Julie Nelson is the mother of 3-year-old Jake and 1-year-old Cole and works part-time from home as a buyer and for babytique, an online store for children. She lives in Flower Mound with husband Cory, a buyer for Sewell Cadillac in Grapevine.
6:30AM Jake is awake and asks that I lie down in his bed with him. I oblige.
6:35AM Cole cries from the next room—he wants in on the action!
6:40AM Prepare breakfast for two hungry little boys. Pancakes, sausage and fruit are a staple for a morning meal in our home.
6:50AM Breakfast has been quickly eaten and the boys are now on the loose, ready to take on the day!
7:05AM Make a pot of coffee for me and the hubby, as I hear him beginning to stir upstairs.
7:15AM Get the boys dressed and check work e-mail … and, OK, maybe a little Facebook, too.
7:30AM Head upstairs to take a shower. Bring boys with me and turn on cartoons in bedroom to keep them busy.
7:40AM Have to put a hold on my shower because my husband has to get ready for work. I sit with kids for a bit.
8AM Take my shower.
8:10AM Throw on some sweats, smack on some mascara and lip gloss and throw my hair into a wet ponytail.
8:30AM We all kiss Daddy goodbye.
8:40AM Pour that long-awaited cup of coffee. Get the boys set up with crayons and paper at the table. While they color, I try to get some work calls and e-mail done.
10AM Realize I never drank my coffee. Dump it out. Pack diaper bag, get sippy cups and head out the door for a playdate/early lunch.
10:30AM-12PM Playdate with the boys’ favorite buddies.
12:20PM Arrive home. As I walk in the front door with the two kids in tow, our sweet yellow lab bursts past us, nearly knocking us all down.
12:30PM Lie Cole down for nap. Build a Lego tower with Jake and giggle at all of the cute thoughts that come out of his sweet 3-year-old mouth.
12:45PM Pour a second cup of coffee, throw a load of laundry into the washing machine, fold yesterday’s laundry.
1PM Contractor arrives to put doors on our newly remodeled bathroom.
1:15PM Apparently Cole doesn’t like to sleep through the sounds of an electric nail gun and loud hammering.
2PM Now that Cole is up, we might as well head to the grocery store to get ingredients to make dinner for a dear friend who just got home from the hospital.
2:10PM Buckle kiddos into their car seats and off to the store we go!
2:15PM Unload two kids from the car and into the grocery cart.
2:30PM Jake has already managed to get out of his seatbelt and is now “helping” by running along side the cart, suggesting anything and everything we don’t need to buy.
2:45PM Cole is now wanting out of the cart, just like big brother, and the tantrum has started. We must hurry and get the remaining ingredients pronto!
3:07PM Arrive home. Get boys settled in baby-proofed, gated area of house. Turn on Nick Jr. for them. Unload groceries.
3:20PM Begin to prepare dinner for our friend and make a second batch for us as well.
3:25PM Call a girlfriend to chat, vent, laugh and just have someone to talk to while I finish up dinner preparations.
3:45PM Peek in on the boys and am amazed they are still self-entertained.
4:25PM Have a race to clean up toys while singing our favorite clean-up song.
4:30PM Give boys a bath.
4:45PM Get kiddos into PJs and fresh diaper for Cole. Put dinner in the oven.
5PM Feed kids dinner. Chicken nuggets, fruit and veggies for them tonight!
5:30PM Oven beeps. Dinner is ready! Load dinner and the boys into the car to deliver the meal.
6:30PM Home again.
6:45PM Daddy is home! Quick kisses from Daddy to Cole and then Cole is off to bed.
7PM Daddy and Jake go to the garage while Daddy works out.
7:45PM Daddy and I eat dinner while Jake watches TV.
8:30PM I hear Daddy and Jake being silly in the family room as I clean up dinner and start dishwasher.
8:45PM Storytime for Jake.
8:50PM I pack Jake’s lunch and school bag for tomorrow while Daddy finishes reading bedtime story No. 2.
9PM Hubby and I finally snuggle into bed and catch up on 30 minutes of our TiVo’d reality TV.
11:15PM I lie in bed thinking of all the things I did not check off my “to do” list and wonder what the new day ahead will bring … chaos, no doubt!
