For the past few years, my husband's employer has threatened to send him to China. Because of his work-ethic, smarts and experience he's been their go-to guy for special and difficult projects for many years. (Though he'll deny all of that, I swear it's true.) He has pretty much adamantly refused since my first daughter was born 5 years ago. He's always said he just didn't want to leave his family that long. (What a guy, huh.)

And I agreed with him. Raising a child is a giant day-to-day challenge. It's been 5 years and I'm still trying to adjust to the haos of having kids. I rely on him for a lot of support. And he gives it without hesitation. My husband. So I wholeheartedly agreed.

But around the age of 30 when you start contemplating your life and the opportunities you might be missing even as your breath escapes... I started thinking he might be wrong for turning them down. It was an experience and an opportunity that he'd never had before. He started thinking it too. So this past Spring when they asked him to go again, he accepted.

So alas, the time went by. He got on a plane to Shanghai yesterday morning and here we are- 7,000 plus miles and one Pacific ocean apart for the first time since before we were married. I'm on my own with a precocious, sometimes naughty 5-year old and an 11 month old baby who is just starting to realize that she can control her world (and her mommy to boot.)

So in the next week and a half, I'm going to document my adventures with the girls here at home. I'm hoping the hubby will chip in and post some things from his side of the world as well.

Maybe it's just a way to stay connected, maybe my attempt to keep busy while he's gone. But just maybe, even though it's not me in an exciting place, half a world away, I'll discover a few new things in the process too.