All good things...

...must come to an end.

On Monday, I start back at work after eight weeks of maternity leave.  I'd like to say I'm ready, but I'm not.  I even tried to get a couple extra weeks of unpaid time, but it became complicated so I couldn't do it.  Aside from the first two to three weeks of c-section recovery, I really enjoyed all of the extra time I have had with Avery and Logan as a result of my maternity leave.  I feel so fortunate that my company was supportive of my surrogacy journey and that I was able to take advantage of the generous paid leave for recovery.

While I've been off work, my house has stayed clean, laundry kept up, meals cooked and I've had plenty of time to work out.  It has been amazing and a relatively stress-free eight weeks.  Most of you who know me well, know that for me, a clean and organized house is the one thing that can make or break my day.  For Real?  Yes.  Ridiculous?  I know...

I have had a lot of time with my kids that I will always cherish and remember.  Logan is lucky and has been able to stay home with me most days.  I still took him to preschool a day or two each week, but, when he's home, we have so much fun together that I hate having to take him.  During our time together, we have played countless hours of Legos and trains, read the same six books over and over, visited parks, run lots of errands, cooked, had playdates, stuffed animal birthday parties, napped and played at least 50 rounds each of Zingo and Spot It.  He has been such a joy to hang out with.  I'm definitely going to miss our time.

With Avery in school, her time with me has been a little more limited.  I love that I have had the chance to volunteer at her school, eat lunch with her regularly and meet her at the bus stop every day.  After school, it's been nice to sit down with her to talk about her day and help her with homework without being rushed.  We have also enjoyed after school playdates, tons of crafts, raking leaves and beautiful weather for walking/riding scooters up to the park.

Although I know it will be nice to get back into the routine of work, I'm dreading going back.  I told Luke I think going back this time will be harder than when the kids were babies.  When they were babies, they did little more than eat, sleep and snuggle.  Now, they are my little buddies.  We talk, laugh, play games and just have fun.  I'm lucky, they truly are my favorite people to be around.  I will really miss all my extra time with them.