Wednesday, November 28, 2007

doh!

My poor semi-vegetarian husband decided to help his son finish up his very nutritious dinner of bagel bites.. I saw him grab one off his plate as I was heading out of the kitchen, thought nothing of it until about 2 seconds later when I hear him say "son of a bitch!" and then laughed quietly inside when I realized that the bagel bite was not the normal cheese variety that my son usually eats, but sausage and pepperoni. The only meat my husband will eat is chicken. He claims to be allergic to pork (something I've never quite believed, although I don't know why I don't believe it.. I guess my love of bacon makes me refuse to believe that any one's body could reject it..) But none the less, my poor pseudo vegetarian eating a tiny morsel of pork.. I hope his throat doesn't swell shut!

Tuesday, November 27, 2007

Twins and more twins..


My girls just love their new baby cousins.. the only challenge is making sure one of them doesn't get too close and give them a good "love whack" Here they are all cozy on the couch..

Tonight's T.V. Viewing..

My sister's sister-in-law is going to be on Law and Order SVU tonight.. She's an actress (duh) And is also one of Sarah Jessica Parker's nannies. I guess she's going to be one of the witnesses that gets interviewed.. I've been drinking tea all afternoon in an effort to be awake by 10, something I don't do very well and considering my day started at 5 a.m. it's going to be quite tough.
A Charlie Brown's Christmas is on tonight too, one of my kids holiday favorites, and my husband's too, so we're all going to be watching that, despite the boys 7:30 bedtime (I love bedtime at 7:30) But we have to forgo it for tonight since it doesn't start until 8. I wish they started Christmas shows earlier..but they don't..so we just suck it up! It always makes for a nice morning with me having to wake everyone up, and all the pissiness that we endure the following day.. can't wait..

Saturday, November 24, 2007

Here it is..


I've taken the Christmas card picture this year, and while no one wanted to sit still, or smile, I guess it came out ok.. Remember last years?? My, how they've grown!!

Ho Ho Ho


We put up our fake tree today.. it's going to be a long month keeping the girls away from it.. (Notice the lack of ornaments on the bottom of the tree?) Can I also say that I'm making huge progress in my control freak issues, and actually let the boys put up a huge amount of decorations this year! Not only that, but I let them put a bunch of homemade ones that they made today on the tree.. and it was as if they knew me so well that they put them all on the back of the tree! And I swear, I never said a word, I just smiled, and said "sure, put that paper gingerbread man on the tree..wherever you want!" Ahhh.. Anyway, Christmas in November at the xianfern household! yeeha!

Wednesday, November 21, 2007

Giving Thanks..

I guess I have a lot to be thankful for this year.. I'm thankful that it isn't last year, when the babies were in their neediest stage, and when they did most of their crying. I'm grateful for 4 healthy, happy and occasionally whiny and ungrateful children, my husband who has been rocking a lot this year, and actually getting even better looking because of it! hah! My extended family (mostly my twin sister) and my friends for being there for me, no matter what. I'm thankful that my best friends in the world are now all moms! Ctale, and Lnotes.. welcome! We've been waiting ;)
I can't forget to be grateful for the fact that I can now fit into many of my clothes that I couldn't this time last year (thank you south beach!) I'm grateful for internet shopping, as I'm completing my Christmas shopping without having stepped foot in one crazy hectic store yet this year! Thank you! And mostly, I'm grateful for any time that I get to see the back of my eyelids, or getting to wake up and wipe the drool off my face.. Sleep, the ever elusive, so badly wanted.. Thank you sleep! I love you!

Irish River Dancing..

My oldest son is a boy with many talents, some that only emerge on special occasions, like when company is over. My sis and her babies were over today, and we had the Wiggles playing (for her 2 1/2 year old- huge fan!) And he says "Why is my toe tapping to the music?" Like he couldn't understand why this catchy, infectious Wiggles song was making his body involuntarily move. And then he said "Is this a jig??" "yea.. I bet you could do the river dance to it" So, he gets up out of his chair, and his legs go flipping and flailing, and his body goes up and down. In a very serious manner, trying to get it just right. It was a most amazing effort, and friggin hysterical. I couldn't help comment under my breath to my sister how "yag backwards" it looked. (what is yag spelled backwards??) Anyway, I love that he just got up and did it. It was the cutest thing! And yes, it did look a little yag backwards! But we loved every second of it!

Sunday, November 18, 2007

It's Almost Over..

My weekend as a single mom is winding down and I'm happy to report that I only got puked on once, and diarrhea has only plagued 3 of us today (including me, sorry if this is too much info, but seriously, I don't care!) My husband didn't get back from his recording session til 10 last night, and was off again this morning at 8.. I don't expect him any sooner tonight. Every one's in bed though, and I thought that I would get to enjoy some Sunday night t.v. except that the god damn music awards are on, so it's either cartoons on fox, football or blogging.. Clearly you can see the choice I made!
The kids ate burger king tonight.. something we wouldn't have done with their dad home, but since he owes me BIG time I said fuck it, and got them their kids meals.. I'm sure this will be just great for the diarrhea!
I spoke with my mother today.. she's got company coming to stay with her for a few days.. my toothless brother. And when she says a few days, we all know it'll be a few months, or until he robs her blind and she has to call the cops to escort him away.. It never ends well with him. It's been 5 years since I saw him last, and I'm hoping that it's another 5 before I see him again. My oldest son didn't even know that I had a brother until he asked me if I knew anyone who had been to jail.
Anyway, I'm glad this is a short week for my husband, he'll be out early on Wednesday and I fully plan on taking advantage of the guilt he feels for leaving me with all of our children for an entire 48 hours.. for the most part.. He did get some time with our 4 year old last night when he woke up crying saying he was scared of something on his floor.. He ended up sleeping with him, and I ended up with both the babies in our bed.. Which I love! I never knew that I could sleep so uncomfortably across our bed! I'm just learning something new everyday!
Well, I'm off to see if HGTV has anything interesting on.. Good night! And thank god this weekend is over!!

Saturday, November 17, 2007

How did I get here?

I might be totally naive, but I found my blog here.. I can't figure out why or how it is linked here.. any thoughts?? kreblog? Just cause you're the computer geek ;)

One Advantage to Having a Dirty Pile of Clothes Next to Your Bed..

When your 15 month old falls out of it in the middle of the night, lands on the pile, and doesn't even wake up! Kudos to my hubby for his filthy ways! :)

Friday, November 16, 2007

Table For Eight..

My sister, her daughter, her twins, myself, my youngest son, and my twins went to breakfast this morning.. I gotta say, when she called and invited me, it didn't sound all that appealing.. but it actually went really well. We got the biggest table there (surprise) Her boys were wonderful and slept through the entire meal.. my girls were great, and the two older ones were well behaved as well. This will make the first time that all us twins have gone out in public.. And much to my surprise, no one made any comments, or said "wow, you have your hands full" I was surprised.
After breakfast, I got to volunteer at my son's preschool. This was an exhausting experience. I don't know how his teachers do it. 3 of them with 17 four year olds! They really run an organized classroom though, and the kids have so much fun. My son was the most quiet I have ever seen him. I was shocked at what a different kid he is in this environment. And most pleased as well. He reminded me a lot of his big brother in the way he just sits back and takes it all in. He gets into some of it, but he's definitely cautious. He was really happy for me to be there, and share this with him. If anything it gave me a new understanding of him, and just what a great kid he is. I don't get to see that side of him too often.. when he's at home pile driving his brother, whining incessantly. It was nice.. ahhh.. And today is Friday, which I usually love.. the thought of maybe getting a nap (I really do live to take naps.. it's kind of scary) But not this weekend. My husband is going to be away recording a demo with his band.. so I'm a single mother of 4 this weekend.. Just what I always aspired to be.. I'm so proud! There is a silver lining though.. my girls are coming to hang out with me tomorrow, and see my sister's babies.. ctale, and blogless.. So, that's going to be a lot of fun.. Then on Sunday, the kids and I will hang out, and hopefully they'll all entertain each other and leave me be, maybe let me take a nap, or even watch a show on t.v. or maybe do some sewing.. hah! Right! That'll happen right after the monkeys fly out of my ass! Ok, gotta go.. Happy Friday!

"If you do that one more time, then I'm putting on the Spanish channel!"

This is just a taste of what parenting with my husband is like..

Thursday, November 15, 2007

This is a long one.. with a lot of whining..sorry

This entire month has been chock full of sick at my house. From my sick babies, with crusty pink eyes, to my sick 4 year old who can't seem to sleep a consecutive 10 minutes at night without calling me to his bed, right down to me.. who is only finding relief in NyQuil right before bed (I'm slowly getting addicted to that shit.. I should just save the money and do a shot of some liquor I already have in the house, but then I'd be drinking instead of self medicating- wait, isn't that the same thing.. ugh, whatever..)
So, the other night, my husband was at band practice, or a soccer game (honestly I can't keep up with his busy social calendar these days) Anyway, he was OUT. The boys have been put to bed and the girls are in the middle of their nightly routine, which includes finding room on my lap in their p.j.'s and sucking down a nice cold bottle of milk. Yum- Mee!!! We're just hanging out, I'm catching up on the celeb's with one of those stupid entertainment shows, when one of the twins starts coughing so hard that she barfs all over herself, me and the couch. Lovely. So, we all go into the bathroom where I do a quick change for both of us, clean up the couch and sit in another spot to let her very upset sister finish up her bottle so that I can put them to bed. Well, it's only about 10 seconds later when the "identical" twin starts hacking like her sister did only 5 minutes earlier.. and yes, of course, she pukes all over herself, me and the chair. Again, lovely. I'm running out of clothes for myself at this point, but then again, it's NOT ABOUT ME!
So, we change, again, I clean up the chair, and decide that letting them finish their bottles would just be my blondest moment ever, so instead they just hang, I make sure no one is going to do anymore vomiting (which they don't- well, the girls don't anyway) And they are off to bed..
Now it's 2 hours later, my NyQuil has taken effect.. and my brain has retired for the night.. until my 4 year old wakes up coughing, and crying for me. I run into his room, settle him down, and head back to bed. I swear, 2 minutes later, he's doing it again. It's really killing my NyQuil buzz people! After about the 5th time of running in, and realizing that he doesn't care if Santa doesn't bring him anything, I hear my husband return. I quickly tell him that it's his turn, and if I have to go in there again, I might just have to hurt him... I imagine this is when my husband looks at me lovingly and wonders how he got so lucky, but I don't care. I'm tired, sick, and I just want to get some sleep..
At about the 4th time of getting my husband to come in instead of me, I can hear the kid just wailing.. so I go in to see if my presence will shut him the hell up, and just as I enter the room, he barfs.. luckily not on me. But it's still barf, and there is of course still cleaning to be done..
The night ends up with my 4 year old in my bed, joined by one of his sisters later, and my husband comfy on the couch.. Now multiply this by the past 3 or 4 nights, and this is the pain I've been suffering.. Last night, I had both babies, and the boy in my bed.. It's no wonder I'm turning into a NyQuil addict!

How about a Drive thru for mom's with too many kids??

Seriously folks, with all the drive thru's we have, wouldn't it be nice if there was one available to the people who really needed it? Like me for instance.. 4 kids, 2 of whom are babies, and while they're walking at home, taking them to a grocery store and just plopping them out onto the pavement isn't an option yet. I'm just wishing that some really smart, innovative person would come with a drive thru grocery store.. just for small orders, like milk, or diapers.. Maybe you could order on line, or call it in. Then that way you wouldn't be forced to lug 2 babies into the store while trying to manage the other 2 (or even 1 if the older child is lucky enough to be of school age). And no, I didn't think of this before I accidentally got knocked up with the 3rd and 4th child. But c'mon.. I'm tired of running to the store, and then running in, and when I say running, pulease, a snail could do it quicker than me.. I'm just sayin'..
Man, do I need a nap!

Monday, November 12, 2007

My Weekend Reunion.. and this sucky cold!

I went to see my husbands band play this past weekend at a benefit show for a child with cystic fibrosis. They were really good, and I must say, the more I see them, the more I just love them. There were about 10 bands playing, and due to the "newness" of his band, they played 2nd (at about 5:30) Which makes for an early night (a benefit of having to get up in the morning with all your kids..)

My night at the bar was spent first listening to his band, and second by seeing someone that I knew from high school at every corner of the place. It was creepy, and fun at the same time. I saw a girl that I used to play soccer with, a cousin that I hadn't seen in years..who btw has 5 kids! Couldn't believe that, I thought I had the most in my family, but oh I was so wrong (yea! It felt good to see that someone else in my family might be viewed irresponsible, at least more so than me) Anyway, I also saw a former boyfriend of ctales, who claimed not to remember her at first (yea right..) I saw a guy I used to babysit for, dancing with a nurse who works at the same hospital I work at.. A brother of a guy that I graduated with, the lunch lady from my old high school (yes, it's getting worse) A husband of a girl that I also graduated with, and work with at the same hospital, who is in the middle of a divorce (surprise surprise) A former cheerleader from my high school.. Seriously, it was unreal..surreal, and just pretty fucked up. I felt like I had stepped back in time.. It's funny that I NEVER see these people around, and I only live 10 minutes up the road, in a different town, but a town that half of these people are from. Very weird.

So, I woke up the next morning with a hangover from hell, and the beginnings of "the cold" The stupid cold that has plagued my house now for about 2 weeks. I thought I was escaping it.. I thought that I was going to be one of the lucky ones. My husband is the only one who has not gotten it, and we are all praying he doesn't. There is nothing like a man with a cold! I could be dying, literally, and it wouldn't compare to the sore throat he's got, or the headache.. I believe it goes back to the old belief that women can handle pain, and men can't.. Like when my husband passed out getting a tattoo, just one more thing (like childbirth) that women can handle better than a man..

Friday, November 09, 2007

Kyle Chandler..Is He Yummy or What??


Is it me, or is this guy just about the cutest, yummiest thing on Friday nights? God I love this guy!

There's one or two douches on EBAY!!

Recently, I bought a couple of webkinz for my kids for Christmas.. on Ebay. I've always had good luck with Ebay, good honest people.. But this time.. hmm.. not so good.. I bought two highly sought after webkinz, for a bit more than I would have, and for a week now have patiently waited for them to come.. Well, the only thing that has come was in form of an email from ebay, saying the seller has logged an "unpaid dispute". Really??
I should have looked closer at this douche bags rating, as apparently he's not been the most honest of sellers, and from feedback that he has received, I guess some of his customers have said they never got what they paid for, or it took an eternity for them to get it.
So, right now, I risk getting negative feedback (which in the world of ebay is like the Scarlet letter) and of course not getting what I paid for the minute the auction ended (Oh, and btw, I totally have a receipt, and he's already collected his money..I'm not that naive!) Argh.. I can't tell you how this burns me.. Live and learn people.. Live and Learn! Fucker!

Spending money we don't have..

I love doing this! Especially when it ends up being spent on something that we really didn't need, that's just a kick in the face.. We took my son to the eye doctor today to make sure he wasn't going blind.. and of course he's not.. and of course we find out that 9 out of 10 screenings done in school are inaccurate, so the fact that his eyesight was supposedly deteriorating at an alarming rate, wasn't necessarily the case. AND, of course our insurance (like most insurances) only pays for one eye exam a year, even if you're married to a neurotic paranoid man like my husband.. yea, there's no co pay for that!
Basically, it cost us 95 big ones to find out that his eyes are fine, and there has been little change.. Which IS great, but damnh that's one expensive way to get my husband to relax..
Anyway, my husband and his band are playing out tonight, but I'll be home with my sick kids (btw, they are now ALL sick!) But my plan is to get some cleaning done while I enjoy a few drinks and maybe watch a movie, who am I kidding? There will most likely be no cleaning.. And then tomorrow we're going to have a bon fire to burn a tree that my husband cut down 2 years ago.. and I'm making a Halloween cake for my youngest son.. better late than never! ;) Have a great weekend!

Tuesday, November 06, 2007

Four eyes?? How bout 6??

My oldest son, who has been wearing glasses since February had his vision screened again today at school. It was coincidental that I happened to be sitting outside of the nurses office today with the babies waiting for son # 2 to finish his speech therapy (don't we sound like one big labeled family full of issues??) Anyway, she saw me and told me that his vision had gone from 20/50 to 20/100. In only 9 months? Needless to say, I'm a bit concerned, although honestly, she didn't appear to be, so that made me feel a bit better. She was surprised that his vision with his glasses was still within the norm considering how much it's deteriorated. Of course this has sent my neurotic husband calling everyone he knows, including our pediatrician (who suggested we make another appointment with our opthamologist) and go on line trying to find out the worst case scenario (like if the kid is going blind.. or not) I on the other hand, am not worried (yet) what's the point? And in most cases, I don't get to worry because all the worrying is scooped up by my husband, and I am left to reassure him that it's going to be fine, and be the rock, and the glue that holds us all together.. a tiring, and surprisingly thankless position.

Anyway, he's fine.. he's going to be fine, he's just going to have to wear his glasses ALL the time. And someday, when he's older, and if he qualifies, we'll do the lasik thing, and that'll be that.

I can not wait to get to bed tonight.. My husband has started playing indoor soccer again- something I swore he'd be able to do again when the babies weren't quite so much work.. Alas here we are.. the babies are practically raising themselves at this point, much like the boys, so play on my love! Have fun.. I'll just be crying myself to sleep while you run around on fake grass and sweat stinky sweat.. oy vey!

Sunday, November 04, 2007

Nothing like the love of a big brother..


How sweet is this??

Such a Drag..


My four year old gets the biggest kick out of wearing his sister's clothing.. I don't think it's a sign or anything, and if it is, so what.. but doesn't pink really bring out his beautiful hazel eyes?? ;)

Daylight Savings.. something else that can kiss my ass!!

Ugh..

Seriously, wtf?? I guess people without kids don't seem to notice, or care, but with the sun setting and rising at different times, it really fucks with naps and just bedtimes in general. And yes, the "extra" hour of sleep is nice, if in fact any of my kids wanted to "sleep in" But they're 7, 4, and 15 months x2, so NO, no one is taking advantage of the extra hour in the morning..

Anyway, time and sleep were the least of my concerns tonight.. My youngest twin burnt her little hand tonight.. on my convection toaster oven.. and why would she be anywhere near my convection oven?? Well, because her and her sister just LOVE to sit on my counter and hang out with me while I cook.. and while I always move my knife caddy, the dish soap and paper towels, the little stove tucked away in the corner of my counter is just not that movable.. And seriously, she only touched it for a split second, but that was all it took for a quarter sized burn to pop up, and cause her to cry for about an hour.. These are the times when I really want to pat myself on the back and high five my husband on my good parenting instincts. That maternal voice saying "Something bad is going to happen one of these days letting the babies up on the counter.." But I really thought it would have been one of the girls pushing off the other.. I'm not sure which is worse..

In other raising kids news.. My oldest son finally lost his 3rd tooth.. after it being loose for almost the entire summer (really, I'm not kidding) my husband talked him into letting us use dental floss and yanking it with the door.. however, at the last second, my husband just yanked the string without aid from the door, and it popped right out. Of course being a cashless household, and the tooth fairy not accepting debit, I had to run to the store and get a 5 spot (yes, for 1 tooth!) we are really setting the bar too high! But at least he didn't swallow the tooth like he did with the first.. do we remember what happened there??

Anyway, it must be midnight.. or at least that's what it feels like with this stupid ass time change.. so I'm off to bed.. Here's a pic of the babies having their last hoorah on the counter..

Friday, November 02, 2007

TGIF!!

I can't even begin to express how happy I am that today is Friday.. even though this week has literally flown by, I'm still happy that the weekend is upon us, and my dear husband will be home so that maybe at some point this weekend I can get a nap! It's all about the sleep people!
My youngest son is sick, or at least he was last night.. Burdened with a terrible cough, one of those coughs that sound like it just hurts to breath. I spent the first part of the night in his bed, facing the wall so that he wasn't coughing right in my face.. Then we spent the rest of the night on the couch, with his little frame propped up on pillows.. that seemed to help a bit. Miraculously, the babies slept 12 hours straight (well, minus 15 minutes that one of them spent crying..but then stopped and passed out after realizing that no one was coming for her..poor baby!) This would have been a great night sleep for me, but alas, with 4 kids there is no such thing right now.. someday when they are all older..and not ridden with colds, or scared to death by a bad dream, or an unfamiliar sound, then Man! I am going to get some really good sleep!! At least that's my plan.. You gotta have a plan with 4 kids..something to look forward to! Even if it's something you might not get for years, it's still something!

Thursday, November 01, 2007

Baby B is home!

Both of my sisters babies are home. We are so thankful and grateful that they are doing well. She is elated to have her twins with her, and is doing wonderfully (as I knew she would!) She also seems to have a pair of really calm and content babies, which is going to make her life sooo much easier. My girls required LOTS and LOTS of holding, and did LOTS and LOTS of crying.. It would seem as though her boys are the polar opposites! Thank god for that! I'm waiting to see them again, so I can get some pics of them together..they are of course total cuties! ;) duh!