A day in the life

It's been a while since I last documented a day in our lives in detail, and a lot has changed since then, with me working so much more in particular. So just for the sake of it, here is what Monday looked like in my house.

6:45am  The dog is barking at the birds, which wakes husband and I up. He gets up to shush him, and then heads to the shower to get going. I lay in bed, thinking.

7:00am  I can hear the eldest moving around in the kitchen, but all seems otherwise peaceful. I have not been up in the night to any of the kids, but I was awake several times with back pain, so I am not feeling particularly well rested.

7:10am  I get up and head to the kitchen, collecting Miss 3 from her room on my way as I can hear her singing in bed. There is still no sign of the 7 year old; 9 year old is at the dining table eating and reading. I make breakfasts and start packing school and family daycare lunches.

Husband, who is now dressed, heads off for the bus.

7:20am  I call out for Miss 7 and get a grumpy half-response. Le sigh. She just doesn't do mornings.

7:30am  I read to Miss 3 as she and I eat breakfast (rice bubbles and butter toast for her, a bowl of macadamia nut gluten free muesli for me). She is currently obsessed with a book called The Saddest King, and again is into the Mr Men titles.

7:45am  I clear the breakfast dishes and call Miss 7 again. Finally, reluctantly, she trails out of her room to the table.

8:00am  Dressing time. Much palaver ensues, but eventually, Miss 9, Miss 3 and I are ready and have hair/teeth brushed. Miss 7, on the other hand, is still eating breakfast.

8:20am  Miss 7 is exhorted to get her backside into gear. In my Serious Voice.

8:30am  I break up a squabble of unknown origin between Miss 9 and Miss 3. Both are told in no uncertain terms to take the pressure down, NOW.

8:45am  We leave for school. I am not entirely convinced 7yo is actually awake yet, but hey.

9:00am  Having delivered the big girls to school, C and I head to my friend's house who is a childminder. I drop C off there, chat for a few minutes, then head off to a medical appointment.

9:30am  Doctor appointment for me.

10:15am Home from the doctor, I get stuck into my work. I am going great guns until ...

11:45am The phone rings. It's school; my 7 year old is at the office with red eyes / sniffles.

12:00pm  I collect Miss 7 from school, bring her home, give her Claratyne, and settle her to eat her packed lunch and read. I go back to work, until...

12:45pm  The phone rings. It's a family friend, looking for a chat. I disentangle myself as quickly as I can, and try to pick up my train of thought. Which I have just about done, when ...

1:40pm   The. PHONE. RINGS. This time it's a family member and it;s harder to get away in a hurry. By the time I do, Miss 7 is needing my attention for a bit. At this point I more or less give up.

2:20pm   Miss 7 and I leave the house. We swing by the bank and the pharmacy, and post some letters, before collecting C from my friend's house.

3:15pm   At school to get Miss 9, I am hurrying down the schoolyard when I trip on an uneven bit of ground, and fall - hard - onto the concrete. I am both winded and in pain, not to mention shocked, and let's not forget really embarassed. Poor C is very distressed to see me lying on the ground.

4:00pm   After having been helped to my feet by a kind couple of parents and provided with ice for my ankle and wrist from the staffroom, I assess the damage and decide the ankle is OK but the wrist and back aren't too flash. Despite my protestations of being alright to drive, the school vice-principal drives us home, which is very kind of her.

4:10pm   I lie on the couch with ice packs strategically arranged on me, head and wrist in considerable pain, the cricket on the TV. The girls are very good, playing both outside and inside, but with minimal intervention. At 5pm, I reward their patience by switching the TV over to iCarly on Nickleodeon.

5:45pm   I hoist myself out of the chair and into the kitchen to fix dinner. The kids happily claim the TV to watch some other show.

6:00pm   I serve the kids' pasta, and swallow my nurofen plus. I sit with them while they eat, but oh how my head is hurting...

6:30pm   The kids go outside to play. I put hubs' and my pizza in the oven, and lie down again.

7:00pm   Husband gets home. We eat, and I groan. A lot.

7:30pm   Husband starts marshalling kids towards baths and bedtimes, while I return to the couch and my increasingly fiery aches and pains.

8:00pm   I intervene as bedtime shenanigans hit Defcon 5. At this stage, I can either get involved, or accept the coming apocalypse. By 8:45 all kids are finally abed and I am feeling so incredibly awful.

9:00pm   I crawl into bed. Every muscle of which I am aware hurts; my head is on fire; I got maybe 50% of the work done that I should have today; my house is a mess; my administration pile is overwhelming; and I didn't get time to do as much kid-stuff as I wanted to.

BUT...
We're all OK, we're all together, and tomorrow is always another day, right?

This is post 28 in NaBloPoMo. 28 down, 2 to go!