Thursdays

For a while now I've been meaning to post about our new routines.  Our daily schedule (during the week) now has a lot of structure and has changed a lot since Chet left for deployment and Sydney started preschool.  It's been amazing, and somehow (before our new routine started) I had lost sight of how well we do when we have structure (especially Sydney and me).  No wonder I felt like I was going crazy all the time!

So today I'll give you insight into our Thursdays, since that's what today is.  And, actually, Thursday is my least favorite day, because it lacks good structure.

This particular Thursday, and every other Thursday (so twice a month), the girls and I attend MOPS meetings.  We all love them, and they are good for my soul.  I attended a MOPS group the year Lorelei was born, but didn't last year, and I'm really glad to be involved again.  Anyway, the meetings start at 9:15 a.m., so we leave the house a little after 8:30 a.m. to make sure we're there in plenty of time.  We usually end around 11:15 a.m., and Lorelei falls asleep in the car once we're on the road (11:15 is close to her usual nap time).  Any other day of the week, if she starts to fall asleep in the car, I do everything in my power to keep her awake, like singing really loudly or grabbing at her feet behind me or throwing stuffed animals at her head, but on Thursdays, the car is where she naps.

We drive home, and Sydney and I sneak out of the car (I leave the car running -- I'm not interested in being featured on the five o'clock news) and into the house.  I feed her a snack/lunch, she changes into her dance clothes, and we sneak back into the car, even though Lorelei usually wakes up as soon as we open the doors to get back in.  Syd's ballet/tap class starts at 1:00 p.m., and Lorelei and I just hang out in the waiting room at the studio (or outside if it's not too blasted hot, which it usually is) while Syd dances for 45 minutes.  I pack a snack/lunch for Lorelei, and we usually eat that while we wait.

When it's time to leave dance, Lor is feeling pretty refreshed, having recently napped and been fed, but Sydney and I are in horrendous moods a little on the tired side.  Every other day of the week (and weekend) Sydney naps from 1:00 p.m. until 2:00 p.m., so you can imagine why she's so cranky come 1:45 p.m.  And every other day of the week while the girls nap, I put my feet up for at least 30 minutes, not only to rest, but to relieve my aching, varicose-vein-ridden pregnancy legs.  Those 30 minutes make all the difference in the world, and I'm a little miffed at Thursdays for not allowing me that time to myself.

On MOPS Thursdays we usually drive straight home after dance, since we've been out of the house mostly all day.  That's what we did today, and here's how the rest of our day went down:

2:05 p.m. - 3:15 p.m.: I turned on an episode of "Daniel Tiger" for the girls to watch, but they were more interested in making a mess playing, so I turned the TV off and tried to sneak in some rest time for myself in the big easy chair.  The girls like to make sure I don't get too comfortable, but it was still nice to sit.

3:15 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.: I'm desperately tired by this point, and Lorelei is rubbing her eyes, so I decide to put her in her crib and lay on the couch to elevate my feet.  I give the iPad to Sydney, and she kills brain cells stays quiet for the next 45 minutes. 

4:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.: I'm feeling much better, and Sydney and I head upstairs to save Lorelei from her crib (she never fell asleep, but was still happy to lay up there, chewing on her burp rag and playing with the nine or ten stuffed animals leaving her no room to lay down surrounding her).  For an hour I put different outfits on the girls, trying to figure out what they're going to wear for our family pictures on Saturday.  I realize that Lorelei looks disheveled in whatever I put her in, no matter how cute the outfit.  She really is cursed with some sort of 19-year-old-surfer-boy syndrome, as far as appearances.

5:00 p.m. - 6:15 p.m.: I decide there's no point in making Thursday worse by cooking dinner and having to clean the kitchen, so the girls and I head to Subway.  I love making messes for other people to clean up -- not on purpose, of course.

6:15 p.m. - 7:00 p.m.: We head to our friend/neighbor Kelly's house for a change of scenery; we haven't seen her or her little boy almost all week (she's usually the person I see the most during the week).  Lorelei had been feeling under the weather with a cold until today, so we steered clear of other people as much as possible.

Just as we were leaving Kelly's house, Sydney decided to lay down on her front door step, right on the welcome mat.  I whisper-hollered for her to get up, because I did not want to bathe her tonight -- no matter that she has school pictures tomorrow.  She didn't seem too dirty, and she smelled fine, so I let the welcome mat incident slide.  I treated it like the 5-second rule, where you're still allowed to eat something off the floor as long as it's on the floor less than five seconds (a strict rule in our house...not).

When we got home we all chipped in to clean up the play mess that we left before heading to Subway.  I doled out vitamins, milk cups, and water cups, and we trooped upstairs for pajamas (not baths though).  I did take the time to wipe their feet with baby wipes though.  We read a couple of books, and despite pleas to "watch a movie" from Sydney, I said goodnight.  They were asleep within 15 minutes, which is always the case on Thursdays.  Woo hoo for me!

***On non-MOPS Thursdays we usually stay at home all morning until it's time to leave for dance.  I put Lorelei down for a nap around 10:30 a.m., and she sleeps until it's time for us to leave the house.  During that time Sydney helps me get chores done, or just plays.  Non-MOPS Thursdays are a little less hectic, but still tiring for Sydney and me since neither one of us gets the rest we are accustomed to.***

Sorry if that bored you to tears!  Happy Thursday!