How do you do it?

I get this question asked a lot. A lot. Especially when the girls are being particularly...challenging. Sunday was a prime example. They definitely woke up on the wrong side of the bed that morning. So much so that three different people commented to me how "feisty" my girls were or that my hands were full as I was walking with them in the hall at church. I wasn't offended or anything because they're speaking the truth. They are feisty and I do have my hands full.

Some days, like the past two (or seven) are hard. Some days, all the girls want to do is play outside. Some days I don't get a single thing done around the house. Some days the girls don't want anything to do with me. Some days they won't leave me alone. Some days I think, "Man, this twin thing is pretty easy" and some days I literally cry myself to sleep because I'm so overwhelmed.

My visiting teacher came by yesterday and made note of how my girls were acting at church. When she started out with, "I saw you with your girls yesterday..." I was scared I was going to get a mini lecture. She's a white haired, season mother of ten. She knows her stuff. And I feel like sometimes when people "know" their stuff, they forget what it was really like. They forget all the diaper blow outs (although, if you have white hair, you cloth diapered and I promise cloth diapers don't have blow outs like disposables...) they forget that their children screamed, dumped their milk on the floor, threw your clean laundry all over your house, etc. So, when she said she noticed my girls at church, I was scared. I didn't need to be however, because she recalled when she was a young mother. She said that when her ten children were little, her husband was always either in the Bishopric or Stake Presidency, thus leaving her alone with ten children. She said they would jump off the benches, pull old ladies' hair, pull the trousers off of their brothers, etc, etc. It got to the point where she started talking half of her children to church and left the other half at home with a friend. After the first hour, she'd switch the kids and attend a different congregation with the other half of her kids. She said it was still hectic, but she survived.

I don't know why, but hearing this made me feel like a million bucks. I guess I always assume that I'm in people's way. That my kids are the kids that everyone is annoyed of. That I don't do a good enough job at keeping them quiet or that they are running around too much. Sometimes I feel like church is a waste because some days I literally get nothing out of it.

But then every once and a while, someone will offer to let the one of the girls sit on their lap. Or someone will tell me for the umpteenth time how beautiful their eyes are or how they are the most gorgeous babies they've ever seen. Or someone won't care if they're walking all over their scriptures (although stepping on an iPad is understandable pushing it...) or slobbering all over their pen or playing with their jewelry. Its those moments when I get it. I get that my family isn't the annoying one. I get that my girls do bring other people joy. I start to understand how lucky I am to not only have these girls, but to live where I do surrounded by such great people.

And then I picture myself in 50 years visiting teaching. I'll  recall this stage in my life when I had 13 month old twins who would not sit still or be quiet and how my husband or I would sometimes have to take them home or at the very least spend the hours pacing the halls with them. I'll let the new mom know that it's ok to have babies who refuse to stay in one place for more than 4 seconds. It's ok to have kids that scream when their sister shoves them down. It's ok to wander the halls because at least you're making an effort.

And it's ok to think after all of this, that your babies are the cutest things on the planet because let's face it,

 mine truly are
;)

 

Also, its been almost a week since I've uploaded any pictures from my camera. I was just looking through it and there are some goodies coming your way soon.