(I apologize for the length).
Thursday, February 27, 2014
6:20 - I wake up. I purposefully did not set the alarm clock because I don't have to wash my hair today, but I wake up around the normal wake-up time anyway because the heat clicks on and that's Tandy's cue to jump on the bed and snuggle my face. I pet Tandy for a couple minutes, listening to the rain falling outside. Then I get up and shower, put makeup on, and get dressed.
6:43 - I go downstairs to the computer room and backup my phone, which I haven't done since October (oops). While the phone is backing up, I look up the lazy pizza dough recipe for dinner tonight. I go to the kitchen and begin mixing flour and salt together. I look in the pantry for the yeast, but can't find it. This makes me grumble about our black hole of a pantry - I can't find anything due to its weird shape, so I always end up buying something only to find out later that I already had it. Case in point: while pulling out stuff in my hunt for yeast, I find two unopened containers of cornstarch. Anyway, I can't find the yeast, give up, and then cover the flour salt mixture with plastic wrap and begin grabbing stuff to make my breakfast and coffee.
7:06 - Charlotte bounds down the stairs and runs up to give me a hug. She notices the whipped cream I'm putting in my homemade mocha and asks if she can have breakfast at home today. I explain that we're already running late, but if she's ready to go tomorrow morning we can have breakfast together (she eats breakfast at KinderCare, normally). Charlotte gets a little upset, but follows me upstairs to her room. I pull out some pants and let her choose the top. Then I run up to our room where Chris is in the bathroom looking blearily at the mirror. He worked at the office until 11pm last night, so he's understandably exhausted.
7:15 - I make sure Charlotte is actually getting dressed (this usually takes some extra prodding), and then I go into Phoebe's room. She woke up to the sound of me opening the door, but it's clear she is still very sleepy.
As soon as I unzip her GroBag (which is on backwards so she can't unzip it) she proceeds to unzip her pajamas all the way, reminding me once again why we desperately need that GroBag to fit until she's 4. I pick her up and plop her on the changing table. I put on the Frozen soundtrack while I get her changed and dressed.
7:21 - Charlotte comes in dressed, carrying her hairbrush and headband. Chris comes in and collapses on the ground. Phoebe dances around the room, waving my phone and showing Chris the picture of the Frozen album cover. We all laugh as we realize Phoebe really does know all the words to each song.
7:27 - I turn off the music much to Phoebe's disappointment. We go downstairs and Phoebe counts the steps as she goes down one by one.
A quick gathering of jackets, coffee, shoes ensues.
7:32 - I blow a kiss to Phoebe as Chris gets her buckled into the carseat in his car. I buckle Charlotte in.
Charlotte spends the entire car ride telling me each of the people she wants to invite to her birthday party in June. She says she's going to ask them every day if they'll be coming. I tell her that her birthday is four months away and that she probably shouldn't do that. "Why not, Mommy?"
7:37 - We arrive at KinderCare. Charlotte bounds into the building and we walk over to her classroom, where she hangs up her jacket. She shows me the two huge cardboard boxes that they're making into a rocketship, apparently. We then walk over to the Twos room where her teachers are, along with two dozen other kids. Charlotte immediately hugs her teacher, Ms. Kim, and then runs over and hugs her old teacher, Ms. Cheryl. Ms. Cheryl always chats with me. She's a mother of four and grandmother of who knows how many, so she just exudes warmth. Things are a bit crazy, so I give Charlotte a quick hug and kiss, and I'm on my way.
7:45 - I start my drive to work. It's been raining so I make the decision to skip the freeway and take the backroads instead. It's actually a gorgeous drive through pastures and old oak trees, and even if I sometimes get stuck behind someone going slow, it's much less stressful than the freeway. I listen to NPR and learn all about the "Slate", the clicky clapper thing used in movies to help line up the picture and the sound (I never knew that's what it was for). I love NPR. I learn so much. Plus, I can't stand listening to those stupid morning radio shows on the other stations.
8:06 - I pull into work. I gather everything I need from the car.
8:15 - I'm at my desk, reading emails sent after I left work the day before.
8:22 - My boss comes over and chats about this project we need to do. We split up the work, and I start at it, only then remembering my breakfast of yogurt, granola and raspberries.
10:15 - I take a break to type up this list and poke around at the blogs I like to read.
10:30 - More Internet research on 2015 filing deadlines for various state exchanges.
11:20 - I grab my gym bag and head over to the gym in Building C. It's not raining when I head over, but I don't dare run outside, instead opting to sit on the stationary bike and read on my iPad. I've been pedaling on the bike for about 30 minutes when rain starts pelting the windows. I am relieved I decided not to run outside. I pedal for another 10 minutes and then do a little bit of weight lifting before changing.
12:15 - It's pouring outside. I dump my gym bag in the trunk and jump inside my car. I drive down about a mile to this little shopping center. It's days like these that I really miss working downtown where I had so many lunch options within walking distance. I'm wondering what place I'm going to stop at when I see that the new Panera is actually open. Score.
12:20 - The line is huge. The cashiers are clearly trainees. I notice that this Panera is significantly more expensive than the one in Folsom, but since there are so few food options in the vicinity, it probably makes sense. I order a bowl of broccoli cheddar soup and a cookie.
12:25 - While I'm waiting, I check my phone for emails. There's an email from my friend seeing if we want to go in on a private skiing lesson with her daughter. This reminds me that I need to call Sierra-at-Tahoe to remind them about the refund I'm owed for cancelling Charlotte's lesson two weeks ago.
12:35 - I've got my order and I'm in the car and decide to call Sierra. Someone finally answers the phone. I explain that I called on Friday, the 14th to cancel Charlotte's lesson for the 15th, but still haven't seen my refund credited to my American Express account. The girl I speak with says her supervisor is on break, but that he'd call me back. She looks up Charlotte's account and says it is marked "no call no show." I explain that not only had I called to cancel, but that I left two messages (Charlotte had contracted a fever on Valentine's Day, thus necessitating the cancellation). I had also received a call back two days later from an Amy who assured me the refund would be processed.
12:45 - Back at my desk, eating my soup, writhing from the fight I know I'm going to have with Sierra.
1:35 - My boss tells me that HR is interviewing someone for the position we have open in our little department. He tells me the guy's name, whom I then proceed to Internet stalk (it's what I'm good at). Wonder why this guy doesn't have his JD listed on his resume.
1:50 - Read a bulletin from the Utah Insurance Department and try to determine if it's relevant information for our company.
2:34 - Someone finally calls me back from Sierra. He claims he can't issue me a refund because his supervisor was the one who made the "no call no show" note in Charlotte's account. He also says there's no record of my having left messages. This gets me angry as I try to explain that I left two messages within the window of the refund timeframe, received a call back two days later from an Amy who assured me a refund, and then called and left another message a week later when the refund still hadn't shown up on my statement. Meanwhile, I'm IM-ing all of this to Chris, who is also getting angry.
2:46 - Frustrated, I hang up the phone and call Chris. I IM him the timeline of my calls.
2:51 - The same guy calls again, forcing me to explain the whole thing again. I ask him if he really thinks I'd lie about this when I have the phone records proving I called Sierra multiple times. He assures me that he will talk to his supervisor in the morning and get back to me.
3:20 - Chris IMs me to say he's called this guy, who apparently offers the same story but sounds more sympathetic. Chris says he's told him he has until noon tomorrow to call back or we call American Express and dispute the charge.
3:35 - My boss walks over to chat more about next week when he'll be in DC. We also talk about what conferences make sense for me to attend later in the year, so that I can start planning my travel. One of them will likely be going back to Orlando in September (but thankfully, I won't be with the girls this time!).
3:46 - Chris and I chat online about who will pick up whom. He's taking a call from home, so we agree that I'll pick up Phoebe and he'll pick up Charlotte.
7:45 - I start my drive to work. It's been raining so I make the decision to skip the freeway and take the backroads instead. It's actually a gorgeous drive through pastures and old oak trees, and even if I sometimes get stuck behind someone going slow, it's much less stressful than the freeway. I listen to NPR and learn all about the "Slate", the clicky clapper thing used in movies to help line up the picture and the sound (I never knew that's what it was for). I love NPR. I learn so much. Plus, I can't stand listening to those stupid morning radio shows on the other stations.
8:06 - I pull into work. I gather everything I need from the car.
8:15 - I'm at my desk, reading emails sent after I left work the day before.
8:22 - My boss comes over and chats about this project we need to do. We split up the work, and I start at it, only then remembering my breakfast of yogurt, granola and raspberries.
10:15 - I take a break to type up this list and poke around at the blogs I like to read.
10:30 - More Internet research on 2015 filing deadlines for various state exchanges.
11:20 - I grab my gym bag and head over to the gym in Building C. It's not raining when I head over, but I don't dare run outside, instead opting to sit on the stationary bike and read on my iPad. I've been pedaling on the bike for about 30 minutes when rain starts pelting the windows. I am relieved I decided not to run outside. I pedal for another 10 minutes and then do a little bit of weight lifting before changing.
12:15 - It's pouring outside. I dump my gym bag in the trunk and jump inside my car. I drive down about a mile to this little shopping center. It's days like these that I really miss working downtown where I had so many lunch options within walking distance. I'm wondering what place I'm going to stop at when I see that the new Panera is actually open. Score.
12:20 - The line is huge. The cashiers are clearly trainees. I notice that this Panera is significantly more expensive than the one in Folsom, but since there are so few food options in the vicinity, it probably makes sense. I order a bowl of broccoli cheddar soup and a cookie.
12:25 - While I'm waiting, I check my phone for emails. There's an email from my friend seeing if we want to go in on a private skiing lesson with her daughter. This reminds me that I need to call Sierra-at-Tahoe to remind them about the refund I'm owed for cancelling Charlotte's lesson two weeks ago.
12:35 - I've got my order and I'm in the car and decide to call Sierra. Someone finally answers the phone. I explain that I called on Friday, the 14th to cancel Charlotte's lesson for the 15th, but still haven't seen my refund credited to my American Express account. The girl I speak with says her supervisor is on break, but that he'd call me back. She looks up Charlotte's account and says it is marked "no call no show." I explain that not only had I called to cancel, but that I left two messages (Charlotte had contracted a fever on Valentine's Day, thus necessitating the cancellation). I had also received a call back two days later from an Amy who assured me the refund would be processed.
12:45 - Back at my desk, eating my soup, writhing from the fight I know I'm going to have with Sierra.
1:35 - My boss tells me that HR is interviewing someone for the position we have open in our little department. He tells me the guy's name, whom I then proceed to Internet stalk (it's what I'm good at). Wonder why this guy doesn't have his JD listed on his resume.
1:50 - Read a bulletin from the Utah Insurance Department and try to determine if it's relevant information for our company.
2:34 - Someone finally calls me back from Sierra. He claims he can't issue me a refund because his supervisor was the one who made the "no call no show" note in Charlotte's account. He also says there's no record of my having left messages. This gets me angry as I try to explain that I left two messages within the window of the refund timeframe, received a call back two days later from an Amy who assured me a refund, and then called and left another message a week later when the refund still hadn't shown up on my statement. Meanwhile, I'm IM-ing all of this to Chris, who is also getting angry.
2:46 - Frustrated, I hang up the phone and call Chris. I IM him the timeline of my calls.
2:51 - The same guy calls again, forcing me to explain the whole thing again. I ask him if he really thinks I'd lie about this when I have the phone records proving I called Sierra multiple times. He assures me that he will talk to his supervisor in the morning and get back to me.
3:20 - Chris IMs me to say he's called this guy, who apparently offers the same story but sounds more sympathetic. Chris says he's told him he has until noon tomorrow to call back or we call American Express and dispute the charge.
3:35 - My boss walks over to chat more about next week when he'll be in DC. We also talk about what conferences make sense for me to attend later in the year, so that I can start planning my travel. One of them will likely be going back to Orlando in September (but thankfully, I won't be with the girls this time!).
3:46 - Chris and I chat online about who will pick up whom. He's taking a call from home, so we agree that I'll pick up Phoebe and he'll pick up Charlotte.
4:31 - I gather my things and hit the road. This time on NPR I learn about some classic breakfast for Mardi Gras in New Orleans - deviled eggs and milk punch (alcoholic).
4:48 - I stop at the grocery store to buy yeast, knowing full well that I will find five packets in the pantry later.
5:06 - I arrive at Susan's house to pick up Phoebe. I find Phoebe dressed only in her socks and diaper because she got into a mess at the park today with all the water and mud. She's happy and shrieking as Susan puts her clothes on. Susan tells me how they went to a craft and story hour at a local toy store. Phoebe was obsessed with all the shiny toy costume jewelry. Susan hands me the craft Phoebe did at the toy store, along with a pair of wings that Sydney, one of Susan's school age kids, made for Phoebe. (Side note: I love how much the kids love Phoebe there. Sydney is 9 and just adores Phoebe. It's really sweet).
5:12 - We leave Susan's house and drive home.
5:19 - We are home. Phoebe and I walk across the street to get the mail and then Phoebe finds our neighbors' cat Cowboy, whom she tries to pet. She loves Cowboy and is always looking for him and calling to him in that high-pitched voice you reserve for your pets (so cute).
5:23 - Just as we're getting into the house Chris pulls up with Charlotte. Charlotte is really excited and tells me about how the next day it's going to be Dr. Seuss's birthday at school and they get to wear pajamas and have a special snack. Chris shows me Charlotte's headband which is broken in two (Charlotte's explanation: "I was bending it to see what would happen!"). I hurriedly start making dinner which tonight instead of homemade pizza will be pasta and bread.
6:02 - After eating, Charlotte and I rush upstairs to get her changed and ready for gymnastics.
6:15 - We head out the door. During our drive Phoebe and Charlotte serenade us with "Do Re Mi".
6:28 - We arrive at gymnastics and there is no where to park. Phoebe gets concerned when we leave the parking lot to park somewhere else.
6:32 - Gymnastics starts. Phoebe does an okay job of listening today.
We try to watch Charlotte as often as we can (in case you can't tell, that's Charlotte on the right finishing up a somersault).
7:15 - Gymnastics ends. Phoebe is super excited to get her stamps. We wait for Charlotte's teacher to finishing writing up skills learned for the month.
7:35 - We're home. Charlotte throws an epic tantrum when we tell her she can't have a treat tonight. This results in no stories either, since she can't stop flailing and kicking the wall.
7:57 - I finish reading stories to Phoebe. Charlotte is still crying, but finally getting her pajamas on. Phoebe demands multiple hugs and kisses from us before going to sleep. It may be a stalling tactic, but getting kisses from her is still so sweet that we don't mind.
8:06 - We give hugs and kisses to Charlotte, who has finally calmed down. I head downstairs to add the yeast and water to the flour and salt mixture - homemade pizza will happen!
8:25 - Chris finishes up cleaning up from dinner and makes popcorn. We settle in front of the TV to watch Tuesday night's Late Night with Jimmy Fallon.
8:30 - My closest friend, Kristen, calls. We haven't chatted in a long time, so it's really nice to catch up. We talk about all kinds of things that have been going on in our lives in the past month or so since we've seen each other.
9:12 - Phone conversation ends. Watching TV starts up again, including my favorite show, Parks and Recreation, which does not disappoint.
10:35 - I head upstairs to get ready for bed. I read a little on my iPad, but am definitely getting sleepy. Chris joins me shortly thereafter.
10:57 - Lights out.
7:57 - I finish reading stories to Phoebe. Charlotte is still crying, but finally getting her pajamas on. Phoebe demands multiple hugs and kisses from us before going to sleep. It may be a stalling tactic, but getting kisses from her is still so sweet that we don't mind.
8:06 - We give hugs and kisses to Charlotte, who has finally calmed down. I head downstairs to add the yeast and water to the flour and salt mixture - homemade pizza will happen!
8:25 - Chris finishes up cleaning up from dinner and makes popcorn. We settle in front of the TV to watch Tuesday night's Late Night with Jimmy Fallon.
8:30 - My closest friend, Kristen, calls. We haven't chatted in a long time, so it's really nice to catch up. We talk about all kinds of things that have been going on in our lives in the past month or so since we've seen each other.
9:12 - Phone conversation ends. Watching TV starts up again, including my favorite show, Parks and Recreation, which does not disappoint.
10:35 - I head upstairs to get ready for bed. I read a little on my iPad, but am definitely getting sleepy. Chris joins me shortly thereafter.
10:57 - Lights out.
Very fun to read! Thanks for sharing your routine.
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