First Day of Daycare

My mom took vacation time after I went back to work and watched the boys so even though I have been back to work for almost two weeks the boys still hadn't gone to daycare.  There were three days I had been dreading, first day back to work, first day leaving the kids with my mother-in-law, and then today, the first day back to daycare.

My mom doesn't go in to work on Thursdays until noon so she took the boys for the morning and then dropped them off at Aunt Loretta's.  (I know how mean is that to make grandma take them to daycare).  She said that Carl (one of the owners) was waiting for her to pull up and helped her get the kids inside.  Several daycare workers were there to welcome Nathan back and to meet Logan.  My mom said one of the workers immediately took Logan out of his car seat and began to talk and play with him.  Then Carl walked my mom and Nathan to his new class (he got moved up to the 2-4 year old class  but has never been).

My mom said Nathan was getting hesitant but as soon as he got to the new classroom and saw the buckets of cars and all the Batman toys he ran off to be with the other kids and didn't look back.  No tears, no sad faces, nothing!   They even had Nathan's lunch ready and waiting for him and were going to get him going on lunch as soon as my mom left.

It makes me feel so much better knowing that my kids are at a daycare where the workers interact with them and take good care of them.  Nathan will get to do learning time every day in his new class and will love to play with the older kids and the older toys.  And they only keep the babies in the cribs when they are sleeping, other than that they get held, put in swings and jumpers, and get played with.

Oh man I'm just so relieved that the kids first day back at daycare went well.  I knew Logan would be fine but I was really worried about Nathan and am so glad he is such a brave independent kid.  If I can't be home with them then the next best thing is knowing that they are happy and having fun.

The boys just before heading off to daycare.  My mom is so cute to always take pictures for me.

Back to the Real World

I have officially been back to work for one whole week now.  One whole week of not being home with my  boys, one whole week of leaving the house at 7:00 and not returning until after 5:00, one whole week of not knowing what my boys are up to every minute of every day.  One whole week of not being there to kiss their cheeks, fix them lunch, read them books, and sing them songs before nap time.

Maternity leave was like a dream come true that I never wanted to end.  This was the first time that I ever considered anything but working full time.  I wanted to be there all day every day and I rarely thought about work.  I loved being able to focus on the boys and give them my undivided attention and time.  I have never enjoyed anything more in my entire life.  But I knew it had to come to an end and I started back to work on January 17th.

I'm actually going to count the whole going back to work thing as a total success because I only cried in front of two co-workers and one boss and only called my mom to check in uh...oh I don't know probably four times that day (oops).  But every day has gotten easier and the boys are adjusting to their new routine way better than I imagined they would.

Matt has been a huge help as well and has been getting up early in the morning to clean, wash bottles, and get the boys out the door so that I can go in to work early.  I have been getting in around 7:30 every morning which means I head out the door at 4:30 and pick up the boys.  This has given me so much more time at night to get chores done, play toys with Nathan, and get lots of snuggle time with Logan.  We are falling into a pretty good routine and are getting a grasp on life again.

It's actually kind of nice to be back at work too.  I think the anticipation of coming back to work was so much worse than actually coming back.  I didn't realize how much I missed my co-workers and my job and actually just having some "me" time.  But there is nothing better than walking in the door to pick up the boys and hearing Nathan squealing for me and seeing Logan's huge grin.  There is nothing better than being a mom.

The boys first day at Grandma Lisa's.