So long, 7:00 bedtime.

Charlie started climbing out of his crib when he was 17 months old. He didn't just climb out once and then not do it again, like a lot of kids do. Once he figured out he could escape there was no keeping him in. So we promptly took the bottom out of his crib and put his mattress flat on the ground to buy us a few more inches and a little more time. That worked for a couple of months until he figured out that he could tip his entire crib over and use the slats as monkey-bars. By the time he had that down, Caroline had finally gotten brave enough to climb out of her crib on a consistent basis. They were about 20 months old at this point. So we heeded the advice of some friends with much older twins and turned their cribs upside down on top of them like cages. At naptime and bedtime we would lift one side of the crib up off the ground, they would get on hands and knees and climb right in. It wasn't a perfect solution but it at least kept the madness contained to their cages. That lasted until just before they turned 2.

One day we had the brilliant idea to try out toddler beds. Sheer genius, I tell you (insert eye roll here). The first night we were completely shocked that they actually stayed in their beds. I thought it was going to be perfect and wonderful and way better than cages. I couldn't have been more wrong! It didn't take long for them to start getting out of bed. And pull every single article of clothing out of their drawers. And try on every single sock and every single shoe. And try fit six bowties around their waist at a time. Every time I entered their room, there was no floor to be seen.

But at least the mess was contained. Their room only. I could live with that. And then they figured out how to open doors. The dreaded day of days. I woke up at 4:30 AM with a tiny little finger (not mine) stuck up my nose. Good thing I had doorknob covers in stock and ready to pull out when needed. It took Charlie less that a day to figure out how to break them off the doorknobs (on Caroline's bidding, probably. I always say she is the brains and he is the muscle). For over a week they woke up between 4:30 and 5:30 AM. If there is one good thing about that, though, it is that it made me really appreciate their standard 7:30 AM wakeup time, which I used to think was far too early for little humans to be up and roaming around.

We passed the super early wake-up phase, thank heavens. And now we are stuck in the "never going to sleep" era. Oh how I miss those days of putting them down at 7:00 and knowing they would be asleep before long. I used to really look forward to bedtime. And now I dread it. Dread with a capital D. Caroline wants the light on so she can read. Charlie hates the light on but wants the door open with the hall light on. Caroline doesn't like the door open and keeps getting up to shut it. Charlie wants his bear to sit up next to him in bed but his bear keeps falling over, because it's stuffed and stuffed bears don't sit up very well. And when stuffed bears don't sit up very well, that's cause for many many tears in our house. Caroline demands that every single book in sight be on her bed. But then she can't lay down because the books are taking up the entire surface area of her bed. And heaven forbid you take the books out of the room. She NEEDS her books. If there is even a single book on top of the dresser, you'd better believe she will be found standing in one of the drawers trying to climb onto the top of the dresser to get it down and safely into her bed with the other books. Charlie has at least eight blue blankies. And try as I might to hide all but one or two of them in the dresser, he goes to bed with a couple of them and cries and cries that he needs "mo' blankies." He would steal Caroline's in a heart beat if she'd let him.

You get the gist. Lots of tears and bedtime. And when there aren't tears, there are giggles. I love giggles. But giggles are now an indication that somebody is out of bed and running around the room with a bare bum and yelling "nakey nakey!". How do you even get mad about that? Especially when accompanying the bare bum are a pair of blue dinosaur rain boots and the cutest little head of white hair you've ever seen?

Long story short, our 7:00 bedtime has turned into 7:00 bedtime that doesn't actually end until 9:30. I'm not too hopeful that it will get better anytime soon!

The New Routine

 

I was reading back through some old blog posts and I came across this post about our daily routine when the twins were Juliet's age. I laughed out loud at how different life is now, and how much crazy has come into our lives. Here's a little look at what I'm talking about, a peek into our average every-day kind of a day:

7 AM - twins wake up, climb on top of the dresser, pull out every article of clothing in any drawer in their room, empty the trash can and laundry basket, undress themselves and attempt to re-dress themselves in swimming suits and rain boots, and spread lotion all over every available surface
7:15 - I finally realize they are awake and walk in to find what appears to be the aftermath of Hurricane Charlie and Caroline
7:16 - rush to the potty and sing "The Wheels on the Bus" for what already feels like the 57th time that day
7:20 - go rescue Juliet from her crib moments before Charlie crashes in on top of her, and remind myself that I need to put a child-proof door knob cover on her door
7:30 - make oatmeal and toast for the twins, strap them in their seats with their milk, breakfast, and "treats" (which are actually vitamins. I've conned them into thinking they are a treat.), and then sit down to feed Juliet
7:45 - clean up the kitchen which was spotless before breakfast and is somehow now coated in a layer of oatmeal, and grab myself something to eat, also intermittently interfering in Charlie's attempts to lay on top of Juliet (confession - sometimes I let him do it if it doesn't appear to be bothering her. I have to pick my battles)
8:00 - put Juliet back in bed. Brush kids teeth (this involves me pinning them to the ground and holding their head in-between my knees. Caroline's tears usually make a brief appearance.), do hair, use the potty again, and get dressed for the day. Sounds simple, but it takes a certain amount of finesse to get Caroline to allow me to touch her hair and get it done in the brief moments of light that Charlie's obsession with flipping the bathroom lights on and off allows me. Also taking care to keep the water faucet pointed toward "cold" so that Charlie doesn't burn himself when he gets bored with the lights and moves to turning the water on and off
8:15 - mop up the bathroom counters and floors from all of the water that somehow made its way out of the sink and onto everything else
8:20 - go into my bedroom and attempt to get dressed. If I'm super lucky, I might get to use the bathroom privately, and might get a bonus of brushing my teeth, putting my contacts in, or maybe even putting on makeup (ha! not likely). Meanwhile, my room now looks like it too was hit by Hurricane Char and Care.
8:30 - head down in the basement, our most kid-proof area in the house, and play. We work on puzzles, peg boards, and mega blocks. We play pretend with dolls and little people and throw balls at each other. The kids climb over the back of the couch and play peek-a-boo with each other. At some point I go and get Juju, feed her, and add her to the madness.
Noon - finally lunch time. Head upstairs, and I make one of three meals: grilled cheese, cheese quesadilla, or macaroni and cheese (somebody loves cheese a little too much..) Eat, potty, and then the most glorious time of all is here.
1 PM - Nap time!! Hallelujah. Caroline goes in her bed in her room. Charlie goes in Juliet's crib. Juliet goes in the pack n play in my room. Put them all down then sit in the hallway watching the monitors like a hawk. Go put Charlie back in the crib at least 4 times. Take Caroline to the potty once or twice more. Then finally, heaven-sent silence. If I'm lucky I get 2.5 hours of beautiful wonderful naptime. Enter the debate: nap? Clean up after hurricanes? Work on a project? Watch TV? The possibilities are endless, and yet somehow I find myself spending at least 15 of those precious naptime minutes sitting in the bathroom scrolling through my Facebook news feed. So lame.
3:30 - twins wake up from nap. Same sequence occurs as when they wake up in the morning, only this time they are in two separate rooms so Juilet's room now gets the hurricane treatment as well. I swear they get out of bed silently and destroy without making a peep.
4:00 - try to start some kind of a dinner, all while protecting Juju from her siblings and protecting the twins from hurting themselves. Charlie inevitably bring his bike over to the stove and tries to use it as a stool to get up and help me cook. Caroline digs into the drawer and pulls out two oven mitts and tries to open the hot oven saying "help you mommy!". I constantly remind myself to keep the knives away from the edges of the countertops, in the sink, or basically anywhere except for the top of the refrigerator.
5:30 - dinner. Convince the twins that they can have a "treat" (treat this time meaning applesauce, yogurt, or Almonds..) if they finish their dinner. Charlie finishes first every single time and gets his treat. Caroline cries that she doesn't get her treat yet, then finally after many tears decides it worth eating her dinner for.
6:30 - twins bath, brush teeth, potty, go on horsey rides, read scriptures, say prayers, tickle their guts out and then sing lots and lots of songs. And read lots of stories. And then some more.
7:00 - lights out, door shut, and hope they stay in bed. Sit by the door and listen to their conversations.
Charlie - Gramma!
Caroline - No! No gramma. Night night.
Char - Outside!
Care - No! No outside. Night night.
Char - Jumping jellybean!
Care - No! No jumping jellybean. Night night.
She loves her sleep, and she also loves telling Charlie no.
7:30 - Juliet bath (on the good days), feed her, and put her in bed.
And then party because all 3 kids are in bed and asleep before 8:00. Do some laundry, sleep, and repeat. That's how we roll.

Turning Two

I'm in denial. I have been for quite some time, actually. As of Monday, my babies are two. A little over two years ago I was a whale. I was so swollen I could barely fit flip flops on my feet. I turned heads everywhere I went. I slept in a chair, surrounded by 20+ pillows. I ate a watermelon a day (seriously. I lived on watermelon). And then at 6:22 and 6:28 PM on August 10, my life changed forever.

Suddenly it wasn't about me anymore. I didn't matter how swollen or uncomfortable I was, or how often I had to pee. I was consumed with love for two little tiny humans, and I spent every waking moment (which was about 23 1/2 hours per day for the first 5 weeks) worried about whether they had enough to eat, were warm enough, and had a clean diaper.

And now I still worry about them constantly. Just about different things. I worry about them breaking every bone in their tiny bodies when they fly kamikaze off of the couch and onto the floor. I worry about them being nice to other kids and others being nice to them. I worry about them getting cavities and eating a balanced diet. And every day I love them in a whole new way. Every day they make me laugh and burst with pride and want to pull my hair out (usually all within a matter of 4 minutes).

The last few months have been full of changes for my little people. Milestones. Transition to toddler beds. Potty training at 20 and 23 months. Moving from clothing sizes that end in "months" to ones that end in "T". Talking up a storm and communicating their emotions so well. They've handled the transitions like champs. Yet another sign that they are growing up. And as exciting as it is to see them grow and change and learn, it's also heart wrenching because I just want them to stay little forever.

Double Diaper Trouble

If I've been a little absent lately, it's because I've been cleaning up poop. Not even kidding. I should warn you that this post will include a lot of talk about poop and other unpleasant bodily functions. Not mine, thankfully, but disgusting none the less.

I don't know what kind of a special affinity my children have for pooping on me, but they've had it since they were newborn. All three of them. And I'm not just talking blowouts or diaper explosions, I mean like pooping all over my leg in the middle of a diaper change, or pooping on me when I pick them up to put them in the tub. I've been pooped on more times than I can count. But little exclusively-breastfed-baby-poop isn't so bad. It cleans up pretty easily and doesn't smell awful. But the bigger they get, the worse it gets.

The twins were about 15 months old when they (and by they, I mean Caroline) learned how to take off their diapers. That's the way it works around here. One figures out how to do it and does it over and over again until the other learns how. So when they say "double trouble" for twins, they really should say quadruple trouble. Because not only are there two children with their own ideas of how to get into trouble, but they are each learning from and copying the other's trouble-making skills. Learning to un-diaper themselves was one of those nasty, awful, no good trouble-making skills. And they both mastered it very early on. I think it's payback for laughing about one of my besties' babies learning to un-diaper before her mom was ready to go through potty training. I had no idea.

When they started un-diapering, I was pretty big pregnant with Juliet. I wanted to potty train, but I knew it was a bit early and frankly I just didn't have the energy to do it. So I opted for duct tape instead. Sometimes it worked and sometimes it didn't. I got to where I would go around the entire circumference of the diaper around their waist two times with a strip of duct tape. But even then they would somehow weasel themselves out of it.

They got into a really awful habit of taking their diapers off in the middle of the night. So then they would wake up sopping wet. And on some very unfortunate mornings, I would walk in to the awful stench of tiny human poop spread all over their sheets. And their hair. And their crib slats. And under their fingernails. And sometimes (I shudder even to think it) even smeared around their mouths. Gag. Cut to me rinsing out pajamas and sheets in the toilet, wiping my babies down with wet wipes and spraying them off (from a distance) in the shower. I seriously think I deserve a medal for the amount of poop I've had to clean up in my less than two year stint as a mother.

After Juliet arrived, I decided it was time to potty train. I committed myself to three entire days and nights diaper-free. Day 1 was awful. I think we maybe had one success. The entire day. Potty training two little bums at the same time is a lot harder than I expected. It seemed like each time one was sitting on the potty, the other had an accident. And trying to put two little bums on the potty every 20 minutes while also breastfeeding a newborn and trying to maintain peace and cleanliness in our home is no small task.

Day 2 was better. After I caught her mid-pee and stuck her on the potty to finish, Caroline seemed to get the hang of it. Charlie would pee on the potty but had a hard time going #2. By day 3 Caroline had it down and rarely had accidents after that. Charlie, not so much. He went back into diapers on day 4. That was about 2 months ago when the twins were 20 months old. Caroline still does really well for the most part. I still take extra undies and pants with us everywhere we go, and I still wash her sheets nearly every morning because she wets the bed, but I consider here successfully potty trained.

Charlie still rips his diaper off nearly every night. I've given up on duct tape because it's a pain in the rear and it doesn't work half the time anyway. So every morning when I go into their room I cross my fingers that it's only a wet diaper I have to deal with. The finger crossing works exactly 67% of the time. The other 33% of the time I'm not so lucky. And each time, the award that I think I deserve gets bigger and bigger.

I'm almost out of size 4 diapers. When I run out, I have sworn that I will never put another diaper on that boy. I figure I'm cleaning up his poop anyway, so I may as well be doing it in the name of potty training. Heaven help me!

And with that, I hereby promise I will never talk about poop this much ever again. The end.

Outnumbered

I grew up in a family of 7. It was my mom, my dad, and 5 super awesome daughters. My poor dad - he is a very patient man. He handled it pretty well. He does blame us (the girls) for every single gray hair and every last inch of balding on his head, and I think he's probably right in doing that. We didn't exactly give him an easy time. I think I remember one of my sisters getting caught using my mom's razor to shave my dad's head while he was napping in the bathtub. I personally recall drawing pictures all over any part of exposed skin with my mom's lipstick while he napped on the couch (maybe he should have learned not to ever nap while we were around). My mom even has some blackmail pictures of him wearing one of her dresses, some heels, makeup and jewelry. He would occasionally let us paint his toenails and put clips in his hair. He was a good sport. And he was always our biggest supporter. Whatever we were doing - whether it was a sporting event, a play, cheerleading or a spelling bee - he made an effort to be there. In short, my dad is a rockstar.

When I was little, we bought a boat. Most of us called it the banana boat because it was as yellow as a perfectly ripe banana, but my dad officially named it "Outnumbered." It was quite fitting. The guy was surrounded by 6 females constantly. Even when we all started having kids of our own, it was years before a boy finally made an appearance.

I think I'm starting to have some sympathy pains for my dad's experiences. Not being outnumbered in terms of gender, but simply being outnumbered by my children. When it was just me and Charlie and Caroline at home, it was manageable. Crazy, yes, but doable. And then when Forrest was home from work we could move to a man-on-man defense. It worked well for us. Enter Juliet. Now life is a whole different story!

Life is now a whole new level of crazy. Still wonderful, of course. But so crazy. Juliet and I have had to learn to breastfeed "on the go." Meaning that I often have to jump up with her in the middle of a feeding to pry Charlie away from Caroline before he rips a chunk of hair out of her head. Or I have to intervene when Caroline is about to slam the door on Charlie's little fingers. Or when one of them has climbed onto the kitchen counter and is headed straight for something dangerous.

As an added bonus, I now have 3 children in 3 different sizes of diapers. Not at all confusing! My plan is to potty train ASAP, though I don't know how in the world I can give the twins enough attention to successfully potty train while I'm feeding a baby around the clock. Wish me luck with that one!

Even when Forrest is home to help, leaving the house takes us about 5,692 times longer than it used to. And once we do finally get out the door, inevitably someone is hungry, or a diaper needs changed, or I forgot to stock the diaper bag with diapers, wipes, or an extra change of clothes. Or I forgot to brush my teeth. Gross, I know, but when you are so focused on getting 3 little bodies ready to leave, it's easy to forget the basic things like that!

In all honesty though, having Juliet at home has still been 100 times easier than the first couple of months with the twins. Having two newborns was just so demanding! With only one baby to wake up with in the night, I feel so well rested. Seriously. So much easier with one, even though I am woefully outnumbered.

It Takes Patience

I am a lot of things. I'm a mom, a wife, a sister and daughter. I'm an avid online shopper, a sour milk despiser, and a fan of The Biggest Loser. I'm a sloppy gift wrapper, a stomach sleeper, and a whimp at amusement parks. There are a lot of things that I am. And a lot more things that I am not. And let me tell you, I AM NOT PATIENT! I never have been. I have what my husband would call the "need-to-be-right" complex. I think my ideas are always the best way to do something, and I get really frustrated when someone tries to do it a different way (something I get from my dad).

So what in the world is a non-patient person doing raising twins?! Trying to learn patience I guess. In church on Sunday we had a lesson about patience, and it was one of those lessons where I sat thinking I was doing a pretty good job at it. I am not always the best at being patient with my husband (I know, I'm working on it), but during the lesson I was thinking about my children and my thoughts honestly were something like this: "I think I do a pretty good job at being patient with my kids.." and ended right about there.

And I think the Man Upstairs heard my thoughts and decided I needed a little motivation to take that lesson to heart. So He sent me yesterday. Yesterday my little monkies decided to climb onto the table and open the nearly full bag of cheerios and dump them all out. Including the dust at the bottom of the bag. And they thought it was hilarious, of course! And they chose to play in their cribs for 2+ hours instead of nap, so they were super cranky. And when I went to get them up from their "nap" I found a little boy with poop spread all over his mattress and clumped under his fingernails. And that was after 5 poopy diapers already changed earlier in the day. While I worked on doing the laundry and cleaning up the now-brown crib sheet, the littles climbed into the dryer and shut themselves in. I opened the door to find Charlie sitting right on top of Caroline. Charlie was thrilled and Caroline looked like she didn't know whether to hit him or cry. Most of the day went about like that. Caroline shut Charlie's hand in the door. Charlie pulled Caroline's hair. They both fell off the kitchen chairs multiple times while climbing onto the table, which I can't keep them off of. They refuse to sit in their high chairs. They insist on feeding themselves with the spoon instead of letting me feed them. I finally sent Forrest a message at 5 PM begging him to come home from work and rescue me. 

And when I think about it, I don't know if the incidents from yesterday were really that much worse than the average day; but for whatever reason, my patience was wearing quite thin. Perhaps it was a not so gentle reminder that nobody's perfect, and that while I am generally quite patient with my children, it is something that I still need to work on. Thank goodness they are so cute in the midst of their mischieviousness! That makes it much easier.

Moments like this make it easier too. They really do love each other!

Our Favorite Things

Sometimes I feel like I get in a major rut when it comes to entertaining and feeding my children. Like we do the same things over and over. So I've been trying to switch it up a bit! The twins' preferences change just about as often as mine do (which is a lot), but for now, here are a few of our favorite things!

Toys: 

 

I wish I could remember what website I got this idea from, but I can't. I went to my dad's work and picked up two cardboard tubes of different sizes, and then taped them to diaper boxes stacked on top of each other. In the bottom of the bottom box there are a bunch of books so it will stay in place. Charlie and Caroline LOVE this toy! And it was free. They stand there for 10 minutes at a time (which is a really long time for a 15 month old!) and drop toys down the different tubes and get quite a thrill out of watching them come out the other end. Originally I only had the bottom box/tube combo, but now that they are a little older I added the top one and they think it's great looking at different toys to try and determine which tube they will fit down (the top tube is about half the size of the bottom one). It's been a great toy/learning station for my littles, and I think it will be especially great heading into the winter months!

Anything with wheels! Caroline is obsessed with sitting/riding on things with wheels, and Charlie is fascinated by flipping the item over and playing with the wheels himself. I am sad about winter coming for this one reason alone! There are so many bikes and scooters etc out in the courtyard that they love to play with! 

This toybox (I got it at Ikea for under $10 I think) has been the source of lots and lots of enjoyment! They love climbing inside, tipping it over, throwing the toys in and out etc. 

Activities:

Helping me "fold" laundry is a favorite of theirs! Charlie loves to sit in the laundry basket while I pull the warm clothes out of the dryer, and they love to help me sort the colored socks from the white socks. 

Charlie and Caroline love doing "chores." Their favorite is throwing the diapers away, but they also are responsible for putting their clothes in the laundry basket, cleaning up their tubby toys at the end of the bath, and wiping off their high chair trays after a meal. 

This basket in the living room used to be filled with baby blankets, but we recently made a switch to something a little more practical and fun: balls! We have a ton of them (mostly small soccer balls) and they love them all. A favorite activity is dumping all the balls out and then throwing them back in one at a time. We are still at the point where the basket is right next to them when they "throw" the balls in, but we're trying to move it farther away a little bit at a time. 

We can't forget climbing! That's quite possibly their favorite activity. Every once in a while we take the cushions off the couch and line them up to make a "balance beam". The littles think it's hilarious to try and walk on it because it's so squishy and wobbly so they always fall right off. Other times we drag the chair into the middle of the floor so they can climb all over it and won't hit anything when they fall off (if there was only one of them climbing on it, falling probably wouldn't be an issue.. but with 2 it definitely is!). Sometimes we pull out all the pillows, cushions, crib mattresses etc and make a climbing obstacle course in the living room. They think it's pretty fun, and considering how much of a mess they usually make when they play, it's not too bad of a clean up.

And I don't have a picture, but another favorite activity is reading. They've always liked being read to, but especially in the last few weeks they really LOVE picking out a book, sitting down on our laps and looking at pictures over and over and over. Caroline isn't shy about it - she picks out a book, throws it at one of us, turns around and backs up and plops her little bum right down on a lap and wiggles herself back until she's wedged in tight. Charlie is a little more hesitant. He picks out a book and shows it to me but won't come sit on my lap unless I pick him up and put him there. But once he's there, he grabbes my hand and sticks the book right in it to read. I love it :)

Food:

I don't make separate meals for the littles. They just eat whatever I eat, chopped up small enough that they can eat it. They'll eat most anything, but these are a few of their favorites:

-steamed squash

-kidney beans

-toast

-frozen blueberries

-raisins

-tilapia

-apples and peanut butter

-shredded wheat

-oatmeal

-yogurt

-string cheese

-mandarin oranges

-olives

I could keep going for a long time but I won't bore you with every single thing they eat. I hear most kids go through a pick stage when they get closer to age 2, so I'm trying to enjoy them being fantastic eaters while they can, and crossing my fingers that we won't go through that picky stage!

MY favorite things:

And now a short list of my favorites.

-during the twins' afternoon nap, I really enjoy cooking and prepping dinner, baking, cleaning the kitchen etc. (I'm being serious, I really do enjoy it!). I take the iPad and turn on Netflix and cook away. Then I can enjoy watching TV but don't feel guilty about sitting on the couch all afternoon wasting time. 

-reading. Right now I'm in the middle of Outliers and It is fascinating! I don't get much time to read, so I've been reading this book for months.. but even if it takes me forever to get through it, I still love it!

-yoga. I didn't get to work out at all while I was pregnant with the twins so this is new for me. Earlier in my pregnancy I did a lot more cardio work, but it's become much more difficult for me to do that now. But yoga is the perfect balance of exercise and relaxation. I LOVE IT! And I do it at home in my living room while the twins are napping, so I don't have to pay for a gym membership or worry about finding someone to watch the twins.

These are a few of our favorite things. What are some of yours?

Just How Much?

With a third little munchkin on the way to join our family, I've been thinking a lot lately about our use of diapers, wipes, baby food etc. and how much we use of everything now. And then I think about how much more of it we're going to use very very soon!

When the twins were newborn, we went through approximately 24 diapers a day. Yes, that's right, 24. Per day. Which means that we spent roughly $150/month on diapers alone. Now it's a little better than that. Ok, it's A LOT better! On a typical day we use about 8 diapers. Which means that our diaper spending has gone down to $50/month. Much better! Not for long though, soon will have a cuddly new little poop machine to keep covered up. But newborn diapers are so much easier to change!!

Ok enough with diapers and poop. Let's talk about food. Charlie and Caroline are eaters. Big, big eaters. They always have been. When they were 5 months old, they started eating a ton. Seriously, A TON! I would buy 1 lb bags of frozen veggies, heat them up and puree them, and then they would eat the entire bag in one sitting. We don't have to make special baby food for them anymore, thank goodness. They just eat whatever we eat! And between the two of them, they eat about as much as I do. And remember I'm pregnant, so I eat a pretty good amount! If I make myself a bowl of oatmeal, I make an extra for the twins. I eat a sandwich, they eat a sandwich. I eat a yogurt, they eat three yogurts. Though it is really wonderful to not have to make purees anymore, there has definitely been an increase in our grocery budget lately! But I am super grateful the littles eat so well.

Other things add up as well. Up to this point, they have just shared everything we have. And now they want their own of everything. My logical half says they can just learn to share. And then my irrational half says to just go ahead and get them each their own of everything so they will stop fighting over every toy and sippy cup we own. I'm still on the "learn to share" bandwagon, but it is tempting at times! 

Clothes are another issue. Thankfully up until now, nearly all of their clothes have been given or loaned to us. But now we're having to start buying clothing and let me just say, D.I. is the best thing ever for baby clothes. I got Caroline's winter coat there for $5 a few weeks ago, and it looks brand new! Thank goodness for that, because buying double the clothes is super super expensive! 

I know our lives are about to get WAY crazier. There will be way more poop, a whole new hungry mouth to food, another tiny body to keep clothed (oh, the laundry!), and a third set of nap schedules to work around. But most importantly, there will be one more cuddly baby to hold and to love. More giggles and smiles and a whole new set of firsts. And for that, I absolutely cannot wait! 

Just a Boy and a Girl

When I found out I was expecting boy/girl twins, I was super excited! There are a lot of things to love about that. Most people say "you can just be done now!" Clearly that's not the case. But having one of each is perfect, in my opinion, and I was super excited to get to see the differences in their personalities and devolepment, side by side. 

So far I have not been disappointed. They are so, so different. And obviously they have both had the same parenting, at the same time. They share all the same toys, are given all the same foods to eat, and are exposed to (almost) all the same experiences. And yet they are different. It amazes me.

Charlie is 100% boy. He is not the least bit interested in stuffed animals, clothes, dolls etc. He LOVES things with wheels. Cars, strollers, walking toys etc. He plays with them constantly. Sometimes he pushes them around the room, but many times he purposely tips them over so that he can just spin the wheels around and around. And then he examines every little part of whatever he's playing with to try and figure out how it all works. He loves pulling things apart and putting them back together. He loves hinges and is thoroughly entertained by opening and closing doors, books, and anything else that operates on a hinge. And he loves climbing anything and everything in sight.

Caroline, on the other hand, could not be more girl. She is obsessed with dolls, stuffed animals, and her blanket. She hugs them tight to her and rubs her face against the softness. She loves combing her hair, blowing her nose, cleaning the floor with wipes, putting on my blush, having bows in her hair (even though she prompty pulls them out, she begs me over and over to put them in for her), and dressing and undressing herself. She loves shoes and wants them on her feet all the time. She loves wearing my necklaces, and constantly brings me lotion to put on her hands and chapstick to put on her lips. She loves carrying around purses and stuffing random items in them. Like I said, all girl.

Charlie is a little bit reckless. He has no fear and he climbs everywhere and then head dives back down (even though he knows how to get down safely). He falls AT LEAST 10 times more each day than Caroline and is constantly covered in bumps and bruises. Caroline is a bit more careful. Her balance is much better than her brother's and she rarely falls. Charlie is pretty easy going and Caroline is a little high strung. Caroline crawled, walked, pick up food etc. quite a bit sooner than Charlie did, but Charlie's vocabulary was bigger at an earlier age. And by vocabulary I mean that he could make a number of animal sounds and car noises pretty early on :). 

They are simply the best. I love them so so much, and I love the special bond that they have. When Charlie cries, Caroline goes and squats down next to him and jabbers some nonsense in his direction, then pats his head and gives him a hug. When Caroline cries, Charlie cries too. Or occasionally he laughs. They can make eachother laugh more than anyone else can, and they love tackling eachother to give hugs and kisses. They think they are hilarious when they stand on either side of a door and swing it back and forth to eachother, or when they hide on either side of a chair and play peek-a-boo. I am so grateful that they always have their best friend to play with. And frankly, I'm a little bit jealous that I didn't grow up with a twin!

We Worked Hard for This!

When Charlie and Caroline were 8 weeks old, they started sleeping 8 hours at night (together - at the same time - without eating). And it was wonderful! Within the following month they moved up to sleeping between 10-12 hours/night, and since then they have been fairly consistent at sleeping 12 hours. Occasionally some teething, sickness, and other sleep disruptions occur, but generally speaking, my children are fantastic sleepers. Hallelujia! 

I often get people who ask about their sleep habits (especially when they were younger) and when I tell them how well they sleep, I get comments like, "You are so lucky to have such good babies!" and "Wow, count yourselves lucky!". And I do. We have been extremely blessed to have such wonderful children and fantastic little sleepers.

But when I respond with the usual, "Yes, we sure are," a part of me also wants to tell them that it's not all luck. Actually I am more of the opinion that it has very little to do with luck at all. I've mentioned before how difficult the first 5-6 weeks with newborn twins were. Partly it was just really hard getting things figured out - learning how to breastfeed two tiny infants, trying to discipher their different cries, and all the other things that come with being a first-time parent. But also I think it was extra hard because we (Forrest and I) made it that way. We were determined to do the hard things then, in the early weeks, so that we could have peace and quiet later on. By that I mean that instead of enjoying the ease and convenience of only feeding one baby when they woke in the night, we chose to wake the other baby too and deal with the commotion of trying to tandem feed in the pitch black at 2 AM, 4 AM, and so on.. I also mean that we sleep trained the littles when they were only 5 weeks old. (Side note: I get that there are arguments for and against cry-it-out. It's not for everyone, and that's fine. I'm only sharing what worked for us.) It took about 3 days of letting them cry in their cribs for what sometimes seemed like hours (in reality it was probably 45 minutes at the very most) until they learned the valuable skill of putting themselves to sleep. And since then, except for the rare circumstances when we are away from anywhere with a crib/pack'n'play, I have never had to rock a baby to sleep. 

Not that I didn't ever want to. The few times that one of the babes has fallen asleep in my arms are times that I treasure and remember with a smile (a sad one, because they are getting so big!). But the minute Forrest went back to work I knew it was impractical for me to rock each of my babies to sleep for naps ALONE. Sleep training was so worth it for us.

And now that the littles are not so little anymore, it is so wonderful (for me and for them) to have the predictability of our routine. I sometimes get easily overwhelmed when it's first thing in the morning and the house is already a mess with breakfast dishes and toys spread everywhere. It's a lifesaver for me to know that regardless of what happens during those couple of hours, at 10 AM the munchkins will be snoozing away and I can deal with the dishes and the toys then. 

Charlie and Caroline thrive on their routine. Caroline a little more-so than Charlie, now-a-days. When I say the word "naptime" she actually runs into the room, grabs her blankie and her panda/dolly/bear (whatever is her favorite at the moment) and tries to climb into her crib. I'm not kidding. Charlie usually makes a break for it in the other direction. Their little personalities crack me up! 

Anyway, my point is, parents have a lot of control over what kind of sleepers their littles ones turn out to be. Not complete control, but a good amount of it. So find something that works for you! Happy sleeping everyone :)

Halloween Time!

Happy Halloween! I like Halloween, but I don't love it. I was super lame and didn't even put up decorations this year. I had good intentions, but with Forrest out of town and then my trip out to Missouri in the middle of the month to bring him home, decorating was low on the totem pole of things to do! But I still wanted to make it fun for Charlie and Caroline.

They are learning to LOVE Halloween. The courtyard at our apartments is all decked out with ghosts, pumpkins, witches and scarecrows. Our neighbor's door is covered in skeletons and Happy Halloween signs. And the kids think it's the best thing ever! Especially Caroline. She walks around pointing at everything with her jaw dropped and says "Ooooohhhhh!" It's adorable. When we were at the grocery store I walked them down the Halloween aisle and the both kept saying "boo!" over and over at every new decoration they saw. Silly kids.

We had our ward Trunk or Treat on Saturday. We dressed up our cute little munchkins in a bumble bee and a lady bug costumes. Forrest and I carried nets to go with our "bug catcher" costumes. The littles thought it was wonderful going from car to car and getting oodles of candy that we will never let them eat. And they looked super adorable!

It has been pointed out to me that Charlie's head looks 100 times bigger than Caroline's in these pictures. Let me explain: His head isn't huge. It's actually kinda small percentile wise. But the allusion is due to his constume being a 6-9 month size, and Caroline's being 12-18 month. Hey, we make do with what we've got! And on the bright side, a future child will be able to wear them both on different years.

We try to do a fun family activity every Monday night. In our church, we call it Family Home Evening. Yesterday for FHE we were planning on carving pumpkins. Then it turned out that the only pumpkins we had were pint sized and a little too small for our unskilled hands to carve. So we opted to paint them instead, and Charlie and Caroline thought that was the best idea ever! I made edible paint using Sweetened Condensed Milk and food coloring. Caroline painted her pumpkin and the floor really well, and Charlie had a blast painting himself and eating the paint. They were so cute!

In the end we had a giant mess to clean up, but I think it's good for kids to get messy sometimes. And it's not so bad cleaning up when you don't have to do it alone! 

So we've had a great Halloween so far, and it's not even October 31 yet! Holidays are so much more fun when you have little ones who are experiencing everything for the first time. 

Surreal

Today marks 10 weeks since I drove my husband to an Army base, kissed him goodbye and drove away in tears. In those 10 weeks we have talked on the phone five times. Two of those phone calls lasted less than a minute, the other three were 20-30 minutes of bliss. I've recieved 20 letters, some short and some long. I've sent 100 pictures of Charlie and Caroline, and showed videos to them of their daddy every single day so they don't forget him.

Later today I will board an airplane that will take me to Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, where tomorrow I will get to hug and kiss my husband again. The only word I can think to describe it is "surreal." I can't believe the time has passed. I can't believe we all survived. I can't believe that he will be back home with us so soon and that we can have meals together like a normal family. I can hardly contain my excitement, and I can hardly believe it is all happening.

Everyone says the time flew by for them. And you know, sometimes it did for me too. There were days that seemed a lot longer and harder than others. But in general, the days went by fairly quickly. But when I look back at what life was like 10 weeks ago, it makes it seem like a really long time. Charlie and Caroline hadn't even turned 1 yet. We celebrated their birthday a week early so Forrest could be there. Now they are 14 months old. Caroline wasn't walking yet. Now she is practically running. The babes couldn't talk much, and now they jabber non-stop (with a lot of real words included!). I was only 10 weeks pregnant when he left. Now I am half-way there. When I think about it in those terms, it does seem like he's been gone forever.

But we survived, and the long weeks of waiting are over. I am so looking forward to having him home with me again. I'm just trying not to think about Spring-time when he leaves for the next 10 weeks training, because we'll have three kids then, icluding a newborn. Here's to focusing on the time that he IS here, and not the time that he's not. Wish me luck!

The Good Days

Today was a good day. Yesterday was NOT a good day. Both days I was at home, taking care of two toddlers, all by myself. Both days my husband was gone. I didn't get phone calls, texts, or emails from him. Both days I had minimum amounts of food in my refrigerator because of a serious need to go to the grocery store. Both days were freezing cold outside. And both days, I had a billion things on my to-do list. 

Yesterday I got up out of bed, got the kids breakfast, played for a little while, then put them back down for a nap. Then I layed on the couch like a potato and watched the Price is Right. Nap over, lunch, play, afternoon nap. Lay on the couch and watch Friends. Nap over, dinner, bedtime craziness. Lay on the couch and watch Modern Family. Bum around and waste time until I finally go to bed close to midnight.

Ok I exaggerate a little bit. I did write a check, get the mail, go on a beautiful scenic drive, give myself a manicure, and put some laundry away. But that was about it. I didn't shower. I didn't do my hair. I didn't put on makeup, get dressed, cook a real meal, clean the disater that is my apartment, or go to the grocery store. And honestly, I felt like crap all day.

Today started the same way. Wake up to the cute back-and-forth jabbering of my babies. Breakfast, play time, the nap. But then I did something different. Most days at this point I try to workout, shower, do my hair, and get dressed. And that's good too. But today my house needed me. So instead of turning on the TV and laying on the couch like a potato, I make a to-do list. And then I started at the top: clean the bathroom. Not like a basic "pick-up" the bathroom. It was in desparate need of a good scrubbing. So I got dressed in my grungiest grunge-wear and got to work. I love crossing things off of lists. It is the best feeling in the world.

The rest of the day went about like that. Wash the dishes, check. Fold the laundry, check. Vacuum, sweep and mop, check. Make a real dinner, check. Take out the trash, check. Seriously my list was two pages long and I cruised through it in a few short hours. Why yes, I do think I deserve a gold medal for that! (Pause here to give props to my kids for being such good sleepers, that I actually have 4+ hours of naptime each day to get things done.)

Not every day is like that. I don't always get a billion things done in less than half the day. But all "The Good Days" have a few things in common:

1) Less TV - If you know me at all, you know I love my TV shows. And I'm not saying NO TV, because that would be really hard for me. But just less of it.

2) A Clean House - Whether the house is already clean or the day involves me cleaning (let's be honest, I have 1 year old twins. The day ALWAYS involves me cleaning), having a clean house makes a serious difference in how well my day goes.

3) Positivity - Ultimately, I know that every day I have the power to choose how I feel. Not physically, necessarily, but emotionally. If I wake up and lounge around and decide not to do anything, then I usually have a bad day. But if I wake up and decide that I'm going to do something and feel good, then I do it. And it almost always ends up as a good day.

I declare that if I am in control of whether or not I have a good day (and I think that my above thoughts will confirm that I am), then I will choose to have far more good days then bad days. In fact, I would like to have no bad days at all. (Ha! Wouldn't that be nice.) But really, it's my choice. So I think I will choose the good. What about you?

And we'll throw in a TBT to this GREAT day last week, when we got to FaceTime daddy for the first time in 8 weeks. 13 days and counting!!

Albino.

I cringe when I hear that word. For the first few months after Charlie was diagnosed with Albinism, I found myself getting frustrated and even angry with people whenever I would hear them refer to him as an albino. I felt like I needed to defend him from others who didn't understand who he really was, and that "albino" had nothing to do with his real identity.

Lately, though, I've been thinking a lot about my son's future. For years Forrest and I have dreamed about travelling around the world and spending years living in different countries. And I always imagined that we would take our children along with us, giving them new experiences that most children wouldn't have. We talked about travelling while the our children were young, and being settled by the time they reached high school. But now my thoughts have shifted toward Charlie, and what would be best for him. 

And I think it will be important for him to not be offended by the term "albino". Because he's going to get called that - not necessarily out of cruelty or meanness, but just because people don't know the proper term. I was one of those people, until my little Char-monster came along. I also think it will be important for Charlie not to be the new kid all his life. I think we will need to be settled long, long before his high school years so that he can grow up with people who know him and who don't think he's strange for having albinism.

I realize I can't protect him from every harm and evil out there. But oh how I wish I could. I realize that he will be teased and stared at, and the thought of it makes me want to cry. But I know he will be so much stronger because of it.

He reminds me of this talk in the April 2014 General Conference, given by Neil L. Andersen:

"In nature, trees that grow up in a windy environment become stronger. As winds whip around a young sapling, forces inside the tree do two things. First, they stimulate the roots to grow faster and spread farther. Second, the forces in the tree start creating cell structures that actually make the trunk and branches thicker and more flexible to the pressure of the wind. These stronger roots and branches protect the tree from winds that are sure to return."

That's my Charlie. I know the winds are going to come. And I know he will grow stronger and be given the tools he needs to withstand the damaging forces around him. I already find myself amazed by Charlie's determination. Where Caroline gets frustrated with something that she can't do and brings it to me to do instead, Charlie spins an object around in his hands and stares at it closely until he figures it out for himself. I have learned so much from him already, and I think he will continue to teach me things throughout my lifetime. I'm so blessed to be a parent to such a wonderful and special spirit.

Cake Smash

Let's pretend I wrote this post a month and a half ago, when my babies turned one.

The past year has gone by so incredibly fast. It seems like just yesterday we were waiting (not so) patiently for our little bundles of joy to arrive. I remember the hour-long drive to the hospital, knowing that the end of our child-free life was there. I remember the first night in the hospital, and the blur of sleepless nights that became the next five weeks. I remember their first smiles, first coos, first time rolling over. All like it was yesterday. And now my little bundles are 1.

I'm not particularly talented when it comes to throwing parties. I've never been good at decorations, themes etc. So we kept it simple. We had a small family party at my mom and dad's house with Minnie and Mickey Mouse cakes made by my super talented sister, Ashley. That was the second cake smash we had done. The first was after family pictures when they were 11 months old. But both cake smashes went about like this:

Charlie - mmm, that looks fun, I wonder what it feels like?

Caroline - I don't know what that is but it looks scary.

Charlie - wow it's really fun to squish in-between my fingers. I wonder if it tastes good?

Caroline - well it must be safe since Charlie is touching it.

Charlie - this is the best thing I have ever tasted! I think I'll shovel handfuls into my mouth as fast as possible. 

Caroline - (slowly poking her finger in) I'm not so sure about this.

Charlie - do you think they'll take it away before I eat the entire thing?

Caroline - (through tears) mom my finger is dirty!

I'm not kidding. Caroline barely even tasted it. And Charlie couldn't get enough. My mom took his Mickey cake away after he ate more than half of it. I am thoroughly convinced that if we had let him, he would have licked the plate clean. 

Silly kids. They are so different, and their little personalities crack me up. Here is a little of what they are up to lately:

Caroline is obsessed with ambulances. She walks around all day singing "wee oh wee oh wee oh." She loves to read books and her new favorite activity is bring a book to me, plopping down on my lap and then turning the pages while she jabbers nonsense and pretends to read the story to me. She likes most any food, but lately she has really been loving peaches, bell peppers, strawberries and pears. She is getting really good at expressing herself by pointing to what she wants and saying "want some!" which really sounds like "ant some." She really loves her shoes, and she associates putting shoes on with going outside. So she brings me a pair and says "shoe!" and then sits on my lap so I can put them on her. She also really likes to hold her shoes so half of the time after I put them on she takes on off and walks around the house with only one shoe on so she can carry the other one. She loves naptime and when I say "are you ready for a nap?" she runs into her room, grabs her blankie and tries to climb into her crib. She also loves giving things to people - she brings Charlie his blankie from his crib every morning after breakfast, and she picks up little tiny things on the floor and hands them to people. She loves waving at everything and gets really excited when people wave back. She has a spunky little personality that I love with all my heart.

Charlie has two favorite words: "no" and "ball." He thinks the word "no" is hilarious which makes it really hard to try and discipline him or keep him away from things. And he loves balls, particularly the ones that flash colorful lights when you bounce them. He knows how they works and he is really good at throwing them on the ground to make the lights come on. He has started trying to stack blocks together and when he is working on it he holds them up so close to his eyes and examines them thoroughly. I love the way he looks when he is concentrating so hard and figuring something out. He loves climbing on anything and everything, and although he knows how to get down safely, he prefers to dive head first. Both he and Caroline learned how to get down the stairs last week and now I can't keep them away. Charlie gets so excited to go up and down the stairs. His favorite game is to crawl up the stairs when he's not supposed to and crack up while I chase him. He starts laughing before he even gets to the stairs. I love his little sense of humor and that he is always laughing. Always. He loves playing peek-a-boo, loves swinging doors back and forth, and loves pulling every single book off of our entertainment center. He is so happy and content and he brings me so much joy.

In other news, we are counting down the 20 days left until I get to go to Missouri to bring Forrest back home. Yep, you read that right, 2-0. We're almost in the teens people! I'm a little excited if you can't tell. I am 17 weeks along, and my ultrasound is scheduled for the week after Forrest gets home. We've decided to keep the gender of our baby a SURPRISE since we already have a boy and a girl. Ah! I get so excited just thinking about it and wondering what our little miracle will be. The next three weeks will probably drag, but the time will pass. And then Forrest will be home and all will be right in my world again. 

When the Unexpected Happens

We think we have a plan for our lives. Then a giant obstacle gets in your way and changes everything. It leaves you on a completely different road than you'd planned, but soon you adjust to this new path and get settled into a groove again. If you're lucky, you get to stay in that groove for a while. But some people aren't that way. And I'm one of those people.

In my previous post about infertility, I mentioned how hard it was to cope with not being able to have children. The twins were an absolute miracle, and I thank my Father in Heaven for them every single day. After going through IVF, I dreaded the day that I would have to do it again. Of course it was worth it - but it was so so hard. Emotionally and physically. I crossed my fingers and hoped and prayed that somehow, someway, I would never have to do it again. But I knew they were false hopes. Infertility is a part of my life now, so I need to accept that and realize that this is my new normal. Most people don't have to pay $15,000 for their children. But I do. 

I'd accepted this new normal and was moving on in my own merry way, leading a crazy life filled with my two crazy 11 month old munchkins. And then all of the sudden, in one moment, that normal became not so normal. That was the moment I got a positive pregnancy test. The first of my entire life. (The nurse called me the first time. I never actually took a test). I was completely shocked. And speechless. And dumbfounded. I couldn't stop shaking. And smiling. You always hear about those people who try for so long and then either adopt or do infertility, then without even trying or knowing they get pregnant out of the blue. I'd heard about them. But I never in a million years thought I'd be one of them. 

There are a myriad of different thoughts that run through my head. More emotions that actual thoughts, really. Excitement. Relief. Terror. Shock. Joy. Inadequacy. Gratitude. Fear. They are all there. But the most present emotion is shear happiness. Words cannot express how happy I am to have this baby. This baby that is every bit as much of a miracle as Charlie and Caroline are. 

Like I said, I still have fear and doubts. I mean, I'm going to have 3 kids 18 months and under. Do we get a 3rd crib? 3rd high hair? Or do my twins just have to grow up super fast? Do we need to move? Is it at all possible to potty train before 18 months old? How am I going to handle 3 kids in diapers? I could keep going. But I won't.

My point is, the bad feelings are there. The fear and the doubts and the insecurities. But I choose not to focus on them. I choose to recognize that this baby is a complete miracle and a blessing sent straight from heaven, rather than thinking "why me?".

I don't know why we had to go through infertility. Maybe Forrest and I needed to learn patience. Or maybe Charlie needed Caroline right by his side to help him weather the storms that are sure to come his way. We'll never know. Either way, even with this miracle baby, it's likely we will have to cope with infertility again at some point. But for now I will just be grateful. Grateful to have my three little miracles. 

Confessions of a Twin Mom

Sometimes, when both my babies are crying and I don't know why or how to help it, I put them in their cribs and walk outside for a minute (or five) under the pretense of checking the mail.

Sometimes one tackles the other, pulls hair, bites, sits on them etc.. I just let it happen.

I always feed them with the same spoon. Even if one is sick, dripped snot onto it, threw it on the floor.. I don't need any more dishes to wash than I already have.

Sometimes my kids eat Graham Crackers for lunch. Not often, but sometimes.

Sometimes I let them play in the dishwasher, refrigerator, or bottom part of the oven. Whatever makes them happy.

Sometimes I wipe their snot onto their shirt. Or my shirt. Or a nearby blanket. Even occasionally my hand.

My kids always have, and still do, share pacifiers, botttles, sippy cups, etc.. Germs are shared freely here.

Sometimes when I find a chunk of food that is to big for them to eat, I chew it in my own mouth first and then take it out and give it to them. Much easier than finding a knife.

Sometimes if they poop in a fresh, clean diaper, I dump the poop in the toilet and put the diaper back on.

Sometimes I feed my babies off of the floor. I usually try to put a plate under it, but the plate doesn't ever last very long.

Sometimes (I mean most times) we stay in our pajamas until noon. The only exception is when Charlie has therapy or we have a dr. appointment. Or my mom is there, because she doesn't let that happen.

Sometimes when my kids are outside and they put something from the ground into their mouths, I just let them eat it.

When I'm feeding them and they spit something out, I put it back in their mouths. Or sometimes into their sibling's mouth. Not usually my mouth though.

Sometimes when a baby crawls onto the couch, I forget and leave the room. They always follow me. And I've never actually seen them get down from the couch, but they don't ever cry so I assume they are doing it safely.

Well, I think that's it. You can go ahead and judge me now.

Grocery Store Games

Prior to having children, I'd heard friends tell horror stories of experiences with their children at the grocery store. I remember being absolutely terrified to every take my own children to the store. But once the kids arrived, it was inevitable. There were times that I had to decide whether to starve or to brave a trip for groceries. The first time I took both babes shopping by myself they were 6 weeks old. I left Caroline in her car seat and put that into the cart, and I put Charlie in a pack and wore him on my chest. And it was great! Sure I couldn't fit hardly anything into the cart because it was 98% occupied by a car seat, but the kids both slept the entire time and it was a piece of cake (relatively speaking). Being in the store was the easy part. The hard part was getting the kids and groceries back into the house. And it hasn't gotten any easier. I usually carry both babies in and set them in their cribs (which brings lots of tears and screaming) while I run out and bring in the freezer and refrigerator items. The rest of the groceries come in later after they are in bed, when Forrest gets home from work, or sometimes even the next day. I don't love that, but there are times that it just has to happen that way. 

After that first shopping trip, I remember thinking that I was supermom. Two kids and a grocery store? No problem. Bring it on. I continued to take them both to do the grocery shopping a few times a month until they were about 7 months old. Every time we went, I would leave one in the car seat and wear one in the pack. Easy peasy. Some days they were a little fussier and didn't sleep at all, but we still made it work. Once in a while I would go shopping while we were out on a walk. I would take some reusable grocery bags and use that in lieu of a cart. I would hand them from the stroller using the "mommy clip" which is an awesome giant carribeaner that fits on the handle of the stroller and can hold a lot of stuff. That worked well as long as we didn't need big and heavy things like milk etc. 

I thought we had it made. Shopping was no problem. Then they started getting bigger. And heavier. And much less content to just sit in their car seat or a pack. At about 7 months they wanted to sit in the seat in front of the cart. There are a few problems with this option: 1) unless you are at Costco, most carts only accomodate one child in that seat, 2) trying to carry both babes to a cart is ridiculously difficult. (Note to self - always park next to a stray cart. Always.) I drive around the parking lot until I find a stray cart, and then I put them both in that one single seat anyway. They just have to stick both legs through one hole. Actually what they usually end up doing is putting one leg through and bending the other leg up on the seat. They're not the most comfortable, but they usually sit happily like that and enjoy trying to reach out and grab every item we pass. Sometimes, though, they don't sit happily. Sometimes they steal eachother's toys. Sometimes (by sometimes I mean ALL times) Caroline pulls Charlie's glasses off his face. Sometimes Charlie pulls Caroline's hair. And sometimes I want to pull my own hair. Not feeling so much like supermom anymore. 

I need a new plan. Last time I was at the grocery store, I saw (far away from the rest of the grocery carts) some of those awesome carts that have a little car with steering wheels down at the front of the cart. And it's a little tender mercy that they have two buckles and two steering wheels. I'm hoping beyond all hope that those little car carts will distract my crazy little munchkins enough to prevent hair- and glasses-pulling, at least for 30 minutes so I can get enough food to keep us fed for a few days. Fingers crossed! Let the grocery store games continue.

The Rhinoceros and the Puppy Dog

A few weeks ago it was pointed out to me that Charlie is a little bit of a bulldozer. Or a "rough and tumble" little boy. I prefer to think of him as a rhinoceros. Seriously though, that kid has no fear. He also has no regard for anything or anyone that gets in his way. If Caroline is trying to get to a toy on the other side of an obstacle, she crawls around it. Not Charlie. He goes right over it, even if "it" is Caroline's face. Or mine. He literally headbutts his sister 10 times a day. She doesn't mind so I usually just let it happen. Except when he does it at church - then I at least try to appear like I'm trying to keep him from bowling her over. And he dives off of everything. I mean DIVES. Head first. From the couch onto the end table. Out of the bathtub. Into the bathtub. Down the stairs. He seriously falls 378 times a day. And gets bruises and bloody noses and bloody lips and any other kind of skin abraison you can think of. I promise I do try to keep him safe. I've seriously considered just wrapping him from head to toe in layers of bubble wrap. He eats like a rhino too. I give him half a banana most mornings to start his breakfast. He picks it up, squishes it between his cubby little fingers and then tries the shove the entire thing in his mouth at once. What doesn't make it in ends up smeared on his face, his arms, his high chair, and the wall. And anything that is left on his tray ends up bouncing off when he pounds his tray with his fists just for the fun of it. To save myself some trouble I've started stripping him down to a diaper for every meal and then throwing him under the sink afterwards to clean him up. It's just easier.

Caroline, on the other hand, is the most dainty little eater I've ever seen. She rarely drops food or gets anything on her face. She is perfectly clean all the time. Other than the cleanliness, everything she does reminds me of a puppy. And that's not just because she barks nonstop. She follows me everywhere. From room to room, right on my heels. And if she's playing with a toy when I leave and she wants to bring it with her, she carries it in her mouth. I'm not kidding, she really does. It's pretty adorable. She is always happy and she pants when she gets excited. And she is so incredibly smart. My parents have stairs at their house, so my dad built a gate many many years ago to keep us from falling. It has been in place for roughly 30 years. The latch isn't super easy to open - some of my nieces (4-6 years old) even struggle to get the latch open and closed. Not Caroline. She watched intently while people would open and close it, and the figured out how to do it herself. She sneaks over and opens it and tries to get Charlie to go down the stairs and fetch all the toys they threw down there. Crazy girl. 

And then this happened today. They are both so smart. They watch what I do and then try to copy it. They LOVE going outside, and clearly they are determined to find a way to get out whenever they want. I'm in big trouble. My little rhino and the puppy dog sure do keep me on my toes!

Note to Self

Parents make mistakes. And as a parent of twins I sometimes feel like I make twice the number of mistakes as the average parent. Usually after I make a mistake of some sort, I make a mental "note to self" in an effort to remember not to do it again. They usually look something like this:

Note to Self - Never ever ever fall asleep while the twins are awake and running free in the house. There are many possible disasters that can occur. IE) getting a banana smashed over your sleeping head, getting a mini baby bite (which hurts equally bad as a non-mini baby bite) on you toe, having the house torn to pieces.. you get the idea.

Note to Self - Never leave a basket of newly washed and folded laundry on the floor. Unless you are ok with having to rewash and refold every item in it.

Note to Self - Never put an infant into a car seat without buckling them in. At some point, you will put them in the car and drive all the way home only to realize that they were unbuckled the entire time.

Note to Self - Never EVER let a little boy eat spaghetti while wearing white. Even if he is wearing a bib. Just don't do it.

Note to Self - Remember that same little boy that you aren't going to let eat spaghetti while wearing white? Also take note to never let him go without a diaper. Even if it's for 10 seconds. You will regret it 100% of the time.

Note to Self - Don't put your kids in car seats, high chairs, or on your hip while they are wearing a swim diaper. Everything they touch will smell like pee.

Note to Self - If your twins aren't used to sleeping in the same bed, DO NOT try to get them to sleep in the same bed. If you are lucky, you may be able to pick one up and move them in with the other while they are asleep.. but only if you are lucky. Save yourself some pain and lots of tears by not expecting or even half-hoping that they will fall asleep by eachother, because most likely it will turn into an all-out brawl.

Note to Self - Never let Charlie and Caroline play next to eachother while Charlie is wearing his glasses. Both will end up in tears.

Note to Self - If your kids are afraid of the vacuum, don't try to vacuum while they are asleep, awake, or playing in a different room. Basically just never vacuum. It will save you a lot of heartache.

And the list goes on..