These ages that both of you are in are now what I would describe as easy, but they are so much fun. There are many many days when I take notice of the fact that we will likely look back on these days with fond memories as well as a question as to how we were juggling it all. One thing is for certain, regardless of the craziness of it all, being your parents is the coolest gig yet.

Andy and I really needed the eleven plus days off of work. We enjoyed the heck out of our kids and reveled in the lack of schedule and commitments. In all honestly, I am surprised my adventure-seeking husband didn’t get cabin fever because, well, we were in the cabin (cabin being our home) a lot. It was great.

There was a pretty big sucky part to the time though, actually two pretty big sucky parts but the second one was planned. Before I go into more detail let me warn you that this is a TMI post so if you don’t want to look at us differently because you know some intimate medical information, please stop reading now. Don’t worry, its nothing too crazy but I always want to error on the side of warning you.

Okay, you are still reading, so considered yourself warned.

Here’s to scooping poop out of a potty training toilet, having your toddler bend over to wipe her bottom, cleaning poop out of your baby’s lady parts, navigating your toddler’s mood swings, fighting over what your toddler is going to wear in the morning, the squeal from your baby when you have left her in the bouncer a smidge too long, the constant attempt to get your toddler to eat the same thing you are eating for dinner, the constant attempt to get your toddler to eat anything for dinner, the constant attempt to get your baby to eat solid foods, pre-nap time meltdowns, pre-bedtime meltdowns, tears in the bathtub, total and complete drama over having caked on food or dirt wiped from your toddler or baby’s face, constant negotiations, refusal to sleep in ANY day of the week including Saturday, the never-ending picking up of toys, mashed food below the dining table, sippy cups with curdled milk, ants in the bedroom feasting on a forgotten toddler snack, blow-outs, endless laundry, spit up, milk splatter all over the house, the annoying whine of the breast pump, carrying a 30-pound baby/carseat combo through the daycare every day, taking five bags to work every morning, taking three bags to daycare every morning, stained clothes and last but not least dealing with every bug that comes through town with the sick days to prove it.

A couple of weeks ago, I received an email from my good friend who lives in China.  She was asking for some advice on dealing with some of the challenges of caring for a young baby as her baby is less than two-months-old.  Apparently most of the Chinese parenting books are written from the perspective [...]

I had done the math on breastfeeding and drinking ahead of time and come to the following conclusion.  Over the previous 36 hours, I had pumped eight ounces of milk with my handy dandy, Europe friendly (no plugs) hand pump.  Eloise eats four ounces every three hours.  I breastfed her soon after we arrived in the tent (Hooter Hider meet Oktoberfest) which drained my milk supply and bought me some time.  I figured I had nine hours to consume a moderate amount of alcohol and become completely sober before I would have to feed her again.  Alcohol leaves breast milk at the same rate as it leaves your bloodstream, so I determined I probably shouldn’t have both liters of beer, but I would likely be safe drinking 1.5 liters as long as I drank a lot of water and ate a lot of food as well.  Luckily, the waitresses were very attentive and this was never a problem.

Finally, listen to your body and your maternal instincts. I was planning to take a nap today because I feel really run down from this whole ordeal but then something told me to get in the shower. I took a HOT shower and massaged the clog area lightly because I vowed to be nicer to myself today…I couldn’t handle any more pain from compression massage. Then I heard Eloise crying from her crib even though she had only gone down for a nap ten minutes earlier. I finished showering, dried off and then went to get her from her crib. Even though it was not time to eat, she nursed and removed the plug. We were both supposed to be sleeping and instead my instinct told me to shower and hers told her to wake up and cry and then eat and voila, the issue was resolved.

I’ve been a bit absent this week because there has been A LOT going on. It’s really one of the craziest weeks of the past few years.

I think you will understand why I haven’t written when I tell you we have been dealing with an ear infection, nursing strike, clogged duct, two Stella & Dot trunk shows, the biggest and most exciting promotion of my career (and of course celebrating that) and the extra work that comes with doing two jobs (new and old job) on top of all of the usual stuff. Not to mention, we still don’t feel like we have really caught our breaths since vacation and I have about three vacation blog posts yet to write.

The whirlwind is going to continue for a little while so my posts will be less frequent for a couple of weeks. I do hope to get at least Oktoberfest Part II up this weekend though.

4:52am.  The iPhone alarm begins to chime. I press snooze. 5:00am. Try again. I rub my eyes and get out of bed. I try and focus my eyes while I have my moment in the bathroom. There is a slight stirring in the nursery.  She knows I need her. A light from the other room [...]

Today I returned to the working world.  Before I say anything more, a huge thanks to everyone who wrote comments, sent emails, texted me, wrote tweets, visited me in my cube and called me offering your support on this difficult day.  While a few of them did lead to me shedding some tears, I wholeheartedly [...]