This week I am documenting a week in our lives along with the Ali Edwards community. Here are some photos and words about yesterday, if you’d like to see…

Tuesday morning I woke up at 4:40 a.m. in Meredith’s bed. I hadn’t meant to sleep there, but she woke up multiple times during the night and at some point I fell asleep and stayed. I came into my bed where David and Liam were, and Meredith woke up and joined us soon after. All of us slept until around 7 a.m. I tried to take a picture of us cuddling, but it was too dark and I didn’t want to use flash.

The story there is that I took the day off work because there weren’t enough patients. Since I knew I wasn’t working, I stayed up a bit too late on the computer the night before. So I was very grateful the kids let me sleep until 7. We got up and got going; Liam soon needed a diaper change. He is outgrowing the changing pad for sure but it’s still easier than the floor.

Yup, more Daniel Tiger for the kids. I pretty much let them watch a little bit every morning. It is what it is; the show is really cute and educational, and when you’re a working mom you do what you need to do to get things done sometimes. While they watched I made breakfast and got everyone dressed.

Ugh, dishes piled up in the sink. Since I was off they got left there overnight which doesn’t usually happen.

This is my breakfast almost every single day. I’ve gotten really efficient at scrambling eggs. I had a couple ibuprofen because my muscles were so sore from lifting weights the day before.

Loading the car. Meredith buckled her own car seat, which is only the second or third time she’s done so. It feels like a milestone because car seats are just the worst.

The kids both wanted to open the doors to school themselves.

I took these pictures looking through the window after I had dropped them off. Liam is already eating more breakfast (they almost always eat some eggs at home too, which I encourage because maybe then they won’t eat so much of the carby stuff they serve at daycare) and Meredith is just looking around the room.

Back at home and I felt instantly relaxed being alone in the house with no plans for the whole day. I took a long, relaxing shower and then did a little work on the computer in my craft room.

Time for more coffee. That mug was sent to me by one of my oldest friends who I never get to see anymore. She read some of my updates when we were having a really rough time with sleep and sickness, and just randomly sent it to me to cheer me up. It has famous first lines of literature on it, so naturally I love it. And that French press I recently had to buy to replace my old one which Liam shattered. Meredith did the same thing when she was a baby, so apparently I didn’t learn my lesson to keep them out of reach. But I love this new one; it’s bigger and more colorful.

I decided to take some time to work on a quilt I’ve been planning to make for Meredith. I accidentally sliced my hand (not deep, but it did bleed) so I needed Band-aids.

While I worked I watched Lizzie Bennet diaries on YouTube. My sewing machine is a hand-me-down from my husband’s grandmother. Every time I start to use it after a period of inactivity the tension is off. I’m starting to think I should get a new one.

After awhile I started to feel a little stir-crazy and anxious. Sometimes it’s hard for me to just rest and relax. I left the house and got lunch at Potbelly sandwiches. Then my best friend called me and I hadn’t talked to her in months and we chatted for an hour. So nice.

I had to pick up a couple of holds at the library and I decided to stay there and read for awhile so I wouldn’t be distracted. I’m reading The Cat’s Table by Michael Ondaatje and loving it. On deck is Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson.

Back at home it was getting late so I hustled through a few chores. Cleaned the cats’ litter boxes, watered plants, and made a big salad to take for work lunches the rest of the week. Then I fed the cats and left for my in-laws’ house. David was meeting me there.

My mother-in-law tries to pick up the kids from daycare once a week if she can. She takes them to visit her father (we call him Pappy) at the nursing home right down the street from us. Meredith especially has a special bond with him.

When I pulled up at their house, my father-in-law was holding Liam out front waiting for me. Liam ran to me and gave me the best hug. I love that kid, he is so full of life.

Our iPad is so old that it’s practically nonfunctional, so the kids are allowed to play on Mimi’s. They are learning to share but Liam doesn’t understand the concept so sometimes there are fights.

When we got there the kids had already eaten dinner so David and I sat down to eat together while they played. It was a roast with carrots and potatoes and fruit salad. When I was done, Meredith came to me and said dramatically, “Mommy I’m sooo hungry.” She was angling for dessert and she got it because Papa loves indulging us.

Meredith played hide and seek with Papa and had me pile all the cushions on top of her. She still doesn’t really “get” the game but she has a blast playing it.

When it was time to head home, David took Liam in his truck to drive him to sleep, and I took Meredith to put her to bed. Amazingly, she fell asleep in the car on the way home, but then she woke up when I laid her in bed. We read a few books and then I tickled her back which she loves and calms her. She fell asleep pretty quickly and I got up to work on this post.

After a little bit, one of the cats scared David and he yelled, waking up Liam who cried. I went to nurse him in bed and just stayed there for the night.

This was obviously an abnormal day for me since I usually don’t have a day off like this, but it was so nice and needed.