brave new world

i'm all about taking the kiddos everywhere. since they were 3 weeks old, i said screw it, i'm not going to be one of those folks who are paralyzed by the daunting nature of going out with two infants. i threw myself into it (or rather, out of it) and never looked back.

i know lots of other twin moms who are like this too. one of my fav quotes from a fellow twin blogger is "the shortest road to crazy is staying in the house."

here, here.

at 2 months, we joined a mama/baby group. loved it, especially because the teacher held one of the boys the entire time. this at a time when neither of them would sleep unless held was particularly useful. at 3 months i brought them for their first swim in a public pool, deep eddy, by myself. i was a wreck leading up to it, thinking of all the logistics and preparing, but it ended up being a breeze. and so it has gone. packing, loading them up, unloading, etc. is like second nature to us all.

that's why, when i met up with my neighbor with a 1 year old on the sidewalk yesterday, i was shaken to the core when she said, "isn't it crazy when you realize it's 5pm and you haven't been out of the house all day?" i couldn't disguise the look of utter flabbergastation on my face. she picked up on it immediately and said, "do you leave the house with your guys often?" every day, honey. and many days, multiple times.

going out with my boys is just part and parcel of our daily existence. they come with me to the dry cleaner, the grocery store, starbucks, and to just about any and every errand i ever have to do. and then of course, we do deliberately fun things as well, like play at gymboree, the playground, the children's museum (and adult-type museums for that matter), etc. granted, i've never taken them to get my nails done. but i hardly ever take myself there, these days.

the one thing i've never done with them alone is gone out for a meal, however. i've read about krissy taking her kiddos out alone, and i've admired her big time for it. i don't know why i've never done it. the boys are good eaters, they don't chuck food around, they mind themselves really well in public. so what was stopping me?

today, we entered new territory, and it was a massive success. i took the boys to the children's museum, which was mind-blowing amazing for them because they just put up all new exhibits on transportation. buses, trains, light rail, cars. what could be better! i timed it just right so we'd get to our favorite lunch spot just as they'd be starting to get hungry, but not so hungry that we'd be in cranky mode. the boys ran into galaxy cafe, we placed our order at the counter and got all settled in at the table. i honestly have never seen the boys eat like they did. they were perfect. let me repeat that. P-E-R-F-E-C-T. mac and cheese was forked perfectly into their mouths. sweet potato fries were munched on. fruit devoured. as i was cleaning up at the end, i noticed there was nary a crumb on the floor for me to pick up. amazing!

we left the restaurant and i had a renewed sense of accomplishment. we did it. we enjoyed a lovely lunch together, just the three of us. and i felt the warm sensation in my heart knowing that out of everyone at the restaurant, i had the cutest, smartest, most loving and fun dining companions you could ever ask for.