The New "Normal"

**It's a long one! Mostly pictures though!**
I know you were sitting there wondering what I do all day now that I have four kids. Well, I'm about to show you what my new "normal" looks like.
My days start at 5:45 a.m. I wake up to feed Sami and get her back to bed before I have to wake Clayton up for school. Usually, I wake Sami up, change her, feed her, and have her back in bed by 6:15. I then take the half hour before Clayton gets up to change my clothes into my workout clothes, stretch, and do some crunches. Then it's time to wake Clayton up.
Lately Noah gets up at the same time as Clayton. This used to frustrate me (because if he slept in I could go back to bed after Clayton got on the bus), but now I like it (because I'm not going back to bed either way).

 I make toast for breakfast. Clayton likes his with Nutella when we have it and Noah likes his with peanut butter - folded in half. They actually prefer toast to other breakfast foods and I support that because it's easy!

 While they eat I make Clayton's lunch and write him a napkin note. He loves that I include countries/capitols trivia. It's tricky though. Geography is his strong suite not mine so I'm not always sure I'm telling him the truth about the capitols.

 After breakfast we hurry to brush teeth and double check to make sure that he has everything in his backpack and we head off to the bus. I love that we recently had daylight savings time - it's actually light now when we walk to the bus stop at 7:20!

Here comes the bus!

On my way home I like to look around the neighborhood. Especially right now when the fall leaves are so lovely!

I love the tree in our front yard. The color of it's leaves are my favorite!

Looks like we need to rake again though huh?

I know we've been in this house for over a year and a half now, but I still love it. I look at it and just feel really happy that it's ours!

I made this wreath. I'm just really pleased with how it turned out. Especially against our red front door!

Once I walk through the front door it's time for my date with my best friend/arch enemy:

I am signing up to do a 5k on Thanksgiving. How does that make me feel? Let's just say I have a lot of work to do.

I have to be done with the treadmill by 8:10 so depending on what time Clayton's bus comes, I have between 30 and 40 minutes to work out (including warm up and cool down). This is about average for me right now. I know it'll get better and I have to keep reminding myself that I'm only two months post pardum, but it doesn't stop me from wishing I were faster.

I try to set Noah up with a cartoon while I run, but more often than not he joins me downstairs and talks to me while I run. He practices his gymnastics:

And his contortionism:

After my run it's time to get Josie up (I bet you thought it would be time for a shower - nope, not yet). Josie usually wakes up before I go in to get her, but she keeps herself well entertained until I come for her. This entertainment typically comes in the form of getting all her clothes out of her drawers and trying them on. "Wook Mama! I'n a pincess!"

Since the "pincess" outfit isn't what she's wearing today, I take back the skirt in favor of a pair of pants and a shirt. I pick the pants and she gets to choose the shirt. (More often than not, the shirt she will choose will be either pink, purple, sparkly, or have a princess on it.)

After she's dressed, it's time to go back downstairs, give Josie breakfast and feed Disco.

I did an experiment with her hair where I put it in lots of tiny braids before bed and then took them out while she ate breakfast. I thought it'd be a timesaver if it worked out. I would have liked it if she'd have kept that headband in, but the headband kept coming off and doubling as a belt.

Once Josie's had breakfast it's time to get Sami up (one of the best parts of my day). She's so happy in the mornings. Love this girl!

This particular morning I had time to bathe her before we took Noah to school (usually we can't get to this until after we drop him off). She is always so content in the bathtub.

After Sami's been dressed we hurry to drop Noah off at school by 9:00. I used to walk him in, but he prefers to walk in alone now. I think this would make me feel sad if it weren't for the fact that Noah is a really affectionate kid and the fact that to walk him in this year would require me leaving the girls alone in the car, or (shudder) taking them in with me.

This is the view on my drive home. Growing up in Vegas I got so used to seeing houses, billboards, and businesses on the side of the road that I didn't realize how pretty a drive can be. It's not as lovely as my drive to the grocery store was in Vermont, but I do like this view. Especially when the leaves are changing (I missed taking a picture of them at their peak, a lot of these trees have already lost their leaves).

When we get home, Sami is pretty content so...

...I take the opportunity to change the fish bowl water. Did you know we have a fish? The boys won her at a birthday party a month ago. Her name is Leah Pumpkin and I am surprised that she's lasted this long. The kids all like her, but I'm not a huge fan.

After changing the water it's time to feed Sami.

Once she's fed and content it's finally time for...

...LAUNDRY!

While I'm sorting, folding, and putting the laundry away Sami has thankfully fallen asleep for a short nap. This finally gives me time for a shower.

I shower pretty fast these days. Mostly it's so that I can hurry and find out what Josie has been up to in my absence. It wasn't too bad this time (just sitting in Sami's bumbo), but she's done some pretty naughty things when I take my showers.

I realize that I can't handle that wild hair. It's cute, but it keeps getting in her face since she refuses to keep her headband in. So I bribe her with pretzels and re-fix that hair.

Once this is all done it's time to get Noah from school by 11:30, prompting me to wonder exactly where these two and a half hours went (I wonder this every day).

I love the the happy faces in my rearview (because they're not always happy ones, so I have to enjoy it when they are)!

Such a nice fall day!

Right after we get home it's time for lunch.

Yum!

Of course I can't forget about this happy girl who is just content to sit in her carseat while I make lunch for the middles and wait for Josie to finish so I can put her down for quiet time.

After Josie goes down we all have quiet time around 12:30. I look forward to quiet time. Noah gets to play the iPad.

I get to eat lunch and have a Diet Coke.

And after I feed Sami we get to snuggle on the couch until we both fall asleep for a while (yes, I took a shower, but since today wasn't an errand day I skipped the make-up).

Unless someone escapes from her room (wearing a princess nightgown over her clothes) to foil my nap. She is promptly escorted back to her room and I continue my nap. It may seem a little harsh, and I do love my Josie, but I have to have quiet time every day to keep sane.

After quiet time is over (around 3) it's back to more laundry. I do laundry nearly every day; if I neglect it for too long we definitely notice! Ah the joys of a large family!

Then at 3:30 it's time for Clayton to get home from school! I do not exaggerate when I say that every single person in our house gets really excited when he walks through the front door.

Immediately we get started on homework.

Then we have a little bit of time to play.

Too soon it's time for me to start dinner. Fortunately Our Best Bites is there to help me out. Seriously, if you haven't been there, check it out. It's my absolute favorite!

While I make dinner I listen to Joshua Radin radio on Pandora. I love this station. Very mellow. Makes me happy.

While I make dinner the three older kids are usually running circles around me. Tonight apparently Skunk Baby was making bad choices and had to go to time out (interestinly enough, Skunk Baby ends up in time out a lot - none of Josie's other baby's ever get in trouble...hmmm...perhaps Skunk Baby is just a stinker).

Dinner is usually ready between 5 and 6. Tonight it was Monte Cristo sandwiches with apples, cucumbers, and carrots. Super yummy!

After dinner Josie will demonstrate her third fashion choice of the day. My boots. I didn't realize until I started taking pictures just how often Josie changes/alters/discards her clothes.

Sami will get a bottle and be content (have you noticed that there are no crying pictures of her in here? It's because she really doesn't cry. Best. Baby. Ever.).

Yay! Finally Justin gets home (around 6:30) and immediately wants to play with the kids. (Do you see Noah's foot behind the couch. He's doing a handstand.) Josie is angry at me because I won't let her climb over the back of the couch and is being consoled by her daddy. Clayton was making bad choices at dinner so he's noticable absent because he had to shower and go to bed early.

I am not a wrestler. The boys (specifically Noah) know that the need to wait for Dad to get home if they want to rough-house. Justin definitely does not disappoint!

He also has time to snuggle with Josie. She gets so excited when he gets home. Periodically the buzzing of the dryer sounds like the garage door opening and Josie will run to the door screaming, "Dada's Home!"

That was my last picture of the day (and wasn't it a good one?). Sometimes I feel like a Marine because I get more done before 9:00 a.m. that other people do all day. There are a lot of things that I didn't photograph: doing dishes several different times, breaking up fights between Noah and Josie, fixing the rod in Josie's closet that she broke trying to get a sweater down, and the countless other little things that need to get done to ensure that our house runs smoothly. Some days I look back and feel like I've accomplished nothing. I didn't go anywhere, I didn't really get ready, and I didn't do anything out of the ordinary. But I know that all these little things are important and even if they don't realize it now, someday my kids will appreciate it.

Not all my days are the same (although they all start out the same way). Some days we run errands, some days we have fun little adventures, and some days we are a little lazy and take a break. This is a pretty accurate account of my days though. It's the new "normal" for us. I know that it will change again once Sami gets a little bigger. We'll have to readjust things and figure out a new routine but for now this is how I'm spending my days. As crazy and (sometimes) monotonous as it is, I love it. I love that I get to stay home and raise my babies the way I feel is best. I know that not everyone is a fortunate as I am. I have it pretty good!