Mama Mama Quite Contrary

It seems that there have been more than a few posts on this blog about how much having two babies at once really sucks.  It's exhausting and back-breaking.  It's chaotic and stressful.  It's stinky and sticky and downright dirty business.  But it is also wonderful.  Yesterday morning, I heard the babies chattering in their room.  It was 7:30 a.m. and they had slept much later than usual.  I went in to get them only to find them blowing kisses to each other across the room.  It was beyond adorable.  As I scooped them up and wrestled them into my arms, Ellie's nose rubbed against Jude's neck and they dissolved into the amazing little giggles that only babies get.  I realized in this moment, as I was completely enamoured with my Turtles, that I would not be experiencing any of this if I had had just one baby.  And I just would not trade all the heartache and stress and bad behavior that come with ...

Regarding my previous post, I should clarify that it was I, upon consultation with my husband, who decided to pull Vivi from the Wednesday playdates .  This was done as a way to give the kids a break from each other but also to create an opportunity for me and Aviva to spend some more positive time together.  Since the inception of the Wednesday playdates , we have had very few problems.  In general, Vivi is left to play on her own with the other children while their mothers and I fawn over the Turtles.  What I have come to realize, however, is that the vast majority of her friends do not have siblings, much less two baby siblings.  As a result, when another kid asks to get a push on the swing from his mother, it happens.  When Vivi asks, I generally put her off.  I can see how this would feel upsetting for her so I'm trying to be more available and open to her requests.* So for the foreseeable future, my husband and I have a...

I spent the better part of yesterday afternoon in tears.  I was still reeling from an accident Ellie had on Sunday morning that nearly landed her in the ER (all is okay now) when I spoke to a friend of mine on Monday.  She informed me that her son doesn't want to play with Vivi anymore.  Vivi's sporadic aggression has justifiably upset him and he also apparently doesn't like that Vivi doesn't always say hello and good-bye when spoken to.  This has lead to the cancellation of a childcare swap as well as us pulling Vivi from a weekly playdate.  This has hit me hard.  While Vivi hardly seems phased that we are no longer seeing some of her friends, I am really having a hard time with the idea that I won't get to see the little boy (who I adore) and his parents regularly.  When Vivi saw me crying and asked why I was upset I told her it was because this little boy doesn't want to play with her anymore because she has...

I like routines.  Like a young child, I find comfort in knowing what to expect and don't do well with last minute changes of plan.  Yet, and the irony is not lost on me, the unpredictable nature of spending all day, every day with children and their own internal schedules is something with which I struggle.  For that reason, I really cling to my evening rituals. There's nothing particularly interesting about my evening routine.  Once the girls are in bed, I putter until my chores (dishes, laundry, etc...) are done.  Then I sit on the couch and read or watch a little TV or pull my sewing machine out.  When I'm tired, I head upstairs, brush my teeth, check on the girls, and then read in bed until I fall asleep.  My husband and I are often doing the same things in parallel. Last night, however, I stayed up late watching crappy, reality TV.  (Hey, I'm not proud.)  By the time I got to bed my husband was already asleep.  This...

There are some days when being a mother really sucks. (Actually, that's literally every day for me since the Turtles are still going strong with breastfeeding. Ahh.... I'm already digressing from the point.) Anyway, in the figurative sense of motherhood suckage, we all probably have had more days than we can count when we would give ANYTHING for an hour of solitude. You know what I mean... that glorious chunk of time when you can do whatever the heck you want and have the freedom from worrying about someone else. Then there are days when I feel nothing but pure joy around my children. Complete, in-the-moment delight at what I have created. One of those days was yesterday. It was warm and sunny and the girls got to eat dinner at our new backyard picnic table. Oh yeah, and there was lots and lots of watermelon.