A Fun Find

I was cleaning out old downloads and documents off my computer the other day and came across this. About 3 years ago my dad was teaching a class about mothers to the gentlemen at church and had asked me to write down a typical day for me as a mother. I never posted it because I didn't think much of it. But reading it now, it really made me reflect on one of the more trying times: that of having two kids under the age of 2. It made me laugh and cry. My dad said it got a good response from the men. I never really write that often and in such detail for that matter, so this will be nice to have and reflect on for the future...

A Day in the Life of Mandy Kuhn

5:30/6:00am -  My 2 year old, Tre, enters my room and wakes me up with, “Mummy…Boz? Mummy…Boz? Wash? Mummy…”  Now, I have two options: invite the kid into my bed, fight the noise and attempt to get more sleep or get up and give him what he’s asking for. It’s usually the latter.  (Translation: Boz – referring to Buzz Lightyear from his favorite movie Toy Story.      Wash – meaning he’d like to watch the movie he’s seen hundreds of times already.)

6:15am – Attempt to put something together that remotely looks like breakfast in hopes that he’ll actually eat.

6:30am – Prepare my own breakfast, if Tre permits me to. Share it with him since the breakfast I made for him wasn’t satisfying enough. Pick up the toy room and get it ready for the day. Clean-up Tre’s mess from both of his breakfasts.

7:00am – Go to my 1 year old daughters room to wake her up. I walk in to find that Brooklyn figured out how to take off her diaper again. She is all smiles; probably because she’s proud of the art she has left me in the crib. I pick her up and hold her by the arms to put her in the bathtub. Jokes on me though; I’ve taught Tre to close all doors behind him so the doors leading to the bathroom are closed shut. I attempt to open all of them with my feet.

7:15am – Brooklyn’s squeaky clean only to go downstairs for breakfast and get her all dirty again. Tre walks in yelling, “Cucky? C-C-Cucky?” This is an all day battle. I try to convince a 2 year old that cookies are not breakfast food.

7:30am – Brooklyn cleans her plate, she is my eater, and tries to climb out of the high chair herself only to get stuck holding on for dear life and trying not to fall.

8:00am – Put on Elmo for the kids which usually gives me about an hour to myself, uninterrupted. ie. Check e-mails, pay bills we can’t afford, start chores.

9:00am – I grab Brooklyn’s sheets and pj’s from this morning’s incident to wash them and start laundry.

9:30am – I hear a blood-curdling scream from Brooklyn. I become private investigator to figure out the problem. I find Tre pushing his sister down to stop invading his toys and send him to time out.  He walks himself to the laundry room, aka “Time Out”, and cries all the way there.

9:32am – He’s done crying and I ask him to go give Brooklyn a hug and kiss, which he does willingly. Then it’s count down to when it happens again.

10:00am – Whites are done. It’s snack time. The kids get cheese, crackers and chocolate milk…everything I can’t eat because I’m dieting. But who am I kidding, I snack off their plates so much that by the end of the weekend I wonder where I got those two extra pounds. Brooklyn takes her first nap.

11:00am – Colors are being washed. Tre falls onto the pile of whites fresh out of the dyer with his cheese fingers and chocolate baird. He thinks it’s funny to run through the folded piles.

11:30am – Put the dishes away. Tre comes over to help me put the silverware away. This is bittersweet only because it takes me twice as long to get this job done, but I know I’m instilling work ethic in him and teaching him to help. He is very proud of himself when I thank him and give him a big hug. “Yo melcome,” he replies. Wake Brooklyn from her nap.

12:00pm – Prepare lunch. Fight to keep Tre at the table with his food and Brooklyn from standing up in her highchair.

12:30pm – Clean up mess that somehow gets everywhere but their tables. Tre walks his plate to the trashcan and places his sippy cup on the sink. “C-C-Cucky?” I’m happy to finally reward him with one cookie.

1:00pm – Brooklyn, again, has a blood-curdling cry. This time it’s diaper rash. Daddy didn’t realize that too much apple juice and too many raisins the night before will cause blow outs. I set her in a bathtub with baking soda to “disinfect” her and treat the problem. This will continue through out the day. Fix Brooklyn a bottle.

1:30pm – Naptime. The sweetest word to every mother. Both go down. Tre crawls out of his portacrib 4 times only to find me standing at his door each time ready to put him back in. He finally gives up. Time to workout.

2:00pm – Workout’s done. With what time I have remaining I will try to get myself ready for the rest of the day.

3:00pm  -  I was able to actually do my hair today. Most of the time the kids wake up and keep me company in the bathroom while I get ready but end up pulling everything out of the cupboards, go through my make up box or through toilet paper into the toilet and I can never finish getting ready.

3:30pm – Pick up toy room again. Snack time.  Dramatic diaper changes for both.

4:00pm – Call people in the ward for my calling. Organize car rides and activities for the next evening for the Young Women. Put Tre in time out for talking back to me.

4:30pm – Start to get dinner prepared. Daddy will be home soon and I have to make the house look “decent” so that that he doesn’t think I’ve been sitting on the couch, watching Oprah, eating chocolate all day. While I’m picking up, Brooklyn is upset. Her Baby Einstein show is not entertaining her and no toys tempt her; she just wants mom’s attention. Everything gets put aside to give it too her. Tre sees his little sis getting attention and sibling rivalry starts to churn. I love both but have to be firm with Tre as he pushes her aside.

5:00pm – Daddy’s home, a favorite part for all of us.  Freddy plays with the kids to give me a few minutes to get dinner ready.

5:15 – Dinnertime. I’ve yet to have a hot meal. In between bites I fight to keep Tre sitting at the table and to eat his food and Brooklyn from spinning around to play with blinds. Brooklyn, again, cleans her plate. Freddy attempts to feed Tre a green bean. World War III.

5:30 – It’s Monday. Family Home Evening. We sing Sunbeam, Popcorn Popping, and Families Can Be Together Forever. We are impressed with how well Tre knows the songs from Nursery. Brooklyn dances to the music. Tre says the prayer with Daddy’s help and ends with, “E-men.” We play the “Where is Jesus?” game. We take numerous pictures of the Savior and Tre has to find him in the pictures. However, jumping on the couch is so much more tempting and Brooklyn attempts to get into the fireplace again. The ashes make her think it’s an indoor sand box. We  unfortunately know this by experiencing her playing in them before.

6:00pm – Bath time. Third time’s a charm for Brooklyn. Tre thinks it’s a fun idea at first until the actually washing takes place. He wails a few high pitch screams as I rinse his hair and face. Put on PJ’s.

7:00pm – Bedtime. We all kneel down and say a family prayer, give hugs and kisses and say our I love you’s.  Lights out. If we’re lucky, both will zonk out from their busy day. Tre might attempt to crawl out of his crib to hang with us a few times, but he seems tired, so we’re in the clear.

7 – 10pm – Quality adult time. This part of my day is extremely important. If I lose this part of my day I may go into “Mommy Overload.” With these few hours with my sweetheart, I feel like a normal person again and it helps me to wake up to my kids with a happy heart.

10:00pm –  Prayers. Lights out. We thank the Lord for healthy kids, a happy home, and the gospel which is the foundation of our happy family.  Not an easy job, but worth every blessing.

About the age of the kids during this entry.