Oh darlin...

I was talking to my cousin Peter this week, and he asked me, "Katie, what do you and Ben do during the day?" Peter and his wife Amanda have four young children, all very close in age, so I assume he is genuinely interested in what my days are like--not insinuating that I must have a hard time finding something productive to do. If he doesn't know what moms with children do all day then, Amanda, you must tell him! When I post on this blog, or write in my journal, I rarely talk about my daily activities, it's always something out of the ordinary. So, this week I recorded what I do during the day, and down the road it will be fun to look back and see how my days have changed relative to my stage in life.

Monday, June 17

7:00 get up, change Ben’s diaper, make oatmeal with blueberries, feed Ben

7:30 eat breakfast with Dave, put together leftovers for Dave to take for lunch

8:00 empty dishwasher, do dishes, start dusting house

9:00 read Ben story, put him down for nap

9:15 continue dusting house, water plants

10:00 check bank account, finances

10:30 research supplemental insurance for having a baby—no luck, email Peter
11:30 Ben wakes up from nap, heat up leftovers for lunch, eat

12:00 go for run with Ben in chariot

12:40 arrive home, do sit ups, push ups

1:00 vacuum house, plan meals for week

2:00 read Ben story, put him down for nap

2:15 take shower, get ready for day

3:00 make grocery list

3:30 Ben wakes up, change his diaper, get him dressed, feed him snack

4:00 go to Kimball junction, talk to April on the way

4:30 buy Ben some shorts/shirts at Carter’s*

5:15 go grocery shopping at Smith’s*

6:30 return home, feed Ben, help Dave make dinner of spaghetti, zucchini, and salad

7:00 eat, feed Ben, do dishes

7:30 play with Ben

8:00 put Ben in pjs, read him a story, put him to bed

8:30 pick up Ben’s toys, check emails, facebook, news, read, talk to Dave

10:00 read Book of Mormon with Dave, pray, go to sleep

*There are no carts at Carter’s, my arms got tired of holding Ben, so I had to put him down, he was crawling all over and pulling the stuffed animals and shoes off their hooks—very stressful!

*Ben kept wiggling around and standing up in his seat on the cart, then he started fussing because he was hungry and tired, I checked out before getting everything on my list because I couldn’t handle it anymore! I've been trying to do the grocery shopping so Dave can have more free time, but I think I'm turning it back over to him. Stores and children are the worst combination!

Tuesday, June 18

7:00 get up, change Ben’s diaper, make breakfast

7:30 feed Ben, eat, do dishes

8:00 read Ben a story, put him down for his nap

8:30 clean kitchen, sweep all wood floor in house, mop all wood floor

10:00 Ben wakes up, change his diaper, feed him snack

10:30 go for run with Ben in chariot

10:45 visit with neighbor down the road while on run

11:30 return home, make lunch, eat, talk to Jenny

12:00 give Ben a bath, get him dressed, play with him

1:00 read him story, put him down for nap

1:15 shower, get ready for day,

2:00 finish current book How Will You Measure Your Life?

3:00 Ben wakes up, feed him snack

3:30 go to Food Town for groceries that I didn’t get at Smith’s

4:30 return home, play with Ben

5:00 make dinner of corn on the cob, roasted sweet potatoes & cauliflower, salad

6:00 eat dinner

7:00 do dishes, sweep kitchen

7:30 sit on porch with Dave and Ben

8:00 put Ben in pjs, read him story, put him to bed

Wednesday, June 19

6:30 Ben wakes up, Dave gets up and changes his diaper, makes oatmeal, feeds Ben :)

7:00 I get up and eat oatmeal

7:30 put Ben down for nap

7:45 shower, get ready for day

9:00 pick up young woman, go to girls’ camp for the day, Dave stays home with Ben*

7:00 leave girls’ camp

8:00 return home, eat a snack, hang out with Ben & Dave

8:30 read Ben a story, put him in pjs, put him to bed

8:45 read, check instagram, facebook, emails, news

10:00 pray, go to bed

*So lucky to have a husband that can work from home some days. And was willing to take care of Ben while doing it. Never thought I'd say this, but it was very nice to have a break and spend the day with the ladies and girls in my ward at girls' camp. That's what taking care of a baby all day will do to you!

Thursday, June 20

7:00 get up, get Ben up, change his diaper, make breakfast, feed Ben breakfast

7:30 eat breakfast of wheat toast with honey & cinnamon, and fruit

8:00 Ben is fussy, read Ben story, put him down for morning nap

8:15 do dishes, cut up fruit & veggie snacks for the day, sweep kitchen

9:00 Ben wakes up early from nap, change diaper, feed him more breakfast

9:15 make bed, pick up bedroom, brush teeth

9:30 put Ben back down for morning nap

9:40 get car, bike rack, chariot, road bike ready for ride

10:00 clean master bath, guest bath, and laundry room

11:00 Ben wakes up from nap, we eat a snack

12:00 go road biking, Marion park to ranch on Boulderville road, 7 miles*

1:40 finish road biking

2:00 eat lunch

2:15 put ben down for nap, start bread dough, set out to rise

2:30 sit ups, push-ups, shower, do hair/makeup, get dressed

3:10 continue bread making

3:30 help dave with rewiring car/trailer

3:45 donate blood at stake center, leave Ben with Dave

5:00 return home, get ben up from nap, change his diaper, feed him

5:15 continue making bread, make dinner of minestrone soup, kale salad, and bread

6:30 eat dinner

7:15 dishes, sweep kitchen

7:45 play with Ben

8:15 read Ben a story, put him to bed

8:30 clean up Ben’s toys

8:45 sit on deck with Dave, talk about interest rates and our refinancing

9:00 read John Rosemond’s Six-Point Plan for Raising Happy, Healthy Children

10:30 pray, go to sleep

*Rebecca Wharton couldn’t ride today. 7 miles isn't far for a road ride, but pulling the Chariot is enough to make it a workout for me! Boulderville road is so serene with beautiful green fields and the rare car. Usually hike once a week with LuAnn, didn't happen this week.

Friday, June 21

5:30 Ben wakes up crying, feed him, put another blanket on him, go back to sleep

7:30 get up, make breakfast, feed Ben, eat

8:00 clean up dishes

8:30 start load of laundry, fold laundry in dryer

9:00 watch big cement truck with Ben that is at our neighbor’s house

9:30 read to Ben, put him down for morning nap

9:45 continue folding laundry

10:00 check emails, review finances

10:30 work on organizing recipes in excel, folders, find new recipes*

11:30 laundry

11:45 Ben wakes up, make lunch, feed ben, eat

12:15 empty dishwasher, put lunch dishes in dishwasher

12:30 play with Ben

12:45 laundry

1:00 get ready for road ride, go on road ride

2:30 finish road ride*
2:45 have a snack with Ben, do laundry

3:00 put Ben down for nap

3:15 fold last load of laundry

5:00 work on this blog post, get ready for hike

6:30 go with Dave and Ben on a hike up Slate Creek Canyon on the Mirror Lake Highway

8:00 out to eat at Los Montes in Kamas

8:45 arrive home, change Ben's diaper, read him a story, put him to bed

9:00 shower, get ready for bed, read

10:00 pray, sleep

*I'm changing our diet from meat-centered meals to meatless, vegetable, and whole grain meals--much to Dave's chagrin. Less dairy too. Meat only one night a week and fish another night. Less sugar and processed foods as well.

*Really windy today. Made it a tough ride on the way home.

So, this is what I do during the day. When I think of my days though, I've left out a major part of being a mom. That is picking up after Ben! As I go about cleaning, preparing meals etc., I'm constantly putting pots and pans back in the cupboards, grocery bags back in the drawers, books back on the shelf, and shoes back in the closet. And I'm fairly consistently picking Ben up for kisses and hugs after he shuts his fingers in a drawer, slips and hits his head on the wood floor, and drops a book on his toes.

I guess moms' days are spent mostly keeping things as they should be. The status quo. Sometimes you get something extra done that will last for more than a few hours. But usually not. It's cleaning that gets dirty again, cooking that gets eaten up, and dirty diapers that are never-endingly dirty. So when things just seem normal, clean, nice, and not falling apart--we're doing a lot! And I'm sure with more children, a mom may not even reach the clean, not falling apart state, and she's still doing a lot.

Check out this funny joke that I love.

Peter, I really have no idea what you do during the day either. You sell insurance. But what does that entail? What is the daily grind that brings home the bacon? And Amanda, I would love to see your schedule with four children! Or maybe I wouldn't...it may scare me away from having any more :)

Reader, are your days like mine? What do you do all day? I want to know!