A Day in the Life of a Twin Mom…

Recently several of my favorite blog mom authors have posted what their day is like. I really enjoyed reading them and thought my day might be interesting to others too. People ask me all the time “How do you do it with 2???” Well, this is how… 6:45 Nick’s alarm goes off and he heads to the shower. If I know I am going somewhere that morning I make myself get up and start getting ready too but usually I wait till a little after 7:00. I just don’t function well before 7 AM… 7:15-7:30 Girls wake up (If I’m lucky, I have gotten dressed and contacts in, but most days I still have glasses and p.j.s on) I go upstairs and greet the girls who are still in cribs at the moment. I grab one out then reach over and grab the other one. Then they want down and race for the stairs. Usually they stop at the landing and look for Daddy or anything interesting in the living room they can see. I coax them down the stairs and sometimes have to just carry one of them. I grab 2 diapers and try to grab someone quick before they run off. I change one diaper then chase down the other one and change her diaper. Then I head to the pantry and they tell me what cereal they want. I grab the snack cups from the drying rack and fill them both and scramble to put the lids on before they start screaming. They grab the cereal and head to the living room while I grab 2 sippy cups and the milk from the fridge. Fix lids, pour milk in both cups, then screw lids on and pass to the girls. They used to watch Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and Jake and the Neverland Pirates but lately all they want to watch is Caillou or Sesame Street so luckily I have them recorded now. (These kids won’t know what it was like when you couldn’t pause, record, rewind LIVE t.v.!!) While they are watching I scramble some eggs real quick or just fix them some toast with jelly. I fix 2 plates with toast, eggs, and half a banana. 8:00 Get them in their booster seats at the table to eat breakfast. Once they are eating I put in some toast or a bagel for myself and pour some milk or OJ. I try to sit down with them and eat but they are usually done pretty quickly so then I usually just put it on the island and clean them up and maybe or maybe not eat it later. 8:15 They head to the play room (used to be our dining room) and I clean up the breakfast dishes. Depending on how they are feeling, I might run from the sink to the playroom 3-4 times to put out a fire between them before I finish cleaning up. Then I run upstairs and grab their clothes for the day. Their outfit depends on if we are seeing friends or not. I pick something complimentary, but not the same, if I want friends to be able to call them by their name easily. If we are just doing stuff here or with strangers then I dress them the same. They have about the same amount of each, matching or different. I ask whoever is closest what outfit they want to wear (if different colors) and start working on dressing that one. Then chase the other one to get her dressed. Lately they have wanted to “do it themselves” so they are getting a little better about the routine. Then I gather the pajamas and head to my room to drop them in the laundry basket and get myself ready. If they are having a good day they will bring whatever toy or doll along and be happy for a few minutes. If not, I have to get my phone and the ipod and let them watch a video or 2 so I can get on some clothes, pull my hair up and maybe or maybe not put on make-up. 8:45-9:00 Usually by now they are asking to go outside. Thankfully, we had a palapa (wooden palm leave structure) built over our patio so now there is a covered area to play even if the grass is wet. It’s been awesome because we can go out there and they can look for frogs and lizards and run around a bit every day. We play inside or outside for a while then are ready for a snack. If we are going somewhere I take the snack in the car. If I need to run any kind of errand I usually do it about 9:30-9:45 and I usually only go to one, maybe 2 places. On Mondays we go to the Library at 11:00. They love it but I really wish it was at 10:30 or so. We don’t leave there till 11:45 and then by the time we get home and eat they are Hungry!! Other days we go to the park, Petsmart or to a friends for a play date. They do like to go with me to Target or HEB but those kind of errands are getting harder just because they don’t like being in the cart too long anymore. Thank goodness for Mother’s Day Out now! I’m sure you are wondering how I get them both in the car so I will share our routine. I check my diaper bag before we go anywhere and make sure there are at least 4 diapers, wipes, some snacks and some extra pants (2 pair) and 2 sippy cups with juice or water. I tell them to come and get their shoes on, we have a basket by the back door, and they get started on that while I am fixing sippies or snacks or getting my shoes on. They can put their crocs on by themselves, Toms or Converse need help still. Once all 4 toddler feet have shoes, and mine too, we head to the garage door. Me with diaper bag, purse, and keys in hand. Them with lovie or some kind of doll or a sippy cup in hand. We walk out and I open the garage. Sloane likes to run out to our front sidewalk and look around the neighborhood I guess to check things out then Stella runs behind her saying “No Sissy!” I stand by the car and tell them to get in or I’m leaving and they come running back. I help one up into the car then the other. Whoever is closest to me at the moment I grab and put in her carseat and buckle. Sometimes with rebellion, sometimes not. Then I climb in the car and put the other one in her seat on the passenger side and buckle. Then I climb back out and put the diaper bag in that I left sitting in the floor of the garage. I close the door and then get in the front. I do have remote start on the car (BEST FEATURE EVER!) so somewhere in that time I start the car so we’re not all melting. When we get to our destination, I open the back drivers’ door and reach over and unbuckle one, then the one in front of me if they are walking. If we are using the stroller I get that out first, then get them out one a time and buckle in. (Somewhere in the morning one or both of them poops and I have to change them. If they don’t do their business, then I just change their wet diapers before lunch) 11:15 We get ready for lunch. If we are at home I fix them a hot dog, chicken nuggets, or a grilled cheese. Lately, since they started school they like peanut butter too. I quickly get something on their plate and then I add some fruit or raisins and a vegetable too it as I get it ready. They usually eat pretty well at lunch. Some days I take them to Chick-fil-A and we bring it home to eat. They love CFA days! So does Mommy! Sometimes we meet a friend or Daddy at McAlisters or somewhere for a lunch date, but that’s not very often. 12:00 After lunch they head to the playroom and I tell them to find some books while I clean up. They have been good lately about “reading” to themselves for a few minutes. I join them as soon as I wash up a few things or I hear the first scream that things are not going well between them. They also like to watch Caillou around this time too. It comes on at noon but I record it and we usually watch it about 12:15ish. About 12:45 I make them help me clean up some, check to make sure their diapers are okay and put them down for nap. 1:15-3:15 Nap time! I am on a race against the “nap time clock” to get as many things done as I can. If there are clean dishes in the dishwasher from the night before I unload it and wash/load the stuff from the day. If there are things laying around the kitchen I tidy up. I head to the laundry room to fold or start a load. Check phone and FB/zone out for a little while. Sometimes I get on the computer but not very often. It ends up sucking too much time and the whole nap is gone before I know it. If I have to make any calls or schedule anything I do it now. Sometimes I get to lay down and read a book or my bible but that’s not as much as I would like to either. This is also when I make sure I know what we are doing for dinner. If I have stuff for a crock pot meal, I start it. If not, I get every organized for what I am making later. 3:15-3:30 Girls wake up. I go get them and bring them down for diaper changes and then snack. Same thing as the morning, I chase one down and change her then chase the other one. If you have toddlers you know how much they LOVE diapers changes! HAHA loads of sarcasm!! For snack they usually want animal crackers, bunny snacks or goldfish. Sometimes popcorn but I usually eat more of that than them. ;) 4:00-5:00 We are usually outside again running around or playing on their trampoline or in their play house. The shelf broke in it the other day and I haven’t been letting them play in it and they miss it. Hopefully Daddy can fix it this weekend. 5:00 We come back in and usually they want some more juice or water since they have finished what I gave them at snack. I turn on some sort of video (baby signing time, baby Einstein, Praise baby, etc) for them to watch while I try to get dinner going. I am usually running back and forth from the kitchen to living room to put out fires between the girls. They love to fight at this time of day! 5:30 -5:40 Nick gets home. We are always so glad to see him! 5:45 ish we sit down to dinner. As soon as they finish they want to play with Daddy. He is really good about helping me get the dishes in the sink and a few things cleaned up before he goes off with them to play. 6:15ish we head outside to play. It’s been nice in the evenings so we have been outside a lot. They like to play in the front yard now too since we can trust them a little better to listen and not bolt for the street. They love to watch for neighbors going by on bikes or taking walks with their dogs. They love dogs and cats lately and are always on the lookout! I got them some sidewalk chalk and they love playing with it. Usually Nick and I have a rule that whoever cooks the other person cleans but lately I have been cooking more and I want him to take the girls out of my hair for a second so I end up doing both. I don’t mind though. They go off and play with him and I get most of the kitchen clean before they are calling me to come play too. I leave it and do it when they are in bed. 7:00ish Head inside and to our bathroom for their bath. One of us gets the water going and girls undressed and in the tub while the other gets pajamas and diapers. They love bathtime and always have fun. We usually have some good laughs with them too. One of us gets the fun job of hair washing, they usually really don’t like it but getting better. Once they are washed up they play some more till we decide its time to get out. I grab a hooded elephant or princess towel and wrap up a cutie. Then I lay her down on the counter and put on a diaper and p.j.’s. Nick grabs the other and takes her to our room to diaper and dress. Then we comb their hair and brush teeth. (If Nick is gone this is the hardest part. I am a nervous wreck having one on the counter and one in the tub but thankfully I think they know I am anxious so they usually mind me well.) 7:30 Head to the living room to cuddle on the couch and play on our phones. We started letting them look at our phones but it quickly turned into drama when they wanted it ALL the time so now they can only do it after baths when Daddy is home. They play Old Mac Donald or watch a video on Youtube for a bit then we get ready for bed. I make them help us tidy up the toys then we head upstairs. 7:50-8:10 ish We go up to their room and they get their pacifiers. They still use them for sleeping and after some recent thought and discussions with other moms, we are letting them keep them a bit longer. It has always been their thing, paci, blanket, lay down sleep. Since they were 4 months old! Usually they let it fall out within a few minutes of sleeping so I am not going to go through the battle of letting it go just yet. Anyway, they get passy and lovies and we sit down on the floor to read. Nick reads some and I read some and they sit in the rocking chair or run around next to us. After a few books we turn out the lamp, turn on the sound machine (and sometimes humidifier when they are stuffy) and put them in their cribs. Their daddy gives them BIG hugs and kisses and walk out. I cover them up and give them some sweet hair stroking then I used to walk out. Since they started school though, they have had a bit of mommy anxiety and like for me to sit in the rocking chair for a few minutes. They say “Mommy sit in rocky-rocky bye”. It’s too sweet to resist so I do it. I sing Jesus loves me, You are my sunshine, ABC’s and some song my mom used to sing about Go to sleep little baby. After a few times through the songs they settle down and I walk out. It really has helped the routine because this summer they had really been fighting going to sleep. They would talk and laugh and play for an hour if we let them. And even when we tried to get them to settle down they just wouldn’t. I think the fact that it is getting dark earlier is helping and they are exhausted on school days. While I am singing to the girls Nick is downstairs finishing up the dishes and cleaning the kitchen (Such a great husband!) then we sit down in the living room to watch some t.v. or look on our phones. I may or may not start a load of laundry or fold something from earlier in the day, and try to make sure everything is ready for the next day. 10:00 We head to bed. We may lay there and watch some more t.v. but we are usually always in our room by then. Someone may or may not call out for me in the night and I may have to wearily head upstairs to check on them but most nights they are out till the next morning. Then it starts all over again! If you are still reading, good for you!! I’m sure your days are all crazy and busy too but I thought you might enjoy a little peek into my world.  “It might be a crazy life, but it’s our life” Kate Gosslin

Pee Wee School

The girls started Pee Wee School on September 4th. You might also call it Mother's Day Out. It's at our church and they go Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9-2. They take their lunch and have nap time there but it's only about an hour and a half and they don't really even sleep that long yet. Some days they didn't sleep at all but hopefully they will get used to it soon and be able to sleep longer. At home they usually take about a 2 hour nap. It has been a big transition for them being away from me that long with strangers. They have been there for church of course but this is so much longer. Plus they just changed classrooms at church so they really weren't familiar with this room yet anyway. I wasn't as much worried about them being upset as I was about them hurting someone. This summer we went through a rough patch of them not wanting to share with other toddlers and pushing, shoving, doing whatever to get what they wanted. :( Not a fun parenting moment I tell you, not fun at all to have to constantly apologize for your little ones behavior. Stella was the biter and let me tell you how even more embarrassing that is!! Luckily after a couple of really bad, I mean BAD bites, She has finally gotten it under control. I guess it had to get really bad before it got better. Every time I drop them off I hold my breath until about 1:00 waiting for the school to call me and tell me I need to come and get one of them. Luckily I haven't had to yet and I pray that I won't. They have cried every time at drop off but not long. On Thursday last week, the fourth time, Stella didn't cry at all and Sloane stopped before I even left. I am hoping that tomorrow, the fifth time, we will do even better. They love it there I can tell because they come home talking all about things they did and friends they have made. Here are some pics from the first day of school and a craft they did the second day.

Toddler Cuteness

I just have to blog about a few cute things the girls are doing before I forget. While we still haven't been back to our normal sleeping, it is a little better and I am hoping that after this little cold is fully gone they will be good as new! Other than being exhausted lately, it's been fun watching the girls change everyday.
Now when you ask Stella "What's your name?" She will say "me". And we say no, it's Stella, she smiles really big and says me again. Just precious. She has also started going in for kisses pretty often now. I love when I am in the middle of something else and she just leans in for a kiss out of nowhere. It's just too sweet! She just learned how to say the sound a dog makes, woof woof. It seems like I was trying to get them to say it forever and now she is finally doing it. I think the w sound was hard for her. Sloane is trying to copy her but you can't really tell what she is saying. We taught them both to say "Go Texans" and that was really fun to have them shout at the TV during playoffs! Too bad we didn't get to the Superbowl this year, but I'm still very proud of our team!
Sloane is just climbing up everywhere!! She can climb the back of the couch and peek her head over the top. We're not even sure how she is doing it, she's just so strong! She can get up on the coffee table and now is trying to climb the baby gate in front of the TV. Her latest words are mow (rhyme with cow) for what a cat says and shoes. She can say shoes pretty clear and she knows where to go to get them and that if she wants to play outside she needs them. ;)
They also can saw Mamaw now instead of just signing it and they can say Bo-bi. A nickname Sloane made up for her cousin Mikalya. I know, we have no idea how she came up with Bo-bi but it's what she started saying so we go with it. They did try to say Maddie last time and it sounded like Mimi. We'll see if that sticks. They do love their older cousins and I love seeing them interact. Precious.
Their latest game is grabbing a throw blanket and wanting to hide under it. They want me to put it over them then get under with them. They aren't really satisfied playing alone, we ALL have to be under there. Then they just giggle and pop out. Then back under, then out, about 10-15 times till I have had enough and walk away (they cry and fuss at me and sometimes I go back for a few more rounds then I say, really I'm tired, you play, which only works sometimes).
My grandma got them a gift card to Wal-mart for Christmas for books. I took them yesterday and when I got the book aisle I let them look at the books. They both immediately said Dog-dog and reached for the same book. It was a really cute one that has little sound buttons you can push for several different animals. They LOVE it! They also got another book that has sound buttons that says different words they should learn like car, boat, ball, dog, cat, shoes, apple, etc. I was so happy that they knew most of them already and were able to push the button when I asked them to find certain ones. They are just learning so quickly these days. The teacher in me wants to be more intentional with my teacher and start working on more things but then again, I know that what I am doing already with them is working and they are learning everything just fine. I have plenty of time to teach them to read. haha
I am getting ready to register them for Mother's Day Out next fall. I can't believe I am already planning for this but it will be here before I know it. And I know that they need to be around the other kids (and away from me) for a little bit. Especially since they will be 2 by the time it starts.
I feel like there was more I wanted to say but of course I can't think of it. Going to go spend a little time with the hubby before we both crash.
Girls will be 19 months next week!!