day-to-day

Our day-to-day, week-to-week routine has stayed the same for a while now.  I don't know that anyone cares about it, but I wanted to record it for myself.  Things work well, and the time seems to fly by.

Our general daily schedule is:
The boys wake up sometime around (or before) 7. If they are up before 7, we leave them in their room and they make noise at each other and I hopefully sleep through it.

At 7, we get up and the boys nurse.  We used to nurse and snuggle in bed, but the boys are too active for that now, so we usually nurse down stairs.  Sometimes Eric puts on PBS for them, but they don't seem to care or pay attention to the TV.

If the weather is good and we don't have physical therapy for Asher, we often go for walks or jogs before breakfast.  We will walk with our neighbor and her daughter and dog, or jog just the 3 of us.  While it wouldn't be my preference to jog before I eat anything, it is sometimes the only time of day that's cool enough to do it.  The guys don't seem to mind it either.  I love the fresh air and watching the wind in their hair as I jog.

Breakfast is usually around 8 am.  Their breakfasts are french toast (Saturdays), pancakes (some Thursdays), toaster waffles, peanut butter toast with jam, or cream cheese and jam on cinnamon-raisin bread.  Then they have fruit and milk.

After breakfast, we all play a little, and then naps start around 9.  Asher is always ready to nap, and goes right down.  Some mornings Benjamin will go to sleep right away, some mornings he will make noise for 45 minutes to an hour and then fall asleep, and some mornings he doesn't sleep at all.

If Benjamin isn't asleep by about 10, I'll get him up.  If it's a weekend, or Eric is home, we sometimes run errands.  Otherwise he can play by himself, or we'll play together until Asher wakes up, which happens around 10:30 or 11.

Once Asher is up, we often do something.  On the weekends or a Monday we might go have lunch and a swim by the pool with Eric (weekend) or Meema (Monday), sometimes Asher has occupational therapy at noon on Mondays, or we will run errands or see friends.

Lunch is around noon.  The boys eat leftovers from the night before, or peanut butter and jelly, or mac and cheese, or something easy!  With lunch they have a vegetable, a fruit, and milk.  Asher loves his vegetables, there are a lot of meals where he might reject everything but the green vegetables!

If Benjamin has not napped in the morning and we go out, he often falls asleep in the car on the way home.  Once we're home, Asher goes down sometime by 2 pm.

They are usually up from afternoon naps by 4 pm, and then we sometimes have a neighborhood play date, or Eric will finish work early and we'll go swimming before dinner.  I work two nights a week, and those nights the boys often go to the playground with Grandpa, who helps put them to bed on Tuesdays, or our friend Alyssa, who helps out on Wednesdays.

Thursdays always feel like the start to the weekend.  When I get home from work around 5, the boys rush up to me and give me hugs and kisses, and I am always so happy to see them.  Asher usually wants to nurse a few times after I get home.  By the time the boys have stopped clinging to me, it's time for dinner!  Most Thursdays we eat with the boys, since we've had dinner after they're in bed the past two nights.

Dinner is usually leftovers, or Eric makes delicious cheesy omelets for them, and then they have more vegetables and fruits.  Sometimes they will have dessert, like a graham cracker or animal crackers, or very occasionally, ice cream.

After dinner, it is bed time.  The boys love to climb the stairs themselves, and then they have a bath, get lotioned up, and into pj's.  Asher has stopped nursing before bed, but Benjamin will nurse, and then they are in their cribs to fall asleep.  They are usually in bed by 7:30, but we've had a few late nights recently after going out for ice cream or dinner at someone else's house.

Once they're down, Eric and I will often watch one of the few shows we can agree on, or read, or go on the internet and just have quiet time.  Usually Eric and I eat dessert to reward ourselves for surviving another day as parents of toddler twins.  Then Eric and I are in bed by 10:30 to try to get our rest before we wake up and do it all over again!

Between working 3 days a week and having busy weekends with family and friends, the weeks pass quickly.   I cannot believe that our summer is almost over!  In 2 weeks we leave for our family vacation on Cape Cod, and when that is over, so is the summer.  Our routine won't change, other than that our days of swimming at my aunt and uncle's pool will dwindle, and we will have to shift to indoor activities.  I am thinking of signing the boys up for gymnastics in the fall and swimming lessons in the winter, just so we can keep busy and not go crazy cooped up in the house.