No Nap Days and Necessary Quiet

Yesterday’s early crash-out helped me wake up on time today. I’m still feeling drained after nearly a full week with the extra kiddo, but honestly—it was worth it. I got dressed, though my scrunchie was somewhere buried deep in the coils of blankets, dog, and man all tangled in the bed. I’d have to wait until one of them woke up to even try to find it.

I pulled a card from the Momento deck again this morning—it had been practically staring holes through me. Today, I drew The Letter. It left me puzzled. Quiet. A little curious. I have no doubt it’ll make more sense by the end of the day.

an arrival of news. unexpected bills or cheques. an invitation. love letters. test results.

Next came the girls’ schoolwork. Today felt like it should be a lot easier—I’ve gotten used to prepping three clipboards and six folders every morning, but now I’m back down to just two clipboards and four folders. At least for a week or so, until she comes back to spend more time with the girls and her daddy.

clean jar day for starter

Soon I could hear the rooster crowing, which meant it was time to work the starter for the day. Today was jar-switch day for my starter—which, I still haven’t named. I grabbed a clean jar, scooped a good-sized dollop into it, and poured the rest into the discard jar. That let me soak last week’s jar in Dawn and hot water before scrubbing—dried discard sets up like cement.

The only downside? My starter hates jar-switch days and will sulk about it until Tuesday, refusing to grow like she should.

Snappy going for breakfast

Next, it was animal time. I started with the turtle, like usual, then moved on to the dogs. Once all six were walked, it was time to refill Jezebel’s milk jug and get her fed. After that came the chickens, then Babushka, and finally it was on to prepping breakfast for the girls.

They had pancakes with sausage, a glass of Lactaid for Aria, chocolate Lactaid for Sephy, and a side of their daily gummies.

I ended up having to wake the girls for breakfast—by the time 9 rolled around, they were still sound asleep. Not surprising for the day after Lily leaves. All the adults were still out too. Shortly after the girls got up, got dressed, and started cleaning their room, Dameion and Charlie woke up, and it was time to start handing out tasks for the day.

Franklin was still snoring peacefully in his room—guess the rooster didn’t get to him today.

After the girls finished cleaning their room, we started with a video about the moon phases while Dameion headed out to begin the usual animal chores. We wrapped up our India flashcards, read through the informational packet, and started labeling a few spots on the world map. Meanwhile, Dameion had cleared out the cowitch vines and joined Franklin to start the afternoon dog walk.

Once the dogs had their outing, it was time for lunch—but today was a little different. We were skipping nap time and heading down to Gigi and Poppop’s for a bit so I could have some quiet.

mmmm bread

While the girls were gone, I took the opportunity to deep clean the bathroom and get that chore out of the way for the week.

After that, I moved on to cleaning Franklin and Cain’s room, squeezing in a round of dishes and a quick laundry check in between. Once their room was finished, I circled back to the sink for another load of dishes, followed by one more laundry check before finally tackling the hallway for the week.

Dameion swapped out the bathroom faucet and then headed over to mow Mom and Dad’s front and back yards. Meanwhile, Charlie got started on some bread.

front yard almost done

Soon the girls were back home and in their room for a little transition time. While they settled, I got the dogs fed and Franklin brought in Popeyes for dinner. I squeezed in another round of dishes and laundry while Charlie fixed the girls’ dinner plates.

Tonight was a bath-and-early-bed kind of night—especially since they had skipped their nap down at Gigi’s. We squeezed in a bit more work on our map labeling before they ate. After dinner, both girls took a nice bubble bath, then headed to their room to watch some TV and wind down for the night.

Cain

After the girls laid down, I got their room cleaned and jumped into another four rounds of dishes and laundry. I started working on the living room while Charlie got ready to bake some Hawaiian sweet rolls. Franklin and Dameion split the evening dog walk—three dogs each—then Dameion put the goats up for the night and went on a water run to finish stocking up for our tincture supplies.

I finally tackled the neglected stand camera and deleted over 4,000 pictures that had been sitting there for two weeks. While working through the living room, I decided to face the dreaded toy corner of hell. While I did that, Cain and Harley switched spots—Cain got his turn to roam the main part of the house.

toy corner of hell

I made it about halfway through the toy corner of hell before calling it. I pulled out the bed, got it set up, and decided it was officially time to end the day. It was more than enough.