I thought it might be interesting to document a typical day before the dynamic of our family changes. I've been finding myself mourning, in way, the impending loss of what I really love - life with Grant and Anna. I'm sure that I'll look back at my current concern and laugh. There is no way I could have known that adding Grant and then Anna would be so stinking wonderful. There is no reason to think that the next addition will be anything but equally awesome. But still, we're about to leave the known and I know that the known is really great. So with a sentimental tear or two, here is the last installment of "life with a Grant and Anna."
5:30am: Russell is up. He leaves around 6, I think, for a day of canning peaches. He gave me a kiss goodbye but I was barely awake.
6:30ish: Grant wakes up and climbs into bed with me, accompanied by a big stack of library books. He browses while I slowly come to life.
6:30-7: I try to read my scriptures and Grant tries to tell me stories. I can only hold him off for so long.
7ish: After listening to a few stories (involving "wildlife that I shot with my gun"), I get out a puzzle for Grant and take my shower. Today is Wednesday - clean the bathroom day. I half-heartedly scrub the shower.
7:30: Anna is up and both kids are outside checking chickens, riding bikes, etc.
8:00: It's time for shakes (a multivitamin deal) and breakfast once a) Anna is dressed (Grant dressed himself awhile ago), b) her sheets are changed (an accident last night), and c) Grant makes his bed. I've found that by doing breakfast AFTER the kids get dressed and make their beds, it's way more likely that those two tasks will happen. For breakfast we had homemade granola, blueberries, and milk. I can tell that Anna is done when she starts rubbing her spoon through her hair.
8:30-10: Various events...read a book to the kids, do dishes, get out another puzzle for Grant, put on some tunes for the kids (today's choice is Raffi), refill the honey jar, Anna zones out with her blanket and thumb, Grant works on further backyard excavations, read another book to the kids.
anna in the zone
grant in his hole
10-1:15: Time for an outing. We head over to a friend of mine's - she's also pregnant but not feeling so well. We make playdough and then I take her to a chiropractic appointment, bring her back, and then run to the store for her. In the meantime, the kids stay at her house (supervised, of course) and play with playdough and toys, and run around outside chasing butterflies and caterpillars. I return and we all pick a bunch of zucchini, cukes, and basil from her huge, beautiful garden.
1:15: Lunchtime! A quick meal - PB and honey and a Gallicum melon. We'd never tried one before. It's a cross between a cantaloupe and honeydew...delish!! The kids are hot and tired which translates in loads of energy and volume - especially for Grant.
1:45: Naptime. Ahhhhh. Both kids are out without much noise. I struggle for awhile with how I should spend the quiet time. Make pesto? Sew some diapers? Sit down and ice my back? I decided to sit down and take care of my back for a bit and then worked on a diaper.
the basil
3:45: Both kids are up. A kind of long nap for Grant and a kind of short one for Anna. It's Anna's turn to choose the after nap video - she selects Bob the Builder which gives me about 40 minutes during which I manage to finish the diaper I was working on.
4:45-6:45: The kids play outside. They are vastly entertained by filling with water the huge hole Grant has been digging. At first I thought about redirecting their activity but then I decided that "what the heck - it's a hot day and in all honesty, wouldn't it be a blast to just play in the mud?" I didn't play in the mud myself, but instead watched the process off an on as I made a couple big batches of pesto.
7:00: Dinner - pesto, of course! Russell is running late so we uncharacteristically ate without him. After a long day of playing, the kids are ravenous and eat several helpings.
7:45: Russell is home, very fleetingly. I am feeling worn to the bone and he takes pity on me and bathes the kids and gets them into their jammies before he heads off to a meeting.
8:00: Russell leaves and I put the kids to bed after scriptures and prayers. I collapse on the couch, sadly noting the prominence of my new cankles.
And that, dear readers, is a rundown of life with Grant and Anna. Without the soundtrack. You should thank me for that. Although you would have a volume control and I would pay good money for something like that on any given day around here. But I think in a few years I just might miss the chaos. And hot, dirty bodies that come running inside bringing the smell of summer with them. And the earnest gift of a handful of flowers with absolutely no stems. Yes, the days are loud and full. And I'm hungry for more.