Category: week in the life

6:30 AM // Once again I’m up at the same time as Liam. We start by making and eating breakfast together; he has some eggs with me today.

6:55 AM // Settle down to do my Bible reading with Liam.

7:10 AM // Meredith is up with us now. The kids start telling each other silly stories and having Alexa play random songs and dancing. I’m not even annoyed that they are interrupting me because they are so cute.

7:30 AM // I talk to David for awhile – he is not feeling well. The kids watch TV.

7:50 AM // Get dressed for church and get the kids ready. Say bye to David and leave for church.

8:35 AM // Arrive at church right on time! I thought for sure we would be late. Drop the kids off at their respective classes and they both go happily. I head over to the sanctuary. My dad is serving as greeter today so I stop and give him a hug. I go sit in the front row where they always sit, and see my mom on stage in the choir.

10:30 AM // Pick up the kids from their classes and leave. That was a pregame; now we go to mass for the main event. ;)

10:50 AM // Arrive at our Catholic church and drop off Liam to his class. He goes in willingly today! Meredith comes with me to mass. She goes to children’s liturgy of the word and then colors when she comes back. Before going to pick up Liam we take some time to look at all the beautiful mosaics on the floor.

12:30 PM // We are home! I give the kids lunch and advance the laundry. Then Meredith plays Osmo on the iPad while Liam just plays around the house.

1:15 PM // Do some work on the computer, then pack a picnic and change clothes.

2:30 PM // The kids and I head out to one of our favorite parks. It’s perfect weather and we are bringing food so we can stay awhile. While they play I start to work on my Powersheets, listen to Voxes, and chat with another mom nearby. Usually I read but today my mind is too busy and I can’t focus. The kids eat all the food they brought, and Liam sees a friend from church that they play with.

5:15 PM // It’s starting to get dark so we leave the park and go to Kroger for groceries. Meredith sits in the cart and Liam hands her the food, where she organizes it. They are especially well behaved and helpful!

6:05 PM // We are back home, and the kids get a snack. I put away the groceries and do the 7-minute workout.

6:45 PM // Liam takes a bath while Meredith watches Hi-5 on Netflix.

7:05 PM // Liam gets out and dried off, then I trim his nails. Meredith gets in the shower. Liam goes to cuddle with David on the couch while they watch Star Wars, and he falls asleep. While Meredith is showering, I do a face mask and Vox.

7:40 PM // Meredith gets out, gets dry, brushes her hair, and I trim her nails. She then goes to the couch to watch Star Wars and falls asleep there as well.

8:00 PM // I move Liam to bed and I sit there with him and do my Write the Word journal. Then I get up, pace around the house, and pray a rosary.

8:40 PM // Move Meredith to bed, and fall asleep. :)

P.S. – Sunday two years ago and three years ago.

6:10 AM // Wake up at the same time as Liam. It’s hard for me to wake up before the kids on the weekends! I have another headache this morning so I first make and eat breakfast so I can take some medicine. I turn on Wild Kratts for Liam and give him some toast to eat.

6:30 AM // Meredith is up now too, so I get her some cereal. I go to try to get my Bible reading done.

7:00 AM // The kids are in my space and annoying me, so I go to my room but Liam finds me there. I give up on finishing my reading right now.

7:20 AM // Shower and get myself dressed, then tidy up the common living areas.

7:50 AM // Get the kids dressed, and David is up and dressed too. We drop the kids at his parents’ house and we go to our weekly Saturday morning meeting at the rehab center where David got started in recovery. We talk seriously on the way because he has been struggling with sobriety lately. At our meeting, we each have our own groups and mine is for spouses and siblings of someone with addiction. I get some good feedback on our current situation.

11:30 AM // Pick up the kids from my in-laws. Meredith is crying because she doesn’t want to leave – some cousins are there too. We drop David at home so he can go to an AA meeting, and then I take the kids to Chick-fil-a for lunch. They eat everything and play on the play structure for quite awhile. I just zone out; my mind is too distracted to read.

1:45 PM // We are back at home and I am out of energy. I go lie down, put on a sleep mask, and try to nap. The kids just play around the house and David is napping on the couch.

2:45 PM // My mom comes over. I had asked her for help earlier, but then told her we would be okay on our own. She didn’t get my second message though. It’s nice to have her anyway; she plays with the kids and we talk a little.

3:20 PM // My mother-in-law comes back over to pick up the kids again. She is going to have them for the rest of the evening. I take the opportunity to clean the house while listening to the Word on Fire podcast.

4:50 PM // After cleaning, I do meal planning and work on the computer a bit.

5:20 PM // I’m somewhat anxious and the weather is gorgeous so I go for a walk around the neighborhood while listening to the RosaryCast. I discover that a walk around half our neighborhood is the perfect length for a rosary.

6:00 PM // I go meet some of my coworkers at Texas Borders Bar & Grill for a going away party. One of them is moving to Florida this month so we have dinner.

8:20 PM // I pick up the kids, and this time Liam is crying because he wants to have a sleepover. He actually cries all the way home and until we get into bed. Meredith falls asleep in the car and stays asleep, on the other hand. David helps comfort Liam and gets him to calm down. I just brush my teeth and get into bed.

P.S. Saturday two years ago and three years ago.

5:05 AM // I get out of bed, unwillingly, but I do it. Make my regular breakfast and listen to the pray-as-you-go podcast.

5:15 AM // Eat breakfast in my reading chair, and do my daily Bible reading. Then I check Instagram for about ten minutes, and look for a package that was supposed to be delivered. Get really bummed because I can’t find it and I worry that it was stolen.

6:10 AM // Sign Meredith’s school papers and pack her lunch.

6:25 AM // Shower, dress, and makeup.

6:55 AM // The kids start to wake up because I let the cats in the room and they are being crawled on. They are sleepy today! Liam gets out of bed so I get him dressed and make him toast. He starts crying because he doesn’t want to go to school, but thankfully it fizzles out when I ignore it.

7:10 AM // Fight with Meredith about what to wear. We have not had a fight like this about clothing in quite awhile and I don’t miss it at ALL. I almost have to put her in the car half naked before she finally settles on a shirt. Sadly, she cries the whole way to daycare and when we get there the school kids are already loading their bus. Her awesome daycare teacher Jennifer takes her over from me and comforts her. Meanwhile I drop Liam in his class. This week I have been bringing him in without wearing shoes. He stubbed a toe awhile ago and his toenail is coming off, so wearing shoes is painful for him. Thankfully his teacher Pari lets him go without until they go outside.

8:00 AM // Arrive at work. I drove here in silence because I needed to decompress from the crying! Check my email.

8:20 AM // First patient arrives and the work day begins. I have one chemo, one blood transfusion, and one iron infusion.

10:10 AM // Stop and have coffee and a snack, then finish up afternoon patients.

1:00 PM // Eat lunch, which is leftovers and yogurt.

1:30 PM // Go to a meeting with the radiation nurse, nurse navigator, and the director of the cancer center. We are talking about the process for distributing survivor care plans to patients.

3:00 PM // The meeting lasted way longer than I expected but I’m finally done. Go back to infusion and answer a voicemail.

3:30 PM // Leave work and Vox some friends on the drive. At home David is already there because he wasn’t feeling well, and we talk for a few minutes. I’m also excited to see that my package came a day late!

3:45 PM // Pick up the kids from school. At first Meredith seems very happy, but her mood deteriorates quickly. At home I get them a snack and they watch Sofia the First while I call my mom to discuss some plans and also call my best friend Maggie because I need to vent about some things.

4:50 PM // Make spaghetti and do the 7-minute workout while the water boils. Liam tries to do it with me which is so cute, but he gets frustrated and starts crying. Then the kids color while dinner finishes up.

5:30 PM // Dinner is served, and Meredith seats herself in the high chair to be silly.

6:00 PM // Tonight I was considering going to a movie night at our Protestant church, but Meredith’s attitude was so bad earlier that I don’t want to go anywhere. Instead I just serve ice cream for dessert and we have a family movie night. We watch Star Wars: A New Hope, but for at least half the movie the kids are jumping around crazy on the couch.

8:00 PM // Movie ends and we get ready for bed.

8:20 PM // Lights out!

5:00 AM // Since I went to bed so early last night it is easy for me to wake up with my alarm today! The kids are sleeping soundly and I go straight to my Bible reading. I also skim the day’s Magnificat entry. For the first time all week I feel rested and I don’t have a headache.

5:50 AM // I make myself breakfast and pack Meredith’s lunch.

6:07 AM // I eat at the table, then move back to my chair. I was going to read, but Liam comes out to cuddle. He is very interested in the cover of my book and says he wants to “look for baby Jesus.” Meredith comes out shortly, so she takes Ziggy from my lap and the kids both settle on the couch. I go ahead and get myself ready.

6:45 AM // Make the kids breakfast (cereal for Meredith, toast for Liam) and pack my lunch. Get the kids dressed and argue with Meredith about what jacket to wear. We are so not prepared for cooler weather and most of her jackets are too small.

7:15 AM // Leave the house and drop off the kids at daycare. I end up running into a guy out front who lived in my neighborhood when we were little, which is kind of crazy!

8:00 AM // Arrive at work. Today I am working in radiation oncology because their nurse is out. I like working there because I really like the people and the patients, but it’s a clinic nurse position and so I don’t do patient care. It’s mostly rooming patients, taking vitals and history, and working with the physicians. Today my favorite doctor is there so we chat a lot, and see a whole lot of patients one after another.

11:45 AM // We are finished with morning clinic and I go over to infusion to help my coworker Jenny with some things.

12:30 PM // I eat lunch (leftovers and yogurt) while reading. Afterwards, at my desk, I have a treat and catch up on documenting the morning’s patients.

1:10 PM // Afternoon clinic begins so I begin rooming patients. More of the same all afternoon: seeing patients one after another, then documenting.

4:25 PM // Leave work, stop to get gas, then head home. My mother-in-law picked up the kids and took them to her house today, so I have time to do the 7-minute workout. I then pack up our leftovers from the night before to take over there for dinner.

5:20 PM // Get to my in-laws’ house, realize that I forgot Meredith’s homework. They are babysitting tonight and the homework is due tomorrow, so I turn right back around to retrieve it. I listen to the Word on Fire show while I drive.

6:00 PM // Back at my in-laws’ house and we sit down to eat. Then the kids go cuddle with Papa while I catch up with my MIL.

6:45 PM // I leave to meet David at RCIA, which is the weekly meeting for people interested in becoming Catholic. There is a major wreck on the freeway so traffic is backed up and I arrive ten minutes late.

7:10 PM // At RCIA I grab a snack and some coffee, then sit next to David. Tonight’s first topic is the Beatitudes. After a presentation we split up into groups to discuss. The second half of the session is devoted to a presentation on Mary, Mother of God and praying the Rosary. We are given rosary beads and an instruction booklet. No time for questions or discussion, so I guess we’ll pick up with that next week.

9:30 PM // Pick up the kids from my in-laws. Meredith is asleep on the couch (as expected; she is my good sleeper) but Liam is still up. Meredith stays asleep all through the drive home and into bed, but Liam asks me questions the whole drive home and hovers around me whining while I get myself ready for bed.

10:00 PM // Finally lie down and fall asleep quickly!

P.S. – Thursday two years ago and three years ago.

3:18 AM // I wake up because my head hurts. Ughhh. I have had this same headache for three days now! I’m able to get back to sleep though.

5:00 AM // My alarm goes off but I turn it off. I’m not feeling it today.

5:11 AM // Liam wakes up and asks me what day it is. He always wants to know that lately. Thankfully he goes right back to sleep.

5:25 AM // I drag myself out of bed. I sit down to my Bible reading, but I doze off a few times. Eventually I complete it, but I probably should have made coffee first.

6:00 AM // Make my breakfast and listen to the pray-as-you-go podcast. I sit down to eat at the table and then move back to my chair to read a canto of the Inferno.

6:30 AM // The kids are up. Meredith takes Ziggy to the couch and turns on Charlotte’s Web to watch. I finish my reading.

6:40 AM // Take a super quick shower, give the kids some cereal, then get myself ready for the day.

7:00 AM // Pack lunches, get the kids dressed, and leave.

7:20 AM // Dropoff at daycare. Liam is crying because his foot hurts; he stubbed his toe awhile ago and now his toenail is coming off. Thankfully his teacher tells him he can take his shoe off while they are inside, so he calms down. I take a few minutes to brush Meredith’s hair since she doesn’t let me do it at home. She has really bad dandruff right now so I think we are going to have to start up her scalp medication again (which I hate).

7:30 AM // Drive to work and listen to The Simple Show. I also Vox my friend Sarah.

7:50 AM // Arrive at work. It should be a regular infusion day for me. I’m working with Jenny, my second coworker. Usually Susan is here on Wednesdays too, but she is off on vacation.

8:00 AM // My first patient is here, so I get her back, settled, and access her port/draw blood since she is here for chemo. Then I document.

8:30 AM // My second patient is ready, so I get her set up. This is a blood transfusion so I go pick up the blood from the blood bank and start it.

9:15 AM // I’m at my computer documenting and checking email.

9:45 AM // Give chemo premeds to my first patient. Then I make coffee and grab a snack, but I don’t have time to eat it because a nurse from another department arrives to do training. A patient arrives for a port flush, and the nurse-in-training does it but I have to walk her through it and it takes a lot longer than usual.

11:00 AM // I start chemo on my first patient, then go to the blood bank to switch to the second unit of blood for my other patient. Document and finally eat my snack and drink my lukewarm coffee.

12:05 PM // Switch my patient to her second bag of chemo, then eat lunch and read.

12:45 PM // I have some time to wait. I pace around the unit for awhile trying to get my Fitbit steps up.

1:15 PM // Discharge my chemo patient, then discharge my blood transfusion patient. Clean rooms, finish documenting, and make sure everything is ready to go for tomorrow. Pace around some more.

2:45 PM // Leave work. Overnight the weather dropped at least 20 degrees and it is cool and cloudy. On the way home I listen to The Simple Show. At home I check the mail and am excited to see the Magnificat my friend Meg sent me. I do the 7-minute workout, then David comes home. He left work early because of a bad headache. We talk for a few minutes, then he goes to lie down.

3:45 PM // School pickup! The kids are in decent moods. Wednesday is the only night when we don’t have any plans or obligations, and that can be a good or bad thing. We get back home and they are excited because David is home. They watch Sofia the First on TV and I give them a snack of chips and fruit, then I start right in on making dinner. It’s a new recipe for me, chicken parmesan.

5:00 PM // We sit down to eat dinner all together. I’m always crazy happy when this happens because it’s rare. David is usually at an AA meeting each evening, or we have plans. The meal is really good! Even the kids like it, even though we have to bribe Meredith to eat it.

5:40 PM // I serve dessert and then get Liam into the bath. Meredith does some math practice (she is supposed to do 15 minutes, four nights a week). Tonight she plays Pet Bingo on the iPad. I read while supervising Liam and then wash him off. Meanwhile David turned on Star Wars and falls asleep.

6:00 PM // I get Meredith into the shower, and Liam is just running around being crazy. I catch our cat River throwing up, so I have to clean that up. Meredith gave him a treat earlier and he has a sensitive stomach so I think that’s the reason. I spend some time on Voxer while I clean up the kitchen.

6:30 PM // Meredith is still in the shower, so I rest on my bed and do my Write the Word journal and read the day’s Magnificat. I wash Meredith’s hair and get her out of the shower (finally). The kids color for a little bit and I get myself ready for bed.

7:30 PM // It’s not that late but it feels like it because it’s been dark for awhile, so we get into bed and fall asleep quickly. I think we all needed the early night!

P.S. – Wednesday two years ago and three years ago.