What do we do when Daddy is at Work?

Enough said!

Mini Road Trip

Well, we took our first road trip with Ella and Aidan. We wanted get our feet wet with what we may be in for as we head 12 hours to Florida for Christmas. I can say that we only went 2 hours away, and the minivan was PACKED!! We didn't go far...just up to Blowing Rock for a few hours. We left at 9 AM and they both slept for the entire 2 hours there. We went straight to a restaurant and fed them their 11 AM applesauce and rice cereal and they did fabulously! Once they finished their bottles they even let Mike and I eat our lunch in peace and quiet while they played in their carriers. We just wandered around downtown Blowing Rock, got some ice cream and hung out in the little park...then headed home - and they both slept the whole way home! It was a wonderful day!!

Becoming a Mother

There are women that become mothers without effort, without thought, without patience, or loss - and though they are good mothers and love their children, I know that I will be better.

I will be better not because of genetics, or money, or that I have read more books, but because I have struggled and toiled for these children. I have longed and waited. I have cried and prayed. I have endured and planned over and over again. Like most things in life, the people who truly have appreciation are those who have struggled to attain their dreams. I will notice everything about my children. I will take time to watch them sleep, explore and discover. I will marvel at these miracles every day for the rest of my life.

I will be happy when I wake in the middle of the night (well, sort of) to the sound of my children, knowing that I can comfort, hold and feed them and that I am not waking to take another temperature, pop another pill, take another shot or cry tears of a broken dream. My dream is alive in a crib, and crying for me.

I count myself lucky in this sense; that I have been given this insight, this special vision with which I will look upon my children that no one else will see.

I will be a better mother for all that I have endured. I am a better wife, a better daughter, neighbor, friend and sister because I have known pain. I know disillusionment as I have been betrayed by my own body. I have been tried by a fire many never face, yet given time, I stood tall.

• I have prevailed.


• I have succeeded.
  
• I have won.

So now, when others hurt around me, I do not run from their pain in order to save myself discomfort. I see it, mourn it, and join them in theirs. I listen. And even though I cannot make it better, I can make it less lonely. I have learned the immense power of another hand holding tight to mine, of other eyes that moisten as they learn to accept the harsh truth and when life is beyond hard. I have learned a compassion that only comes with walking in those shoes.

Are They Twins??

A few words of advice from an oh-so sleep deprived parent:

• When you put twins to sleep together, don't put them too close together so that when one vomits it lands on the other one...that way you only have one baby and a bed to clean up instead of two!


• Feed whomever is screaming loudest first


• Don't change diapers in the dark - no explanation needed


• Learn the warning signals of projectile vomit - usually there is a cough first then you have about 5 seconds to make it to the kitchen sink or cover yourself with burp cloths


• Buy twice as much formula and diapers as you think you will need because you can never have enough


• There is no such thing as too organized or too prepared


• Make lists


• Smile politely when people make stupid comments such as "are they twins"? Learn quickly to give the standard twin Mom response even before they can ask (usually as they are approaching with their hands stretched out to try and touch your babies - ”Yes they are twins, no they are not identical, and they are twice the blessing”!


• Never ever turn down help or a prepared meal!


• Take lots of pictures and video every chance you get because you forget so quickly and they change so fast


• We will sleep again one day...not in the near future, but that is OK.

Finally, enjoy every single minute of them awake or asleep whether they are eating, crying, smiling or throwing up - it goes faster than I ever could have imagined and I don't want to miss any of those moments while I complain about things. We signed up for this and waiting so darn long. It truly has changed our lives in a very profound way. Everything we do is for them and suddenly life has more purpose...I know that sounds corny, but it is true.