Life with TWO - 3 months in

Hi! Just averaging less than one blog post a month over here.... As you can imagine - any spare minute I had this summer was spent showering, feeding myself, or watching Game of Thrones (let's be honest), leaving little time to sit down and write a blog post. If you want to keep up with me in real-time, I post more frequently to Instagram :) >> @laurenlashway

Anyways - LIFE WITH TWO! I'm not the first to do this, and I'm not the last. I'm writing about worked for me with my two girls, some of it might work for you and some might not, just sharing some things that have made life more manageable these past 3 months.

In a nut shell, I've accepted tons of help from family, I've barely worked out, and I haven't been away from James Kate for more than a couple of hours (and only once!). My daily priorities are to spend some quality time with Roswelle and keeping myself healthy enough (fed and hydrated) to nurse James Kate. That is all I have the capacity for at the moment - both mentally and physically. 

The Fast Five 

(5 quick tips I try to implement on a daily basis, no matter what comes at me)

1. A healthy breakfast. I always have 3 scrambled eggs and a green spinach smoothie (I'll post my recipe one day). Like anyone else, I eat bread and cookies and chips after tantrums, spills, and traffic. But even if I get off track during the day, I know I started off well and got some good in with the bad.
2. Quiet time with Roswelle. Every night, no matter how tired, I am the one to do night-time routine with Roswelle. I give her a bath, I read her books, and tuck her in for the night. It's a nice reset for the next day together.
3. I lay down during the day. It's hard to leave the laundry in the dryer, or the dishes in the sink, or the toys ALL OVER THE HOUSE. but the my work will always be there, that's how work "works" - it is constant. Instead of hustling to get ahead, I lay down and restore, even if I never fall asleep because I'm softly rocking the bassinet with one hand to keep James Kate settled.
4. Have your go-to outfits ready. I have 1 dress, a few tops and 1 pair of shorts that I know without fail, will FIT, feel comfortable, and allow me to nurse easily. This is really important when trying to get out of the house. The last thing I need is to spend time figuring out what to wear, then finally deciding on something only to realize it doesn't fit - instant mood killer and simply a waste of time that I don't have. 
5. Realize my fears and anxieties for what they are and ignore them. Whether it's fear of getting caught in traffic, messing up our routine, or anxiety around three-year-old-tantrums in public, I keep getting out and about. I remind myself that most of my fears would just be inconveniences, not real life trauma. No one is going to starve, we always have spare clean clothes, and rest in the near future (even if that just means a movie while cuddling on the couch). It will be ok. repeat: this is an inconvenience.

Things I don't suggest....but often do ;)

1. Stay up late watching tv. I'm currently re-watching game of thrones for a FOURTH time. it's oddly calming to me - mostly because I know each episode by heart. It feels nice to do something reckless, selfish, and irresponsible like staying up to 11pm watching my show (although it doesn't feel so good when James Kate wakes up at 1am). 
2. Eat a whole container of cookies while I'm grocery shopping. Does anyone else do this? Roswelle and I basically have an entire meal of snacks while we roam through the grocery store aisles. doesn't matter if we just had a meal, we always seems to snack - and it definitely makes shopping with 2 easier. When we go to check-out we have a stash of trash we have to pay for....
3. Over-do it. I say "yes" to play dates while we are still in our pajamas and then exhaust myself rushing us all out of the house. I count errands as outings, knocking off my to-do list while toting a three year old and 3 month old. One week I took both girls to the museum, library, and zoo by myself! I'm not tooting my own horn - I'm saying it was probably too much. As a family that stays on the go, I have to remind myself it's ok to have a day of just doing nothing. 

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a very posed picture of the two girls...If only real life was really this calm, orderly, and photogenic

Real-life...cords, toys, tv, and dirty dishes....