Cindarella has gone to the ball...

For those of you who have not been following the BLOG closely, Cindarella is my mom. (Above is Cindarella burping the boys at week 6; they are now 7 weeks old.) She hates to be photographed and i never look decent enough to be photographed anymore...showers don't occur until Ben gets home when Cindarella is at her "balls".

When she is in town, the poor soul shows up at 6 am and stays until Ben gets home, which is between 4 or 5 in the afternoon. Not only does she help me take care of the babies, but she is at my beck and call while i am attached to the pump and serves as the official Slade Household maid. Now, the maid part, is by her choice, in that she thinks Ben and I are slobs. Thankfully, she has refrained from saying so, because my hormonal, sleep deprived self would only get mad, but i know that is what she is thinking. We do the best we can do to keep the house clean and neat, but because we combined 2 households into 1 already packed household, we look like pack rats. And yes, the three furry friends do not help with the dog hair...even if we vacuum daily with the "Animal Dyson", there will always be dog hair as I have tried to explain.

Back to the plot.... Cindarella went back to Charlotte for a few days and is surely missed! Boo, we miss you, but are doing well without you. I even managed to vacuum yesterday...well, honestly, the boys were screaming and needed to be calm, so i figure " why let the vacuum just sit when the downstairs can be cleaned too?".

Everyone asks, " how do you do it when you're alone", so here goes my best explanation.

It is 6 am and I am sleeping soundly; Ben is in the shower getting ready for work. "WWWWWWWWAAAAAAA". Somebody is up! " WWWWWWWAAAAAAA". The other one is now up. Thanks baby #1!

I grab two bottles and start the warming process; whoever invented mini refrigerators and bottle warmers deserve to win the lottery. For a sleep deprived mom, these two items are better than any million dollar lottery ticket. (Then again, if i won the lottery, I would have hired help...but lose out on all this one on one with my sweet boys!) Then I grab the fussiest one, change his diaper and try to ignore the other " WWWWWWWAAAAAAA". I then turn on the "Hanibel Lector"(theme from the movie Silence of the Lamb) music as Ben calls it and hope it entertains the clean one, while I grab baby #2 and change his diaper. One by one, they are moved from the changing area to the spare bedroom. It is here that they are propped up side by side on pillows and between pillows on the guest bedroom's bed so they can be fed at the same time. I usually say a quick prayer that the phone does not ring, an itch does not occur or the urge to "go potty" because all of those things will have to wait! As they gulp their milk down, I take turns burping them , while listening to the other one...." WWWWWWWWWAAAAA You took my milk!"

Back to the changing area, because boys poop. Boys poop alot! For some odd reason, when they drink their milk, it causes them to pee and poop.... and pee and poop a lot! After they are changed, it is bath time (every other day). One at a time, I bathe one while the other one either goes "WWWWWWAAAAAAA" or listens to the Hanibel Lector music. I then pick out their outfits for the day from their million piece closets...this in itself is a struggle for this Libra. If you saw the thousands of pants, shirts, onesies and sleepers, you would understand why picking an outfit is such a struggle for this indecisive mom.

Then it is dreaded PUMP time for mom. While I pump, I attempt to get the boys to nap, which usually is a big "NO-NO-NO" screamed in my ear, so other options are...I am attached to the pump while i place them both in front of me in their bouncy seats. I then attempt to entertain them by giving them their pacifier one hundred times to avoid the wails, reading books to them or singing songs to them. My collection is geared more to the geriatric population, as i have been teaching my apraxic patients how to sing for too long. Poor guys will know "My Bonnie and Happy Birthday" all too well. Now, if i get lucky and they are sleep while i pump, i get to check emails, play on facebook and complete this BLOG. (This is why you get so many late night responses because I am free while i pump at night!)

By the time I have finished the dreaded 30-45 min. pumping process, one or both are usually asleep....sweet , I have some free time! Did i mention my free time is letting the dogs out? eating? making sure i am drinking 14+ glasses of water a day? washing bottles? changing the diaper genie? straigthening the house? doing laundry? napping (because i have to pump every 3 hours including the 30-45 mins. I am on the pump, thus every 2 1/2 hours, i am attached to this unit....even at night!)

I usually have just gotten started and "WWWWWWWWAAAAA", the process begins again....and again and again until daddy arrives back home.

Please don't feel sorry for me, just be understanding when I don't answer the phone, when it takes me 3 days to return your phone call and when i forget your birthday. I have never worked so hard in my entire life at a job, but have never felt happier either. These boys are so cute that even in my most tired state, i just love being with them! Their funny faces and their "tooting" makes me laugh...I find i look forward to their cries because that means they are up and we can talk and play with each other.

Well, Ben is feeding Turner and i need to wake Taylor, as this PUMP session has ended. Getting the two to stay on the same schedule is the hardest part....they are twins but individuals, for sure!