over a month since last post? ouch.

I can't believe it's been so long since I posted here. My life, like everyone's, is so busy--and unfortunately the other blog is filling my daily "blogging time" quota. As spring is typically grants season, I've been working lots...not uncommonly going to bed between 2 and 3 a.m. (In fact, the other night, it was particularly late/early as I was heading to bed, so I programmed my cell phone alarm AND placed it on top of our dresser on the other side of the bedroom to make sure I got out of bed to turn it off, so I'd be sure to wake up...I woke up in a frantic, 26 minutes before Carson had to be at school, with my cell phone on my nightstand. No recollection of how it got there, but I'm sure it was me, sleepwalking. Nice.)

While I'm working, I get so in the zone sometimes, that I forget about the kids. I know, that's terrible to admit, but I have  proof. Check it out: about 60 photos taken by the little ladies that I have no recollection of.

Having never seen these photos before, here's what I thought as I downloaded them today:

- I look ticked when I'm concentrating.

- Oooh, THERE'S that toy.

- Layla has an artistic eye for angles.

- Addie too.

- They must've shared the camera. Awww, they share without being coerced sometimes! What a good mom I am.

- I had no idea they were taking my pic about 8,000 times. Who knows what else they do when I'm not paying attention. I'm a crappy mother.

- Yessss. They got pics of fruit. That makes us look like healthy eaters.

- Amanda's going to kill me. Slash, love me.

- What would I do if there were pics of the girls lighting matches? Seriously. I should be fired.

- But there aren't. Just the girls playing with some robot toys. And, sure, they're doing weird/potentially dangerous stuff on the stairs, but let's just call that "creative play" and be done with it.

And then there's THIS little female-toddler-Einstein nugget of photographic delight:

Man, we love these kids. Paul and I were talking the other night about what life would be like without them. Some things sounded appealing...like traveling and whine-free days, maybe even weeks, at a time. But all in all, what we came up with was an empty little shell of existence without them. They make us smile, they make us roll our eyes, they make us worry, they make us laugh, they make us think, they make us learn patience, they make us better. 



Addie likes to be proactive in expressing herself. Sure, she's got an impressive artillery of tantrums at the ready, but my favorite is when she strikes pre-emptively as I tuck her in at night: "Wuv you too, mom!"

And I love you, my loony little darlings.