Ooph.

It's 3 am. I've been up for an hour because both of the boys have run Nathan ragged in the 4 hours since I went to bed. We've been doing shifts because the boys have decided that it's a ton of fun to sleep really hard all day (pause to insert binkie into Levi's mouth) and then stay awake ALL night. They will fall asleep if you are holding them, but the moment you lay them down, they wake up and start crying again. Yeesh. And there's TWO of them! I'm sorry to all of my friends out there who have or are having one baby, but if you think one is hard, you should try TWO!

I'm trying out a new theory though...the boys really don't mind going for car rides and usually sleep the entire time. So I'm assuming that means that they don't mind their carseats. And I've heard that some babies will only sleep at night in their carseats. So as I'm typing this, the boys are lounging in their seats, binkies in mouth, and not crying even though I'm not holding them. For now. Sweet. They may not be asleep, but I'm not having to constantly juggle holding them in order to keep them from screeching. I just have to reach over and help them put a binkie back in their mouths every once in a while. Ohhh....shh, I think Levi is falling asleep.

The only major frustration (besides the sleepless nights) is that Asher hasn't had a poop since we left the NICU. The doctor told us that's pretty normal in babies receiving supplemental formula, and he can't be too stopped up because he's farting like crazy (sorry Asher, please don't hate me) but it's stressful!!! I've even tried the rectal thermometer, with no luck. Levi, on the other hand, is a pooping machine! But if Asher still hasn't pooped by Monday, we're suppose to take him in to the doctor. Side note, I think the car seat theory is working! Now I can finally take a potty break!

Ok, potty break completed without any screaming from the munchkins. High five to me.

The other major development is our vehicle issue. And it was a pretty big issue. When Nathan and his dad picked up the boys' carseats, Nathan tested one out in the back seat of the car first, to make sure that it fit. Not sure exactly what all this entailed, but he insisted that they would fit just fine and allow him enough room to drive. Fast forward to the day that we are taking the boys home. I'm putting the carseats into the car and realizing that I need to move the front seats up A TON in order for them to fit right. As in, the driver's seat has to be a click forward of where it's comfortable for me...and I'm short! Essentially, there was no way Nathan was going to be driving with the boys in the car, and even on the passenger side, his knees were up against the dash. Evidently they designed carseats with the idea that people have ONE baby that they can put in the center of the back seat!

We were able to fit the seats in the back of the truck, behind the passenger seat and in the center. But that still pushed the passenger seat up so far that my nose was about a foot and a half away from the dash. Not safe! (Btw, both of the boys are fast asleep!) It was at that point that we realized that we needed a bigger rig! For those of you not up on your redneck lingo, a "rig" is a vehicle that is larger than an SUV but unable to fit into the truck category. After some research, we came to the conclusion that a Dodge Durango was about the only thing in our price range that had a big enough back seat for the boys. Not to mention some ridiculously awesome cargo space!

We did test drive a Town & Country mini van, despite all of my protests that I would never be a mini van mom. It was great, space wise, and it handled really well but the fact that almost every single mini van is only two wheel drive was a deal-breaker. I really did give it some serious thought, as I've heard that most parents of twins end up in mini vans. If we still lived on the west side of the state, sure, it would have worked great. But not in a place where we regularly have several feet of snow on the ground each winter (not to mention the slightly hair-raising drive up to the ski resort) and where we regularly venture up into the mountains in the summer and fall.

We then found a 2005 Durango with 50,000 miles for sale here in Baker. And even better, the dealership was willing to buy our Forester, give us the Durango in exchange, (pause to insert Levi's binkie, Asher is fast asleep without his) AND give us money on top of that because the Forester was worth more than the Durango. Now the boys fit perfectly behind the passenger seat and in the center, there's enough room for someone to sit with them in the backseat behind the driver, and it still feels roomy. Oh, did I mention that it's red? I was honestly really upset about the idea of having to get rid of our Subaru because I've never NOT had a Subaru, but we both love the Durango...I never thought such a large rig would handle so smoothly. I think it's perfect for what we need. Here's a few pictures of it:






Mmm, pretty red. You can't really see it in the picture, but it has this ridiculous barbed wire decal stripe around it. Thankfully the dealership said they can take that off at the same time they replace some of the fluids and switch out the radio for us. So it has to go back to the dealership on Monday, sad day. And we have to use some of the money we got for the Forester to buy studded tires and rims for it. But all in all, I think we got a good deal and we're going to be a lot happier and more comfortable now. I just hope this is the last vehicle we have to purchase for a few years! At least we went down in price, right?

Oh, have I mentioned that the boys are still asleep?