Here is my lofty to-do list!
>Fold the mountain of clean laundry
>unload dishwasher
>put thank-you notes in neighbor's boxes
>go to the market/errands
>write blog post for Redeemer blog
>download & send application for free tix for Pittsburgh symphony
>check on indoor pools for momtourage
(I say lofty because this is what I'd like to get done today, but chances are slim. I'll happy with crossing a least several things off the list!)
So this is my day, the good, the bad, and the agggghhhhh!
6 am - graham wakes up crying, Andrew plugs him up and G rolls over and goes back to sleep. (me, not so lucky!) I stay in bed, enjoying a few more minutes of blissfully doing nothing...
7 am - drag my creaky self out of bed. Head downstairs and pack Andrew's 
lunch for the day and throw some eggs on the stove for hard-boiled eggs for breakfast. (I've been wanting to give one to gman to try). Can't believe graham is still sleeping...start some devotion time studying Matthew for a Bible study through email that I am doing with my Grandma. Soon interrupted... 7:50 - Gman awakes (this is very unusual!! he's normally well-awake by 7:15!) 
Feed him breakfast - his milk first. I let him digest for a few minutes while I eat my eggs. Then we try for the hard-boiled egg & some pears. He gags on the eggs! (this is only the 2nd food he has ever resisted! the other being cottage cheese). So we try a few bites and then switch to oatmeal and he loves the pears, of course. He almost always has oatmeal & bananas for breakfast (hence the excited look in the pic).
His look of disappointment after what I gave him was so sad. sorry, buddy, I'll try to do better next time. :) 8:30 - poopy diaper #1 changed and bathtime for G. Since he can sit so well now in the tub, it's been great because as long as I can see him, I don't have to be right on top of him. So I am trying to multi-task during that time. I have found that it's a great 
time to clean the rest of the bathroom! Today I decided to fold his basket of clean diapers. I looked down for one second and when I looked back up, he had popped up! (this was the 1st time he had ever stood up in the tub!) So then, we spent the next few minutes with him standing up, me putting him down, and repeat. So I decided bathtime was over. (4 diapers folders. arghhh.) So then he is dressed & ready for the day and I let him play for a few while I finish folding diapers. task accomplished! 9:15 - G is exhausted after the strenuous morning of breakfast, bath, & some play time, so he goes down for a nap. yeah! mom springs into action!
9:16 - get ready for the day.
9:45 - back to finish devotion time.
10:15 - check 2 of my 5 emails. (meant to check all, didn't get to it)
yes, 5! it's too much, right? I have andrew & my's personal one, we have one for junkmail & coupons, one for facebook & some misc, one for my piano studio, and one for momtourage. nutso!
10:25 - start this blog post (yes, I don't think tweeting will work since it's supposed to be a real-time update!)
10:30 - friend Cara calls me (mom to a 2 1/2 week old!) so fun to chat!
11:00 - hear Graham start banging crib rail, hang up phone. change diaper, yeah, just a wet one!
11:10 - come back to blog post.
current progress on to-do list... 1 basket of laundry folded :)
11:30 - G eat lunch - bananas/oatmeal & squash/rice cereal.
11:45: I eat - pb&j and an apple (I'm finding it very hard to fit in lunch right now because that's when I always seem to be leaving the house). so I've been eating a lot of peanut butter sandwiches!
12:00 - leave house. go to Whole Foods, coupon for a free Happy Baby product.
Battle #1 of our day begins...
I go to get him out of the car seat and he has kicked a shoe & sock off. I put it back on and literally before I could stop him, he kicked it back off. aghhh!
This began our battle for the next 2 hours of him kicking off his shoes/socks and me putting them back on. He would look at me with a half innocent look and half look that said "I totally know what I'm doing". I'm pretty sure he did. But what could I do about it? Normally, I wouldn't care. It doesn't matter to me if he wears shoes. However, because it is COLD, he cannot go around with bare feet! Thus, the battle. I really need to get him some boots that he can't kick off!
12:30 - head to the Strip District for our weekly produce run. got some fresh meat & few other items as well. the battle is still raging. As we head back to the car (a 3 block walk), he kicks his shoe off and I let it stay off this time, making sure his sock is on well. Get back to the car, yep, sock is gone. So, that was our trip, came home with quite a few groceries, minus one sock. :)
Current progress on to-do list - I basket folded & went to the market. (though now the groceries need to be put away, so do I add that to my list?!)
2:00 - now home, naptime. Battle #2 ensues. REALLY? I don't think I can do another battle right now! 2 weeks ago, I had a perfect napper. 2 weeks ago, he learned to stand up in his crib. Since then, naptime has become a battle of him standing, us putting him down, and repeat. (he has not figured out how to get back down, which is why we have to keep laying him down) Yesterday and today, we actually had several victories and he went down without a fight. and this morning as well! afternoon nap? not so lucky. I have now been up the stairs, I've lost count, I think it's 8 times to put him back down. And he's so tired that he's just been crying the entire time. I am at my wits end! Pulling my hair out. agghhhh! I think God gave me an extra special day today to share. :) I have not had a day quite like this before. nice & humbling. :)
2:40 - have now been upstairs 10 times. he stopped crying which hopefully means he's wearing down, however, still fighting. that little bugger! the good news is, who needs to work out when you run up & down the stairs for 30 minutes!!
2:45 - standing in his crib looking behind the curtains. A 9 month old does that? it would have been so cute if I wasn't going crazy! ok, it was still a little cute. :) stay on the 2nd floor (should have given up on my 1st floor task a while ago!) and fold my laundry. at least I got that done!
3:00 - the house is eerily silent. I'm almost too afraid to hope. but yes, it looks like the little one is silent & still in his bed. ONE HOUR BATTLE. yikes, I'm sure I didn't handle that right and need to come up with a different game plan! I think next time I will try staying out of there and just see what happens.
3:01 - EXHAUSTED! I didn't plan for a nap...but I feel like if I don't at least rest for a few minutes, I'll very much regret it!
Current progress on to-do list - laundry folded & errands done.
3:40 - Graham wakes up. yep, 40 minute nap after that long battle. can't wait for Andrew to get home, I need some re-enforcements today. agghh. this is a long day!
4:00 - G - eats and we watch a few minutes of Oprah. She has a singer on and he is mesmorized!
Feel like our day is getting back on track now. Everyone is happy again! He is playing and I'm back to attempting my to-do list. :)
4:30 - cleaned spit-up off the floor and changed poopy diaper #2. still trying to get the dishwasher/dishes done before 5. go, go, go! 
4:45 - hear a crash and then the cry. Graham aquires a new war wound on his forehead.
4:50 - dishes complete. yeahhh!
5:00 - feed graham dinner - chicken, squash, and apples.
5:15 - figuring out to plan dinner. thursdays are very tricky because Andrew gets off at 6 and we have community group at 7. we roughly get home about 6:30. getting dinner in 15 minutes - almost impossible, since we go pick him up. hmmmm...decide that tonight is Subway night!
Current progress on to-do list - laundry folded, errands done, & dishes done. it feels like so little progress when written out. :(
5:30 - go pick-up subway, and stop at Whole Foods for another free product, and then on to get Andrew.
6:30 - home, scarf down our $5 footlong! everyone out the door.
7:00 - community group
9:00 - home, graham in bed (such a late night thursdays are for him!). just in time to catch The Office!
9:30 - finish blog post. too tired...pictures & posting will have to wait till tomorrow. :)
Synopsis...
-didn't even get on blogs or fb because I was too busy tweeting!
-I obviously would not do well staying under the 140 character limit. :)
-3 out of 8 on my to-do list...it's worse than I thought it would be!
-a great start to the day, followed by a crazy afternoon, ending with a time of refreshment with other believers. 2 out of 3 positives = a positive!
So... this day wasn't exactly what I was expecting! Isn't that the way of life for a mom? I wouldn't trade it for anything. :)
Fulya & I
Ali & Graham have lots of fun playing together!
Saturday morning we went downtown for the Pittsburgh Christmas Parade. 
