Coffee Before Cartwheels

Waking up in the middle of the night is somehow different with the second child. It's easier; you appreciate those times together instead of getting frustrated because sadly, you know from experience how fast it all goes by. I remember staring at Juliet ALL the time. I had her sweet little face memorized ... not to mention every new outfit, look and smile documented and then backed up on hard drive. I had all the time in the world to watch her every move (I was jobless ok, geeze). I had no idea then how blessed I was to have that precious time with her; having two kids is much more time consuming to say the least. I unfortunately don't have the luxury of focusing all my attention on baby Violet this time around. When I DO finally get the chance to drool over how beautiful I think she is, the other one is undoubtedly jumping off an item of furniture, poking baby "Bydit" in the eye, telling me it's "too wait" yet she's still desperate to sit on her potty for the next hour because it's just so fun to check the bowl for surprises EVERY second, or simply needs juice (which if you're telepathic like me, you know really means chocolate milk). Needless to say, those times are few and far between. At night, when the other maniac is sound asleep, is when those golden hours as "Mommy-of-just-one-again" begin. Now don't get me wrong, I'm FAR from that whack job that's eagerly exploding out of their bed like some grinning fool doing cartwheels across the nursery every time Violet wakes up screaming at 3am; a girl needs her coffee first. Most times (seven out of ten) I really, truly cherish my hours here and there with her throughout the night. I'm ok this time around with the fact that I've taken up a new livelihood of "Miss Milk Maid, 2011" and am all too familiar with the fact that my social life is nonexistent. Long gone are the nights of staying out until 5am dancing with my hunky husband. They've now been replaced with nights of cuddling up to a beautiful, gassy and very hungry baby girl. I love it and wouldn't change it for the world.