Routine is important, even for the youngest child. I'm a schedule oriented person, as are the twins' parents. I live and die by the clock, and sometimes it's my greatest flaw. However, when it comes to my job, it's how we survive. Bedtimes are important, and in order to make it to bedtime with as few bumps as possible, I try to stick to a pretty strict schedule throughout the day. It's helpful that their sister is in preschool and we have to take her there and pick her up on a daily basis, because it gives us a specific window for when events can take place. It's nice to break habit, however, with field trips, their sister having off from school, and holidays. (Who am I kidding, I'm so glad the holiday season is over! If I had to see that damned Elf-on-a-Shelf hanging from the fan one more time...)
Our day typically starts at 7am even though our day together doesn't start until around 8 or 8:30am! They are early risers and I learned early on that as soon as they're up, there is a thirty minute window to feed the young ones before they turn into wild beasts! (I should also note, that their older sister, who is 4-years-old is with us until 9am). It seems to be a recurring pattern that when I work an earlier shift, starting at 7am for instance, the girls get up earlier. It's almost as if they know that I'm awake and in charge. Where's the caffeine drip when you need it?! One of the things that I've learned is to not rock the boat when it comes to breakfast. A lot of creative moms and caretakers think it's fun to mix things up and make breakfast interesting, but take it from someone who feeds three different personalities that it's best to stick to what you know in the morning! Children, like adults, are likely not morning people! They like what they like and there's no substituting it! (If they like vanilla yogurt like my girls do, don't try substituting strawberry yogurt at 7:30am. It's not going to fly!) The twins enjoy hot breakfasts while their sister enjoys cold breakfasts. The only substitute for the twins is yogurt which they would eat all day every day if their parents and I let them. Figure out what your kids like for breakfast and stick to it. Offer them new choices once-in-awhile, but keep the old favorites on hand, or you're going to have cranky kids with low blood sugar on your hands for the better part of the morning. They all enjoy waffles, but the twins enjoy dipping their waffles in syrup while their sister likes her's drenched in syrup. The twins like sausage in their "cheesy eggs" (scrambled eggs with a fist full of shredded cheese tossed in) while their sister likes sausage on the side. Some of them enjoy oatmeal while one certain child cannot handle the texture of it in her mouth (I learned that fact early on when I found it in a lump on the place mat). Figure out what works and keep a calendar or menu on hand so you can rotate the favorites and no one gets bored!
After breakfast comes clothes. I'm a nearly-thirty-year-old woman (I hate admitting that) and I love clothes, and I love pretty colors, and I love wearing pretty colors! Don't think for a moment that two-year-old girls don't feel the same way! Not only do the twins have different personalities, they can voice them! When choosing outfits in the morning, I have to be careful. Not only to I have to take into consideration that they actually like different colors, they like different types of clothes! I've learned in recent weeks that the best plan of action is to ask the less sensible twin (the one more likely to freak out, in other words) which outfit she would like to wear. (Basically, they have a lot of similar outfits - pink monkey shirt, blue bird shirt - that look cute when worn on the same day!) Of course, it's not teaching her much, because she's basically getting her way, but it does keep the peace at 8:30 in the morning! The other thing that we've taken to is picking out clothes the night before. Of course, I learned this from my mother, and it's not uncommon practice, but it does work. It helps them learn that they're allowed to make their own choices and that they're allowed to be individuals as well. Besides, it saves me the headache of hearing them scream that they want to wear the same outfit before my caffeine kicks in! Don't ever try to put the wrong child in the wrong Princess outfit, either. The Walt Disney Company knew what it was doing when they started marketing all those Princesses! We also keep separate bins of shoes for each girl. Their older sister is very sensible and likes to wear shoes that match her outfits (Yes that's sensible!) while the twins are addicted to specific pairs of shoes that they wear until they grow out of them, or wear them out. Of course, depending on the day, and where the sun is positioned in the sky, they could throw me for a loop and I'd be screwed. However, each girl has a colored bin with all of their shoes piled in them! Their sister is able to coordinate and the twins are able to decide which pair to obsess over! It's brilliant because we also hide the bins in a beautiful white bench and we never have to worry where the shoes have disappeared to. (This does not include dress-up shoes, but that's a whole other topic!)
Once we've sent their sister off to preschool, that's when our morning really begins. I'm very fortunate to have a large basement area to work with and have converted certain areas in the space into a learning area. In my next blog, I'll be talking about some of the tools I use, lessons we've been working on, and field trips we've taken. Until then, I'm off to get more caffeine!
