Regina Weachter is a stay-at-home mom and behind-the-scenes business owner of Jersey Mike's Subs in Flower Mound and Denton. She lives in Lantana with her husband of 10 years, Phillip, and their three kids: Nathan, 7; Lauren, 5; and Leah, 10 months.
6:45AM Monday and the alarm goes off. Snooze! No hungry crying baby, so 10 more minutes. It’s too cold to get out of bed. Wake up my husband and ask him to take Nathan to school, since tomorrow I have to get up extra early to make Nathan his birthday breakfast in bed.
6:50AM Stuffy and grumpy toddler is looking for her nose spray. So much for getting a little more sleep.
7:05AM Crying, hungry baby is up. Time to get up. Surprise, my sweet husband brings her to me to eat.
7:20AM All the kids are in bed with me now, even Nathan who should be dressed and eating breakfast downstairs. As usual, I’m telling him to get dressed and he just wants to go back to sleep and skip school today. This is our normal Monday. It’s so hard to shake the weekend lull.
7:50AM Finally get out of bed and head downstairs to drink coffee and talk with my husband, snuggle on couch with Lauren, and check emails, Facebook and Pinterest. This is a cherished time in the morning. Mondays are a little slower because Lauren doesn’t have Pre-K, so we can enjoy the morning.
8:30AM Make Lauren some oatmeal and bananas.
8:45AM Straighten up a little downstairs; make a shopping/errand list for the week ahead.
9:15AM Hubby puts Leah down for her nap.
9:30AM Screaming baby. Mom to the rescue! Rock and snuggle my sweet baby. She’s my last, so I’m enjoying all the little things.
9:45AM Naptime and time to start dreaded laundry. This is my nemesis. Sort, wash and put away today. Who am I kidding? It’s a rare occasion that laundry gets put away all in the same day. Five people and I swear it multiplies by 10 once you put it in the hamper.
10AM Get Lauren dressed for gymnastics. Some days this requires pure bribery. I remind myself God gave me what I can handle and to help teach her how to manage all these emotions.
10:15AM My turn to eat.
10:30AM Finally sit down in the office to pay some bills, go through paperwork and get ahead on processing the payroll for Jersey Mike's.
10:50AM I’m procrastinating and answering text messages. Kiss Lauren and Phil goodbye; he’s taking Lauren to gymnastics and out for a little father-daughter lunch date.
11AM Finally getting some stuff done. Time to switch a load of laundry.
12PM The rattling of the crib lets me know Leah’s awake. Time to wrap up what I’m doing.
12:30PM Hear the thud in the crib and a cry. Time to get Leah. Feed her and change her. I need to finish getting dressed so we can head out for some errands.
1PM Making myself some lunch and feeding Leah some spinach, mango and pear before we head out.
1:30PM Finally heading out the door. We have many stops: Party City, Target and Sprouts. There’s a lot going on this week.
1:45PM At Party City I start to smell the distinct smell of an exploded diaper. Of course, Leah is wearing a new outfit. It never fails. Decide to head to Target to change diaper and pick up the few things I need. I wish I’d come later in the evening (when the kids are in bed) to wander aimlessly and look at all the cute new stuff they have. I can waste a lot of time at Target.
4PM Finally home. Put away groceries, fill dishwasher and make snacks. My husband notices our beloved fish is dead. RIP Jumpy … George … Dennis … or Steve … whichever fish you were. Flush.
5PM I’m getting hungry. Time to start dinner. Oh, and switch out a load of laundry. As I head downstairs, I hear the daily “Mom, I’m hungry. What’s for dinner?” followed by “I don’t want that!” to my response. They think I’m a short-order cook.
5:30PM Time to straighten up the kitchen, prep dinner and dodge the baby who thinks the best place to hang out is the kitchen. So far the night’s going well, but now Lauren’s complaining about an earache. Get her taken care of with some drops and other remedies we use for the occasional earache.
6PM Dinner is prepped. I’m waiting on the rice to make the main dish that takes 10 minutes. Hubby is feeding the baby some baby food, which has turned into the ninja feeding to dodge her hand. Finally she eats and is happy. Now on to the other four people to feed.
6:30PM Dinner, homework, bath time and bedtime all in the next hour. The discussion of inclement weather comes on the news and my birthday boy is really excited. I squash those rumors, but his silent prayers are being heard.
8PM Bath night for Leah. Because of her ninja feeding, she’s possibly wearing more than she ate.
8:30PM An hour is never enough to get it all done. All the kiddos are bathed. I sit down to nurse Leah and put her to bed. Nathan is starting to get really excited about his birthday tomorrow and making all his last minute requests. As I rock my last baby, it makes me nostalgic thinking about my oldest turning 7 and the little boy he’s becoming.
9PM Everyone is tucked in and in their beds. Now I have some time to catch up on The Bachelor and plan the day out tomorrow for Nathan’s birthday. I love making my kids feel special and celebrated on their birthday. Busy day tomorrow starts with breakfast in bed, lunch with the birthday boy, cupcakes for school and a family birthday celebration.
10:15PM His prayers have been answered. NO SCHOOL tomorrow. Lucky birthday boy! Now to rearrange all the details for tomorrow.
11:45PM Time to get in bed. Head upstairs to check on all the kids before I get in bed. Climb in bed and wind down on my iPad. I’m pretty tired, but I like to read the few articles I was interrupted reading throughout day.
12:45PM Goodnight. Lights and alarm off, but that doesn’t mean I get to sleep in.
Diaries are penned by moms (and dads) in the North Texas area. The authors volunteer to share a day of their choosing and are not paid or endorsed by NorthTexasChild. Send your diary to editorial@dfwchild.com. All submissions are subject to editing and may be cut for space.
Published March 2014
