We are finally back to daily life after an awesome holiday cruise followed by the chaos of our house break-in.

So, most mornings Bryan wakes earlier than than dawn and silently gets ready for his day. All alone in the dark he eats his granola and yogurt before kissing me goodbye in bed. Most mornings all I hear is the garage door closing. He is that ninja-like.

By 630 one child has woken up. If I’m lucky it is Zoe, and then all she does is shuffle over to my bed and get in. “mommy I want to sleep with you”. She will then go back to sleeping or quietly play with my hair while I go back to sleep. If Avi wakes up, however, it’s all over. He is up for the day when I hear, “choo choo” in his chirpy voice out in the living room or, if he’s in for a funky day, when I hear screaming from his room. Bummer. I will get up with him and change his unbelievably wet diap, then we will read books until the day gets started. Lately he is really into Red Caboose, Dinosaur Stomp, Airplane Ride, and any picture book.

At 7:38 my alarm goes off. At that point it is time to wake anyone else still snoozing and get some breakfast. Peanut Butter Jelly sandwiches are kind of a breakfast staple here. Once a week I will usually make pancakes – whole wheat from scratch- with Zoe and we can eat the leftovers for a few days. Zoe likes her pancakes with Daddy honey- the special gritty thick natural honey he brought back from deployment. The rest of us stick with real syrup. Avi will also have yogurt many mornings. He loves it and does really well using a spoon on his own.

After breakfast it’s rushing around time: getting dressed, teeth brushed, hair brushed, school stuff ready, etc. Zoe usually picks out her own clothes and Avi often wears his PJs for a while longer. Around 8:35 (that’s the goal, at least) we are in the car and off to First United Methodist Preschool!

On Mondays and Fridays both the kids get dropped off so I can have some free time. Mostly I end up making appointments during this time. The kids seem to enjoy school. Avi is in the toddler class- they just play. Zoe is actually learning stuff! She has impressed me so much this year with her newfound interest in writing. She has loved learning her letters and numbers and trying to spell out words. In school they start at their desks with a worksheet or other task, then it’s circle time for the calendar and some reading, after that they have time to play and learn at the different ‘centers’ in the room…unless its music day. To finish they get snack then head outside to burn off some steam on the playground. Sounds busy to me. Zoe enjoys herself. Pickup and dropoff is cool, too! In the morning i just drive down the alley behind the school where the teachers help her out … Anytime between 830 and 9 am when class begins. Pickup is the same – just have to be there by noon. On occasion she doesn’t want to go so I let her take the day off. Going daily for a 4 year old is alot!

After school we do lunch. I will often pack lunch and we’ ll picnic at the playground. Or we just come home and I get out some leftovers…then it’s out back for the afternoon. Neither Zoe nor Avi like to stay inside for long. There is always something for a kid to do out back- dig up mommys grass, plant more weeds, ride on stuff, make pretend houses, bury toys that won’t be found for months, or help mommy by running through the laundry line. It’s good fun!

Around 2 or 230 we finish up playing- at the playground or just the backyard- and come in for some snack and then nap. Avi must nap around 3 or he will fall asleep eating later and be an immense fuss. Zoe, however, doesn’t always need it. I leave it up to her. She must be in her room for ‘quiet time’ when I get Avi to nap. Mostly this gives her some playmobil time and keeps it quiet in the house for my little nutty man. She does very well playing alone, but will also sometimes ask me to join her after I’ve gotten Avi down. Avi loves books lately, so before nap we spend a nice long time reading before laying down. I lay with him and he does pretty well falling asleep. If there is other commotion in the house he will not nap. I even put a sign out so no mailman rings the doorbell. Avi is quite a sensitive little sleeper. Once he is asleep I have about an hour and a half to get stuff done. I always pop in Zoe’s room to see what she is up to and will find her asleep in her bed 3 days out of the week. Sometimes I just crawl in with her… Usually I get some internetting done. I can’t get on the computer when Avi is awake; he just bangs on it, sits or crawls on me, or messes with the keyboard.

Late afternoons usually find the kids waking, the neighbor girl Jaylin coming over to play, and more running around outside until dinner. I like to get a walk or bike ride around the neighborhood, but haven’t lately. The sun still just seems to be setting too early. I try to have dinner finishing up as Bryan gets home so we can all eat together. Jaylin joins us a few nights a week. After that it’s some down time… Cleaning up the kitchen, chatting with Bryan, or breaking up fights. Seems like when Zoe and Avi get contained in the house they always want to play the same thing. Mostly it’s Avi following Zoe around; he just think she has the best ideas. This annoys her sometimes when she has gotten out toys and he messes them up. She will yell “no” at him and snag things out of his hands. He retaliates with a scream. Or he thinks it’s funny and does it again. She also takes his stuff sometimes when he is playing with it. She calls it, “Avi is sharing”. Im pretty sure he will soon be getting mad about this. Oh well. He kind of gets fussy over anything in the evening so it’s often loud an annoying in our house around 7.

Off to bed… It’s 830! Well, that’s when we start. And we start by tidying up the disaster that is usually in the living room. Then, Bryan gets Avi to sleep most nights; he still acts funny and extra fussy for me at night. They read a couple book and then it’s lights out time while Bryan rubs Avi’s head. Seems to work great for him! Zoe gets ready then I read her a couple books, which, of course take much longer than Avi’s little books. Then it’s lights out and some cuddle/ play with mommy hair time before I get out.

So that is a day! Just a regular one at that. At night I will maybe have some time to enjoy a conversation with Bryan before we both conk out for the night…. Usually well before 10. Sad. True. Tired.! 🙂