This particular day that I'm documenting was a Monday. I chose that day mainly because it is a day that Ethan is home (not in preschool) and we didn't have anything out of the ordinary going on that day. So here it is...a typical Monday in the Cooke household right now...
7:26 am - Ethan still hasn't come downstairs, but I get up and get dressed in workout clothes because I hear that Logan is awake now too.
7:35 am - I go upstairs to find Ethan. He's sitting right outside Logan's door, playing with some of his toys. This is the first time I've found him in this spot in the morning. I say good morning to him and give him a hug and kiss. Then I go into Logan's room and get him up. I dress Logan in some clothes, but I let Ethan stay in his PJ's. He would wear PJ's everywhere if I would let him.
8:00 am - Everyone sits down for breakfast, including daddy. The boys are having oatmeal and banana and then yogurt because they are extra-hungry this morning.
8:30 am - Ethan, Logan, and I go upstairs to the playroom so I can workout. That's the beautiful thing about the location of our workout equipment...the boys can play while I do it. And right now, I'm only working out for about 30 minutes at a time plus however long it takes me to shower and get dressed. Don't want to push my luck! (I have my reasons for working out when I do...but that's an entirely different post!)
9:00 am - Right toward the end of my workout (the treadmill on this day), Casey comes up to say goodbye to us and leaves for work. Most days we say goodbye to him in the garage as he leaves, but today he comes to us so I can finish my workout.
9:10 am - I'm done with my workout and now we're working on cleaning up the playroom before we go back downstairs. Ethan is really good at cleaning up even if he plays along the way. But Logan is still a work in progress. At this age (18 months) he's a champ at getting more stuff out than we have just put up. But, it's hard to be exasperated at a sweet boy who spontaneously hugs his brother.
9:20 am - We all go downstairs (finally) and I turn on a show for the boys. Today it is Backyardigans. Then I go take a shower. Yes, I use television to distract my kids so I can take a shower. And I don't feel bad about it either. It works like a charm!
9:45 am - I am done with my shower, hair dried and dressed. I even put make up on today. I can usually do all of those things during the 25 minute show. Then I have Ethan change into some real clothes and both boys put shoes on.
10:00 am - We get in the car to go to Target. Ethan usually brings some of his toys along for the car ride and then gets to pick one to bring inside the store. Logan loves to look at books in the car. Usually I run errands on the days that Ethan is in preschool, but if we do go on a day that he is home, this is usually the best time. I bring snacks and drinks for the boys and they are usually really great shoppers! Plus, at Target, there is the promise of looking at Cars to look forward to (more on that later.)
10:05 am - We arrive at Target. Yes, it only takes 5 minutes from our house. The proximity probably has something to do with the fact that we make a trip to Target at least once a week.
In that second photo, they are looking at Cars stuff in the toy section. Ethan asks to do it every time and he knows that if he's good during the shopping portion of the trip, then he gets to browse the Cars stuff. He looks and looks, but is so good when I tell him it's time to leave and go check-out. He knows we don't get to take any of the Cars stuff home (not that he's lacking for Cars toys).
10:45 am - After a relatively short trip to Target, we are back home. We came home with more than we planned. Isn't that
always the case with Target? Ethan had spotted some large balls and asked if we could get one. I was thinking "no," but then I spotted the pool toys and some $0.99 blow-up beach balls. So, we got two. One of the rare occasions that they get a "treat" at the store. It turned out to be the best $2 I've ever spent. They played with those things for
hours. They're still playing with them even today (more than a week later).
11:45 am - I come inside to get lunch ready. Sandwiches and apples (for Ethan)/applesauce (for Logan). Looking at this photo (below), I realize two things: 1) I stand in this exact spot to get almost all of the boys' meals ready and on their plates. I do this 3 times a day, every day. So, I stand in this spot
a lot. And 2) I
really don't like those electric stove top burners. They probably take the prize for most hated appliance in our kitchen.
12:00 pm - I call the boys inside to have lunch. They put up their shoes in the bins, wash their hands (I help Logan), and come to the table. Today, I eat with them, which is what I usually do.
12:30 pm - Logan goes down for his nap. He is
ready to sleep. I love how he uses the bumpers for pillows...probably the main reason we haven't taken them out yet. He sleeps with his blanket, which he loves to snuggle. After I leave, he's asleep in about 5 minutes or less. He will sleep for about 1.5 to 2 hours.
12:40 pm - Ethan goes to the bathroom and selects his "friend" to sleep with while I am putting Logan down. Today he chooses Monkey...his very first "friend." He used to sleep with Monkey exclusively but now he just chooses one of his many stuffed friends. He always sleeps with blanket, though. Ethan still usually takes a really good nap...about 2 hours most days. And today is no different. I guess he wore himself out with the beach ball!
12:45 pm - I make myself a cup of tea (always
Hot Cinnamon Spice) and usually go to the computer. I check email, read blogs, catch up on facebook, and work on any jobs for my jobs (photography and administrative). I
always have photos to edit so I do a lot of that during nap time too. Sometimes I prep dinner or tidy the kitchen or something, but usually I get computer stuff done during this time.
2:45 pm - I can hear Logan on the monitor, but I leave him in his crib because he's still waking up. I have learned the hard way to let him fully wake up before going to get him. He appreciates some time to himself in his crib after nap time!
3:00 pm - Ethan wakes up and comes out of his room. He's still a little sleepy, as usual. Then we go get Logan, who is ready to re-enter the world now. After everyone is up, we all go downstairs together.
3:15 pm - We call Nonnie using Facetime and get to video chat with her. The boys love doing this, although they tend to talk over each other, making it sort of a circus.
3:30 pm - We go check the mail. We don't do this together every day, but the boys love getting the mail. They each like to carry some of it back for me too. And Ethan
has to ring the door bell every time he comes to the front door.
3:35 pm - After coming in from the front of the house, the boys go straight out back to play with their beach balls again and swing. Thank goodness it is a gorgeous day. On some days, this is the time that I would use to fold laundry, unpack the dishwasher, etc. But today, I don't have anything really pressing so I get to stay outside with the boys and snap photos.
4:30 pm - We all come back inside and play with Cars on the floor for a while. This is one toy the boys share really well. Lately, if Ethan lays down on the floor, Logan will lay down on top of him. It looks like they are wrestling, but knowing Logan, I think he intends it to be a cuddle or a hug. He's our cuddle bug.
4:45 pm - I get up to go make the boys' dinner and my little shadow is not far behind. Right now, he loves to hold our hands as we walk around the house.
He is insisting that I hold him now, so I slip into the bathroom to take a photo of the clingy one. He's curious about the camera, although he's very used to it by now. And....a hand in front of the lens...such a good thing that I have a lens protector!
5:15 pm - The boys sit down for dinner. Tonight it is leftover baked chicken, broccoli (which Logan doesn't touch), and some plain pasta. I usually make dinner for the boys separately from me and Casey because they eat so much earlier than we do. I often serve them leftovers so they can still eat what we eat, but sometimes I make something different for them.
Sometimes Ethan wants to bring toys to the table. He doesn't ask as often now as he used to. This evening, he wants to bring his Cars since that's what he's been playing with most recently. The rule is that they can "watch" him eat, but he can't touch them, and if they become a distraction, they go. But he really doesn't mess with them at all.
And Logan...this is just so typical of our little guy. He crosses his legs at the ankle almost any time he is sitting down. I love it.
5:30 pm - The boys are done with dinner and I send them into the living room to clean up the toys that are out before we go up to take baths. About half of them actually get put up. I have to manage the clean up of the rest of them.
5:45 pm - Just as we are about to go take baths, daddy comes home! This is earlier than usual...he usually comes home between 6:00 - 6:30 pm. The boys are always so glad to see him, and they go meet him near the back door almost every night.
6:00 pm - After welcoming daddy and following him while he changes clothes, we all head upstairs. The boys brush their teeth and then get in the bath. I still help Ethan brush his teeth after he is done brushing. He's pretty good at it, but I want to be thorough. And of course, I help Logan brush all 6 of his teeth too.
Today, Casey was home to take photos of me bathing the boys, which worked out perfectly.
6:20 pm - Logan gets out first while Ethan has a few more minutes to play by himself.
In his room, I diaper and dress Logan for bed. Tonight, he gets some tickles from daddy too.
As soon as he is dressed and his feet hit the floor, Logan goes over to his book bin. He'll sit down and read them right there or take them to Ethan's room where I am getting Ethan ready for bed.
6:30 pm - Ethan gets out of the bath. Usually he wants me to sing "Rock-a-Bye Baby" to him while he's wrapped up in his towel. I think I did this one time and now he has ritualized it. But really, he's no longer a baby, so if he asks me to hold him and sing to him...I'm going to do it!
Back in his room, I put lotion on Ethan's arms and legs. He gets really bad
eczema if we don't keep his skin moisturized with a
specialized lotion every night. And in the summer, he usually has to have a prescription cream for the inevitable outbreaks due to swimming, etc. So, I can't just send him into his room to get his PJ's on by himself. He still does that...but after the lotion.
Ethan has always had to have lotion after his bath so he is used to it and doesn't complain, but he's still pretty squirmy since it's right before bed time. I sometimes have to get creative to get him to stand still. I try to use fun and games instead of getting frustrated, but I won't lie...by this time in the evening, it's harder for me to be fun and creative!
While I am doing these things with Ethan, Logan is getting into stuff in Ethan's room. Thank goodness there's not that much to get into. He loves to go to the dresser drawers in the closet and he always loves to open and close doors. (See how he has a book in his hands from his room?)
6:45 pm - On a normal day after baths, we go downstairs and meet daddy after he's home from work. But since he's already home today, he takes Logan off to his room to read a story and go to bed. Casey reads one or two books and then rocks Logan for a while with his blanket. By no means does Logan
need to be rocked before bed (he doesn't go to sleep in his arms), but this is a special time for daddy to cuddle with him.
While daddy is putting Logan to bed, Ethan and I say a prayer and then I read him a story. I love that he has a much longer attention span now and is loving some longer books (even longer than Cat in the Hat). After the story, Ethan goes to the bathroom one more time if he needs to and then it's back in bed.
7:00 pm - Casey comes back to Ethan's room after Logan is down and we both sit on his bed with the lights out. I tell a story with Ethan (we both add details), usually about our day. It always begins with, "once upon a time" and ends with "the end." Then, Casey sings a song of Ethan's choice to him. He almost always picks "Goodnight Sweetheart" these days. After the song, we both get hugs from Ethan and then we tuck him into bed.
7:15 - 11:00 pm - After the boys are in bed, I make dinner, we eat, we watch some TV, and then sometimes we go do some things on the computer. Or if not the computer, I will read. There are some nights that I still have work to do, and this is the time that I finish up anything that can't wait until tomorrow. Or, more often, I edit photos, which I enjoy. I try to be in bed by 11pm most nights because I need my sleep, and those little boys don't tend to sleep in too much!
THE END
I read through my previous posts before sitting down to write this one. It affirmed why I love doing these...I loved seeing a snapshot of what our life was like at certain times. There is so much of our routine that is the same and so much that has changed. It's so easy for the details (even ones that seem so important at the time) to get blurred in my memory or forgotten completely. So reading those old posts is like being transported back to that time, and suddenly I remember things so vividly. I love that.
