Kids are in bed, about to wake up soon. I love my Fridays with them. They are hitting great ages – Annika is potty trained and actually listens (most of the time) and helps (most of the time). Savita now talks in two word sentences, and exhibits comprehension far beyond that. She’s going to be a bit more strong willed than Annika is, I can tell already.
I actually miss them when they are napping. I would have never had said that a few months ago, I treasured their naps as a respite necessary to get me through the day. Now, I actually *want* to wake them up. (But I wont’.)
We’re knee deep in Holiday season. This year is the first year that Annika kinda gets the whole holiday thing, so I’m having a lot of fun seeing it through her eyes. Our tree is up as are the stockings, but the lights are sitting outside waiting for me to put them up. We’ll be local again for Xmas itself, and again flying down to Florida for new years’. After driving to CT for Thanksgiving, I think the trip with the girls might actually be okay. Annika will be fine (especially with the iPad), and Savita is distractable. I guess we’ll see.
This is the last month where we’ll be using our current nanny. She’s been with us for 2 and 1/2 years (!) but she wants to take some extended time off before making a career switch. We already went through the rigamarole and found someone else, who will be starting after we get back from Florida. Our gut instinct is that she’ll be great with the kids (her references are impeccable, and she has a great attitude), but time will tell. After being through the process twice, I’m less anxious about finding someone else if the need arises. But you want it to be a good fit, and I think it will be.
I really can’t believe it’s almost December. I think I still dated a check as being “2011” as recently as August. Doing something thinking and planning and budgeting for next year. Get a little skip in my heart as I look at the combined pre-school tuition *and* child care expenses for next year, as Annika will be in pre-school five days a week and Savita will be there for two. But we still need childcare as the program is only three hours in the morning.
In terms of work planning, it was a decent (but not particularly exceptional) year. Next year is shaping up to be similar, which means the exceptional work/life balance that I currently enjoy should continue at least a little while longer. Still need to do something strategic thinking because that can’t continue indefinitely. (Says I, 6 1/2 years later…)