Six months ago, I posted A Day In TheLife Of A Stay At Home Mom. While this
post accurately depicted life during that particular stage, I decided that it
was time to create an updated toddler version.
6:45
am: I am awaken by Cupcake’s happy little chatter. After glancing at the time, I roll back over
hoping to sneak in a few more minutes of precious sleep before beginning the
day.
7:00
am: The happy chatter has turned to a desperate cry of “Mommy, Mommy!” I drag myself out of bed and trudge down the
hallway to Cupcake’s room. She is
standing in her crib eagerly awaiting my arrival. As I open the door, a huge, toothy grin
spreads across her face. Those little
arms fly up as she cries, “huggie!” I
swoop her up for a short lived embrace.
She immediately demands Cheerios.
7:15
am: I place her in her highchair and give her some dry Cheerios to munch on
while I decide what we will have for breakfast.
She is not impressed and demands to have milk on her cereal “like Papa”. I put a small bit of cereal and milk in a
bowl and hand her a spoon. She takes the
tiniest bite before placing the spoon down dramatically and requesting oats instead. I
decide that sounds like a reasonable breakfast and make her some oatmeal. However, that apparently does not hit the
spot either because she presses her mouth tightly closed and refuses to even taste
the oats. She throws a spoonful of oats
onto the clean kitchen floor (welcome terrible twos, we have been expecting
you).
7:30
am: I give up on the idea of
breakfast for the moment. We go to the
living room, and I offer to read to her.
She seems to approve of this suggestion and runs off to her room to find
a book. She returns and we snuggle up
together. Two pages in she decides that
she wants me to read a different book.
One page into the new book she decides she wants to watch her Alphabet
Song DVD. I tell her that we are not
going to watch it right now. Cupcake
finds this news to be quite tragic and bursts into tears. She falls onto the floor woefully.
8:00
am: We rush to the door to see a large truck outside. Cupcake waves happily at the man collecting
the recycling bins.
9:00
am: Cupcake wants a snack. More
precisely she demands “squares” (aka good ol’ crackers). I give her a few in a small plastic
Tupperware bowl. Two minutes later she
comes back with an empty bowl asking for more.
I am certain she could not have eaten them that quickly so I decided to
investigate. Sure enough, I find her
cracker stash under the kitchen table.
She seems quite surprised when I inform her that she can not have more.
10:00
am: I find Cupcake dragging an enormous basket of shoes. On a daily basis, she takes all the shoes off
her shelf, brings them into the living room in a large basket (the purple
basket used at her birthday luau), and sits admiring them. She lines them up perfectly before
deciding which pair she wants to try on.
This goes on for quite some time.
11:00
am: Naptime has arrived! I place her beloved elephant and a sippy cup in
her crib and turn on her musical bear.
Now time lure her into bed. I
whisper, “Shhhhhhh… elephant is sleeping.
We have to be quite.” She
dramatically places her finger to her puckered lips and quietly whispers a string of
unrecognizable words. Together we tiptoe
off to her room.
11:15
am: I look around at the mess she
has created and make a mental list of things I need to get accomplished while
she is sleeping. The moment I am ready
to begin, I hear a desperate scream of “Potty!!!!!!!” I take her to the bathroom and place her on
the toilet. She protest adamantly until
I have taken all her clothes off… even her socks. She also requests a book to read. I bring her a book and tell her to call me
when she is finished. I stand right outside
the bathroom and wait (if I stay she will immediately want up). Five minutes later she announces that she is
finished, and we celebrate her victory. I redress her and send her back to bed.
1:00
pm: Cupcake has awaken from her nap. As she
does daily, she requests macaroni and cheese for lunch. She is thrilled when I agree but more than a
bit impatient during the preparation time.
2:00
pm: Cupcake is feeling particularly inquisitive. For the twentieth time, she points to a photo
on the wall and asks, “What’s that?” I explain to her what it is and she
appears convinced. Five minutes later,
she notices a new candle on the counter and the interrogation begins again.
5:00
pm: I begin preparing for dinner.
She notices me place a large pot on the stove and asks if she can see
what is inside. I lift her and show
her. She then asks if she can cook. I give her a large plastic spatula and allow
her to gently stir the pasta. She beams
with pride.
6:30
pm: After a bath, we curl up for our evening snuggle time. We read several books, sing a few songs (her
current favorite is one she has entitled “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Spider”), and
say a prayer. Teeth brushing happens
with a bit of a struggle.
7:00
pm: Night-night kisses are given and a ginormous group hug (on evenings dear
hubby is home) takes place before Cupcake begrudging agrees to join elephant in
bed.
7:30-11:
pm: Now that I am off school for the summer and my hubby is home most
evenings, I have the pleasure of enjoying a few glorious hours with the man of
my dreams. We chat about our day and
relish this quiet time together.
11:00
pm: As I have every night since
Cupcake was born, I peak in on her before drifting off to dreamland
myself. My heart is still full of
gratitude each and every time I see that little face. I cover her up with a small crochet blanket
although I knew she will immediately push it off.
One thing I have learned in the past
two years is that parenthood is exhausting, time-consuming, frustrating… and ultimately
the most amazing blessing I could possibly imagine!
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