"You've got your hands full..."

"You've got your hands full," this is something that if you are the mother of twins you hear a lot. That and "are they twins?" which always confuses me a little. We love the attention, and people are always very kind, but when they say you've got your hands full....they have no idea.

A day in the life...Doug and I wake up each morning (about 6:30ish) to the sound of Noah and Baden jumping up and down in their cribs, the music from their crib toy playing and the lovely sounds of "mama" and "dada" filling the air. Crazy enough Jackson, with whom they share a room, sleeps right through the madness. (By the way yes, 3 boys in one room is crazy but we are currently remodeling our basement so soon Jackson will have his own room.) At this point the house is still clean and in order, painstakingly placed that way the night. The house remains this way for no more than 10 minutes once our day begins. This really isn't an exaggeration. I have always prided myself on having a very clean and orderly home....we'll that's an ideal long gone. I try to go out for a run while Doug showers and starts breakfast. The twins usually start their path of destruction around their highchairs....their reach from this central location seems to be extending the older they get. They are big healthy boys which baffles me because I swear very little makes it into their mouths usually it is spread all over the floor and themselves. Needless to say getting breakfast on and cleaned up is a sometimes a time consuming task. Then it is time to get everyone dressed for the day and all the beds made. This is a time I enjoy. We always share lots of tickles and kisses....but while I shower I have to devise a way to contain the twins. My options are terribly abundant they can play in the front room which we close in with our giant luv sac...this is a hurdle they have recently learned to climb over, which really bummed Doug and I out. My other options are their cribs, which they really don't like or I have to lock them in their room. Yes, that sounds mean locking them in their bedroom but their room is childproof (although certainly not mess proof) and the door has to be locked because Noah can stand on his tip-toes and open the door, and that is all I need is the twins wandering the house unsupervised. Well after mom puts herself together for the day we usually go out and play, run errands or go for a walk. This is a time of non-stop movement and chasing one or all 3 of the boys. (I am so dreading winter when our outside time will be limited....winter comes close to driving me insane some days) Soon it is time for lunch (Repeat of breakfast for the most part....minus dad's help). Some days we take Jackson to preschool but on the day we don't we usually read some books and then put the twins down for their afternoon nap while Jackson has some quiet time and I clean up lunch, eat lunch, check my email or do one of the many things that always needs to be done which includes entertaining Jackson. Jackson is just one of those kids that doesn't entertain himself well, he is learning but still likes to play with mom. Which I love but all fun has it limits. There are days when I think my time would have been better spent attending clown college. After naps we play and have snacks, this is when the main destruction in the living room happens....they do a very thorough job. We have to pull the blinds up because they twins think it is a super game to pound on them (plus they like to see all the comings and goings of the neighborhood), and we have to turn our end table over because they think it is quite funny to bang their toys on the top of it, they aren't so interested in the bottom. Then the craziest part of the day begins we wait for dad to come home, then dad comes home and chaos ensues, we make dinner and try to get everyone to eat dinner. Dinner is the biggest, messiest meal of the day and the hardest because it is the end of the day and odds are someone is in a bad mood by this time. Once dinner is finished it is time for baths, stories, and bedtime. Luckily the twins usually go down without any problems but the 3 year old that is another story (and a story for another day). Once everyone is finally down for the night the clean up process begins. Clean up from dinner has to be finished because that is never done before everyone is in bed. Then there are all ot the chores for the day that never seem to get done during the day...you know laundry, cleaning the bathroom, vacuuming and so on and so forth. We also have to pick up all the toys and put the house back in some sort of normal order. So for the last 10 minutes of my day I enjoy a calm clean house, and then it is off to bed for some much needed rest and all to soon we are up and ready to start another spectacular day.

As much as I complain (I prefer to call it venting), I love my boys and all of their messes and sticky hands, and slobbery kisses and I woudn't trade them for anything because if I didn't have all those messes I wouldn't have my boys and I can't imagine a life without them.