Jackpot!!!

This week has been full of parenting payoff. Little Handsome uttered his first word: mama. I love it! He has said it three times now, twice with me and once when my mom was babysitting.

He claps now too, when he is really happy or excited. His singing Spider-man doll seems to do the trick. I place that thing in front of him, turn it on and LH goes clapping crazy and his little hands even make real live clapping sounds! LH claps wildly for Spider-man and I clap wildly for LH!

More payoff: I find myself waking up in the middle of the night and wandering through my quiet house - only out of habit. LH is making it through the night with a minimal amount of fuss lately, so my fatigue is fading away like a bad dream.

Little Beauty is also paying dividends. She appears to be slowly and steadily emerging from what I like to call 'three-year-old brain fever.' Her manic episodes are diminishing in intensity, although she still possess an awe-inspiring amount of energy, she is better able to harness it while remaining coherent.

In addition, my battles with LB are ending more often and more quickly with the words: "Okay mama," or "Alright, alright!" Music to my war-torn ears.

And what shall I do with my new found parental currency? I will revel is some of it (LB's steps toward sanity), and I will save some for a rainy day, as they say (LH's first "mama") - because if I've learned anything as a parent, it is that next week I will probably be bankrupt.