Vote For Me!

6:30 AM: Wake up. Chug coffee. Check in with George about the day.

7:00 AM: Get dressed. In workout clothes. Which ultimately go unused for their specific purpose.

7:15 AM: Check emails. Update financials. Drink more coffee. Check to do list for the day. Pack my bag.

7:30 AM: Raise Harper from the dead. Get her clothes ready, as somehow they didn't get laid out the night before. Help her choose an outfit. Help her choose a second outfit. Settle on the third.

8:00 AM: Zane is up. He awakes with a tummy ache. Doesn't want to go to swim class. Get him on the potty. Nothing happening. Try and convince him that the tummy ache will go away as I really want him to make his first swim class. George takes over so I can make sure Harper is eating breakfast.

8:30 AM: Harper is finally done, after several reminders to eat. She and I brush teeth. I do her hair. She finishes her chores. Pastor Dave picks up George. I double check Harper's bag, my bag, and Zane's bag. Check to see if her chores are done.

8:40 AM: Noah, our neighbor arrives. We all scramble into the car. Drop Harper and Noah off near the school at the crossing guard.

8:50 AM: Hit the bank to make a deposit.

9:05 AM: Enter the YWCA. Get Zane undressed in the locker room only to find that he is in the "process" of unloading. Rush him to the potty. Stand in the stall for a bit. Success.

9:15 AM: Get his suit on and walk out the pool.

9:30 AM: Sit for 30 glorious minutes with Terri Jo while our sons take their first independent swim class together. Wave, smile, two thumbs up, blow kisses, all while carrying on a deep conversation. Mothers have the unique ability to carry on intimate conversations with girlfriends while keeping all eye-contact on their babies. Or, sorry Zane, big boys.

10:00 AM: Wrestle a greased pig in the locker room and attempt to dry it off and dress it.

10:30 AM: Bump into old friend who asks about business. Actually remember to hand out my email gift card! Zane disappears with Terri Jo to the snack machine.

10:45 AM: Drive over to EAC to cancel unused membership. Glance at all the beautiful people and wonder why I can't fit this beautiful place into my beautiful life? Oh right. It's this new philosophy I've adopted that personal exercise should be FREE. Thanks, budget.

11:00 AM: Walk to Einstein Bagel to get Zane a snack and me more coffee. That's 3 cups now.

11:15 AM: Meet Terri Jo and Dmitry at a park. Run around with the children and hold another deep conversation all while climbing on and off an antique fire truck, now a playground toy, with cup of coffee in my hand.

11:45 AM: Something smells.

11:50 AM: Really.

11:55 AM: Really.

12:00 PM: Bad. Zane, and Dmitry, have obviously been "loosened" by the warm water of the pool.

12:15 PM: Leave park for home. Change monstrosity. Zane eats an entire can of Spaghettio's. I eat an energy bar. Complete phone in registration for Harper's tennis class. Begin choosing photographs for Friday night's crop and for Zane's classroom.

1:00 PM: CRAP! Literally, crap. I forgot my cardinal rule. After Zane eats lunch, he must, must, must sit on the potty. This almost insures that he goes. Too late. He sits anyway and I read him a book. I skip the last two pages . . . the end!

1:15 PM: Naptime!

1:20 PM: Not for me. Are you kidding?

1:30 PM: Read and sort mail. Straighten kitchen from lunch. Begin laundry. Call Harper's therapist to confirm appointment time. Try to reschedule another MD appointment. Consult family schedule with George. Contact customers via phone. Draft email invite for skin care customers. Send email. Return phone calls. Contact friend who just had a baby to answer questions about c-section recovery, etc.

3:00 PM: "Mommy! Mommy! Mommy!" Is it time already? Wait? Is my hour and a half up?

3:30 PM: Harper is home. No homework. Share a snack. Chat. Can I watch TV? No. Why? We don't watch TV during the week. She disappears outside to play with Scout. Zane follows. Get ingredients out for dinner which George will make as I have a ton of photo's to get cropped via Ritz camera online - which I have got to wean myself from as their site takes FOREVER. Get all the photo's downloaded onto their site. Plan my day for tomorrow: School drop off for Harper and Zane, meeting for Moms R Us, possibly purchase my amp, tackle Humana after ignoring several bills from Children's. And to think I was supposed to have a 4:30 appointment with Harper today that got cancelled! Thank goodness for that time.

5:00 PM: George is home! Crop 60 photos. Yes, it takes just about an hour. Seriously, Ritz online is the pits.

6:00 PM: Dinner. Lasagna. Brilliant. He done good. Dinner all together. Zane won't eat. What's new? Leave him at the table after we're all finished. He eats the portion we ask him to eat. Dessert. Mrs. Mason, Harper's teacher calls! George takes the call. Apparently, there was a situation today where Harper almost got really upset (she was paired with a boy for reading time) and instead, she grounded herself, took a deep breath, and handled it. Was a "model student" the remainder of the day. Mrs. M wanted us to know how well she did. Harper tells us that she was able to handle the situation by imagining something that makes her happy. Scout. Then she shares that she was able to help the boy sound out words. Folks, so far, so good.

6:45 PM: George leaves for a meeting.

7:00 PM: Baking time. Sometimes, baking is the best activity at night as it keeps the kids seated! Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies. Hidden inside? Pureed banana and zucchini. Well, not very well hidden as Harper does the pureeing in the food processor. Put cookies in oven.

7:15 PM: Kids have gotten cleaned up and are in pajama's. Cookies are done. Time for cookies and devotions. Topic: Jacob meeting and marrying Rachel. Carefully explain that we no longer marry our cousins. (You're welcome, sis). Pray that we would be helpful to one another and share ways to do so. Harper begins wrestling Scout on the floor. Zane is Optimus Prime running in circles and capturing and jailing Megatron in the closet. Mommy loses it and asks them to sit down. We talk about listening and obeying. Harper responds by immediately going up to brush teeth. Zane, who mimics anything she does, also brushes teeth.

8:00 PM: Harper reads two books to us while we all sit on her bed. Scout joins us. Harper lays out clothes for tomorrow. I take Zane to his room. We hug and kiss for a long time. I give him a blessing. He thanks God for toys, toys, and more toys. I wrap him like a burrito in a blanket. Lights out.

8:30 PM: Lights out for Harper. Lot's of snuggling and affirming words.

8:45 PM: Straighten kitchen from Tuesday night bakefest.

9:00 PM: Write this post.

9:45 PM: Try with all my might to get up to bed to read and get adequate sleep in order to be refreshed for tomorrow.

10:00 PM: Run for Vice President!