A Day in the Life of a Three-Year-Old

People often ask, "What exactly do you do?" I sometimes struggle to answer this question as our days are filled with a lot of different activities that will vary with the season and even vary depending on the day. Instead of boring you with the activities of a mom, I am going to describe a day in the life of our toddler. All of the events are real; however, I have taken literary liberty in expressing the thoughts that I believe may be passing through that pretty little head of hers. 

Here is my attempt at describing her day in her words:

The sun peeks through the windows as I welcome the day with a monstrous stretch. Mommy and Daddy are already awake and so I grab my blanket and begin my search for them. I don't know why they insist that I fall asleep in my own bed every night. It would be much easier to let me start out in their room rather than force me to crawl over them in the middle of the night. Oh, well! You cannot always understand these large creatures. 

I found Mommy. After a few snuggles, I am ready to begin the day. Mommy wants me to change clothes, but I believe that the heat of the day requires that I remain solely in my underwear. Mommy hasn't finished her coffee yet, so I win and crawl onto the couch to watch my favorite TV show, Paw Patrol. 

My sleepyhead siblings eventually wake up around 7am. We attend our morning meeting where the chores are divided up. I selflessly volunteer for all outdoor chores, but I am beginning to feel that they do not appreciate all of my contributions. Instead of moving and feeding animals, I am given a bagel and told that I may go back and watch my show. I am still a bit tired so I will allow this substitution. 

After I finish my bagel, I decide to help my sister. She is making sour dough rolls. 

She didn't add enough flour nor salt to her recipe. Lucky for her, I am here to fix the situation. 

Next, I help mommy put up laundry. 

Then, it is time to milk the goat. I don't actually do the milking because my job of hand feeding the goat is too important. She simply cannot eat the feed from the bucket if I don't hand her each piece. 

It is now time to do a little garden work. Mommy is very disorganized. She simply does not understand the best way to set up the pots. It's a good thing that I am free to help her. I take the small flowerpots and turn them into caves for my toys. 

There is no time to clean up my toys as I discover the rolls are done. I must test them with some honey to ensure that I saved them from my sister's ruin. It's true. I saved the day, and these rolls are very tasty. However, sister seems very happy in taking the credit for these rolls, so I'll let her..... this time. 

I don't have time to clean up my second breakfast because I am late to play with my playdoh. Where is the time going this morning? I convince Daddy to hand me the containers, and I begin my artistic creations. During this creative frenzy of inspiration, I decided to fix the ugly grey hearth. It is now a beautiful collection of bright colors. I can tell that Mommy is very happy that I have fixed this ugly portion of our home. You are welcome, Mommy!

Mommy asks that I clean up my playdoh but becomes distracted when the delivery guy shows up. He delivered our brand-new refrigerator for the farm. It is really big. Luckily for Daddy, I am able to take a break and help direct them with the installation. 

After the fridge has been installed, I decide to play monkey on the stairs. This is usually a fun game, but I hit my knee this time. I run to the fridge and treat this bump with an ice pack. The ice pack reminded me that I needed to go to the potty. The large people in the house act like I cannot do this on my own despite multiple demonstrations to the contrary. It takes some arguing but I finally kicked them out of the bathroom. A girl needs her privacy after all! A baby booty must be wiped carefully so I insist on using as much toilet paper as possible. The large people freak out at the amount of paper in the toilet, but I really think they are overreacting. It has only clogged a few times.

After handwashing, I remembered that I haven't played on the swing yet today. However, Mommy keeps insisting that I clean up the playdoh. How am I supposed to keep to my play schedule if I am constantly being delayed? Mommy didn't agree and really insisted this time, so I complied. Does Mommy realize how much trouble she causes in a day? Probably not. She seems ignorant to the importance of my play schedule. I guess I'll just have to chalk it up to old age and forgetfulness. 

When I finished cleaning up, I saw that they were shucking corn to can for the winter. They were moving quite slow, and I felt it was my duty as the youngest family member to jump in and get this project moving along. We were successful in removing all of the outer coverings from each ear of corn. I reminded Mommy about my severely delayed play schedule, and she agreed that it was time for me to play on the swing with my sister. 

After the swing, I must spend time on the trampoline. You should really consider adding it to your daily exercise routine as it is a fun way to work on those core muscle groups. Our trampoline time was interrupted with a bug fight. You read that right! There were two bugs having a fight on the side of the trampoline. One of them was definitely winning as he remained in the top position the entire time. Sister and I left the trampoline to inform Mommy. 

We had story time. Mommy is a very good reader, but she is horrible at noticing the pictures of kitties and doggies on the page. I must point out every single one of them for her!

I decided to eat and watch a show. I wasn't ready to slow down but it looked like the rest of the family needed quiet time, so I obliged. These big people really need a lot of breaks! 

** a few hours later **

They tricked me! I told them that I didn't need a nap. I am a big girl of three years old. I no longer need naps like a little baby. However, they made me fall asleep while watching my show. I think there must be an implanted device that hypnotizes me within that contraption called a TV. 

Well, I cannot get that time back, but I will make the most of the rest of the day. The remaining portions of the corn (outside and cobs) were still sitting in a bucket on the floor. Did no one remember to take this out to the pigs? Ugh! This is why I cannot afford to take a nap as the large people can be so messy and forgetful. I direct my sister in delivering the bucket to feed the pigs. Those pigs have absolutely no manners. They push and shove each other constantly to reach their food. 

On the way back to the house, my sister steps on a thorn bush. Luckily for her, I am an expert in first aide. I obtain an ice pack from the freezer and bring it to her on the couch. After sitting with her for a few minutes, I realize that my foot now hurts. I rush to get myself an ice pack. Mommy called it sympathy pains. 

It is a good thing that I heal quickly because it was time to clean the floor. I have my own "baby broom" that while small in size, can really clean up a mess. I pushed aside my pain to make sure that the floor was cleaned up properly. 

Daddy is constructing a dividing wall in our garage. He appears to be doing this wrong but refuses to utilize my expertise when I try to assist. I am forced to retreat to my bedroom. I use my blocks to demonstrate to him the proper way to construct a wall. When I show it to Daddy, he shows admiration for my work, but I am unable to tell if he plans to implement my plan. This will require constant monitoring on my part. 

The day is winding down, so we eat supper, and I get ready for bath time. This is a favorite time for Daddy as he gets to sit in his chair and watch me play with my toys in the tub. I try to include him as much as possible by dropping them on the floor and letting him retrieve them for me. He pretends that he doesn't like this game, but I know that it is his favorite. Sometimes, when he looks really bored, I pour water on the floor for him. This game isn't his favorite, but you simply cannot play the same game all the time. Variety is needed even in bath games. 

After bathtime, I get dressed for bed. Daddy insists that I go to bed in my room even though his room is more fun. I am beginning to think he just likes my mattress better than his. Daddy cannot go to sleep on his own so I must help. He lies down and I am forced to sit there with him until he falls asleep. Poor thing! At some point I am really going to have to enforce some form of sleep training for him. That will have to wait until another day as he just looks so pitiful tonight. He really should be getting more rest. Maybe he should be the one taking those afternoon naps that they keep trying to impose upon me?

I hope that you have enjoyed this rendition of a "day in the life". Our toddler is a very active young lady and insists on being a participant in every portion of daily life.