Day in the Life - Spring 2018

I'd been waiting to do my day in the life for spring - mostly because it hasn't felt like spring. It keeps snowing, and then the weather makes small steps at melting the snow, only to snow again. This weekend brought us a blizzard so I figured I might as well capture this day as it is an accurate representation of our spring this year. I just hope it stops snowing by the 4th of July.

Sunday, April 15th, 2018

Riley is 8

Jesse is 43 and I am 46

Mason (Jesse's nephew who lives with us) is 18

Lucy (the cat) is 13

10:41 Saturday night - I stay up later than planned, but finally go to bed. With all this snow, we've been talking about a vacation we are taking a year from now to celebrate our 10 year anniversary. We were married in St. John, USVI and plan to go back there with Riley. I've been looking at our vacation pictures from 9 years ago and researching places to stay. It momentarily helps me block out the fact that a blizzard is roaring outside.

1:03 - I wake, go to the bathroom and crawl back in bed. Not sure if I even opened my eyes for more than 2 seconds and was out as soon as I laid back down.

6:30 ish - I wake up, but stay in bed. I'm not quite ready to get up. Jesse gets out of bed shortly after. Lucy hops up into bed after a couple of unsuccessful tries (old cat plus high bed) and then I hear Riley come out of her bedroom and head downstairs. I will myself to fall back to sleep, but I pretty much got 8 hours of sleep so I finally decide to get up.

6:54 - Make bed, grab my super cozy robe,  and look outside at all the fresh snow we have. Yuck. I head downstairs where I find Riley and Jesse in the office. Riley shows me some new game she has on the Nintendo 3DS as if I should totally know what it is. She's really excited, but it just looks like black boxes on a white background to me. She should know by now that she should go to her gamer dad when it comes to video games as I'm pretty clueless.

I look despondently at all the snow outside. It's still snowing, but I can see the houses across the street (unlike the day before). I'm glad we shoveled and snowblowed last night, but it's obvious that there will be more to tackle today. For now, I will lay low inside. I clean up the kitchen a bit, cut up an apple for Riley, and fold some laundry. Jesse bought Riley a jump rope on Saturday since she's been doing some jump rope for heart health or something at school.  She jumps in the living room and I remind her to quietly do so since Mason is sleeping. Mason just got a job working the graveyard shift and he starts his first shift this night. We do our best to not be loud, but we have an 8 year old, so... you know.

I'm about to fix myself some breakfast when Riley asks to play a game. I tell her I will in a bit and mention that we are meeting grandma later for her birthday dinner. I suggest she make a card and she decides that she also wants to make a flower out of tissue paper. I walk upstairs with her to pull out the tissue paper under our bed. She knows how to get it, but seemed to want me to come with her. I bring up the folded laundry and put it away as she picks out multiple colors, cuts them to size and then sends me to the basement to get a green pipe cleaner. Another task she can totally do, but there I am in the basement getting her the appropriate art supply to finish her flower vision.

7:15 - I'm back on the main floor and eating granola for breakfast and sitting at my computer checking email and listening to music. My favorite 8 year old is anxiously waiting for me to finish my breakfast so we can play a game. I send her off to get dressed and then to the basement to pick out a game and meet her in the living room.

7:45 - We play Uno Wild Jackpot. It's a fun version of Uno that we both enjoy. We play many hands before she decides she's done. There is a lot of jump roping during and after the game. During round 2 of the game my dad calls to check in our snow situation. We compare notes about snow depth, digging ourselves out, etc. I worry since my dad is 90 and lives alone, but he was able to dig himself out just fine. He shares that the snowblower he used (he has a couple) was one that my brother gave him to scrap since it no longer worked, but my nephew tinkered with it and it works great now. I feel like this is the story of every snow blower or lawn mower my dad has ever had.

9:44 - Not sure how it's 2 hours later already, but we decide we both desire some screen time. I log into the Unraveled Academy to review some photography lessons. It's a photography company where you pay a monthly fee and they have classes/lessons/etc that you can view. Riley goes back to her Nintendo game. Jesse relays that our 3:00 lunch/dinner with his mom has been cancelled due to the weather. This is no surprise to me.

10:00 - I realize that I don't really want to sit around anymore. I had plans to work out as I've been doing yoga 6 days a week (Yoga with Adriene), but I know I need to get out and shovel. I already ache from working out and shoveling the day before so my yoga practice might have to wait until tomorrow. I tell Riley that we are heading outside and she readily bundles up to play in the snow and 'help' shovel. Riley and I start shoveling the driveway while Jesse shovels snow off the roof. I quickly realize that I should just pull out the snowblower. Even though I got most of the snow the night before, there is still enough to justify using it. I send Riley to the front with her dad and then head out front to do the sidewalk before finishing the driveway. I see at least 6 other neighbors out with us, but it appears that some neighbors have just given up the will to live... or plan to shovel when it eventually stops snowing.

10:45 - Riley heads inside when she gets cold and Jesse and I follow a few minutes later. I joke to Jesse that we should turn the Christmas lights back on and later in the day I find that he has done so. I'm overheating from snow removal, but Riley collects several blankets from around the house and snuggles under them while watching a show on her tablet. I retreat to my desk. Jesse runs to Target for the 3rd time this week. I'm glad because I finally added meal items to our grocery list. The last couple times he picked up some of the basics (for him), but it left me eating like a college student (ramen, pb&j sandwiches). We weren't well prepared for a blizzard, but made it through fine. However, when Jesse leaves for Target, I feel like something is up and I'm not sure he'll be coming home with food.

11:30 - Riley asks for a snack and I mention that I will make her lunch... and then realize she can make her own lunch and go direct her to do so. I'm trying to get her to be a little more self sufficient and not rely on her dad and I for everything since she's capable herself. She happily goes to the kitchen and makes herself a sandwich - a task that she currently enjoys as I think she understands the freedom of being able to do some things for yourself. I follow to help with cutting some cucumber up and the sandwich and then warm up some left over fish and veggies for me.

11:40 - Jesse returns home from Target with one small bag and a glimmer in his eye. He clearly did not get food. If it continues to snow, we may die after a week as we are not well prepared with sustenance. However, we will be entertained as he's procured us a Nintendo Switch and two games (Kirby and Zelda). Riley and Jesse are both beyond delighted.

12:04 - Still snowing.

12:05 - While Jesse and Riley indulge in video game time in the basement, I edit pictures from 9 years ago. When we went to the Virgin Islands for our wedding and honeymoon, Jesse took most of the pictures and then edited them. I decided that I was going to play around with some of the photos he didn't edit and see what I could do. While everyone else was posting pictures of this snowmageddon on social media, I decided that I would post tropical pictures instead.

1:00 - I check on my people and they are having a good time so I go back to editing. I think this is about the time that Mason gets up. 

1:45 - Jesse decides to shovel off the second story deck one more time. We've had leaking issues in the past that I think we resolved, but we're not taking any risks. Riley is reading on the couch.  

2:00 - I grab my book, Stella Bain, and join Riley in the living room. She's moved on from her book to jump roping again.. and eventually takes her sweater off as she's jumping so much. Sometime in here, Mason heads out to dig out his car which has pretty much been covered with snow thanks to the blizzard and a couple snowplows. He actually gets his car free sooner than expected, but now we have a huge pile of snow in the street in front of our house.

2:22 - I suggest to Riley that we edit her book. She wrote a chapter book, Windy and the Crystal Cave, but it needs some editing before we print it. We talk about some places that don't quite come together. I see where she was going, and try to explain that she need to paint that for her reader, but she has a hard time making some of the bigger changes I suggest. We get stuck on one part and she's not willing to budge, but makes a concession that it doesn't totally make sense. She makes a new suggestion, which isn't what I would suggest, but it helps the story transition better. She wants to be an author when she grows up so we've talked about how writing isn't about writing one draft and then being done - that editing is a big part of the process. I want to challenge her and get her to really think about why she wrote certain things (what are you trying to express to your reader, are you providing enough details to paint your story, etc) and then I have to remember that she's 8 and wrote a freaking chapter book. Back off mom. She amazes me.

Riley returns to jumping rope, but I can tell she's getting frustrated. Part of me wants to yell at her and tell her to 'knock it off', and at one point I do get frustrated with her after telling her for the 4th time to brush her teeth today. But I know that's not what she needs right now so I offer up a snuggle and that seems to help. 

3:45 - I'm back at my computer playing with my pictures. Not sure why this is taking me so long. I've been listening to a music playlist with a lot of energy, but I think it's more distracting than anything.  I decide to finally jump in the shower so we can head out to dinner soon. My lunch was really light and I'm getting hungry. After my shower, I head upstairs to change, but lay down for a moment to read. Jesse comes upstairs and just looks at me rubbing his belly. Apparently, he's hungry too. It's early, but I don't care. I've been craving a burger since the night before when we removed most of the snow. Jesse asks if he should pick up food or if I want to eat out. I want to get out of the house bad. I don't even know the last time I was away from home.

4:06 - We head out to McCoys and wonder for a moment if it's open since there are hardly any cars there. Turns out that when you go out to eat at 4 pm when almost two feet of snow just came down over the last two days means that there aren't a lot of people out and about. I enjoy every bit of the burger that I can eat and Jesse enjoys the last couple bites that I can never finish off (along with his meal). We both declare that we earned this meal and then look out the window where we see the snow swirling around in a miserable mess. We talk about our vacation a year away as it gives us something good and warm to cling to. We've talked with Riley about this trip, but this is the first time we've really talked details with her. She's super excited and has her mama's traveling heart.

5:18 - We're home and I declare it pajama time. Jesse tells Riley that they can play Kirby for a little bit. This is such a lazy day. I eventually go up to my bedroom and change and decide to read for a bit. I'm enjoying this book, but it's not something that I'd highly recommend. I just read Orphan Train and Brain on Fire which I thought were great, but this is still a nice easy read. Lucy joins me while I read. I eventually take a break and check out Instagram.

7:05 - Riley has taken a shower and comes upstairs to get ready for bed. She announces that her dad has gone back to Target (somebody get that guy a room there). I can't figure out why he would go back again, but she says that the new Nintendo is making a noise so he went to exchange it. She sees that I am trying to post a picture to Instagram and makes a suggestion for what I should say about the pictures. It's cute and light hearted, but a little too cheesy for how I'm feeling. I post while she finds her way into bed with me. My picture was one of the St. John pictures I edited earlier so we talk about this trip more. I talk about the restaurant we ate at on our wedding night so we look up to see if they have a kid's menu. They don't, but will accommodate kid's meals. I love this place even more now (La Tapa). We  talk about the beach we were married on (Trunk Bay) and the snorkeling path there. We watch videos and look at pictures and I beg her to go brush her teeth after I show her this one last video. We look at the possible villas we will stay at and the one we stayed at previously (Windwardside Main House). I'd love to stay there again, but not sure it has the set up to add a kid. We talk about the hurricane damage they incurred recently and agree that we might be able to live there even so.

7:55 - Jesse arrives home as Riley is finally brushing her teeth.  He brings up the Nintendo mini console (not sure if that is the official name) and agrees that it's not making the noise that the last one was. He tells Riley that she can play it for a bit when she gets up in the morning before school. She gives us hugs after she finishes brushing her teeth and heads to bed to read for a bit.

Jesse heads to the basement to play Zelda, I presume. I pick up things around the house and put in a load of laundry. Now that Mason will be sleeping during the day I have to do laundry when he is awake as his bedroom is directly above the laundry room. I ask Jesse to remind me to change out the laundry. He tells me he is unlikely to remember, but sometimes just asking him will help me remember. However, he changes out the laundry before he comes upstairs (to play more video games on his computer with his friends).

9:15 - I work on writing this post while listening to a mellow music playlist. Jesse claims it has stopped snowing. Accuweather claims that it's still snowing.

9:45 - One of my renters emails me to ask about getting out of her lease early. She's lived there for 5 years or so, but has bought a house. She and her husband have been so great and I'll be sorry to see them leave, but am so excited about them having their own place. They know people who want to move into their place so I email her back and let her know that she can pass on my contact information to her friends. I hope they are as great as my current renters are. Plus, it sounds like they may know someone who would want to rent my downstairs unit too which may be opening up soon. 

10:00 - Still writing this post. Mason is making his lunch and leaves for his first overnight shift around 10:15. 

10:30 - I think I should probably go to bed as I was hoping to do so by 10:00. I check social media quickly and discover that some local schools are closed tomorrow, but not ours. I sort of wish it was, but at least I don't have to worry about scrambling to take the day off of work. 

10:40 - Brush teeth and head up to bed.