6:30am - I hear RJ start to rouse, but it will be a while till he wakes up his brother so I bury my head and try to catch a few more Zzz's.
6:40am - RJ is shouting at MJ and wakes him up. The two of them spend some time jibber-jabbering in their twin talk and laughing and jumping on the beds.
6:50am - I finally rouse myself awake and get up to use the washroom and prepare some milk for the boys. The dog comes upstairs to join me in waking up the crew. Hubby is still sleeping soundly in bed.
7:00am - I bring the boys milk in sippy cups and they guzzle it down while waking up. I pull them out of bed and maybe change diapers, or just have some morning cuddles first.
7:15am - The boys start to make their rounds, checking out toys, looking out of the window and demanding breakfast. I give them some cheerios to tide them over while the steel cut oats finish cooking and cooling.
7:30am - We all sit down to breakfast together. Breakfast is usually steel cut oats or cereal, banana, muffin or toast and maybe some fruit. I try to gulp down my food (and a cup of coffee) while picking up spoons from the floor, getting a banana, refilling milk, and wiping up spills as they inevitably occur. The dog wants to go out and eat too. Hubby needs to be woken up. The boys finish breakfast and want down. I try to do a quick cleanup before escaping the chaos and jumping into a shower.
7:40am - I am showered and hesitant to open the bathroom door and let the chaos in, but the boys are banging on the door looking for me. RJ helps me blowdry my hair and I change diapers in-between doing my mascara and blush.
8:00am - The boys run around in diapers for a bit while I finish getting ready and then I get them dressed. Hubby heads out to take the dog for a walk.
8:15 - Playtime. I try to finish cleanup of dinner, do any prep for lunch or dinner, and pack snacks for the day, while constantly being interrupted with cries for help, or fights, or just wanting my attention. We spend some time playing cars, cooking in the play kitchen, or reading a story. I try to formulate a plan for the day... it's not even 9am and I know how the rest of my day will go from hereon in.
9:00 - We are ready for the day and usually sit down for a snack before heading out. If there are chores or things I need to get done I put on a little 15 minute show so I can run laundry downstairs or pack up the car to head out. If we're not going anywhere right away, I send the boys outside to the deck to burn off some steam (I love summer). Inevitably one of them falls and bumps his head, or pushes the other out of the toy car that they are both fighting for. I dig out a "challenge" toy to occupy a few more minutes while I am getting ready. This may be a tupperware container with a hole in the lid and a stack of popsicle sticks, or an alphabet puzzle. Containers and lids work well too.
9:30 - I try to round them up to get ready to get out the door. Track down 2 pairs of shoes from different locations, grab sweaters if we need, and put shoes on one boy while the other wanders back to the bedroom. Grab him from the bedroom and put his shoes on while the other one starts to make a mess with the blocks. Open the baby gate at the stairs and they both see that we are actually leaving and come join me. Getting them from the front door to the car and buckled in is another feat itself... but eventually it happens.
9:40 - We are out the door and onto an adventure of sorts. Typical days include: a walk to the park (with or without the dog), a playdate, fun at the waterpark, grocery shopping, or the beach (if I have reinforcements). We usually spend an hour and a half to two hours out and about.
11:30 - We head home for lunch. On the way home I play music and feed snacks to make sure that MJ stays awake (he's our car sleeper).
11:45 - Once we get in the doors the boys are pretty content to play by themselves for a bit while I switch laundry and prepare lunch. If they were especially active they are really hungry and nag and whine until lunch is on the table. This is why I try to prepare lunch a bit before we go out.
12:00 - Lunch time! Lunches vary from leftovers from dinner (not such a hit these days), macaroni (is a hit lately), sandwiches (so-so), or a variety of cracker, cheese and veggies with yogurt for dessert. And milk. If the boys are tired they don't eat so well and I end up throwing lots out. They eat a bit and then think it is funny to try to feed each other, which ends up well until MJ forces his fork into RJ's mouth when he doesn't want it. RJ retaliates by pulling MJ's hair. Lunch time is over.
12:15 - (My boys are fast eaters) I clean up and we play a bit before naptime.
12:30/12:45 - We change diapers, read some books and try to do a quick cleanup before naptime. Lately the boys love cleanup time so I take full advantage of it. We head to the room for nap. The boys still take soothers for naps and bedtime and sleep with blankies.
1:00 - Asleep for nap! Sigh of relief. Make a coffee (unless I nap too) and sit for a short break. I try not to nap as this is my only "me" time for the day, and a chance to do anything I can't do with the munchkins around, but sometimes I need to crash for a power nap. Otherwise, I do laundry, clean a room in the house, prepare dinner (usually a good idea), or putter in the garden a bit.
3:00/3:30 - The boys rouse from their slumber and are usually a bit groggy for a while. I make smoothies (packed with some sort of green veggie to make sure they get enough), and we sit and read books or watch a bit of Sesame Street till they wake up.
3:45 - Once they're up, they are ready to go again! We usually need to head outside, to the backyard or the park. Or if their dad is home or my dad (grandpa) visits, they have extreme wrestle time. I prepare whatever we need during naptime (usually) so we can just getup and go wherever we need to.
4:30 - Hubby is usually home from work and we decide what to do with the rest of the day. One of us will take the dog, or we will all go for a family walk. We also figure out who will prepare dinner and who gets to watch the kids (and we usually fight over preparing dinner... by this time we are weary and those boys are tiresome!).
5:00 - The boys are hungry and a bit whiny but dinner is not quite ready. We may put on some kids music to get them to dance or send them back out to the deck to buy a bit of time.
5:30 - Dinner is ready and we sit down all together to eat. The boys love having their dad around and spend most of the meal trying to imitate him and make him laugh. We give them some yogurt popsicles for dessert since these take them a while to eat. This way we can actually finish our dinner in relative peace.
6:00 - Again, we fight over who will clean up and who will play with the boys. This is their final hurrah before bed and they want our full attention and usually want to play rough and tumble. It requires a lot of energy when we are both tired and just want to sit with a cup of tea!
6:30 - If it's bath night one of us baths them while the other finishes tidying the house and toys. If it's not bath night we may take them for a short walk in the wagon up the street. Tonight we actually headed over to the park to throw the ball for the dog for a short time. They fell asleep much quicker than normal. That fresh air always helps.
6:45 - PJs and diaper changes then a cup of milk before bed. We often put on a little nighttime show (In the Night Garden) or read stories and cuddle. We brush teeth and then put them in their cribs for Bible story and prayers and say goodnight. I still sing a little bit of a song I used to sing to them in the NICU as a lullabye as I kiss them goodnight.
7:00 - Lights out. They are really good about going down, but lately have taken 30 minutes or so to fall asleep. I think it is because they are sleeping longer for their nap in the afternoon. We may have to cap that nap sooner.
7:30 - I am usually finished any last cleanup by now unless there is prep for the next day to be done. I try to get outside and water the plants, or go for a walk/run, or maybe even the gym (not likely... still working on the best time to exercise). If I have the energy I'll find something I want to do and do it (blog, sew, meet with a friend).
9:00 - Whew, exhausted. No more productivity from me. By this point, it's veg on the couch by the TV or look at a screen for a little bit before heading to bed.
10:00 - This is my wannabe bedtime. Sometimes I'm in bed by 10, but not usually asleep with lights out till 10:30/11:00.
10:30 - Goodnight. It begins all over again tomorrow...
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