A day in the life...

So, life right now is pretty chaotic, but also pretty fun. I'm loving this stage with all the kiddos and was thinking you may want a snapshot into life with three little ones and I may want to write this down so I can remember later what these days were filled with. Today seems as good a day as any...

2:38 am I hear Beckett babbling in bed. He's turned himself on his back again, so I flip him over, put his paci in and go back to sleep.

5 am BB is crying, this time searching for his paci. I give it to him and go back to bed.

6:45 am He's up for real now. I bring him back to our room and nurse him in bed, half awake, but knowing I need to get up as soon as he's finished.

7 am Liza Jane comes in (she has a cold) and gets in bed and snuggles with Ben

7:05 am Chaz comes in and climbs next to me while I'm nursing Beckett (I ask him to make sure not to squash him)

7:15 am the kids get up. I remember we have no milk for cereal or bread for the kids' school lunches (they normally get a PB and J)

7:30 am I brush my teeth, put BB in bed with Ben and run to 7 11 for milk and lunchables. While there I realize they need fruit, grab some grapes, but trade them for bananas at the check out counter b/c they are a better deal.

7:45 am I get the kids ready for school. LJ is acting puny, so I take her temp. It's 99.4, which seems borderline to Ben and I, so I give her some ibuprofen and cough medicine and hope for the best. Also, I tell her she may have to miss school and she is devastated, which tells me she probably feels pretty decent.

8 am Ben offers to take the kids to school, which helps me a ton! I then put BB down for a nap, since this means we don't have to head out and screw up his morning schedule.

8:45 am Ben and the big kids leave and the house becomes MUCH quieter! I pour myself a cup of coffee and immediately start cutting coupons for my big grocery trip (ugh). I do not like big grocery trips, but I am excited to get the ingredients for the Pioneer Woman's White Chicken Enchiladas I am making tonight. I love her.

9:30 am BB wakes up early, wish throws off my plan a little, but I go ahead and feed him while finishing my cup of coffee (now reheated)

9:45 am I finally get myself ready for the day

10:20 we head out to my friend Cristina's house to get some diapers her little guy has grown out of to use for the snowman diaper cake I am making for a friends' baby shower tomorrow night.

11 am I get to Jared's to drop off my ring for it's biannual cleaning and inspection. I realize that i have totally NOT gotten over my concern for what others think of me as I set out of the store to go shopping, baby in tow, and no wedding band. Silly me.

11:15 am I return 2 things at the Gap and buy Liza Jane some sparkly red tights to go with her Christmas outfit (I'm practically giddy about how adorable she is going to look and hoping she actually keeps the sparkly black headband that goes with her outfit in her hair for her school Xmas show on Thursday). Don't worry, I'll post pictures of their super cuteness later.

11:35 we head to Starbux, b/c it is just two doors down and I haven't had a grande decaf soy mocha in a couple weeks, which is quite a long stretch for me to go. I opt for the "reduced-fat" choc chip banana bread in lew of lunch and feel good about that choice. Haha!

11:50 now we're off to Old Navy to see what I can find with the gift card Ben's company gave me for Christmas. (I have major difficulties holding on to any gift card for more that 2 or so days) BB and I actually find lots of goodies for all of us. Mainly stocking stuffers and house shoes (Chaz is especially fond of house shoes.) I start to get concerned that I'm not going to get everything done before I pick the kids up...

12:18 pm I dash back to Jared's to pick up my now brand new looking ring. BB still hasn't slept in 3 hours, which is quite a long time for him, but oh well, he isn't crying.

12:35 pm we get to Walmart for the previously mentioned doozy of a grocery trip and I get BB out to nurse him, only to find he's finally dozed off. oh well, i don't want a screaming baby in the middle of walmart, so i get him out and feed him in the car.

12:50 pm we start our mega shopping trip (that i must finish by 1:30). it goes pretty well, but BB still won't sleep.

1:32 pm i look at my phone and see what time it is. i have 2 more aisles to get thru and really don't want to have to come back. we dash thru them and pick the quickest looking check out line. the girl is super sweet, but has some trouble with my coupons. i'm smiling and saying it's okay (she's being too hard on herself) while thinking "i have to get out of here!" BB is starting to fuss, and I catch a whiff of a very stinky diaper (the kid hasn't pooped in 4 or 5 days). this is going to be a doozy.

1:50 pm we finally sprint out the doors. i throw everything in the car and head to the preschool to pick up LJ and Chaz. BB's diaper doozy will have to wait.

2:10 pm i finally get to the school and apologize to the kids' teachers for my lateness. they are so sweet and so helpful.

2:20 pm we get in the car. chaz tells me he has to pee, so i get out a water bottle, tell him for the gazillionth time he needs to go at school right when he wakes up from his nap, and let him pee in the bottle. then remind him for the gazillionth time that he needs to drink more and is dehydrated.

2:25 pm we head home and I look thru the kids sweet folders with all the stuff they did at school that day. they are super excited about their Christmas program coming up on Thursday (well, LJ is anyway). She also tells me she has homework and wants to do it as soon as we get home, b/c she loves counting. precious.

2:30 pm finally home. i throw the perishable groceries in the fridge and get BB out of his seat. his shooey diaper is not as bad as i figured it would be, but he does need a change of clothes. then he finally goes down for a much needed nap and i fulfill several requests from my big kids and start boiling chicken for the enchilada dinner.

(p.s. through out the day stuff is definitely going on with both dogs, but it would really make this thing long)

3 pm i give the kids their new slippers. they are a big hit.

kids are playing, distracting me, etc. while i work on dinner until 4ish when Ben gets home and BB wakes up from his nap.

4 pm i feed Beckett. We decide to watch an episode of "The Sing-Off" we recorded on the DVR.

4:30 pm i decide it's probably best for me to work on dinner while watching the show. Chaz is playing "talking cars" in the living room while LJ plays princesses in their bedroom. BB is visiting with Daddy. then he goes down for another nap

5 pm the sauce for the enchiladas is coming together and i start thinking i really need to take more time to cook b/c i love it so so much. i'm almost tearing up it smells so good. (pretty sure BB is eating more lately b/c i'm STARVING 90% of the time)

5:50 pm dinner is ready. everything is set. BB wakes up from his nap crying and apparently hungry again. lovely timing. i'm salivating and wondering if i'll ever get to eat when i'm ready ever ever again.

6:15 pm we finally all sit down to eat. LJ is acting miserable at this point and i start thinking she actually does seem sick. after some scepticism both kids decide they do like the enchiladas. chaz eats really well when we barter with him a chip for each bite he takes. i also made choc chip cookies for leverage (a must when introducing a new meal). Ben says it's delicious. The kids eat. I consider it a huge victory! (we also used paper plates and I cleaned up the cooking mess before we ate, so i'm basically patting myself on the back right now for my incredible cooking/prioritizing/problem solving skills)

6:45 pm LJ still looks miserable, so we take her temp and find out it's still borderline. She gets ibuprofen and cough meds and looks completely ready to go to sleep.

7 pm we sit down as a family in the living room to do our jesse tree advent devotional. Ben reads to us all. LJ is listening intently while Chaz wonders around the living room and BB lies on the floor acting frustrated b/c he really wants to figure out how to roll from his back to his front. Ben disciplines Chaz, he starts crying, we talk about why he's being disobedient, he finally sits down with us, and we finish the devo. (I'm so thankful Jesus is my Shepherd, b/c I'm 100% positive i can be a wondering sheep for at least some part of every day) LJ and Chaz both get to put an ornament on the Jesse Tree. They love that part.

7:20 pm BB goes to bed and we sit down on the couch to read a good night book and Pinkalicious. LJ's starting to show some interest in reading, so Pinkalicious is a little slow going.

7:30 pm it's an early bedtime for the munchkins b/c LJ isn't feeling well and Chaz can basically crash whenever. We sing our songs, pray, and do tuck ins. Chaz asks if LJ's princess Jasmine doll can sleep with him. She says no. I tell her she needs to let him since she wasn't planning on taking her to bed anyway. Chaz is overjoyed. He says Jasmine is his favorite princess b/c she wears pants and shows her belly. Lovely. He asks me for his nightly ritual of "Free kisses on the sheek." LJ asks for 5, since she is 5. I finally get out of there.

7:40 pm LJ comes out pathetically asking me to blow her nose. She needs to take nose blowing lessons from her brother. i realize my cell phone is missing, so ben calls it and comes to my rescue.

8 pm they are quiet. woohoo! victory! i let lady out for fear she will pee in her crate again if i leave her any longer. then i sit down to write this blog and watch the season finale of "The Biggest Loser".

8:50 pm BB wakes up for one last feeding. Then he goes right back to sleep.

10 pm now. i'm finally wrapping this thing up. hope you made it thru. i got distracted a few times along the way.