“Mom! I made custard! Ketchup plus mustard equals custard.”
Skeeter
Haircut day for Apple Pie
Apple Pie- Those eyes 😍😍
Granny and Grandpa gave us an incubator for Christmas. There have been eggs it it for 19 days-per Banana Cream Pie’s custom-made hatching day countdown. Only three days until fluffy cuteness.
Special hatching CalendarSoon baby chicks will emerge!!
And…Blueberry Pie bleached his hair. Finally, I have a blonde child!
Zeek gets super offended if we call him “Baby” or refer to his room as “the babies’ room”
“I not a baby!” He cries.
Zeke’s favorite color is dark blue and light blue.
His favorite game is Smash Bros. His favorite food is saltine crackers and little breakfast sausage links. His favorite treat is fruit snacks. His favorite animal is a lion. His favorite song is “Ducky” (which is a song he and Skeeter made up in which they sing the word “ducky” over and over.) His favorite bedtime story is “Green Eggs and Ham.”
Skeeter’s favorite color is red. His favorite game is Temple Run. His favorite food is chicken nuggets. His favorite treat is cake. His favorite animal is a moose. His favorite song is the Smash Bros Song.
Skeeter’s favorite place to go is the park. His favorite bedtime story is “The very Hungry Caterpillar.”
A conversation they had tonight while I was trying to get them to go to sleep:
Skeeter: we want Taco Tuesday
Zeke: Yeah, and the we want Taco Threesday.
S: And then we want Taco Foursday!
Z: (laughing delightedly) then Taco Fivesday!
S: (laughing hysterically) and then sixday, seven eight ninesday!!
Both of them collapse laughing
Z: we missed Taco Onesday.
Me: how are they so smart? Also, I think Taco Ninesday should be a thing.
As I typed this,,Zeke recognized the word “Taco” on screen. What? They might be reading. Before they start preschool.
Four years ago, my doctor informed me that my baby number 8 was actually baby number 8 AND baby number 9. I was a pretty experienced mommy, but I knew twins would be different. I scoured the internet for information on what I would need. Most mommy bloggers of twins had different life situations than I had. Their twins were usually their first and second babies, or they had a toddler and twins. I don’t think I found a single blog by mothers who already had 7 babies and then had twins. (These women are much too busy to blog.) These mommy bloggers all also seemed to be able to afford the deluxe, premium versions of everything from strollers to diaper bags. That was definitely not me.
I do want to remember what I learned and what turned out to be useful for me. So if you just found out that you are going to be a Mother of Multiples and you have a real life budget, here are the things that were the best things I bought. I got my money’s worth out of all of them. (P.S. None of these links are affiliate links because Missouri and Amazon do not get along–these are just sincerely the things that saved my sanity.)
#1–I ordered this brace when I was 30 weeks along. I should have ordered it at 25 weeks. It really helped reduce how much back pain I had while standing to cook dinner. (by 27 weeks, I only stood up to cook dinner. The rest of the time I sat on the couch watching Dora with Baby Bean.) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01GO2Q8ZS/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_uXjKBbDMJKPS7
#3–If it turns out that you partially or fully bottle feed your babies, you will be super glad to have these “hands-free” bottles. The part that goes in the baby’s mouth is like a pacifier that hooks to the bottle on a long tube. This way, no one has to hold the weight of the bottle. It’s awesome. Also, the babies swallow less air with these, so if your babies have colic or gastric re-flux, they help with that too. I can’t tell you how many nights at 1 in the morning I was attempting to nurse a baby with one arm, hold the breast pump on the other side, and had the other baby in a bouncy chair and was propping a bottle for him with my foot. These fix that. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B001V9KPBI/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_KcjKBb38QRQHE
#4–Speaking of bouncy chairs….when I had only one baby, these seemed like useless space hogs. But My twins were in their bouncy chairs so much. Bouncy chairs or swings…either is fine, but you need two! They can double as high chairs for a long time as well.
#5–I got a backpack diaper bag because I knew both hands would be busy with the babies. That was a good call. You don’t want a shoulder bag that is going to slip down your arm onto a baby or make you lopsided. You’ll be juggling too much anyway. This is the one I got, and I loved it, but there are many many options out there. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07FCJB5NQ/ref=twister_B00MQNDH5E?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1
A lot of twin moms recommend the JuJuBe diaper bags. They look amazing and expensive.
#6–This stroller is light weight, sturdy, and works with most car seats, so you don’t have to buy two new car seats (if you don’t want to) This thing was my work horse for many months–as long as you bring the babies into church in their car seats, you’ll be glad you have it. Baby Trend Universal Double Snap-N-Go Stroller Frame https://www.amazon.com/dp/B008U4MKU6/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_o5iKBbZ9D8K2W
#7–Start making a list now of things that people can do for you. Lots of people will ask if they can help, and you’re going to be so tired and overwhelmed that you’ll go blank, and you won’t know what you can tell them to do. So make a list now of things you’re willing to let people help you with– like running a load of laundry through your washer, or sweeping your floor, or washing baby bottles, or feeding your goats etc. The thing that someone did for me that helped me the most was to come once or twice a week and take away my preschoolers for the afternoon (Banana Cream Pie was 3 and Baby Bean was 18 months old.) For those few hours I could take care of the twins or take a nap and not have to worry about what crazy messy thing Baby Bean might be getting into.
#8–I made lots of casseroles and freezer meals so that dinner would be easier after the babies were born. By 25 weeks I had 30 meals in the freezer. I didn’t make more because after that, I was in too much pain to stand for long enough to put extra meals together. (see #1) After the babies were born, we also ate a lot of dinosaur chicken nuggets, freezer pizza, taquitos, and popcorn–everyone survived just fine
You can do this, Mamma! Heavenly Father will grant you the strength and wisdom you need when you need it He is sending these beautiful babies to you because you are the perfect mommy for them. They will love you as you are.
Don’t let yourself think that you have to do things a certain way.
Every time you get frustrated, ask yourself–What is driving me crazy?
How can I make that process simpler or make it go more smoothly?
What expectations do I have that aren’t really true and I need to let go of them?
(example: “good moms do X so I have to do X also.” or If my kids are unhappy, I’m failing.”)
Sometimes you just need to holler “Uncle!” and recognize that you need help.
My little birds singing, “Let it Go!”
You might be surprised at the help you can find.
Help I have Found:
**For about 2 months, a young woman from my church who was graduated from high school came and played with the babies for 3-4 hours twice a week while I did school. This was a stop gap for me while I tried to figure things out, because she was going to have her own baby soon, and would not be available after that.
**I had a piano student who wanted to trade work for lessons. I would give her a 20 minute piano lesson, and then she would watch the babies for me for about an hour and a half while I taught an art lesson or piano lessons to my own children.
**One of my dear friends would babysit for me for about 2-4 hours on a Friday once a month so I could think and plan for home school uninterrupted.
Getting help was a real sanity saver for me. It can be for you as well, if you will be humble enough to accept it!!
If you are a home schooling mother with twins or multiple toddlers, I want to share with you the things I tried that worked for us.
But first, the background story:
I have twin boys who are almost 3.
The year that the twins were 1-year-old, was a pretty good year, school-wise. It was our first year home schooling, so I gave myself permission to not be perfect.
The twins were happy to sit by me on the couch, drinking their milk, while we did sort of an extended morning time version of home school. I read aloud and my students narrated. It was a beautiful time. By May, as the twins reached 18 months and demanded more attention, school got harder and harder. With a sigh of relief, we took summer break, and I reassured myself that school would be easier in the fall. After all, I had done home school for a year now, and I had figured out what worked. Best of all, the twins would be a year older. Older is easier, I thought.
All y’all can stop laughing that an experienced mom like me would tell herself that 2-year-olds are easier than 1-year-olds. I was super sleep-deprived and stressed out from trying to keep two boys alive who could run and open doors, while still giving some attention to raising seven other children. Seriously, there were daily near-death experiences that May. I don’t think my fight-or-flight mode is ever going to shut off after the constant alert of that time. Living with toddler twins is like living with terrorists.
I told myself lies and blissfully planned for the new school year.
Excited and ready to go, we began school in August. The first week was so awful, I wanted to quit home schooling and send all my children back to public school. The twins and my 4-year-old constantly interrupted every lesson. I could not read aloud because they made so much noise that I couldn’t hear myself. Anytime we sat down to start school, one or more of them would start howling.
Homeschooling 4 older children while caring for 5 children age 4 and under. Spring 2018
I started making changes and trying new things. Now I’m fairly convinced that no matter how many years I home school, I will never have it all figured out. Each year as my children grow and our circumstances change, I’ll have to tweak things, move things around, and try new techniques. Children don’t stay the same, so school can’t stay the same.
If you are a home schooling mother with twins or several toddlers underfoot, I want to share with you the things I tried this past year that worked. Also, I want to give you hope. It will be hard, no matter what. If you accept that and give yourself permission to not be perfect and give your children permission to not be perfect, you can at least have a measure of peace as you move through your days.
Know also, that this too shall pass. Toddlers grow into preschoolers. It does get easier. You will have new challenges, but you won’t have the old challenges. For the most part, I’ve found that whatever the new challenge is, it is not quite as nerve shredding as the old challenge was. You can do this. You can do hard things.
If you are a home schooling mother with twins or multiple toddlers, I want to share with you the things I tried that worked for us.
But first, the background story:
I have twin boys who are almost 3.
The year that the twins were 1-year-old, was a pretty good year, school-wise. It was our first year home schooling, so I gave myself permission to not be perfect.
The twins were happy to sit by me on the couch, drinking their milk, while we did sort of an extended morning time version of home school. I read aloud and my students narrated. It was a beautiful time. By May, as the twins reached 18 months and demanded more attention, school got harder and harder. With a sigh of relief, we took summer break, and I reassured myself that school would be easier in the fall. After all, I…
Spring has arrived, and on one balmy afternoon I let the twins outside, knowing they would find the mud puddles–even though they’d never played in puddles before. It didn’t take long for them to find the puddles.
Baby Bean and Key Lime Pie (not pictured) joined in the dirty fun. I just sat on the porch and enjoyed watching their excitement and curiosity.
Skeeter likes to dip his head in the water
The downside is that they know about mud now, so they beeline it to the mud puddle every time they get outside. (Which is pretty often because Skooter learned how to open doors. Curses.)
Zeek
It was still worth it.
Tasting the muddy driveway gravel. They had to taste the mud several times. Seriously these boys have refused to taste so many delicious foods, like flan 🍮(!!), but the mud went right into their mouths–more than once!
A muddy bath to extend the fun. And there were little muddy bite marks in the soap when they got out of the tub. Seriously, I don’t know why I bother cooking.
Muddy paw prints are clues that fun was had today.
In this time of extraordinary pressure, educational and social, perhaps a mother’s first duty to her children is to secure for them a quiet and growing time, a full six years of passive receptive life, the waking part of it for the most part spent out in the fresh air.
The Scooter Pies are 18 months old! Where has the time gone? Stinkin’ cute little cheesers
In another year and a half, they will be 3 years old! Life will be so different then!
Zeke (wearing orange) weighs 23 pounds and 13 oz and is about 31 inches tall. (The nurse wasn’t very careful, so I don’t trust this measurement.)
Skeeter (wearing blue) weighs 25 pounds 5 oz and is about 32 inches tall.
I have moved them into size 2T shirts because suddenly all their 18-month shirt sleeves were about 2 inches short. They are still wearing size 18-month pants because they have skinny little bums.
I am excited for spring to come so we can spend many more hours a day outside. The Scooter Pies have already learned way too much about things like Nintendo wii and tablets and smart phones. I want them to learn about bugs and sticks and dirt and rocks.
We went to the park last week, and they didn’t even try to eat the gravel! yay!!! This summer is going to be fun.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00PC3KVYA/ref=sspa_dk_detail_0?psc=1&pd_rd_i=B00PC3KVYA&pd_rd_w=8Juyu&pf_rd_p=8a8f3917-7900-4ce8-ad90-adf0d53c0985&pd_rd_wg=u7f2F&pf_rd_r=MEGBRY09717XZEJ270CD&pd_rd_r=3602a5a3-752a-11e9-ad11-c3d8451968d7
If you are a home schooling mother with twins or multiple toddlers, I want to share with you the things I tried that worked for us.
Skeeter
Skeeter likes to dip his head in the water
Zeek
Marvelous Pigs in Satin 