Thursday, February 23, 2006

Memo: Schedule Changes, Effective NOW

Life has been moving pretty quick lately. My days look a little like this:

6:00 am: Up. (bleary but functional) Main-line caffeine.

6:50 am: Leave for work.

6:50 to 7:45: Sit in heavy traffic. Listen to NPR. Think to self: Wow! World News! Hey, Cheney SHOT somebody? Really?

7:45 am: Begin working. RUN from various locations and tasks, from people management to problem solving to simple cleaning and sorting.

10:00 am: Realize Ribh must be hungry and I need to pump NOW, before large wet milk stains mark the front of my uniform and fail to impress my new co-workers.

2:45 pm: Wonder when lunch passed me by. Snarf down lunch at desk while reading a full inbox of work email that accumulated whilst I was tearing about.

4:32 pm: Realize I was supposed to have left work over 15 minutes ago in order to get home in time to relieve my child care provider.

4:35-5:30: Sit in traffic. Listen to same news stories repeated. Huh. Still baffled by the Cheney shooting thing. When did this happen exactly? For real? Oh, and the Olympics. Interesting. Sacha Cohen blew it. Shucks.

5:30 pm: Get tackled at the front door by Gabe who wraps his arms and legs around my leg, rendering me shackled and crippled as I enter the house. Ribh crawls quickly to my feet (not quite walking yet, the little monkey) and immediately begins mewling to be picked up. Quin is busy putting some babies to sleep and doesn't even notice I'm back. Ribh is now pulling my shirt up and patting my breasts while whining. At least SHE missed me/my boobs.

5:40-8:25: Clean up clutter, mail, laundry, think about making dinner, write bills, dishes, feed children, break up squabbles, water plants, begin dinner, administer time-outs, baths and nurse Ribh all while in the three pointed monkey death grip of at least one child at all times.

8:26: Start telling the kids to look for Papa's car. Papa is coming home! Papa! Papa!

8:34: Hooray! Papa is here! Tag! He's IT!

8:45: Watch TV while Hubby reads 16 books and puts the big kids to bed. Snuggle with my babe. Sigh. Smile. Eat popcorn for dinner.

9:15: Tell Hubby where to find his half-made dinner. Exchange first physical contact of the day with Hubby. (Smooches, I mean. Jeesh people, don't get dirty now. Remember what I have been through all day. This not a sexy encounter. Just nice to see my sweetie and actually get a hug and a kiss.)

9:30-10:30: Watch TV with Hubby. Nurse Ribh to sleep. Drift off with the TV still on.

12:06:Ribh, who has had little interest in my painstakingly expressed bottles of milk, is now as hungry as the Ravenous Bugblatter Beast of Traal and wants to make up for lost time.

1:24: Nurse on other side. Consider putting a towel over my head. (See link above if this confuses you.)

2:39: Switch sides. Think about work. Fall back asleep. Dream about work.

3:47: SWITCH! Realize the horror of your dream about work.

4:56: SWITCH even though breast are now shriveled like prunes. It's the only way to keep her asleep.

5:07: Think about work, even though baby has fallen back asleep. Remind self that I could sleep for a whole 'nother 45 minutes or so. Give up. Get up. Make Hubby wake up and move into my freshly vacated but ultimately necessary "Warm Body" position so that The Babe will stay asleep.

6:00: Throw together a lunch, so I will have something to eat at my desk. Locate breast pump. Find more bottles. Look for up-to-date photos of the kids to bring to work.

6:22: Leave early. MUCH less traffic. World News on NPR. Have time to stop at Dunkin' Donuts for coffee. Sigh. Smile. I guess I'll be getting up a little earlier from now on. If anyone wants to actually speak to me, call my cell between 6:20 and 7:00 am.

I'm tellin' ya, it's a whole new world.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hey lady! It's a good sign that you can even recount that much of a timeline of your day. I wish I could say the same and I don't even juggle the kids & husband part. Hugs & kisses (even if they make the yuch face) to all.

Sarah said...

what a schedule you have!! here's to you for keepin' with it :o)

don't burn out, kay? and try to treat yourself to some quiet relaxation now and again... are weekends *a little* better?

Anonymous said...

When I nursed like that I was walking into walls all day long.

Anna Banana said...

Hey Sis!
It looks like both our blogs are languishing in the face our our families needs...
Blow the cobwebs off the computer and regale us with tales of life in your house. I miss you guys sooooo much!

all my love