Two Progeny

I am a mother before I am anything else. I have been a mother for exactly 2 years and 12 days. Well, at least that is how long my first child has been on the outside. I suppose pregnancy adds considerable time to that. It is hard to remember the days before I became a mother. I had 29+ years of having no progeny of my own, so you'd think it was more memorable. I guess it isn't that my time without children wasn't memorable, but that my time as a mother has absorbed nearly every inch of my brain. I guess that is how our children ensure we love them forever - if they occupy every part of our memory, who can we remember how fun life was back when we could stay up late with other adults.

I have two children. My first, a girl named Ava, is now a rambunctious and curious 2-year old. She speaks in complex sentences and has real emotions, opinions, and an impressive memory. I can't believe she is such a big kid now. My second, a boy named Alder, is nearly 3 months old. He's grinning and grabbing for toys now. He's also not sleeping much at the moment. Good thing he's grinning. We planned them close together. I love my children more than I ever dreamed I would. I can't wait to see them every morning. I value my time away from them too though, but mostly because it makes me appreciate them so much more when I come home. We hope to add two more children to our family in the next few years.

I guess you could say I'm a stay-at-home mom right now. I don't have a job exactly, but I'm not home with them 7 days a week. I am a part-time graduate student, trying to finish up my PhD (see a future Student post). Ava goes to G&G's house (that is short for Grandma & Grandpa) a couple of days a week so I can focus more on school. It is much easier to write my dissertation from home when I only have to care for the not-yet-3-month old. Getting work done with a toddler in the house just doesn't happen. A couple of mornings a week my husband also stays home with them so I can run into school and make an appearance in my building. On days I have both kids, we typically hit the library, the pool, the park, the grocery store...anything to keep the toddler busy and make sure she naps.