Top 10 Reasons Why Having Twins Total ROCKS!

I'm the lucky one. If you think this is going to be some blog entry about how amazing my life is and how I am the luckiest person in the world... well -- you're probably right. Picture perfect isn't exactly how I would describe it, but let me give you the top reasons why having twins totally rocks!


#10 -- I realized how much time I wasted sleeping for more than 3 hours at a time. When the boys were younger, I was one of the first people to see all the day's breaking news... at 4am. I feel like I missed so many things sleeping from 10-6 everyday, like I did before I had the boys. Things like late night TV. Not many to choose from, and a lot of stations just plain go off air. BUT the ones that were on, well... they were "enlightening". At 2:00am, I found a show about aquariums that seemed to be the only show on that didn't have to do with some historical time period dating back to dinosaurs...


#9 -- I took advantage of shopping alone. I mean -- "Shopping has never been so much fun!" I love having to take my double stroller everywhere I go. I actually feel sorry for those moms who don't have a stroller to store all their purchases! How tired their arms must get from carrying all those bags. Not me! I have enough room under the seats-- on the left and the right, front and the back of my oversized "twin approved" diaper bag. Tons of room folks, tons of room!


  
#8 -- No one ever expects you to be on time! "Don't wait on them -- they've got twins, I can't imagine trying to get anywhere with two babies." Ahhh, that's right people, it takes so much to get two babies to go anywhere... (psh, got them fooled) I mean, it's not like my diaper bag isn't already packed... or that I usually have known for a few days in advance, BUT because I have twins -- that's the reason I'm always late! No one ever questions it. *wink*


#7 -- Laundry Fairy! As a little girl I'm sure I always dreamt about being a Laundry Lady. It's a dream come true! How many can say they can spend hours sorting tiny little socks that somehow have lost their matches. I'm also kind of a chemist... trying to figure out the perfect spot remover that is going to take out those "mystery stains" from not only one little tiny shirt, but two!


#6 -- My own personal food critics! Let me first say that my children will never call their Mom Rachel Ray, nor will I ever be referred to as Martha... but, how many people can say they have two unsuspecting mouths to try out new recipes on! If it's a fail, Logan usually hands his plate to Landon.... Landon usually throws his food on the floor. But bless their hearts, they don't ever do it while I'm watching!


#5 -- Diaper Duty! That's it, that might just be the greatest advantage of having twins! The first month the boys were alive, I got the privilege of changing 500 diapers. Jealous? I bet you are... I'm that mom that has two carts at Sams Club, one for diapers -- the other for food. If you've never cleared a shelf at the grocery store of size "2s" -- you've not lived. That's a rush!




#4 -- The backseat of my car is always free of "trash". We won't talk about the floor, but the seats, always! Impressive huh? Here's how it works. When Dad drives, there's no room for the car seat behind the driver's seat. So, a seat must go in the middle, and the other behind the passenger. ANNNNDDD, in order to get the little man that belongs in that particular seat strapped in, you can't have ANYTHING behind the drivers seat.


#3 -- Shoe Detective. I'm a professional detective when it comes to trying to find that missing shoe. Not only do I get to find 2 shoes that match for one, I get to find 2 more shoes that match for his brother! Under the table, behind the couch, or my personal favorite -- in the toy box. It doesn't end there though -- Some days I start the process from the beginning when I realize Logan has taken "lefty" off while I was looking for Landon's "righty".


#2 -- I'm one strong momma! I can carry two babies, ten bags of groceries, a gallon of milk, and a diaper bag in one shot! Heck no I'm not making another trip to the car. Let's remember there are two little monsters now inside that can climb the chairs, pull off everything from the table, and be standing in the middle of it -- all in the time it took me to run to the car to shut the back. Oh, did I mention while dumping out a full glass of water....


AND THE NUMBER ONE REASON WHY HAVING TWINS TOTALLY ROCKS....
We get to buy TWO of EVERYTHING!!! When people told us "you don't need two of everything" THEY LIED! Two jackets, two of the same toy, two car seats, two cribs..... ahhhh, just dreaming about two cars at once, and even better --- two insurance premiums!


So, in short -- Yes, we have the perfect life. Our kids are healthy and happy -- that's  truly the greatest part of being parents of twins!

Mom rules until Dad gets home...

Mom rules, until Dad gets home. All day long I'm "good enough" to play with and snuggle with and do diaper patrol... But let me tell you, when Dad gets home--- I'm old news! As soon as the back door opens, the boys drop what they're doing and run to the baby gate to see Dad. Jibber jabber non-stop and clear as day we hear "HI DAD" come from Logan. Every night! They then crawl up onto Daddy's lap and snuggle in and catch up on a little television. Really?! You've been running around like little monsters taking things away from each other, forcing mom to be "referee" all day long---  dad comes home and snap! Angels! 

After the usual Doc McStuffins episode is over, we usually play up and down with dad's legs and the recliner... This will last long enough for me to finish up some supper, and gives the boys time to work out a few "kinks" in their bodies. That's the next moment Mom is no longer "invisible"-- "oh mommy, come here Logan smells..." 

You would think I'd be losing some serious weight due to the lack of an appetite I get after that diaper change. We eat some supper, wash up, and once again--- move over Mom, it's Dad time! 

Dad does his typical work the boys up so that come 8:00, Mom can step in, be the bad guy again and put them to bed. 

It's a tough job, but somebody's gotta do it!

Then comes diaper changes...

First comes love...

Then comes diaper changes. I hate to tell ya, this is still a chore! When Landon wakes up in the morning, he is sooo excited to be up, the last thing he wants to do is wear a diaper. Sometimes I really question if it's worth the fight... What's the worst that's gonna happen?! He might pee on his brother--- *karma?* a little revenge from all those times he's had to have a second bath compliments of Logan. So, sorry back to the diaper-- I finally get him out of his pajamas, and out of the old diaper. At this point Logan needs some mom time and usually clobbers me to sit on my lap. And upppp up and away goes Landon. Congratulations son, you've escaped for now! So side track to Logan... Out of his pajamas, out of his diaper--- new one on, while he wiggles about. He hops up and as he's walking away I notice my skills on a moving target aren't the greatest... I should probably make sure his 'cheeks' get put away properly. So I run after him, resecure the diaper and get him in some clothes for the day. Meanwhile, Landon lays down next to him, and I proceed to get him dressed. Down the stairs we go to find some breakfast. After oatmeal and toast, the boys sit down on the floor to watch the usual: Mickey Mouse clubhouse. Pretty soon Landon comes over to snuggle with me, unusual for him at this point in the day--- I prop him up on my lap... oh gosh, his sippy must have popped open. He's awfully wet... I glance down at the floor and to my surprise, the lid is still properly tight on his cup. Anyhow, I've gotta get him into some dry clothes, maybe I didn't get his diaper on good--- wow. This might just be my best "ditzy mom" moment yet--- in total disbelief of myself, I realize that I forgot to ever put a diaper on the kid! Congratulations Mom!!! And as if my pride wasn't already hurt, the little turd is giggling--- and yep, you guessed it... Mom got new clothes on too (if you catch my drift) Well done Landon James! 

Landon - 1 

Mom - 0

One of those days!

Everyone has those days. The kind of days that nothing seems to be going right. Today started out as one of those for me. I started my morning out eventfully--- I cleaned out my fridge. Got it all shining and then... spilled orange juice all over! Little did I know, Logan was watching from the gate seperating the kitchen from the dining room. Instantly he started laughing! Thanks buddy--- here I thought I was safe from pointing in laughing when your dad walked out the door 5 minutes ago--- but never fear, Logan has A LOT of his daddy in him. Including laughing at mom! I proceeded to try to pick up some toys-- got them all put away, and moved on to the next room... To turn around and find the previous room in it's previous state... Thanks again boys! The afternoon comes, the boys and I are heading out to the car and I put Landon in his seat, and go to put Logan in his--- and somehow Landon is now in the seat I intended on putting Logan in... What seemed to have happened was, I put Landon in his seat, walked around the car--- got side tracked and walked back around the car again to put Logan in.

 I've got my hands full everyday, but today I obviously had my mind full too! Tonight I came home from town and found the boys out of control--- crazy!!! They were SO happy, so we played a little more before bed time and they both just laughed and laughed, it was at that moment I realized... No matter how many things in my life has or will go wrong, I look into the eyes of my kids, and with the sound of their happiness--- I know that I got something perfectly right. Once again, at the end of the day, that's all that matters! 

Children's Museum

Today the boys and I adventured to the Children's Museum for our second time. For all of those who wonder age wise what is appropriate I'd say crawling stage to maybe 1st grade. Last visit we played in the infant area, and had a lot of fun-- but this time we are at the walking stage, which made EVERY area fun. 

Today brought a special event at the museum. Santa was visiting! Along with his jolly elf and good friend the Winter Queen-- Santa landed in Omaha. We first had to make it snow with our magical powers, and with the help of the Winter Queen. So fun! It snowed inside!! Next Santa came down the chimney! Really-- straight down the chimney. (Video posted to Facebook) we waited in line and got to visit with Santa one on one. (or in our case 2 on 1) photos were taken and we got a special package for "our first visit with Santa".

From riding the carousel to crawling in the metro bus and semi at their special exhibit--- today was full of adventure. The best part about it... It was safe, not too overwhelming for the boys -- and we were able to stay for just few hours, not the whole day. So everyone if you haven't before, you must go check it out. Pretty inexpensive, and sooo much learning fun!

Wired Boy = Exhausted Mom

I have NEVER seen a little boy with more spunk than Landon had today. He woke me up this morning with a very loud "Woah woah woah!!!" I open his bedroom door and standing in the corner of his crib is the ornery little boy with his hands in the air. What was he doing you might ask.... Same thing he does every morning--- Trying to wake up Logan! On a typical day I will find his lullaby bear thrown out of his bed--- and half way to Logan's crib.... Today was no different, but he also was playing the drums on the side of his crib! And this was at 7:30AM...

As the day went on he just got more and more 'wired'. (You would think we had swapped out his milk for his daddy's Dew.) Tonight really put my day into perspective with how crazy he had been. I finally caught ahold of Landon after he took off across the house with his prized possession--- Moms glasses! Pinned him to the ground to find the source of my burning nose... Logan took over the silliness and was spinning circles around and around and around. At the same time I spotted the smell and Landon's diaper was getting changed. He was rolling rolling rolling... Unable to lay still. Just then Logan lost his balance and on to his brother he came. Someone was watching over me though--- 2 seconds sooner and we'd have had a BIG mess to clean up! 

Both boys are in bed now--- if they don't sleep good after that day, it's hopeless! This Mom is going to bed--- having twins is just plain exhausting some days. Today was one of those days.

2013

It's the most wonderful time of the year! Come to think of it our entire year has been wonderful... Some exciting times. 

2013 brought our wedding in July, and Landon's first unofficial marriage ceremony. For those who missed it-- Landon married us. Really! He was being held by his Uncle (the best man) and pulled on his daddy's tux collar to get a better view... Choking his Dad and putting his two-cents into the service. This was after the little turkeys went through a growth spurt and couldn't fit into the dress shoes we bought them. So, they wore socks. ( I was kind of jealous to be honest) A question I was asked was, "how did you get married with two 9 month olds?" 

My mom was 100% on top of planning, and I did most all the decorations and flowers during nap time everyday. Nap time is the trick to get anything done in this house. We had a few other tricks that worked for us the day of the wedding--- that made it go so smooth. 

1) The boys "uncles" held them up front during the ceremony, and both of the guys had their tux pockets full of puff snacks. Great idea!

2) my in laws kept them the night before and made sure they had a nap before they came to the church. A nap is a necessity! 

3) at the reception we had a babysitter who pretty much just chased them around. They were passed around a lot by family and friends, but this girl saved us... She had her eye on the boys at all times. She and her sister also took the boys home from the reception and put them to bed. Couldn't have done it without them!

4) when you get married with young kids, you've got to set your mind to the fact that something is probably not going to go as planned... Once I had myself convinced of that, the little stuff didn't bother me. 

Our boys are the best examples of the love we have for eachother. What a big year! 2012 was the year we became a family, but 2013 was the year our house truly felt like a home. The "Tibken" Home. 

Then came August.........