We survived!

I feel like I need one of those cheesy tee shirts you see in touristy areas.  You know the ones?  They say things like "I survived Niagara Falls!" or "I survived the Demon Drop!"  Only mine would read "I survived two weeks of two under two by myself!  And only have four vomit-stained shirts to prove it!"  Not that that's too impressive to many moms, who do it day in and day out.  But the past two weeks?  Longest. Of. My. Life.  There were lots of good things (visits with friends, hugs and kisses from Amelia, William started sleeping better) but the perpetual Negative Nancy in me likes to dwell on the bad (TWO teething babies at the SAME time, that whole quarter-swallowing incident, etc.)  Either way, Paul's ship is set to arrive tomorrow at 12:15.  It's true.  I have an email from the captain to prove it!  :)

Let me just say that I love my children.  I love them more than I ever thought I could love another person.  I ache when they aren't near me (really, truly, I do).  But it will be SO NICE to have some help!!  I've felt a lot of guilt lately because this face?

This one gets upset with me often.  Because I can't smother her with kisses and hugs and lavish 100% of my attention on her.  She is NOT IMPRESSED with my marginal multi-tasking skills.  Because this one?

Wants to be held all the time.  And while I love the baby cuddles, sometimes I need both hands to accomplish silly things, like loading the dishwasher, folding laundry and changing his big sister's diaper.  Oh no, not acceptable in William World.  (I really need to find my Baby Bjorn...anyone seen it?)  He's decided now is a good time to start teething, so it's lots of fun at our house!!  He's in a great mood!! 

I really need to count my blessings though, because both babies have been (for the most part) wonderful while I've been handling them solo.  Of course we have our moments.  Life is never easy.  But when the constant whining, fussing and complaining gets to me, and I find myself counting down the hours until bedtime, I've been trying to remember that I'm going to miss this.  All of this.

I'll miss picking up the MILLION packing peanuts from a Christmas gift that Amelia decided to crunch, scrunch and squash.  I'll miss it because she was happy, healthy, small, and content to play with inexpensive "toys."

I'll miss peeking in on my two sweet boys, only to find that the big boy, who was supposed to be putting the little boy down for a nap, decided to go ahead and join the act after church.  Seriously.  This picture makes me tear up!  I'll miss this because never again will Little be so small that Big can cuddle and hold him while they sleep.  If the past 20 months with Amelia have proven anything, it's that the time passes by all too quickly...hours like minutes.

I'll miss the daily "grocery runs" Amelia takes through the pantry.  Her cart is empty in this picture, but it was soon filled with a cook book, some paprika and two cereal bars.  Hey, she knows the essentials, y'all.  I'll miss this because she giggles, grins, and shakes her head at me, because she knows she's not technically supposed to be playing in the kitchen.  I've been a bit of a softie with her though, because moments like these are worth more to me than a clean, organized pantry.

I'll miss this.