How the tune has changed...*EDITED

I’ve run into several parents of older multiples lately. It’s not been encouraging. More depressing, actually. Instead of always hearing the meaningless "it gets easier" now word on the street is that my life is about to get much, much harder. Life with the babies has been pretty manageable the past few months, but I’m beginning to see how that’s likely to end, and sooner than I’d like.

We’ve not had to really delve into discipline yet, only saying “no” and redirecting. Little Boy and Little Girl get along for the most part. They’re sleeping pretty well, and mealtime is generally a pleasure, if a mess. According to the parents I’ve chatted with lately, that’s all about to end.

I’ve recently learned that unless an area is completely babyproofed I cannot manage both babies by myself any longer. Even at home it’s extremely difficult to let them have the run of the house at the same time. Childproofing is an ongoing process, but frankly, it’s never going to be all the way done and all the way safe.

Also looming on the horizon is a move. When B. and I bought our house over four years ago we were far from sure if we’d ever have children. A neighborhood with a good school district wasn’t a priority, much less something we could afford. While a consideration, a lousy crime rate wasn’t a major deterrent. As you might guess, both issues suddenly matter a great deal more. We can’t afford to move into a better neighborhood in Atlanta, and since both of us are itching to get away from an urban setting we’ll be moving to an as-yet-unspecified area in north Georgia. I’d prefer to move entirely out of the state of Georgia, since I have no love of the South at all. Unfortunately for me, it makes the most sense for B. to stay in the unit he's currently stationed with for the next eight or nine years until he can retire from the military, so a move out of Georgia is unlikely at this point.

All this is making me a bit depressed. I’m not much looking forward to the challenges that are heading our way. I’m already exhausted at the end of each day...where exactly am I going to find even more energy to keep up with Little Boy and Little Girl? And a move? Just how is that going to transpire, exactly?

Blech.

EDITED TO ADD:

I just found out that B. is going to be entering a major travel rotation after Labor Day. He's going to be gone most of the next two months.

Now I'm really tired.

Just in case you were wondering...

Little Boy still has not repeated his first word, Elmo. He hasn't said any other words either, for that matter. What's up with that? It's been over two months. He babbles, he chatters, but nothing really recognizable. If B. hadn't heard Little Boy say "Elmo" too I would be doubting my sanity at this point.

What Little Boy is doing is walking. He's a walking fool. Not yet more than ten or fifteen feet at a time, but each day he gets a little sturdier and goes a little farther. (Further? There's my lack of an education showing again.)

This is a golden time in the babies' lives. B. and I marvel at our luck and good fortune every single day. This is the age where it starts to kick in just how nice it is to have twins versus a singleton. Right now they're playing together in our blockaded off dining room (affectionately nicknamed "The Cage"), happy as clams. They've invented some crazy baby games that only they understand the rules of, and genuinely seem to enjoy each other most of the time. They are surprisingly independent and require very little interaction from B. and I in order to entertain themselves. How nice is that? It makes playing with them a total pleasure, and never a chore.

We're so, so very lucky. It's never taken for granted, not for a moment.