are due and pick up a couple of holds that are about to expire. Ella talks to Bart on the phone while I drive. She keeps asking me, “What daddy saying to me?” My car is old and loud, so I have even less of an idea what he’s saying.

4:00 p.m. At the library! Ella is transfixed by some new magnetic puzzles they have and I read a couple more Cybils titles while she plays. After a few minutes on the computer, she picks up a huge stack of books and we read most of them together. Five minutes at the drinking fountain and Ella is ready to get a sticker from the librarian at the front desk. While we are there, she spots 1-2-3 Peas on the desk under a big stack of other books and asks if we can check it out. The librarian says it’s available and Ella is ecstatic.

5:00 p.m. Ack! Forgot Ella’s baby doll. Fortunately we are just getting in the car, so it’s easy to run back in and grab her. Ella reads 1-2-3 Peas all the way home, asking occasionally if we can read it when we get home.

5:20 p.m. We read 1-2-3 Peas three times straight through.

5:40 p.m. Ella eats a bit more of her yogurt leftover from breakfast while I make a grilled sandwich with some leftover chicken, avocado, tomato and homemade ranch, plus the last two slices of some french bread. Ella eats quite a lot of tomato and avocado and cheese.

6:15 – 6:25 p.m. I clean up the kitchen, while Ella climbs in and out of the library basket.

6:25 – 6:45 p.m. We read some scripture stories, brush Ella’s teeth, change her into jammies and a clean diaper, read 1-2-3 Peas one more time, before I snuggle Ella in the rocking chair and sing to her before putting her to bed.

6:50 p.m. Ella is down and my lovely neighbor keeps an eye on her while I return to the library (I know. . .again).

7:00 – 8:45 p.m. I participate in a focus group at the library about long-term library planning. I also eat several mini-eclairs. And a muffin. And think about eating another muffin, but can’t really stand to be that pregnant woman who won’t stop eating.

8:45 – 8:55 p.m. I take advantage of being at the library without Ella and pick up a bunch more Cybils titles. One of my favorite librarians asks me how the focus group went and we chat briefly about it while I check out my books.

9:00 – 9:30 p.m. I talk to Bart on the way home and then sit in the car for a bit while we finish our conversation.

9:30 p.m. Thank the neighbor, put on my pajamas.

9:30 – 9:45 p.m. Catch up on some emails, read a few blogs, generally waste time online.

9:45 – 10:45 p.m. Plan for preschool tomorrow morning. Wish I’d picked up a couple more library books.

10:45 – 11:10 p.m. Write this post. Think about how I should be going to bed.

11:10 – 11:30 p.m. Brush my teeth, take off my makeup, read my scriptures and fall into bed.