I've learnt that with multiples there are 2 things that are key to keeping my wits about me.
First, routine, routine, routine is my best friend!
Unlike a mom of a singleton, I can't just go with the flow of my child. Because 2 children means 2 different flows...2 different needs...2 different wants...and all at different times. You could go mad. So settling them into a routine is critical! So they nap at the same time, eat at the same time, etc. I can also start planning my day around their schedule, rather than be held hostage by it.
The second lesson I learnt recently is that i have to plan my weekends, which is the when I have large pockets of time with my kids, really well. I need to plan activities to fill up the time between routine activities like meals and naps.
If there are no structured activities that keep the boys busy and engaged, it's likely that they get bored and then the chances of tantrums being thrown are upped.
And tantrums, my friends, are a Multiple Mommy's worse enemy!
Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies!
But sometimes I get lazy and I absolutely forget to do any planning. So a couple of Sundays ago, I realised I had nothing up my sleeve to keep the boys occupied. They had been just playing together and had started getting into little tussles. The alarm bells went off..and I knew..I KNEW I had to plan something quick!
Luckily for me, I had recently asked Corsage for her recipe for Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies. And I knew I had all the ingredients in my kitchen. So I practically yelled at the hubby, telling him to brace himself for an hour of baking!
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Daddy's help to supervise the boys was critical to the success of this activity.
Note to self: Don't attempt to do this without Hubby around to help!
Yeah, well sometimes us moms like to think the kid was 100% involved in the activity, when really the parents were doing most of the work while the kid was like in la la land! Here, Ihsan is just playing with an IKEA clip while Hubs and I were hard at work!
But they did some work of course!
This little boy has my blood coursing through his vein! He kept dipping his fingers into the batter, saying, "Ihsan want cookie!" Just like his mommy, he loves his cookies and is terribly impatient
about it!
We had the cookies in the oven while the boys played. And after they had their lunch, they each had 1 cookie each. Yeah right, more like 2 or 3... =)
Irfan ignored me when I asked him whether the cookies were nice! =)
(Note to self: Good to have hubby around for such activities, especially when he does the washing up!)
YUMZ!!!!!
Thanks Corsage for the wonderful recipe! We're definitely going to bake them again!