Counting my Blessings

I was reading this talk in preparation for a Sunday School lesson (we teach the 16-18 year olds at church) and felt inspired to start counting my blessings and recording them. Here. Hopefully each day. So that I and my family can look back and see a record of the hand of God in our lives. These records may get a little personal, leaving me feeling a little exposed, which I guess in reality could be a good thing.

The twins slept in until 5 today. They've been getting up throughout the night because they're teething  and I was becoming really exhausted. An exhausted me=a cranky me. Josh willingly got up with them when they cried earlier in the night and told me to wake him ( he doesn't hear them crying, lucky man!) and he would get up with them so I could sleep, but they ended up sleeping until 5, I made them bottles and they went back down until 720 so I didn't need to wake him. That was such a blessing to me. I really needed some solid sleep. 

This is kind of a random blessing but I have a brand new twin nursing pillow. I had put it on Craigslist to sell but no one replied. A couple days ago a new friend with twins invited me to the local moms of multiples Facebook group and I put the pillow on there and found someone who wanted to purchase it right away and that money can go to this phonics/sight word program I really wanted to get for Michael. Small and simple, but it was a big help because I was having trouble justifying the purchase. 

Yesterday josh got an email from work saying they were going to be changing the minimum amount that he has to put in his pension again. They did this before and it was raised quite a bit, almost double and more than 10% of his monthly pay was going to pension, which is great in a way because hey, we will get that later but it also put a little bit more financial strain on us. So getting this email was a bit concerning, especially because there haven't been as many off duty jobs available lately, so pay has been a little less. We automatically jump to being frustrated. I say maybe they are lowering it?  Josh says, yeah, when pigs fly.  I ask who is in charge of these decisions because I'm going to go all mama bear and give them a piece of my mind. Josh says he's not sure but he's going to look into it. Not even 10 minutes later he gets more information and apparently pigs are flying because they are lowering it.  I know Heavenly Father is looking out for us and knows our needs. We may not always get everything we want but he will never leave us with nothing. 

Josh decided to bear his testimony to me today. It sounds a little corny when I write it down, but it was exactly what I needed.  I can see in his actions that he loves our Lord and Savior but it is such a blessing to hear him say it out loud too.

Josh and I were also talking about our kids today, our worries, fears, and hopes.  I usually get emotional and want to stop the conversation because I can't imagine my little boys getting older and having to deal with "hard" things.  This time Josh told me that he had an experience one night praying about the boys and their future trials and he felt that Heavenly Father was answering him with "don't worry, they will be even stronger than we are." It was such a comfort to realize and believe that our children will be strong and to remember that I will need to have faith in them.

The twins go to anybody who will look at them and in church that is SUCH a blessing. They roam and get held by multiple people.  I love how easy going they are in that way.  I am also SO grateful for all of the people in church who help with them or are understanding that they do roam.  I don't usually feel judged and that is such a relief.

A day in the life

(i wrote this in May, so things are a little different now but forgot to publish it!)

I get a lot of "wow, you're busy!" "I don't know how you do it!" and other similar phrases.

 

My usual response is "Yes, I am" or "I don't know either!"

And I truly am busy and I really don't know how I do it somedays but I'll give you a little narrative and glimpse into what my day is like with a husband who works nights and 3 kiddos under the age of 1 1/2 years!

 

 

6-6:30 am The twins wake up and start the day and about the same time Josh gets home from work.

 

I feed and change them while Josh and I catch up and read scriptures.

He goes to bed and I take the babies into the living room for some floor time and to finish eating.

 

7:30 (hopefully!) Michael wakes up. I walk into his room and he points to his binkie and says "bean bean?" Then points to his Elmo blanket and says "Elmo?" He loves to snuggle for about 10 minutes right after he wakes up! And hopefully by this time the babies are fed so I can snuggle him and get his breakfast ready. Change him, dress him, and hopefully throw some clothes on myself too!

 

8:30ish-11ish we go to the gym, a playdate, take a bike ride to the park or Michael and I head to the playroom for some at home fun and the babies take a nap :)

 

Between 10:30 and 11:30 Michael goes down for his nap.  He sleeps between 2-3 hours. The twins don't have a set schedule so they wake up when they wake up and eat when they eat!

 

NAPTIME!! Sometimes I get to do fun things, like crochet or craft, and sometimes I have to clean my house :) and sometimes I just sit and rock babies. Colton and Callan both think they are only children and love to be held 24/7!

 

2 pm! This is the part of the day I look forward to most! My husband gets up! Josh and Michael usually wake up around the same time. If Michael wakes up before Dada, Michael gets to go in our room and climb on daddy to wake him up. They wrestle until Michael jumps on Josh so much that he has to pee. ;) TMI, but its the truth!

Between 2 and 5 we play, feed babies, and Michael gets his Daddy time in while I prepare dinner or figure out what we can just put in the oven! Dinner is a treat around here ;)

5pm-6pm we eat...something. One of us often is feeding a baby too so family dinner around the table is rare. Someday.

6-630 is AFV time! We love us some AFV! Michael runs around saying afv, afv?? And we laugh and laugh.

630 is Michael's bedtime! We read 3 books including his baby scriptures, say family prayer, and sing "You are my sunshine," then I lay him in his crib with his binkie and his elmo blanket and he usually doesn't make a sound. We don't have a bedtime routine with the babies yet. They usually go down for the night between 630 and 730 though.

715 Josh leaves for work, on the days he works and on the days he doesn't work we get to spend some much needed time together or clean, or crochet/craft. The evenings are "me time" or "us time" and we are very grateful for children who go to bed early!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

How do you do it?

A lot of people ask "How do you do it?"

 

I've been thinking a lot about that question so I could come up with a great answer.

 

The truth: I have no idea, but I have a couple ideas of what helps.

 

1. Instincts. As much as it sounds cliche, I think a lot of what I do right now is based on survival. I just do what I know I need to do and choose (for the most part) to enjoy it. Like I've said before the newborn stage (at least with twins) is not my favorite stage. If  I could snuggle both babies all day, maybe it would be but I can't SO I'd much prefer them to be content playing and laughing on the floor.

 

2. Heavenly Father. I, seriously, would probably have lost my mind already, had Heavenly Father not been helping me. I've received blessings from my husband that help strengthen me and give me confidence that I am doing my best and that my best is good enough. I have been lifted up and guided in ways that can only be explained by divine intervention.

 

3. Sticking to a schedule. I am one of those moms that works AROUND my kids nap schedules.  I allow very little wiggle room around them because my kids are AWESOME when they are well rested! A lot of people will comment on how happy my kids are, swear its because they are not tired! Michael had certain times he naps.  He goes down between 11 and 12 usually and sleeps for 2-3 hours. The twins are not necessarily time scheduled yet, but they don't stay up for more than 2 hours at a time usually (and can thankfully still sleep in their car seats).  I watch them for cues often and as soon as I see them I put them to bed because the worst things EVER is putting an over tired baby to bed. It takes WAY longer and they fight it SO much harder! In fact, if I don't let Colton and Callan get over tired, when I lay them in their bed to swaddle them, they SMILE. Its so sweet. We also use this book for sleep training. Its a great resource on understanding the science of sleep too.

Knowledge is power!

 

 

In conclusion ;) I do EXACTLY what every other mother out there does. I am no better than any other mother! We are all amazing and know (in my opinion, by divine inspiration) the best way to take care of our children!

A beautiful imperfect mess

I have received so many kind comments, messages, and thoughts the past couple days and I am so grateful for those who take the time to say nice and uplifting things to me.

You are SO appreciated. Thank you.

 

It's amazing how a few kind words can have such a great impact on someone. I needed it. Seriously. Thank you all.

 

I was talking with my sister in law the other day about how everyone has a "face" or facade, you know, our outward "perfect ish" appearance that we want everyone to see and how even though we all have one (or more) of those, we're not perfect undereneath. No one is. Even those that seem perfect. Really. (I'm still trying to convince myself) ;)

We are all beautifully imperfect. We are all a mess sometimes.
It still amazes me, because sometimes I feel like I'm the only mess!
(I'm sure you've been there too!)

I see .every.single.one. of my flaws.
But other people don't.
That right there is pretty awesome!

I took Colton and Callan to their SIX MONTH(Can you believe that?) well child this month. Michael stayed home with daddy and I fed both babies before going so they were beautifully asleep in their carseats when we arrived. I hadn't showered but I put on a hat and had leftover make-up on that I touched up while in a hurry to leave. I checked us in after we arrived, sat in a chair next to my sleeping babies, filled out my paperwork and read on my phone.
When they called me back all of the nurse staff were telling me how easy I make having twins look and how put together I looked. Bless their hearts.
We then start to get the babies ready to be weighed and during this time I realize
I've forgotten:
enough diapers and wipes

Really? What mother with THREE children in diapers forgets enough. I had size 5 Michael diapers, but not any size 1 or 2's for the twins.
I, then, told the nursing staff
"Yeah, I'm not really put together. I didn't even bring enough diapers."

See a facade. And the smoke and mirrors dissolve.

I am a beautiful, imperfect mess.
Scatterbrained but with the best intentions to be the best mom to my children.


So again, thank you to everyone who has said/written kind things. We all need it sometimes.  Keep it coming ;) And I'll pay it forward too!





How to fly with a toddler and twins

JUST DON'T.

 

:)

 

Well we did it, completed the impossible.

 

We flew with all 3 kiddos. in December.

Who in their right mind does such a thing?

 

Apparently us, but I don't know that it's going to happen again...At least for a very long time!

 

Honestly, it wasn't that bad once we overcame the first flight issues.

And by issues I mean, we're walking onto the plane, trying to fold a stroller, hold 2 babies, watch a toddler, and carry a backpack, diaper bag, LARGE Britax carseat and carry on. I finally manage to fold the stroller, see that Michael is walking toward the plane door and breathe a sigh of relief that I can pick up my (huge) diaper bag. I swing it up over my should and it SLAMS into Michaels FACE. Knocks him on his butt, a pilot picks him up. He's bawling. I pick him up while holding my diaper bag and Callan. We board the plane while I'm comforting him. He stops crying. We find our seats with help of the flight attendent, she looks at me like I'm crazy (which by this time I've accepted. We are like rockstars or lunatics in the airport and EVERYONE had something to say or a look to give..which I understand.)

 

She then turns to me and says "Um, do you know his nose is bleeding?"

I'm horrified. Embarassed. Want to crawl in a hole. My poor baby has blood all over his hands because he's been wiping his bloody nose the.whole.trip down the aisle.

 

She gets me a tissue. I thank her and sit down and clean my poor toddler off.

OH and by this time, in fact, as soon as Colton and Callan got a look at ALL the people on the airplane they started screaming.bloody.murder.

So I'm rocking Callan while Josh is rocking Colton and trying to strap Michael into his carseat. We then switch. Maybe the wrong parent has the wrong baby? That happens. Swear. They have preferences. Whoever isn't holding them should be. duh mom and dad.

 

It was horrific. horr.ific. Seriously.

We finally feed the twins and they fall asleep just as we're taking off.

Beautiful silence.

I'm sure all of the people around us were grateful too.

Whoa!

Look at my boys holding their babas!