I don't know about you, but staying at home with babes two and under (even my own), is not an idea I really relished. I mean, I love my kids, more than anything or anyone, but days with kids are long...I remember counting down the seconds when I used to babysit.
So Mat Leave Number Two was not really an exciting prospect for me. Again. I love my kids, I really do. I just wasn't sure how long the days would feel...And I figured my social life would be on hiatus, too. And I love being social, sometimes, you know!
Well, I am now over half-way through my Leave and life is beyond swell.
In fact, we've hit a wonderful stride all around, my family and I!
We have a morning routine to which I even actually look forward when one of my darling children awakes me from my slumber (naturally, way earlier than I'd really like.)~!
We spend a good hour or more every morning just hanging out, eating, playing, cartooning, etc. It's actually quite relaxing and special.
No one ever has to rush anywhere (especially not for the first two hours, bringing us to the nice, ripe hour of eight a.m.!)...I know! Why, that's practically lunch time!!!
....
AND!
I've come to learn from our morning nonchalance, that I actually like not rushing to be someplace or do something! (who knew!?)
Apres our morning dalliance, we often have an activity planned of some sort, whether it be sign language, or e and me hitting the gym for a swim, or us all visiting a friend, or on e's twice weekly daycare days, I can be found cleaning, cooking, or napping (when dr b naps, of course!)...
And after our early lunch, on good days, e and dr b and I all nap for two hours.
Sigh.
Our life is pretty darn sweet, especially with the birth of our symbiotic napping schedule--which, btw, is an accomplishment that has taken me a long time and a lot of orchestrating and trial and error to execute! (There are some very frustrating days when one is down, the other up, then the other's down...you get the idea)...
After naps is usually bath and/or walks (never walk a baby before nap-time, I've learned, unless I don't want my own break as well!).
Then it's dr b's dinner, e's snack and then hang outs until five. Then dr b naps, e watches tv (very happily) and I make dinner.
Finally, jb comes home, we all (dr b included), sit down to a nice meal (some food may or may not be thrown of some high chairs, AND, some curse words and exacerbated frustrations may be uttered... but that's really neither here nor there)... It. is. still. a wonderful experience!
And then, of course, there's the 7 and 7:30 bed-time routine that I have now managed to complete all by myself! (jb is so super sad about this new routine, I have to say...er. NOT)
Yes, peeps, Super Mom really has found her groove!
First, e and dr b get all changed into their bed-clothes. e's bottle is made, and she is set up on the couch, at which point I bring dr b upstairs and feed him his bottle and settle him in for the night...I return to e, we do our book, kisses, flying into bed, fans turned on, music repepepepeating (Selena Gomez anybody???)
And then the clock ticks.
It's 7:30ish .... I make my way down the stairs to prepare my tea and nibs...(my nightly vice if you're not my fb friend:)!)
...And every night I always think, 'it's 7:30, do you know where your kids are?' And I smile to myself...
....and then one of my kids wakes up and humbles me back to reality (some nights):)
!!!
It's a crafted and pride-inducing routine and makes me think of the start of the movie About a Boy. Life really is "units of time, each unit consisting of no more than thirty minutes. Full hours can be a little bit intimidating and most activities take about half an hour. Taking a bath: one unit, watching countdown: one unit, web-based research: two units, exercising: three units, having my hair carefully disheveled: four units. It's amazing how the day fills up...."
I really do think, as a mom, I thrive on those units of time! They are the way to go. Much easier to deal with the ever-expansive, 12 hour, child-filled days (of wonder and awe that I utterly enjoy....ahem...) And I find, now that we have our units organized and pretty, I am actually not feeling bored or wondering when bed-time is...or when jb is gonna get home!!! (reminding me yet again of my baby-sitting days when I basically sat by the door, willing the parents to get home by the end of a long day!!!)
As an aside, I will admit, with full disclosure, that JB has, in the past,(on MANY occasions) seen me sitting on our bottom step, with my face plastered with desperation to the front window, LONGING for him to GET THE HELL HOME!!!!
But NOW!
Now we've found our groove, people! I feel, usually, that I have no need for saving at all, as I've found my groove. And I'm in no rush for any of it to change at all...
Though, sadly, I know it will.
In close, I am proud to think about how far we've come, and the hurdles we've leaped over in the past six months...Oh Maternity Leave, Thou Art Way Too Short...
--
and I often wonder, to be absolutely honest, if I'd ever have time for a job; how do people cram them in? (About a Boy)
Stay tuned for tomorrow's post wherein I completely contradict and negate all the strides I've discussed here today!
