Who knew going to the grocery store would ever:

a) Be the highlight of my day.

b) Require 1 hour of preparation.

c) Make me feel like a million bucks after I successfully conquered this task.

Today I needed to go to the grocery store. Simple, right? Well with my hubby away right now, a trip to the grocery store meant that I would be taking along my two little munchkins. And after the boys had a meltdown at Target last night (I just meant to go the post office, but decided at the spur of the moment to head to Target, too–bad call on my part), I was a little nervous about the grocery store.

But I fed the little guys, changed them, and popped them in their car seats. Thank goodness, they promptly passed out on the way to Trader Joe’s. And here’s how I made the rest of the trip a success.

1) I made a good list. Essential in my mind whether you have twins or not!

2) I parked near the cart return. This was much more important than being close to the door–parking near the cart return meant that I had easy access to the carts which I used to put Miles in.

3) Rather than use the stroller in the store, I used my Maya wrap to hold Ollie (who is the lighter sleeper), and I put Miles in the carseat in the cart. This worked out SO well! I’ll definitely be using this setup again!

I still haven’t quite gotten used to all the attention we get. It’s nice most of the time, but the exact same conversation I’m having with everyone is starting to get a bit old…it goes something like this:

Stranger: Ahhh…twins! Or sometimes “Are they twins?” No…I just have two babies exactly the same size that I’m carting around in matching outfits in a double stroller…

Me: Yes.

Stranger: Two boys or two girls or one of each?

Me: Two boys.

Stranger: Are they identical?

Me: No. Look at them…do they LOOK identical? Sometimes this comment is even proceeded with “They look so different! Are they identical?” at which point I usually start to question the common man’s understanding of the word “identical”.

Stranger: How old are they?

Me: Six weeks.

Stranger: Well they are so cute! Which I’m pretty sure they would say even if I had ugly babies…

Me: Thanks!

I know, I know, people are just trying to be nice…and most of the time, I don’t mind these interactions…and when my hubby is gone, I welcome a reason to chat with another adult. But sometimes, I don’t really want to hear about your cousin’s sister-in-law’s set of twins who can’t stand to be apart from one another or your great aunts Bertha and Betsy who were twins and died within five minutes of each other. Really, I just want to buy some milk in peace! But I guess I better get used to it..after all they’re only six weeks old!

It’s no secret that preparing for a baby, especially your first, is a pretty emotional journey. There are all sorts of questions. When is the baby going to come? What’s labor going to be like? To medicate or not to medicate? Will everything be ready? Will the baby be a fussy? colicky? happy? sleepy? Will we able to get the baby on a routine? Will we ever sleep again after the baby is born? The list goes on and on…

Twins brings on a whole new list of questions, concerns, and emotions…especially now that I know they’re trying to escape! Will I go into preterm labor? If I do, will they be able to stop it? Will the babies make it to 37 weeks? If they come earlier, will they be healthy? Will their lungs be developed? Will they have to stay in the NICU (neonatal intensive care unit)? How big will they be? Will I be able to take them home from the hospital with me? Once again, the list goes on and on…

Now, throw on the whole “military wife” layer, and that adds another list of questions, concerns, and a whole lot more emotion! The biggest question–the one that’s looming in my mind right now? Will my hubby be here when I have these babies? Right now, he’s scheduled to be on a training thing right through the middle 2/3 of my third trimester. Needless to say, this makes me a wee bit nervous. As soon as I go into labor, he can come home, but once again…who knows when that might be! And who knows whether or not he’ll have enough time to get home. I think my mom is going to come stay with me while he’s gone, but it’s still pretty scary to think of going through all these crazy scenarios without him here.

This probably goes without saying, but all theses uncertainties make this girl, who loves to plan and be in control, pretty insane. But I’m trying to remain positive. As Doris Day would say, “Que Sera, Sera,” right?