DILMOT: Part 2.

Please see Part 1 for the first part of the day. If you want to. If you randomly showed up at this post, and it is a Part 2 post and you really want to know about Part 1, then go read Part 1. If you just want to read Part 2, feel free. Or, you know, don't. My kids don't listen to me, why should you!

We left off at lunch time.

Peanut butter and honey (crusts cut off), gold fish crackers and berries all around!

For your own lunch, you prepare a salad, and toast the crusts of the kids' sandwiches. Toasted crusts make good croutons!

After lunch, do you:
a) Help the kids with a craft project
b) Clean up breakfast and lunch mess while the kids play
c) Take out the garbage since garbage day is tomorrow

You chose a. Some days you choose b, but you're feeling parental today and want to do something fun! Also, you bought a craft project at the dollar section in Target and if you don't do it today, it will just become another project stashed on the shelf that you will do 'someday.'

You manage to keep your calm while the kids paint, and the paint stays relatively contained. You even let them go outside and pick a couple of rocks to paint, because painting things is fun!

Then Child B tries to paint Child A's rock.

So much loudness. And painting time is done.

1:30: You clean up from painting and decide to try to get started on the garbage. You go outside to drag the big bins to the front of the house.

1:32: You come back inside to this:

They want to keep playing. Child B insists that you play, too. Do you:
a) Make them clean it up, and proceed to nap time.
b) Let them play for a bit while you clean up breakfast and lunch dishes and take out the garbage.
c) Join them in the chaos.

You choose c.

If you can't beat 'em, join 'em! After a rousing game of pretend restaurant/doctor's office, you finally convince Child B and Child C to head upstairs for nap time. Child A joins you and makes every effort to undermine the process because she wants to keep playing with them. After some tears, a time out or two, a couple of books and some big hugs, Child B and C are down for their nap.

2:30: Child A wants to keep playing with you, so you give her some undiluted Mommy time. Part of you feels like a wonderful mother for focusing all of your attention on her when she wants it. The other part of you realizes that you are doing it just to stave off another argument.

3:00: Child A gets 30 minutes of screen time before her own rest time.

During that 30 minutes, do you:
a) Clean up those darned breakfast and lunch dishes, as well as the mess the kids made
b) Go take care of busy work in the office
c) Take out the garbage
d) Work out

You choose b. 30 minutes of screen time for yourself to pay some bills and check Facebook, etc.

3:30-3:45: Get Child A upstairs and into her room for 'Quiet Time.' She believes the quiet part is optional.

3:45: You have reached your one and only uninterrupted hour of the day. Do you:
a) Clean up the stupid breakfast and lunch dishes
b) Clean up the messes the kids made during craft and play time
c) Take out the garbage
d) Clean the front window that you noticed is getting mildewy around the trim after all the rainy weather
e) Sit back in the office to start writing a blog post
f) Take a shower
g) Work out
h) Start working on dinner

You want to do all of the above, but only manage to squeeze in a haphazard mix of a-e.

4:45 (on the dot): Child A shows up at your office door, in a princess costume and wants a snack. Immediately.

5:00: Child B and Child C are still sleeping. Do you:
a) Wake them up so that they will go to bed at a decent hour
b) Let them keep sleeping

You choose a. You have to choose a every day. You've tried shifting their nap earlier, but they just stay awake until the normal nap time and still try to sleep past 5. You are thankful that they still nap, but a big part of you is ready to be done with naps so you aren't tied to the house for 2-3 hours every afternoon.

5:15: It starts raining out of no where! Rainbow weather! You rush the kids outside, Child B and Child C still barely awake.

They're not as excited as you are.

5:30: Time to start cooking dinner. Also, the kids are grumpy and all want snacks. Do you:
a) Attempt to cook dinner while dealing with each new crisis as it comes up
b) Order pizza
c) Turn on the TV to hypnotize them while you cook in relative calm

You choose c. You wonder every day how parents of the past got dinner cooked without TV to distract the kids.

You attempt to prepare a well balanced meal, while fully aware that they will eat approximately 0-10% of what you put in front of them.

All she ate was the roll and the tomatoes.

6:30-7:30: You clean up dinner, the kids run and play and fight. You may or may not yell.

At one point, you attempt to sneak back in to the office to keep working on your blog. During which time you have to tell Child B that you are not ordering pizza, you are writing a blog. No, not ordering a blog. ("No order blog. Me no like blog.") Writing a blog. Blog. No, it isn't food. It's a... blog.

7:30ish: You remember that it is your Dad's birthday! Do you:
a) Send a "Happy Birthday!" text
b) Skype with your parents

Of course you choose b! You try to have a grown up conversation with your parents while Child B insists that he has to man the tablet and only wants to talk to the dog. Child C shuts Child A's finger in the door causing both of them to completely lose it. You figure your parents wonder where they went wrong with you as they get to witness the night time craziness first hand! You manage to get all of the kids to allow you to sing Happy Birthday to your dad. Child B does not approve of singing.

After hanging up, Child A has a complete and utter melt down because "You care more about your parents than about me!" Clearly undiluted Mommy time earlier didn't help.

8:00: Time to head upstairs for the bedtime ritual! This starts at 7 on bath nights (thus waking the kids up from nap at 5!)

At this point, Child C, who has been the least demanding child all day long has some sort of breakdown caused by something completely unknown, but apparently tragic.

You try to calm him down, but your efforts are met with blood curdling screams, so you leave him alone to reset.

8:20: Your husband makes it home after a long day at work.

All the children are happy to see him. Child C breaks out of his funk, cause still unknown.

Bed time ritual continues:
- PJs
- Dance Party
- Books (oh so much drama about who reads what book, and who sits where, etc)
- Teeth (more drama about who gets brushed first and by whom)
- A trip to Child A's room to turn on her rainbow
- Back to Child B and C's room to turn on their moon
- Sing a song to Child B and Child C
- Do a special dance back to Child A's room
- Sing to Child A
- Tend to any child that needs fresh water, a new diaper, one last hug, etc

9:20: All kids finally in bed, you head back downstairs with your husband. With his help, you finally finish taking out the garbage, finish cleaning up from breakfast, lunch and dinner and all the other messes that accumulated through the day.

10:00: Crash on the couch to spend an hour or two talking about your respective days, politics and finally watching a bit of mindless television.

12:00: Bed. You set your alarm for 6:30 thinking that you will try to get up and go for a run in the morning!