I doubt anyone is particularly interested in this exhausting (though not exhaustive) list of what I did today. You’re welcome to read it, of course, but I mostly wrote it down for myself. Sometimes I get to the end of a day and wonder if I accomplished anything at all; other times I begin a day wondering how on earth I will make it through my to do list. This post proves both that I can accomplish many things in a day, and also that I usually accomplish much more than I realize. I’m sure some of you are amazed that I tackled so much on a Saturday, while others of you probably did my day’s worth of work before noon.
7:15am Wake up; realize I somehow slept through alarm. Wash face, put contacts in, head downstairs for 30 minutes with Wii Fit. While trying to hold the tree pose, direct boys to get dressed, change sheets, etc. Head back upstairs to shower and dress.
8:07am Grab apron on way into kitchen; stop at computer long enough to turn on Handel’s Messiah. Finish mixing up biscuits–glad I measured everything last night! Fetch Boy Genius from basement to help Larry clean aquarium. Roll out biscuits. Fetch Baby Boy from Drama Boy’s room and remind Drama Boy to shower NOW. Put biscuits in oven and start making gravy with sausage left over from last night’s pizza. Add yeast and rest of flour to wheat that has been soaking overnight; transfer to greased bowl to rise.
9:11am Breakfast is served! Almost fixed plate for Twirly Girl; oops, she is at sleepover. Peel orange to share with Silly Boy. Open fabric.com order that arrived yesterday. Mix up two glasses of cold coffee and try to drink while racing around to get ready to go. Give up and put my glass in fridge for later.
9:56am Everyone finally has coats and shoes on, shoo them out to Suburban and drive to Pamida where Drama Boy and Boy Genius are helping with 4-H service project. Head to church where Larry works in study, little boys watch movie, and I arrange flowers for altar.
11:00am Drive back to Pamida alone to retrieve boys. Try to find Christmas gift for Baby Boy; give up and head next door to hardware store. End up spending too much but know he will play with what I got. At both stores make mental notes to help kids buy gifts for each other (they draw names).
11:45am Return to church, pick up Larry and little boys. Drive to Subway for lunch. Go home and quickly strip our bed so I can wash sheets. Take off sweater and put on apron. Check dough; it’s risen enough. Punch down and go change dirty diaper; read stories and tuck Silly Boy and Baby Boy in for nap/rest. Go downstairs and assign boy chores; come upstairs and clean my bathroom. Put sheets in dryer and towels in washer. Find ribbon to tie around extra greenery from this morning and ask Larry to hang on front door before he goes back to church.
1:04pm Stand in middle of kitchen and try to remember what to do next while drinking this morning’s coffee and eating a cookie. Turn on country radio station and start filtering new batch of cold brewed coffee. Tell boys to go outside and play. Punch dough down again and start greasing pans. Tell boys to go outside and play. Divide dough into two loaves and one pan of cinnamon rolls; cover loaves with towel and put rolls in fridge to rise for tomorrow’s breakfast. Tell boys to stay outside and play. Wash dishes from breakfast and bread. Tell boys to stay outside and play.
2:41 Sit down at computer to start recording day’s events. Tell boys to stay outside and play. Put bread in oven once it’s preheated. Start a game of sudoku but Silly Boy’s rest is over and he needs help bundling up to go outside. Twirly Girl comes home and disappears into her room.
3:05pm Timer beeps; check bread and set timer for 5 more minutes. Start working on cheesecake for Drama Boy’s 13th birthday party tomorrow. Check bread and set timer for 5 more minutes. Drama Boy and Bouncy Boy come inside; bribe them with cocoa and a cookie if they will unwrap caramels for me as well as dry and put away clean dishes. Take bread out of oven and continue working on cheesecake. Give Boy Genius and Silly Boy permission to walk to the park. After Drama Boy and Bouncy Boy have gone downstairs to play on the Wii, Twirly Girl comes back out and tells me about the sleepover while she licks out the mixer bowl.
3:54pm Cheesecake is in oven; coffee is done filtering; finger is burnt from using it to scrape hot caramel off spoon. Check email then wash dishes. Head downstairs and fold laundry that is dry; come back upstairs to put clean sheets on our bed.
4:35pm Cheesecake is done. Take off apron and put sweater on; head downstairs to catch up on ironing while waiting for laundry. Get red velveteen skirt out of storage for LWML Christmas party tomorrow. Fold more laundry. Remove adhesive from white dress shirt for Boy Genius. Serge ends of new fabric.
5:40pm Try to work on sudoku game again but can’t concentrate with 4 kids trying to “help.” Washer is done, so start prewashing fabric and head upstairs to fix dinner. Soup is on the menu but Drama Boy wants soup tomorrow for his birthday dinner, so I make French toast sandwiches instead–there went most of the bread I baked today.
7:04pm Finish dinner & start dishwasher. Fold clean towels; help Larry bathe little boys and direct older kids’ showers. Wash dinner dishes. Fabric is dry, so I remeasure to check for shrinkage and then put red skirt in dryer to fluff for tomorrow.
7:40pm Take advantage of temporary quiet to read a couple chapters of Genesis. Evening prayer with kids, followed by checking up on the day’s chores and tucking them in.
8:14pm Kids are more or less tucked in, so I change to soft clothes and get out knitting bag. Larry is back at church so I will probably watch a movie online while I knit. Oh, who am I fooling–I want to try to solve that sudoku game before I start knitting!
I want to know more about cold coffee. Is that just coffee that is cold? But later you mention cold brewing coffee…Details, please!
And I had to smile when I read “Punch down and go change dirty diaper.” Poor little kid didn’t mean it!