Our Life

People ask me all the time "how do you do it?" or "what's it like?"
Well being a mother of three is tough work. Simple things, like getting in  a car is taken for granted, until you have three kids. First I have to load two kids into infant carriers and carry them out to the car and then make Ava walk to the car (if she has found her shoes). I then open my door along with the back right and back left doors. Ava can get in the car and often can buckle herself into her carseat. Usually she is busy picking flowers at this time, and I have to raise my voice seven times to get her attention, "but Mommy, I was making you a bouquet," she says, to which I feel terrible. At this point I just take the flowers and put them in my cup holder for a number of days before they crumble into 3,000 little pieces that I notice swimming in liquid after the dog spills my coffee, by jumping into the car, a week later. In any case, back to the car situation. So Ava is in place, but what about the twins? Well, I have to climb into the back of the van with infant carrier 1 and lock the kid into place, get back out of the van and pick up infant carrier 2 to lock it into place - I can do this from outside the van. Finally I can get in my seat, unless I have to get Ava's bear, pry the dog out of the passenger seat, or check on a baby.  So this is one of my many scenarios, this takes five minutes of a 24 hour day. Get the picture? Life is complicated.
Our most recent schedule goes like this (and this is the perfect day):
5 a.m. -  Easton and Elle wake up to eat
6 a.m. - 9 a.m.  Both babies back to sleep
9 a.m. - 10 a.m.  Babies eat, Ava gets up, Ava eats, I might eat/drink a plant protein shake
10 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. - We all play, watch TV, travel out and about, etc.
12:30 p.m. - Lunchtime for all
1:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m. - Babies fight sleep and eat, Ava goes off with Grammy, I watch 2 hours of recorded 48 Hours Mystery/Investigators/Dominic Dunne - kinds of shows
3:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m. - Babies sleep, eat, or play, we wait for Terrence
5:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m. - We try to get supper together, take turns with the kids, watch the news
7:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. - I RUN, Ava goes to bed, the Twins fight sleep/nap
8:00 - 10:00 p.m. - The twins eat, Mommy and Daddy enjoy wine
10:00 p.m. - ? - Everyone sleeps, hopefully all night... sometimes Elle wakes up at 3:00 a.m. for 15 minutes to eat and pass back out... Easton sleeps all night, unless he has a belly ache.

So we are operating on a fairly decent schedule that plays well with me going back to work - as early as next week, eek! I am praying to not go back until after Labor Day, just because I love the little ones so. But we will see.



So here is another fairly complicated thing, that you might take for granted. Eating a meal. Until last night it had been nearly 12 weeks since Terrence and I had eaten out. We have had one date about 6 weeks ago, prior to taking Ava to dinner last night. So it is hard to go anywhere, but eating normal meals is hard work too. I usually drink breakfast (Life's Basics has an expensive but tasty plant protein that fairs well with almond milk and a banana), I gulp down a quick lunch or not, grab a spoon of peanut butter here and there, and eat supper with 1 baby, two babies, not at all, or with Ava. Terrence and I don't eat together. Some days all I have to eat is a protein shake, two tablespoons of peanut butter, several cups of coffee (yes coffee is a food group), and two glasses of red wine (wine is also a food group). I can wear clothes from high school, to which I think, I might publish this diet, it is called the "have twins diet": in this diet you don't eat, drink lots of caffeine, drink alcohol, exercise when you can, and still lose weight. Amazing! But seriously, life is complicated at this point.
The Bumgarners are content and fairly happy now. We are working on establishing a schedule that we can all live and sustain for a number of years. At some point I hope to eat more, exercise more, spend more time with my dogs, and play with all three kids at the same time. I hope Terrence can get to a point where he doesn't sleep in the recliner during our adult time which is 8:00 p.m. - 10:00 p.m. I think Terrence and I have done an amazing job with these kids. We have the perfect life. It is just a bit complicated, a tad crazy, and totally worth it!