Warning: This is a long post!
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I was inspired by a post from Confessions of a High-heel Wearing Hippie Mommy to write an outline of my day. She gives a glimpse into what it is like with Will (26 months old) and Evelyn and Ella (8 and a half months old) in her post "A Day In The Life: A Narrative. Or Maybe A Short Story". People told me it would get easier but at the time I just couldn't see how. I hope that by comparing our two stories of three-under-three at different stages, that you can see it does get easier. I hope it helps another Mummy of three-under-three see that "This too shall pass".
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My Day With Three Under Three
Chook 32 months and two weeks. Strawberry and Ooffa 15 months and two weeks.
My day begins with me alert and awake before Chook, but no chance of sneaking out. I can hear by the way he is sucking his dummy that he is waking up. Sure enough, he wakes and makes his way to my bed. I shuffle over a bit and he hops in for a cuddle. Mere seconds later he is off and trying the door handle. Those new door handles Steve put on the other day are working a treat! He can't open the door.
He returns to my bed with an incessant "Mummy" and I can't bear to hear it anymore, so I get up and open the door. He rushes out only to be met by darkness. Hmmm...must be earlier than I thought. I switch on the hallway light, put on my slippers and dressing gown and head to the kitchen.
Chook is already up at the bench, ripping into his pre-breakfast snack that I prepared the night before. The microwave clock says 5:50am. So it was a 5:30am wake-up, as usual. Winter is settling in, it is much darker in the morning now.
While Chook tucks into his snack, I cut up all the fruit for the day and some carrots. I set the carrots and some of the fruit to the side for the days juice. Too early to make juicing noises so I move on to making my porridge. Chook is clambering over the bench now to grab watermelon skins. I place them on a paper towel, return him to his seat with the watermelon in front of him and turn on ABC 4 Kids.
I sit on the stool next to him and eat my porridge. Using my IPOD I check FB and my emails.
Porridge finished I return to the kitchen and start making the juice and the baby's porridge. Chook leaves the bench to go to the lounge room due to the noise. I can hear Ooffa playing in his cot. It is 6:30am. Gamer is now up and also in the lounge room. I can hear lots of noise and complaints from Gamer. Chook is apparently invading Gamer's personal space. The noise turns into fighting and tears. ERRRRRGGGHHHH!
6:45am Fireman Sam comes on. Peace is restored to the house for the next 15 minutes. I enter the laundry/changing area and I am met with the mop and bucket still to be emptied from last night. I empty the bucket and hang the mop out to dry. I fill the nappy pail with warm water and napisan for the cloth nappies. Lastly I fill a small basin with warm water and a cloth for cleaning bottoms. I notice I haven't set out the days clothes for the kids. I make a mental note to pick out some when I wake the twiblings up.
Chook is with Triple T Dad who is going for a shower. I turn off the T.V. and head for the babies room. Chook meets me at the door, ready to sing the Morning Song. We enter singing. Ooffa is awake and ready to get out. Strawberry is lying still, face down in her cot. A wave of anxiousness over comes me and I rush to her cot, ignoring Ooffa. I place my hand on her neck and head. "Still warm, thank God". She stirs and drowsily sits up, then crawls to the rails, still very much half asleep. I feel silly about my thoughts, but I do it every time.
I lift Strawberry before Chook can climb into her cot. There's nothing worse than being tussled about when you have just woken up. And Chook is definitely in a tussling mood! I put Strawberry on the floor so I can lift Ooffa out of his cot. She cries. I place Ooffa on his feet. He is more than happy to toddle about so I can pick Strawberry back up. Together we pick out the days clothes for her and Ooffa.
Strawberry and I go into the laundry. Chook is saying "Hi" to Triple T Dad in the shower. Ooffa has headed to the kitchen on the off chance the gate is left open. As I change Strawberry I can hear Chook opening and closing the bathroom door and Triple T Dad asking him to leave the door alone. Then there's a bang and Ooffa's really crying. I can't leave Strawberry on the changing mat by herself but I need to check Ooffa. I step back, pop my head around the door and I see Ooffa and Chook outside the bathroom door. Ooffa is in hysterics with his fingers in his mouth. My glance tells me there's no blood so Ooffa will survive until I finish with Strawberry.
I quickly finish with Strawberry's change. Ooffa has made it to the laundry. I step past him, put Strawberry in her high chair and return to pick up Ooffa. We have a long cuddle, while I feel him all over, just to check. He settles down and I start his change.
Chook has moved onto hitting Gamer. Triple T Dad is ready to face the day and takes charge of the kids out of my sight. Ooffa is changed and goes into his high chair. I tie a cloth around each and serve the twiblings their porridge in a bowl each and a spoon. I get ready to also feed them but I notice their spooning skills are really coming along. So I just go on standby to refill their bowls.
Ooffa indicates he is finished by throwing the bowl on the floor. I take the cue and also remove Strawberry's. The spoons follow soon after. After cleaning hands and faces, removing bibs and wiping down highchairs, I note it is 8am and I need to get changed.
After I am changed, Triple T Dad has made me a cup of tea. My first for the day and because Triple T Dad is still home I might be able to finish it! While sipping my tea at the bench I check FB. Gamer says "bye" and heads for the bus stop. "Crash...smash". Ooffa has gotten to the scrap bowl left out for the dog. I bring Ooffa back inside, lock the sliding door, pick up the broken bowl pieces, wrap in newspaper and place in the bin. I then sweep the area clear. I can hear Strawberry grizzling, Ooffa whinging and Chook whining inside.
Back inside I pick Strawberry up and go into the lounge room. We have cuddles on the couch but are soon joined by Ooffa and Chook. An impromptu Circle Time happens. Triple T Dad suggests we all get out for a bike ride. 8:45am I can finally brush my teeth, I am joined by three-under-three all vying to get up on the step next to me. There is crying and grizzling and Triple T Dad thinks it's funny to shut the bathroom door on it all!
I extract myself from the bathroom and put our morning tea into a bag. I put the twiblings into their bike carriage and Chook in the Wee Ride. Triple T Dad is hauling. I ride solo on my bike. We ride along the foreshore to Adventure land Park. Strawberry spends the whole time eating morning tea. Ooffa and Chook played for a while.
We return home to find our next door neighbours chook has escaped. So, Triple T Dad and Chook usher it back home. I bring the twiblings inside and note the lounge room clock shows 11am. Time to start making lunch. I put Triple T Dad on nappy changes and clean-up. 11:35am lunch needs longer in the oven. Ooffa is not going to make it. He's grizzling and flopping himself about. I make the call to give him a large drink of warm milk and put him to bed. One down.
I then realise that lunch still has to cool down. Strawberry's not going to make it. She gets a large drink of warm milk and is put to bed. 11:45am two down.
I hop on the computer and start typing out this post. I pull the sausage rolls out of the oven. Chop one roll into small chunks, place into Chook's bowl and put it into the freezer. I am typing away when I hear a table being dragged and the sound of the gate latch. I leap out of my chair and sure enough Chook has dragged a table to the gate. But he can't open it because the gate opens onto the table. ("Ha, one to Mummy!")
I bring him inside to the bench, pull out his lunch, add sauce and we eat. I pour him a cup of milk. Five minutes later the familiar sound of cup hitting floor. A quick check tells me that most of the milk is on said floor. Thank God for paper towels. I pull off about 20 and lay them over the spilt milk. I clean the milk that has gone up the wall and up the chair legs. Lunch is over as far as I am concerned. But he's got one bit left and he wants to eat it. I try not to hurry him.
Nap time at last! Dummy inserted. Blankets over him one by one, just so. A kiss, a cuddle, a kiss, just so. "See you when you wake up. Hoot, hoot". Just so. And lastly blow a kiss, catch it and put it in your heart, just so. Can't skip any of it and it has to be in that order.
Three down. 1pm.
2:50pm Chook is banging on the door to come out. Triple T Dad lets him out. Chook is straight out the back door to resume Project Gate Escape. He must have had some good ideas while resting because this time he was successful. Very creative use of a table and a cubby house ladder! I am impressed at his perseverance and problem solving skills.
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| Our log steps. |
3pm Chook decides it's time the twiblings got up. Triple T Dad and I decide to take the kids for a drive out of town to a farm to collect some logs. I quickly pack together a large afternoon tea and we load the troops into the van.
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| Oops! Triple T Dad wound down his window and Strawberry got a face full of wind! |
It was a great trip out. We drove past lots of farm animals and over train tracks. We collected five wonderful logs that will make perfect steps for the kids to play with in the back yard. I also collected smaller logs that will make great natural building blocks, once Triple T Dad has cut them to size!
Back home the three musketeers are zooming up and down the hallway with walkers. Banging into the door at the end and down to the kitchen gate, and back again. After a while the hunger cries begin. 5:30 pm. Ooffa is first into the high chair with a sausage roll from lunch. Strawberry soon follows. Not to miss out Chook is soon sitting at the bench. A large helping of fruit is dolled out and a cookie each to finish.
Wipe hands and faces. Swipe over high chairs. They return to racing up and down the hallway. Ooffa's getting grizzly but then decides to play with the basket of vehicles. Triple T Dad changes Strawberry and then Ooffa into pyjamas, while I warm up their milk. We put both babies down in their cots with their bottles and a kiss. 7pm.
Chook is changed and Triple T Dad takes him to our bedroom for Story Candle. Three under three tucked up into their beds 7:15pm. Ahhhhhh.... until the next day...5:30am, it continues...
There you have it my day. Thanks for your time spent in reading it!
