Reality Check

These three short days of "work" and daycare, we now have an idea of what the year ahead holds for us. And it ain't pretty. When I arrived to pick up Jasper and Josie today everyone was crying, no one had napped, and Sarita was at her wits end. We did the grocery shopping and returned home to a messy house just in time for throw together a quick dinner, including vegetables that were not steamed enough and so we had to do the baby heimlich on Josie for the second time. Peter rolled in around 5:30 and could thankfully distract Jasper from hanging on my neck and hold Josie who has learned how to SCREAM if she doesn't like the particulars of her situation (ie anywhere but in our arms). After everyone had eaten Peter and I divided and conquored the bedtime routine: bath, diapers, books, song, nursing, bed. Then we hit the kitchen, and the dining room, and the living room, trying to make peace with the relative state of chaos and prepare the slate for tomorrow. Then, to work. Peter on the desk top, me on the lap top. Emailing, finishing reports, making plans. In a couple of months I will be grading and planning, until well after ten when we need to crawl upstairs and pray that our growing, teething, seeping children don't wake up before we get some REM. Then up at 5:30 am for an even more grueling morning routine. No more luxurious cuddles in bed until half past seven. No more leisurely breakfasts with coffee and the NYT online. It's been a good year. We can't complain. We think we can handle the new lifestyle if we establish routines and stick to them like road maps. Otherwise, we may get seriously lost.