Life with 1 year old twins and an almost-3-year-old ... otherwise known as my attempt at organized chaos and staying sane.

My dear friend Lorryn recently wrote a "Day in the Life" post about the changes to their family routine now that she has started to work full time.  Their little family is thriving after this change and it's delightful to hear the excitement in her voice when she talks about their life.

Her post got me thinking that I haven't done a "Day in the Life" post in a loooooong time.  Last November, I described the complete shit-storm (literally and figuratively) that we called our life when the twins were 9 weeks old.  And in March, I wrote another post about the semi-organized days of life when the twins were 6 months old.  I could have sworn that I wrote another post this summer, but looking back I probably decided not to because it would have looked the exact same as the March post, minus the nursing and pumping.

Now that we have survived the first year of life with multiples, life has become easier and more enjoyable.  It's still not easy, it's just a different kind of chaos.  Somewhat more manageable. So here's what life looks like in our house these days....

6:00 a.m. - Brennan creeps into our room, carrying his 3 blankies, Lightening McQueen pillow, stuffed puppy, and stuffed giraffe.  We turn the TV on for him to try to snooze for a few more minutes.  Some days Brian gets up to run, some days I do, some days we both do.  It depends on how motivated we are.  After runs come showers and getting started for the day.

7:30 a.m. - The twins wake up and Brian leaves for work.  I get to work changing diapers and getting sippy cups of milk.  Commence coffee drinking and NPR listening.  I get breakfast ready for the boys, empty the dishwasher, throw in a load of laundry, and vacuum the house.  If Brennan has "school" (Mom's Morning Out program) or if we have MOPS or something else to do in the morning (errands, play dates, etc.), breakfast is a bit more rushed and I spend that time getting ready to leave instead of cleaning.

8:30 a.m. - Play time for the boys.  I try to stagger playing with them and getting things done around the house.

10:00 a.m. - Nap time for the little boys.  Our nap routine is much shorter these days since the boys weaned off of their bottles.  We go into their room and read a few books, then I give them each a cold teether, turn on their Scout doll lullabyes, and kiss them both.  Beckett is working on dropping his morning nap.  I usually put him down at the same time as Kiernan, but he just relaxes for 30 minutes or so until he gets angry and then I go rescue him for some fun time.  During this time, Brennan and I sit down to do some kind of learning activity - a craft, drawing, letters, etc.

11:30 a.m. - Everyone is up from their naps and playing after diaper changes.  I go to work getting lunch ready and then feed the beasts.

12:30 p.m. - After lunch is over and the boys and kitchen have been cleaned up, we go back to play time.  I usually start getting Brennan ready for a nap at this time.  We read books and snuggle in his bed while his brothers trash his room.

1:00 p.m. - Brennan is settled and the brothers and I head out to the family room to play.

1:30 p.m. - After diaper changes and a cup of milk, Beckett, Kiernan, & I head to their room to get ready for afternoon nap.  Same routine - books, teethers, Scout, kisses.  If Brennan hasn't fallen asleep by now, I get him up, call "quiet time" enough, and he goes to bed early that night.  If everyone is sleeping, it's my race against the clock to DO ALL THE THINGS!!!  Brennan is good at entertaining himself.  If I'm working in the kitchen or am reading for class, I let him play in the back yard while I supervise from the kitchen or back porch.

3:00 p.m. - Kiernan is up.  Milk and diaper change and fun with him.

4:00 p.m. - Beckett is up.  Milk and diaper change.  Snack time for the boys

4:30 p.m. - If Brennan is still sleeping, I wake him up.  No way I'm ruining bedtime.  All 3 boys play together while I get dinner ready and fold laundry.

5:30 p.m. - Dinner for the boys.  If Brian will be home by 6, we wait for him, but this rarely happens and the boys are ravenous in the evenings.  Family dinners will have to wait til they're older.

6:30 p.m. - More energy burning before bed. Sometimes Daddy gets home around this time and I clean the kitchen while all 4 boys run wild.  If it's a bath night, Brian handles it while I clean up the kitchen.

7:00 p.m. - Get little boys ready for bed.  Same routine - books, teethers, Scout, kisses.  They usually talk to each other for awhile before falling asleep, even if they were super sleepy and crabby.  It's insanely cute.  If Brennan napped, we play for awhile longer.  If he didn't nap, I put his PJs on when I put the twins' PJs on and he goes to bed after the twins are in bed.

7:30 p.m. - Brennan is tucked into bed if he didn't nap.  If he did nap, we're still playing or reading or he's watching TV while I clean up the kitchen.  This is also when we start to clean up the family room and his room.

8:30 p.m. - Brennan is tucked into bed if he napped.  Then I continue to pick up around the house, wipe down the boys' bathroom, throw in cloth diaper laundry, drink heavily, start school work, upload photos to Shutterfly, or maybe work on a blog post.  Sometimes Brian is home by now and other times he isn't, so on the nights he is home, we try to sit down and hang out with each other for at least 30 minutes.

9:00 p.m. - If I didn't run in the morning, I get on the treadmill once I'm sure Brennan won't be getting out of bed anymore.

10:00 p.m. - Shower.  Finish folding laundry, cleaning, whatever else needs done.  More school work, blogging, etc.  If Brian isn't home yet, try to decide whether I'm going to stay up to wait for him.

12:00 p.m. - Bed!

Of course, this is an optimal day.  Lately Brennan's inconsistent napping and Beckett beginning to drop his morning nap makes many days much more chaotic.  Some days I just feel like I'm chasing my tail all day.  But the lack of bottles helps now and now that the boys are older it's easier to have more structured days.

It's funny to look back at the November post and see how far we've come in the past year.  I've said it a bazillion times before and I'll say it again ... I cannot believe my babies are a year old already!