That one day I did stuff

Two weeks from tomorrow I return to work. Which means that two weeks from today will be my last day of maternity leave, and last day at home with the amazing little girl who just discovered smiles. All of a sudden realizing I have a deadline, I felt like I should start doing more than hanging out in my pj's watching Netflix and snuggling with my baby. Not much more, mind you. I'm still in my pj's while V alternates between smiling at herself in the mirror and napping on her play mat.

Best looking girl around!

Last night hubby returned from an eight day trip to two separate conferences, one was an APEX conference designed for networking and leadership training for agriculture leaders. The second was for U.S. Grains Council, which helps determine both national and international grain policy. He may be out making a difference in agriculture for our farm, the state of Iowa and the nation, but I kept a 2.5 year old and a 2 month old alive for eight days and didn't lose my sanity. Beat that!

To celebrate his homecoming, G and I made a cake. She wanted a pink Abby Cadabby cake, but I'd already bought the chocolate cake mix and my culinary skills don't extend to actual decorations. My best friend Duncan Hines does all of the work for me. We made this last night and when he woke her up this morning to go to day care her first words to him were, "Hi Daddy, I made you a cake. Can we eat it?" Those two are definitely related. I was shocked there wasn't a piece missing when I went downstairs this morning.

Decorations of a 2.5 year old

This morning I was super ambitious and decided to make banana bread with my old bananas, treats for day care's Valentines Day party tomorrow AND do the dishes. Normally I just pick one thing a day and today I aimed for three.V was in her swing looking at the poster G and I made for her, so I started with the banana bread since that takes longer. This was only interrupted by V spitting up all over herself, requiring a bath and outfit change. Back into the swing to finish the banana bread, and onto the pink heart shaped Rice Krispie treats. Since she was still entertained by the poster and swing combo I decided to clean up after myself instead of piling all the dishes on the counter and waiting for my husband to come home.

All of this before noon! I'm not quite sure how I'm going to manage any "extras" such as cake, Rice Krispie treats and banana bread for the first few weeks back at work. Adjusting to life with a newborn and toddler without working was hard enough, the extra stress and hours away are just going to mess with what little routine I've established (this current routine does not include getting up at 5 AM and getting everyone out the door in a timely manner). With this in mind, I want to get in as much as I can now. That way when my husband complains about me not making dinner or something I can reply with, "Hey remember that one time I made stuff? And you didn't have to do the dishes afterward?"