Still in disbelief

There are many times when I look at my two little ones and think.....really two?  I still can't believe we have twins.  They are changing so much and learning new things every day.

Mara and Davin are crawling everywhere, pulling themselves up constantly and Davin really wants to walk, but he's just not quite there.  Yesterday he did stand by himself for a few seconds and went back to holding onto a bin, didn't even fall down.  Mara likes to climb.  She has managed to do a few stairs and she lifts her leg like she's going to climb the couch, but it's still too high for her, thank goodness.  They are both starting to take steps along the couch, or while pushing one of the chairs.

I just can't believe how quickly this happened.  They are definitely busy and keeping us on our toes.

Today as I write, it's a great morning.  I've been able to get some work done and the twins have been playing very nicely.  The most heart melting thing is watching them interact and play together.  When Davin sees his sister in the morning, he just lights up (it's mutual).  The same goes for them and Jayna.  She can't wait to run into their room in the morning and entertain them (or "make them happy" because they're usually crying at that point).

I love watching them play with a toy.  If you watch, it looks as though they've learned to take turns, which means one will steal it and play for a bit, while the other watches and eventually steals it back.  Pretty good system for only 9 months old!

I'm also loving seeing their personalities come out.  Davin is the sweet charmer and when he gets fussy, music will make him happy.  He is the quiet chatty one and he is very much his father in terms of personality.  If we are out and about, he sits and takes it all in and looks very serious.  Mara is just like her mother.  She is more outgoing, more likely to give you a smile and a lot louder.  She tends to be happier, but she angers very quickly.  She is also our trouble maker.  I'm sure Mara and I will butt heads regularly for years to come.

The last week and a half have been a bit frustrating for me since Derrick threw his back out last week.  I've been left to take on even more than usual.  He's getting better and I can't wait till we're back to normal.  I've also started running a few times a week in the mornings.  I hate getting up at 5:45, but I feel great after.  It's been about a month and I've noticed a difference already.  I've taken advantage of the kids sleeping better and creating a habit before I go back to work.  Once I'm back at work, it'll be much easier to fit my workouts in. I don't have much of an excuse when the gym is 5 steps outside my office.  For now, while it's still decent in the mornings, the peace and quiet are enjoyed!

I'm looking forward to a good weekend and I will definitely have pictures to post after the Corn Maze on Sunday.  I'm sure that will be a gong show and a blast all at once, which is pretty much how our life is nowadays.  Derrick and I often have the conversation about trying to figure out when exactly our house became a gong show.  Was it right when the twins were born?  In the end it doesn't matter, but it makes us laugh.

Burned Out

I don't quite know what to say, but I realized yesterday that I'm feeling extremely burned out.  Not about everything, just about parenting.

Yes, the kids have gotten easier, but right now, I feel like all I do is think about what comes next.  I have to make sure there is food in the house for three meals (and those meals have to be suitable for five people, two of which can eat most things, but not everything), plus snacks, I am also the one who has to make sure there are diapers, wipes, clean clothes and all that fun stuff.  And somehow, I'm the one that's always having to plan when I'm going to fit shopping for it all into my schedule.  It sounds like it would make sense since I'm home all day, but running around with two kids isn't exactly ideal all the time.

Friday, I got a call from Jayna's daycare.  They couldn't find a main course in her lunch.  We had packed yogurt, a banana, and a granola bar.  I know it wasn't a lunch that would help me get nominated for Mother of the Year, but come on, it's not that bad is it?  I'll be honest that that phone call made me feel like a terrible parent and I felt like I was extremely judged.  When I picked Jayna up, one of the daycare workers (the only one that irks Derrick and I) said that they called because Jayna always has a main course and she was looking everywhere for it.  That made me feel a little better, but not really.  I'm pretty sure everyone has had a day when they go to make their kids lunch and realize that they need to hit the store.  

I haven't even factored in all of the stuff that has to get done around the house, while there are two or three kids home.

I don't feel like going on a huge rant, because life isn't all that terrible, but I had to share my burned out feeling, as I'm sure most parents have felt this at one point or another.  In the back of my mind I know it's a phase and it will pass, but right now it sucks.

On a happy note, Davin and Mara don't stop moving all day, even when you change them.  Davin pulled himself up for the first time Saturday and hasn't stopped since.  Now I think it's just a matter of time before the two of them walk......oh my.

Work

Today is the first day back to work for my fellow teachers.  I've had some weird emotions throughout the last week.  Last week, I felt like I should have gone into work a couple of times.  I woke up this morning and felt as though I was late for work (the worst feeling).  I remember feeling the same way when I was off with Jayna, but now I find it's even more weird.  I feel extreme guilt because I know I'm not going to be off ever again, since we are not having any more children.

I poured my cup of coffee into a mug that says "teacher have more class" on purpose today.  I think it was my way of reminding me that I'm still a teacher and it's not that long before I return.  I definitely don't want to wish the last two months away, but I am really looking forward to life moving to a new kind of crazy.  I was complaining about wanting to back to work the other day and Derrick told me that if I thought life was crazy now, it's only going to get worse.  I know that and I worry about how everything's going to get done, although I know it will (I'm also hoping to be able to hire the cleaners back so it's one less thing to do).  The main reason I look forward to returning to work is so that I can feel normal again.  When I go to work, it's about me and I don't have to worry about my family's needs for a little while.  I really look forward to laughing every day with my colleagues.  My kids make me smile, but they don't make me laugh like my PE department does.  I also really miss the students and the excitement of the building!

Aside from my disappointment of not returning to work, we had a great long weekend.  We hung out with family and friends, went to the park twice, the zoo, and Jayna got to go bowling for the first time.  She loved it and as we were walking out the doors, she said, "I come back here again one day!"  We went with Derrick's family including some aunts and we played pass the babies while we took turns bowling.  Since Jayna liked it so much, we will take her all by herself one day.

Jayna and I were leaving the house on Saturday and it stunk outside.  My comment was "oh it stinks".  Jayna responded with, "yeah Mommy, bunnies poop outside".  So random and cute!

Mara and Davin have been a joy to watch over the last few days.  They tend to play in the same areas and Davin has really sped up in the crawling department.  They are pretty much done with formula, we only give them formula in the their bottles at bed time since we may as well use what we have left.  They don't even get bottles during the day, their milk goes in sippy cups.  These kids also eat pretty much anything, which is a little more convenient!  I'm also happy to say that they are still messy eaters, but the mess has decreased significantly.  They are also crazy in the bath together and are quite chatty throughout the day.  It's a lot of fun to see their connection and their big smiles when they see the other one.  The same goes for Jayna who will greet them in their cribs in the morning and they get crazy excited.  

I will continue to enjoy the next two months, all the while looking forward to returning to work and living our new kind of crazy.

Thank goodness for pictures

I just spent the last couple of hours (of course it takes longer than it should because I'm interrupted a ton) sorting through our last Costco run of pictures, dating them and putting them in the childrens' books.  I'm a little crazy about their photo albums.  When we had Jayna, it was pretty simple, I would print pictures and every picture with her would go in her album and if I had a picture that didn't have her in it, there was another general photo album for that.  While now with the twins, I have chosen to have an album for every child.  If Jayna and Davin are in a picture, then I print it twice and put it in both of their books, if all three are in it, then it's printed three times.  I think you get the point.

Throughout this process, I have noticed a few things.  One is that we still take a lot of pictures, but not as many as when we just had Jayna.  The twins are not lacking for photos, but it was so much easier to whip out the camera and photograph Jayna when I didn't have three kids to watch out for.  Also, we used to print pictures monthly after Jayna was born and now we wait until Costco has their prints on sale for cheap and we print 100-200 at a time.

The other things is that I'm so thankful that we take the pictures that we do.  I don't have a lot of pictures of me growing up, but our kids will have a lot of great memories to look back on.  Who are we kidding?  It's mostly for me.  I remember putting Jayna's pictures in her album when she was 2 months old.  When I would do this, I'd always look at the book from the beginning.  At this point I looked at the first pictures and realized that if we hadn't taken pictures, I would have already forgotten what she looked like when she was born.  I feel this way with the twin's newborn photo shoot with Robin.  Every time I look at them, I tell Derrick how I don't regret a penny we spent on them.  They are precious and we never would have been able to capture what Robin did.  We are also waiting on pictures we had done a few weeks ago and I will post some of those once we have them.  Here's the first picture we took of Mara and Davin and then a more recent one.

With the new school year beginning, it's been making me think about how much things have changed over the last 9 months.  9 months ago I was still freaking out about having twins and fearing the unknown.  Now, we have settled in and are enjoying watching all three of our turkeys grow.  With two kids crawling, it makes for interesting times and their personalities are showing through more and more.  Today, Mara and Davin have been playing together a lot and it's been very cute.  I'm pretty sure Mara's the leader and trouble maker and Davin will follow and be the sneaky one.  Everyday, the twins are getting closer and closer to pulling themselves up and the dynamics between Jayna and the twins is always changing, but for the most part, she's amazing with them.  There is no doubt she loves them a lot, but sometimes they get between her and her toys.  Watching one child discover the world at this age is amazing, but watching two do it at the same time is even more impressive, even if that includes one of them choking on a penny and a nickle already (thanks for the heart attacks Mara).  Oh yeah, when you only have one little one, you don't get to watch them wrestle.  Davin has got some awesome wrestling moves and we don't even watch WWE.  They should have napped longer today and I was annoyed, but now they are playing so nicely, I can't even be mad.

The school year starting also makes me think about my life returning to "normal".  My first day back to work is November 5th.  I will have been off for 13 months already and I can't wait to go back.  I know things are going to be hectic, but at least I will get a break from my children.  I can't wait to return to my job that I love and the people that I love working with.  I miss laughing really hard while at work every day.  This working mom is ready to return to work!  

A new kind of crazy

I remember the craziness of having a 21 month old as well as brand new twins like it was yesterday.  People keep saying to me that I must have my hands full and be busy.  I would say that we have settled in as opposed to having settled down.  Things are still crazy and I'm sure they always will be, just in a different way.

Davin started crawling over the weekend so that means that all three children are officially on the move.  Mara is trying really hard to pull herself up on the couch and I'm sure she'll succeed soon.  This also means that we need to be lowering their cribs :(

I had Davin at a pre-op appointment last week and he's just under 24 pounds.  As you can well imagine, they are eating everything we put in front of them: Cheerios, Gold Fish crackers, chicken, pork chops, pork tenderloin, fruit, veggies, yogurt.....I think you get the idea.  I find that this stage is fun, but also a disaster.  The twins have been feeding themselves for about a month now and have mastered making a mess.  At first, Mara was a complete disaster, but it seems like now she's mastered the index finger and thumb pinching.  Davin tends to make a bigger mess now.  I am constantly sweeping the floor and washing it, although I'm still not doing it nearly as often as I should.  This morning I took them right from their booster seats to the stroller and went for a long walk.  This means that I didn't sweep the floor so when we came home two hours later, Davin and Mara went to town on the muffin and Cheerios they had managed to drop on the floor.  It's almost like we have a dog!  I know that the mess is a means to an end and they have to practice feeding themselves.  I know it will get better over time, but for now it drives me crazy.

Jayna is as crazy as ever.  She's so independent, which is great, but at the same time, she doesn't stop!!!!

I'll post some pictures and/or video soon (if I can get the video to download).  I hear my turkeys talking to each other in their room (a benefit of twins) and we have to pick up their big sis, who is always excited to see them.

On The Move

No, I'm not talking about the daycare (for those of you I met through working there, you'll get it).

Mara is officially crawling and Davin is super close.  He is moving around, but gets his chubby foot stuck underneath him.  I feel bad because he works so hard to try to crawl, but it's just not working out for him yet.  We have also brought the baby gate back into action to close off the rest of the rest of the house from the living room/dining room.  It wasn't so bad when Jayna was a baby because we didn't have a toddler who wanted to roam the house freely.  She will adjust eventually.

There's a little music toy the kids play with and they have started dancing to music.  Davin sits like a chubby old man and kind of bounces up and down and Mara sits there and waves her hands in the air.  It makes me smile every time.

The twins are also eating up a storm.  I'm nervous about the daycare bills that will start in a few months, but what I'm more nervous about is once the daycare bills stop, is that the three kids will eat us out of house and home.  The whole eating more food and feeding themselves just means a bigger mess as well.  Jayna took it upon herself to share her hard boiled egg with Mara the other day (after she saw me feeding them one).  Needless to say there was a bunch of cleanup after that.

I weighed the twins yesterday and Mara weighs 20 lbs 12 oz and Davin was 23 lbs 2 oz.  Such little chubbers.  Mara is definitely rockin the 18 month clothing and Davin can wear some 24 month clothing even.  Soon they'll be wearing the same size as Jayna and she's no shorty.  We have discovered that we will be putting size 4 jeans on her Christmas list since we've had a couple pairs on her recently and the 3s are not very big.

People would probably be looking at us funny if we had tiny children, with Derrick being 6'4" and myself 6'2".

Mara and Davin are interacting with each other more and more.  At my parents' on Sunday, they were squealing back and forth to each other.  Yesterday morning, it was fart noises.  Even though it's a lot more difficult with two babies, but it's also a lot more fun!

Here's an annoying twin comment I've heard a lot lately.  "Oh, their eyes are different colours."  I just nod and say yes (Mara's are hazel and Davin's are very blue, like Jayna's), but what I want to say is.....they have different genitals, of course they can have different eye colours.

We got pictures done last week, so I'm hoping to have some great pics posted soon.  I thought that it could be a total disaster with three little ones, but it actually went pretty smoothly.

I'm off to get some work done on this rainy day.  

New phase

We have entered the new phase of moving.  The twins are by no means crawling, but they get to whatever toy they want or whatever item they shouldn't be playing with.  I have been dreading this moment for a while now.  People would always ask if they were crawling, and I would respond that I'm okay if they are late movers.  The longer they stay still, the easier it is for us!!!!

I love watching them discover things and interact with each other.  There is something new every day and it always makes me smile.  On the other hand, it means that I have to be on my toes as to what is on the floor and what they can get at.  We haven't worried about little pieces of food on the floor for a long time now, but now I have to be more diligent with the whole housekeeping thing (which is something that I feel I'm drowning in).  The twins feed themselves some foods, which means there is a huge mess that needs to be swept up regularly.  We also need to make sure that Jayna isn't leaving money (she's really into having change on her) on the floor.  We have been spending more time downstairs, so that we can watch the Olympics, which means the carpet needs to be vacuumed as well.

This morning, I thought Davin was about to puke, but realized he had something in his mouth.  Upon taking the item out, I noticed it was a little cardboard tag from one of Jayna's toys.  He hadn't been playing with it for a while, so that had been in there a while.  Oops!

The twins had a bath together for the first time ever last week and it was a huge success.  Moments like that make all the difficulties worth it.

We are looking forward to a busy, but fantastic long weekend spending time with family and friends outside!!!