This World is not Designed for Multiples

First off, happy Father's Day to all! I could go on and on about how great a father Jeff is, but we all know that already, right?



Instead I will take you through a day in the life of being the mother of two toddlers and how crazy it really is sometimes. Last Wednesday I was all excited to take the boys on their first trip to the public library. They were having a special puppet show for the little ones and my first thought was, "how fun!". So I prayed that the boys would take a good morning nap, and they did. They ate a great lunch, we got dressed and we were off. So far the plan was working out perfectly! We got to the library and despite being 15 minutes early, there was a very long line that wrapped around the children's section. I knew that I would not be able to maneuver the double stroller very easily through there so I asked the lady in front of me to hold our spot and as it got closer to entering the room where the puppet show was, we would get back in line. She was very nice and accommodating and even let us cut in front of her! We entered the room and went straight to the back and close to an exit door in case we needed to leave before the show was over. The boys started getting antsy in their stroller as we waited for the show to begin. It was at that moment that a librarian came to me and said " Ma'am, you are going to have to move your stroller. We have a lot of children coming to this show and it is taking up a lot of space." My response, "Well, do you have a suggestion on where would be a better place to be?" Rude librarian, " Can't you take them out?" The first response that ran through my mind was "Are you crazy lady?" but I refrained and said "No, they'll both be off in opposite directions if I do that so that's not going to work." She kept insisting that I move them somewhere else and after I just ignored her, trying to stay calm while my two toddlers were throwing goldfish all over the nice library carpet, she eventually walked off and took her rudeness to some other poor mom. To make things worse, she spent about 10 minutes introducing the puppet show presenters to the group of children. At this point Blakey had had enough of sitting in his stroller while it sat without moving. I made the stupid decision to take him out of the stroller. Bad move mom!! He decided to run out of the exit door, out of the library door, through the library courtyard and if I had not grabbed him, he would have been in the library parking lot in about 5 seconds. Somehow I managed to hold Nicolas in my other arm while chasing him down.







FINALLY the show started and Nicolas seemed to enjoy it. Unfortunately we were way in the back so I'm not sure how well they could really see what was going on. I tried holding both while watching but after about 5 minutes I felt like both of my arms were about to fall off so I strapped them back into the stroller in a hallway. I sure was jealous of all of the moms who were watching with their one toddler content in their laps. We attempted to watch the show again but after about 5 minutes, there was too much complaining so out we went. As the disappointment of not being able to do something fun because the 2 toddler to 1 parent ratio set in, I could feel the tears building up. To make it worse, a different rude librarian was shaking her head at me as I wheeled the stroller out of the room. Maybe my expectations were too high, maybe it wouldn't have worked out even if I had had just one toddler with me, but regardless, I felt crappy.



So now you might ask, what was I thinking when I decided to go to the grocery store on the way home? Well, we gotta eat! If I didn't go on the way home, then I would have had to go after putting the boys to bed and I generally spend too much money when I go at that time because my tired brain and body can't focus too well.



My plan was to strap Blake into the cart and carry Nicolas in my ergo. Well, after carefully putting the grocery cart cover on the grocery cart, and putting Blake into it, I discovered that the safety belt was broken. Okay, well let me just put Nico in the carrier and I can switch carts when we get to the front of the store. Generally Nicolas likes the carrier, but today he decided he wanted to be in a cart also. So I threw the carrier back into the backseat of the car and carried him in one arm while pushing the cart with Blakey with the other arm. We hadn't even made it to the front of the store before the looks began. The looks, well, and comments, really range from "wow, got your hands full!" to "what a cute circus act you have there!" Really people, two babies. Come on, don't act like we just landed from Mars! I somehow managed to take Blake out of his cart, take the cover off, put it on a new cart, strap him in, find a cart for Nico, cover on, Nico in and strap on. Geesh, I was already exhausted and I hadn't even started shopping yet!



Surprisingly, it really wasn't too difficult to navigate two grocery carts around the store but it did bring on even more attention than we usually get. So there I was talking to my boys and putting my groceries in one of two carts and then we hit the blueberries. Nicolas LOVES blueberries! When he saw the package, he made it perfectly clear that he wanted his "azulios" (a made up Spanish word that we use for blueberries). They were organic, so I popped open the package and popped them in his mouth while we shopped. Blakey saw some crackers that he wanted, so I did the same thing. AND THEN IT DAWNED ON ME. I was being followed by a Trader Joe's employee! Seriously, every time I turned a corner and went down a new aisle, there HE was, staring me down. I thought I was just imagining things when I was looking at the juices and I saw HIM whisper something to another employee. That employee then looked up at me and nodded, as if replying "I'll keep my eye on her." Our trip was coming to a close when Blakey decided to turn around in his cart and play the "throw everything out of the cart" game. As we were checking out, I caught the manager checking everything in my basket to make sure I was buying it.....This is where I about lost it. Now, what parent has never opened something up while shopping to keep their little ones occupied? Did I do something wrong here? Furthermore, I might have looked a little crazy, well, possibly a lot crazy, but really, I AM NOT A THIEF!!!


I somehow managed to get the boys and my $140 worth of groceries into the car while holding it together. The whole way home I played the "woe is me" game and contemplated how much easier this day would have been if I only had one 1 year old. These days come and go and I really try not to dwell on it for too long. Luckily, the boys and all of their cuteness eventually remind me of how I am blessed by having two boys who will always be the same age!



Enjoy the cuteness!

Blakey checking out his new chair.



Nico playing peek-a-boo with daddy.

"Mom, take my picture!"

"WEEE!" Nico can now climb up, get on his bottom and go down the slide all by himself!

"let us in, let us in!"

We are ready for the World Cup!

This is what happened when I let Nico sit in a big boy chair at the table.

The boys checking out Fluffy the chick, our visitor for a weekend.

We did manage to have a lovely Father's Day at the beach. Uncle Scott and Aunt Shelly came with us and let me tell you, a 2 to 1 adult to child ratio is MUCH better than the other way around! We even managed to enjoy a meal at The Habit where Jeff and I both finished eating while the food was still warm. Imagine that??!! Thank you for the lovely visit Uncle Scott and Aunt Shelly!

Daddy showing the boys how to make sand castles.

Nicolas happily playing with sand while Jeff brings fearless Blakey back to the safe zone! He LOVED going into the ocean water! (and it was freezing!)

Aunt Shelly, Uncle Scott, Jeff, Blakey and Nico showing off their creation.

If you're still reading, you deserve an award!

Hugs and Kisses,

Rebeca