The 12 Things I learned in the 2nd year of Mommyhood

Last year after the twins turned one I wrote a whole post on the 12 things I learned from my first year of mommyhood, you can read it here.  I figured I should do another one because that one was kind of funny to look back on.

1.  I will say this now, my toddler twins are harder then my newborn twins were.  These tantrum throwing, sibling fighting, independent humans have a mind of their own and they let that be known now.  99% of the time that are sweet, loving and considerate but that 1% well that 1% is a doozy.

See my mad face mom

 2.  An endless supply of snacks is sometimes necessary.  This one is true for me in the car, sometimes they love the car sometimes they hate it.  If I have "nacks" they will ride along happily.  Our favorites are the fruit pouches and animal crackers at the moment.

Example of perfect car behavior

I promise he didn't eat all of those

4.  The outnumber me now.  It used to be ok because they were running around, but now, now they run and fast at that.  Usually I'm chasing one and the other thinks it is hilarious to run the other way (They must know I need to run).  Man on man defense is our best method right now, at church we have a ratio of 2 adults to one child to keep them entertained...

5.  Disney Junior is sometimes my best friend.  (Don't judge unless you know), I may know the hot dog song by heart now and honestly never knew what MMCH was until we started watching and if you know what it means too I won't say anything.  But during that "witching hour" as we call it, usually between the hours of 4-6 when they are starting to get hungry and cranky, it is all that will call them down.  They ask for Mickey and Steins (Little Einsteins) now. ::hangs head in shame::

6.  Where does their energy come from.  I've told my husband if I had 1/8 of the energy they had I wouldn't be exhausted when 7 pm comes around.  I mean is their baby crack in animal crackers....it is like an endless supply of craziness.

7.  Toddlers are so very smart.  People tend to underestimate the brain power of a toddler.  Ava and Landon can remember things, like where they found a toy last (I mean I sometimes can't find my own keys).  The other day Ava mocked my mom giving herself an insulin shot.  I mean she has seen her do it maybe two times and she pulled her shirt up and tried to give herself a shot with a marker...Their brains truly are little sponges.

8.  People still ask dumb questions about twins (like they've never seen them before)...I'm sure this will be on my list for a long time.
Example of a typical conversation:
Random Person: "are those twins"
Me: yes
Random Person: "WOW I bet you have your hands full"
Me: yes
Random Person: "They must keep you busy at that age"
Me: yes
(get the point)
Yes my hands are full but so is my heart, yes they keep me busy but I wouldn't have it any other way.

9.  Sometimes it is necessary to loose your mind.  My most favorite post on this is AP from I Love You More Than Carrots where she talks about letter C paint in the bath tub.  Sometimes it is just necessary to do something that you know will be a pain to clean up but you also know it will keep them entertained for a solid 30 minutes and time, my friends, is vaulable.

10. If I teach them young maybe they'll help.  This applies to my little helper Ava who took an interest in all things cleaning.  She love to "clean" with me, she will wipe and vacuum with her little vacuum, I'm not going to lie, it comes in handy sometimes.

She insists on wearing Landon's shoes...

11.  The twitter and the blog world is full of awesome people.  I joined twitter around the time the twins turned 1.  I could never have imagined the amazing people I have met on there, really there are too many to list.  Other moms who were going through similar things with kids around the same age.  People to bounce ideas off of, to ask a quick mommying question.  I have created some great friendships with these people.  It is amazing when more people on Twitter wish your children Happy Birthday than those on Facebook who you know IRL.

12.  Lastly, I could never love two little people as much as I love Landon and Ava.  They may stretch my patience and it can be trying but at the end of the day I would lay down for those two.  I would walk a thousand miles, I would do anything and everything to make sure that everyday they feel loved and taken care of, happy and healthy.  I always have said I love this stage of life that they are in, then they hit the next stage and I love that one even more if possible.

This rarely happens any more

The 12 things I learned about MoMmyhood in the first 12 months!

1.  You will still buy too much crap, even if you think you need a lot of crap, especially with twins, I thought I needed double of EVERYTHING...turns out, I didn't. I should have returned all recieving blankets, bottle warmers, and half of the clothing....

2.  Two babies is hard work.  Especially when those two babies both had to be woken up at 4 am after coming home from the NICU to be fed, burped and changed...all by myself since my hubby and I split shifts. 

3.  Boppy pillows are necessary, they serve many different fuctions, first as a feeding support, then a resting spot for the non-mobile baby, then a back prop for the almost sitting baby, now sadly we don't need our boppy pillows any longer.

4.  The first few months are easier then right now, at the time I never thought I would see the light at the end of the tunnel with newborn twins.  It turns out I now miss the days that they would lay there under their playmat and stare and the flashing light and animal mobile.  Now one goes       <------this way and the other------> that way.  I am now always chasing someone.

5.  Plan at least an extra hour when running errands, little old ladies love to stop and ask you a GAZILLION questions about your babies...for example my favorite
 old lady: "Are those twins"
 me: "yes they are"
 old lady: "o boys or girls"
 me: "a boy and a girl"
 old lady: "identical?"
 me: "um...no"
old lady: "wow, you must have your hands full" (like I have never ever heard that before)
 me: "yes but its lots of fun"
old lady: "well they are just adorable"
 me: "thank you"...walk away
 ***rinse and repeat about 5 times per store...***

6.  Its true once you have babies that your friends change, you now identify with the "moms", even if those moms are 10+ years older then you, you have the biggest thing in life in common, you both have children.  The friends you once had who don't have children yet may still come around to play with the babies, but don't understand your priorities any longer.

7.  My once clean and spotless HOUSE has now become a toy infested, cluttered HOME, while some days it still irks me to my core that the bathroom or bedroom literally look like bombs went off and I contemplate the fact that buying new clothes might be easier then washing the ones on the ground.  I have to remind myself that no amount of cleaning is worth missing out on precious baby time!

8.  Time really does speed up.  I've always heard people say that after you have kids time just flies.  Its true it does, our first 4 1/2 years of marriage felt quick but we were in a very comfortable routine, once the twins were born its like someone hit fastforward...everyday is different, there is a kinda/sorta routine regarding the twins schedule but everything else has just been set aside.

9.  Can someone remind me why I thought I needed every baby book there was, every book on multiples or the first year.  I have opened these books, but motherhood is natural and not one book out there is going to identify with your exact situation...EVER. 

10.  I'm now a sappy sappy person, I used to be the "I don't cry at the dying anything in a movie" gal.  Now I see anything remotely emotional and I tear up...the worst being the Grey's Anatomy episode where Callie gave birth... I just started crying as I saw what was happening, NICU terms, APGAR scores...etc. 

11.  Being away from your babies suck!! I know I HAVE to work, its just not an option for us at the moment for me to be a stay at home mama.  I used to never ever ever think I would want to be a stay at home mom but now its all I can think about on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday from 8-5!

12.  And last but not least...I never knew that a love like a mother's love for her child actually existed, sure I had been told, but I did not truly understand the meaning until I was wheeled into the NICU and held their teeny tiny little hands, if I could I would never let that little hand go.

Well those are the 12 of many many things I have learned this first year. 

PS...It took me 2 weeks to write this, hence the mobile twins thing in # 4....

Look Mom Were One (A picture post)

We had the twins BIG 1st BIRTHDAY BASH on Saturday the 14th! Our whole family came out as well as all our friends and celebrated with us! I wil split this into a couple posts.  This one being mainly pictures! That being said....ENJOY!

 Birthday Girl

 Ava's cake (made by grandpa)

 dig in

 Centerpieces

 Favors

 Probably her favorite gift

 Cupcakes!

 Welcome

 This is the knockoff version of Olive Gardens Strawberry Mango limonata, easy and so tasty! I will share!

 The setup

 Fruit skewers

 Landon's cake (also made by Grandpa)

Well if you made it through those pictures...{pat yourself on the back}.

I'll be back tomorrow with the details on decorations, cupcakes, cookies, cakes and everything else birthday!

Hope you guys are having a great Monday. I'm still grieving the fact that my babies aren't "babies" anymore...

Two months old

Our twins are now two months old, I can't believe how fast time flies. Landon and Ava are both getting bigger by the day it seems. Here are the stats from their two month well check appointment.

Landon:

9 lbs 4 oz

21 1/2 inches long

Ava

7 lbs 12 oz

20 1/2 inches long

The doctor says that they are both doing really well, both are eating so well and growing just like they need to be. They both got 3 shots which broke my heart to see them cry like that but soon enough it was over and they both just went to sleep. They both did so well.

In other news... Grant stepped on a hammer in the garage which ended up requiring 6 stitches in his foot and a tetnus shot which was great. He was out of commission for a few days but is now on the mend.

I have officially returned to work for 1 or 2 days a week which is an adjustment for those couple days where I am more exhausted then usual.

Our dogs love the babies, we usually catch Mogley napping in there with them if the door is open, I think he is their protector now. Toby just wants to cuddle with them.

I think we have gotten our schedule down pretty well, we are very lucky and I sure hope I do not jinx myself when I say we have good sleepers for babies, they both sleep straight 4 hour stretches at night so we both are still getting decent sleep for having two new babies at home.

I have a few other posts that are floating in my head at the moment including our Family reunion, 4th of July and baby play dates that will just have to wait for another day, here is both of them together on their two month birthday!!