Craziness at the Holden's

Life is a bit crazy, but that is our life right now and we are enjoying the busyness of it all. I don't have much spare time these days, but I still want to keep up this blog/family journal. There may be fewer or shorter posts, but I'm going to try to still do a few here and there. 

With all the craziness, the number one question I get when we are out and about is...are they twins? Ummm YES! Yes, they are! But besides that silly question, I always get asked, how do you do it with newborn twins and a toddler?

Well, my answer is I don't do it alone and some days I don't do "it". Most of the time we're in survival mode. Showers for me are optional and naps are an absolute must. Housework is minimal and the crockpot is getting lots of use these days. We've gotten into a good routine and schedule and we are surviving! Honestly don't ask ask me what day it is...they all blend together. I'm good if I know what day of the week it is. 

I've had TONS of help from family. We are so incredibly blessed and I've been completely spoiled. 

I had someone here back to back for a whole month after the girls were born. First my sweet mother came just a day after the girls were born and was able to meet both girls and help us out a ton!

Then the day she left, Stephen's mom flew in a few hours later. She was a great help and we survived having a newborn home and the other still in the NICU with her here.

Only a day after she left, Stephen's sister Meghan drove down from Illinois to spend the week with us. She was such a wonderful help and I loved catching up with her and our late night chats! 

Then I was a week on my own and my sister came out with her sweet 7 year old daughter Megan.

It was a wonderful boost and I was so fun to "play" with these girls, as we'd each take one. Her little daughter was in heaven with TWO babies to play with.

Now 4 weeks later my parents returned and gave me a huge boost so I could get Christmas finished and helped out a ton.

I've also had TONS of help from the ward. For a whole week, they brought in meals AND had someone come in for three hours and help me with babies and cleaning etc. They threw me the most incredible shower. I seriously came home and cried. I've felt such an outpouring of love from the ladies in this ward. For hardly knowing any of them. They've bent over backwards to help my family and then to throw this huge shower for me and the girls. It was darling "Diapers and Doubles" Everyone brought me diapers and wipes. I am stocked....for a while. The pile is dwindling fast though I think we calculated in the last three months we've had these girls, we've gone through over 900 diapers. Yikes!

 I now have two sweet ladies from the ward that come once a week and help me for a few hours. Its usually on Tuesday afternoons because Andrew has therapy then, so they stay at the house and watch/feed the girls while I take Andrew to therapy for a few hours. I always come home to laundry folded or floors vacuumed or a dishwasher empty. Truly Blessed.

I've even had a friend here in the ward come and do a night feeding for me. Yes. Can you believe it? She has a little boy Andrew's age AND twin girls that are 15 months old. So she has just walked in our shoes. She came over one night and slept on our couch and fed the girls during the night. so I could have a full nights rest. It felt soooo good. 

The next question that is always asked, is are they on the same schedule? To that I answer a resounding YES!  I make them. When one wakes up to eat I wake the other one up. They have been on a four hour feeding schedule since they were six weeks old and within just the last month they been going 6-8 hours through the night which has been awesome.

Our life pretty much revolves around feeding time....

Andrew is catching on pretty quick.

He loves to help out too!

Because these girls were preemies, nursing has taken extra long for them to catch on to.  I've done a lot of pumping until then. Andrew told me one morning that he needed a turn and I needed to share. (Can you tell what we are working on around here?) Much to Stephen's dismay, I couldn't resist taking a picture of this.

Now all the visitors are gone.
We are on our own.
Just our family of five.

Last week I ventured out to Andrew's therapy, when I couldn't get a babysitter, by myself with all THREE kiddos. We survived. We did it. To be honest. I was prepared for a lot worse...it really wasn't too bad.

Having more children than arms has definitely been a challenge. I am grateful for wonderful family and friends. I am also very grateful for a loving and supportive husband. I'm especially grateful that I can be a stay at home mom and be able to spend all day with these three precious children on loan from our Heavenly Father.

Life is Crazy....but I am so incredibly blessed.