Home Alone with Two Babies

As of Monday, I'm doing this thing on my own...

Day 1:
Surprisingly peaceful day. We ventured out into the cold to go grocery shopping. The girls were incredibly well behaved. Only thing of note, besides the huge box of whole grain goldfish crackers I got on sale, was the lady who asked me if Olivia was adopted. What the?
While I nurse Anna, I let Olivia make a disaster of the living room. Books off shelf, onto floor, shoes out of bench, onto floor, toys out of bins, onto floor. But neither girl is screaming, so I call it a success.
Miraculously, both girls nap for two hours simultaneously. Unfortunately, it doesn't occur to me to nap until five minutes before Olivia wakes up. But boy was I productive during those hours!
Dinner time rolls around before I know it. Back to cooking, and I'm easing my way in, so it's chicken quesadillas, with leftover chicken. But I do throw a few veggies in my new food processor and make a fresh salsa, so I guess that counts for something.

Day 2:
We religiously visit the library on Tuesday mornings for "Baby Boosters Story Time". Whatever will we do when Olivia turns two and is too old? I had others take her while I was out of commission, so she hasn't missed a week, and even had Jon call to sign her up while I was in the hospital in labor. You've got to be on top of it, because you have to sign up one week in advance, and they fill up in ten minutes. Anyway, this was my first time taking both girls on my own. I signed up for the 10:30 slot instead of our usual 9:30 because I thought it might be tricky to get both girls out the door on time, but by 9 am, Olivia was antsy, and kept bringing me my "shoosh" and pointing to the door. So we left a bit early, and I took Olivia to the library playroom to kill some time before the program started. I had to nurse Anna while there, and while nursing in public isn't my favorite thing to do, it's better than a hungry, crying baby.
Later, at home, we kept the peace with lots of snacks, including a small taste of bread dough for Olivia. Umm, yummy?
Naps didn't overlap quite so neatly this time (Olivia talked/cried to herself for 1.5 hours before actually sleeping, which always stresses me out), but I did zonk out on the couch for about half an hour with Anna. Much needed. She's still waking up every 1-2 hours all night.
And I managed a dinner of spaghetti and meatballs (sauce and meatballs were frozen), salad, and fresh bread (remember the dough?). Definitely yummy. It feels good to be cooking again. Even if I'm taking baby steps.

Day 3:
We laid low and stayed home all day today, though Olivia was disappointed. She brought me my shoes several times. Sorry Liv. I want to go to Barnes and Nobel to use my gift card on a slow cooker cook book, but I still don't have a double stroller. I spent a good part of the morning checking some out online, and almost took the plunge on the BOB Sport Utility Duallie, but Jon talked my out of it by reading horror reviews of strollers with fixed front wheels. I'm now seriously considering the BOB Revolution, but it's over $100 more. I may just have to order that cook book online. Ah, well.
Mess making was punctuated with snack eating, and that got us through the morning. Lunch was a mere formality, for all the snacks Olivia had leading up to it. But maybe all that digesting made her sleepy, because she took a 3.5 hour nap! Which left Anna and I to hang out with my friend Stephanie and baby Lily (three days younger than Anna). We had a great time chatting and catching up, as we hadn't seen each other since we had our babies.
When Liv finally woke up, the peace was over for awhile, as both girls decided they needed my attention at the same time, but we survived somehow. And thanks to my slow cooker and yesterday's bread baking we had some yummy bbq beef sandwiches for dinner. And for the record, Olivia did not fall for it when I tried to sneak some broccoli into her sandwich. She promptly spit that bite out. I don't know how she knows...
Being Wednesday, Jon went to mutual, leaving me to get Olivia down for bed while caring for Anna at the same time. And with the tantrum that was beginning right as it was time for a bath, disaster seemed imminent. Blessed Anna saved the day, though, by conking out, and allowing me to practice my dad's tried and true parenting technique of "confuse and conquer" on Olivia.
Now Olivia is out for the night, and I am actually nursing Anna while typing. If you're gonna be a mom, you have to learn to multi-task!

And it is SO worth it!