No Baby Talk

I've spent the whole morning thinking about how I shouldn't/don't want to whine like a baby about babies today. I'm still thinking about it and I still haven't come up with something else to talk about. Instead, I'll talk about my husband's babies. (who are 7 and 9, plus halves)

It's quiet in my house every other weekend, when the kids are with their mother. They divide their time evenly between the two houses in what I find to be a complicated schedule. The kids have done a great job of internalizing it, but 2 spends a lot of time going over it in her head. ("We won't be here on Saturday!" "You can't take us to that party; it's Mom's day!" "Next year we can be here for Halloween!")

Every other week, they are with us for a 5 day stretch, at the end of which, I am usually chomping at the bit to get them out the door. Then it's very calm for two days. I wash everyone's sheets and put the house back in order (full disclosure: the kids do several chores each day and have been quite diligent about them since being implemented by evil stepmom, so the house is never too much of a mess.), plan the week's meals, watch way too much housewives-centered television and become anxious for the kids to come back. Over the next two days, I* try to get a handle on the schoolwork and social stuff I missed, stress over manners and rules I would like to see that don't necessarily jibe with the manners and rules at firstwife's house, but mostly I think about the 5 kidless days stretch on the horizon.

And now it's here. And the doctor gave me the go-ahead, so there's sex again. I'd forgotten how much time it can eat up; we are newlyweds after all. We may get a little house/yard work done (emphasis on little), but usually those weekend days are very lazy, very quiet and very enjoyable. Husband likes to inform me that we won't have these lazy weekends with a baby in the picture. I know. Maybe that's why I revel in them so much now.

But when a new week starts and he goes back to work and there's no mess to tidy, what there is is a lonely two day stretch which leaves me downright delighted to hear husband's garage door opening in the evening and especially elated to see the kids jump off the school bus Wednesday afternoon. That Wednesday night dinner is my favorite time of the week, with the four of us back together again.

See? I can be happy. Saving the 5 days of kid talk for tomorrow.

*I say "I" instead of "we" only because I don't want to speak for husband. But he totally thinks all the same things about rules and manners. Because I told him to.