Taking Inventory

As of late, Brian and I have begun to experience a new, and perhaps profound, sense of freedom . . . the kind of freedom that we have not even come close to feeling in say (how old is Charley now?), four and a half years . . . a freedom that was even more severely limited starting almost three years ago (that's how old Zander is, right?).

Over the course of the last few months, I've noticed myself being able to go to public functions of various types WITH the kids and actually able to still ENJOY myself for more than twenty minutes (generally the max amount of time between major catastrophes). This has allowed us to come to the realization that we are in a window, a very precious window from what I hear, one where the kids are somewhat self-sufficient AND they still like you and want to hang out with you. So here we are, Charley is four and a half, Zander is just shy of three, and I thought I would take inventory of all the reasons why I am loving where we are at:

1. no more diapers (this is a big one for me)
2. which also means no more diaper bag (I get to carry a PURSE . . . can you imagine???)
3. no more sippy cups
4. no more strollers
5. everyone sleeps through the night (hallelujah!!!)
6. no more bulky baby gadgets
7. everyone eats normal regular food with regular utensils
8. early kid bedtime
9. we can go to a movie theatre (even if it is only for cartoons)
10. the kids prefer playing with other kids at events rather than hanging on my legs whining
11. no worrying about naps
12. ability to verbally communicate
13. both kids will be in preschool starting in two weeks (which means 6 hours a week BY MYSELF)
14. their imaginations
15. constant humorous comments
16. everything is still new and exciting to them . . . even the small things
17. Santa and the Easter Bunny are highly appreciated
18. we still get lots of hugs and kisses
19. they are best buddies, despite the squabbles
20. they can finally help pick up dog poop

Of course with all the pros, comes the cons . . . .

1. full price plane tickets for everyone
2. the emotionally fragile state of this age bracket (i.e. whining, tantrums, crying, etc.)
3. inability to follow my instructions after only one request
4. not having mastered butt wiping (the kids that is)
5. pull-ups at night (yuk)
6. sibling rivalry
7. begging for "treats" at every check-out stand
8. the bribery required to get them to sit in a shopping car for any length of time
9. constant "negotiating" over simple tasks
10. the overuse of the word "why"

So here we are, a few years into this journey, finally able to take a step back and say we made it to the other side. I remember when I announced that I was pregnant with Zander, when Charley was barely a year old, and many people told us that those first few years were going to be pretty hard with babies only 20 months apart. As yes, they were right, they were hard, harder than I imagined . . . but now that those years have passed, I wouldn't trade them for the world.

And after taking inventory, I've definitely decided that I have a couple keepers.