More from the annals of schedule-breaking

Because the boys have a firm bedtime (7 p.m.), Lester and I sometimes feel caught between a rock and a hard place. We love the bedtime, because it gives us guaranteed time to ourselves, both as individuals and as a couple, before we shut it down ourselves for the night. But we also feel like we have to boogie home from anywhere we happen to be not just before 7 p.m., but before 5.

If we get in the car after 5, the boys -- who have been up since their last nap ended around 3 -- inevitably conk out.

Which means we either have:

• cranky, sleepy babies who scream the entire ride home and, when we get to our house, are annoyed at having been awakened, or
• cat-napped, energetic babies who don't want to go to bed!

So, when we go to my mom and dad's for instance, we usually just stay overnight, because by the time we get out of our house at 12:30 or 1, drive an hour down there, and the boys finally get over being unfamiliar and shy, it's time to pack it all back up again and hustle on home.

But yesterday, we had an appointment in D.C. at 3, which then got pushed to 3:30. It was over around 4, and Lester still needed to run to Costco to buy our king's ransom's worth of formula. There's a Costco near my mom's house, which is about 20 minutes from D.C. So we decided to run to my mom's for a second just to say hi, while Lester went to Costco. Thus began the downfall of the schedule.

At 6:15 when Lester got back, we hurried to put their jackets on, strapped them in the car seats and began praying for a non-scream-filled ride.

I gave Cary and Dean their bottles in the car (so great that they can hold their bottles themselves now) and they fell asleep by 6:45 (OK, Cary screamed a little bit.)

At 7:30, when we got home, I wondered which scenario I'd have: cranky babies or energetic babies.

Being the mother of twins, of course I got both!

Dean was annoyed and whiny, as Lester changed his diaper and put on his jammies.
Cary, on the other hand, thought it was apparently 2 in the afternoon. He was wiggly and giggly and thought me trying to put his PJs on was the funniest thing, especially since he was turning over and twisting his body so as to make getting him dressed nearly impossible.

When we put Dean down in his crib, he fell right to sleep. He seemed almost grateful.
Cary, of course, stayed awake, complaining in his crib for about 45 minutes and then finally, finally crashed.

All in all, it wasn't so bad. Color me surprised.

This makes me feel a tad bit more at ease about occasionally breaking the schedule, now that I know that there won't be WWIII in my house when we do. Could that be a light I see at the end of that thar tunnel?! Perhaps. We shall see.