Goes so well, until...

For all the fretting I did about having two kids, these first weeks have been surprisingly easy, thanks mostly to Zoe's enthusiasm for Max and her willingness to give him a binkie no matter what else she's doing. As Erik says, she shows no fear in giving him it--she knows he'll resist at first but she just patiently holds it against his mouth until he realizes she's a force for good not evil. There was quite a bit of competition when Erik's mom was here to hold him, but now that she's gone, we've even had moments where we've put Max in his swing. Z likes the music. I do not. Right now, as I type, he started crying and Z popped up to check on him/give him his binkie. I'm against binkies. Until I'm not. That dude likes to suck.
Things would be even more smooth-going were it not for the minor disasters of the week. First, the toilet upstairs stopped working--the flange in the works cracked, and even though we have two bathrooms, with guests, one is just not enough. So Erik spent last weekend replacing the upstairs toilet which led, as it always does, to Erik designing whole new bands of swear words. Z was like, woah, I can't wait to memorize those for most surprising/embarrassing use later.
But then Z got a cold and, although it was nothing like the horrible croup of early December, I knew it would lead to late-night albuterol and possibly infecting the babe whom we were told to make sure did not get sick those first two months home.
But once again, Z proved her mettle. Her immune system might actually be beginning to function. Albuterol only in the morning and the night. And she was so careful not to get Max sick--hand sanitizer and coughing into her elbow--she has, thus far, kept him from getting the cold.
But then the snow storm of 2010 hit. 56.5 inches of snow down here. 92 inches up at the Snowbowl. More snow in this system since 1967. This meant Erik shoveled pretty much from 9 a.m to 6 p.m. with some breaks in the middle but also some shoveling in the night. I shoveled a tiny bit too but mostly I exercised my ability to be a stay-at-home-mom. I did OK. Only one or two breakdowns--once at Z because really, Z, I can't play princess anymore. I can't remember if you're princess Rose or Princess Mirabella or the Snow Princess and you never like how I'm being the witch and if I say, princess, give me your strawberries, you just say no and then the story is pretty much over. So I broke down and told her I couldn't play princess any more. I made it up to her by playing princess some more.
We also played trains.
Did I mention Z has been home for 3 days in a row now--no school?
Erik colored with her.
I colored with her.
She painted.
She danced (thanks maestra for the ballet clothes).
And she played princess for 23 of the 24 hours a day. Yes, even in her sleep. In her sleep, she's the teeth-grinding, coughing princess.
Erik shoveled the roof this morning. He wanted to sled off it. So far, he hasn't.
I'm not very good at being a stay at home mom. I get nervous when I'm playing trains, like I should be doing something else. I'm also a bad working mom since when I'm working on my syllabus, I feel like I should be playing trains. The nice thing is, blogging and being on Facebook and IMing are all guilt free because I should be doing none of them. Everyone is being equally neglected.
So, if Erik weren't so otherwise busy, things would be super easy. But as they are, they're still pretty manageable. Manageable enough that we're even having company tonight! I'm so excited for in-person interaction with the outside world. Turkey breast and roasted root vegetables with Chardonnay gravy. Should I make mashed potatoes too? Is the answer to that question ever "no"?