Sadly, No Pictures

I can tell that I'm back to work because a) I have been neglecting the blog, b) my house is in a constant state of disarray, c) I haven't taken hardly any pictures of my kids in the past two weeks (hence the posting sans pictures), and d) I'm writing this post in lettered order, just like the way I talk when I teach.

Being back to work has been a real wake-up call. Life's pace has certainly picked up since August 30th. We're back to getting up really early and having a short-and-sweet evening routine that consists of dinner, baths, and jammies. And although I love my job (most parts of it, anyway), I do miss my leisurely mornings of coffee and the Today show. I miss taking the kids to the park on a beautiful day and having a picnic. I miss noticing the little things that change with the kids, like Ainsley's new sounds or skills, and Eli's new expressions and interests. Now, it's rushing in the morning, busy evenings, and little time for just being together. Weekends are packed with grocery and Target runs, cleaning the house, grading papers and finishing any little projects I wanted to work on.

Parenting has become quite the challenge lately, too. Eli is now starting to bite, or at least he has bitten twice now. I can't tell you the despair I feel sometimes when Eli is in full-on 2-year-old-tantrum mode. I swear, I just hope for patience and deep breathe my way through his fits (this ironically sounds a lot like labor and giving birth--if only there were an epidural of some sort for tantrums). Life is so personal for me (just ask anybody who has seen me cry after a teenager has said something snotty to me), and any time Eli is upset or can't get himself out of a fit, I get upset and eventually start crying. He sometimes hits and says hurtful things like this:

Me: C'mon Eli. I'm going to make pancakes for breakfast!

Eli: No! I don't like pancakes!

Me: Please don't yell, Eli. It hurts Mommy's feelings. (Side note: why am I still referring to myself in 3rd person, even though he's old enough to know who I am?)

Eli: You don't have any feelings.

Okay, at this point, two emotions are going through my mind. One, I'm laughing because, let's face it, this come-back is more clever than anything I could have thought of on my own. And two, I desperately hold back the tears because, contrary to what my son says, I do, in fact, have feelings and they are easily hurt. I can only hope that once Eli turns three that he will magically change into a completely delightful little boy. Until then, I'm going to keep praying for patience.

Ainsley, too, has been growing and changing like crazy. She's now sitting up on her own (which makes her spit up quite a bit and creates a major, smelly mess) and giggling. She seems to be a serious and mellow baby, but also one who likes to party at 4:00 a.m. For the past few weeks now, Ainsley has been l-u-v-ing the 4:00 a.m. hour. She's up and ready to party and play. Her parents, however, don't feel the same way. Let's just hope this is a phase. A real short phase.

Jay and I are trying to remember that we're married and not just business partners in the great game of Parenting Life. We're looking forward to MEA break where we can hopefully ship the kids to Little Falls to have a nice extended stay with Grandma and Grandpa so we can have a few days of quiet meals, movies, and sleeping in.

So that's the scoop for now. My goal for the next blog posting--pictures. I promise.