Stayed up too late last night watching a movie with the hubby. Great movie and I got to hang out with just him which doesn't happen very often. The babies- I have got to stop calling them that- the twins, were up and quite unhappy before 6:30 am. This is a time that I have fondly referred to in the past as "the butt crack of dawn." Now, I'm not quite sure what time they actually woke up, but when my brain finally registered that it was hearing two angry toddlers yelling at me I looked at the clock and it said 6:28.
This for me is painful, but not necessarily surprising. For someone who loves to sleep in I have been cursed with early rising children. Pre-children I could sleep in until 10 or 11am! When I finally hauled my zombie-like self (no coffee yet) out of bed to get the screaming toddlers I discovered the older two were up as well. Bring on the day I guess.
I get the twins changed and dressed and put in their seats at the island in the kitchen. Bananas get sliced and milk poured so I can deal with the older kiddos who have decided they need breakfast and if they don't get it in the next 30 seconds they will probably keel over. If you are keeping track, I still have not managed to get myself coffee yet so all of this is typically not dealt with very pleasantly on my part. I should be approached with caution before coffee consumption.
Ok, so older kiddos get breakfast. Typically cereal of some kind, I try to only buy stuff like Chex and Oatmeal Squares but occasionally things like Frosted Flakes and Cocoa Puffs mysteriously appear in the cupboard. By now the twins have long since finished their bananas and have begun yelling at me that they want something else with their toddler grunts and screeches. If I'm lucky I have frozen pancakes from leftovers if not they get dry cereal or a dry piece of toast. Still no coffee.
Amidst all of this I try to unload and load the dishwasher, clean up a little and attempt to make a cup of coffee. About the time the last drop of coffee is dripping from the Keurig into my cup all the kiddos finish breakfast and it's time to clean up the food explosion that has taken place under the twins and get all the kiddos moved to the baby safe zone in the basement. I can't leave the twins alone even in the safe zone for very long because they climb the furniture and attack the tv, and those little guys are fast and use the distract and attack tactic.
So I quickly throw a load of laundry in to wash and suck down my cold cup of coffee that was sitting sadly on the Keurig while standing just outside the safe zone making sure nobody breaks their neck. While doing this I try to stay out of view of the twins because they had entered a stage where if mom is within view they both need to be climbing on me or yelling at me about something. It's a bit exhausting, and sometimes painful to have two toddlers fighting all over your body.
Since it's summer and I have an extra kiddo, F, we take a little morning time to run around and play or we watch a short show. When the babies lay down for their morning nap I read a couple chapters of a book to the older kiddos (Little House on the Prairie right now), change the laundry, and fold some while the kiddos play or color. Sometimes if I'm feeling industrious I'll sneak in some other housework like vacuuming, cleaning bathrooms or mopping floors. Let's focus on the fact that I stated "IF" I'm feeling industrious. If not then I take some time for me and drink a cup of coffee when it's actually hot and then catch up on emails, Facebook and if I'm super lucky I can sneak in reading an actual book!
If it's a good nap day the babies sleep until 11am. But today D had a dentist appointment at 10:30 and the older kiddos started swim lessons at 11:40, so the twins took a short nap and I threw a snack in my humongous purse and we loaded up to head to the dentist. The twins hung out in their stroller, and W and F played with the toys in the waiting room and D had an awesome checkup at the dentist!
From there we headed to swimming lessons. This I had to brainstorm beforehand because the viewing gallery at the pool is upstairs and there is no elevator to take, so the stroller was out. So as has become typical in our life we have to get creative. We do own two Ergo baby carriers and up until now I've only used one. Today I used two. How you might ask? I had H on my back and V on my front!
I surprised a lot of people at the pool because they didn't notice H and only saw V on the front. It actually wasn't too hard to do and I found that it balanced me out quite well and I was able to stand up straight. Maybe wearing both babies could be good for my posture!
After that it was home for lunch and quiet time. The older kiddos have been fighting some lately so today I made them have quiet time in separate rooms. I told them they could pick out some books and spend the time reading. I was happy to find that W and F both fell asleep! They took great naps and D got some good reading in. I take this daily quiet time to finish up the laundry, and attack some more chores. Then I might just have another hot cup of coffee and try to keep myself upright and awake.
For some reason the twins get extremely irritable and cranky in the late afternoon hours before dinner. Lately there's been lots of fighting between the two, crying and screaming. The noise level in the house seems to be about on the same level as the mosh pit at a Green Day concert. Wait - are they still called that? I think I just dated myself.
Anyway, we somehow survive until dinner comes and goes, along with the typical chaos and fighting about finishing dinner and yet another food explosion under the twins. They're working on a pretty impressive radius. Maybe there's a world record in their future.
If it's bath/shower night - which by the way does not happen as often as it should - the twins get a bath and the older two shower. Bathing twin toddlers is an adventure in and of itself - but that's for another post.
Our - or should I say my - goal is to have the twins in bed by 7:15ish and the older two in bed between 7:30 and 8:00pm. If this actually happens it's a miracle, but I try because I like the fifteen minutes between when the kids fall asleep and I can no longer keep my eyes open. Who am I kidding, I'm lucky if I'm awake past 8. That's why it was so amazing I stayed up and watched a movie with the hubby last night!
And that folks is a day in the life of a caffeine starved, crazy mom of four boys under the age of seven and it is well past my bedtime!
Until next time!
I really enjoyed this post! I've often wondered what exactly your chaotic days must look like and I get the impression this is a very accurate picture. You minimize the noise though - I know it. My 2 make so much noise I can barely handle it so I'm quite certain 5 make way more! ;)
ReplyDeleteThank you! There are some small variances but this is a good summary! I usually have to yell over them all to be heard! They make an insane amount of noise!
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