Oy

I’ve been pretty MIA for a while and that’s because I am swamped. I’m so busy I don’t even know where to start. I am teaching 6 courses this quarter. That’s 2 full time jobs, by the way. And I also have a 6 month old and a 3 year old. Last quarter I also took on an Advising job to fill in for a faculty member who is on leave. I had no idea what I was getting into, It is for a program that has intensely high needs students. Apparently everyone else knew what these students were like- except me. So you do the math where my time goes. Oy.

Let me provide a rundown of my daily schedule. Try to do this all in one breath:

5:30am:

• Wake up. Depends on when Caleb rises. Isla too. It’s usually closer to 5am.
• Run to the bathroom if Isla is asleep and quickly get my makeup on and my hair ready.

6:

• Feed Isla and change her diaper which is probably a blow out and has soaked her pajamas and sleep suit.
• Put the dogs out since they never really go when Ty lets them out.
• Put on mascara while I sit on the floor with Isla.

6:30:

• Feed Caleb eggs and oatmeal/muffin.
• If Isla’s diaper was a mega blowout then I need to put that in the wash.
• Stand at the sink and eat hard boiled eggs while waiting for my tea water to heat up.
• Check emails for both jobs.
• Get my breast pump supplies ready for the day and gather all of Isla’s bottles and food for daycare.

7:

• Run upstairs to gather my clothes and the kids’ clothes and to brush my teeth. Isla comes with- she loves the Sonic Care tooth brush.
• Get Caleb’s clothes for school and spend a good amount of time fighting him to get ready (last week he locked me in the garage which was an event in itself).
• Dress Isla and get some tummy time in for her while I help Caleb brush his teeth.

7:15:

• Get dressed.
• Nurse Isla while urging Caleb to use the toilet before we go.
• Run out to warm up the car and put Isla’s bottles in the car so I don’t forget them

7:30:

• Get kids into the car and leave. On time. Yes.

8:15:

• Take Caleb and Isla into Isla’s daycare. Get her forms filled out while trying to force Caleb to stay in the room and to leave the babies alone.
• Load Caleb back into the car and drive to Caleb’s school (and my job)

8:30:

• Park near Caleb’s school and drop him off, then walk across campus to my class. Sometimes I need to turn forms in or pick up copies from the Doc Shop but it’s usually a nice long walk alone.

9:

• Class 1

10:

• Class 2

10:45:

• Run through the building, down three floors to the First Aid room so I can pump.

11:

• Run upstairs three floors so I can get to my Advising office in time, which never happens.

11:55:

• Run across campus to my next class.

12:

• Class 3

12:50:

• Walk back to Caleb’s school to pick him up so we can go get Isla. Isla’s daycare is only 10 minutes away but with wrap-up with Caleb’s teacher and getting him ready to leave, it always takes a while.

1:15

• Take Caleb back into Isla’s daycare so we can pick her up. Find that she hasn’t eaten or taken her second bottle and has barely slept.
• Feed Isla in the car (depends on when she ate).

2:

• Get home. If Caleb is passed out (rare) Ty or I will carry him upstairs to sleep.
• Bring Isla in and feed her and get her ready for a nap

2:30-3:

• Sit on the couch and watch TV and pass out for a few minutes.

3-6:

• Wash Isla’s bottles, clean breast pump parts, get new bottles ready for the next day.
• Play with Caleb and Isla. Fight with Caleb at some point over something.
• Get dinner ready. Eat.

6:

• Ty gets Caleb ready for bed.
• Feed Isla some food.
• Give Isla her bath. Jammies, story, and nurse.
• Put Isla in her room.
• Feed dogs if Caleb forgot.

7:

• If we haven’t eaten, Ty and I will eat.
• Respond to a flurry of emails from students with questions that are answered in the syllabus and from students with “urgent” needs.
• Spend some time hanging out watching TV with Ty. Alone. One of us might pass out on the couch.

9-10:

• Go upstairs, take shower, get ready for bed.

10:

• Isla usually wakes up to eat around this time. Sometimes earlier. Sometimes twice before this.

12:

• Wake up to Caleb climbing in our bed. Ty takes him back to his room and falls asleep in there.

3:

• Feed Isla (this is the ideal situation with her only waking 2 times. Her norm this month has been 3-7 wakings at night, so every 2 hrs from 10-6 is reality).

3-4:

• Wake to Caleb coming back into our bed.

5-6am:

• Rinse and repeat.

I have to admit that my first weeks back at work are always bad. Always. I feel really overwhelmed and stressed and moody and I start to think I should quit my job. Because I don’t know Isla’s teacher well I start to doubt them as well and then look in to other options which wastes more of my time. It’s totally senseless. I’m well into Week 2 of work and feeling a little better. I just need a massage.

Mayhaps this is where I should add that I have ADHD. I haven’t blogged about it in ages because I stopped taking my meds months before I got pregnant with Caleb. I have always been better when I am busy. That’s the truth. I do well with a million things going on–it just takes me a while to adjust every quarter because things change rapidly. I’m hoping to lessen a bit of my stress with a new job so please keep your fingers crossed I get one of the full time jobs I am applying to.