Before and After

It's a muggy Saturday here in San Antonio. I ran 10 miles this morning, took the fam to the Strawberry Festival and am enjoying a quick Facebook perusal while Sesame Street is on. All in all, it's been a perfect day. It's funny to think about how my definition of a perfect day has changed since becoming a mama.

A day in my life circa 2008:

I woke up at exactly 5:47, whereupon I would hit the snooze button, dream for 9 more minutes and stumble to the coffee maker. I drank my cup of coffee while showering, putting on makeup and doing my hair. I drove to work (listening to the radio station of my choosing), where I taught for 6 hours and headed home. After getting home I would hop on the elliptical and work out while watching 30 Minute Meals. My husband and I would enjoy dinner that did not include peanut butter or Cheerios and I would watch a few hours of my favorite reality show programming before hitting the sack.

A day in my life circa 2010:

I wake up to the sounds of Captain Destructo babbling in her crib, at which point I try to put her back to sleep through mental telepathy. When this inevitably fails, I stumble to her room and attempt to change her diaper while she is writhing like an epileptic and signing milk as if she hasn't had anything to drink for weeks. After breakfast, I take a shower while singing "Head Shoulders Knees and Toes" and yelling, "stay out of there! Don't put that in your mouth!"
Around mid-morning I am desperate to see big people so we run errands of some sort. If it is Wednesday, we go to playgroup, where I am so glad to talk to adults I yammer for about about 90 minutes straight. We generally head home and Captain falls asleep in the car. I put her in the crib and inform her that the nap in the car does not count and she should still sleep for her full 2 hours. After she wakes up and has lunch, she plays/destroys things while I follow behind her saying "no" over and over again and keeping her from eating crayons/dirt/dead bugs/Cheerios from breakfast. At 4:00 I let her watch Sesame Street. I have decided that one episode a day is OK (and who am I kidding, she watches The View with me most days) and I have also decided that Sesame Street is hilarious.
After dinner, bath, a warped speed reading of Goodnight Moon, prayers, and bed, I attempt to clean up the wreckage of the day and crash in front of the tube until I fall asleep on the couch and drag myself to bed.


It's truly an awesome life. Have to go, don't want to miss Elmo's World.