Children are born with a certain sense of urgency about them. At 3 weeks old, Wanda’s needs are all immediate. If her diaper needs changing, “BLAAAAHHHHHH!!!!!!” If her stomach gets less than half full of milk or if the milk in her stomach contains some microscopic component she doesn’t like, “BLAAAHHHHHH!!!!!!” If she suddenly finds herself in the mood for a little cuddle, “BLAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!!”

And she’s a pretty easy-going chillaxed little baby. She’s not colicky or sick in any way. She’s just young and has needs and wants them filled BEFORE she needs them! I’ve watched my other two kids grow and mature, and their needs seem to be slightly less urgent and immediate than are Wanda’s. Where Wanda needs what she needs 10 minutes ago, Magoo at age 4 only needs things right this second and Laylee at 6 can be persuaded to wait for sometimes as long as an hour with relative patience.

No matter how much they’ve snarked and quarreled during the day, my kids band together at night, the two of them against the two of us, the two of them against sleep, sanity, and reason. They have things to do in the night, games to play, and often, heads to be bonked.

Sometimes the shenanigans are spontaneous, but other times they require more careful planning and accompanying subterfuge.

I am just wrapping up a week at the beach with my family. I mean cousins, aunts, nephews, my brother and my sister and her family. We had roughly twenty people in one house, and you could not take a step without bumping into someone you were related to. I would love to tell you it was too chaotic to be enjoyable, but the truth of the matter is that I love being surrounded by the people I love. The kids look forward to it every year, too.

It got me thinking about what makes a family. Is it the group of people you grew up with and started your life’s journey with, or is it the family you have created with the person you married? Is it the people you love but don’t see often, or is it the people you pick up the phone to call when you need a shoulder to cry on? I have discovered that the answer is "all of the above."

Jack turned two on Sunday, and that was poor planning, wasn't it? Turning two on Mother's Day? Which is why we had his party on Saturday. Like I am going to SHARE Mother's Day.

I can't believe I have a two-year-old, you guys. I mean, when we were discussing this whole baby thing, my daydreams never got past, oh, nine months. Walking? Talking? And (heaven help me) potty training? Yeah, never thought about it.

But now I have a TWO-YEAR-OLD who is proving all the scary two-year-old rumors true, and he's officially kicked me out of New Mom territory. His second birthday also means I no longer get to use "two under two" as an excuse for... everything. Like the state of the house, the fact that we don't go anywhere, the eyebrows that have needed waxing for over a YEAR, etc. My go-to excuse is no longer valid and I find that incredibly perplexing. What will I say now?

I’m tech savvy in my own way but when a really hard problem hits my computer, I find that my favorite answer is always REBOOT. At least half the time I can solve my weirdest computer errors by simply restarting the machine. I vaguely understand how this can work. Processes that are running out of control in the background are stopped and when the machine starts up again, only the basic programs are initiated.

The same basic principle holds true for my body, especially during pregnancy. When I first wake up, I feel okay and then all day long I feel worse and worse. The sickness builds throughout the day and by bedtime it’s all I can do to keep from throwing up as I lay down for the night. I’m also very cranky by that time and not so fun to be around.

But magically when I wake up the next morning I feel decent again and can get a fair amount of stuff done before the nine month flu takes over my body again. I’m even nice to my kids and my spouse most mornings thanks to my sleepy reboot.