Tempting Mommy

It's been 2 weeks since the twins converted to toddler beds and I've made a decision.

I want my babies back!

Overall, they have transitioned fairly well.  They are still really excited about the beds which I'm happy about.

What I'm not happy about is the additional hour it's taking to get them to sleep.  They can be practically falling asleep on the couch and as soon as they hit their bedroom door, they are suddenly rejuvenated.

The newest game is called "Tempting Mommy".  Here's how you play:

1. Lay in bed and pretend like you are going to sleep
2. When mommy leaves the room, quickly get out of bed and run around the room
3. When mommy returns to the room, squeal and giggle and run back to bed
4. If mommy decides to stay in the room, quietly put one foot on the floor and watch her to see if she will react.  If she does react, quickly get back in bed and go back to step 1.
5. If mommy yells, "Get back in bed!", she doesn't mean it.  If you laugh at her, she gets even madder and that's really funny
6. If Daddy comes in to the room, he means business and you must act like you are going to sleep until he leaves.  Once he leaves, get out of bed because mommy will come back in and then the game begins again.

I'm also realizing that Kendall takes much, much longer to settle down.  Here's a typical pre-sleep routine with her:

1. Lay head on pillow and then pop up and say, "Ut Oh" because the blanket "fell off"
2. Do this at least 5 times
3. Say hi and/or night night to every stuffed animal in the bed and as you name them, kiss each of them
1. Hi Elmo,
2. Hi Baaa,
3. Hi Un-key (monkey),
4. Hi Woof,
5. Hi Minnie Mouse,
4. After saying hi and/or night night, throw each animal off the bed and say "Ut Oh"
1. It's NOT an Ut Oh if you do it on purpose!
2. This is usually where I start to lose my cool
5. Get out of bed and put each animal back in bed
6. Start singing
7. Start fluffing pillow
1. Do this at least 10 times

You get the picture. 

Once they are asleep, they have been staying in bed all night.  Although, for some reason, they are getting up earlier.  As in 5:00 am earlier.  Yuck!

Christopher is usually the first one up and he doesn't like to party alone.  If we don't get in the room and grab him, he'll go over to Kendall.

"Dendall!  Dendall!"

I was asked if I've thought about splitting them up and putting them in different rooms.  Eventually, I think we'll have to.  I guess part of me feels guilty for doing it.  They didn't get to spend a lot of time together for their first 3 months and sometimes I wonder if they lost some bonding time. 

I was convinced they hated each other for the first 6 months.  Every time I positioned them next to each other, Kendall would cry.

And, I don't think Christopher would do well in a bedroom by himself just yet.  He's much more clingy and he's starting to ask for her when they are apart.

"Where Dendall?"

I guess my plan is to let them decide when it's time to seperate.  I found one idea that suggested asking them every year before their birthday.  I like that idea.

I like the idea of an easy bedtime even better.

Toddler Bed Update - We're All In

We made the conversion.  I stayed home on Friday and got the room ready.  The whole process was bittersweet.  On one hand, I was really excited to get the room done so I could see the kids' faces.  And, I'm so proud of them for hitting this milestone.

But, it made me sad too.  As I tore down the cribs, I couldn't help but think about everything we've been through so far.  The first time they slept in the cribs, the first time they pulled up and I found them standing,  the excitement of picking out the cribs when I was still pregnant.  I got a little teary eyed.  I guess, in a way, I was letting go of my "babies".

Here's the bedding that I decided on.  Kendall's is on the left and has red & yellow dots and Chris' is on the right with navy and light blue dots.  I'm so happy with it and it goes perfectly with the room decor so I didn't have to change a thing!

I brought the kids home from school and immediately took them up to the room.  I've been talking to them about their "big kid beds" for almost 2 weeks but I wasn't really getting any reaction so I didn't know if they understood what would happen.

When they walked in, their faces lit up and they both ran to their beds and jumped in!  They were SO excited.  I let them play for about 15 minutes and they just kept climbing in and out of their beds and then they would run to the other bed and climb in and look at each other.  Oh, and the giggling!

I told them we had to go back downstairs for dinner but they didn't want to leave their room.  I finally got them down the stairs and for the rest of the evening, they both kept saying "Night night?". 

When bedtime finally came, we stuck to our normal routine and took them up about 30 minutes early.  It took an extra hour before they finally settled down.  They were so excited and just did not want to lay down.  By 8:30, they were both asleep.  I didn't know what to expect but was prepared for a restless night.

At 9:30, Kendall woke up screaming.  When I got to their room, she was sitting in bed.  I don't know if she had a bad dream or woke up and didn't know where she was but she was so scared.  I got her calmed down after 10 minutes but wasn't sure if she would want to get back in bed.  I walked over and asked if she was ready and my little trooper said "yes" in her little girl voice and went back to sleep in her big girl bed.

At 11:30, Christopher woke up.  DH got him and 10 minutes later, he was back to sleep in his big boy bed.

They both woke up at 5:30 yesterday morning which is a little earlier than normal. 

Round 2 happened yesterday at naptime and that didn't go quite as well.   2 attempts and we only got a 40 minute nap squeezed in before leaving for their cousin's birthday party.   They just wouldn't stay in the beds. 

The kids fell asleep on the way home last night and I knew they'd be exhausted so we put them in their PJs before we got in the car.  Easy transfer to the beds and they were out!

Christopher did wake up at 4:00 this morning and DH got up with him.  At 6:00, I looked at the monitor and saw DH laying on the floor between the beds.  He said it was the only way he could get Chris to sleep.

Naptime today happened at 11:30am and it only took about 10 minutes.  I was able to tuck them in and leave the room this time without them getting out of the beds at all.

I think we're making progress.  Let's hope it continues and we get a good night's sleep before work and school tomorrow.

Here's some pics of the finished room.  I took them with my iPhone so the quality isn't great:

And, since it's been awhile.  Here's some pics of my "big kids":

 

A Much Needed Break

DH and I just had our first weekend alone in TWO years.  Yep, that's right.  We haven't taken any time for ourselves since having the twins and it was greatly needed.

I can count the number of date nights we've had on one hand.  It was never intentional to neglect each other.  It just happened.  Days and weeks go by and before you realize it, you're in a pattern of the daily rut.

We initially had plans to go to my parents beach house but neither of us could take Friday off and the 4-hour trip didn't seem worth it for what would essentially be one day.  We talked about taking a day trip somewhere but in the end, we decided to stay home.

We dropped the kids off at my BIL and SIL's house yesterday morning at 10:00 am.  DH came home and took a 3-hour nap.  He was in heaven!

I, on the other hand, decided to rearrange the kids bedroom to prep for our toddler bed transition next weekend.  I know that sounds like work but I LOVE to decorate and I was looking forward to it all week.

We went to dinner last night and then went and played pool and had drinks.  Before kids, we both really enjoyed playing pool.  I quickly realized that without practice, I'm not as good as I used to be. 

We were back home by 11 because well, let's face it.  We are old now.  I didn't have a ton to drink but it was enough and I started feeling a little drunk.  Better to get home before that turned ugly.

Nobody wants to see a 41 year old woman dancing on a pool table.

I'm really realizing my age today with a headache from hell.  Damn!  I'm a lightweight now! 

While it was nice to have the time to ourselves, I am counting the minutes until we pick up the kids.  The house is too quiet.  I miss their hugs and kisses.  I missed not tucking them in last night.  Instead of sleeping in, I woke up at 6:00 am waiting for one of the kids to call out to me to let me know they were awake.

Yes, it was nice to be childless for a weekend.  But, I never want to trade my life now for anything.

Together or Separate?

The big toddler bed debate has brought on another dilemma.

To separate or not to separate?

We have a spare room that we're using as a storage room/office.  It would be easy enough to clean out and it's already painted in a grayish-blue color so it would work for Christopher.

For the most part, they are still OK being in the same room.  They play and talk before going to sleep but they don't really keep each other up.  BUT, I am afraid they will get out of their toddler beds and start to wake each other up once we make the transition. 

By giving them their own rooms, I'm giving them an opportunity to have some individualism and independence.  But, I'm also taking away a support system and comfort.

I'm so torn...

Mommies of twins - are your twins still in the same room and if not, when did you separate them?  Did the kids have any separation issues when you did split them up?

Operation Nursery Makeover - Do You Accept the Challenge?

It's time.

Time to make the move.

To toddler beds.

Christopher is still climbing out; although he seems like he's starting to understand that he's supposed to stay in the bed.

Kendall still hasn't scaled the side but she's trying and since she has my coordination, it's only a matter of time before she falls on her head.

2 weekends ago, I decided to convert the cribs into daybeds by taking the fronts off.  But, I quickly realized that the front is all one piece and when I took it off, I also took the front legs of the crib off.

I called down to DH and asked if there were any parts leftover when we put the cribs together and he said no.  WTH?!

After doing some research on-line, I realized we should have purchased a toddler conversion kit that included the guard rail and 2 posts.  It would have been nice if Babies R Us told us that when we bought them 2 years ago.

It's still possible to place a special order but it takes up to 3 months for it to come in.  Not wanting to wait that long, we bought 2 toddler beds and we'll just store the cribs until the twins are ready for twin beds.

So, that takes me to my dilemma.  I need to buy new bedding.  I still want to keep the kids in the same room so it needs to be as unisex as possible.  Ideally, I would love to find boy/girl coordinating bedding that matches (like stripes and polka dots). 

Here's the nursery colors now.  The walls are Granny Smith apple and the bedding is light blue, green and brown. 

I found this set at Target and it would match perfectly but it's a little too boyish for Kendall.  I'd love to find a girly pattern with the same colors that would match.
http://www.target.com/DwellStudio-Target-Dot-Blue-Toddler/dp/B0042F2NPY/ref=br_1_17?ie=UTF8&id=DwellStudio%20Target%20Dot%20Blue%20Toddler&node=16313661&searchSize=30&searchView=list&searchPage=1&sr=1-17&qid=1312805050&rh=&searchBinNameList=target_com_category-bin%2Ctarget_com_gender-bin%2Ctarget_com_size-bin%2Cnumber_of_pieces%2Cprice%2Ctarget_com_character-bin%2Ctarget_com_primary_color-bin%2Ctarget_com_brand-bin%2Cpattern_name-bin&searchRank=salesrank&frombrowse=1

Here's your mission....

Can you find something for Kendall?  Or, find something else for both that matches the current room colors?