Day In, Day Out

Much like a small child, I thrive on routine. I love to know what's going on and what to expect next. Routine = happiness, in my book.

With an infant that grows into a toddler, you create a routine without really thinking about it . . . it just happens. Wake up: 7:30 am. Breakfast first, then play time. Lunch at noon, immediately followed by a 2 hour nap. Wake up, play some more, maybe visit the park. Starting at 5:30pm: dinner, bath, bed. It can be heavenly on days when it all just falls right into place.

Meg and I had it down to a science. There was plenty of variety in our days . . . enough to keep them interesting . . . but those basics happened nearly every day like clockwork. Kate arrived, and a much anticipated and much expected change in our daily routine occurred. Nothing wrong, no complaints . . . I knew it was coming. Life just changed, as I knew it would.

What I didn't know was how quickly we could return to a routine in a house with a nearly 2 1/2 year old and a 4 1/2 month old baby. But, much to my delightful surprise, it appears to have happened.

Our routine now is not exactly the same as it once was. Meg and Kate wake up at different times . . . and Kate never seems to rise at the same time twice (yet). But still, it's wake up and eat, get dressed and play. Some days, it's a little more rushed as we get Meg ready for preschool. Some days, I can oblige Meg's request to, "Watch a po-gram in Mommy's bed for a little bit, pweese." Meg and Mommy eat together, play, and Baby Kate finds a time mid-morning to return to her crib for a snooze.

Lunch time can be a bit hectic. I prepare food for both Meg and myself . . . and it's rarely the same thing. While I'm not planning to become a short-order cook, I don't expect Meg to eat a salad or a turkey sandwich nearly every day (which is my routine), so I will make her different things on many occasions. It's not that big of a deal, but sure it does make lunch prep harder some days. After lunch, we usually read a few stories . . . sometimes Kate is already down for a nap at this time, sometimes she enjoys stories with us. The HUGE accomplishment here: I can usually line up naps for both girls. At least for an hour or so. That's not an every day occurrence, but it happens more often than not. By the grace of God, I get an hour or so to do things I need to do . . . without a toddler at my heels or the guilt of putting the kids in front of TV.

The worst time of our daily routine is the post-nap "witching hour." From about 4:00pm until dinner, I think that time actually stands still. 15 minute increments can seem to last for days. It's the worst. I find things for us to do or places for us to go to fill this time the best I can, but it always seems to linger and last forever.

All of you out there with husbands that come home each night -- THIS is where you have it so good. I know your routine well . . . you start looking at that clock at about 5:30pm and wonder when he's coming through the door. Maybe you are waiting for a "I'm on the way" phone call from Dad, or maybe you know exactly what time he'll be home. Either way, I envy you. You have help coming.

Me, I'm on my own usually 4 nights each week. So, we hit 5:30pm, and I'm not waiting for a phone call . . . I'm moving into the kitchen, trying to get dinner together. Some nights, I cook something yummy for Meg and I, some nights it's the left-overs from those yummy meals, and sometimes it's just whatever I can piece together that is at least moderately healthy (meaning a glass of milk and at least a vegtable thrown in somewhere). I have to do this while my kiddos are usually watching TV, coloring, sitting in a bouncy seat, or bouncing off the walls. Each night is different.

Post dinner is no cake walk, but somehow I always manage to make it through. I clean up dinner while Meg watches (again) a program and cleans up her toys in the living room. My biggest time saver these days: we use a lot of paper plates. I started that about a month ago . . . and it's really quite helpful. It's lazy and more expensive, sure. But Meg loves to pick out her plate before dinner, and I love to just toss everything in the can at meal's end.

Dinner done, it's upstairs we go. Naked babies in the bath . . . and now I can bathe them both in one bath tub. It's quite a sight . . . Kate in the little tub IN the big tub, Meg all squished at the end. Sooner or later, Kate will be able to use a very nifty tub seat that Keisha gave us. Then both girls will have some space. For now, it works the way we do it . . . both girls in and out of the tub in about 15-20 minutes time. Lotions, jammies, combing of hair . . . then it's time to pick out books.

These days, we are on a two or three book routine, depending on the night and the book selections. One of my favorite things that has begun to happen is that Kate will sit with us and listen to the stories. Oh *sigh* how it melts my heart. I sit in the bed with my two girls, lying on the pillows in their jammies, smelling the room up with incredible baby smells. Kate usually sticks her fingers in her mouth and just sucks contently while I read (side note: she's alternating between the first two fingers of her right hand and the middle/ring fingers on her left . . . only time will tell which will win out as 'the' fingers to suck). Meg loves her stories, and we often read one book more than once . . . last night, it was 3 readings of " Today is Monday " by Eric Carle.

After stories and lights out for Meg, I often think to myself, "One down, one to go . . ." And lately, that second seems to go down pretty much right after the first. This is so unexpected; to have an infant going to bed before 9:00pm was, I thought, impossible. But last night, by 8:15pm, both of the girls were sleeping and I was . . . well, in disbelief.

Will it really be this easy? To be on a routine again so soon?

I certainly hope so. If it is, then maybe the next Baby Dahlby will come along a little earlier than expected ;)

For now, I'll cherish the days when it all falls into place. I'll thrive on my routine for as long as I can . . . or for as long as it lasts, I should say. With a little one like Kate, it is bound to keep changing . . . but if I can manage to keep some simblance of routine in there, I think we'll all be a little bit happier around here.