Have Twins, Will Travel

When we told our friends and family that we were going to be traveling (in an airplane-the kind that actually leaves the ground with people in it) with our 18 month old twins over Thanksgiving weekend, most people looked at us as though we had just told them we were going to join the circus. We could see the shock in their eyes that wondered, "Are you CRAY-ZEE?!" And, in all honesty, they weren't that far off. At times our adventure from Minnesota to California and back did kind of feel like we had joined a special kind of circus. One where airports, and nap times, and hotel rooms, and meal times, and oceans, and traffic, and sightseeing, and family all sort of mesh together into one big whirlwind of a vacation.

PLANNING

Anyone who knows me, knows that I am a planner. And those who have gone before us in flying with twins know that planning is a must. I was given several awesome tips from my twin mom friends who made me feel like I could tackle the task of packing and executing a trip with our twins, hundreds of thousands (okay maybe not that far) of miles from home and the routine that we thrive on. I took the challenge and started list-making and shopping and laying things out probably 4 weeks before we actually boarded the plane.

Contents of our carry-on bags

Bribes for our fellow passengers: Earplugs, candy, and a note with the cutest picture I could find of the boys.

SURVIVING THE AIRPORT

Given that our flight left at 9am, we wanted to be at the airport by 6:45am to make sure we made it through security, had time to eat, and attempt to run off any lingering energy in the boys. Dan and I spent days figuring out who was going to do what once we arrived at the airport. It sounded kind of like this: Okay, I am going to take the boys jackets off while they are still in their carseats and you are going to take the stroller out of the trunk and wheel it over to me, and I will put them into their stroller with their blankies and wheel them into the heated airport and go get in line and you are going to remove the carseats from the car and put them into those handy carseat bags we ordered. Then you are going to get one of those Smartcartes and put our 2 suitcases and 2 carseats onto the cart and meet me inside the airport. Everything we did was majorly calculated and planned out ahead of time if possible.

Overall, the airport was a breeze. We knew about the "family" security line check-point and the staff there was extremely kind and helpful. We spent the next couple hours chasing the boys around the airport doing everything in our power to keep them awake but tired before we got on our flight.

Checking in at the MSP Airport

Chasing Daddy down the moving walk-ways-a definite favorite!



Burning more energy inside the airport



Playing in the Kiddie Area

Lots of "Oohs" and "Aahs" as they checked out the airplanes on the runway.

We made it to our seats and were thrilled to find out that there were open seats next to us! We handed out our goodie bags and the flight crew and fellow passengers promised us that there was nothing our boys could do that would bother them. We prayed our boys would not make them liars. The nice thing was, the notes kind of broke the ice and started up conversations with everyone around us. We even found out that the 2 college girls sitting behind us were twins, too! 

Ready for Take Off!

I really didn't need to pack all those toys in the carry-on bags. The window blinds, tray tables,
and seat TVs were definitely a hit with both boys, especially Aaron.

This happened.

So did this.

VACATION

The whole reason for our visit to California was to spend time with my brother and his family. The boys loved playing with their baby cousin. The weather was beautiful on most days and the sight of palm trees and the ocean was enough to help us forget about the 10 degree temperatures we left behind in MN.

Christian's garage man-cave now sports a baby swing-Welcome to fatherhood, brother!



Christian's house: Concrete steps, sidewalks, more steps, and window wells made for many (un-safe) adventures!

The boys out for a stroll in sunny Burbank, CA

Something about seeing your brother with his babe: heart-melting

Celebrating Thanksgiving like real turkeys! Note: We didn't actually get to sit down for the meal.
Between the time zone change and no nap, the boys were just done for the day, so back to the hotel we went.

HOTEL LIFE

Overall, the hotel we stayed at worked out well for us. I am certain we made rockstars look good--toddlers can sure trash a hotel room in no time. I was convinced we would never see any of our damage deposit back. Meal time sans high chairs equals messy fingers finding the white linens, couch cushions, curtains and walls. And timing nap time around Housekeeping's arrival proved to be a big joke as they never came at the same time twice. And then there's sleeping at night..putting the boys to bed in the same room we were in required mommy and daddy to pretend to be asleep at 7pm each night and then sitting in the dark until we were tired enough to actually sleep (which was usually 7:30pm anyways). But it actually worked out okay. The boys loved the new electrical cords in our room, playing peekaboo in the double-layered curtains, putting their toys in the empty dresser drawers, and opening and closing the door to the bathroom countless times proved to be dream entertainment for 1 year olds!

Playing in their cribs at the hotel. AKA not sleeping. 

SIGHTSEEING
We saw the Hollywood Sign. The end.



We didn't let a little rain stop us from a family pic at the Hollywood Sign. 

THE OCEAN
This was the highlight of the trip for us. It was a picture perfect day and the beach in Malibu was the backdrop for these sunny pics. The boys literally RAN straight for the water and left Dan and I in the dust, cursing Christian for bringing us to the rockiest beach in Southern California. It was a dangerous jungle-gym for our boys, but they didn't notice. They loved it all: rocks, sand, water, and the sun.



Seriously, Mom, not ANOTHER picture! 

Oh my gosh, who is this big boy?!

And where did my 3 pound baby go?!

Best pic of the 3 boys we could get!

Christmas Jammies Photo, Take  #1

Christmas Jammies Photo, Take #163
 (seriously the best we could do??!! Note Owen's red face, at first we thought
it was because we were a little late applying sunscreen at the beach. We then determined he had an allergic
reaction to the sunscreen we uhmmm, borrowed from another family on the beach). Oops.

Heading Home: Blessed again with an entire OPEN row of seats!
 They must have known we would need extra room for the arching-back, throwing himself on the floor tantrums that would accompany this leg of the trip!

Goodbye, California

We are happy to report that we survived our adventure traveling with our twins. We are thankful for the experience, but are happy to return to our ho-hum routine and baby-proofed home!

Roseola is not so Rosy

When I went in to check on Owen late Tuesday night, I expected to put his paci back in, lay him down, and go back to my bed. I didn't expect for him to have a fever. So, we took a little trip down to the kitchen, got some infant Tylenol, I gave him a kiss, and put him back into his crib and called it a night.

I figured the fever was just from teething. As any mom of young kids knows, teething can be to blame for just about anything out of the ordinary in your babes. Runny nose? Oh, that must be from teething. Extra crabby lately? Oh, I think his molars might be popping though soon. Fever? Oh, I think I remember the doctor telling me a low-grade fever is common while teething.

But this was not teething.

This fever went on for just under 4 full days. This was not your average fever either. His temp hung out mostly in the 103-104 degrees range. It warranted 3 visits to our local pediatrician, each time stumping a different doctor. No one had an answer.

At our doctor's visit on Thursday afternoon, he arrived with a fever of 103.2. "I think he feels even hotter now," I told the doctor after a quick examination gave us no hints as to a cause. And sure enough, in just 40 minutes he was up to 104.5 degrees. At this point, 3 nurses and 2 doctors came into the room. One brought an ice pack, another a freezee of Pedialyte. Someone else came in proposing a dose of Ibuprofen. Owen's doctor suggested resorting to "mechanical measures" to bring the fever down. A cool washcloth, a tepid bath. "You really do not need to worry until the fever reaches 105.5 degrees," the doctor tried to assure me. Oh okay, good thing I hadn't started to worry yet! Ha!

So home we went.

And after the bath and washcloths and next dose of Tylenol, my baby lay in my arms and I knew this wasn't looking good. I held my breath as I retook his temp, and just about fell off the couch as the thermometer beeped and I saw the number 105.1 blinking on the screen.

I was reminding myself of the doctors words of wisdom and tried to remain calm. But my mommy intuition told me we couldn't continue to battle this fever on our own.

We arrived at the ER and the triage nurse took his temp at 104.2, still alarmingly high an hour after that dose of Tylenol. We stumped yet a 4th doctor as to the cause of these fevers. I think the doctor saw the worry in my eyes and was searching for something to diagnose and pointed out a "slight" ear infection, gave us a prescription for Amoxicillin and sent us on our way once the fever was "down" to 103.7.

I spent the 3rd night in the rocking chair with Owen in my arms in his little striped cotton t-shirt, so he wouldn't be too hot. I must have scanned his forehead with the thermometer every 3 minutes, making sure we weren't headed in the wrong direction.

Friday came, day 3 of fevers up in the 103's. On another trip to the pediatrician, Owen's blood counts finally revealed that this was a virus, most likely Roseola. The doctor told us to watch for a rash to appear once the fever breaks. I felt some hope and I prayed for the end of this misery.

And sure enough, come Saturday morning, I started to notice some faint rashes on his forehead and behind his ears and neck. At first I thought I was just seeing things because I was severely sleep deprived and I was hoping for this rash SOOO badly. He still had a fever throughout the day, but by bath time Saturday night, I felt a sigh of relief as I saw more rashes popping up across his tummy and on his back. Let me tell you, I have never been more thrilled to see a rash on my baby, confirming that this ugly virus had finally left my poor baby's little body.

By Sunday morning, the rash was even more prevalent, and the best confirmation of all: a reading on the thermometer of 98.6 degrees.

Goodbye, Roseola. You gave this momma the scare of her life. So thankful to have my happy little boy back again.

My poor little love at the ER

ER Snuggles, pretty sure I needed them just as much as Owen did.

Hello, rash! Never been more excited to see you!

I've never seen a more beautiful number.

A Summer At Home

When people ask me what we did this summer, I stare blankly for a few seconds trying to search my memory for what has filled the 74 days since the bell rang on the last day of school.  I say, "Well, we went to the Como Zoo! And, ummm, the boys took a music class through ECFE! And...oh ya, we went for walks every morning!"

The thing is, we didn't really go anywhere or do any of the typical big family summer vacations. We did not go meet Mickey Mouse and his princess friends. We did not soak our toes in the salty waters of the Atlantic or Pacific.  We didn't even load up the car to head Up North to a cabin in the woods.

But yet,  I can't name a summer that has been more enjoyable than this one.

Yes, our days were filled with a predictable meal, nap, and snack schedule. Bath and bedtime around here were as routine as brushing your teeth (we did that, too).

But it was in fact those daily routines and all the moments in between that made this the best summer ever. It was chasing my boys around our backyard while one was eating rocks, and the other trying to climb the slide. It was trying to prepare healthy meals while 2 hungry and growing boys were yanking on my legs. It was listening to Owen and Aaron's first word ("woof, woof") every time we passed a dog out on our walks, and then hearing them repeat it, over and over and over again until we got back home. It was lathering two wiggle worms up with sunscreen every day, when sitting still was the last thing on their minds.  It was seeing the curiosity in their eyes as they stopped in their tracks to pick up a stick out in the yard. It was driving across town to meet up with other twins and their mommas, who just get it. It was hearing the giggles of brothers who, on occasion, do not want the same toy at the exact same second, and think it is amazingly fun to play peek-a-boo with each other in the curtain on our patio door. It was taking Owen to get his 1st haircut and watching him be so brave sitting in that big red chair. It was climbing through tunnels at the park on playground equipment that clearly wasn't built for adults. It was both boys sitting in my lap to read the book Dinosaur's Binkit every single day. It was thanking God for Aaron's 2 top teeth, that finally broke through after months of painful teething. It was being there to get them out of their cribs when they woke up from every single nap. It was teaching the words "ishy" and "diaper" and "all done" and "big truck." It was driving my car home from lunches out with Daddy and looking back into the mirrors to see my 2 little pumpkins zonked out from a busy day. It was perfecting my tractor noises and crawling around the kitchen floor. It was saying "no, no" for the 817th time when the boys tried to pick the flowers from the pots on our deck. It was witnessing the boys "hug" for the first time, by leaning their heads towards each other and pausing momentarily before bedtime each night. It was....perfect.

I am so fortunate that my "real job" as a teacher allows me the summers "off" to stay home with my 2 most favorite 1 year olds. I know that it will be hard to leave them in someone else's care as I head back to start another school year tomorrow. The tears will be hard to fight back (okay, so they are already rolling as I type this now..)

And so, even though we didn't pick up any souvenirs from an out-of-state resort, my heart is filled with more memories than those kinds of vacations can buy, spent right here at home.

Scroll through the many photos from this summer below.....