Closed for Business

Birdie's on day 3 of not feeling like himself. At first, I took the fever and crankiness as the obligatory teething routine but after seeing his eyes (always a tell-tale for my kids), I rallied to have the doctor examine him. J took him in and of course, ears, throat, lungs, etc. checked out fine. She figured it was a viral infection of sorts (which was also corroborated by my own mother whom I should have brought him to in the first place and saved a co-pay ;)).

At any rate, as I begin to gather items to sell on consignment and/or give to friends, reality hit me hard. We are done having kids. I can't believe I just typed that out loud. But, it's true. Although J won't commit to any, ahem, permanent methods for either of us, and unless we win the lottery, we are done. I'm okay with it. These two sweets keep me busy, entertained, and plenty happy. A third would be wonderfully welcomed, but I'm liking the dynamic we have right now. 2 boys, 2 girls= 1 square with four corners of love. I can't believe I just typed that out loud either.

Life is good.

Birdie's face when I told him no more sisters or brothers.

A Lot Can Happen

A lot can happen in 11 days. I came home to the following:

• 2 new teeth (one on the top, one on the bottom) (that makes six total now)

• a totally unassisted sitter

• a Birdie who HATES his swing now

Plus, some of this...

And this...

This...

Blurry but the best I could do as this pose doesn't last long.

That...

And lastly...

Yup, Birdie is pulling himself into a standing position. Time to lower the crib. Again.

I'm glad to be home.


Thank God I wasn't gone a month.

Leaving on a Jet Plane

Tomorrow I leave Birdie for almost 2 weeks. At this moment, I feel exhausted with preparations and giddy with excitement mixed with pangs that I will be away from him (and E) for so long. I have left E before, in fact, this time almost exactly last year for 4 nights for a conference. But, this time it's double the hearts away from my heart. Don't get me wrong, I am beyond happy to be going. The idea of maybe sleeping through the night for the first time since sometime in 2008 is a delightful thought and perhaps, I won't need to selfishly (and sheepishly) pretend I have to go to the bathroom just so I can close the door and eat a piece of chocolate that I don't wish to share with a 2.5 year old. Oddly, these are the same things that I am going to miss. I am looking forward to sharing my pictures and hopefully inspiring them to visit and travel one day too. Look where your Mama went. Look what she did. Look what she saw.

Yesterday Birdie and I took a walk along the lake. It was a beautiful day and there was no.one.around. It's almost like they knew we were coming and everyone vacated just to make our time even more special.

It worked.

This afternoon, I'm taking E for ice cream where she'll promise me she'll be good. Just like her brother did. And I know they will be, because they are always good.

See you soon... Mommy loves you. :)

Birdie's stash whilst I'm gone. 11 days away x 3 feedings a day= 33. I counted the bags today and guess how many I have? I am SO proud of this.