For Posterity's Sake: Week in Review 52

I have been staying off my computer this weekend, as Jason's "vacation" ends tomorrow. I'm not sure what to expect of the week to come. I had intended to use Jason's time off getting "systems" in place to help me balance the two kids on my own. (To be honest, I have no idea what these mysterious systems were going to be, just that I was going to create them and they were going to work seamlessly.) But somewhere between Christmas, the heat going out, seeing friends we've missed for months, and trying to spend time together as a once-again "new" family, those systems never got created. Balance has not been restored. Something, namely the repetition of the phrase, "I want two mommies," makes me think that Audrey has noticed. I have to agree. Two mommies would be so efficient. Luckily, she had a pretty efficient Daddy with whom she spent the week. Here are just a few of the moments they shared:

On Monday, Jason taught Audrey how to give Eskimo kisses by rubbing noses. Then he taught her how to give butterfly kisses by touching eyelashes while fluttering them. Then she asked, "How do you do a hippo kiss?"

We had an early outing on Wednesday. Jason woke Audrey up to get her ready for the day. "Daddy, I think my eyes wanted to sleep some more," she said.

Later in the week we began a little creative project for Audrey. Audrey was very curious about what Daddy was doing with a drill, some wood, and metal hooks, so Jason quickly explained that he was making her a playhouse.

"So do you know how to make a playhouse?" she asked.
Jason implied that he thought he did.
"Well, I know how and I think you'll do a good job," she said.

We devoted more time in the following days to the playhouse, and Audrey devoted more time to talking about it.

On Friday, Jason took her on a trip to Lowes for some more supplies. As they pulled into the parking lot, Audrey said, "There's Lowes. You found it. Yea for Daddy!" (I know several children who can identify McDonalds or Chick-fil-a from the road. Our child can identify Lowes. Hmm.)

Later that day Audrey asked, "Are we going to make my playhouse?"
Jason told her he didn't know.
"I think you can figure it out," she said, much like a mob boss might tell one of his underlings, You better figure it out.

As for Nathan, he seems to take most things in stride. He takes it in stride when his big sister dotes on him, grabbing his hands and feet while he tries to sleep. It didn't seem to bother him (although, it terrified his mother) when Audrey picked him up and moved him from the center of his boppy pillow because she wanted to take a turn sitting there. His body doesn't seem to take such a laid-back approach. He has hiccups four or five times a day. He sneezes, a lot - always in multiples of three. He is a pint-sized oxymoron: a laid-back boy with a lot going on about him.

And, well, that's where I feel that we are right now - we're a bit of a contradiction in terms. We're trying to do more (be involved parents of two) while trying to do less (none of the clothes I want to wear tomorrow are clean, and other than letting Audrey loose with the broom after baking cookies this week, I can't tell you the last time the floor was swept). I'm without clean clothes or a plan, but sometimes, the best we can do is to simply wing it. In the meantime, I'm off to bed, because an extra hour of sleep is one system that always works.