Rob's blog: Alone...with twins...

"There are two things in life for which we are never truly prepared: twins." -Josh Billings

Warren left on Monday morning, hence began my solo flight with these two little guys.

Picture of innocence...

Luke's house is tri-level. That in, and of itself is a huge challenge when both are just beginning to walk. The stairs were the first major issue. They crawl up pretty well, but I found I had to keep Tate on the side next to the wall. If he is by the stair banister, he grabs hold, and stops peeking out between the rails. He doesn't like to be bodily removed. Coming down the stairs: I do not trust myself to carry two active toddlers down the stairs at one time. I taught them how to come down on their tummies. They have to be sort of dragged down. I get them down two steps, they go back up one. It takes awhile, but it works...eventually. Once down, a gate had to be in place to keep them from going back up. They both want to help me get that gate in place. Their help has a lot to be desired.

Taking them for a walk in the double stroller was another challenge. At least, getting them to the stroller, and in the stroller. The stroller lives in the basement level of the house. The basement stairs are very steep, with a turn in them. At the bottom is the cat box. Okay, how to get both down, and in the stroller without the other wandering away, or playing in the cat box. Worse, the stroller is folded. Somehow, I got them both in the stroller with no disasters.

Sunday morning (thank goodness Warren was still here), Tate had a major blowout: from both ends. I knew it was bad when Warren said he was going outside to shake out the bedding. He had already given Tate a bath. The bug Tate had hung on for a few days...3 to be exact. We had one more morning of a diaper blowout. Warren was not here to help. I wish he had been. I repeated the washing of the bedding, and Tate. I left Sawyer in bed while I did this. He was not happy about that. Tuesday afternoon, while Tate was playing, he threw up again. Mega blast all over a speaking book, the floor, and himself. I grabbed him, and took him to the kitchen sink. While we were at the sink, Sawyer decided the mess left behind looked like a good playground. Now, they were both messes. I put them both in their high chairs, while I cleaned up the mess. Then we went upstairs where both had another bath. The good news: Sawyer did not get the bug, and in spite of the book being washed, it still works. The bad news: Mimi caught the bug. Yesterday was my bad day.

More good news: today, Thursday, we are all back to normal.

In their room, they have a window seat with a cabinet under the seat. They love getting into the cabinet to play. While I was getting Sawyer ready for bed (on the changing table), Tate threw open one of doors...it came unscrewed from the top hinge, and dropped off the frame. Thank goodness I was just about finished with Sawyer. When I went to inspect the damage, I noticed Tate had something in his mouth. I opened his mouth, and found he was chewing on the screw that had come out of the wall. I fished it out of his mouth. I got them both ready for, and in bed. I went to look for a phillips screwdriver to fix the door, and twine to tie around the door knobs, so this could not happen again. Mission accomplished.

All in all it has been challenging, fun, and I am still on a learning curve. I love seeing how the boys interact with each other. They talk to each other, love on each other, and wrestle with each other. They are very sweet and loving boys. I am so glad we are all better and back to normal. Fun times are here again.