I was making dinner the other night, and since I was a slacker and forgot to start it at the beginning of nap time, it got started towards the end of nap time, which is never the best idea.
But that wasn't my only troubles.
These enchilada stacks require some blender mixing and I didn't double check how well put together my blender was before I started pouring my wet, sloppy ingredients into it.
When I started seeing red on my counter my heart skipped a beat as I quickly back pedaled to pour my ingredients back into a bowl and fix my blender.
And then my children woke up.
And of course they wanted to help.
I honestly love having them help but it does make for a big long mess.
{I} {B}
And this time didn't disappoint.
In fact it was one of our messiest yet.
{yes that's spaghetti sauce in Ian's hair, as well as all over the kitchen.}
I threw them in the tub hoping I get could enough time out of it finish dinner.
And then I dumped the bag of cheese on the floor. Ugh.
So really, out of the 3 disasters, only 1 of them was directly related to the littles.
I have found since I had the boys, that it is easy to slip into insanity. It literally took 9 months before I felt like I could add anything to my life besides changing, feeding, bathing, and watching babies. That included any work over 4 days a month, working out, getting out of the house unless absolutely necessary, etc. That 9 months somehow was a magical number for us. I learned how to maintain my sanity. I found balance. And these are 5 of the things I've found helpful.
1. Clean up the front room and kitchen, every single night. That is where we spend 90% of our time and it looks like a tornado hit by the end of the day. Early on, we didn't take the time to clean up and I just felt buried in clutter and baby contraptions the minute I woke up and it made my days more stressful just because of that. Once we got into a routine of cleaning the front room and kitchen and running the dishes every night it was like a breath of fresh air every morning. It made the difference in my day.
2. Start working out as soon as you feel ready and set small goals. I remember feeling a little jealous of all the girls who were working out a lot and training for half marathons and whatnot just a few months after they had a baby. I couldn't fathom how that was even possible. And then I was reminded that nursing two babies is different than just one. I had to eat so much food, drink so much water, and was so tired all the time that I did not have any extra energy to spend on working out. Finally at that magic 9 month mark I felt like I could start working out since I wasn't nursing all day any more. I starting with just 3 days a week for 20 minutes. This has gradually increased to 5 days a week which I'm proud of but it has been huge for me and my sanity to take some me time and go for a run or do a workout video.
3. Do not compare yourself to anyone else. I see other moms taking their child to do all these things that I wish I could do but it is just not feasible with twins. It's a lot of work and I have to weigh my options of what is worth doing while still maintaining my sanity. My life and situation is unique and I try not to listen to what anyone else has to say about their delivery, weight loss struggles, half marathon runs, when next babies are coming, what tricks and developmental milestones their children do, or who these gals hang out with. My life revolves around my boys and I'm ok with that.
4. Have a schedule. We have worked hard to put our boys to bed without extra rocking, snuggling, bouncing, or anything else. It's a quick kiss, I love you, here's your binky, and blanket/pillow, and I'll see you in the morning. And they have been great sleepers, for the most part. They go down easily for their naps and bedtime and wake up happy. We put them to bed early so Jesse and I can have time together. That time is precious. The boys will wake up early no matter what time we put them to bed, so we might as well enjoy our evening together. I also currently make them stick with a two nap schedule or at least put them in their cribs with books for some "quiet time" if they won't sleep for a second nap. I need that time and I've found they sometimes need a break too when they're crabby.
5. To Do lists. I try to make a To Do list every day so I have a list of things to accomplish during nap time and after the boys go to bed. It saves me from time sucking activities like perusing facebook or watching TV. I love checking things off lists and maintaining order in our house. They're usually pretty simple and attainable like workout, shower, pay a bill, clean a bathroom, and vacuum. And then sometimes I get more ambitious with extras like clean one corner of our room, scrub the kitchen floor, clear off nightstands, etc.
{This is a very accurate display of our life.
My hooligans trying to run away and me looking tired and exasperated!
I have such mixed emotions over this news. On the one hand I am excited, ready for the change and opportunities to come, and look forward to seeing family more regularly. On the other hand I'm completely devastated, struggling to leave the good people we have met and associated with, leaving the place I thought we would call home for many more years, and honestly, maybe even a little afraid to live so close to family! I didn't think I would have this much internal turmoil over this decision, but I do.
Jesse even keeps reminding me that we don't absolutely have to move, it would just be better for his career to live in Utah. How do I say no to better potential for his job and be closer to family? I can't.
We found out a few months ago that there was a strong possibility we would move back to Utah, but reserved our excitement until things were more official. We've now shared the news with our families and are mentally making preparations. It's surreal.
We thought we'd be calling Texas home indefinitely, but we're now seeing the end rapidly approaching. My heart has already melted into the Texas soil and it's hard to dig it back up and think about planting it again in Utah. Especially when we move in the dead middle of winter. So it will be planted in snow covered frozen dirt. Yuck.
A few things I'm very excited about.
1. Being involved in family activities.
2. Only having a short drive to go camping up in the mountains.
3. The possibility of finding a new job that I absolutely love.
4. Being only a car ride away from my mom. We already have big plans in the making.
5. Being closer to some of our good friends.
A few things I'm less than excited about.
1. Winters. Snow. Cold. Snow Clothes. Etc. Even though I was a snow child myself and it was magical, I do not enjoy living in snow. I just love being warm. And humidity doesn't bother me either. I am glad our children will get to experience snow, but I do not look forward to living in it. Oh how I'm going to miss the Texas heat.
2. Leaving the hospitable culture that is Texas. People are just friendly here.
3. Losing the diversity and experiences people have in wards. The people are just full of amazing stories and experiences that add such a richness to our church meetings.
4. Finding a new job. I've had a sweet gig with my current job.
5. Did I mention the cold?
All in all I think it will be good.
I just may shed a few tears in the process.
{It's serious work to get pictures of the two of them together these days. And that's not even expecting them to smile and look cute, just be together.}
{I} {B}
{This is watching a movie, probably the Lorax. Sometimes the easiest way to know who is who is to see what they are snuggling! Ian always has his blanket, and Briggs always has his pillow.}
{B} {I}
{I} {B}
{B} {I}
{B} {I}
{B} {I}
{B} {I}
They are still wearing size 3 diapers, 12-18mo clothes, and size 4-5 shoes.
They usually wake up between 7:30 and 8am, have breakfast and play, nap from 10am-12pm, eat lunch and play some more, nap again or have quiet time from about 3pm-5pm, and awake again for dinner and more playing. They've been going to bed closer to 8-8:30pm lately.
They absolutely love reading books. They now find books they want to read, bring them to us, and then turn around and sit on our laps. It's about the greatest thing ever.
They are learning how to eat with silverware and love it.
{I}
They love walking to and from the car. Or really walking anywhere.
A new favorite pastime is jumping on the bed. They both think it's the greatest thing ever.
{I}
They still love stairs. Anytime they find stairs they could play on them for what feels like hours. They're still not completely safe on them though. Especially Briggs. That kid is impulsive and prefers to go down face first which has often led to him flipping over his head.
Their favorite movie is still the Lorax. I can't get them to sit through any others.
They love being in the kitchen and pulling out all the bowls, cookie sheets, tupperware, and anything else out of the cupboards.
Ian
Ian is such a sweet boy. He gives great hugs and snuggles and has learned to pucker when he gives kisses. He laughs and smiles easily and is easy going. He still loves doing somersaults and loves bath time. He drinks a lot of water from his sippy cup and is pretty good at trying new things.
Loves mimicking what we say but doesn't really say anything with meaning. And after months and months of working on sign language, he will finally do one clap for "more."
Still loves everything about shoes. Wearing them, playing with them, packing them around the house, undoing the velcro, etc.
Apparently he's awesome at giving hugs. He has always done more snuggling than actual hugging, but when he met this new friend, he instantly was giving him legit hugs! We were dying from the cuteness.
He does very exaggerated arm movements when folding his arms for a prayer.
He kisses everything. Anytime he's close to a wall I'll see a whole bunch of little kiss marks.
Loves our talking Elmo
Loves climbing. He is always on a mission to get on top of the table.
Loves Briggs. And loves sitting on him.
He has the greatest laugh. It sounds a little constrained but somehow conveys that he appreciates whatever efforts you are putting in to make him laugh.
Loves sitting in this window sill. Once I even caught him lifting his feet up in the air and doing a little dance. Cracked me up.
Is a big fan of the magna doodle. He loves drawing.
And I wouldn't be surprised if he is left handed. He seems to favor his left hand... or sometimes just uses both.
If we ever have bubbles in the bath tub, he always has a bubble beard.
He loves doing his "funny face"
He is just such an easy going kid.
Briggs
Briggs is our firecracker. He's still relatively easy going but he's a little more emotional and will throw tantrums when he gets mad. He's usually on the move and especially loves dancing. He's learning to run (I call it a "trot" because that's a little more accurate of a description) and it's absolutely adorable. He's my mama's boy and is often hanging on my legs waiting for me to pick him up.
Still shimmies and we love it every single time.
Absolutely loves dancing, especially on mama's hip
Thinks he's so cool when he walks backwards
Loves Elmo. Briggs dances when he sings and snuggles him.
Has crawled into his crib about four (or more) times. He climbs up the rocking chair and over the side into the crib. It makes me so nervous whenever I catch him climbing in. Most of the times I've just heard some wimpering and found him in his crib. Crazy kid.
Has learned the fine art of trading. If Ian has something he wants he will try to take whatever it is while simultaneously giving Ian whatever he has. A lot of times it works and they are both happy with the trade. Other times it takes a little more creative measures.
He always wants to push the flash down on the camera any time I pull it out.
He has some amazing patience. He can wear this thing around his neck, or sunglasses, or a flower behind his ear.... This kid is awesome. Although, he's not so great with hats. I'm not quite sure why.
He seems to find food (like nutrigrain bars, or snacks in containers) somewhere and will bring it to me to open every time.
He loves this popper toy. It's the one with all the buttons/knobs/switches that make little characters pop up. His favorite is the twisting knob.
On this note, he's also learned how to unscrew about any cap he can find as well as open snap lids with his mouth. We can't trust him with tubes or containers any more.
This ball toy is still a favorite. He loves starting it, watching the balls fly all over, and then he tracks them all down when they inevitable pop all over the front room and puts them back in. He can play with it for two or three fifteen minute stretches in a day.
We've been singing "Jesus wants me for a Sunbeam" with the boys lately and Briggs totally gets to go up and down with the song. We're still working on timing sometimes but he does pretty well.
(and don't mind my voice, I got sick and lost my voice)
I've caught him standing with one hand behind his back a few times. It's just too adorable!
He loves the bumbo. I use it to cut their hair so it's out every once in awhile and he learned he can sit down in it all by himself and he just crawls in and out of it all day long now.
Loves coloring. It's a brand new discovery but he did awesome with it. He seems to favor his right hand more but he's still a wild card and does lots of things with either hand.
If you ask him how old he is, he usually does "So Big!"
We have been practicing how old they both are though and sometimes they give us a "one" finger.
He plays peek-a-boo with you and loves it.
And they both love playing with their dad. I just love the giggles that ensue from their time together. We just love these two so much and feel so blessed to have such great little boys!
