A day in the life

I haven't done a day in a life post since July, and I can tell you for certain, that many things have changed since then!  I've always found that the mundane details of peoples lives, rather than the amazing highlights, are the things that interest me the most.  I do these posts for that reason, as well as to be able to look back & see what things looked like in this season of my life.  It doesn't hurt that I'm constantly tweaking my schedule to make things work! 

5am: Alarm goes off.

5:35am: Leave for work.

6am:  Start work.  I'm now a salaried employee... hell yes!  So, if I arrive 5 minutes late, it's not the end of the world, thank goodness for logical, realistic rules!  I'm very thankful that my boss is so flexible.  Print reports & screen patients for nutrition risk.

7:30am: Try to take a quick walk around the back of the hospital...

Since I've been having major issues with plantar fasciitis right now, walking has been limited.  That's a post in itself, but lets just say it's been awful.

8am: Grab breakfast & eat at my desk while working.

9:15am: Go up to the floors & round on patients.

10am: ICU rounds.

10:30am: Finishing seeing patients & start charting.

12:45pm: Lunch.

1:30pm: Finishing charting.

2:30: Leave & head to the gym if my plantar fasciitis isn't horrific.  If it is & I can't workout, I run errands or grocery shop as needed.

3:30pm: Pick Reese up from daycare.

3:50pm: Get home & try to do as much as I can before we head to the bus stop to get Cam.  Clean up Mike's mess from the morning, set up the coffee for tomorrow, get laundry going, make Cam's lunch, etc.

4:20pm: Let Reese ride her tricycle to the bus stop which takes forever!  She pedals like a snail & stops more than she moves!

4:35pm: Cam gets off the bus & we head home.  We went through a spurt where one of the two cried every single day for whatever reason.  Pretty frustrating!  But now we're on a good streak, yay!

4:45pm: Cam heads to the playroom with his homework & we get started while he has a snack.

5:15pm: Let the kids decompress & play outside or watch TV as I start dinner.  This is when I have to say a million times, "The kitchen is closed, there is absolutely no more snacking!"  "But, Mom, I'm so hungry!"  "Great!  We're eating dinner in an hour!!"

6pm: I try to bathe the kids at this time, but sometimes they're having so much fun playing that I push if off till later.  Although if we're being honest, it's probably because I want to hold off until Mike can do it!

6:30pm: Mike gets home from work & we eat dinner.

7pm: Mike bathes the kids if I haven't already done it.  I clean the kitchen while he does this.

7:30pm: Kids wrap up whatever show they were watching & we brush teeth.

7:45pm: Wrangle the wild beasts as they run like maniacs around the house.  I must say, "Cam!  Get up in your bed!" 50 times.

8pm: The kids are mostly quiet & falling asleep.  Cam usually gets out of bed to poop even though he told me five minutes earlier that he didn't have to go.  Bedtime is like milk of magnesia for Cameron.

8-9:30pm: I watch TV, go online or do whatever I feel like until I head to bed.

Lights out by 10pm!!  Wake & repeat, wake & repeat!!

A day in the life

Every so often, I like to do a post about a day in the life so I can look back & see what things looked like at different stages of my life.  I work four days a week & take Wednesdays off to spend with the kids & organize the house so our weekends can be more laid back.  I'll run through a typical work day since Wednesdays home can be very uneventful, so much so that we sometimes don't even get out of our pajamas!

4:30am: Alarm goes off & I want to throw it through the window & cry because I'm so darn tired.

4:50am: Drag myself out of bed & vow to go to bed earlier that night which never happens.

5am: Pour my coffee & get my lunch bag thrown together.

5:10am: Head out the door for the gym.

5:35am: Workout.

6:20am: Hit the gym showers & get ready for work.

7am: Clock into work, print reports & screen patients for nutritional risk.

8am: Drink a protein shake at my desk while I work.

9am:  Head up to round on patients.

10am: ICU rounds.

10:30am: Run downstairs & heat up my unsatisfying, frozen breakfast sandwich & take a 15 minute break. 

10:45am: Head back up to the floors to finish seeing patients & consulting with other staff members   as needed.

12:30 pm: Head back to my office & get ready for lunch.

1 pm:  Clock back in from my whopping 30 minute lunch break & chart my nutrition assessments.

3:30 pm:  Yes, it's time to clock-out!

3:45 pm:  Hit the grocery store if needed & pick up stuff for dinner.

4 pm: Swing over to get the kiddos at daycare.

4:30 pm: Get home & let the madness begin!  This is when I do ten million things in the matter of an hour & a half:  Make ten trips from the car to bring in the throng of groceries & things accumulated in the car, let the dogs out back, set the kids up with a snack & some TV & meet their seemingly never ending requests, do baths, set up the coffee for the next morning, start laundry, get my gym bag re-packed, make Cam's lunch if needed, set out clothes for the next day, tidy up the house & start dinner.

6 pm: Mike gets home & we sit down for dinner.

6:30-7:30 pm: Clean up dinner, let the kids watch some TV or play, get teeth brushed & begin the bedtime corralling.  Bedtime in our house is very hectic for me since I'm exhausted & impatient & the kids are very hyper & fighting my need to get them in bed so I can finally have a moment of downtime.

8 pm: Finally, finally the kids are in bed.  What's that I hear?  Oh, Reese is crying for a drink of water, Cam is getting out of bed to tell me he's not tired...

8:30 pm: The house is quiet at last!  Mike heads to the gym & I pour myself a glorious glass of wine & head to bead with my Kindle in tow.  Ahhh, finally time to relax.

9-9:30 pm:  Lights out!  Time to force myself to sleep so I can do it all again the next day!

Supper glamorous & exciting stuff, eh?!

Woke up, got out of bed...

Every so often I like to do a day in the life post so I can look back & remember what my day looked like in different seasons of life.  I find that any time I think about doing this post, A Day in the Life by the Beatles pops into my head.  Woke up, got out of bed, dragged a comb across my head!  Anyway...  So, I'll do a run through of what a typical Monday looks like in my life.  Not that I imagine you care so much, but I do!  I'll post pictures from my cell that I took over the week as I babble.

Enjoying the lake near our house last Wednesday

My alarm blares out at 5am as I miserably drag myself out of bed & head to the gym.  Most mornings I think that I'd give my right arm to sleep a little longer.  Then I tell myself that I'll go to bed super early that night, though I rarely do.  I'm back from the gym & in the shower at 6:30, get both kids up around 7 & head out the door at 7:30.  I drop the kids off at daycare & clock-in at 8:15.  After screening patients & figuring out who I'm seeing that day, I head up to ICU rounds at 10am, see patients until 12:30 & then head to lunch.  Thirty minutes go far too quickly.  I chart for the rest of the day.

I clock-out at 4:45pm, get the kids & get home by 5:30.  I've changed my Tuesday/Thursday schedule & work from 7:15-3:45 which is awesome.  Mike takes the kids to school those days & before he's home from work, they're already bathed & in their pajamas & we've even had time to take a walk around the neighborhood.  When I get home on Mondays, I bathe the kids, get them in their PJs, reheat leftovers from Sunday & by that time Mike is getting home.  

Bath time!

 

We eat, play & put Reese to bed by 7pm the latest.  The girl is out cold within minutes since daycare wears her out so much.  Cam goes to bed a little before 8pm.

I try to take a 15 minute afternoon walk everyday

Mike & I hang out & watch TV until I head to bed to read until around 10pm or so.  As much as I'd love to stay up later, it's not worth feeling exhausted the next day, so I make myself go to sleep.  After about fifteen minutes of reading my Kindle, I can no longer keep my eyes open & I go to sleep.  Wake & repeat, wake & repeat until it's TGIFn'F!

Our meals are usually pretty quick & simple during the week.  Monday is always leftovers from Sunday, Tuesday is something quick like these make ahead muffin melts from the Pioneer Woman.  Mike was sweet enough to make the mixture Monday night as I watched the Bachelor finale at Lauren's house.  I topped English muffins with the mixture, popped them under the broiler for about ten-fifteen minutes & dinner was served.  Since I'm home Wednesday, I make a better meal that extends leftovers to Thursday & Friday is always pizza & salad.  Since we're following a tighter budget, we've switched from Perno Pizza Friday or pizza delivery to frozen pizza.

Speaking of budgeting, I'll be following the envelope system in style thanks to my incredibly sweet friend, Lesli.  No plain, boring envelopes for this gal; I'll be toting these colorful babies that Lesli so craftily made!  Thank you so much, Lesli, I love you!

A day in the life

So, what does a day in my life look like on a typical work day lately? I'm sure you're all dying to know! Or not. But, if ever in the future I wonder what things were like "back then," I'll be able to remember!

6:10am: Alarm goes off

6:20am: Get out of bed. Pump milk for Reese.

6:30am: Unload the dishwasher from the night before... bottles & pumping supplies galore.
Get Cam's milk poured/ready, warm Reese's bottle, make Cam's breakfast & my coffee.

6:50am: Shower & get ready for work.

7:15am: Cam & Reese wake up. Mike feeds Reese as I get Cam dressed for school, get Reese's
bottles & my pumping supplies packed.

7:25am: Make mine & Mike's breakfast & take the dogs out. We pretty much eat whole wheat bread with peanut butter & Nutella on top each day.

7:40am: I leave for work & Mike takes the kids to school shortly after.

8am: Clock into work & screen my floors to figure out which patients I'll be seeing that day.

9:45am: Head to the lactation room to pump.

10:10am: ICU rounds.

10:30am: See all of my patients & gather more data for my nutrition assessments.

12:45-1:15pm: Lunch

1:25pm: Head to the lactation room to pump.

1:45-5pm: Head back up to the floors to finish charting. Yesterday I treated myself to an iced
mocha & took my laptop to chart in the cafeteria as you'll see in the picture above.

5pm: Clock out. Let the marathon begin!!!

5:15pm: Get home, take the dogs out, soak all of my pumping supplies from the day, start
dinner, get PJ's & clothes ready for the kids to wear the next day, start laundry.

5:45pm: Pump milk for Reese.

6pm: Mike gets home with the kids. Cam rides his Lightening McQueen car outside & plays
around for a bit. This week we realized we had new cow neighbors so we headed over to
meet them.

6:30pm: Dinner. We usually plan our meals & grocery shop over the weekend so it's one less
thing to worry about during the week. We'll do something quick like a crockpot meal or a stir fry.

7pm: Bath, PJ's for Cam. Hang out with the kids & snuggle with Reese. Reese gets a bath only twice a week... usually on Sundays & Wednesdays for now. Obviously once she's more mobile & active, we'll bathe her more.

7:30pm: Reese has her last bottle of the day which is formula. Every other bottle is breast milk.

8pm: Reese goes to bed. We swaddle her & put her in the bassinet in her room & she seriously
falls immediately to sleep.

8:15pm: Cam goes to bed. We hang in his room for a few minutes before he goes to sleep.

8:20pm: Finish thawing breast milk, fill bottles for Reese's daycare, finish cleaning the kitchen.
Fold laundry & straighten up the house.

9pm: Pump milk for Reese. I do this a total of 5 times/day.

9:30pm: Time to finally relax. We usually hang out & watch shows we've taped during the week.

10:30pm: Go to bed & read my Kindle for about five minutes until I can no longer keep my eyes
open. Sleep & repeat it all over again & again, & again & again until we make it to the
weekend!