A new family addiction

We have a new family activity, what seems to turn out into an addiction. Playing with the wooden railway set!
We got a basic set from my colleagues when Mika was born. We also got gift certificates for a wooden toy store. So last Saturday we went to that store and bought even more trains and railway-pieces for our set. And ever since we’re playing with it every day! Lara loves it! And so do we… And every time we play and build up the railway we sum up what other pieces we “need” and want to expand our set. There are so many possibilities!



Since we’ve discovered this store we’re even more zealous about getting and buying real toys for our kids. Not that crappy plastic noisy stuff you get at the big toy store chains like Toys”r”us. This store has the old fashioned toys like we had when we were little; wooden trains, puzzles, marble-games, dollhouses, puppet theatres and so on. Stuff that tickles the fantasy and is really “playable”. Not just something that needs a push on a button to play a sound or light.
There’s just one exception when it comes to plastic toys; Lego. That’s a #1 hit too for us.

And the best thing of all this good old fashioned stuff is that we as parents enjoy playing with it as much as our children. That means we’ll share more family activities together as well!

Back to work

Fortunately I don’t have to go back to work yet. My maternity leave endures till December 1st. But that date is coming closer. Soon, too soon. I don’t want to go back to work. I want to stay home with my kids. I guess every mom has this feeling after giving birth. And surely once I’m back at work it will get used again soon enough. But I don’t want to put those feelings off with just that simple argument.

I feel so much more “in place” being a stay at home mom. I’ve always dreamed of being a full time mommy. That has always been my dream career, my ambition.
The ones who know more of our private situation know that it has turned out different. To be short; Marc is staying at home, because he lost his job and got some mental problems (hyperventilation, anxiety attacks) at the same time about 2 years ago. Besides that I have a better paying job, so can earn the same money in 32 hours, while he should have to work about 70 or 80 hours. So rationally it was the best decision for us to do it this way.
But emotionally it still doesn’t fit me. And even practically it doesn’t always work out fine. Don’t get me wrong; Marc is a fine caregiver for our kids. But he is not a housewife. Like most men he just doesn’t see the dirty laundry, the dust and the overflowing trashcan. And besides that he isn’t a woman and so isn’t able to multitask (read: take care of kids ánd do the household chores). So the majority of the household chores is still done by me. And that’s where it’s starts getting too much for me.

Now I’ve been on maternity leave for 2 ½ months I have worked out a nice schedule for myself (it’s not as tight as it may sound). This schedule balances the household chores, taking care of the kids, playing with them and also some “me-time” in which I can do stuff that energizes me. But once I have to go back to work I know this schedule won’t fit anymore. And it will never enable me to develop other activities. For instance I’d like to spend more time with other moms who have kids the same age as Lara and/or Mika. I’d love to develop more contacts like that.
And knowing that this balance will collapse once I have to go back to work frustrates me so much!

So in the last few days my mind has been pondering about a solution. Quitting my job just isn’t an option, since we simply need the money. And Marc isn’t able yet to get back to work full time (or even more than full time to earn enough money).
A lovely solution would be for us to win the lottery. But that’s probably not going to happen…
I’ve been reading about women starting a business of their own, because they wanted to be at home more often (working from home). But I don’t think I’m the right person to have a business of my own and we don’t have the space to work from home. My current job doesn’t allow working from home either.

So, I don’t know… I guess I’ll be back at work at December 1st and will have to let go of my dream career for now. I just need to find a new balance after November 30 and be content with the whole situation. Who knows, maybe in a few years things will turn around and give me the opportunity to stay at home… (but it doesn’t keep me from praying that we’ll win the lottery and for all the other possible solutions I might think of).

Just a few cute pix from my babies

What I've learned after having my kids...

•I should rest whenever my kids are at rest (afternoon naps or at night): there is no rest between those moments
•My bed is my best friend these days
•Everything in the development of kids is a phase (it will be different tomorrow or next week or the week after that)
•If you want to calm your child, stay calm yourself (easier said than done, I know!)
•The laundry basket is never empty with 2 kids around

My funny baby boy

Isn’t this a funny face? Mika can do a great job at squinting, especially when he gets tired:

By the way, he still sticks to the schedule of sleeping through the night.