Double time

Edited 2010 Jul 04 to correct some rather embarrassing missed words and typos.

Several months ago, I wrote about the twins' strict schedule, and how keeping to this routine was so vital to our sanity. Since then, many things have changed, and I thought it would be good to describe the daily routine now that the twins are approaching nine months. We no longer keep a daily log of the babies' activities, but work, day care, and the twins' napping schedules still keep us on a fairly steady routine.

The day now begins around 5:30, with one (or sometimes, both) of the babies fussing and crying for food. I stagger half-conscious over to the nursery, and bring back a baby for Hanna to nurse in bed. When the first one is done, she goes to get the second kid. The first baby hangs out in bed with me while we both sleep through Morning Edition, which the clock radio starts playing at 6:00, despite the fact that its services as a device to wake us up hasn't been needed in months.

Once both babies are nursed, Hanna gets up and grabs some breakfast, and then goes for a quick shower. While she's getting clean, I brew a cup of tea for myself and start getting the bottles and other sundries packed for the day. She or I get the kids changed, and by 8:00 or so the four of us are in the car, headed out.

I get dropped off at work first, and since meals provided at my office, I get a leisurely half hour of breakfast. Meanwhile, Hanna's driving to her office, stopping off at the NASA day care center to drop off Duncan and Tristan for the day. From 9:00 until 5:30, Hanna's doing science, I'm solving technical problems, and the children spend the day playing, eating, and napping.

Hanna picks up the children again around 5:30, and heads home. I catch the bus home around 6:00, and come home around 6:30; by this time, Hanna has usually fed the kids solid food or bottles. Depending on how energetic we're feeling, I'll either help her with baths or get started on cooking dinner.

The twins are usually fed, bathed, changed, and going to sleep in their cribs by 7:30 or so, and the adults finally sit down to dinner around 8:00 PM. After dinner is eaten, dishes are done, and Hanna's lunch is packed, we get about an hour to ourselves before having to turn in for the night. I try to take care of the kitchen chores myself, to give Hanna some more free time and pay her back for the extra hour of sleep I get in the morning. I've taken to setting an alarm for 10:00 PM, to remind myself that if I stay up late playing video games or reading, I'll regret it when babies start crying before dawn.

The weekends are governed by the twins' napping schedule; they usually take one nap in the morning, one in the afternoon, and one in the evening. If we are extremely lucky, they both go to sleep at the same time, giving us some space to do all the chores needed to maintain our household. More often, Hanna spends most of her time taking care of the children, while I deal with the laundry, take out the trash, do the grocery shopping, etc.

Our days are full to the brim, it seems, but they are usually good days. I still find myself feeling extremely tired at the end of a day, but nothing like the utter exhaustion that the twins' first few months of life inflicted on us. We don't have time to watch movies together (there are two Netflix DVDs that have sat on my desk, unopened, for months now), but most days we do get some time to pursue our own hobbies.

Of course, all of this goes out the window when something unexpected comes up -- colds, ear infections, and teething regularly cause us to be driving a baby around the city in the middle of the night, or taking off work early to pick up a sick child and take him to the clinic. Still, despite the stress and the fatigue, we're continuing to manage fairly well. I've found the best way to do a pattern well in Taekwon-Do is to think only about the step you are currently doing; letting your mind wander to later moves in the form, or how tired you might feel, or what the instructor is thinking of how you're doing, or what you're going to make for dinner that night, or anything else other than the move you are currently doing is a sure way to screw up completely. This ability to "live in the moment" is something that patterns teach better than anything else I know, and that lesson continues to help me every day.