A Single Day (Half day) I got to tired for the whole day...

5:15 alarm goes off. I turn it off with my nose, or I could have, because I am that close to it. Even a King size bed gets crowded with 2 thirty-somethings, a 6-year-old and a 3-year-old.

5:21 slide out of bed trying not to move the bed in any way. Cover my prostrate, half-naked girls with our sheets, they insist on kicking off of all of us, all night.

5:23 try to locate my workout clothes in silence and darkness. Use the bathroom in darkness and try to muffle the toilet flushing

5:25 put on hot cereal, I forgot last night, so my family won't starve in two hours. Check email. Skim a Nibley talk on Adam and Eve, patriarchy and matriarchy sent by my father-in-law during the night.

5:31 start the same pilates workout I have been doing for 5 years now. It does amazing things for my stomach when I am consistent. I haven't been consistent for at least 2 years.

6:01 head up the canyon on my bike in a raging head wind. It will only make me stronger.

6:18 massive pride check. A man in blue jeans, and sweatshirt with sleeves reaching not quite to his wrists, on a painfully old mountain bike blazes past me on the trail.

6:19 I am still thunderstruck about blue jean man. Instinctively my legs kick into high gear. I barely kept up with him.

6:32 hit my turnaround. I can see blue jean man out of the corner of my eye. I passed him on an alternate route. Pride is slowly recovering.

7:08 pull into my garage. Remove gear. Start real day.

7:10 force Emmett, against all his will to hug and kiss and snuggle with me. Receive free kisses from Brent on his way to the park to exercise.

7:12 rinse out at least 8 poopy diapers built up from the last 2 days. Emmett is extremely regular. Start diaper load. Douse bathroom in vinegar while contemplating with sorrow the arrival of summer solstice. Remember it is my brothers birthday, but I can't call because I left my cell phone at my mothers 2 hours away.

7:18 feed Emmett his hot cereal with cream, maple syrup and golden raisins. A man sized portion for my 21 lb 16 month old.

7:35 put in the last two pieces of bread to toast for Ellery. Start grinding grains.

7:41 haul in the Dora big wheel Emmett spotted in the garage while I was locating the grains, and is now throwing a pointing and squeaking fit to ride.

7:43 haul the big wheel up into my bathroom while I take a shower. Goo man rides around and waves. Callista snores on.

7:56 get dressed and ready. Start a laundry folding party with Brent. Get a running, jumping, kissing good morning from Callista. I think every thing we owned was in large piles in our room. Race the girls to see who finishes first. Of course I do. Help them fold laundry. They claimed it was done but I located an unusually large pile in a remote corner of the closet.

8:23 start piano practicing with Ellery. Brent, Callista and Emmett stalk the tree fort in the backyard and jumprope.

9:30 Change Emmett's diaper. Put him down for nap. Brent leaves for work. Callista escapes to the front yard to play with the neighbors, while still in her pjs. Ellery and I read and I try to explain the finer points of roman numerals and cursive. (She wanted to learn cursive so bad, I am teaching her.)

10:10 Corral Callista from roaming wild with a simple call, "Time for preschool!" She comes pedalling as fast as her little legs would move. Ellery runs free with the kids.

10:11 Callista calls out "MAT," "CAT," "MAP" in no particular order. Certain she is reading. She is beaming. Search the house with our "dinosaur detector" looking for "D" words. We found door and dress.

10:33 Neighbor comes roaming in the house looking for Emmy. Callista bolts free.

10:34 begin to try to recover the house from the morning. Sweep up at least a meals worth of food from the floor. Laundry and clutter everywhere.

10:50 realize I haven't started the bread yet and my kids will be starving for lunch within hours. Start the bread. Make another doctors appointment for Emmett. Another ear infection.

11:10 the kids are hungry. I feed them cheese, nectarines, fruit leather, and some cookies I made last night. The great healthy chocolate chip ones. No refined sugar mind you.

11:35 house is coming together. Knock on door from neighbor. We talk cooking, water purification, food storage and gardening. I give her a little tour. We trade tours all the time to glean new ideas from each other.

12:38 Bread is done. Emmett is waking. Brent comes home for lunch.

I am getting to exhausted just writing this. You get the idea. It is the same for all moms. And to think I wondered what stay-at-homes moms did all day once.