A day in the life...

You know how you hear that you never appreciate something until it's gone? Well, I don't think that's true. At least not all the time. But I will say that I appreciate things MORE when they're gone.

What brought this on? Well, it all started Sunday afternoon, where Ellie was supposed to take a nap during the first session of General Conference. She didn't.

Monday rolled around and Ellie still refused to take a nap. I put her down 5 times, and nothing. Not a wink. I was so tired by the time Will got home that I was ready to go to bed right then... at 5:30.

Tuesday I figured she'd be alright and we took our friend Hannah out to lunch (which is Ellie's usual naptime) for her birthday. Ellie was pretty good, but got tired toward the end. She fell asleep in the car on the way home... 5 minutes before we got home. She woke up when I got her out of the car and refused to go back to sleep.

On Wednesday I tried to put her down and she would have none of it. Finally, I gave her some Orajel, some Tylenol and turned off all her lights and put her down. Then I called my mom. Ellie fussed for a few minutes and then she was quiet. The sweet bliss of naptime!!! 

Yesterday she took a good nap, and I just put her down and she is quiet. Life is good. We have our routine back, and I love routines. So, for those of you who don't know what it's like to monitor a baby all day, every day,  here is our daily schedule:

7:00 am -- Will's alarm clock goes off

7:30 -- Ellie starts banging on the walls and squeaking

7:40 -- we actually get out of bed

7:50 -- I give Ellie breakfast, Will leaves for work

8:15 -- Ellie finishes breakfast and we go through clean up and change her clothes

8:20 -- I eat breakfast and check my email while Ellie runs around getting into things

8:30 -- we read books and play on the floor

9:00 -- Ellie goes down for "quiet time" (what used to be morning nap) in her crib while I exercise and shower

10:00 -- get Ellie up and we go outside to play

*side note* she almost always has to wear a jacket. Even if it's not cold.

Today we kicked around her new ball on the deck. Yesterday she was a leaf collector. The day before she found only one leaf she liked and carried it around ALL DAY.

10:20 -- come back inside. Sometimes we stay out longer, depending on the weather. Today we had to come in early because she picked up some dog poop that I thought was a rock.

10:25 -- remove shoes and jacket (after chasing her around) and play on the floor and/or get things done that I can actually do while she's awake. Today we vacuumed and emptied the dishwasher.

11:00 -- Ellie lunch

11:15 -- Ellie nap (ideally) and Mom starts to get stuff done. Lately I've been painting (rooms, doors, trim) I currently have a door down in the basement that needs a second coat of paint. Can't do that with Ellie awake. 

12:00 -- Mom lunch

12:10 -- homework (on a good day)

12:30 -- fold laundry (or some other mindless task) and watch an episode of something. Lately I've been bad and been watching TV instead of doing homework. Shame on me.

1:15 -- Ellie gets up

1:30 -- play outside

2:00 -- Ellie snack time while Mom does something useful like dishes

2:15 -- we play some more or run errands if needed

3:00 -- I start to think about dinner. I might actually make it, depending on what it is.

3:30 -- Ellie starts to change from sweet baby to monster baby

4:00 -- transformation complete, usually I've at least started on dinner by this point

4:30 -- Ellie is crying (for whatever reason) and Mom wishes Dad was home already

5:00 -- Dad leaves work and depending on the dinner situation, we go back outside to wait for him

5:15 -- Dad gets home and Ellie is suddenly happy

5:16 -- Daddy play time while Mom finishes dinner

it usually ends up like this

5:30 -- dinner

6:00 -- Ellie bath (every other night) and PJ's and milk

6:25 -- I brush her teeth and she says good night to Daddy

6:30 -- Night night for Ellie

6:31 -- Big sigh of relief for Mom!

6:32 -- Mom and Dad are in PJs and ready to relax

The rest of the evening is spent with Will playing video games for a few minutes, then we watch TV, then we eat ice cream, then we go to bed. It's a great routine and I love it. It gets switched up every once in a while, like when Will comes home early, or every other Friday where he gets to stay home all day. Or Wednesday where he comes home early, but then "works" until late. ("works" = playing video games while listening to his class)

Anyway, this was my celebration of Ellie taking naps again (as I hear her banging on the wall...)

It is now 11:50, which means I've got to get some lunch ready for myself and switch the laundry. And maybe I'll do some homework...