life before babies

my girls were at my mom's house this weekend and it gives you a strange sense of nakedness to be without your children. It got me thinking about the little things that I never really considered before having kids. like how easy it was to run in and out of multiple stores in search of a specific item. now, I consolidate my errands into as few stops as possible just to minimize dragging children in and out of carseats. Or things like running into the gas station to grab a drink while the tank fills. now, I have to decide if I am dumb enough to leave my child alone in the car or if it's worth waking them up, putting their shoes on (they can't manage to ever leave their shoes on while sitting in the car) and taking them inside. the answer? skip the drink and drive on.

this is not said with any amount of regret as my family is the most wonderful, fulfilling and rewarding gift I could ever have. but its just kind of fun to think about the things I should have appreciated more before we had kids. like drive in movies. sleeping in. going to the gym without finding a baby sitter. spontaneously crashing at a friend's house for the night. a clean car. these fun little things are clearly not any competition for the cuddles, smiles and adventures with my babies but it's worth a short reminisce.

today was a good day, I got a lot done and I had a lot of "help". We stripped the beds, did laundry, cooked, vacuumed, went grocery shopping and filed paperwork. Always with at least two little hands eager to be a part of it. I'm sure it takes longer that way but we make it a lot of fun. I stood at the stove with lil Ladybug sitting at my feet, shaking a can of pretend food into her pan and stirring over and over. I picked out yogurt containers with lil Butterfly describing each flavor and insisting on putting it in the cart herself. I tried making the beds but two large lumps prevented me from smoothing the sheets enough to reach the corners. we vacuumed, me pushing the vacuum and the girls carrying the cord behind me, fully confident that without their assistance, the vacuum would not work. And tonight we played Rockband with two adorable "groupies", who danced, twirled and stubbornly stood right in the way.

and now my two little helpers are sleeping. and I find myself considering the list of things I could do now that the girls are in bed but decide I don't have the energy and procrastinate it all for another day. :)