My First Day Alone With the 4 Under 4, in Pictures

Note: Please imagine all of these events intermittently sprinkled with innumerable breast feedings, diaper changings, and umbilical cord alcohol swabbings throughout the day...

Yesterday was my first day alone as a mother of ten. Here's how it went...

The first thing I did was miss scripture study at 6:45 AM. John was out of town, so I did the night-time thing alone. The 3-year-old boy got up twice to go to the bathroom, and of course, he needed my help, although during waking hours he doesn't, Twin B woke up to have his covers put back on, and the newborn woke up too many times to count to nurse. That, in and of itself, would have been manageable, as I nurse him in bed with me and quickly go back to sleep, but having to get up with all of the other kids made for a busy night.

Although I did miss scripture study, I was pleased that the 5 oldest kids did it without me. I hope they learned something.

While the kids got ready for school, I worked in the kitchen and the newborn slept in the bassinet play yard we set up in the kitchen living area...

He slept until it was time to take the little kids to school. I had always wondered how I would do the trip to the school. I had thought I would have to make two trips from the car back into the house after dropping the kids off, and that is just what I did. I went inside and again placed the newborn in his bassinet, then went back outside to the car to get the 3 three and under. Twin A didn't put up too much resistance...

...but Twin B had a different idea. He would not come forward from the 3rd row of seats...

...nor would he come forward from the fifth row of seats...

I finally had to enter into the depths of the van and retrieve him manually.

Next, I changed the twins into clean diapers and clean sleepers. If you are wondering why I didn't get regular clothes on them, you can click HERE for an explanation.

Twin A then spent some time making a track out of the wet wipe bags that were left out...

...which was fine, because as you'll see later, these, along with the diapers, kept the twins occupied from some time.

Next we had snack time. I let the twins peel their own clementines, as this is one of their all-time favorite activities, thinking that if I placed napkins on the table, they would contain their peels to those...

Didn't work...

Next, I finished cleaning the breakfast mess while the newborn slept...

...and the twins continued their wet wipe engineering feats...

...and the 3-year-old continued with his diaper box engineering feats...

The diaper boxes, however, did not keep the 3-year-old entertained for long, so he made the decision to get out hand-fulls of grated cheddar cheese from the fridge, which spilled all over the floor, which the twins found easier to lick up off the floor then pick up with their hands...

(I promise I only let them do this for about 5 seconds longer than I would have to get this shot...)

I was quite upset with the 3-year-old boy for making this mess, so I told him he had to clean it up. You can see how effective he was...

Twin B also thought he would help, showing equal effectiveness...

After cleaning up the mess myself, I made time to put on my makeup...

(Dang I have a lot of neck wrinkles and am starting to look like I'm 40.)

...and did a little bit of laundry, after which lunch time finally rolled around. I was blessed that someone from church brought over a pot of beans, and I sprinkled the grated cheese over it and served it along with tortilla wedges...

After all of the kids went back to school, the 3-year-old boy talked to the newborn...

...while I, again, cleaned the kitchen...

Next came my favorite time of day. Nap time! After placing the 3-year-old boy and the twins in their cribs, reading them stories, getting them water and saying a prayer, it was time to place the newborn in his co-sleeper...

...and eat lunch myself. For some reason, I fancied a bowl of oatmeal with lots of butter...

After my oatmeal was finished, I took a nap for an hour and a half, as the newborn slept for two hours. Someone must have said a prayer for me because of the cosmic event of all 4 under 4 sleeping at the same for two hours.

When I awoke, I sent the 15-year-old girl to be the mother of the 9-year-old boy for his pack meeting/homemade kite-flying contest...

...and while they were gone, the 18-year-old boy initiated a grilled chicken dinner....

...during which time I helped the 13-year-old boy with math...

When the kids returned home from the pack meeting, I had all of them eat dinner, reminded everyone to clean their assigned dinner chores, reminded them to do their pre-bedtime chores, watched part of Pirates of the Caribbean with them, said our prayers, again placed the 3 three and under in their cribs, read them stories, gave them water, said prayers, and turned off their lights.

Over all, disregarding experiencing the baby blues at the end of the day because my husband wasn't a good enough conversationalist on the phone at 11:00 at night just because he got up at 3:30 in the morning, it was a good day, and easier than I would have imagined it would be. Thanks for listening. :)



On 365 Days of TV-Free Toddler Time today:
It's Cereal and Pipe Cleaner Time! Click the pic to see.




On life in mexico {and other places} a picture a day today:
{a bonfire}