"Where's my stapler..."

The title of this post is not that funny unless you've seen "Office Space" and unless you say that line in the voice of Milton. Then it's funny. :)

I'm back with my stapler at work and things have been going pretty smoothly. I started back on July 1st and got to ease back into things by working for two days and then getting a three day weekend...not too shabby. I will say that the transition has been a whole lot easier the second time around. When I went back to work after having Anna, I was a wreck. I just thought of her all day and imagined the worst was happening, like Daddy forgetting to feed her, or her crying the whole day because she missed me so much. Well, these things did not happen, and eventually I came to trust that she was okay. I am so much more laid back with the second child, mostly because I have the trust in my rockin' husband that he is the best daddy in the world. The kids are at home with him until about 3:00 (when he needs to start getting ready for work) and then Dane brings them to our friend Jodi's house and she watches them until I get off at 5:00. Jodi has a little girl, Francheska, who is 3 and she and Anna play great together. So far, things have been going really well.

This is just as much of an adjustment for Dane as it is for me. That's a lot of work for him to have both kids all day and then work all night. That's basically working two jobs and only getting paid for one! I mean, I know I work all day and then have the kids at night, but there's a little something called "bedtime" and that's when I get "mommy time". Dane doesn't really get much time to himself. Maybe during naptime if he's lucky enough to have them both sleeping at the same time, but other than that he's on the go all the time. I asked him how he truely feels about it, and he said it's not as overwhelming as he thought and then he said "they're awesome little people...I love hanging out with them." How lucky am I?

I miss my kiddos like crazy during the day. Lucky for me, I work only about 3 miles away from our house, so I get to come home every day and see my family for about 1/2 hour and eat a meal with them. Being away certainly makes me appreciate them more when I do get to be home. I have more patience for them and I find myself being more interactive with them...I feel I'm a better mom when I work. There's a small part of me that feels guilty for saying that, but I guess I'm just being honest. I like getting up and showering each morning and putting on nice clothes. I like the adult interaction and to feel needed for things other than changing a blowout diaper, nursing, and putting my hormonal 2 year old in timeouts all day. Oh, and I have to say that pumping at work is actually going really well. There are several of us that just had babies and are back to work, so HR put up a great curtain the woman's locker room for all of us "pumping" mothers! We seem to be on the same schedule for pumping, so it's not uncommon for a couple of us to be in there at the same time...kind of awkward at first, but I just have to realize that she's feeling just as much like a cow as I am. :)

We are all getting use to our new routine and one thing is for sure...weekends are blissful. Having all of us home day and night as a family is something we treasure much more now! My family rocks my world and my heart is overwhelmed with how blessed I am.