Our new schedule

I have been thinking about updating the blog pretty much everyday for a week. But, ever time I have a moment I am too tired. Tonight, Matt is doing some work from home, so I thought this would be the perfect opportunity to write an update about our new schedule.

The first week of being back to work has gone very well. I wasn't really concerned about missing the kids, so that helped. The kids are doing very well at Miss Jami's house. We get there at 12:30, which is nap time for the kids. Michael plays with the kids for a few minutes while I rock Liliana to sleep. Our first day there, I tucked Michael in before I left. Since then, I've asked him, "Do you want Mommy to tuck you in or do you want to play for a few minutes and Miss Jami can tuck you in?" He always wants to play. It's good to know he feels comfortable. Yesterday when we pulled up to the house, Liliana started crying. She knew. She tried REALLY hard not to fall asleep when I rocked her. It was almost as if she thought if she could stay awake I wouldn't leave.

Matt picks the kids up at 4:30. They are always very excited to see him, but Michael is sad to leave his friends - he's always having so much fun. Once Matt and the kids get home, it's dinner time and then the kids go to sleep. I am working from 1:00 - 7:30, so I get home around 8:00. After my first day of work, the kids were still awake when I got home. I went in to say goodnight ... which may have been a mistake. The kids were very to see me. I couldn't get out of their room for almost 20 minutes. Liliana was crying unless she was lying on top of me and Michael wanted to tell me all about his day at Miss Jami's house.

We thought that since I was going back to work and things were going to change because of that, we should take this opportunity to make a few other tweaks to the schedule. We moved bath time to the morning and are no longer bathing every day. We were most worried about Michael with the schedule change because he is very into the schedule and what will come next. He has done VERY well. He is already talking about the new schedule - asking me, "Mommy, tomorrow work?" and other similar questions.

So, overall things are going great aside from me being more tired now that I was before. I am working 13 hours in the office and 7 hours from home. The hours from home are really what kill me. I work for 2 hours in the afternoon while the kids are napping and about 20 minutes every morning. I miss the flexibility of doing what I want to do during nap time, but am also so very grateful for the ability to work from home so that the kids don't have to be in childcare for any longer than they already are.

A few other miscellaneous updates:
- After 2-1/2 months of practicing, Michael can now whistle!
- Liliana has gained 4 lbs since we got home and she grew 1.5 inches. She is still about a 1/4 of an inch shy of being able to turn her around in the car.
- Michael has grown 2 inches, but has not gained any weight. We aren't sure why the lack of weight gain - could be he didn't need to gain any weight, the parasite he had until recently, or maybe he's just too active!
- Liliana now says "Thank you," but she says it with her mouth closed. It's really cute.
- Next Monday is 3 months home already!

By the way - the kids are being dedicated at our church (River Valley Church in Apple Valley) at the 10:30 service on Sunday, August 22. Please feel free to join us as we dedicate them and their lives to the Lord.