The other list

Here's the other list I developed as part of my it's-really-time-to-go-back-to-work therapy session. It's a bit ironic because I also had to do a little personal therapy at the beginning of my maternity leave. Like most mothers, I am racked with guilt about anything and everything related to my children. I felt absolutely horrible for sending Miles to daycare after Weston was born. I finally looked in the mirror and told myself the reasons why it was GOOD for Miles to still go to daycare even though I was at home. A friend reminded me that Miles and I had 12 weeks of time together after he was born, and Weston deserved the same. Tanner and I also know how much Miles thrives from his daily routine, so we wanted life to stay as "normal" for him as possible after Weston was born. Turns out it was a win-win for everyone - Miles loves daycare and told me nearly every night that his favorite part of the particular day was having Weston come with me to pick him up. We're so grateful that he loves his little brother...and that he was relatively clueless about the fact that Weston and I were home every day :)

Anyway, here it goes -

Top 10 Things I LOVED About Being On Maternity Leave

10. Experiencing neighborhood life on weekdays. You can learn a lot about your neighbors by staying home during the day.

9. Baking cookies, preparing lavish family meals, cleaning out the fridge, organizing closets…the list goes on and on. Just kidding. Not much of that happened. But it was nice to have the time to think about doing it!

8. Catching up on Miles’ baby book and getting a good start on Weston’s book. Fun stuff!

7. Napping with Weston! I love my sleep and I love my baby…it was the best of both worlds. Who could resist napping with such a snuggly little guy?

6. Speaking of sleep… Waking up at 2am to feed/snuggle Weston instead of waking up to stew over something related to work. When given the opportunity to sleep long enough to dream (!), they were actually pretty decent dreams.

5. Watching morning TV, which is not too shabby. Afternoon TV gets a little borrrrring, though. I strongly recommend the CBS Early Show (there’s this news anchor guy named Jeff who is…ahem…fun to watch), followed by Ellen. She’s hilarious. Weston and I danced with her most mornings.

4. Following the schedule that Weston and I set for ourselves. We were able to go to lunch with friends (Natalie and I are honorary managers at the bagel shop), run errands when we felt like it, visit with grandmas and grandpas, get Miles from school early when we missed him (which was a lot), and snuggle any time the urge hit us (which was a lot).

3. The chance to sneak a peek into Miles’ world away from home. Weston and I spent hours and hours with Miles and his friends at daycare. We got to know each of them and their little quirks, and they got to know us. We ran crazy in the gym with them, shared snacks with them, and got to do what all preschoolers do best – just play. Now I really know why Miles is such a happy and loving boy.

2. Watching Weston grow from a sleepy newborn to a cooing, smiling, and alert baby…and to now be able to share this happy boy with his new “family” at Kids Korner, and watch as he makes new friends and learns new tricks.

1. Being a mommy all day, every day. There was no competition for my time or energy – it was all about my boys. Life doesn’t get any better than that.