What Did I Do Today?

Do you ever have one of those days when, at the end of it, you wonder where all the time went and what you really accomplished? Does your "to-do" list grow and grow with new items and yet you've not checked off anything at the top of the list? I, for one, have been having LOTS of those days lately... so I decided to take a little inventory of my day.

- I got up (no small feat, really, when you consider my "sleep" schedule and the fact that both of my kids were still sound asleep!)
- I washed my face, brushed my teeth, combed my hair (I threw it up in a claw clip at the back of my head - - a fancy alternative to the ponytail and downright dressy when compared to the ponytail and hat that I frequently sport these days.)
- I did not put on make-up (Why is that on the list of things I did, you ask? Well, because I consciously decided not to put on make-up - - in order to spare a bit of time for other things.)
- I got dressed (I guess this is a good time to share the fact that I did take a shower late Tuesday night!)
- I got Gracie up and ready for school (This is a time-consuming task that involves: drawing and administering her medication, disconnecting her feeding pump, washing her face, brushing her teeth, completing trach care, lots of suctioning, changing her diaper, getting her dressed, doing her hair, etc.)
- I woke Preston up, changed his diaper, got him a cup of "wuice" (3/4 water, 1/4 juice) and helped him put on his shoes. Jammies and shoes - - what a combo!
- I loaded two kids, a KidKart, suction bag, backpack, feeding pump and purse into the car, ran back inside to give the dog a bone and put her outside and sighed with relief when I looked at the clock in the car and saw that, by some miracle, we were on schedule.
- I drove Gracie to school, gave a quick "report" to her health aid and then drove back home (I love dropping her off. She gets so excited... one of my most favorite parts of the day is looking at her face in the rearview mirror when we pull into the drop-off circle.)
- At home, I changed another diaper, got Preston dressed, made him breakfast (which he did not eat... he didn't eat much at all today... so I also worried about him today), gave him more "wuice," washed two suction canisters and tubing, feeding tubes, medicine syringes, cleaned a trach, did the dishes, made formula for Gracie, put in a load of laundry, folded it, hung it and put it away and started another load, read two books with Preston, chased him around the whole house with the vacuum, he helped me dust, I helped him potty on the big boy toilet, put on yet another diaper, filled my water bottle, filled more "wuice," packed a snack and headed out the door to load Preston back in the car and go to the park.
- Played at the park :-)
- Loaded protesting child back into the car to go pick Gracie up from school. Offered "wuice" as a negotiating tactic, but my efforts failed. Offered previously prepared snack to up the ante... this failed. (Incidentally, he never ate said snack either.) Finally, he caved and he was buckled in.
- Spent five minutes searching for my keys which I hastily set down while in heated negotiations
- Found the keys, looked at the clock and hoped that the traffic lights would run in my favor.
- Listened to my son tell me about the red lights and green lights while driving. "Red, stop Momma! Green... Goooooooooo!"
- Learned that, no matter how much he loves it, having the window down even a few inches is too much when the passenger is two. How did I learn that, you ask? When Preston said, "Uh-oh, noddy (naughty). Shoe... window."
- Managed to remain appropriately angry (rather than flipping out about the fact that my son just threw his perfectly good Reef flip-flop out the window on a six-lane road) while scolding my son about what he'd just done. (Was glad that he fessed up, though, because I neither saw nor heard the crime occur.)
- Picked Gracie up from school. Talked to her health-aid and the school nurse about a few things, hooked Gracie up to her feeding pump and headed home... again.
- Once home, I made Preston lunch (which he didn't eat), gave Gracie back-to-back breathing treatments, made three phone calls (one of which was to confirm Gracie's appointment with the Spinal Surgeon at CHOC for June 23), raced cars down the hall with Preston, cleaned up the aftermath of "Potty Drama" when my daughter took full advantage of the time I was on the phone and stripped naked, scooted to the bathroom and was relentlessly signing "bath" and all the while marking her territory... again. Ugh.
- I put on a new diaper for Gracie, got her dressed, changed Preston, filled his cup (he drinks like a fish!), put on their shoes and mine, grabbed suction, purse, kids, and loaded them back in the car to take Gracie to therapy. Thankfully, Preston fell asleep in the car!
- Attended therapy with Gracie... 30 minutes of OT and 30 minutes of PT. Preston slept for 45 minutes during therapy and I spent the last fifteen minutes chasing him around.
- Met a parent at therapy that I have spoken with on the phone, but never met (and upon meeting, I vainly wished I'd made the decision to put on a little make-up this morning.)
- Loaded two kids and a double stroller back into the car, hooked Gracie up to her feeding pump and headed home... again.
- Unloaded kids and stuff from the car... and spent the next hour trying to keep Gracie from stripping down again. The three of us played with letters, we read, we tickled and tackled, I cut their fingernails and toenails, and then finally, gave in to Gracie's pleas for a bath.
- Gave Gracie a bath, let Preston "help" to keep him entertained and within reach. Changed her trach ties, put on a diaper, gave her a full-body massage and stretch session (we should all be so lucky!), put on her jammies and let her watch Signing Time.
- John got home right after this... it was about 5pm... 5pm to 9pm is, in my opinion, the most hectic time of day in our household. Suffice it to say that I have not been eating bon-bons on the couch since he got home. It's now 11pm, he's been in bed almost two hours, Preston is asleep, Miss Gracie is not, and thus, neither am I! I have Friendship Bread in the oven for John to take to work tomorrow, another load of laundry in the dryer, I have done dinner dishes, made more formula, given meds, washed my face, brushed my teeth, I paid a couple of bills, answered some email, read a few blogs and now I've posted this nonsense on mine!

So, even though my "to do" list is long and growing, I have stacks of mail and bills to sort through, there are still toys scattered about and by looking around the house it looks like nothing got done today, I really did get a few things done. Just a few.