I managed to get in 35 minutes of my Yoga Journal challenge today.  I picked two practices that were quick, 20 minutes and 15 minutes.  What I like about this challenge is that they give you the full week’s worth of practices, and you can pick and choose what works for you.  So I negotiated the time I needed for the rest of the week and realized I will be able to catch up since I decide which practice to do in the amount of time I have available to me.  And I was so happy I did it, it felt great!  I also negotiated the amount of time I had to use spending half of it doing yoga and and half running on the treadmill. 

I am negotiating my time for tonight by saying that I am unable to write an amazing piece, so instead of doing something mediocre, I would like to save my brain power for that amazing piece tomorrow.

Namaste.

Yes!  The nanny is back!  Thank you universe…well at least for now, she is back for a few nights a week to help me out.  I was getting ready to name and identify on a map of the United States, the mountains of clothes piled up in front of my laundry room. My mother-in-law so graciously offered to pick up my daughter for a play date with her neighbor’s grand-daughter, and my son had religion class after school.  Both kids were gone from the time they left the house this morning until 5:30pm, and the nanny came at 4:00pm.  Life is good. 

In the meantime, all I had to deal with today were two baby boys, and they were so excellent!  They slept the whole time I was at breakfast with a girlfriend…adult conversation, wow!  They even slept through three more errands after that…to the baby store to buy a new stroller, to the shoe store to get my daughter a pair of shoes and to the bakery to order the cakes for their Christening.  My littlest guy woke up only because I had propped the bottle up for him while in the bakery and it leaked all over his clothes.  They both have such a good disposition, and he didn’t even cry.  In fact, he probably would have been content to stay in the wet car seat, but I felt bad, so I pulled him out and dried him off best I could.  I was so relaxed that I even had time to chat with the many folks who are always so intrigued by the fact that I have twins.  On a side note, I think it is so amazing the number of twins who come out of the woodwork when they see you with twins.  It’s like a universal bond.

Came home and made 17 Bean and Barley soup from Trader Joe’s.  So easy!!  I quick soaked the beans using the suggestion on the back of the bag.  Bought their Mirepoix  (an already prepared soup starter of celery, carrots and onions) and sauteed them with some EVOO, and added chopped garlic and red bell pepper.  Threw it in the slow cooker on high for 5 hours and voila!  Soup!  And it was damn good, too!

My basic ingredients

My end result!  Delish!!

Played with the babies for a little while.  I realized that they are almost 4 months old now.  I have set up what I like to call, “stations” for them.  When we first brought them home, they had their Pack-N-Play bassinet, and cradle swings.  Once they turned 1 month old, I added an activity gym and floor mat so they could have a play time and “tummy time” station.  I usually crank up the Toddler Tunes on my digital cable music channels and let them play for 30 minutes or so.  They are so fun to listen to because they really like the music, so they laugh when a song comes on they recognize, like ABCs.  One they both love is the Muppets version of “Mahna Mahna“.  Today they looked a little bored, so after taking a minute to think about how old they actually were, I realized I have a garage full of baby toys for developing their little minds and bodies.   I pulled out the good ol’ Exersaucer.  Of course, I have two, but only one is put together because it was my older kids’.  I gave each baby a turn to see if they were strong enough to hold their heads and move around.  My little guy was kind of floppy, so I took him out and put his brother in, who absolutely loved it!  Then I felt bad for the little guy, so I turned his very cool highchair into a swing (Peg Perego Tatamia), and he was as happy as a clam!  Thus, new “stations” were created.  I moved the cradle swings into the living room to replace the space where the Christmas tree was.  I figured it’s quieter in there anyway, so they can chill out and swing in the living room and my house doesn’t look like a baby brigade bombarded it.  I love watching them play…they are so stinking cute!  When I was driving around with them today, the older one (only by 2 minutes, but still…) started cracking up in his sleep.  It was priceless.  I feel like they are growing so fast.  My girlfriend, who has a 1 year old daughter, suggested that the time flies faster when you have kids because there is so much to do with them, and we can’t do it all.  It’s at warp speed when you have four. 

The Twins and their new Station

Right before the nanny got here, I put the babies down for a nap and treated myself to a Cherry Cola Chocolate Chunk Stuffed Cupcake from Layers Bakery (I didn’t eat the whole thing, only half!).  Just to tease you a bit, here is a photo and a description…


Cherry Cola Chocolate Chunk Stuffed Cupcake from Layer’s Bakery



Because the nanny was here to feed, bathe, do homework and lunches with the kids while I worked on some writing projects, I didn’t have much time to create their universe with my language.  I take that back, my son was very interested in what I was doing.  He kept coming into my home office full of curiosity.  When I explained to him that I was working, he needed to know what I meant.  As far as he knew, I didn’t have a job, so what did that mean?  And, man, did the questions pour out…”What kind of work are you doing?”  “Writing?  You’re going to be an author?”  “Are you going to write books?”  “Will you work from here, or will you need to go to another place?”  “Wait a minute, don’t you have to pay people to have a job?”  “Oh, they pay you?” “So are you going to be an author?”  “What will you write about?”  “Information people need to know?” “Will you tell the people that if they warm up a lemon before they cut it, they will get more juice out of it?  I learned that on one of my video games (Fruit Ninja).”

By taking the time to make eye contact, listen to and answer his questions, and just being present, I created a universe with the possibility of listening for him.  I felt pretty good about that.

What I didn’t accomplish…Day 3 of my Yoga Journal Home Practice Challenge.  Since my 12 minutes of yoga the other day, my body and mind have been craving it, so I am left feeling a little dissatisfied in that arena.  But as I look at my day as whole, I am in a much better place than I was a few days ago.  I’m beginning to feel a little more in control again of my daily routine.  I got out of the house, visited with a friend, ran some errands, made a healthy dinner for my family, played with the babies and wrote my first product review.  (Look for it soon!)    

Today was a good day.