A day in the life of me.

I realize that I usually dont include a lot of details about our daily life on this blog. That was indeed my intention when I started writing so that I wouldnt forget the small things that keep me laughing (and sometimes crying) throughout my day. So here is a small example of what an entire day is like in LarsonLand!!! Enjoy!

I wake up at 7 am on the dot every morning to the crying of a boy I like to call brother. This cry is not a sweet "I'm awake, come and love on me" cry. Oh no no my friends. This is a shrieking, mystifying, ridiculously annoying cry from such a small little human being. It immediately wakes me causing my heart to race and also starting my day with that early morning jolt of anxiety which I wish was coffee. He has done this since the day he was born so I should not be surprised, yet every morning it is as if it has never happened before. I panic...and then I go into the room and find this--

He is usually soaking wet. From what? you ask. From pee of course. Oh yes, this 17 month old child still takes a bottle to get himself to sleep because he has no comfort mechanism built into him at all. He just drinks and drinks until his belly blows up and he pees all over himself and the crib sheets, comforter, pillow, etc. So after picking him up and holding him out in front of me as far as I can until we get downstairs, I wash him and change him into his clothes for the day and then I give him a big ol' smooch. He then watches Dora or Diego while I attempt to strip his bed for washing for the millionth time since the child has been born. Same thing...day in & day out. Oh and how could I forget the newest joy in my life? Heidi wakes up barking and yelping as well. So she gets let out somewhere in the midst of all of this because I just cant take one more child or animal crying in my face first thing in the morning. every.single.morning.

After I throw his bed set into the washer I attempt to pour myself a cup of coffee and a bowl of cereal so that I can check my email for a few minutes before Nora wakes up. Now you know THAT doesnt typically happen because by the time I get upstairs I hear her voice shouting "Mom! Come get me now!" Lovely. I sure will, princess Nora of the land. I set my coffee down knowing it will be cold by the time I get back to drink it and my cereal will be soggy. But the lady awaits and so I quickly go in her room and get her. She no longer says "Hi mom!" or something sweet. It is currently "I wanna go lay in mommy's bed. watch diego. get my chocolate milk." Yes ma'am, at your service.

After making the trip downstairs to get the chocolate milk and letting Heidi back in, I haul her milk back up the stairs to find her snuggled sweetly into my over sized bed. The bed that I wish I was still in at that point. I am so envious of her at that moment. But she looks so snuggly that I cant help but smooch her all over and when she says "sank you mom" (aka thank you) my heart melts and I calm down slightly from the initial Braden attack that I was in.

I usually do sneak in a few minutes of computer time first thing in the morning but then it is off to business. I put Braden in his high chair as he is crying for food. I hand him a powdered doughnut while I cook him something more nutritious...(filling)...like a sausage biscuit or pancake. He giggles with glee as he stuffs his chubby face with whatever food I hand him. He also giggles as he sneakingly drops food off his tray to his new friend Heidi. I sit back and am amazed at the fact that HE is sacrificing HIS food for something other than his own tummy. amazing really.

While Braden is eating and Nora is upstairs lounging I attempt to do dishes and clean up after Daniel who has left out the sugar, coffee mate, cereal that he ate and whatever bowl he used. Doing any of this requires that my back to be facing away from Braden, therefore not giving him my absolute undivided attention and so he moans and grunts and whines until I turn around and cater to his mommy needs. Again, he's done it from day one. Why am I still surprised that he is this needy?

Eventually I finish the dishes. I get him out of the high chair which means shaking him off completely until all the crumbs are ALL over the floor. I tell him to go play so I can sweep them up but he usually walks right through all of them while stopping to pick some up on the way. He cries when I tell him to go in the other room. I get out the broom for the first of many times in a day and sweep up his mess. Nora usually comes down the stairs at about this time and sometimes wants to eat. Rarely though since she hates breakfast foods for the most part. I bring her down and change her. "Do you want to go to the potty chair and be a big girl so you can wear big girl dora pants?" I ask her..."NO!" she replies. Ok. Although she did poop in the potty chair last night all on her own! Wahoo!

It is usually 8:30 by this point. Nap time isnt until noon yet Braden starts his fussing right away. He sometimes finds something to play with and entertain himself but mostly I just hear him whining around. Their new game is chasing Heidi. The dog hates it but the kids giggle and giggle. I cant help but be thankful. However, adding Nora into the morning mix brings on a whole new set of problems. I will usually have put her in the corner once before 10 am. Easily. She yells at me a million times to "come ere MOM!" in her most aggressive voice. She bosses me to do something and then usually tells me to "shush! thats not nice mom!" And so we march to the corner which turns into a full blown tantrum that is extremely exaggerated. She usually says "I'm so tired mom." as a way for me to let her out. She's so cute. I hate the disciplining part of being a parent.

At any given time during the morning when I walk into a room I'm sure to see Nora picking her nose or holding onto an already picked booger that she is saving for later. She'll proudly announce "I got booger mom!" Well great. She usually snatches a toy from Braden which leads him to throw his entire body onto the floor and slam his forehead profusely on the floor over and over. The whole time Heidi watches in amazement and nervousness. Nora is mean and nasty most times. She's 2 what can I say? Braden has indeed started to hit her back and so that begins another war of strength between them. I'm always the ref. I hate that. At around 10:30 the kids want a snack. Mostly cookies or chocolate of course. And of course, I oblige. At that point I feel like I've been up for hours and a couple of m&m's is not going to hurt them. Maybe it will release some happy endorphins I tell myself. haha.

I have to tell Braden "No" 500 times every morning. He is in the cabinets, or in the dog food or in the toilet. It never fails yet he continues to do it whether his little hand has been smacked or not. So mostly I opt not to do that because he doesnt get it anyway or he just doesnt care. His feelings get hurt and he cries--alot, and loud for a long period of time. It's so annoying. He follows me around aimlessly until noon when it is finally time to lay him down.

Nora usually goes down closer to one depending on when she woke up. I know this doesnt explain the everyday events that go on in our life because something new happens every day. I want so badly to be able to write about them when they happen because it's so funny at the time. But I always forget. You can kinda see why I bet. haha. Anyway, this gives just a small glimpse into my morning. They sleep a few hours and we start it all again when it's dark outside. It feels like 2 separate days packed into one. Oh the fun! I love being a mom. It is so rewarding despite being hard and exhausting and frustrating.

They are so fun and full of life. I feel like I say NO a billion times an hour, change diapers even more than that, and yet somehow I giggle and laugh more than all of those things combined. I'm going to try harder to write about specific situations and happenings around here so you can get half as much amusement out of these kids that I do. It's sure to lift your spirit!

Have a good day. I'm sure we will here! Love you all!