Wednesday, January 30, 2008

Well We DO Live in Ohio

Like many other toddlers, my girls love their Disney movies. They can't get enough of their princesses, Cinderella being the ultimate capital-P-princess. They also love the Pixar movies, especially Cars. Mater pretty much cracks Rachel up. Anna proclaims the character's silliness at regular intervals. We have watched this modern classic approximately six and a half gazillion times.

A few days ago Rachel woke up from her nap earlier than Anna so we had some quiet time together downstairs. With a giggle she batted her eyelashes and repeated something to me that I could not understand. This is rare anymore because she speaks very clearly these days. It sounded like something ending in "-ing" and I took a few guesses but she just patiently repeated herself, smiling wider. I finally realized what it was - her favorite Mater line: "Aw dang." She confirmed with a belly laugh and then repeated it three more times just to amuse herself.

Saturday, January 26, 2008

Change of Schedule

My typical weekday schedule when I was a working mother:

7:00 am: Wake up, spend half an hour getting myself ready
7:30 am: Get girls up, changed, dressed and out the door
7:50 am: Spend 60-75 minutes on commute, including stop at Tim Horton's for the girls' required blueberry bagels
9:00 am: Drop girls at sitters and get to office
5:00 pm: Leave office, pick up girls
5:15 pm: Spend 60-75 minutes on commute home
6:30 pm: Arrive home, make dinner while being nagged by children who are putting on spectacularly dramatic display of hunger
7:30 pm: Kid time - play, read, sing, dance, cuddle with children; bathe them if necessary, get them ready for bed
9:30 pm: Kids hopefully now alseep; do load of laundry and clean up kitchen
10:30 pm: Watch tv, read, take shower
11:00 pm: Bed time

This is my typical schedule now that I am at home:

9:00 am (-ish): Wake up, take 2 minutes getting myself ready
9:15 am (-ish): Hear Anna calling "Mommy, come get me!"
Side note: I do realize how lucky I am to have a three-year-old who not only loves her crib and has never asked for a big girl bed (although she has slept in them elsewhere), but also waits for me to come and get her in the morning. While I am counting my blessings, I also realize how lucky I am to have children who sleep this late.
9:16 am: Let Anna open the door as we go to get Rachel who is waiting for us with a beaming smile. "I get up!" she announces.
The remainder of the morning is spent eating breakfast, cleaning up after breakfast, starting dinner if necessary, emptying the dishwasher, starting laundry and usually some Disney movie featuring a princess.
Late morning is when errands are run if any are needed. Otherwise we do a non-tv related activity - taking a walk if weather permits, playing with play-dough, coloring, reading
1:00 pm: Lunch
2:00 pm: Nap time, baby. I have the best kids.
2:00 - 5:00: Mommy time. Cleaning, laundry, cooking, yes but also internet usage, bad tv on DVR, the occasional nap. This is also when I normally shower.
5:00 -9:30 pm: More toddler time including dinner, play, bath and usually another Disney movie. Preferably with a princess.

I always felt frazzled when I was working. I always felt strained for time. I was always exhausted. And I was always in my damn car.

I do not miss the needy clients, the office politics or the heinous commute. But I will admit to sometimes missing the eight straight hours per day someone wasn't calling me Mommy, the Friday lunch time discussions of Grey's Anatomy, the excuse to wear cute uncomfortable shoes.

I don't feel guilty about occasionally fantasizing about those days, because all in all I am pleased with the trade off.

Friday, January 25, 2008

Still Here

Wow. The blog is still here. I'm still here. I can't believe that the last time I posted Rachel was just starting to growl. Now she's a whirling dervish of a two-year-old, uttering entire sentences while flashing a smile capable of stopping me in my tracks. Meanwhile Anna is a tall leggy three-year-old who not only reminds me daily that she is a fairy princess but also uses that status as the reason why household rules simply do not apply to her.

For the past six weeks I have been a stay at home mother. It is much much harder than I imagined it to be, even with two relatively well-behaved girls who still nap pretty much like clockwork. I want to start writing more. I guess that's one of those statements that mean nothing anymore, a New Year's resolution type declaration: I want to start eating better. I want to get to the gym more often. We shall see if the next post comes within the next year and a half.