My “Normal” Would Scare the Shit Out of You!
I just don’t think anyone other than my husband and my teenage step-daughter fully understand what our insane reality is really like. Many of our friends get a small taste but I just don’t think its possible for them to fully understand unless you do it 24/7 like myself. My life is so full and beautiful but very far from easy. I have finally come to terms with the fact that my life was not meant to be easy. If it was I would probably be bored to tears. A life well lived is full of struggle. This struggle has earned me lots of rewards. I just wanted to share with you all a typical day in the life at my house.
5:45-6:20 Normal wake up time for the entire clan. I usually hear the 10 month old twin boys yelling from their cribs ready to get their boob on. Bird, Haze, and Mia usually appear at the side of my bed asking me about the weather for the day. One of them usually jumps on my head and asks if they slept good last night. My teenage step-daughter says a quick goodbye and heads out the door to school.
6:20-7:00 Nursing the twin boys while lying in bed. This is turning into quite the circus show. They punch each other and try pulling on the cat’s tail all while trying to nurse. I often yelp in pain due to nipplelash(nipple still in mouth while yanking it like taffy). Twin A Mr. Luke likes to nuzzle with the cat every morning. It melts my heart every time he does this. The cat head butts him on the head and he laughs wildly.
7:00-8:30 My husband heads downstairs with the kids while I shower and brush my teeth. If I skip this step I regret it by the day’s end. Dan makes the coffee and starts breakfast with the kids. It’s like being a short order cook. Kids shout out orders from every direction. “I WANT A BANANA!!!” ”GIVE ME TOAST!!!” “SMOOTHIES!!!” My husband handles most of the requests while I feed the twin boys in their high chairs. They are so damn messy at this age that I usually wash them down head to toe after every meal. Let’s not even discuss the mess they leave on the floor. It’s like a slug trail. During all this I am shouting at our 18-year-old dachshund for scavenging for scraps like a deranged junkie. After mealtime I argue with my 6-year-old Mia about picking her outfit for school. She battles me about wearing underwear almost every god damn day. The kid HATES undies. There are usually a few time outs for at least one of the 3-year-old twins at this point. It’s usually because Birdie has whacked someone in the face. Nice. I brush Mia’s hair, load her backpack, pack her lunch, and kiss her and Dan goodbye. He drops her off and heads to work for the day.
9:00 Twin boys nap time. Nurse them to sleep. This is when I write for my blog, check FB, return emails… The twin girls are usually calmer once their big sister Mia leaves for school. They watch a TV show or play with their doll house for a bit. This is normally the calmest part of the day.
10:30/11:30 The twin boys wake up and tear up the house with their twin sisters. Two sets of twins can really wreck the joint. I try at this point to clean up the house, do the laundry, and wash the dishes. I get all the kids dressed for the day and try like hell to leave the house for a walk or play in the park. Sometimes I give up and stay inside because it’s quite the task loading all the kids up alone. I try to make a game out of it but some days I just throw in the towel. They cry, fight, hug, play, kiss, whine, laugh, and taunt me. hah.
12:00 LUNCHTIME Feed two sets of twins. Enough said.
1:30 Twin boys nap. Sometimes I can get the twin girls to crash out on the couch but it’s rare. I have them play in the yard so they don’t wake up their brothers. Some one usually steps in dog shit or scrapes their knee. We should buy stock in band-aid and Dr. Bronner’s soap.
2:45 Load up all the kids and pick up Mia at school. It’s a 30 minute drive. The boys really don’t like the car so they scream most of the ride. Bird & Haze usually pass out for the ride.
3:30 Mia gets in and we either drive home or bring her to an afterschool class depending on the day. She has Skateboarding class on Tuesdays and MMA on Mondays and Wednesday.
5:00 Feed twin boys dinner. Wrangle kids until my husband gets home. It’s like herding cats.
6:00/6:30 My husband gets home and makes dinner. I am the world’s most awful cook. I sometimes will order dinner if I’m in the mood for sushi. Dinnertime is chaos. We try very hard to make this an enjoyable time. The yelling and screaming coming from our little sunshine trolls is ear shattering. I pour myself a glass of wine. Maybe two. Depends on the day.
7:00 Bath time for the babies. Bath, PJ’s, sleep sacks, and a boobie session and the boys are usually down before 8pm.
7:45/8:00 I head out quite often at night to meet with doula clients. So the husband puts the 3 girls to bed while I’m off doing my doula hustle. The girls each require 1 book in each of their beds. Their beds are lined up in a row and it reminds me of a scene in Annie. “It’s a hard knock life for us…” My step-daughter is with us half the time so she usually retreats to her room to hide and get some quiet time once the little girls’ bedtime rolls around.
9:00 ALL KIDS ASLEEP.
10:00 Get home from meeting with doula clients. Hang with hubby for a bit.
11:00/12:00 BED
AND REPEAT…
This is a typical day. If I am off at a birth Dan wrangles all the little ones alone. Props to big Daddy for running the show when I’m gone. It’s very hard but rewarding work. I wouldn’t change it for the world. I love my crazy life.
