Monday, September 12, 2016

September Blog Challenge: Day 12

Describe a typical day in your current life.

Zac's 6:40am alarm starts playing through the radio. For whatever reason, the station is usually on gospel pop, even if we switch it to something alternative. Elias is snuggled between us, his pacifier drooping out of his half-open mouth. I nudge Zac to get him to turn off the alarm before the baby wakes up, then doze back off. Fifteen minutes later, I'm startled by Harry Belafonte's "Banana Boat Song" coming from Zac's ok-seriously-time-to-get-up phone alarm. Once again, I nudge Zac until he turns it off.

Zac quietly gets ready for work, kisses me goodbye and whispers "I love you", and heads downstairs to have his coffee. He's gone from 7:30am until 6pm. Meanwhile, I'm debating whether or not to roll over and sleep a little longer or read the news and scroll through Instagram on my phone (a trick that helps me wake up). Nine times out of ten, I go back to sleep. The other time is when Elias wakes up and wants to stand up and pat the wall or lay on my face, pull my hair, poke my nose, attempt to remove my earrings, or poop (in which case I have to get up to change him). Sometimes, I'll take pictures of us in the morning.


I brush my teeth (and Elias'), head downstairs, put Elias in his high chair, and make myself a cup of tea. My big kids are sometimes still asleep or Jac will be awake and watching TV while Leah remains in her bed. On the chance they're both up, I make pancakes or we eat cereal or toast together. I clean the kitchen a bit and load the dishwasher so I won't be overwhelmed with dishes later in the evening.

We head downstairs to the sun room after breakfast, usually around 10:30, and I get Elias settled in his playpen with a few toys. Jac cleans out the litter box and feeds Fig while Leah lets Toby and Ruby outside and puts food in their dishes. I get my teacher books together, turning to the current lesson number, then we get started on school. During this time, I crochet or listen to an audio book under an earpiece, sometimes I play on my ukulele or read through blogs on my computer. On a good day, the kids finish their lessons around 1pm. They put all their books away, I check over tests or quizzes, and we eat lunch. On a not-good-day, we take a break around 1pm to have lunch or a snack, then continue until 2 or 3pm. After school, Jac and Leah play outside or we watch a movie together. Elias usually falls asleep in his playpen while we're doing lessons and he sleeps about an hour or two.

I start cooking dinner around 4:30 so it will be ready when Mom wakes up and Zac gets home. Sometimes, I won't cook and Zac will pick something up on his way home. At 6, Mom gets her food and heads to work and Dad heads to bed, so Zac and I have dinner with our kids, just us. I prefer it this way as the quality time is important to me.

Big kids get their baths around 7. Since we have two bathrooms upstairs, they've started racing each other to see who bathes the fastest. Zac showers after they're done and he'll sometimes bring Elias in there to bathe him as well, or I'll do it on my turn. Elias loves the shower more than the tub, which is funny because the shower freaks Leah out. I picked out a book called The Candymakers* by Wendy Mass when we were at the Renaissance and I've been reading them a chapter a night. After I read, they brush their teeth and go to bed. Zac prepares a bottle, I feed Elias and rock him upstairs until he falls asleep, then lay him in his crib. I check on Jac and Leah to make sure they're tucked in, then head back downstairs with the baby monitor.

Zac prepares his coffee for the next day and I brew our Sleepy Time Tea, then we spend the next hour or so playing WoW or watching a few episodes of a show on Netflix. Lately we've been watching  Stranger Things. Zac lets the dogs out one last time and we head upstairs to bed around 11. We'll watch a few YouTube videos or look at funny pictures, then we go to sleep. Elias will usually wake up around 3am and I'll go get him and put him in our bed for the rest of the night.

*The Candymakers is actually a pretty cute story, but the details are crazy elaborate and it takes a long time to get through the chapters. The kids are enjoying it, though. To quote the back cover description: At the "Life is Sweet" candy factory, Logan, Miles, Daisy, and Philip are about to compete in the national candy making competition of a lifetime. Who will make a candy more delicious than the Oozing Crunchorama or the Neon Yellow-Lightning Chew? The contestants face off in a battle of wits and sugar, but soon they realize that things are not what they seem, and they find themselves in a candy-filled world of surprises, suspense, and mouthwatering creations.

* * * * *

I have a torn ligament in my knee as of today, so my routine is going to be much different for the next six or eight weeks. I'm using crutches for the first time and the stairs are a challenge worth crying over. As of now, I'm probably going to be staying upstairs and the big kids said they'd help me with whatever they can as far as getting diapers or bringing me something to eat from downstairs. Zac is going to buy me a few easy things to keep upstairs so I won't hurt myself by making trips to the kitchen. I feel pathetic and a little embarrassed that this has happened, but the pain is something I've never experienced.

Friday, I tried to push Zac's motorcycle over a little in order to reach a table in the garage. I guess I put too much force on my knee? It didn't hurt, I didn't feel anything, but I did have a cramp in my stomach from the strain. That pain went away after a few hours. On Saturday, I was having trouble bending my knee, but it wasn't painful. I could go up the stairs without much trouble. The worst was it felt annoying and uncomfortable. Last night, I woke up to use the bathroom and could not walk. The pain was so intense, I cried out. I couldn't sleep, the pain just stayed without easing up. I tried my best to make it down the stairs (picture a mermaid) and started sobbing. Zac took the day off work to bring me to the emergency room this morning. My parents were fretting, something they haven't done since I was little. Both trying to help me get to the car, or get my balance. It was kinda cute.

The x-ray didn't show any major damage, but the swelling was so bad the nurse couldn't examine me without me blacking out from pain (her words, not mine). She prescribed some pain medicine and advised us to buy a immobilizing knee brace and crutches. So, now I take it easy and heal.

In other news, I'm a great-aunt once again. My tiniest great-niece, Piper, was born early this morning.

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