Ok, this is a bit selfish...

I find myself caring for the babies the whole day minus a 2 hour nap, which is to be expected, they're babies!!! But, when do you find time or energy to organize anything besides baby toys! If I do have a spare moment it is spent picking up food off the floor, taking out the dirty diapar bag, etc. I guess I just don't want to be botherd at 800pm at night after they go to bed, just to clean up some more! My older daughter is 9 now, and I can't remeber when I would supervise her with the dogs with out gates, or be able to have enough energy for the other organizing.

Thanks!

 

During the week I just do what you're doing now. Pick up as much as you can and i save the bigger work for the weekends when DH can pitch in and/or take them for a long hour walk while i get a "break" to clean. It does get a bit easier when they are older, they can run around with you a bit while you clean (if you're okay with them walking through your swept piles!) I agree with you that I don't do anything really after they go to bed...its already a 12 hour day, why kill yourself cleaning for another 2 hours!

 

Thanks! Its so relieving to know there are other twin moms out there, and thanks for the advice.

 

i just live in a messy house! :laughing: honestly, things that really & truly need to be done, i'll plop the girls in front of the tv for 15 minutes. which works well for me too because i hate cleaning & limiting myself to 15 minute spurts makes it more manageable.

 

Lately I have been doing a lot of the "light cleaning" with them, (mirrors, anything on the counter that they can't touch) and they just walk along with me or go play with their toys. Their mornings is when they are play by themselves the longest and when I have energy, so I do what I can while they are entratined, then give them breakfast...which keeps the occupied a little longer, and the finish clening (mopping, etc)when I put them down for their nap. I usually put aways their laundry when they get up from their nap and are still in the crib, otherwise they take everything out... I hardly ever do any cleaning at night, that is relaxing time for mommy! Today I prepared dinner while the dog entratained the and play with them :banana: poor doggy, she is tired now!

 

I am in the same boat as you are. I often wonder how other parents of twins are able to keep up with all the work they entail. My children are my priority right now and, instead of spending every second of every day trying to catch up on cleaning that will never be caught up, I try to spend a portion of my day playing with them and not worrying about the mess we are in or creating. When they go for a nap or to bed at night I put everything back where it belongs, catch up on dishes and laundry and that's it. I am certain my children will not remember that the floor needed washed or the taps needed cleaned when they get older but will remember being able to spend time with mom laying on the floor playing silly games. It has been one of the most difficult adjustments I have made since becoming a parent; I am usually a perfectionist but no longer...

 

Can I suggest independent play time? I put Hannah & Kate in their cribs for about a 30 minute period. I set a kitchen timer so they learn that their crying or whining doesn't get them out, the timer going off does. I used the pack n' play when they were younger and I did independent play time at separate times when they weren't mobile. I put about 2-3 books and a couple of toys in the crib with them. I also put a Veggie Tales CD on sometimes. They do well.

I use this time to shower, get ready, check e-mail, etc.

If they struggle with the 25-30 minutes, start out with 10 minutes and then gradually increase it. Hope that helps!

 

I do this in a pinch and put them in the other babies' crib, and they love it. They just jump around laughing with each other usually, doing somersaults. I've started to put books in their cribs when we check on them at night so when they wake up they'll sometimes read for a little bit, sometimes not I too have started cleaning alongside them, but this didn't really become possible for me until the last couple of months or so. I agree the clean house goes way down in importance when you have kiddos. We try to do a little something a couple times a week, like clean bathrooms or clean floor, and then it's never like a whole day to really clean. But I will say that there is a lot that goes left uncleaned!!

 

Our house is a tri-level and what I would do when they were that age is take them with me on each level to clean. I would bring their jumperoo's or exersaucers so they were contained. I would fold the laundry in the basement which is also their playroom and when it was time to put laundry away, I would again put them in their exersaucer, put in a Baby Einstein dvd for a few minutes and run upstairs to get everything put away.

I also would fill their cribs up with toys and let them play in there so I could get things done on that level.

After they were done eating, I would give them toys they could play with on the highchair trays. We had the Fisher Price Rainforest highchairs and they came with a musical toy that attached to the tray. That gave me a few minutes to wash dishes and clean up.

I try to do little things throughout the day so when nap and bedtime comes, I have a little time to myself.

 

Thanks Moms! What great advice. Wow! I thought I had it bad with a 2 story, but three levels! Yikes! Independant play is a good idea too. Since about 6 months, they have been in separate rooms, but that is their only time apart. I think the idea of playing alone would be a welcome treat to them! I see that they can get on each other's nerves after a while...it seems natural.

Also, I do break up the cleaning into smaller intervals, that is how the neccessary stuff gets done. Great advice.

And I do enjoy the time I have with them, for the first 48 or so hours of the week, then I get ancy(sp?)

Gimena, what type of dog do you have? How old? Has he always been with the kids from the beggining?

Again, thank you all. Its so nice to chat with twin moms!

 

Mine are 2 now, but ever since they were able to crawl, I would do it WITH them.

They would push their toy vacuums when I did and use their own (real) Swiffer mops WITH A WIPE ON IT (of course!) and then when i was washing the floor, they'd do it too.. It's great. It gives us all something to do that is a total bonus for me. Actually, when we have nothing going on in the evenings and DH is at work- we CLEAN!

I am a TOTAL clean freak type so I vacuum and clean every single day. I like doing it so it's good for me. They help with laundry too even when i'm not doing it!

Today Gabe said "Help mommy with laundry."

And I said, "Laundry is done, I just did it."

"No no no! Gabe do laundry!" and he went downstairs by himself and picked up my husband's pile of clothes and carried it all the way upstairs and put it away in DH's closet (on the floor.)

Also, when they are done eating anything, they wipe up and PUT THE DISHES IN THE DISHWASHER! I never told them to do that or anything. Crazy.

Also, whenever we are anywhere, they say "Clean up time" and put EVERY SINGLE TOY away right where it belongs. It's unreal. People just laugh and say to enjoy it cuz it passes quickly. I'll be sad when that day comes cuz they are such incredible cleaners.

I guess they really do model mommy.

Anyway, try making a fun time out of it and doing it WITH them. There's nothing worse than cleaning when it's supposed to be YOUR time to relax. That's why I make sure to do it while I'm working anyway.

GL!