The Zoo

We took our first zoo trip last week. What a great time we had. The park opens at 9:00 A.M and we were there first thing. Working around naps you know! All of the kids really enjoyed themselves. I felt like a big kid! I have not been to the zoo in years and had forgotten how much fun it is. Even the twins noticed all there was to see. They especially liked the goats in the petting zoo. We did not go in, but you can get close enough to the fence for them to really see. What a fun time!!

Our 1st trip

So around our house there is a shortage of outside help. Josh and I help each other, and it works out well. One of the places we absolutely love is Dallas, Texas! Before we had children we were there about once every month or two months. The first child came along and we didn't go but about every six months. And as you can imagine when you get two more babies, well it has been about a year! We were really wanting to take a trip down. By ourselves would be wonderful, but the possibilities of that were looking pretty slight. So we decided we would have to get brave and just take the plunge. We have got the in car DVD, which is a life saver I might add. How hard could it be....

The drive is about four hours and Oklahoma City is a half way point to get out and stretch every ones legs. We packed up and in the car we went. The kids all did so great in the car. Now before I forget to mention this we were wanting to explore a side of town we were not as familiar with, and going to arrive there in the dark. Do you see our mistakes already? Blair and Rhett had just fallen asleep in the car, it was around 9:30 in the evening, and we were getting really close to our destination. Jude was still up glued to the movie. I am thinking "fabulous, he will be so ready to sleep when we get into the hotel".

Thankfully we arrive at a hotel and Josh goes in to get us a room. Yes we did not pre-book a hotel. Not knowing where we were going I wanted to be able to say "this looks like a good spot let's stop here". So we unload everyone and our enormous amount of stuff on the hotel dolly and up to our room. We thank and tip the bellman and start setting up baby beds. Mind you the twins have only slept in their own beds. I get Rhett undressed and ready for bed and put the twins in their porta-cribs and a screaming they go. My poor husband, who just drove about five hours, is tired and now totally freaked out by the kids crying in our thin walled hotel room. So we decided into our king sized bed we would all go. Now if we could just get the babies settled down. In their exhaustion they were not calming down. AAHH, at last no one is crying everyone is asleep, except me. At least no one was crying. I knew I could recover from no sleep.

So I am sure you can easily pick out our mistakes. I hope this helps. I know what now works for us and what I will change and try to do differently next time. We are, crazy as it sounds gearing up for next time. You just have to keep trying and find out what works for you. Just because you don't have help, don't let that hamper you from going out and enjoying things you love to do. Just remember that IT IS going to take you longer, IT IS going to be a learning process, and things are not going to go perfectly. So keep an open mind, and try real hard to have a laid back attitude about it all. Until next time.

JUST A FEW TIPS:

• Have your baby sleep in the porta-crib for naps and bed time a few times before you take your trip.
• If you are traveling some where unfamiliar, don't travel at night.
• If you are not pre-booking a hotel make sure there are no major events going on in the area

The big 1 year!!

Well by the grace of God we made it through the first year! Everyone is healthy and happy. We didn't have a blow out party, that is just to overwhelming for the little ones. Wow did they look cute in their birthday hats. All three lined up at the table with their cupcake and party hat. Just dying to dig in. Especially Jude, he is my hands on everything child. If he can get it in his mouth he is game. I am constantly digging things that don't belong. Blair of course is pretty dainty when it comes to eating, still won't pick things up and eat them. Looks at you as if to say "come on and feed me I'm waiting". And Rhett what a great helper. He had his party hat on, digging into his cupcake and of course excited to help with the presents!

We have shot to do next week. Double time, sounds like fun, huh?! Our plan is to have my husband set in the lobby with one of the twins and Rhett, so no one is scared to go back later. We will do one child at a time. And daddy and big brother can sooth who I take back. Sounds like a good plan to me. I'll let you know on how it goes.

Twins 0-3 months

Well I have to say a lot of the first three months will be a blur. You will bottle and diaper and bottle and diaper again. Sounds pretty easy huh. Try adding in a then 20 month old. Who thank heaven is one of the sweetest most loving boys. I'll never forget the day we brought the twins home from the hospital. Rhett just instantly loved them. Blair came home first, while Jude had to stay an extra day. We could not go to pick Jude up until after Rhett had gone to bed for the evening, so he didn't realize that there were two babies coming to live with us. I put him to bed that evening like I always did and then went to pick up Jude. When Rhett woke up the next morning and ran to the living room as fast as he could to see Blair. He looked at Blair setting in her nursing pillow and then quickly noticed Jude. He looked at one baby and then the other, back and forth for a few minutes. Looked at me as if to say where did this one come from. Those were his babies. He liked to give bottles and Binky's and bring diapers. What a great little helper.

So if you are looking for some tips today to managing twins I would definitely say that having nursing pillows are a must if you are going to bottle feed. For me the thought of some help when feeding the twins was comforting. My trick is to set a child on either side of me in the nursing pillows with bottles propped. Which of course all of the books tell you never to do. But this is real life and you do what you have gotta do, right. Burp one child and then the other, until they have reached the end of their bottles. And of course if you are like me and still have another small child who needs your attention and wants to be a part of what is going on, well he is setting on my lap during bottle time. We don't want any ones feelings hurt or to feel left out. If you think I am kidding I am not. This has been my routine for the past ten months. I am all about raising my children with a strong self image and I believe it starts right off the bat. So praise your little ones for wanting to help. Encourage the interaction, hugs and kisses that your older child shows the babies.