Down by one...

Today was the first day of three weeks I will only have two kids. My mom took BA to Texas with her for summer vacation. It has been a mix of emotions. I miss her terribly already and I know that those feelings will only get stronger the longer she is gone. Yet, it does make life much easier to only have two than three. Which only confirms my thought prior to having children that three is a lifestyle change.

My mom does this with all the kids throughout the year. She will come for a weekend, take a kid home with her for a few weeks. Then she will make another weekend trip, bring back one and take another, and so on. This is a great system for many reasons. It gives me a break by reducing my load. It increases the chances of one on one time with mommy and daddy for the remaining two. It gives the one who goes a chance to live like an only child and get spoiled by grandma and grandpa for a short period of time. And they get to know each child on their own terms. It gives all of us an opportunity to see my mom more often. For the most part, it works out for the best for all.

There is only one down side . The child who goes with my mom is nearly impossible to deal with when they return. I call it detox. I have to spend an equal amount of time to that in which they are gone, when they return, to detox them from the spoiling. They are slowly brought back into a life as a sibling rather than that of an only child. The time spent in detox increases as the children get older. CJ takes much longer than the twins. But as they get older I am sure that will change.

So I am enjoying my break for now and dealing with the heartache from missing my little princess. Yet I have the comfort of knowing she is having the time of her life. It's all good!!