Equity

The Hoos is going away for the weekend. This is unprecedented. The most either of us have been away from our daughters is for a single night - a handful of nights when LP slept at one of our parents' houses and my single, horrible business trip.

That is not to say that we are never alone with our children individually. The Hoos gets the girls up and out of the house without me around three days a week. I spend the afternoons and early evenings with them five days a week. He has occasional week-night work events and I have the occasional event or mom date. This will just be the first time that I am on my own for two consecutive days and nights.

By virtue of being mom, I spend more time with the girls. The Hoos works more and longer hours (and brings home more of the bacon). He does yard work and housework that necessitates not having children underfoot (gardening and kids sometimes mix, but not when your kids pick EVERY green tomato or pull each petal off each flower).

So, most weekends I do take the girls out alone for a bit - to the farmer's market, to the grocery store, the playground, on walks, but in the back of my mind I know that I will get some time to myself later in the day (usually nap time when AK is down and LP is awake but slightly more subdued).

If this was any other weekend, I would likely have packed the girls up and driven down to my parents house on Long Island for the weekend. Alas, my parents are visiting my brother and his family in California.

I am now in programming mode, trying to at least have a few planned activities for each day so the girls don't drive me crazy. In addition, even thought I usually keep AK home with me on Fridays, she is off to day care so I can run errands (and maybe even fit in a pedi) and have a little bit of time for myself.

We will survive (perhaps barely), I will be stronger for the experience. And, as my friend MLH says, I am banking points for a ladies day at the outlets. Then again, why do I need to bank time? Who decides what goes where on the balance sheet? Is it really equal in the first place?

I Got Lucky!

So did the Hoos.

Not like that you pervs! My grandma reads this!

My little AK is just the smiliest, happiest little munchkin of a baby you have ever seen. She is almost always grinning, showing off her four front teeth. She goes down to bed super easily and since hitting the 11 month mark has slept peacefully through the night (okay, until 7:30 or so). Apparently her top two molars are breaking through. I wouldn't have known without the doctor telling me, because she certainly doesn't complain about it. How many little kids get excited about chomping on a piece of broccoli as they stroll through the grocery store? She is certainly one a kind - the best kind.

And my big girl? Well, she is a unique peach. A talker, a charmer, a sweetheart and the most wonderful pain in the arse. She would rather read a book than watch TV. After requesting that our visiting rabbit hop around, she stands on a chair and cheers as he hops around far below. Little pieces of paper become projects to be brought in to my office for decoration. Discussing "when mommy was little like me" and watching videos from "when she was a baby" provide hours of entertainment. She still sleeps with her nappies (baby blankets) even while gleefully acknowledging that she is "too big and they don't work anymore. And, best of all, she has hugs and love for everyone - from the open arms she sports when greeting her friends on the playground, to the "hard kisses" she gives when trying to prolong bedtime.

My little love bugs are fabulous. There, I said it. I know, I say it all the time, but I don't think I say it nearly enough.

Yes, indeed, Mama got lucky.

thanks to MLH for the photo of us in our inadvertently matching outfits

The List

Last night my brother-in-law and his family came over for dinner. Sitting around the table talking we got on the subject of grocery shopping and lists.

LP, wanting to be included in what was a silly conversation, stopped chomping on her gingerbread cookie and announced, "Miss Miller has a list." Miss Miller is her preschool teacher.

When I asked what was on Miss Miller's list she said, "My name, sometimes."

Of course, I asked why her name would be on the list, "For when I'm bad."

Points for honesty.

Until my follow up question asking if her name was on the list today.

"Yes. And I got a sticker."

Not that I think she is lying, I just thing her little brain moves so fast it blurs things together.

Like last week when she came home with a rubber ducky for "...using my listening ears and pushing Jacob and Miss Miller chasing me around the room and catching me with her legs."

I have no idea what happened with Miss Miller (and when I asked she gave me an absolute blank stare, Miss Miller isn't exactly the chasing type) but the rest seems plausible if not mixed up.

Bunnysitting

In general, LP loves animals. From afar. She waves at them, points them out and runs from window to window in our house when a dog walks by. She insists on visiting the animals at Stew Leonard's but then jumps into my arms if one actually moves toward her.

The Hoos is also a friend of animals. Given the opportunity he would add a four- or no-legged friend to our house. If only he could actually get LP to ask for one. He even takes her to pet stores and prompts her, "Would you like a [bearded dragon]?" and her answer is always a resounding no and emphatic shake of the head.

This week we are testing LP's resolve.

My brother-in-law and his family are on vacation. And so is Coco, their pet rabbit. Except they are in Florida and Coco is at our house.

Oddly enough, LP has really taken to Coco. She has even asked me to open his cage so she can pet him, but not - heaven forbid - let him out. She also asks to feed him salad and reminds me to clean his "glitter box."AK, my brave daughter, is much less of a fan. Any sudden movements from Coco drive her screaming from the room.

Last night the Hoos and I sat in the office where we have Coco's cage and let him out for some exercise. The poor thing has been cooped up since Friday. Not exactly how the Hoos and I wanted to spend our quiet time, but a necessary task.

Suffice it to say, I don't think we will be getting a pet anytime soon.

If Only...

...I didn't have such horrible bedhead.

Wipe Out

The sun was out, there was a breeze, it wasn't too humid...it was the perfect night for a post-school playground visit.

As I shuttled LP, AK, and their various lunch boxes, bags and linens out to the playground, I waved to some friends, and was eager to relax on a bench and catch up.

And then my heel got caught.

And I went down.

Holding AK.

Fortunately I was able to cradle AK and no part of her body actually hit the ground. This was confirmed by another mom that actually watched me fall, helpless. AK did cry, but from the fear of watching the pavement rapidly approach as we fell as opposed to any injury.

Of course, since protecting my baby was my number one priority me knees and other body parts were not so fortunate. My ego and pride were also injured in the accident. Further exacerbated by LP checking in with me from the slide every two minutes, "Mom, are you okay?'

Rocker Girl

Good Love

Tonight AK said something that sounded close to "da-da" but it wasn't. She already says da-da. The Hoos figured out that she was saying LP's name. When I asked AK "Where is Di-dee?" she pointed at LP. It was awesome.

I already knew she loved her big sister. But now she has an actual name for her.

Tonight also included a change to AK's bedtime routine. Up until tonight her final bottle was consumed in my arms in the glider in her bedroom. When she was done I would pop her into bed. Now that she has teeth, I knew that I really needed to start brushing them. So, I held her in my arms downstairs with the rest of the family until she finished her bottle. I then put her down and told her to give Daddy and LP kisses. She went right over to the Hoos, mouth open wide making the "kiss" sound. When she was done with him she walked over to LP in the same position and bent down to give her a kiss.

I think I am in love. If only I could steal one of those kisses...

The Art of Subtlety

Last night when the Hoos walked into the house, he greeted the girls, looked at me and asked, "Did you wear those shoes to work?"

I was wearing green Crocs with my work clothes. I stated that I had to run out to the car to get something I had forgotten (his dry cleaning!) and they were easier to slip on than my brown heels.

"Oh, okay, because there is something weird with them and your pants. Your pants are too long or something." I pointed out that my pants were the right length when worn with the aforementioned heels.

"No, it isn't that. They are weird on your butt. Can I throw them out?"

Awesome. I wore pants all day that my husband thinks make my butt look funky in a bad way. Talk about a shot to the confidence. And he wasn't done.

"Where did you get that shirt?" I looked down at it. It was a new shirt I had bought over the weekend. It was kind of sheer so I wore a tank underneath. I liked both - having just spent actual money on them.

"Better yet, why?" At this point I am sure he could sense that perhaps it wasn't the conversation I was hoping to have with him.

"It is just that you are so pretty..."

I am going to look at the bright side - Looks like mama just won herself a shopping spree.

Crying for Attention

Yesterday as I rushed the girls out of the house, AK fell on the walkway between the house and garage. As usual, she was not deterred and pulled herself up and kept walking in an effort to prove that she was a walker and a "big girl" like her older sister. When she reached the car, I quickly scooped her up, strapped her into her car seat and ran around to the other side of the car to inspect LP's straps (as a big girl she now insists on strapping herself in; thankfully she has gotten more proficient and it actually saves time) .

When we got to our destination and I went to liberate AK from her car seat I noticed her knee, already a bit scabby, was a bit bloody and had new scrapes on top of her healing ones. This is so different from LP. Not LP when she was one, but LP now.

I love her, she is adorable and beautiful and entertaining, but she loves to lay on the drama. If she is feeling attention starved, any teeny tiny bump is a boo-boo requiring surgery, or at least a bandage (preferable one with Dora or a princess), any small tumble is like a fall from a building, requiring being immediately picked up and carted around for the next half hour (especially if doing something Mommy specifically told you not to do and yelled at you for doing), each time her sister accidentally scratches or pushes back while being attacked is cause for tears that would make Sarah Bernhardt proud.

My hope is that the little sister will pass the lesson to suck it up on to the big sister.

Except that yesterday AK was feeding herself and her finger slipped into her nose by accident. Her cousins and I responded with laughter. This meant that she repeatedly stuck her finger up her nose while cracking up. Not a lesson LP needs to learn (the nose is a fascinating orifice after all).