one reader asked how i manage to knit while busy taking care of twins and a kindergardener. since the babies are now 3 months old and pretty much settled into our lives, i thought i'd share what a typical day in the mcknitster's house is like.
i'm up between 6 and 7 am (since the time change). if i'm lucky, i'll have a bowl of cereal (on a good day sometimes cream of wheat or oatmeal), listen to the news and read the paper quick. more often than not, i'm feeding one or both of the babies. if that's the case, i'm eating after 9. not the best thing for someone with insulin resistance, but that's the way it goes some mornings.
at 7 i'm dragging hubby and the boy's asses out of bed trying to wake up the boy and hubby. hubby usually gets up between 7-7:30. the boy is supposed to be up at 7, but usually it's 7:30, and occasionally 7:45. those days are fun. getting the boy to eat breakfast is like pulling teeth. even though we have the rule no tv/no ipod/no toys before school, he still manages to fart around and eat a handful of cereal and sip some milk. hubby doesn't eat breakfast at all, or if he's lucky, he'll make coffee to drink on his way to work.
the boy gets the bus around 8, and hubby goes to work. the babies usually feed around this time, so i either feed them one at a time or else hold one and feed the other in the boppy. after they're fed, they either get swing time or crib time, and i start a load of wash (i wash their things every other day, in addition to doing our wash about twice a week). i then wash their bottles (usually 6), make formula, wash dishes, tidy the kitchen and sometimes start a crock pot meal. on mondays, i clean out the fridge becos tuesday is trash day.
it's now 9am. this is when i eat breakfast and read the paper (if i haven't already). i catch up on dvr'd shows (st. elsewhere, whatever shows i didn't watch the night before, sometimes a movie). i watch these shows throughout the day. actually get to watch the shows now, since they really aren't appropriate for the boy to see. but the time is coming when i'll be watching sesame street and blue's clues with the babies. thank goodness for the dvr. i can tape stuff for them and then watch it later.
i pick up around the living and dining rooms. i swap out loads of wash. i try to get some knitting in, or read, or go online and blog or ravel. mail comes around 10, so i pick through the bills and magazines. the number of subscriptions would blow your mind. on a good day, i can have 5 magazines. what, pray tell, do i subscribe to? 5 knitting magazines (altho i'm letting some of them run out and will keep simply knitting and creative knitting), 4 parenting magazines (i'm letting 2 of these run out), 3 healthy living/organic magazines, 4 women's/inspirational magazines, 2 entertainment magazines and 2 of martha's magazines. i don't know why i bother. i have no time to read, and as i mentioned in a previous post, i have nearly 2 years worth of magazines to read. but i get them anyway to stay informed.
by 11, it's feeding time at the zoo time for the babies' lunch. depending on when i ate breakfast, i have lunch, usually soup or a sandwich, or some leftovers. this can be anywhere between 11 to 2. the babies have tummy time on blankets on the floor, or they play with the exer-gym that used to be the boy's. on nice days we go for walks. sometimes they take naps. i try to sneak in knitting or reading when this happens. the babies then have a snack, usually around 2.
the boy comes home from school around 3. i go through his school papers and projects, put aside important papers, and help the boy with his homework (if he has any), practice his writing, or read some books. after he does this, he's allowed to play with his ipod, watch tv (shows that i've dvr'd), or play with his star wars guys. on nice days, he plays outside. before he was in school, we'd go to the playground or the library. when the babies get a little bigger, we'll do this again.
between 4 and 5 i start supper if i didn't make something in the crock pot. while i cook, i sometimes go online (if i haven't been on earlier). i have my daily therapy session daily phone call with mom and catch up on news. hubby gets home around 5. we eat supper, then feed the babies (or vice versa). after supper the boy gets his bath, and i take my bath and we bathe the babies. bath time is the only guaranteed time i get to read a book or magazine. the babies usually eat again between 7 and 8. we put them to bed, but they usually fuss. usually before or after my bath, i put away wash, clean up the bedrooms and bathroom.
the boy's bedtime is 8, although he likes to stay up later. he definitely got hubby's night owl genes. once he's in bed and the babies are settled, hubby and i catch up on our days, talk about work and the kids, and watch our shows (glenn beck, grey's anatomy, whatever's been dvr'd.) i knit, i read, i play cubimon on my ipod, while hubby works on his laptop. between 10 and midnight the babies take a bottle. we go to bed after 11. hubby may stay up later, but work upstairs so i can sleep (yes, i still sleep on the sofa).
depending on when they ate earlier, they'll wake up anywhere between 2 and 5 for a night feeding. lately they've been sleeping 4-5 hours at a clip. bless hubby, he usually gets up with the babies at night. if i'm awake, i'll feed them but usually i'm dead to the world. people are amazed that hubby's the one who gets up with the babies at night, but he does it becos he tolerates lack of sleep better than i do. you don't want to be with me when i don't get sleep. i'm miserable, bitchy, and usually get a migraine when i don't sleep. and if i have a migraine, functioning with the kiddos is pretty much impossible.
i sometimes feel like i'm judged when i say that. i know a lot of moms don't get that option. apparently a lot of dads don't help take care of their kids, especially at night. but some days, i feel like all i do is feed and diaper the kids. while the days go really fast this way, they also wear on you. it's not so bad when you have one baby, but with two, it's twice the feedings, diapers, bottles, cleaning and attention.
it was so easy when i had the boy. i fed him, changed him, held him while he napped, and i napped when he napped. i can count the number of times i napped with the babies on one hand. it's nearly impossible. they fuss too much for me to sleep, and since they were born premature i'm constantly checking on them to make sure they're still breathing.
some probably wonder how i can ravel so much when i'm so busy with the babies. well, while they feed, i check out my email and ravelry and my blogs on my ipod (the greatest invention in the world). having the babies has kept me pretty sequestered in my house. blogging and ravelry-ing has been one doorway out in the world for me.
this is pretty much been the schedule for the past 3 months. once a month i help with kid writing in the boy's class. once a week mom comes to visit and take care of the babies so i can run for groceries or errands, clean up the attic/cellar/back porch, and hopefully after the new year, swim or take a yoga class. on weekends we don't do anything. well, we do chores around the house, run errands, recycle, visit with grandparents, and on sundays, go to church and sunday school. this is really important to me. missing church feels really weird and my week doesn't go well when i miss. the boy's not in any activities like soccer or clubs, and i did this on purpose. a lot of parents i know complain about all the running they do with their kids, not having time as a family to do things or to just be. i can't live like that. by week's end, hubby is exhausted from work, the boy is tired from school, and it's nice to just do nothing on saturday and sunday afternoon. oh, we have birthday parties and visit with family and do chores, but nothing is scheduled, time is fluid. and we're together. by monday we're still tired, but at least we're not run ragged.
so there you have it. this is my daily life, more or less. i feel so blessed to be a SAHM. i don't know how working moms do it. i'm tired just from taking care of my kids and house. throw a job in there too, and i'd be a mess.
and to answer the question, how did i get the sock monkey hat knit with limited time? i obsessively knit it. using doubled over, chunky yarn and size 10's didn't hurt either. plus it was a small hat. i seize the moments while i can. after not knitting for several months (i somehow had an aversion to it during several months of my pregnancy), my zest for knitting has come back ferociously. can't stop knitting. don't want to.
here's monkey hat number 2. this one is for the pixie:
i did a different decrease for the crown, resulting in a pointier hat. not sure if i'm grooving on it, but it's completed, so i have to deal. the hat is a bit big on her, but she'll grow into it, and hopefully be able to wear it next year as well.
i'm up between 6 and 7 am (since the time change). if i'm lucky, i'll have a bowl of cereal (on a good day sometimes cream of wheat or oatmeal), listen to the news and read the paper quick. more often than not, i'm feeding one or both of the babies. if that's the case, i'm eating after 9. not the best thing for someone with insulin resistance, but that's the way it goes some mornings.
at 7 i'm dragging hubby and the boy's asses out of bed trying to wake up the boy and hubby. hubby usually gets up between 7-7:30. the boy is supposed to be up at 7, but usually it's 7:30, and occasionally 7:45. those days are fun. getting the boy to eat breakfast is like pulling teeth. even though we have the rule no tv/no ipod/no toys before school, he still manages to fart around and eat a handful of cereal and sip some milk. hubby doesn't eat breakfast at all, or if he's lucky, he'll make coffee to drink on his way to work.
the boy gets the bus around 8, and hubby goes to work. the babies usually feed around this time, so i either feed them one at a time or else hold one and feed the other in the boppy. after they're fed, they either get swing time or crib time, and i start a load of wash (i wash their things every other day, in addition to doing our wash about twice a week). i then wash their bottles (usually 6), make formula, wash dishes, tidy the kitchen and sometimes start a crock pot meal. on mondays, i clean out the fridge becos tuesday is trash day.
it's now 9am. this is when i eat breakfast and read the paper (if i haven't already). i catch up on dvr'd shows (st. elsewhere, whatever shows i didn't watch the night before, sometimes a movie). i watch these shows throughout the day. actually get to watch the shows now, since they really aren't appropriate for the boy to see. but the time is coming when i'll be watching sesame street and blue's clues with the babies. thank goodness for the dvr. i can tape stuff for them and then watch it later.
i pick up around the living and dining rooms. i swap out loads of wash. i try to get some knitting in, or read, or go online and blog or ravel. mail comes around 10, so i pick through the bills and magazines. the number of subscriptions would blow your mind. on a good day, i can have 5 magazines. what, pray tell, do i subscribe to? 5 knitting magazines (altho i'm letting some of them run out and will keep simply knitting and creative knitting), 4 parenting magazines (i'm letting 2 of these run out), 3 healthy living/organic magazines, 4 women's/inspirational magazines, 2 entertainment magazines and 2 of martha's magazines. i don't know why i bother. i have no time to read, and as i mentioned in a previous post, i have nearly 2 years worth of magazines to read. but i get them anyway to stay informed.
by 11, it's feeding time at the zoo time for the babies' lunch. depending on when i ate breakfast, i have lunch, usually soup or a sandwich, or some leftovers. this can be anywhere between 11 to 2. the babies have tummy time on blankets on the floor, or they play with the exer-gym that used to be the boy's. on nice days we go for walks. sometimes they take naps. i try to sneak in knitting or reading when this happens. the babies then have a snack, usually around 2.
the boy comes home from school around 3. i go through his school papers and projects, put aside important papers, and help the boy with his homework (if he has any), practice his writing, or read some books. after he does this, he's allowed to play with his ipod, watch tv (shows that i've dvr'd), or play with his star wars guys. on nice days, he plays outside. before he was in school, we'd go to the playground or the library. when the babies get a little bigger, we'll do this again.
between 4 and 5 i start supper if i didn't make something in the crock pot. while i cook, i sometimes go online (if i haven't been on earlier). i have my daily therapy session daily phone call with mom and catch up on news. hubby gets home around 5. we eat supper, then feed the babies (or vice versa). after supper the boy gets his bath, and i take my bath and we bathe the babies. bath time is the only guaranteed time i get to read a book or magazine. the babies usually eat again between 7 and 8. we put them to bed, but they usually fuss. usually before or after my bath, i put away wash, clean up the bedrooms and bathroom.
the boy's bedtime is 8, although he likes to stay up later. he definitely got hubby's night owl genes. once he's in bed and the babies are settled, hubby and i catch up on our days, talk about work and the kids, and watch our shows (glenn beck, grey's anatomy, whatever's been dvr'd.) i knit, i read, i play cubimon on my ipod, while hubby works on his laptop. between 10 and midnight the babies take a bottle. we go to bed after 11. hubby may stay up later, but work upstairs so i can sleep (yes, i still sleep on the sofa).
depending on when they ate earlier, they'll wake up anywhere between 2 and 5 for a night feeding. lately they've been sleeping 4-5 hours at a clip. bless hubby, he usually gets up with the babies at night. if i'm awake, i'll feed them but usually i'm dead to the world. people are amazed that hubby's the one who gets up with the babies at night, but he does it becos he tolerates lack of sleep better than i do. you don't want to be with me when i don't get sleep. i'm miserable, bitchy, and usually get a migraine when i don't sleep. and if i have a migraine, functioning with the kiddos is pretty much impossible.
i sometimes feel like i'm judged when i say that. i know a lot of moms don't get that option. apparently a lot of dads don't help take care of their kids, especially at night. but some days, i feel like all i do is feed and diaper the kids. while the days go really fast this way, they also wear on you. it's not so bad when you have one baby, but with two, it's twice the feedings, diapers, bottles, cleaning and attention.
it was so easy when i had the boy. i fed him, changed him, held him while he napped, and i napped when he napped. i can count the number of times i napped with the babies on one hand. it's nearly impossible. they fuss too much for me to sleep, and since they were born premature i'm constantly checking on them to make sure they're still breathing.
some probably wonder how i can ravel so much when i'm so busy with the babies. well, while they feed, i check out my email and ravelry and my blogs on my ipod (the greatest invention in the world). having the babies has kept me pretty sequestered in my house. blogging and ravelry-ing has been one doorway out in the world for me.
this is pretty much been the schedule for the past 3 months. once a month i help with kid writing in the boy's class. once a week mom comes to visit and take care of the babies so i can run for groceries or errands, clean up the attic/cellar/back porch, and hopefully after the new year, swim or take a yoga class. on weekends we don't do anything. well, we do chores around the house, run errands, recycle, visit with grandparents, and on sundays, go to church and sunday school. this is really important to me. missing church feels really weird and my week doesn't go well when i miss. the boy's not in any activities like soccer or clubs, and i did this on purpose. a lot of parents i know complain about all the running they do with their kids, not having time as a family to do things or to just be. i can't live like that. by week's end, hubby is exhausted from work, the boy is tired from school, and it's nice to just do nothing on saturday and sunday afternoon. oh, we have birthday parties and visit with family and do chores, but nothing is scheduled, time is fluid. and we're together. by monday we're still tired, but at least we're not run ragged.
so there you have it. this is my daily life, more or less. i feel so blessed to be a SAHM. i don't know how working moms do it. i'm tired just from taking care of my kids and house. throw a job in there too, and i'd be a mess.
and to answer the question, how did i get the sock monkey hat knit with limited time? i obsessively knit it. using doubled over, chunky yarn and size 10's didn't hurt either. plus it was a small hat. i seize the moments while i can. after not knitting for several months (i somehow had an aversion to it during several months of my pregnancy), my zest for knitting has come back ferociously. can't stop knitting. don't want to.
here's monkey hat number 2. this one is for the pixie:
i did a different decrease for the crown, resulting in a pointier hat. not sure if i'm grooving on it, but it's completed, so i have to deal. the hat is a bit big on her, but she'll grow into it, and hopefully be able to wear it next year as well.
The cuteness of the baby wearing the hat is nearly more than I can take.
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