How do you do it? (A pictureless post)

One thing that took a bit of getting used to with the twins was that when we are out in public, we are stared at.  Often.  When you walk by people, you hear things like "there's two!" or "oh twins!".... We turn heads everywhere we go, and get a lot of stares (the vast majority of these encounters are positive - people tend to love twins).  Last week, I took William to the doctor by himself.  It was very odd to not have Sister with us, and I felt very unsettled in the waiting room.  After a few minutes, it dawned on me why.  NO ONE had noticed us.  No one was staring.  It was just a mother and her little boy.  No circus freak show.  (Seriously, I know a mom of quadruplets, and follow the blogs of a couple of mothers of triplets or more.  Seeing how many stares we get, I can't imagine what they encounter on a daily basis!).   

Quite often, in addition to the stares, people want to touch both babies.  I have had to ask people to not touch the babies more times than I can count..... I don't mind folks grabbing a (covered) toe or bending down to say hello, but often people want to put their (most likely dirty) hands on the babies' hands, or worse, pinch their cheeks.  We took Robert out for Chinese (he loves Chinese right now) the other night, and the waitresses were ALL OVER the babies.  More than once, James had to say, "Please don't touch their faces....."  Ha!  

Anyway, when we are out and about, we hear a few things over and over:

1. Boy, you've got your hands full! (I swear, I'm going to get a t-shirt that says, "Yes, my hands are full!").
2. Are they twins?  (Me: Yes.)  Boy/girl?  (Me: Yes.)  Are they identical??  and
3. How do you do it?

So, how DO we do it?  I'm not exactly sure.  I just know that we do it.  And each little thing added to the schedule somehow gets worked in.  In five years, I probably won't remember what our daily lives were like during this time, so I want to generally document exactly how it all gets done.

We go full speed ahead from about 5:00 a.m. (4:00 a.m. on the 3 days per week I go to Nashville) until 10:00 or 11:00 at night.  James is often up later than that to get all of his work/studying done.  Because of that, I am in charge of night feedings, which, praise Jesus, are down to just 11:00 p.m. and about 4:00 or 5:00 a.m.  (Still not perfect, but progress is progress!).  The twins go down about 6:30 at night, so that leaves time for a quick supper, some playtime with Robert, bathtime for him, and getting him to bed.   After that, we scurry to get things done around the house and get some rest ourselves.  We don't really watch television anymore, and I can't remember the last time we went to a movie.  We have people asking over and over to come keep the kids so we can have a date night, yet we still haven't been out alone (except for a lunch or two together) since that twins arrived.  We don't have time for much outside of parenting, working, and schooling.  But we are doing it.  Some days it's very hard, and some days we savor every second.  And no matter what, we take it one day at a time. 

We have learned to use our nanny time to the greatest extent possible.  She comes on Tuesdays (while I work from home), Thursdays, and half days on Fridays.  Those days we maximize getting other things done (like laundry, cleaning, grocery shopping, cooking, etc.), as well as working and studying.  We have gotten very good about utilizing her and/or the other parent's time so that we don't have to get out with the babies as much.  Of course, we're out and about on Sundays for church, and on Mondays (Daddy Daycare Day), James has to load up everyone to take Robert to preschool, but then they are basically home from Tuesday through Friday.  This saves SO much sanity, as taking two babies anywhere is quite a production.  This spring, we are adding a crazy-hectic soccer schedule (and soon t-ball) to the mix, so they are out more often, but they are always fed and dressed for bed when we head out so that we can just get them into the bed when we get home.

Basically, it takes a lot of planning and a lot of persevering.  Missing a load of laundry means double the work the next day, and not cleaning the kitchen before bed means someone is going to have that much more to do the next morning.  So we try to be disciplined and make ourselves do all of our "chores" each day.  The weeks that we are able to do that, we function pretty well.  Other weeks, the house is a total disaster.... but, we remain purposeful about spending good quality time with all 3 children, and spending about 20 minutes or so having some adult conversation each night before bed.   

James has six short weeks left of Divinity School, and he graduates in May.  He is set to be commissioned for ordination in June, and he will receive a new church appointment which will begin somewhere around July 1.  A big move is in our future (combined with a couple of other major stressors that are happening right now).  However, our hope is that things will settle down (as much as they can with three small children) after that, and we will have some opportunities to breathe, and maybe even enjoy a date night or two!  That being said, I wouldn't trade life right now for anything in the world.  We have been blessed with the challenge of raising two babies at once, and though overwhelming at times, that task brings double the joy, and double the fun.  Add a witty, sweet, fun-loving, creative 4 year old into the mix, and life is good.  Very, very good.