The Daily Crumble

I used my thesaurus to come up with that title, a take off from "the daily grind". I am not completely sold on it, but I think "crumble" fits the happenings of my day more than "grind". When I think "grind", I think of the some thing happening uniformly- somewhat of a routine. When I think "crumble", I think of events more haphazardly occurring. So I took it and now it sits as the title of this day. I got the idea for the post from a friend that said she would like to do this, Erin Seymour. I don't believe she had time to do it yet because that was just yesterday. I figured I was sure to forget to do it if I didn't start today. Who knows how long I will actually keep track, but the purpose is to get somewhat of an idea what I accomplish each day. Like all my posts, I am writing this for me, not for you- which means I shouldn't have needed to write that.
Without further ado, here was my Thursday:
4:00 am Corban woke me up for his nightly feeding (this was much later than usual, so I was proud of him)
4:10 am I was back to sleep with Corban cradled in my arms, finishing his delicious mother-made milk
5:25 am I wake up startled- alarm clock going off, Jared sleeping as usual, and Corban is still cradled in my arms. I jump out of bed to put Corban in his own bed and I throw on my workout clothes. I am usually leaving around this time, so I am feeling really late.
5:30 am In the car driving to the 4S Ranch LA Fitness.
5:40 am Racing to put the stereo equipment together and then get my equipment (bench, 3 sets of weights, and a mat) all set up.
5:46 am Said some anecdote to get the class started with a smile...that is a challenge this early in the morning, but there are the one or two people that are willing to amuse me with a smile.
Then it was an hour of muscle challenging work. I always tell people I teach to keep my brain active while I workout, otherwise I would be bored.
6:50 am I always seem to take my classes over the allotted time. I call Jared to see if our plan is still the same- and it is. He is off to the RPQ Golden Spoon with Corban.
I clock in, recording there were 10 people in class, say my goodbye as I pass by the front desk and jump in my car to drive home.
7:00 am I arrive at home. Nika gives a bark to inform me she is still in her kennel. I can't bare to leave her in there while I selfishly take a shower, so I take her on a quick walk- I tried the backyard first, but then I felt guilty, so I took her up the street (her favorite place to go potty).
We come back inside and I jump in the shower- it's a quick one because I know Jared needs me ASAP. I get out, get dressed, dry my hair, somewhat fix it (a lot less than I do on days I am not rushed, but even then it doesn't take long), put on eyeliner, curl my eyelashes, pour a bowl of homemade granola with milk, grab coupons and diaper bag with snacks and sunscreen, and get in the car.
7:45 am I arrive at the RPQ store to relieve Jared so he can get his bum over to LJ for a meeting with Jen Gateley, our Accountant. He doesn't seem to be in a hurry, so we talk a little bit, he tells me what Corban has been doing, checks out with the assistant Electrician that is doing work in the store, we switch the car seat base back to my car, a sweet kiss and he is off.
8:05 am I start feeding Corban baby food Bananas. "Yummy", he would say if he could talk. I really sounds more like "Umm. Umm. Umm." The Electrician in charge came in and said they were all done and would be cleaning up there stuff in the back and they would be out of here. this was MUCH sooner than Jared expected, which got me off the hook for the morning.
8:22 am I lock up the door and pull out Corban's stroller and walk over to VONS. I am only going in to buy baby food. Not only that, but ONLY the foods that are corresponding with the coupons I have. It takes me a while to pick out the ones I want, even though the variety isn't that huge. I check out, having spent $18 and saving a total of about $4, exchange a few cordial words with a store manager, and back to the car. Throw the groceries in the trunk, put sleeping Corban in his car seat, collapse the stroller and heave it into the trunk, and off we go to the park.
9:00 am We arrive at Views West Park. We are the only ones there- not a sign of life on the playground. I figure more moms will come eventually, especially Wendy Kim because I invited her and she said she would meet me there. I fix Corban a bottle, figuring the banana's surely couldn't have satisfied his belly. As I am walking with Corban in his stroller, holding a bottle for him, over to a shady bench, Wendy pulls up. After Corban finishes his bottle I realize it is time to change a stinky diaper, which we did on the grass on top of a hooter-hider because I don't have a changing pad in the diaper bag. Shortly after, Jen Allen, baby Isaac, and her mother in law show up. As we are all chatting we begin to get hot, so we move to a shadier spot. At this point I decide I can try putting Corban in a swing so we can say we actually "played" at play group. Proof:

He had such a great time.

Kim Garcia arrived with her two boys and a baby she is watching. Us ladies all talked, me holding Corban, and the rest of the kids ran a played. Isaac Allen started getting vocal so mom decided to take him home. Shortly after Jen left, Erin Seymour and her two girls showed up. Here is a great picture of the result of bartering for "fishy crackers" from Ashlyn. Ashlyn got off with a "chocolate bar" and a sweet "thanks" from Isaac.

We enjoyed more talking until about 11:30 am, when we all decided it was time to gather things up and leave.
12:00 pm I arrive at Babies "R" Us to complete a step in my 3 step plan of negotiating a cheaper price for our horse bouncer. I sneak in some Enfamil because I had a $1 off coupon. Loaded those items in the car. Then a short walk over to Target to look for a floaty we borrowed from Seymour's yesterday at Pool Day- we want one of our own. I got a little side tracked when I passed an isle where a lady , talking to her young child, was saying they needed a step stool. I too am in need of one so I looked where they were looking. Didn't find any, but I did find Vacuums, which made me think about how I need a vacuum I can do stairs with. Nothing came of that thought. I checked out of Target $45 later- didn't even find the right floaty.
1:00 pm I am tired and want to go home, but it would be nice to stop by Costco and see what they have in their "Coupons" which are expiring soon (turns out, August 3rd is the expiration). We park, grab a cart, go to Membership desk for the coupons, walk in the Entrance and are reminded by the convenient 1 Hour Photo that we could print some pictures.
1:15 pm "Will it take the full 1 hour?" I ask. I got "No" as the response. I spend the next 10 or so minutes going through the coupons to decide what we want to use, trying to stick to things that I would normally buy. Jared received a phone call about whether or not I should buy a 250 GB hard drive that was $20 off $109. He said no, but then I looked at the item and decided "yes". Since the coupon items were all we were shopping for, I arrange them in the best order and off we go to pick up the goods. Somewhere close to the end of my item picking Rosemary and Emily Wells come up behind me and we are all excited about the coincidence. They "Ooo" and "Ahhh" over how adorable this little guy is, who was actually pretty upset with how long this shopping was taking since he was sitting in his car seat the entire time. Just before they stopped me I had given Corban a wrapper from an almond sample to make him happy (he loves paper and is easily distracted when given something new). He had it in his mouth, tightly clamped between his front gums. I
decide to take it away from him as I start talking to them. This, of course, makes him mad, but taking him out of the seat does bring a smile.
We finish our conversation with them and then I pick up the last few items. They happen to be huge items- diapers and wipes- so I get lots of stares on my way back to the photo lab- it was now 2:08 according to Costco time, so I was sure my pictures were done.
2:17 pm I wait in line at the check stand. It sure is going to be hard to convince Jared we saved money when the total ended up being $200+. We walk out to the car, carefully load all our items into our already loaded car (mostly just junk that I really should clean out), and then we got in and headed for home.
2:40 pm Arrive at home. Jard answered the door in his garments- hiding behind the door "in case someone walks by." He takes the sleeping baby while I unload the rest of the car.
3:00 pm I listen to voice mails and return a phone call to Jen Gateley regarding picking up a signed check. Jared leaves.
3:10 pm Put away the groceries- baby food took the longest.
3:20 pm Nursed Corban- it was only for a few minutes, but he did latch on!
3:30 pm Diaper change. We took pictures since this is his usual now (twisting and turning when the diaper is off):

3:38 pm Prepared information and check for Jen so it would be ready when she arrived. Did a few other paperwork things, including checking the bank account and paying an AMX bill that just arrived in the mail.
3:55 pm Picked up a bit in the kitchen and family room. While busy doing that, Corban was crawling on the floor to the tile. This got me side-tracked into mopping the floor because he has a tendency to put his hands in his mouth- gotta keep things clean. This led to mopping a couple areas of the tile floor. Then back to picking up the house.
Somewhere in the picking up of things I came across a $5 off coupon for Enfamil that expires today. I get this bright idea that I should have Jared take back the bouncy horse, step 3/the final step of my plan, and the "Natural Nurser" bottle that Corban doesn't seem to enjoy, and redeem this $5 coupon. When he walks in the door that is the first thing I say to him. Of course he is willing to do it.
4:30 pm Corban sits down to a nice meal of Rice Cereal, Squash and Banana's. I think I waited a little too long to feed him because he was VERY vocal while we started the feeding. This is when Jen Gateley quietly knocks on the door. I have Jared trade me places because I need to talk to Jen. She ends up coming in and watching Corban eat, per Jared's invitation. I finish the feeding.
5:00 pm Just as Jen is leaving I get a phone call from Tang, our night cleaner that is so sweet and loves to talk and hear about how Corban and I are doing. I know this will be a long lasting conversation. On my mind is how I have Scrapbook Night starting in 1 hour, but I work/clean while I talk on the phone. Minutes into it I see Jared sitting down at the computer to watch LOST, so I whisper to him that I could use some help, and I motion towards boxing up Rock Band for Wii because "there is going to be young boys coming over."
5:35 pm I am off the phone and I figure I have just enough time to vacuum the family room. I has only been a few days since I last vacuumed, but it always makes a room look cleaner. Plus, that would be were the boys were going to hang out, so I best make it clean for play. I put Corban in the bouncer and he watches as I vacuum. Jared comes in and starts talking to me about Scuba Diving certs- so we pick up and talk at the same time. His conversation has too much detail for me, so I say so to him. He gets his point across and the conversation dies as he sits back at the computer and starts watching LOST again.
5:56 pm I make sandwiches for dinner so we have something with some nutrition. I get Jared to pray on the food with me.
6:03 pm We finish the prayer and the doorbell rings- it's Kim Garcia, her boys, and her friend, Bonnie. Nika gets put in the garage and I let them in help them with their stuff. We set up the table Kim brought and start getting them settled. I walk by Corban and see-

I guess mommy left him a little too long. I go grab jammies and try to gently pull him out of the bouncer. He wakes up and is crying all through getting clothes on. Jared packs him up and leaves for the store (the Babies "R" Us run) and Brent's (to play Rock Band) for the evening while the girls scrapbook.
6:20 pm Jen Allen arrives. I go up stairs to pull together some scrapbook stuff because up until this time I have not been able to do so. I also bring down Corban's picture frames because I actually printed pictures for the today so I need to do it now or it will never happen.
6:40 pm Maricela Knapp arrives. I start organizing my photos into chronological order. All the while us ladies are enjoying female conversation about lots of different stuff.
7:00 pm Odile Richart arrives. I help her get situated, somewhat, then I start fiddling with pictures again. Check on the boys. Take a few bites of the sandwich I had made myself. I finish the picture frames and continue to work on photo organization
7:30 pm Maricela leaves (her husband wasn't going to come home to be with her boys so she needed to be there for the evening). I help her get out the door, then I check on the boys. Few more bites of sandwich. Back to the scrap booking table. Witness many cute moments of Kim disciplining Isaac, who is a little ball of energy.
8:30 pm Odile leaves- saying she actually got something accomplished, which isn't usually the case (according to her). I bring up the subject of whether or not anyone would be interested in doing scrap booking more frequently. It wasn't a resounding "YES", but there is interest (they probably feel much like I do- they would love it but don't know if it is actually a reality in life).
9:00 pm Kim and Bonnie pack up to leave. I help carry a few things out. When I come back in Nika reminds me with a little bark that she is still in the garage. I let her in. Back to organizing. Jen mentions how it looks like she won't see the promised scrapbook page from me. Truth. Nika is trying to get my attention by bringing toys and rubbing them on my leg, trying to get me to take them. She also does this licking thing that is a sign she needs to go out to the bathroom. I attempt to take her out, which I am usually very cautious about because she doesn't listen to me and will run up the hill. This is scary at night for me because she has been attacked by a coyote before. She does listen to me and does her business.
9:50 pm Jen starts packing up, so I call Jared so he can come home. I show Jen my "scrapbook space", which trails her through my MESSY upstairs, and isn't really a sight to see at this point. I am reminded how it would be nice if I lived a cleaner life, and on the other hand that this is my reality and it is okay if others get a peek in every once in a while (not the picture perfect life they never guessed anyway).
10:00 pm I walk Jen out with her stuff, say our goodbyes, with a plan to see each other at the beach tomorrow. I go in a start cleaning up the tables, and actually sit down to decide on a few photos to put in my pre-made scrapbook Kristie gave me for my baby shower on the subject of Corban's first year. I didn't actually put the pictures in the book, but I did make a few decisions. Clearly I didn't start doing this until all my pictures were in order.
10:20 pm Jared arrives home with a zonked out baby. I continue to clean off the table that belongs to Kim because she will be picking it up in the morning when we walk at 7 am.
10:40 pm I pass by Corban, getting ready to go upstairs to start this blog, but I can't resist his need to be cuddled by me. I pull him out of the car seat and he wakes up enough to start rooting. I take this opportunity to nurse him (as we know we have a problem with this) as I am walking up the stairs with him.
10:55 pm I put Corban in his own bed, brush my teeth, and sit down to the computer. I check emails first,write a few responses and forward on a few messages that I meant to do earlier for work.
11:22 pm I start this blog. It takes a long time to type a days happenings.
12:30 am Still blogging, I yell down to Jared to see if he is still awake. He is. He eventually makes his way up to our room and says I look sleepy- which I am. He plays on his phone for a bit and then makes subtle hints that I should get to bed before he surrenders to sleep. I am reminded that I don't have to finish this blog at this moment, so I do go to bed.
1:20 am I actually go to sleep, with the debate in my head of whether or not I will be able to go walking at 7 am.

8:45 am I finished this post, after walking with Kim.

Note: Times are a little off from here to there because the clocks in my life are all a bit forward, anywhere from 2 minutes to I think 15 minutes, which doesn't exactly concur to the rest of the world where atomic time is easier to achieve (I have a clock that shows this, too). But then again, none of my clocks concur with one another. I like it that way and no one can really convince me otherwise. (My liking of the word "concur" came from the movie "Catch Me if You Can")
Second Note: This jumps between past and present tense. I couldn't make up my mind and I am not going back and fixing it.