My friend Jen mentioned that she was doing a DITL on Monday  and I offered to join her. A fairly boring day, but most DITL’s are, because (spoiler!) my life is kind of boring.

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Good morning. I guess. Zzzzzzzz.
I wake up just as Tom is leaving for work. He’s a good man, and knows that every minute of sleep I get is another minute of the day i can maintain my composure. He’s already fed the kids, so I plant myself in front of the computer and drink coffee.

Becky is doll obsessed lately, and changing her baby’s diaper is a constant activity.

Penny sits (briefly) in her carseat, and doesn’t even scream. Her teeth hurt, and she is pretty sure it’s my fault.

There is a lot of this in our DITL. Use this as a reference for any time span not accounted for.

The girls come upstairs and I prop them all in front of a dinosaur show so I can tackle a few projects. #crunchymomfail

Homeschooling lesson plan: check

Finish wrapping our advent books: check.

Penny refuses to nap, so I clean the rest of the upstairs one handed.

I set Alice and Becky up with a computer game, and Ella up with math work, so i can go lay down with Penny.

Success!

I run upstairs, stop a fight over the computer headphones, help Ella set up another math project, and throw some leftovers from thanksgiving on a plate to nuke since it’s 11 and I haven’t eaten yet.

Two bites in, Penny is awake, and pissed. I think it’s time to start using the buckles on her seats, oops.

I give up on morning nap and put her in the baby carrier so she can scream at me in comfort. Becky and I play color bears for a while, while the big girls play dressup downstairs.

I kick Alice and Becky outside, since it’s above freezing (barely).

Ella escapes the mandatory relocation by organizing the shoes, emptying the dishwasher, and just generally staying out of my way. Smart kid.

Butternut squash for dinner, baking it early in an attempt to actually have dinner done on time.

Lunch. Penny falls asleep somewhere in this span of time, but not for long.

I clean up while Alice distracts the baby with a rousing game of “Ring around the baby”.

Mandatory quiet time after lunch. Ella reads, Alice plays with magnet dolls, and Becky falls asleep. Thank goodness. Penny is back in the carrier while I do laundry and mess around on facebook.

Also: more coffee.

Sarah and 2/3rds of her boys come by around 3, right as Becky is waking up (and peeing in my bed, arg!), Penny is screaming in her chair because mom isn’t holding her, and the two older girls are mid-wardrobe change. I only half apologize for the chaos, she doesn’t care.

We sit and chat and knit and pass babies back and forth. Penny falls asleep easily in my lap, and I wonder who this baby is, and where the screaming one went.

Tom gets home near 5, as Sarah and her boys are packing up to go. I finish the soup, make burnt beans, and have the kids set the table and clean up their rooms, while Tom tries to calm down Penny, who is lamenting the tortures of infanthood. I forget to take pictures of dinner, but empty plates and bowls means success.

Tom takes all the girls downstairs to get ready for bed while I pick up upstairs. Hilarity ensues.

I manage everything but the dishes. After the kids’ bedtime Tom tackles the half that can go in the dishwasher, I’ll get to the pots and pans tomorrow. (Maybe).

I nurse penny upstairs while checking facebook, and she (briefly) falls asleep. I try not to move. Becky comes upstairs to find a book, and Penny is awake again.

I head downstairs and get into bed with Penny. It’s 7:30pm, but I’m fried. The girls come in to give us kisses.

and then they go to sleep.

I lay in bed and read for an hour or two, nursing Penny. Zzzzzz. Back in bed at last.