It's been a little over a week since we brought 'lil Miss Natalie home from the hospital and I'm trying to adjust to life as a mommy of two kids under two years old.

First of all - my husband, family, and friends have been AMAZING since we brought Natalie home. My mom and mother-in-law have been picking up Miss Jenna to come play at Nana's house several times. This has been a huge help in giving both me and Jeremy a break.

My friends have been so awesome and brought over a week's worth of freezer meals for us to heat up. To this day, I still have not cooked one meal (and no one is starving in this house!). That has been a blessing.

Jeremy has also been amazing. He has stepped up to take the lead on whatever needs done - dishes, baths for the babies, diaper changes, running to the store, entertaining Miss Jenna.... I am so lucky.

Miss Jenna seems to be adjusting well to having Natalie around. She likes patting Natalie and showing mommy where all of Natalie's body parts are. She'll say, "Nose" and point to Natalie's nose...so cute. She even says her name. It sounds more like, "Na-uh-ee" in toddler speak, but it sounds so adorable. She calls her "baby" a lot too. She gets a little jealous sometimes when I'm holding the baby, but I've managed to make room on my lap for two, so I try to hug and kiss on Jenna while holding the baby too.

I have to admit I was a bit scared when Jeremy went back to work, but things have been going pretty smoothly.

Some challenges of being a mom of 2 under 2:

When to take a shower? I am still conflicted as to when is the best time for me to shower and get ready for the day. Before Natalie, me and Jenna used to get in the shower together around 9 or 10 am and then I would get us both dressed and ready for the day. Now I am not sure if it would be easier for me to get ready early in the morning (around 4:30 or 5) while my husband is getting up (before Jenna's awake) and then I would only have to get the kids ready later. I am not a morning person, so it's hard for me to get up early, but if it makes things easier, I will try it. Natalie sleeps a lot for now, which makes it easy to get Jenna ready in the morning, but I know it won't always be like this.

When to grocery shop? I used to take Jenna w/ me all the time, but now with two I shudder at the thought of trying to make it through the store without a meltdown from one or both children...I think I'm going to start planning my trips to the store on Saturday or Sunday and have daddy watch one or both girls while I go get it done.

How to haul both kids anywhere and get there on time and in one piece? After Jeremy and I took both kids to the doctor's office this week I realized it's going to be a bit harder going anywhere. I have to give myself an extra 15 minutes to load them. Then I am either going to have to put the baby in a sling so my hands are free to hold Jenna's hands, or I'm going to have to attach Jenna to one of those leashes so she doesn't take off in a parking lot or something while I'm unloading the baby. I have a feeling Natalie is going to spend a lot of time in slings and baby wearing devices. It's just too damn hard, not to mention impossible, to haul a big carseat around w/ Natalie in it plus haul the toddler around.

How to meet the needs of two kids at once? Inevitably it seems that both kids want something at the same time. For example, it seems like right when I'm nursing Natalie, Jenna decides she'd like me to fix her a snack or go to her room with her to play. So what I've been trying to do is get Jenna something to drink, a snack, and something to entertain herself like books or a puzzle, BEFORE I sit down to nurse. This seems to help a lot.

How to get housework done or even squeeze in a nap for mommy? It's a bit tougher getting things done around the house because I'm spending twice as much time changing diapers, nursing/feeding, cuddling, taking orders from toddlers and responding to cries from babies. The only thing I can figure is that I should hire a housekeeper and spend my precious time playing with babies....a girl can dream, right?

There's plenty more challenges, but these are the big ones I can think of for now. Despite challenges, I'm enjoying every minute with my girls. We are definitely getting the hang of things, and we'll start settling into a good routine soon.