wEeKeNd

Aside from being too short (aren't they always??) my weekend included:
-getting two meals put together and in the freezer
-making a couple batches of cookies (early start on Valentines treats?)
-high school wrestling
-children that were actually pretty good during mass on Sunday
-Dinner. At a restaurant. With real silverware. And children in tow. Twice!
-Time for cuddles on the floor, a few new books to read, and rides for the kids on Mom's leghorse
-Finding out that Kelloggs took my favorite cereal and fillled it with chocolate (Are you kidding me??)
-getting to spend time with family to celebrate a birthday (and to quote Logan, we got to eat "very yummy Happy Birthday cake")
-a brief, gentle snow that accumulated just enough to make everything beautiful and white
-a quick visit from adopted grandparents (=neighbors) whom the kids adore.
-a couple of overdue telephone conversations (yep, with actual talking--no texting, tweeting, or facebooking about it)

I simply don't know if it gets any better than this. These, friends, are a few of my favorite things!

Getting the Best of Me

I sat down to post a few new pics of my kiddos, and this is the only one I could get to upload. I think its fitting, however. I'll try again later for the rest of them.

A week or so ago I had some extra time before clinic, so I decided to run a few errands. I grabbed some groceries and stopped to drop them off at home. The babysitter was there, cleaning up the kids' breakfast dishes. The kids were in the living room, each playing with their respective toys, laughing, and talking to each other across the room. They were perfectly content. I promptly asked the babysitter who the children were, and asked her where she'd stashed my kids. I mentioned that I never enjoy such peacefulness when they are both awake, and she alluded to the idea that this was pretty much their morning routine for her.
As I drove in to work, I entertained a huge wave of self-pity as I realized that my babysitter often gets the best of my children. It makes sense. They wake up, eat breakfast, and get dressed. They are well rested and are enjoying the excitement of another day and prospective adventures. They haven't had time to annoy one another, have full tummies, and aren't bored. By the time I get home in the evening, they may or may not have napped well, have torn throught their toys and found a few to argue over, and they most assuredly have some sort of foodstuff in their hair.
Then I thought about it a little bit more, and realized they probably feel the same way about me. I take my well rested, clean, fresh face to work every day. By 6 pm, the mom who walks through the door has devoted her whole brain to 25 people during their clinical encounters, argued with insurance companies (or providers or patients or nursing staff or hospital administration-ha!), been frustrated by difficult diagnoses, laughed with the clinical staff, spent an hour and a half talking into a tape recorder, and only wishes that whatever is crusted in her hair has come from a food product. Certainly "the best of her" was exhausted at one of those junctures.
I am trying to be very aware of who gets "the best of me" from now on. Certainly, everyone deserves the best of me, but I'm only human. I am so grateful for awesome help and a wonderful babysitter who takes great care of my kids and tries to keep things consistent for them. She teaches them invaluable lessons, and I couldn't ask for a better surrogate during the day. I am grateful for a wonderful husband who helps out at home in ways that several men probably don't even realize exist. He's flexible and patient. I'm also grateful for partners and a clinic who realize that I'm a Mom 100% of the time and that once in a while I need to reserve a bit of "the best of me" to take home.

hacked!

Sorry the blog has been unavailable the last few days. . .thanks to my faithful readers for the heads' up. Looks like it got hacked in to. I guess someone just couldn't keep their virtual fingers off the juicy details of our dramatic life. Anyway, I'm hoping things are back to normal.

While I'm here I'll provide a brief update (again, pics will probably come later as I'm a little short on time)

We had an awesome Christmas weekend. It was jam packed with travel, food, laughs, (not so much sleep) and of course, we were all spoiled with thoughtful gifts from everyone. A few notables include Logan's bison hat that scored big points at tonight's local basketball game, Logan and Kate's new kid-sized table and chairs (Kate was asleep when we put it together. When she woke up Logan led her to it and said "Look Kate, a seat for Logan, and a seat for Kate." It was precious.) Kate also scored a new stroller for her baby, which has helped to take her doll, several grapes, and a plastic giraffe for a walk when they needed one.

After a few short days of work , I enjoyed a long New Years holiday weekend. Most of that was consumed with a wedding for my dear friend, Abby. We got to reconnect with a number of friends, which was wonderful. Logan and Kate spent most of the weekend in the hotel room and were awesome. I took Logan swimming in the hotel pool, perhaps his first time swimming for this deprived child. He just kept saying "Big water! Big bathtub!" Guess I should work harder to get him to the pool. Special thanks to Grammie and Papa for the help with the kids all weekend.

I'm back to work tomorrow and am not looking forward to it. 2012 is off and running and it looks like its gonna be another dead sprint. Guess maybe it's time for new shoes-ha!

Best to you and yours in the new year. We'll be back soon!