Life summary/ketchup

It's July 29th, 2011. Marissa is 5, Arianna is 29 months, and Roman is 8 months.
It has been a whole week since Arianna nursed last. If it were completely up to her, she wouldn't be done. We were down to just first thing in the morning. Then this week was VBS so I was up early and as soon as the girls got up, we got dressed, ate, and had to leave. So there just wasn't time. She still asked, but was ok that we didn't have time. I'm sad, but so so freaking proud at how long I nursed her.

Here is a typical day in our life lately:

• 7:15-7:30am Girls wake up. I'm trying to get them to spend some quiet time reading books in the morning. Some days they do, some days...not so much.
• 8:00 Get dressed and breakfast. The girls get to pick out their cereal for the week on grocery night, so they're usually excited about it. Arianna is pretty good at using a spoon and eating cereal by herself. They both tip their bowls to eat the milk with a spoon when they're done.
• 8:30 I wake up Roman. I'm really trying to keep him on a schedule. He usually wakes up between 6-7 for a snack, and doesn't always go right back to sleep. But he's happy to lay in his crib for a bit before sleeping a little longer. He gets a big bowl of baby cereal, and sometimes a fruit too. Depending on how recent he nursed last, I may or may not nurse him again.
• 9:00 Super Why. We have yet to get out of the rut that Marissa's shows put us in. Once she starts going to school everyday, and I just have Arianna and Roman home, this will change.
• 9:30 We head upstairs to brush teeth, I try to do some laundry when it's needed. On Mondays and Thursdays, we leave to drive to Centerville to pick up my editing work. We get back around 11:15.
• 10:00 Sesame Street. TV rut...
• 10:30 Depending on how recent Roman nursed last, I may or may not nurse him. I take him upstairs, put him in his crib with the fan on and light off. He falls asleep within 5 minutes of happy babbling. It's wonderful.
• 11:00 TV off! Usually a mini snack, playtime, and laundry if needed. Lately the girls are really into coloring and Marissa likes to make "comic books" where she draws the pictures then dictates to me what the story is about. Her stories are INCREDIBLE.
• 12:00 or later if the girls are busy with something particular...Lunch. PBJ's are a favorite, yogurt is a staple, and jelly beans/candy are a treat.
• 12:30pm I wake Roman up from his nap. He used to take 3-4 hour naps, but then was so unpredictable later, so I decided 2 hours is enough for the morning nap. I feed him his lunch as the girls are finishing. He has been eating a tube (I make his baby food and freeze it in breastmilk-storage tubes from the NICU) of fruit and a tube of veggies. He can pick up Cheerios, but doesn't usually get any to stay in his mouth. Today I got a carrot shower because he decided to spit with every bite.
• 12:45 Playtime
• 1:30 Diaper changes/potty break. And naptime. Marissa doesn't nap anymore (except for rare occasions) so she plays in Roman's room and listens to her Sparks CD. She has the most incredible imagination and has a blast in there (I can eavesdrop over the monitor). Arianna lays down in her big girl bed (mattress on the floor, til I sand and paint their new twin beds, to be turned into bunk beds in a few years). I usually have to go in there many times because she gets up to play, gets books, and generally has a hard time staying in one place long enough to fall asleep. She's usually asleep by 2 though.
• 2:00 Roman is usually tired around this time. He's not a huge nurser, and I can't convince him to nurse if he doesn't want to. He eats so much baby food though, so it's not a big deal. I try to nurse him, and lay him down for nap. Today I had to bounce/cuddle him for a little while before it worked. He takes his afternoon naps in our room in a pack-n-play because Marissa is in his room. I use this time to shower sometimes, or catch up on the computer.
• 3:30 I let Marissa stop playing by herself and come get me. She loves that she can tell time. Arianna usually wakes up around this time too. We head downstairs for a snack.
• 4:15 Dan gets home from work, although it's a little later if he rides his bike home. He goes upstairs to shower, and brings Roman down with him since that's about when he wakes up.
• 4:30 Word Girl.
• 5:00 Electric Company.
• 5:30 Dinner time. Roman gets a tube of fruit and a tube of veggies. The girls are pretty picky so we let Marissa give input in the meals for the week. Arianna doesn't eat much sometimes, but I'm not going to cook 90 things just to find the one that makes her happy. So she deals with it. After dinner, Dan likes to goof around with the girls and wrestle sometimes. Marissa gets hurt really easily, but Arianna gets back up every time, no matter how hard the fall. I clean up the kitchen and watch the craziness from the couch with Roman.
• 8:00 Bedtime for the kids. It's been so hot this summer that Marissa just wears her underwear and Arianna just wears a diaper. But Arianna has to have a "belt" of duct tape because she kept taking off her diaper. We read them their Bible story, pray, and they get to pick one book to read in their beds. Since Arianna naps and Marissa doesn't, Marissa is usually pretty tired and complains that Arianna keeps her awake. Hopefully this won't be a problem when school starts! Arianna is not the best person to share a room with, but putting them together fixed Arianna's MAJOR sleep issues, so hopefully they can learn to work things out. I nurse Roman one last time. Sometimes that works and he goes right to sleep, and other times it takes some effort. But I do my editing work from 8-10pm, so it's in his best interest to go to sleep fast so Dan doesn't have to hold him forever while I work. Dan and I like to watch shows online or on Netflix.
• 10:00ish Lights out. Dan gets up early, especially when he rides his bike to work. So we try to wrap things up by 10pm. He falls asleep quickly, so after he's asleep, I spend some time on the computer or play Freecell on my phone. It's relaxing and doesn't take much thought. I have a hard time falling asleep, so that helps.
• 7:15-7:30am Repeat.

I'm getting all sentimental about things lately, with Marissa starting school in less than a month. We're going to visit my parents in NY for a few weeks, and when we get back it will be time! I'm loving this age of all 3 kids. Marissa is so smart and creative. I wonder if she'll be a writer some day. Arianna is turning into the sweetest little girl. Her language is exploding exponentially, and her personality is showing all over the place. She loves her little brother, and it will be interesting to see how their relationship develops when they're the only kids at home. Roman is the happiest baby, and so calm and laid back. He takes everything the girls throw at him, literally and figuratively. His bottom two teeth are finally popping through, and I'm sad to see his toothless smile disappear, but excited to see the new smile taking its place.
I'm still not convinced I'd be ok with him as our last baby. Dan is 100% convinced. But I still struggle with that idea. I'm still hoarding the boxes of too-small clothes in the basement, and packing away baby gear instead of selling it. But there's something to be said about the idea of baby-less outings...