Happy Friday

I have absolutely nothing of note to say today...but I have some time and felt like blogging:-) Judging by the broad silence, I am assuming that most of you think that I am, in fact, crazy for going back to work in September. Or, just a bad mother for not staying home with the girls. But I certainly appreciate those of you that told me I am not nuts...even if you are just being nice:-)

Or, maybe everyone just stopped reading because I wrote like four posts in five months:-P That is also a possibility...

Would it help sway you if I told you that I get an office when I go back? To be honest, I will sorta miss my cube, which was nicely tucked in the corner over by the window to keep me out of the traffic flow in the office and afforded me a wonderful view of the harbor. But having my own office makes me feel special, and I will get to decorate it, too. And while I don't have water views any more, I do have a view of the city out through the Bay Back towards Brookline and Newton. So, it's not all bad:-)

Anyway, that is all I have for you...a brief note that they are cleaning out my new office and moving some new furniture in for me (a special desk that sits low enough that I can use it and still have my feet reach the floor maybe:-)?)

Have a great weekend, everyone!

In case you didn't know, I am completely crazy

We have all established that I am, indeed, kinda nuts. If we skip over the parts about running away from home and adopting a 10 year old, we can focus more recently on my thinking that it was a good idea to plow through the first year of business school while pregnant with and then eventually delivering twins. Throw in a couple of months of bed rest and you have a wonderfully easy time period.

So now, with the second year approaching (which, for the uninitiated, is MUCH easier) you would probably think that this girl is looking forward to a little more relaxing schedule that doesn't run her completely ragged. You know...half days of school work combined with half days of hanging with the girls, with a healthy dose of Daughter #1 mixed in as well.

You, of course, would be wrong about that...

I'm going back to work in September. Probably two days a week (maybe not quite full days, TBD).

I know, I know, it's probably not my best idea ever...and I will curse myself for it on a whole bunch of occasions (so you have that to look forward to!) but I really can't stand the idea of being out of the work force for an entire year more.

It is hard to justify financially as well. By the simple measure of making the monthly budget add up, we could probably put the girls in day care five days a week and still be fine, even without any salary from me (and they wouldn't need nearly that much time in day care). So in that sense, I don't really need to work, but it is still leaving a whole lot of money on the table by not working at all. We certainly have a lot of good things we can do with the extra income (like...I think we may move next year, but don't mention it because I will cry.)

And mostly, I just want to get back to it. I like working, I like my job and I like to think of it as a career. I feel like I am a little bit on the sidelines and want to get back into it sooner rather than later.

So, unless I get talked out of it...starting after Labor Day, things will look like this:
Monday: AM at school all day, girls in day care
Tuesday: AM at work all day, girls in day care
Wednesday: AM at home with the girls
Thursday: AM at school all day, girls at home with Grandma
Friday: AM at work all day, girls in day care

Bliss

I went out with some friends last night...which is a pretty rare event these days:-). We were in Boston because the girls had a doctor's appointment and The Boy had a meeting he had to go to, so we decided to just stay overnight rather than drive back. I took that opportunity to meet up with some friends to catch up, enjoy some time off the leash and take advantage of my ability to get totally hammered from one drink.

So, I pumped at 7:00 and then jetted out to meet them as soon as I can...I would have to be home by 10:30 to pump again at the latest, and the further before then that I can have my one drink, the better. So, things went totally according to plan, I had a really nice chat with some friends and got back home at about 10:15...

What did I find? The Boy had gotten both girls to sleep by himself AND had time to clean up the kitchen, run the dishwasher and finish the laundry.

I have never been so in love in my entire life:-)

FX

It's funny how different phrases can mean different things...like Foreign Exchange, which can either be a currency transaction, or can be a student experience.

That, however, is neither here nor there...

A couple of people yesterday raised the idea of Munchkin doing a semester or a year abroad to allow her to be closer to the boyfriend, and I probably should have addressed this yesterday, because the idea has come up between me and several of her other quasi-parents (if she has entertained the idea, she hasn't asked me about it). Unfortunately, I don't really love the idea, at least not for this purpose.

I think the idea of spending a semester or a year abroad, either in high school or college or both, is really wonderful, and if she wanted to do it, I would help her as much as I could. It is a great chance to immerse in a culture in a way that a vacation simply doesn't allow for...and as was pointed out, would sharpen her language skills a lot. Her French is already alarmingly good, and would likely be downright perfect after that much immersion.

What I don't like is the idea that she would be doing it largely to spend more time with a boyfriend. That is just a little bit too serious for her age, and would be too little supervision for me to really feel good about it...at least not now. As she gets older, I would obviously feel differently about it. I also feel like it would be hard to go backwards from that kind of a relationship step...would either of them be happy not seeing each other much after being around each other for that much time?

It could also potentially put a host family in a somewhat awkward position as well, having to determine what is appropriate and inappropriate right off the bat. I know that if an exchange student came to live with me, I wouldn't be totally comfortable right off the bat if she asked to spend a weekend with her boyfriend and his family...

Likewise, I wouldn't be completely thrilled if he announced that he was coming here for the same reason. I would be happy, but I would have some reservations about how the whole thing would work out. It just feels too much like making a major life decision at age 15 (or, in his case, 16)...I am genuinely heartbroken that she misses him as much as she does, I am just not sure that this is the answer.

So, the long and short of it is that spending a year going to school in Paris is not gonna happen anytime soon. Eventually? I wouldn't rule it out, but I have my reservations.

Love can be a cruel bitch

LPEG asked after my last post about my dinner with Munchkin...and I have been meaning to post about that. Truth be told, I just don't know how to solve this or even to make it better...any ideas would be greatly appreciated:-)

She hasn't broken down any more lately, and seems to have stepped back from any other romantic interests. She is also back to thoroughly enjoying her summer...working a ton, making gobs of money, hanging on the beach with her friends and playing with her nieces. Still, there is a very subtle and permanent sadness about her: she just really misses Frenchie, and I think that the reality of their situation has settled in more than it maybe had previously.

He is going to come and stay for a week at the end of the summer, which she is obviously greatly looking forward to...but that doesn't really address the over-arching issues. They are still completely bonkers over each other, and they still live an awfully long ways apart. What's more...there is not even a remote prospect of that changing. I feel like they are at the point that a couple of week long visits over the course of a year is just not enough. At the same time, they just plain like each other too much to write the whole thing off as a bad turn of fate.

So, you see, it has turned into something of a pickle...and this big sister just doesn't have an easy answer for her:-(

Ahh yes, babies.

I can't believe how fast the summer is going...although I guess that makes sense, all things considered. If I could my summer break from Memorial Day until Labor Day, then I am basically half way through it and have barely had a moment to even enjoy it!

OK, that is not entirely true, as I have been hanging out at the beach with my husband, baby girls, sister and best friends...but those two baby girls seem to make the whole thing a bit less relaxing than it used to be!

I guess I should give you some updates on them!

Let's see...LK was bigger when she was born, but she is now smaller...at last check, she weighs about 12 pounds, while MA weighs closer to 14. There are two reasons for this...one, LK has had some reflux issues that made it tough for her to eat for a while; and two, MA eats everything she can get her hands on!!! Seriously, she is an eater, there is no doubt about that. MA has been in size 2 diapers and 6 month clothes for almost a month now...

I haven't breast fed either of them, really, although I have been a diligent pumper so they have eaten very little formula. Not sure how long I will keep that up, as it is a colossal pain in the ass. Maybe, as they start eating solids next month, I will be able to cut back and only pump every 4-6 hours instead of every 3...that would be a big improvement. I will miss my giant boobs, that's for sure!

They are pretty good sleepers, although it is a battle to get them to actually go to bed. But once they go down, they have been good about sleeping 4-5 hours at a time overnight and only waking up to eat and go right back to bed. Last night may have been a breakthrough for MA, as she fell asleep at 8:45 and slept until 4:45. Of course, she ate no less than 13 ounces of milk in the four hours before she went to bed, so I guess she had a lot to sleep off.

We have them in separate cribs now, after they shared one for the first 10 weeks or so. They had gotten too big to sleep sideways in there, and were waking each other up sometimes...so we split them up and it has gone pretty well. They actually don't interact at all, really...and I have been told that they won't start to notice each other until they are at least a year old. That is sort of a bummer, as I am really looking forward to that, but I suppose I will have to wait.

They don't go back to the doctor for another month, so I won't get an official measurement on them until then...and that is also when we are going to start their transition into day care. That will be rough (on me, not them!) but will hopefully not be too painful.

Well, gotta run...it's feeding time!!! Toodles:-)

Checking in

I have been told by some very reliable sources that it is absurdly hot back in the city, which makes me feel much better about being here at the lovely, temperate beach. Unfortunately, I have been feeling a little bit lonely of late...and sort of longing for being home.

Which is silly, as I am not remotely alone...Munchkin is here and there are plenty of other quasi-family members around, all of whom have been of huge assistance with the little nuggets. But The Boy has been at home for the week, as have Smoking Hot Roommate and Big Sis, and I have just felt a wee bit isolated. I will get over it;-) The Boy is back Friday night, and that will make me feel much better!

Munchkin is having sort of a rough couple of days, too. I say "sort of" because she is still living a life that everyone I have ever met is jealous of;-). But she has some boy issues...mostly around really, really missing Frenchie. There is another boy that likes her a whole lot that she sorta likes and is at least moderately interested in.

This ended up leading to a very tearful breakdown last weekend about her conflicted feelings and her confusion over her current boyfriend situation. In the end, she told me that, were Frenchie closer, there is no way on Earth that she would have any serious interest in the other boy. And that sorta broke my heart just a little bit:-( She has been a little bit not herself all week, too, and I really wish that I had more time for her than I do...I feel like I am not being a good big sister. I am hoping that I can get my pretend Aunt and Cousin to watch the girls for an hour tonight so I can take her out to dinner and talk about it. And SHR is going to bring one of her friends down to stay for the weekend, which should cheer her up, too.

Beyond that, not a whole lot to report! Each day I feed, burp, change and repeat, with intermittent efforts to get some sleep in there as well:-) If I am really lucky, I can get them to nap in their pack and play just inside the door to the back deck so that I can lay out and get some sun. Not terribly exciting, eh?