Twin Mum diary
Hi, my name's Bethany & I'm married to Peter. He works up in central
London & I'm at home in Surbiton, Surrey with our 2 yr old twin
boys, Warwick & Theo. Our house is on the market so we're supposed
to live in a state of perpetual close-to-tidiness - we're househunting
with my parents & all moving in together. Plus, I had my appendix
out nearly 3 weeks ago & am trying to balance the doctors' idea
of post-operative life & the reality of twin toddlers!
Monday
Monday again, first one since Mum & Dad have been back from their
holiday & the boys are going round for the day. If nothing else
is happening, they usually go round every Monday. It's lovely for
me to have a bit of space even if I do generally fill it with chores,
& the boys & my parents really enjoy a bit of quality time to themselves.
P has to go into work early & as soon as we mention to the boys
that they are going to see Grandma & Grandpa today, that's it, they're
raring to go! With the pressure on, we managed to make it to Mum
& Dad's with my hair still wet & none of us have had any breakfast.
Trying to recover, I stay for an hour nursing a bucket of tea to
make sure the boys are ok, it's been a month since the last Monday
& a lot's happened to them - all routine disappeared when I went
into hospital for days & P stayed home & looked after them. Then
I went home, closed the curtains, put the cat out & crawled under
the duvet for a kip - heaven. I followed up with lolling in front
of mindless tv & having a girlie cup of tea with a neighbour. I
can't remember the last time I squandered a day like that, & I know
it's done me a power of good. I arrived to collect the boys as they
were up to their eyebrows (literally) in tea - what a sight!
Tuesday
Up at 6.30am. P was up & into the boys' rooms before I heard them
this morning. Still trying to gather my wits, when both boys climbed
into bed with me carrying a book each to 'wake' me. They snuggled
up under my duvet sharing their books & it was lovely, even if I
couldn't quite focus! Twin club today & Mum came with me since I
haven't been since before my op. It was nice to see everyone & I'm
glad we went. A friend who's just had her 2nd set of twins came
& we were all really glad to see her. She looks fantastic & we all
had a cuddle of the girls. On the way home, I whacked the aircon
up & sang loudly so the boys wouldn't fall asleep & we just about
made it. Theo ate a sandwich (of sorts, just butter) which was fantastic.
Both boys have been difficult eaters & I've been trying to get them
to eat 'real' food for ages. Couldn't believe it when Theo casually
ate half a sandwich as though he did it every day of his life. I
acted cool but phoned up P at work in excitement as soon as they
had gone down for their nap. Estate agent came round to sign up
the house in the afternoon so spent the boys' nap madly clearing
up the house. Fortunately they liked him & stuck by his side, trying
to appear in as many room photos as possible! P surprised us by
coming home from work early & the boys dragged him down the garden
to the swings so I nipped off to weigh in at my slimming class &
lost 1.5lbs - bargain. Celebrated with a bacon sarnie & a beer for
supper!
Wednesday
Up again at 6.30am, managed to haul myself out of bed & get going
quite quickly this morning. Both boys feeling physical today, inclined
to launch at each other or me in full grapple mode. Not feeling
like my insides or scar are up to such a battering yet & on each
other it always ends in injury/tears. Decided to leave the building
to so went out to buy flowers for a friend we're seeing this afternoon
- my first trip on my own with the boys since the op so bit of a
test. All went fine though we weren't out for long. I succumbed
to another book for each of them - they're such bookworms & I just
can't resist. After all it's better than spending it on clothes
… isn't it? Just managed to get in & have some elevenses when deafening
drilling outside started up. Boys were v startled & worried so we
went to look out of the kitchen window to find a big van with generator
parked across our front, barriers up over our drive & nextdoor,
& 2 builders hammering 7 bells out of the pavement a few feet from
our house! Went out to ask what on earth was going on & was told
a few hours of work to sort out a reported leak from nextdoor. Surely
they could at least have knocked & informed me? Fortunately they
really did only take a couple of hours but it was v noisy & I had
to close all the windows to reduce the racket. I wasn't sure the
boys nap would work but bless them they were fine, if a little cosy!
Went round to my friend's this afternoon to give her the flowers
& thank her for being such a great support when I was ill. She had
made the boys one of her fruit cakes which is their absolute favourite
& they certainly did it justice. She has a hatch between her kitchen
& living room & Warwick was v interested that she had a 'hole' in
her wall. We discussed it endlessly & I must remember to tell P
or he'll have no idea what on earth they're talking about.
Thursday
Up at usual time but more leisurely this morning as P didn't leave
for work until just before 9am. Meant I could potter at organising
for the day ahead rather than rushing around like a nutter. The
boys had breakfast with Daddy & then went to help him get dressed
for work (big help!) so I ironed something for us to wear (tut,
tut) & made tupperwares full of picnic/snacks for the boys. Mum
& I are going to look at 2 houses this morning about a 45minute
drive away so we're taking plenty of supplies with us. Last time
I went house-hunting in that direction there was a massive traffic
problem on the M25 that caused in all surrounding roads & areas
so we were on the road for hours with v little food to eek out -
awful & I'm not doing that again in a hurry! P left for work, my
mother came round & we set off.
Thankfully the journey was fine this time & the first house relatively
straightforward to find. It's currently occupied by a family with
5 children so there were plenty of toys for the boys to play with
& occupy themselves. Quite liked the house but had to jet off to
the 2nd which was almost impossible to find & the boys were screaming
in the back. My mother was trying to post food back to them & map
read, we had to pull over to let her get her bearings while I sorted
out the boys. Meant we were really late for the 2nd viewing but
I hated it anyway. Boys liked it but that was because they had an
ancient ride-on lawnmower in the garden that they took turns riding
& picking off the moss. Both boys fell asleep on the way home thank
heavens since we got lost again & I managed to transfer them to
bed once we got back so had a chance for a sandwich & a small recover.
Both boys were shattered in the afternoon & we just had a low-key
time. P got home at 7pm & they were in bed half an hour later with
barely a murmur & hardly time for a bedtime story & any of the usual
performances.
Friday
Didn't wake until nearly 7am this morning. I think it's probably
the first time ever & felt fantastic. I woke up & enjoyed not leaping
out of bed trying to gather my faculties. V nice to just lay there
& wallow even if our bladders were bursting! Mind you the layin
did mean the morning zipped by. Boys were only half dressed & I
was even less when the doorbell went. Threw my dressing-gown on
expecting my mother (who else so early in the morning) but met by
stranger. Completely blank & rather non-plussed until she reminded
me that we had an appointment for 9am for her to measure the house
(for the estate agent particulars). I'd completely forgotten. I
left her to it, closely supervised by the boys who took her up to
their rooms & then suggested she have a bath - charming. Finally
she left & I just managed to get myself dressed & more packed lunches
made in time to set off for the twin club outing this morning. We're
all meeting up at a park I've never been to before, about 15 mins'
drive from me. It turned out to be lovely, completely enclosed,
very clean with plenty of space, swings & best of all a big paddling
pool. The water was pretty chilly but the children all loved it.
We all sat down on rugs after a bit & the children had the picnics.
All very nice.
The weather was a bit cool & the black clouds were ominous so we
left pretty promptly. We were all freezing & they'd eaten all their
lunch. I'd not taken jumpers, just a spare set of clothes for the
boys as usual, & they were wearing both sets. Managed to keep them
awake on the drive home so didn't have to lug them into bed. As
we were about to go in Warwick picked up 2 milk bottles from the
doorstep & clunked them together so we had glass everywhere. He
keeps doing it so I told him off & then bundled all 3 of us into
bed under the duvet. They're tired & chilly & so am I, plus my op
site's throbbing. God I love sneaking to bed during the day - feels
so illicit. Didn't do much in the afternoon, Warwick's really bad-tempered
which I'm sure is partly because he's famished. If only he'd give
in & eat he'd be a lot happier I'm sure & life would certainly be
a lot easier. Theo is much cheerier at the moment & he's eating
really well. Sandwiches at lunchtime & proper food at tea (spaghetti
bolognaise with carrots today) - god I'm proud of him. He's really
flourishing at the moment, he's come such a long way from his poor
start.
Mum & Dad turned up unexpectedly with a present for the boys -
baskets for the fronts of their bikes - so I took the chance to
meet P from the station, a Friday treat he doesn't often get. Must
be a good start to the weekend.
Saturday
Up 7ish again today - hurrah. Watched the coxless 4 win the gold
at Athens. P and I got far too excited & were leaping around cheering.
Boys had no idea why but joined in madly - we must have looked like
real nutters. Already had my first wash of the day on when I discovered
that Theo had leaked inside his grobag & it was very wee-wet & a
bit ripe. Made a prospective load heap in front of the washing machine
& then discovered the sofa arm covered in something disgusting so
that joined the queue. Terrific. Next door are away & I have keys
so I filled up their washing line & mine & I've still got a pending
pile in the basket! Baked 2 cakes in amongst, with the boys checking
on the cooking & washing & reading me stories plus telling me what
Daddy was up to & that more biscuits were needed!
What did we do with weekends pre-children? I'm blowed if I can
remember to be honest. Feel v domesticated. Not up to too much walking
still so in the afternoon, we loaded the boys' trikes in the boot
& drove to the local shops. Boys love doing errands on their trikes
though we draw a lot of stares, particularly with their hats & shades
on! Having worked so hard though to get them to wear them when it
was so very hot, I'm loathe to say no when they request them. Did
our errands (yet more prescriptions & calpol from Boots, I should
have shares) then went to the church hall to see the bellringers.
Timed it to perfection & managed to hit their teabreak which was
a bit of a bargain, the boys charmed bourbon biscuits out of a friend
so were in no rush to leave! Came back to find the estate agent
had shown someone round in our absence - help, the place was a complete
pit. I figured that if we hadn't heard anything by 2.30pm, no-one
was coming but obviously I was wrong. I usually make an effort to
clear up & sweep/clean a bit - oh well. Stayed up til midnight to
watch the Bruce Willis film tonight - very reckless, I can't remember
the last time we stayed up so late!
Sunday
Got up at 7am again - this is obviously going to be a regular thing
… hallejulah. Feeling a little jaded though after our reckless late
night plus Warwick was awake about 3am with cold feet - aaah. Packed
up yet another picnic (or mickmick as Theo calls them) and headed
off to Redhill to look at the 1st house from Thursday again. Met
up with Mum & Dad there & I took P & Dad round while Mum entertained
the boys - she took them into the garden & within minutes Warwick
was minus his shorts & Theo his shoes, both drenched - great. Thankfully
the boys didn't mind, & the estate agent didn't turn a hair, so
I rose above it. Grandparent play often seems to involve puddles,
felt-tips, food everywhere - I've given up sending them round in
decent gear now! Had a good look around the house & then adjourned
to the village green for our mickmick before piling the boys in
the pushchair & having a walk around to get a feel for the place.
Eventually loaded the boys back in the car when they'd had enough
& they were asleep instantly. Managed to get back in just under
an hour so transferred the boys to bed & had an hour's peace ourselves.
Terrible afternoon with both boys fighting, whinging & generally
playing up with injuries left, right & centre. Obviously too much
for them, poor things. Feeling very tired so went to bed at a reasonable
time, Monday tomorrow & grandparents' day ………….. marvellous!
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Rachel's week
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