Will my house ever be clean again?

 

So, here is the deal.  If you were to walk in to my house at any given point in the day – you will encounter what I like to call “organized chaos.”  You all know what I mean! I have always been the type of person that everything has a place and everything should be in its place – as an example in college I was often ridiculed for my post it notes being in an exact pile and then being organized my color.  So I am that type of person.  What I have learned as a mom is that “type A” personality goes out the window quickly.  I will admit if there are only a few things to pick up, the need to pick it up will kick in and I must pick them up immediately.  Here is the interesting part, if there are A LOT of things out of place I just give up and give in to the chaos.  Anyone else relate to that?!

 

At any given time these are some of the things you will encounter in my home:

1)      Large plastic bowls strategically located in the middle of the floor or two toddlers running around the house with bowls on their heads.

2)      Clothes strewn about the floor- the question will be if the clothes are clean or dirty.  To find out this answer, take note of the nearest laundry basket.  If there is also a laundry basket on the floor, the clothes are clean and the kids have decided to watch Mickey Mouse Clubhouse from inside the laundry basket. 

3)      At least one, if not several, discarded wet diapers.  That being said, I am not a dirty person, but sometimes the trash or diaper pail are farther away than I can get at the moment so the diaper will remain on the table, mantle, or shelf until I can throw it away.  I do have (clean) diapers and wipes stashed all over the house so I can change them just about anywhere. 

4)      One or more sippy cups dripping on to the floor.  (Sidenote: Is there a cup out there that does not leak? This is driving me crazy!)

5)      Toilet paper left in a pile next to or on the back of the toilet.  You should know that this toilet paper is clean and can be used – the joy and giggles involved with unrolling a whole roll of toilet paper is just too cute to stop. 

6)      A multitude of Little People animals and cars on the floor, couch, and book shelf depending on where they were dropped when a new and shiny object was encountered  

7) If we are being honest here, you might also find a toddler on the floor.  Apparently the "terrible twos" start at 1.5 and mommy is already well in to her practice of ignoring tantrums.  In the next few weeks, you will also find a "Super Nanny Time Out" rug on the floor. 

Now you know – enter at your own risk. :)

Playing restaurant with mommy.... Landon loved his plastic muffin.

 

1.5 years

It has been an eventful 18 months and it has flown by! I can hardly believe these amazing little people have been in my life for a year and a half.  (By the way I have been telling everyone that they are a year and a half old, not 18 months. I am done with the “month thing.”)  

There have been a lot of changes in their development just in the past month.  A lot of new words and “tricks” and laughs and smiles.  We have officially moved to the 18 month clothes – they are way too big on them, but the 12 month clothes were looking too small.  We also had to move the straps in the car seats as they are finally getting a bit taller!  They loved their Christmas and all the presents they received.  Santa brought Riley her first baby doll, well at least he thought he was bringing it for Riley.  It has become one of Landon’s favorites.  I ask Landon where his “baby” is and he will repeat “baby” back to me, grab it, hug it, and give it a kiss.  He will then proceed to drop it in the bucket of Duplos, or throw it on the ground, or stick it in the oven for his kitchen, but hey he hugged it first right?! They love to play with cars and make “vroom” noises as they roll them around on the floor.  Puzzles are a new favorite and stacking blocks.  They like to color and do other simple art projects I find on Pinterest.  We have been working on using spoons and feeding ourselves and they seem to really enjoy doing that.  Landon struggles a bit, but he is improving.  They love being able to drink out of straws and smoothies are a favorite for both.  We have moved most of the toys to the basement and they seem to enjoy the bigger space and having their own space to play.  

Riley’s latest “trick”, which is so much fun, is that she will not stay still to have her diaper changed or her clothes put on.  She will run out of the room with one sock on and it becomes an adventure to say the least.  She is independent and adventurous, loves to climb on anything and everything.  She will also eat anything and makes every attempt she can to get the food off her brother’s high chair as well.  Earlier this week, she ran down the hall with a toy making a two syllable “noise” She gave the toy to Landon and came running back to me.  Riley’s newest word is “Landon” and it makes my heart melt.  She loves to read “boo”s and will climb into your lap with a book about 50 times a day.  She very rarely sits still and likes to play with all of her toys in a matter of minutes.  She has an infectious smile and once she has figured out how to make you laugh she will do it over and over again.  She loves to have her belly tickled and then she will tickle you as well – along with the appropriate “tick tick tick” noise.  Riley loves to dance and will start bobbing her head back and forth before I even hear the music.  She is still using a pacifier, but we are working on that one.  She will put them back in her bed if you ask, but sometimes we are asking her to do that about 100 times a day because she keeps getting them back out.  She has at least 10 teeth now (she bites, so I am not sticking my finger in) and I want to get rid of the pacifier before it starts affecting her teeth.  

Landon (Bless his heart) had the joy of getting five teeth at one time last week.  Needless to say he was a bit of a beast for a few days, but he is a whole lot closer to that total of 20 teeth now.  Landon loves to wear “ha” s (someday my children will pronounce the last letter of words) and is now able to actually get them on his head by himself.  Landon loves to race cars around on the floor and make “beep” noises.  He likes to play with the dishes and their kitchen, roll balls down the slide, and throw balls at mommy’s face.  He has become a picky eater lately and I am not happy about it because I don’t feel like he is getting enough nutrients.  I still do have some concerns with his hypotonia and I am going to ask the doctor at his appointment at the end of the month.  He still has a bit of a head/neck lag when he is laying down or sitting up.  He still needs some core strengthening as well so we have been trying to work with him.  Other than that, you would not notice any “issues.”  He runs up and down the hall with Riley.  He loves to make her laugh and will even attempt to comfort her when she is upset by patting her back.   

Happy New Year!

They both have infectious smiles and laughs.  I love to make them giggle.  I especially love hearing them laugh together from another room – unless it means they are doing something “wrong,” like feeding the dogs an entire box of peanut butter crackers.  It was actually hard not to laugh with them on this one though.

Decorating their tree... it was up for three weeks before they figured this one out. ;)

 

Watching Sophia the First while mommy made lunch

They have been trying to climb in to their cribs.... so i am sure it won't be long before they try and climb out also.

The 8 "Not-so-awesome"Things About Being a Mom of Twins

You have seen them - the blogs that list the “10 most awesome things about being a mom of twins.”  Well, I ran across one last week and even shared it on Facebook because I thought they were right on about most of them, but ever since then I have had a blog post of my own just burning to come out! So, I present to you – “The 8 not-so-awesome things about being a mom of twins.”  (I couldn’t come up with 10)

1)      Teething.  This is a topic that is near and dear to my heart right now.  Those of you out there with kids, think about how awful teething was for both you and the child- the random fits of screaming, the sleepless and late nights, the refusing to eat, the tears- and now multiply that by two.  There are days where I am counting down the minutes until bed time and hoping that they will sleep as I have run out of ways to distract them from the pain.  My daughter has this ability to just randomly start screeching in pain at the drop of a hat and you cannot distract her, she just has to cry it out, and she has been known to do that for 30+ minutes.  A friend has already offered prayer for their two year molars coming in- God help us all.  

2)      Double of everything.  Our house is not that big, but it isn’t small either.  At one point we had two swings, a bouncer, two jumpers, and a pack n’ play in our living room along with our two couches and coffee table.  Those of you that know me know that I don’t do well with clutter.  I could not wait for it all to be gone! Don’t even get me started on the toys! I have been told that people “feel bad” if they only get one toy for them, so we get the boy and girl version of a lot of toys.  Now don’t get me wrong, I do it too, and feel the same guilt if I only buy one toy, but if we don’t stop this mentality I am going to be buried in a sea of pink and blue stuffed animals! 

3)      THE DOUBLE STROLLER. This bad boy deserves his own category.  I have learned that there are several stores at the mall that I cannot even enter due to the tight aisles. I have been known to take clothes of racks just trying to get out of tight spaces.  Once or twice, out of frustration, I have moved racks of clothes and made a bigger show of it than I needed to – I suppose I was making a point in my head.  Most of the time, it “just fits” through doorways so if it is not lined up perfectly I am inevitably going to bump the wall several times and hopefully not bump any little fingers along the way.  

4)      Strangers and their strange questions.  Really, the hard part of this for me is to keep a straight face.  The hubby and I have had several strange encounters, but by far the most uncomfortable question for me to be asked is if they are fraternal or identical.  For crying out loud, they are a boy and a girl – did you pass high school Science?!? I am terrible about keeping a straight face with this one, but I am getting better. We have been asked before if they are related, some people want to delve right in to my labor and find out how far apart they are, other people just go on and on about their second cousin on their mothers side that has twins.  It is rare for me to go out and not get asked if they are twins at least once.  Maybe I should just start carrying a sign with the “stats”?

5)      Sickness.  What makes sickness so terrible, at least in this house, is that they have yet to be sick at the same time.  Typically one will get sick and then the other.  So a typical 3-5 day illness will last about 10 days in this house.  Right before Christmas I took Landon to the doctor on Tuesday and I was back on Friday with Riley – both diagnosed with croup.  If/when one of them gets chicken pox, I am going to rub the other child all over them – just sayin. 

6)      Comparisons.  I have done a whole blog on this one! I just happened to have two children on the exact same day and that is about the end of it for the similarities with my two.  They have completely different personalities and like to do different things.  Sure they have some of the same likes, as most siblings do, but there is no need to point them out! It is especially difficult when it comes to development and one might be developing faster than the other.  I promise you, you will be literally breaking the heart of the mom if you point out that “that one” is walking better than “this one.”  (By the way, using “this one” and “that one” as descriptors for my children will get you on my shit list for a very long time.) Honestly who cares if she really likes to be bounced up and down and he prefers to be held close?! Just love them both. 

7)      Sibling rivalry/Need for Mommy’s attention.  Now I know that sibling rivalry exists with any siblings with any age difference, but it is a whole new world when the age gap is less than an hour.  This means they are more than likely going to be interested in the same types of toys.  This also means that they are going to be at the same (approximate) developmental level when it comes to understanding sharing.  Hitting is the new thing in my house – makes sense because they don’t have a lot of words so how else are they supposed to express themselves?! I am constantly reminding them that “Mommy only has two hands” and my lap is only so big, but we make it work.  Life can be a whole lot easier when daddy is here too and they can get some one on one play time.  

8)      Places without 2 or more high chairs.  This, along with places not having a changing table, has become one of my biggest pet peeves.  On the rare occasion that we go out to eat, if we are going somewhere new, we will call ahead to ensure that they have two high chairs.  I think it is ridiculous that we even have to do this! I understand that we do not always go to “family friendly” atmospheres (aka brewery), but if you serve food you should have high chairs.  Also, isn’t it a law that you are required to have a changing table?!

Now, despite all of the above, I really do love being a mom to twins. :) Watching them interact and laugh together is the highlight of my day.  The “awesome” things far out-weight the “not-so-awesome” things, but someone had to write it.  I am sure there are more out there, so feel free to comment if you have anything to add to the list!