We Made It

JD travels a bit with his job. I hate when he's gone because it means I am all alone with the girls without family close by to help me out. It is usually pretty rough for me even though I do 90% of the childcare when he's home. There's just something nice about knowing I have someone home with me at night to help with the other 10%.

The first couple of times JD traveled without us, I had a pretty rough go at it. There were tears, there were impatient moments, there were frustrations. And the girls had a rough time too, ha! I think it had a lot to do with having a newborn and a brand new 2 year old and feeling like I wasn't qualified to juggle both at the hardest part of the day: nighttime. With each trip he takes though, I get a little better at managing everything by myself.

This past week, JD was gone 4 days. It is the longest he has left me with both girls by myself. The verdict? We did great! It was such a peaceful, fun week for the girls and me. We kept busy everyday with fun activities with friends. I didn't cook or do laundry or clean a thing all week (heaven!). Nighttime was still a challenge as the girls have different bedtimes and both are very clingy/needy after dinner, but I learned that if I kept them busy during the day they went down really easily.

I usually have a terrible time sleeping when JD is out of the house, but this week I only woke 1 night lunging from my bed due a snake nightmare. They were coiled at my feet so I slept the rest of the night in the fetal position, careful not to stretch my feet to the end of the bed. Every other night I fell asleep quick and slept like a baby without any fears of intruders or snakes. I did check every closet and behind the shower curtain before bed every night, just in case. 

Even though we had a great week by ourselves, it is so wonderful having JD home. We picked him up this afternoon and promptly smothered him in kisses, showed him dance moves, and fed him his favorites treats. I cleaned, did laundry, and cooked like a madwoman this morning. It's nice to know we can make it without him, but we don't like it one bit. Everything is better when Daddy is home.