A Day in the Life of a Busy Family

I thought it would be fun (for our memory's sake even if everybody else is bored) to detail one day in the life of our family.

So here it is - Monday, October 27, in excrutiating detail:

3:30 a.m. - Papaya Daddy wakes up with a headache, gets up to take some Tylenol, heads back to bed. I briefly awake, ask him what's wrong, and drift back to sleep.

3:54 - The Portabella awakes, hungry. I feed her, put her back to bed, and drift back to sleep.

5:00 - Papaya Daddy's alarm goes off. He's been getting up early for the past few days to work on a bunch of CME (Continuing Medical Education) that needs to be completed by December 31. He showers, dresses, eats some cereal & downs some ibuprofen, & does some CME on the computer. I briefly awaken, then drift back to sleep again.

6:00ish - The two older kids awaken. They begin the process of getting dressed for the day.

6:13 - The Portabella awakens (late for her!). Papaya Daddy changes her diaper while I get ready to feed her. I feed her in bed, then we both get up. I strip the sheets on our bed & start a wash.

6:30ish - Papaya Daddy, still fighting a headache, lies down on our denuded bed while I start some coffee & feed the rest of us (Cheerios with almonds and raisins on top; the Banana picks at leftovers from the night before).

7:00 - Papaya Daddy gets up. Ibuprofen is kicking in & he's feeling better, especially with the promise of hot coffee in the kitchen.

7:15ish - Papaya Daddy does the morning Bible reading (from a story Bible) while I try to comfort a fussy Portabella. She's already overtired (common for Monday mornings, since Sunday is such a long, schedule-messing-up day) & refuses to be comforted. She shrieks while Papaya Daddy reads. Today's story is about Jesus receiving the little children. I wish I could hand the Portabella over to him for a little while.

7:30ish - I retire to our bedroom with the Portabella while Papaya Daddy finishes up morning devotions with the kids. She screams for about 5 minutes until she finally allows herself to calm down and start nursing. She immediately falls asleep. I hold her for about 10 minutes, put her down in bed, & am thrilled when she continues to sleep.

7:55 - Papaya Daddy leaves for work. I gather the kids (playing in the living room) for school. The Banana begins a tracing workbook, while the Papaya reluctantly sits down to a handwriting page for lower case "x".

8:00 - 9:15ish - I multitask: while the kids do school, I put together a recipe of "Sloppy Lentils" (vegetarian version of Sloppy Joes) in the crockpot. I alternate chopping & sauteing onions & green peppers with checking the kids' work & redirecting them when necessary. I also switch the laundry (stripping the kids' beds & starting their sheets), empty the dishwasher, & clean up breakfast. During this time, the Banana does about 30 minutes of work in her workbook and completes one puzzle, and then plays on her own. The Papaya completes an amazing amount of work: his handwriting page, a line of copywork (he reads this back to me and then marks it up a little by circling rhyming words, underlining the number word, etc.), and two phonics workbook pages. He also finds "x" in a simple child's dictionary and we read the two entries together. He reads his weekly reader aloud to me. Finally, he creates ten spelling words with magnet tiles after I dictate them to him. This week, we're working on words with beginning blends (like "stop", "trip", and "swim"). He makes a couple mistakes, but catches & fixes them himself when I ask him to read the incorrect word back to me.

9:15 - The Portabella awakes after a great nap. I feed her & change her diaper.

9:20 - 9:50ish - Circle time. I hold the Portabella & do circle time with the kids. We do some music (sing & dance to songs & review groups of black keys on the piano, quarter notes, & quarter rests). We sing the Bible verse we're learning this week (we're actually re-learning John 3:16). We learn a new finger play, then read some poetry together. We're reading fairy tales this week, and today we read "Cinderella". The Banana is entranced by Cinderella's beautiful dress. "I want to be a beautiful woman, too", she states. The Portabella is still a little fussy, and I raise my voice while reading the fairy tale to be heard over her squawks.

9:50 - 10:30ish - I put on a short video for the kids, change the laundry again (starting a load of towels), feed the Portabella and cuddle her, then put her down in her crib with her mobile turned on while I take a shower (which feels wonderful!). By the time I'm applying conditioner, I can hear the Portabella start to fuss & by the time I'm done, she's beside herself with unhappiness. As I step out & start drying myself, the other kids enter (their video is over). They try (and fail) to comfort the Portabella while I dress & comb my hair. I pick her up & she immediately becomes all smiles.

10:30 - 11:10ish - I put the Portabella in the Bjorn (front carrier) and cut up some apples & cheddar cheese for the kids. The Banana finally decides to finish her leftovers & enjoys the snack with us. While the kids eat, I read from their science book about energy from moving air and moving water. We try to move things on the table by blowing on them. I make a mental note to show the kids images of windmills and dams on the computer later. We also read from our children around the world book about a little boy from Thailand (continuing our "visit to Thailand" theme).

11:10 - 11:30ish - we make our pilgrimage to the post office. As I'm getting all three kids strapped in car seats, I remember our rent is due soon. I dash back inside the house, find the bill, scribble a check, address and stamp an envelope, & run back to the car. I hope I signed the check. As I pull out of the garage, I remember that today is garbage day (possibly; sometimes they come on other days but it's quite likely they'll come today). I jump out of the car & drag our garbage can to the curb. I even manage to avoid hitting it with the car as I back out of the driveway! At the post office, I get all three kids out of the car & into the post office. The Banana mails the rent check while the Papaya opens our PO Box with my key. Today is an exciting day - not only do the kids have a new Netflix, but there's a package slip in the mailbox! The kids take it to the desk & exchange it for the package. It's for the Banana, and appears to be a belated birthday package from her great aunt & uncle. All three kids get strapped back into the car, & she holds it with great anticipation on her lap while we drive out of the village the "exciting way" - down a dirt road with potholes. We discuss whether to open the package when we get home, or to wait until Papaya Daddy returns at dinner. On the way home, I see an ambulance returning from the air strip. I figure Papaya Daddy's having a busy day at work, since he's working the ER today and probably ordered the flight evacuation.

11:30 - 11:45 - We decide to open the package right away. The kids are delighted with the contents (thank you, super uncle & aunt!) and start playing with them right away. They're also excited about the new Netflix (a Reading Rainbow entitled "Math is Everywhere") and since the Portabella is fussy & screaming again, I decide to let them watch a little bit of it, even though they don't usually watch a video at this time. Unfortunately, the Netflix is cracked & doesn't play, so the disappointed kids settle for some "Word World".

11:45 - 12:35ish - I nurse the Portabella to sleep in front of the computer while I request a replacement disk from Netflix & check email. I put her in her bed and return to the computer for about ten minutes. Then I remember the laundry. The kids' sheets are now dry, so I remake their beds & put the towels in the dryer. I mix up some whole wheat bread in the breadmaker. I am just turning it on when the kids' video ends.

12:35 - 1:05 - I send the kids to wash their hands while I dish up some fried rice Papaya Daddy made the night before. As ER doc, Papaya Daddy won't be home for lunch today. I've just discovered a phone message from NaiNai (Papaya Daddy's mom) that Grandpa is down with the flu & she's feeling pretty sick, too, so we all pray for her. The kids are incredibly reluctant eaters (too many vegetables) so at 12:55, I set the timer for ten minutes more & warn them lunch will be over then. I read a few pages from "The Gods Must Be Angry", this week's book from Thailand. It's another missionary story, but more interesting & better written (and with more details about Thailand) then the one from the week before. The kids seem to be listening & enjoying it. We'll be reading it all week. The kids don't even come close to finishing their food, so they'll be seeing it again at supper.

1:05 - 1:40ish - The timer goes off & the Portabella awakens. The Papaya loudly complains about not being about to finish & has to go to the Whining Room for a while. He eventually decides that he'll be happy & do some math rather than lying down or remaining in the Whining room, so we quickly review the lesson in his Singapore textbook (he gets it right away) & he starts on some workbook pages while the Banana gets ready for her nap. I help her complete her preparations, she gets a cookie (for pooping in the toilet) and the Papaya takes a break from his workbook for a pre-nap story the Banana chooses (Curious George).

1:40 - 2:15ish - I alternate between checking the Papaya's math progress, nursing the Portabella, and working on this blog entry. Banana falls asleep immediately. The Papaya completes his workbook pages & all scheduled school activities are over for the day. He gets a cookie for doing such a good job (and because his sister got a cookie earlier). I eat a cookie, too!

2:15 - 2:45 - The Papaya gets ready to rest. He decides to look at books in the TV room rather than lie down in his bed, but quickly pops back up to use the bathroom (which takes a LONG time). He wants me to help him wipe his bottom (yuck!). Washing his hands also seems to take a LONG time. I alternate between encouraging him to hurry up (and taking away special treats for taking so long) & nursing the Portabella in front of the computer (while working on this entry).

2:45 - 3:50 - The Banana continues her nap. The Papaya tries to read a difficult book to himself and gives up. I suggest an easier book, but it's obvious he doesn't want to read it. He doesn't want to look at any picture books. He starts complaining loudly about his quiet time, so I send him to the Whining Room before he wakes up his sister. Meanwhile, I successfully get the Portabella back to sleep. I put her in bed, where she sleeps for exactly 5 minutes. At least this is enough time for me to use the bathroom and fold towels from the dryer. Bonus: the Portabella stays happily awake in bed for fifteen minutes longer, watching me while I make up our bed with clean sheets. It feels good to do this before Papaya Daddy returns from work. I change the Portabella's diaper and spend some time with her, until the smell of Sloppy Lentils makes me ravenous. I put her on the floor under her butterfly & spoon out another bowl of fried rice. I'm afraid she won't be happy for long, so I gulp it down cold. She's still happy, so I tidy up the kitchen & dining room table (full of school stuff). Then I nurse her (a process interrupted several times by the Papaya).

3:50 - The Banana awakens after a great nap, refreshed and happy. I give her a choice between playing outside & watching a video of her choice (standard "reward" after taking a nap). She chooses the video (Dora the Explorer). The Papaya, liberated from the Whining Room, retires to his room with scissors, tape, a marker, and a pile of packing paper to do something "secret".

4:00 - 5:10 - Finally, some relaxing time. I spend a few minutes of quiet time with the Portabella. While I am changing her diaper, the Papaya comes in with a present for me. It's a tiny paper parcel. When I open it, I find another small, folded up piece of paper: It makes my day, and the Papaya is tangibly pleased at seeing my pleasure. Doing something nice for me makes him full of sweetness. He kisses me and the baby, and makes the Portabella laugh several times. We leave the Banana to Dora and go outside. We putter about in the dirt a little, finding seeds on the drying-up plants & planting them. The Papaya wanders over to our neighbor's house & gets invited inside to play with their 5-year old son. I go back inside our house to get the Banana outside. She gets her scooter & we explore a large rain gutter and discuss the possibility of snakes and spiders living in the copious weeds lining both sides.

5:10 - From the rain gutter, we spot Papaya Daddy walking home from work. Hurrah! He's getting home from work at a good time today! We yell to him, he finds us, and we complete the walk home together. His day was a tough one ("The kind of day that makes me want to move.") He washes his hands & goes next door to retrieve the Papaya while I give the Portabella a quick nip.

5:30 - Sloppy lentils & fresh baked bread. They're both very good! The kids quickly finish their leftovers from lunch & dig in. The Papaya requests more pages from "The Gods Must Be Angry" so Papaya Daddy reads some more and we discuss together.

6:20 - Papaya Daddy shepherds the two older kids through bedtime preparations (since Papaya didn't take a nap or rest, he has to go to bed at 7:00) while I work with the Portabella. Portabella has an enormous blowout & I strip off her soiled clothes. Five minutes after redressing her, I hear the Banana announce that she "pee-peed" on the mat in the TV room. Papaya Daddy cleans that up & the Banana loses her bedtime book. She seems surprised & hurt that we are not pleased with her performance. Papaya Daddy reads a story Bible to the kids.

7:00 - The two older kids are in bed. Papaya Daddy & I read email & news on the internet while I nurse the Portabella to sleep.

7:20 - The Portabella is in bed. I say goodnight to & pray with the other two kids (still awake), then finish cleaning up the kitchen (Papaya Daddy had already done most of the work) & sweep the kitchen floor.

7:40 - The Portabella is crying so I give her a final soothing feed while Papaya Daddy & I read more current events on the internet. She's down for good now (I won't hear from her again until 3:30 in the morning.)

8:00 - The Portabella is down for good! We put the computer to sleep. I feel like some special ice cream tonight, so we take out a pint of Haagden Daz & sit on the couch together. We slowly work our way through it while we talk over Papaya Daddy's day, our latest thoughts on moving (still very positive), and other things. We pray together a little. We don't mean to eat the entire pint of raspberry & dark chocolate truffle ice cream, but we do. It's a very nice time together.

9:00 - We're both very tired, so we kiss the sleeping children goodnight & start to get ready for bed ourselves.

9:30 - Lights out for all. I fall asleep immediately. I hope Papaya Daddy did, too!

So, there's our day. Tiring, full, and fairly productive. Most women here find out I don't work & then wonder what I do all day (staying at home with your kids is not the norm here on the rez). Well, there you go! Noticeably absent is any time for personal exercise or quiet time. I may have to start getting up earlier to fit those in!