While I nurse, Lee pushes the ottoman around the living room. He knocks it onto its side and scrapes it across the wood floor of the dining room. When he arrives at the couch, he climbs up and discovers a pile of junk mail there. He inspects it, then throws it off along with the pillows and afghan. I tell him he needs to pick up the junk mail and throw it away. He climbs down, collects the mail, looks through it, and scatters it again.
Lee runs to the kitchen. I hear him rummaging through the snack drawer. I resolve to put a safety gate across the kitchen entrance. I tell him that he needs to shut the cabinet door. I use a firm voice. He runs back to the living room and throws the junk mail in the trash. Then back to the kitchen where he retrieves a hot mitt. He returns to the living room to show me how he can pick things up with his hand in the hot mitt. He gets several more hot mitts from the kitchen and a roll of parchment paper. I decide I don’t need to have hot mitts anymore. I can get rid of them and just use kitchen towels like my grandmother.
9:58 — Rose unlatches. I burp her and put her back on. Lee goes back to the snack cabinet and I hear rummaging again. Dangit! I’ll probably have to get up and see what he’s up to. I remember that I’m running low on peanuts and need to put those on the grocery list.
10:05 — Rose unlatches. I burp her and go into the kitchen to catch Lee getting a granola bar out of a jar. The granola bar goes back. He cries. He scampers out of the kitchen to play with his cars and trucks in the living room. He throws his trucks off the couch. He runs his cars along the tops of my C.S. Lewis books on the book shelf. He pulls out one of my books. I tell him not to touch my books. He tries to put the book back, but he can’t fit it in. He moves the book end out of the way. He pushes other books out of place. “Just leave it there,” I tell him repetitively. Eventually he abandons the book to run his car along the forbidden books. The car slips out of his reach. He stands on the shelf below to get his car, but it is too far beyond his grasp.
10:13 — I burp Rose and retrieve Lee’s car. He plays with his car until he loses interest and I remember that I didn’t take him to the bathroom when we returned from our walk half hour ago. I tell him we’re going potty after I finish nursing Rose.
10:20 — I burp Rose, get granola for Lee, and take him to the bathroom. I set him on his potty chair and tell him to go while I get a bottle for Rose. While I’m gone, Lee dips his granola into the 1 teaspoon of potty that he’s squirted into his potty chair. When I return he shows me the granola and continues eating it. It’s not until I empty the potty chair and I see bits of granola in the basin that I realize what he’s done. I bottle feed Rose and burp her.Back in the living room Lee pulls out the recycling bin under Phil’s desk. I tell him firmly to put it back. Yes, the recycling bin needs to be emptied. I'll add that to my list of to-do's that doesn't get done. Lee plays with his toys for 30 seconds and then runs to his bedroom. I hear goings-on in there. Later I will find the drawers pulled out of his nightstand and his pajamas scattered across the room. He returns to the living room carrying his play tools and a ramp.
10:35 — I take Rose into my bedroom to change her. While in there I use the restroom myself and notice the dust accumulating behind the door. I also remember that I need to fill my shampoo bottle.
I return to the living room to find nothing new upturned. Lee has played well with his toys during this time. I put Rose in the rocker while I make-up a bottle for her. 20 minutes on the breast and then top her off with a bottle: that's the current schedule to keep her weight up. I get Lee’s magnets down for him to play with. Rose isn’t interested in eating anymore. Good.
10:40 — Feeding complete. "Free" time begins. I get dinner into the crock pot while Lee scatters his magnets across the floor. He throws the magnet tin on the tile. It makes a loud clatter, waking Rose who’s been asleep in the bouncer. I send Lee outside to play. Rose won’t quiet down. I go to pick her up and find her pajamas and the bouncer chair soaked through with poop. I change her, tossing her soiled outfit into the sink to clean later. She throws a fit and won’t quiet down.
11:40 — The next feeding commences.
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