On our own!

We survived a week on our own! We had our ups and downs, but we are all still alive and sane...a little tired...but altogether not in bad shape. This was our first week without any parents in town to help us out. The laundry got a little backed up, and dishes certainly weren't being washed with the regularity that Meme had been providing, but the house is still standing. Here are some of the milestones of this week.

The whole family made it to Drew's appointment with the surgeons on Monday. That's right, all 5 of us. Ella was exceptionally (and shockingly) well behaved. Lily slept. Drew did what he needed to do. It was a successful trip in my book. Drew's surgery is scheduled for June 10. We've got our fingers crossed that he doesn't catch a cold or anything before then because they will postpone it.

Tuesday was a good day. We pretty much just hung out around the house. The kids all napped at the same time in the afternoon which allowed me some time to do laundry...and more laundry and more laundry and more laundry. You can't possibly imagine how much laundry two newborn babies produce. Between spitting up on themselves, burpclothes, and our shoulders, we probably go through an average of 3-4 outfits a day (per person), about 30 burp clothes, and a number of swaddle blankets. Luckily laundry detergent was on sale at Kroger this week, so I stocked up.

Wednesday brought some entertainment...in the form of traumatizing fear. Saw a snake today. Almost had a heart attack. To preface this, I will tell you that when I was about 10 I saw a little tiny snake out back at my parents house and didn't go out back for the 15yrs following. I am terrified of snakes. We skip the snake house at the zoo. We change the channel if a snake comes on. I'm terrified. And I always have my guard up fearing that one will show up someplace I don't expect and eat me alive...or something ridiculous like that.

So on this lovely Wednesday morning, Ella really wanted to go out in her pool. We got her into a swim diaper and went outside to spray her down with sunscreen, came back inside to put on her swimsuit and headed toward the door. Thank the LORD Ella didn't run out ahead of me because I think I would have just had to sacrafice her. When I opened the door and looked down to step out, there it was - an oval head, beady little eyes, and a slimy scales body, approximately 6 feet long and about 2-3 inches around. Initial reaction - AHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! MARTIN!!!!! Luckily Martin was working from home this week and was in the basement and heard my blood curdling screams. He admitted that he had thought I was overreacting...until he saw the beast! I was shaking, holding all 3 kids. Ella was crying because I wouldn't let her go outside. And Martin was trying to figure out what to do. He said we could either call someone or he could kill it. KILL IT! KILL IT! KILL IT!! No question. Kill the damn thing! So he went outside with a shovel and after a few fatal blows, managed to solve our problem. This thing was huge. Way bigger than a snake in your backyard should ever be.

He went back to work, and I was not about to head outside. So we went swimming in the bathtub. Martin came back up for lunch and told me that he had looked up online to see what kind of snake it was, and was fairly certain that [my thinking: snakes regenerate a new head after killed? Snakes live in herds? Snakes smell fear and are going to overtake our house???] it was harmless. He said that if it had had a triangular head and jaws that we should have been afraid. If i saw a snake with jaws I would be a goner. He said our snake wasn't big enough to eat anything bigger than a chipmunk, mouse, or other small rodent. (In my head I'm thinking our babies aren't that big!! What if the snake ate one of our babies?!) I told Martin that we needed to call someone for our snake problem and he suggested a psychiatrist. Hopefully this is the first and last snake that we will see.

Thursday we had another doctor appointment. I took the twins and Ella napped at home while Martin worked. Its always a challenge to take both babies out together alone. Its only been done a handful of times but it takes an hour to pack a bag with everything you could possibly imagine you might need and you inevitably forget something. All things told, the appointment went smoothly and we made it home in one piece. The afternoon was a bit of a challenge with everyone waking up at the same time and Ella not being in the best of moods. Martin helped to feed Drew while I nursed Lily and sang songs to Ella.

Then I did something bold, something i had never done before. We needed to drop some labs off at the hospital for Drew, and I decided that I was going to venture out with all three kids by myself. First time! Everyone was fed and happy and I figured that the twins wouldn't even have to get out of their carseats. We made it to the hospital, made it into the hospital, did what we had to do, made it back into the car, and then all hell broke loose. Traffic was horrendous and it took us almost 45 minutes to make the 20 minute trip. Everyone was hungry again, or just wanted to get out of their seats, and screaming at the top of their lungs. It was a long 45 min, but I survived and so did everyone else. Going out with all 3 in tow won't be a regular occurrence for some time, but I know now that I can do it...if I need to.

This weekend will hopefully be reasonably relaxing (KNOCK ON WOOD!). Some friends are coming over for dinner (with dinner) tonight, and Martin is off on Monday. His parents are returning on Monday and his mom will be here until the end of June. It was nice to have a week to ourselves but it will certainly be helpful to have an extra set of hands around again.

We're very much looking forward to getting past Drew's surgery. I will try to post updates on here or facebook throughout his stay in the hospital, as much as time allows. Say a little prayer that all goes smoothly! Happy Memorial Day!