A typical day at our house consists of waking up anywhere between 7 and 8 am (and the closer it is to 8 the happier I tend to be). We get dressed, have breakfast, feed the dogs, do a few dishes and a couple more chores, then I hit the keyboard for work and the twins hit the great room for a full day of playing hard. We have a snack around 10ish, then lunch is served anytime after 11:30 am. I try to finish up work before nap time, but lately that has been my unicorn. Around 1:30ish the twins start to melt down and I take that as cue for naps. We have warm milk, turn the lights down some, and cuddle together on the couch watching Daniel Tiger. He's a good friend to wind down with. Then the twins go to their beds. For the longest time, I'd put Laith down and while he fussed a little, I would cuddle Vivienne on the couch. Slowly Laith started to fall asleep faster and without fussing, and Vivienne resisted falling asleep with more determination each day. In a fit of fed up to my eyeballs with this routine, we tried a new tactic. I laid Laith down, then grabbed Vivienne and laid her down. Nap time has now become jumping-in-the-bed time. Laith and Vivienne jump for a few minutes, laughing and giggling, talking away to each other. After a while you realize you're only hearing Vivienne's sweet small voice and know that Laith has conked out. A few moments later, and Vivienne is gone too. I've been really lucky and gotten 3 hour naps for a l-o-n-g time. However, I think these days are soon to be gone forever, as the naps have started to shorten and two days in a row this week, Vivienne refused to nap. I knew the blissful afternoon peace & quiet wouldn't last forever...I'm gonna miss the 3 hour nap window. Laith always wakes first with the grumps. Vivienne is always smiley. Laith has to cuddle with me for a few minutes to several minutes before the grumps fade away (and they're not always gone). The twins have another snack, then play while I get dinner prepped, ready to start cooking once Bryan sends the message 'on my way'. The twins love to run around while I cook dinner, pushing on my legs, pulling me away from the counter, sidetracking me from my tasks into a romp of chase around the kitchen and tickle fests. Dinner's usually finished just as Bryan gets home and the twins are impatient for their dinners. Dinner is served on a plate every night and has been for the last six months. Last night was the FIRST time Laith ate his dinner on his plate without dumping its contents onto his high chair tray. Vivienne still prefers to eat directly from the high chair tray and every dinner is promptly emptied from plate to tray in a few minutes. After dinner is spent playing a whole bunch more then it's bed time. I usually aim for 8 pm, but sometimes we lose track of time and don't realize how late it is until almost 9 pm. For the last couple weeks, Laith has finally figured out how to sleep through the night. For me, sleeping through the night means I do not get out of bed to take care of a baby. Waking up to use the restroom, waking up from insomnia, waking up because Laith cried out in his sleep, waking up when Bryan gets up to ready for work, do not get factored into a full night's sleep. If I did, I'd still be waiting to get 4 straight hours of sleep. My body has learned how to function with the sleep I do get and I finally can count more nights than fingers & toes that have been 'full nights of sleep'.
Feeling a fit of cabin fever, I came up with several day outings. We could drive to Bend, Oregon and see Smith Rock State Park, we could drive to McMinnville, Oregon and swim at the air museum water park, or we could drive to Seattle, Washington to visit the aquarium. Option 1 was nixed when the Oregon road cameras showed snow at two different passes we'd have to traverse. Option 2 was nixed as I realized I'd need swimsuits for the twins and me...and the idea of me in a swimsuit is not something I'm ready to brave yet. So option 3 it was. We left a very sunny Vancouver, to enter a very foggy Olympia. Luckily when we hit Tacoma, the sun broke out and we enjoyed a decently sunny day in Seattle for the first time. The pictures don't really show that...the one we got as we passed the Needle on our way out of town would lead you to believe it was cloudy, but it was a cloudbreak rather than a sunbreak that day. I wasn't sure how the twins would react to swimming fish...I figured we were probably trying a new adventure a little too early. Boy was I wrong. Laith enjoyed getting his hands wet to touch the starfish while Vivienne preferred to stay dry and just look at the pretty pink stars. Both loved seeing the Hawaiian fish display. It's easy to tell as the fish are extremely colorful and energetic. Surprisingly the sea lion didn't catch much of their attention, but the river otters did. They were having a good game of swim tag and the twins had smiles watching as the otters kept swimming past. I chose to get each a book from the gift store. You can't see it in Laith's blurry picture, but both latched on to the new books and read them for a good portion of the way home.
Today I got lucky and outlasted Vivienne during nap time. I had finally selected some fabric to finish the new bed linens for the guest bedroom and was itching badly to sew up the pillow shams for the Euro pillows. While I ironed, pinned and sewed, I could hear her voice babbling away. At one point she started coughing, as though to get my attention and say "Mommy! I'm still awake. Come get me!!" but I kept pretending I couldn't hear. After a while I no longer heard her babbles and when I peeked in, she was fast asleep. I finished the pillow covers and made up the bed. I think I want to put one more long, low pillow in front, but above is the almost finished look. Our guest bedroom now has better linens than the master bedroom....hmmm..gonna have to fix that. After taking the pictures and looking at the results, I had to relax on the bed, but as I looked around the room, relaxation was the last thing on my mind.
Our guest room has always been a catch all room. To the side are the car seats I've been trying to sell for six months, the old bed linens and the many toys that the twins have figured out may be used as climbing step stools. After several climbing accidents, they've been banished to this room. Across from the bed are my sewing machines, ironing board, and the bajillion items stacked on the dresser. There's two sets of crib bedding I never used, coloring supplies for twin toddler art projects, bits and bobs from leftover handmade cards and scrapbook layouts, the humongous bag of beans I thought I'd bought too much of (which by the way, I can now use as the bean bags have started to 'deflate' with use), picture frames that kept getting played with by two mischievous babies, a Silhouette machine and the stack of guest pillows waiting for new pillow cases. I know my next project should be organizing this room and clearing up the clutter....but I just can't bring myself to do it.
2 comments:
Looks like you've been busy! We love aquariums but still haven't checked out the Dallas World Aquarium yet. Maybe in a few more months when Kaylee is a little older. And our guest room as a catch-all room, too. I think most homes have a room like that. :)
P.S. I think Vivienne looks just like you in that picture with the book!
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