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

Lets Sit Down and Catch Up!

Hi everyone, I have been M.I.A and so busy lately.  So here's a little catch up.

1st and foremost thanks to my awesome guest blogger who took some stress away from last week!

Now onto catching up, my big events for this year are now over and I can breath again.  I am solely responsible for these classes and other then our staff showing up on the morning of to help with registration and taking payments it is all on my shoulders to make sur everything else happens.  I deal with sponsors and speakers and large conference centers to coordinate these events and when they come together and no one complains I am a happy girl. 

This last Friday we had a little blip at the beginning, as in the entire mic system went down 10 minutes before we were supposed to start, the poor crew was running around and finally had to pull out the old school speakers and HOUR LATE! I was getting so stressed and nervous and being the control freak that I am, couldn't stand that I could not do one little thing about it, and just had to sit there and wait and wait for them to get it up and running. 

After the class our family got to enjoy the Great Wolf Lodge and we had a blast, because of the problems that morning they upgraded my room and had chocolate waiting for me when I checked in, that's what you call customer service ;) aka sucking up so I choose them and pay them lots of money next year.

Here are a few pictures of our weekend.

Here are some pictures of our event!

The room all set up with swag!

Water park passes for all!

Introducing our first speaker Dr. Dolphine Oda

And our main speaker Dr. Stanley Malamed!

And here are the pictures from after our class and from our family fun time at Great Wolf Lodge!

So nice to catch up a little with all of you and now I can resume normal blogging and catching up on all of your blogs as well, I've missed you all dearly!

P.S. I totally wore my bikini but I am totally not showing you! ;)

And if you have a moment please vote for us so I can meet more multiple mommies! Hope you all are having a GREAT WEEK!

In need of... & Toddle Along Tuesday

So ladies, in planning this event I have realized I have another event September 9th.
Here is where you come, yes you who is reading this. I would love for some of you to do a guest post. This way instead of just checking out for the week and being a slacker, you will all stay entertained. No real rules or specific posts in mind, just whatever you want to write about.
Please leave me a comment below if you would be interested in doing a guest post. It would be needed for the week of September 5th.... don't let me down ladies!

Also it's Toddle Along Tuesday!! If you are new here welcome!! I try my hardest to follow back so please if you are new reader I would love to read your blog as well, so make sure to leave a comment down below so I can find you!! Hope you all are having a GREAT Tuesday

 
And if you're feeling generous! Click and vote for me please & thank you!

I'm a Slacker

But I have a good reason... I have been working my butt off on a HUGE work even for this Friday for o like 250 people.  I will be back soon, promise.  Hope you all are having a more relaxing Monday then I am. 

I feel like this...


via



Is There Such a Thing as "Having it all"

I'm struggling with this right now.  I'm struggling to be 100% at home, 100% with my kids and 100% at work.  Somethings gotta give and I know it can't be any of these, problem is, home is involved in my work.  I work for my father in law, while this is really nice and flexible it also makes it so I can not dissapoint.  It's not like I can go home and be away from my boss for the weekend, we are at his house playing with the kids, having dinner together and being a family.  We have always done a good job of keeping home out of work and work out of home, but my type A personality wants to always be perfect at my job, at motherhood and at keeping a home. 

A typical work day for me is getting up at 6:30, getting myself ready,getting the kids out of bed and changed/dressed for the day.  We are lucky that the grandma's watch the babies while I'm away at work, but I can't ask them to do my housework (my mother in law does sometimes anyways).  I'm off to work by 7:30 while hubby watches them until the grandma of the day comes over and he leaves for work.  I work work work all day long until 5 when I rush home to babies that are starting to get hungry, make dinner, play for a few minutes, we eat and they go to bed.  They have always been early to bed babies, they go to sleep around 7 and wake up at 7.  This works for us...well kind of, because that means on days that I work I spend approximately 2.5 hours with my babies....I spend more time with my work family which makes me sad.

I know that I am lucky to work 3 days a week (the other 2, I work from home on projects) and I am lucky that my father in law allows this.  But lately co-workers have been asking me if I will be adding another day anytime soon....my answer...I don't wanna talk about it...Now my father-in-law/boss has said nothing to me, I think our schedule works, I accomplish what I need to accomplish and I get to spend some time during these precious first years.  These co-workers don't have kids so it is very hard to have them try and understand my being torn by their question. 

My question is how can you have it all?  Is there a secret that I haven't figured out yet?  Or is it just something that I will learn with more time? 

Thank you for listening to my rambling post that is my brain right now....and as a reward, here's a picture of some cute babies....(I may or may not be partial)

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....

9 months old and time to start party planning!

They twins are now 9 months old ::sigh:: and I just can't believe how fast they are growing up.  I am the luckiest mommy in the world to have these two literally perfect babies! They are so happy all of the time, they sleep like angels, I just love mommyhood!! Here is some shots from our photo shoot:

So we took the babies to their 9 month well baby check up and here are their current stats

Landon: 21.9 lbs, 28 1/4 inches long
Ava: 18.9 lbs, 27 1/4 inches long

They are doing wonderfully developmentally for being preemies.  They are doing most things that a full term 9 month old would be doing so we couldn't be happier!

So naturally since I now have only 3 months to plan their 1st birthday party, and for anyone who knows me I love to plan parties! I am most likely sticking with colors since they have plenty of birthdays that they will what characters or themes, I plan on doing a candy buffett like some I have seen online and on other blogs! I have started picking up glass containers already! I luckily have a mother in law who is super crafty so I am sure I will be requiring her help on favor tags and labels.  And I am most excited for doing CAKE POPS! I purchased Bakerella's cake pop cookbook today and I can't wait to practice!

I'm thinking that each of the babies will have their own smash cake and then I will have cupcakes for all of the adults and kids at the party! I am such a fan of cupcakes rather then a sheet cake! Well I just wanted to update really quickly, I am still doing horribly at blogging regularly but its hard to be a working mama of twins. 

...

Wow being a mommy of twins is both so tiring and so fun! Mainly the tiring part is probably working two days a week and for some reason I am more tired from working then when I take care of Ava and Landon all week long! It seems to take me a day to recover before I have my energy back.

While I would love to just say um...I think I want to stay home and play with babies all day it just is not financially feaseable for us right now, I have to work. Maybe sometime in the future it will be but right now it just isnt. Working is nice, I get to have "adult time" and I get to see my work family, but I love MY family more!

Ava and Landon are amazingly great babies, they are sleeping about 8 hours at night which is awesome and both really don't fuss unless they are tired/hungry/dirty. Other then that they are pretty much smiles and giggles all day long. My days are seeming so busy these days, I swear if I have a day where I don't have to go anywhere I might die of shock. It seems I always need to go to Target/grocery shopping/costco/dr. appointments/mall/babies r us...and the list goes on and on and on.

I love the days where we all lounge in our PJ's and watch reruns of Rachel Zoe on Bravo!! I really should get better about blogging to keep everyone updated and now that we seem to be heading towards a schedule I probably will be able to.

Here is the Twins latest picture from their 3 month photoshoot!

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!!