Doh!

Here's my husband with the girls.. He really doesn't enjoy being photographed.. Nice smile though! Dork..

Picture day..

I finally cleaned up my camera and have some room for new pictures.. It's been a while since I posted any of the girls.. here they are..

I had some company today.. and got some pictures.. Here's Ctale and her 6 week old baby Miss S.. How great does mom look? And that baby?? I hear she can be quite a crab at times, but I don't believe it! I guess she likes to be out and about! Oh, and thank you Ctale for the yummy lunch (homemade mac and cheese w/whoopie pies for dessert..yum!!) I'll miss you when you go back to work!

Desperate..

In an attempt to try to get some sleep, my husband and I have decided to let the girls cry it out. Last night was the first night, and 1/2 hour later, they were snoozing away. They were such good sleepers about a month ago, and it seems like all of a sudden we have found ourselves in this terrible pattern of constant waking, and constant nursing. It wouldn't be so bad if it were just one baby, but with twins this sleep pattern gets exhausting.
It didn't stop with just one bout of crying last night. A few different times they woke up and cried.. it was excruciating to hear them and not do anything about it. I did go in a few times and just rub their back so that they would know I was there, and I think it was at 3 that my husband told me to get the one that was crying. So, we basically broke down and gave in. It's hard not to when all you want is sleep.
We'll try again tonight, and hopefully have more luck, and be more consistent. I put them down for their nap this morning, and they only cried for about 5 minutes. Maybe we're on our way to something good.. we'll see!!

My son's 1st grade class spent a lot of last week learning about Martin Luther King jr. in preparation for the upcoming holiday. I thought this was great. It was amazing listening to my son tell me why the "blacks and whites" were kept separate, and to hear how he interpreted the history he was learning. He doesn't understand the depth of what went on, and I tried explaining how Dr. King was fighting for civil rights, and equality. I'm not sure how much went over his 6 year old head but I was really impressed with his teacher for starting that discussion at such an early age.

My son then went on to ask me "Mom, remember when I was a black?"

"Um, no."

"You know, that summer I went camping, and my skin was dark?"
"Oh, yes, I remember that, but you were tan.. from the sun. Being black or white is something that you're born with"
"Oh, like my brown eyes?"
"Exactly."

Wally..

This is what my husband called one of the twins this morning.. the one who sometimes looks like she's got a "wall eye" Nice. He felt immediately bad, like any decent parent would, but I did get a tiny giggle out of it.. Here's Wally about 3 months ago..

Dumped.

My nephew got dumped today by his girlfriend of 41/2 months. I totally feel for the kid, this was his first girlfriend, and he really was into her. What makes matters worse, is that she left him for her ex boyfriend.. someone that my nephew had met not too long ago, and who had promised my nephew that he was over her..yada yada (I have no idea how that subject came up..) but she had been with him for 3 years, and from what my nephew tells me, he treated her pretty shitty.. A week ago the ex took a bottle of sleeping pills, I guess because he missed her so bad. Nice. I really liked this girl too, and my nephew seemed really happy with her. Right now he's pissed, and I think he's afraid to be sad because with him, the sadness will be overwhelming. All he wants to do is beat the shit out of the ex.. a natural male reaction I guess, hopefully he'll rise above that though, and learn something in the process.. like that love can suck, and hurt more than anything. And that girls are going to come and go, but that it's not the end of the world.. even though it feels like it right now..
I haven't told my boys yet, it's not like someone died..but they really liked her and had been promised a trip to Chuck E. Cheese's when she came back from her winter break. That only means that I'm now going to have to take them to that dreadful, money absorbing germ filled establishment.. great. And one last thing, that I couldn't help but think of.. how am I going to ask for the rent money?? Like he's not feeling low enough.. I guess I'll just give it some time, and check back in on that subject in a week or two.. teen love sucks!

Poor Baby..

I spent 5 hours in the Emergency room last night with one of the twins. The one with hydronephrosis (fluid on one of her kidneys, she's had ultrasounds to check on it, and has no problems with it) She woke up from a nap yesterday afternoon with a fever, and no other symptoms. I called a nurse at the hospital to see what I could give her (I couldn't remember what the dose for a baby her age was) The nurse thought that paging the pediatrician on call was a good idea given her history. He thought I should bring her in, just to make sure that she didn't have some sort of infection going on in her kidney. After a needle stick and blood draw, and a very unpleasant catheter insertion, we were told that she most likely had just a viral infection, and sent home. Better be safe than sorry.. I hate that reasoning, but unfortunately I agree with it. It was horrible to see my little baby getting stuck with a needle, and then having 2 different nurses trying to get the catheter in her to do a urine test. I consider myself to be a pretty "weathered" parent, and shots and other necessary unpleasantries don't usually bother me. But she just lay there and sobbed.. and I could do nothing for her.. Ugh. It sucked.
She seems to be doing better today, although her fever keeps reappearing, but it's not as high as it was last night. And her sister hasn't shown any signs of a cold or a fever.. I'm praying it stays that way! One sick baby is enough!

You're going to pay for that after I kill you!

This is what my husband and I overheard our 6 year old telling his little brother.. kind of funny.. like getting "killed" wasn't payback enough!

My youngest son had his speech eval this week. It wasn't what I thought it was going to be, it was a re-screening to see if he's made progress since September. They're going to get in touch with me and follow up with another assessment, but the speech therapist who was doing the test thought he would definitely qualify for additional therapy. Now I have to wait. He loved being at the school, and looking through all the cupboards of toys. They have a great program there for kids with special needs. I mentioned to him about going back sometime without me, and he pretty much freaked out. I think he'll adjust ok eventually if he has to go, but he's definitely got some issues with leaving his mother.. what will I do without him at the house asking me every 30 seconds who my favorite character is in Dora the Explorer.. I'll cope..

I Love Fridays...

My day at a glance...

There's not much new going on with me today, so I thought I might share a day in the life of me.. like anyone cares.. but someone did asked me recently what a day in my life was like.. well, here it is.. in an hourly format

7:00 am- wake up, either from a night on the couch, or, if I'm lucky from my own bed, depending on how the twins have slept. Shower if I have the time.. usually I don't.

7:01-8:00 am- make coffee, lunch for my son, breakfast for the boys (either pancakes, sausage or waffles, unless we're running late then it's cereal or a breakfast bar- occasionally a pop tart) Change the girls, get bottles ready for them. Get my 6 year old clothes, toothbrush and get him ready for school. Get myself dressed. Prop up bottles for the girls and get my son out for the bus.

8:01-10:00 am- walk the girls around til they fall asleep for their morning nap. Their naps last from 20 minutes to 1.5 hours (it's usually more like 30 minutes if I'm lucky..) They usually nap at different times, so when one goes down, that just means I only have to carry around one baby while I'm trying to unload the dishwasher, get in a load of laundry or do some much needed picking up around the house. Get my youngest son dressed, get his mid-morning snack (usually pretzels, he's very picky and if he had his way he'd be eating fruit snacks all day, so I look at pretzels as a battle I've won).

10:01-11:00 am-check my email.. if I can put the girls down for a minute.. fold more laundry- which always ends up sitting in baskets upstairs as I can never find the time to put any of it away. Put away some dishes, wash some bottles, change more diapers, nurse whichever baby wants to nurse (both of them do a bit of the boob, and a bit of the bottles.. too much info? sorry) Play games with my son, I spy, Chutes and Ladders, Transformers.. or his favorite "which one do you like" game (which he insists is not a game, but that one has gotten pretty old!)

11:01-12:00 pm- lunch. Chicken nuggets for the boy, and rice cereal and applesauce for the babies.. one baby likes this much more than the other, so much so that she gets very impatient if I take a second to give her sister a bite.. Do yet more laundry, and more cleaning (dishes from lunch/breakfast) Change more diapers, my son is still in them too, but he only gets a changing if he poops. Diapers are too expensive, and too absorbent to change them every time he pees.. it's also an attempt to potty train him.. it's not working..

12:01-1:00 pm- Nap time again for the girls.. usually. They're still not on a great nap schedule yet, but I'm usually walking around with them trying to get them to sleep.. or standing in front of my computer listening to the Chemical Brothers (this always makes them sleep) Then it's more house stuff.. one would think my house was spotless with all the cleaning I do, but it's far from it. It's all just upkeep.. it sucks. Anything more than the basic requires a babysitter.. ok.. let's see..

1:00-3:30 pm- I'm just combining hours here.. it's all the same shit, changing diapers, nursing, cleaning, playing with my son, answering a million questions that he has.. holding the babies.. burping, trying to feed myself, trying to pee on an occasion, trying not to scream (on occasion) By 3:30, I'm waiting for my son to get off the bus. If it's a nice day out, I'll strap the babies on and go outside to wait. If it's cold or rainy, I stay inside and wait by the front door and wave him in.. This is when I sometimes get a little break.. my son gets home and can finally entertain his younger brother, if they're not fighting. Some days my oldest son just wants to unwind without having to answer a bazillion questions from his brother.. can't say that I blame him..

4:00 ish- My husband returns from work, and one of the babies is handed over to him. I start dinner.. we eat around 4:30 (like a bunch of geriatric people) And I'm out of the house by 5 for work.. ahhhhhhhhh

5:30-7:00 pm- work. big deep breaths.. ahhhh (again)

7:10 pm- return from work.. Enter the chaos once again, but this time I feel much more refreshed.. everyone is happy to see me, and hugs are flying as I come through the door.. "mama, mama".. it's pretty nice.. From then on it's a bit of a mad dash to get everyone ready for bed.. my son finishes up his homework, I've already taken one of the babies from my husband. My youngest is trying his best to keep my attention on himself, usually by running up and down the hallway. Then it's off to baths, p.j.'s, brushing teeth, doing all the medicinal things with my oldest son, story time, and finally bed time for the boys by 8pm. The girls are much different, and usually are up til 9 or so.. Some nights they wake up after a couple hours, some nights it's every 1/2 hour.. some nights they sleep all the way through.. one never knows.. After the boys are in bed, I try to get things ready for the morning, finish up the dishes.. some nights I actually make lunch for my son because the mornings can be so crazy.. some nights I just plop down on the couch and nurse the babies.. and try to relax.. maybe watch a show or two.. and wonder where the day went..

So there it is.. A day in my shoes.. It varies of course, some days we go out, or people come over.. but it's pretty much the same day in and day out.. Quite exciting if I do say so myself! Oh, some days I actually get to pee without 3 of my 4 kids in the bathroom with me! That's worth mentioning.. :)

What do you call cheese that's not yours?

NACHO CHEESE.. haha!
A 6 year old's joke.. pretty cute!

I'm taking my youngest son to the school tomorrow for his official, and in depth speech evaluation. Depending on what they say, he might get into the preschool there. That is my hope. His speech seems to have gone from bad to worse over the past few months, and it's becoming extremely frustrating for everyone, especially him. I spend most of my days with him, trying to figure out what he's just said, and man, does that piss him off. He totally knows when I don't understand him, there's no faking it.. he's a smart little man!
I think preschool would be great for him too, he needs some social activity.. it's getting kind of boring for him with me and the girls at home. Doing things that we used to do, like the library, playgrounds or just visiting with friends, has become impossible for me right now. I wish I could afford a private preschool, but with only one full time income and 4 kids.. that's just not possible either.. Anyway, here's to hoping that they'll give him the help he needs.. without me having to throw a fit and insist they do something! cha, like I'd ever do that.. I'm such a wimp...

It's the thought that counts..

Last night was a rough night with the girls, for me anyway. When my husband got up, I could see his sympathetic eyes, and had to milk it a bit.. I said I could really use some coffee.. he's not a coffee drinker, but offered to make me some. The one and only other time he did this for me, he did it almost perfect.. except that when he filled up the carafe, he just set it on the burner, and didn't pour it into the machine (duh) But again, it's the thought that counts.
So, this morning, as I'm sitting on the couch with the girls, walking him through the complicated steps of making coffee, I think he's definitely going to get it right this time. He asked how much water, I told him, and he says "I don't know if this is all going to fit in here" Sure it will, it's not even full. I had told him where to pour the water, right in the top.. not that difficult huh? Oh but my poor handy man, he can make a kitchen table, and lay a floor like a pro.. but coffee making is not his calling.. He poured the water right into the filter part of the coffee maker, all over the coffee.. And, no, there wasn't enough room for all that water.. and yes, it poured all over the burner and the counter.. Poor dum dum... but I love him for trying, and in fact after he cleaned up that mess, he tried again and got it right.. I must say, it's the best cup of coffee I've had in a long while..

The latest in the fight to get my oldest son to stop coughing. We have to rinse his nose out with a saline solution. I tried it, and loved it. It totally cleared out my sinuses. It feels weird.. there's nothing normal about squeezing fluid up one nostril, and wait for it to come out the other, especially for a 6 year old, who cries every night when we tell him it's time for the "Elephant Game"- this was what his doctor called it.. He's waiting for the weekend when I've promised him a gift of his choice.. I just want him to be better and to finally be rid of this cough.. Poor kid.. :(

High Speed..

We got cable Internet today. I feel like we won the lottery or something. I can't believe how long we went with dial up! My nephew installed it, and soon I'm going to be getting rid of our land line and getting vonage. This was how I convinced my husband to get cable Internet. We'll be paying about the same.. and I've heard good things about vonage, so why not?? I don't know why we haven't done this sooner!

Some of my handy man's work....

And here they are.. my brand new wood floors.. My husband installed them yesterday, he did a great job! I took the kids to Target, and he got busy! The only problem is that the babies are rolling, and rolling on wood floors is definitely a bit more abusive to their noggins.. they'll adjust I'm sure..

We've already had our first of many accidents on the wood floors when one of the babies puked all over it. My sons are learning quickly that running into that room with socks on is only going to land their butts on the floor! This may get them to slow down a bit, and keep us out of the ER for a spell.. we'll see!!

Here I am with one of the girls.. do I look tired or what??

S.O.S. (different day)

I asked my nephew this morning if he had the rent.. "In a few weeks" was his rather irritated response
"Oh, you mean like in February?"
"yea"
He's been in our house for less than a week, can't pay his rent yet, and is annoyed that I'm asking him.. I guess I thought that maybe all the money he got for Christmas would have helped him out financially, but I guess taking a week off from your part time job to go to Vermont and visit your girlfriend, isn't going to pay the bills... ugh..

My husband is installing our new wood floor this weekend! I can't wait! The planks (which are fake laminate wood- but I totally don't care!) Are sitting in my house, acclimating, and expanding.. just waiting to get under my feet!!
We spent Saturday hunting down the ones we want.. and ending up going with some we found at Home Depot. The part that really drew us in was a 20% off coupon my mother had, and an extra 10% for opening a credit card.. cha-ching.. we really saved a butt load!
Anyway, our New Years wasn't what I thought it was going to be. We were supposed to go to a house party that my husbands band was playing at, but that got cancelled. We had a babysitter, and couldn't turn down a night out.. We ended up going to Portsmouth, with the rest of the state, had dinner at KNR's (formerly 43 degrees north) with two other couples, and then a party down the street. It was fun.. nice to get out! And of course New Years day was a long day- especially when my husband was gone for most of it at band practice.. but now everyone is back at school, and we're getting back to life as usual.. My nephew is moved in, but has been at his girlfriends house in Vermont the past week, I think he's coming home tomorrow.. then we'll be back to normal.. ok, gotta go and get some work done!

Purge..

I spent most of my day cleaning out the boys bedroom, trying to make more room for all the loot they got on Christmas. I successfully loaded 2 large bags of trash (old toys) and now have enough room for the new stuff.. when I say successfully, I mean without their knowledge. What good is a toy that they don't remember they have? Or that is broken right? They would have probably had a heart attack if they had seen all the shit getting tossed. They won't even miss it though.. It feels so good to get rid of it.. My husband was busy downstairs purging things of ours, mostly mail, and other junk we don't need. He had a fire going in the chiminea outside with all the old mail. It made him smell like he'd been at a campfire, and that smelled really good to me!

Dinner

Last night, I went out to Cafe Mirabelle with a good friend of mine. She used to waitress there, and this gave us the star treatment! First we got the best table in the house (aka the romantic table..) Then we got mussels, my favorite appetizer of all time.. and they weren't even on the menu.. (I did get a mussel with some shell in it.. yuck, but I ever so discreetly spit it out into my napkin, haven't had to spit out food in a while, but anyway..) For dinner I got the roasted pork tenderloin, and it was delicious! My friend got the salmon, also very yummy! Dessert was wonderful as well, and the best part.... the restaurant picked up the tab! Nothing like a fancy, expensive dinner for free!! We only had to leave a tip (which unfortunately means I owe my friend some $ since I was planning on paying with credit and had no cash on me, typical)
It was a good night, not only because the meal was free, but because I got to hang out with my very dear friend, who I don't get to see enough!

Thank God that's over!

I love the holidays, but man, are they a lot of work.. and adding 2 new babies to the festivities is simply exhausting! But they have come and gone, and my house has not yet broken at the seams from all the new stuff the kids got.
Christmas eve was spent at my house.. There were about 15 of us.. My brother in law cooked- and as always, there was way too much food, but it was absolutely delicious.. I've been enjoying all the leftovers since then! The kids got to open their presents after dinner, and then the adults did a Yankee swap. I ended up getting a new DVD player from the swap (my mom always brings something that she got at her work Xmas party, last year it was a vacuum- which I won briefly, but my father traded for some dumb wind chime..) Anyway, the opening of the gifts was literally a heart breaking experience for my 3 year old. My family had asked me what the boys needed.. well, they needed clothes.. so that's what they got. My son was freaking out every time he got a rectangular box.. crying! He ended up with one toy, and about 10 outfits.. Obviously I hadn't thought about how opening pants, and shirts would make him mental. Especially after all the hype about the "Christmas party" Poor thing.. and poor everyone else who had to listen to his whining!
The girls were less than thrilled too, only their issue was with all the people suddenly in their home. They screamed for a good 15 minutes or so, and soon everyone realized that looking at them was not an option. Anyway, a couple of my sister's friends came over later, and stayed til about midnight, it was a lot of fun.. The girl my sister invited spilled an entire glass of red wine on my carpet. She felt horrible.. I was psyched.. I just kept thinking one stain closer to wood floors!! And btw, we went looking at some today, so it looks like I'll have my wood floors soon!! I'm going to have to thank her for her clumsy spill! :)
Christmas day was spent at my in-laws, where I dreaded how the girls were going to react to yet another huge group of people that they don't know. Surprisingly, they did really well. I'm guessing it was because all those strangers weren't in their home, on their turf. My 3 year old finally understood the type of box clothes came in, and just brushed them aside. My oldest son was great, and very thankful for everything he got, even the clothes!
My husband is off all week (yea!!) This morning he cleaned up the basement, and my nephew moved back in.. He's off to Vermont for the week to see his girlfriend.. it's going to be very strange having him back.. but the rent money will come in handy!
So, we have officially called an end to the Christmas season.. we took down the decorations yesterday (I know, bah hum bug huh?) But we seriously needed the room with my nephew coming back, and with all the new toys to put away. I'm now looking forward to New Years Eve, we actually have plans (first time in years!) My husband has been playing in a band for a month or so, and the drummers having a party at his house. Should be interesting, I haven't met the guys that he plays with (aww, the guys he plays with, it's like he's 5!) But I'm looking forward to a night out.. :)

My kids hate vegetables, like any other kid on the planet. Tonight at dinner, I made them hot dogs and brocolli. Nice combo huh? But I knew they would eat the hot dog, and Santa would make them eat the brocolli.. It worked, and all through dinner between the whines from my youngest son, and the threats to call Santa, my husband kept hollering "chopping brocolli" from an SNL skit.. He's a mental case..

I miss sewing. I miss being creative, and having an outlet that I love. It's been especially hard since it's one of the only things that really relaxes me.
I found out recently, that the girls like sewing about as much as I do! In fact, this bag here was something I made the other day.. while they sat on my lap (for part of it) and napped for the other parts. I was thrilled that I could do it, and that I finally have that outlet again. I won't be doing too many projects, but this was for my son's teacher.. a nice thank you for being such a great teacher.. however, I found out they only wanted gifts for the classroom, and this cute little bag probably wouldn't fit into that criteria.. so.. now I have a new bag! Ahh, Merry Christmas to me!

Charlotte's Web..

I'm reading the boys their first chapter book.. Charlotte's Web.. They love it (well, the oldest one does), and can't wait to see the new movie that's in the theaters.. We read one chapter a night, there are something like 22 chapters, and we're on 7.. it'll be out on video before we finish it..but that's ok. I try to hide my excitement when we come to a rare chapter that's only 3 pages long.. it's not easy reading with an infant (or 2) in your lap!

Block Rockin Beats..

I don't know what it is about techno.. but my daughters love it.. It must be the repetitive beats or the way I bounce them around to it, but since they were born they have really taken to it. Their favorite is The Chemical Brother's album, Exit Planet Dust.. If they are having a fit of screaming (which they do at least once daily) It all stops the minute they hear the first song on that cd. It literally shuts them right up.. and usually puts them right to sleep.. but only if it's really loud.. The last time I left my mom with them, I had the cd ready to go.. and of course it worked.. funny little girls!

Here are my sweet baby girls.. looking all festive for their first Christmas.. I'm not sure I'll be taking them out with those "Little House on the Prairie" hats.. but I thought it was at least photo worthy!! I have to say, they are pretty damn cute.. I never thought I would like to dress girls girly, but after 6 years of dressing boys, it's nice to add some color.. and a flower or heart here and there!!

"Hello, xianfern?"
"Yes"
"This is the school nurse, and your son has just thrown up"
"Oh, does he have a fever?"
"I haven't taken his temp"
"Oh"
"You need to come get him"
"OH, I'll be right there.."

Poor kid.. on his way to the nurses office yesterday because he had a headache, he blew chunks all over the floor in front of his old kindergarten class.. He didn't have a fever, and in fact he was totally fine in about an hour after he got home. Luckily no one else at my house has gotten it, if there was anything to get. He was back in school today, only because there was this really fun thing that he absolutely couldn't miss, and because he was "totally fine" Ok, I just kept my fingers crossed that I didn't get another phone call.. it ain't easy packing up 2 infants and a toddler and rushing across town to get a kid who's puking!

I'm not that weird..

I was tagged by McPolack to list 6 weird things about me.. I'm afraid they won't be nearly as weird as what she's listed (pretty funny!!) But here's what I came up with:

1.) I have 4 kids. That is weird in 2006 (maybe it's more crazy, I don't know..)

2.) When I was 10, I used to get dressed up to watch the Dukes of Hazard. I mean, I dolled it up! Did my hair, put on my best duds.. and would pretend that Daisy Duke was not the prettiest girl in the room!!

3.) I have a thing for my children's snot.. I don't know why, I understand some of you out there might think this is totally gross, but I can't help it. My oldest son has these huge nostrils, and until recently, I used to love to take a tissue and just go on up there.. If anyone in my family sees snot in the babies noses, they know they had better come get mommy, and that that's my thing.. god, what's wrong with me??

4.) When I was 5, I made everyone call me Eric. I desperately wanted to be a boy.. I remember asking someone at a birthday party how I would go about getting one of those pea-knuckle things.. I think I really just wanted to pee standing up.

5.) I once quit a job I was working at on a Friday by just walking out. I returned on Monday and pretended like nothing happened. My sister and I were 19 and both employed at the same place (chamber maids at a hotel). I guess we thought about it over the weekend and decided that it wasn't necessarily the wisest thing to do. That may not be weird either, maybe just stupid.. there's a fine line though huh??

6.) When my sister and I were in the 6th grade, we joined a new school. We had recently learned how to do the alphabet in sign language. As a way to deal with our nerves, we signed constantly, with our hands by our sides. We looked like a couple of morons. The girls thought we were weird, but the boys thought we might make a good date! With all the hand action going on..

That's the best I got.. Not all that weird.. but in the spirit of being tagged, I guess I'll pass it along to Ctale, (when she's got a minute away from her new baby girl!!), christhadasister (who is way weirder than me!) and Lnotes.. haven't heard from her in a while! :)

Scratch Test..

I took my son to the allergy specialist today. They did a pft (pulmonary function test) and a scratch test.. Among other physical things (like listening to his lungs, looking in his eyes, mouth, etc) I had been dreading the scratch test the most, and hadn't at all prepared my son for this. He's the type of kid that doesn't need time to worry about things. It's better if you just spring it on him. I was like that as a child too. He panicked for a minute, but then I was able to distract him with stories from my childhood while they scratched away. He did a great job, and I was so proud of him.

The cough he's had for the last 5 months is not allergy related. This doctor thinks that he has a chronic sinus infection that the last round of anti biotics didn't clear it up. So he's trying another anti biotic, a stronger one, along with some nasal spray. We have to go back in 3 weeks and see how he's doing.. it looks like getting my wood floors might have to wait.. since that nasty carpet isn't making him sick.. Oh well.. I'm just keeping my fingers crossed that whatever is going on is going to clear up after this round of medication.

A Night Out..

Even though I still feel like crappioca, I'm still keeping the plans that my husband and I made 2 weeks ago. We've been invited to a Christmas party by a coworker of my husbands. She's a first grade teacher at his school, and a part time real estate agent. She's helped us out a lot in the past when we were flipping back and forth about selling our place. I was happy to find out that we were invited..I believe only the "cool kids" got an invite.. Finally! I'm popular!
My mom conveniently has the day off, so she'll be over to watch the kids.. I emailed the hostess and asked her what I could bring.. her response, "just one of the babies!" Ok, was she kidding?? I never replied, but I certainly hope that she doesn't seriously think that I'm going to be bringing a baby with me.. I did mention in the email that I was really looking forward to getting out, as a couple.. Not as a trio! Hope she understands when I show up tomorrow night with a crock pot of meatballs, and no baby!

Everyone except for my husband is sick.. The boys, the babies, and me.. what fun! I haven't had to call out of work (cause staying at home is way harder than coming to work) and my oldest only missed one day from school this week, he didn't want to get any of his classmates sick (how thoughtful, and, gee, I never would have thought of that when I was a kid..)
Anyway, I think we're on the mend, and I hope that being sick now means we won't be sick on Christmas! Speaking of Christmas.. I was hoping that I would be able to skip it this year (with the recent births and all).. but alas the kids are still counting on Santa to come down our very narrow chimney, through our wood stove, and into our living room.. I've finished all the shopping I can do on line, and now I have a few things to get at stores.. ick, I have really gotten into the on line shopping the past few years, I don't know why anyone would even consider going into a mall in 2006, what with the internet and all the wonderful options out there..but now all the packages are in my basement, waiting to be wrapped.. which my mom is coming over to do tomorrow.. It's unbelievable what little I can get done with twin babies! Well, not that unbelievable I guess, but it still shocks me on the occasion.
I spoke with my nephew the other day.. Looks like he's coming back home. One of his two roommates moved out over the weekend. He decided to take a semester off and bailed. The other guy wants to move into another apartment..so there's my nephew kind of left in the lurch. After talking to my husband, we decided he could move back into our basement (as long as he paid rent- there has to be something in it for us!) So it looks like that's the plan. I could tell he was relieved, seeing as how he didn't have the money for next semesters rent (you have to pay it in advance, and it's really expensive). We'll see how I'm feeling about this in a few months when the smell of his dirty room is lingering it's way upstairs! But for right now I'm happy that he's coming home, and I hope that he's going to stick to the plans he's making (going to trade school to be an electrician..) He does have a habit of telling me what I want to hear, but he's got a girlfriend now, a really nice one, and I think he wants to do well for her.. If not for himself right?

Tonight is the annual viewing of Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer at my house.. The boys are very excited about this.. They bring down their pillows, and blankets and we make a cozy bed on the floor. We own the DVD, and watched it last week, but it's just not the same as seeing it on t.v.

The commercials are when the boys can run around the room and get some of their excitement out, or get another snack (popcorn and hot chocolate are required..) That wraps up my night..

Tomorrow I'm going to visit Ctale in the hospital where she gave birth to her perfect baby girl last night.. I can't wait to meet her! When I talked to her today, and asked her how she was feeling, she said like a mack truck had driven through her ass.. I remember that feeling!!

My mom stopped by today.. she's lost 8 pounds on her diarrhea diet.. This would be why she hasn't called the doctor about it. That and the fact she doesn't want any bad news before Christmas.. so she'll just delay any treatment that might be critical until then. I wish she cared more about herself than that..

My son came home from school today and wanted to play out in the newly fallen snow, which ended up being just a dusting. They had a 2 hour delay this morning, and didn't get to go out for recess because it was too cold. After begging me for about 2 minutes (that was all I could take) I let them go out.. bundled them up good, and sent them out the back door. They made snow angels in the grassy snow.. and came back in when the neighbor's dog was let out.. about 5 minutes later. They're going to be sad when it's in the 50's over the weekend and that lame amount of snow is gone.. If they only knew how much they were going to get sick of the white stuff later!!

During dinner tonight, my husband thought my 6 year old had bruises under his eye. Upon further inspection, I realized that they weren't bruises, but dirt that had been smudged from crying.. When I asked him if he had cried at school today, he said in a very matter of fact way "Yea, Nick told me I couldn't talk, and I told him that he wasn't the boss of me, and that made me cry" Aww, it broke my heart.. My husband asked who this Nick kid was (of course I already knew who Nick was) and my son replied "My friend."
I love how kids at this age manage their relationships. It's all so simple. You cry when you're upset, someone says sorry (which Nick did) And then it's done. I wish life could be so easy all the time!

Here come my hardwood floors..

Well, maybe.. My oldest son is going to an allergist next week because the medication he was previously on for asthma isn't working.. I brought him back to the doctor's today and they did a chest xray, which came back negative, thank goodness. Now they think that he might just have allergies. In which case I'm going to insist to my husband that we get rid of the nasty carpet in our living room, and put down hardwood. In my opinion, not only is carpet rather ugly to look at, especially when you have 4 kids dropping food on it, spitting up on it, or just running around on it, but it's also just a breeding ground for all sorts nasty shit, from the above mentioned trauma it recieves.
Anyway, I'm hoping the specialist is going to be able to find out what is causing my son to have this cough for the past 5 months, and just maybe, get me some new floors!

When I was pregnant with the twins, my boys each claimed one of the girls as their own. My older son shows affection for both of them, and loves them pretty much equally. My 3 year old, however, will only pay attention to his "own" baby, and really snubs the other one. He even gets upset if my older son tries talking to "his" baby.

Well, since the babies look so much alike, he rarely knows who my husband or I are holding. Last night, my husband was holding one of the twins, and my youngest was kissing her, and holding her hand.. and then asked who she was.. when he found out that it was his brother's baby, he put his hands on his hips, scrunched up his little face and said "Damn it!" It was pretty funny.. I've been trying to explain that the babies are actually MINE, and that they are in fact his sisters, both of them! But he doesn't want to hear that.. he's only interested in "his" baby.. But like most things with him, I'm sure it'll pass, and he'll eventually accept the other twin too.. We'll just chalk it up to a phase.. another phase..

Better her than me...

This is what I overheard some crotchedy old cashier saying to a customer at my local grocery store.. One of the babies decided to start screaming at the checkout.. I know a crying baby isn't the most beautiful sound in the world, but c'mon, couldn't she have said it a bit lower?? I mean, cut me some slack!!

Rock, Paper, Scissors, Shoe..

My oldest son was teaching his brother how to play rock, paper scissors. He concluded the lesson by telling him that there was no "shoe" but you had to say it anyway.. Shoe, shoot.. same difference, right??

I keep having this recurring dream, and lately it's given me such a sense of peace that I look forward to sleeping.. like I don't anyway with two infants.. but you see what I'm saying. Anyway, it always takes place at my grandmother's house, where I spent much time in my youth, and she is always there. She died almost 6 years ago, and I miss her a lot. She was a huge influence to me growing up, and was more of a mom to me at times than my own mother was. In my dreams, she's always just kind of there.. I mean, the dream isn't always the same, sometimes there are other people in it, but mainly, she's just there.. not necessarily doing anything, or even saying anything. She's just there.. like I wish she was right now.

When my sister and I were born, she took care of us while my mom worked 2 jobs. We would be at her house until it was bed time, and she would drive us both home and put us to bed.. my dad would take care of my older brother and sister.. it would have been too much for him to deal with 4 kids. Men didn't do that back then I guess. I'm lucky.. thinking now of my own husband home with our 4 children while I work..

The dreams with my grandmother in it sometimes make me sad, and I wish she could have met all of my kids.. She did meet my first, and that brought her much joy. He was only 8 months old when she passed away, and only knows her from my stories. I think about how happy she would have been to meet my twins.. since she knows the work involved in raising two babies at once.. Somewhere she knows.. I'm sure of it.. I think that's why she shows up so much in my dreams.. she's telling me that she's still here for me, and that she loves me.. My sister and I were her favorite, and what speaks volumes about the kind of woman she was, is that every one of her grandchildren would have said the same thing (but we REALLY were her favorite!!:)

This picture is of her and her mom.. she's on the left..

All My Children...

This is the card I've chosen for our family Christmas card this year.. I couldn't get everyone to look "perfect" but I think this is pretty damn close.. Especially my younger son on the left, this pretty much captures his essence! doh!

How about a bowl of bitch slap??

This was my response to my youngest son who kept whining about how he was hungry.. but would not tell me what he wanted.. I know how bad this sounds, but I did say it with a smile, and he had no idea what bitch slap was, nor would he ever repeat it.. I basically said it under my breath.. but I tell you, the frustration this child inflicts upon me, makes me wish someone would bitch slap ME! I swear, a good swift slap across the face might feel better than his incessant whining! I'm just sayin'..

My mother is having a colonoscopy today, just for a screening. Last night I had a dream that during the procedure, they found that she had an inoperable brain tumor. I told my sister about the dream, and how bizarre to find a brain tumor when they were going up her butt.. she reminded me that's usually where her head is anyway! haha..

Anyway, Thanksgiving was nice.. I drank a lot of wine, and laughed too much at the antics of my 6 year old, which only made him do them over and over.. The babies are not very social, and did a fair amount of crying.. they definitely like being at home.

Saturday night my husband and I (along with the crabbier of the twins) went over to CTales house for dinner. She's about to give birth, and looks just wonderful.. another one of those women who only gets pregnant in their belly! Her boyfriend cooked, it was great, I had heard lots about what a great cook he was, and there was no exaggerating there! He's also got a lot of toys.. and not grown up toys like some of you perv's might be thinking, but kids toys! My husband spent a majority of the evening trying to solve the Rubik's cube.. Anyway, my sister in law stayed home with the boys and the other twin, who cried for a couple of hours then passed out. I can't wait for the day when going out with my husband doesn't require taking one of the babies with us.. although I'm expecting that won't be for a few years!

TURKEY DAY.. AND MY NICE BUTT

I was able to fit into my "nice butt" jeans today! Yee ha, victory at last.. I might just wear them forever! It's so nice to finally be out of all my maternity clothes and have my old wardrobe back (which needs some serious updating by the way!) I have no style though, as my friends would attest to. I'm just plain, and rather boring in every style department (hair, clothes etc) One of my good friends wants me to cut my hair, and get an actual style. However, long and straight IS a style of it's own, right?
Anyway, enough about that.. Tomorrow is Turkey day..my boys are looking forward to seeing their cousins and eating lots of crap. This will be the first Thanksgiving in years that I haven't gone to my in-laws. This Thanksgiving we're going to my older sisters place, and having it with my side of the family. I'm happy to do this for one reason- my twin sister. She's the one who really gave me grief about boycotting this particular holiday and always spending it with my husbands family. It's more important to her now because of her daughter. I'm looking forward to it though, family outings are a great way to get a break from your children, especially babies.. other people just love to hold the babies!
My brother in law, who is the culinary expert in the family, is making a bunch of food for the dinner. He's making some veggie sushi, and some kielbasa thing.. I can't wait.. My older sister won't eat any of it, and if she does, I'll be shocked. She's a buffalo wing, mozzarella stick kind of girl... nothing wrong with that, but she won't try anything new.
My husband and I are going to celebrate the conception of the twins too, as it was last Thanksgiving that we unknowingly expanded our family.. Thank the good lord that we won't, and can't do that again!! Happy Thanksgiving!!

I love my little sociopath..but he's making me CRAZY!!!!

I know that children learn best through repetition, god knows I get it! But my youngest son has taken this to new heights.. His thing is this, anything he sees, he has to tell me which one is his favorite. Anything. It could be something on a cereal box, on a toy, on t.v. Absolutely anything. I could handle that, but there's always a catch.. He needs me to repeat it. "Which one do me like mama?" Just to make sure that I'm paying attention. And if I don't repeat it right away, I hear this (in a very loud voice) "SAAAY IT" It is literally gnawing away at my soul, and unfortunately it doesn't end there.. He then wants to know which one is my favorite.. Let's take one of his favorite shows "Franklin" He's told me that his favorite is the beaver "Me like the beaver mama, who's your favorite?" If I even think about saying that I like the beaver too, he'll go nuts and insist that HE likes it, and I can't.. or if I pick something that his brother or father have already claimed as their favorite, then it's meltdown hell again.. I try. I really do, to be patient, and I'm not kidding when I say that for the past few weeks, this has been one long conversation about favorites. He does this from morning til night..I've been praying for more patience with him, I can see his little face contort when I give him the look that says "I know who your favorite is..you've already told me 50 times today!!" I know he's just trying to get some attention from me, and this is how he chooses to do it lately. But pretty soon I'm going to lose my shit.. Why can't he just kill bugs or small animals? Like other sociopaths?

Mrs. Sippy

My 6 yr. old is really into spelling these days. Which I think is great. But if I hear again how to spell my own name, I might have to hurt him.. Tonight at dinner I thought I would give him a bit of a challenge.. "spell Mississippi.." And that's what he came up with! Pretty damn cute!

She's still too little for the high chair and hit her head on the tray once..but it was fun to try, and she actually sat in it while I held her sister and got dinner for the boys.. oh, and she totally didn't even notice when she banged her head!

Len Cabral..

I saw this man read at my son's school the other day. He was amazing, and quite easy on the eyes (did I just say that??) Anyway, if you have children and want to get them a great c.d. of story telling, then get something from him. He has a fabulous kind of funny Rhode Island voice (the hahvahd yahd thing) But it sounded really good coming out of his mouth.. Anyway, I highly recommend it! www.lencabral.com

I brought my oldest son back to his doctor today. He had a run of anti-biotics a couple weeks ago, for what they thought was a sinus infection. It never cleared up, and last night after he experienced some shortness of breath and a nasty coughing attack, I called this morning and brought him back in. His doctor thinks he might have asthma. He's going on an inhaler that we'll need to use 3x a day, and hopefully in either a few days or a week, his cough will be gone. I can't imagine what else this could be, nor do I want to..
In other news (cause there's always other news in my life..) My brother moved back to town 3 days ago.. and then moved away again today.. That was music to my ears (the part where he left town) I haven't seen him in about 4 years (he only moved from Southern Maine, so less than an hour away) but we're less than close. I always make it a point to tell anyone who knows that we're related that he's my 1/2 brother.. Anyway, my mother met with him yesterday, it was the first time she had seen him in about a year. He's always been off doing his own ridiculous thing (which usually includes impregnating women-he has 9 kids!) My mom could hardly recognize him. He's gone from a lean 175lbs to almost 250, and has no top teeth! Must be a looker! I guess he was in the middle of having his teeth extracted for dentures and somehow lost his benefits. I can never believe a word that comes out of his mouth though, so for all I know he could have lost them all in a bar fight, we'll never know. But nonetheless, he looks the part of derelict drugged up alcoholic that he is.. He was out looking for work, making calls.. yada yada.. He told my mom that if he got an interview he was going to borrow his father's dentures.. ewh.. Anyway, I got word that he left town today (thank god..) and is back in Maine. Who know's where he is, or when he'll be back.. I'm content not seeing him ever again.. It's hard to pretend that I don't have a brother if I run into him in town!

The Fairy's A Coming..

Ok, I didn't do it, couldn't do it, and will not do it.. if you're confused, check below.. My son came home, took a huge turd, I tried with the plunger to move it around in the bowl, even took a wooden skewer and tried poking at it, but that's as far as I went.. yea, it was nasty, and I came away thinking it's a good story about how he swallowed the first tooth he lost, and there will plenty more for me to save.. He's slightly devastated that his tooth is lost, he's afraid the tooth fairy won't come.. I explained that the tooth fairy was like Santa and she was magic and could find his tooth no matter where it is (even if it's in his poop!) I think he'll be ok.. My younger son, on the other hand, is in a panic at the thought of some little fairy coming into his room while he's sleeping.. It's just like the Easter bunny, when both of them were freaked out about some huge rabbit walking around our house.. "what if he comes upstairs???" Someday they're going to be really pissed at my husband and I for all the tales we've told about these made up gift givers.. And all the times I said "you better be good, Santa's watching.."

My son finally lost his first tooth this morning.. it's been a month in the making, in fact his new tooth has already grown up behind it.. I've been begging him to let me pull it.. but he's a cautious boy and wouldn't let me have my fun. Last night before bed he let me get in there pretty good, it was hanging on by it's last root, and was just screaming for me to pull it. However, I was unsuccessful at this and had to send the boy to bed with the tooth fairy put off for yet another night.
I had been telling him that he didn't want to swallow it.. that would not make for a nice clean tooth to leave for the tooth fairy.. Well, where do you think it is right now?? Somewhere in his lower intestine I'm guessing, because I cannot find it anywhere in my house. He swore it was still in his mouth when he woke up, but soon after breakfast he noticed it was gone.. must have slid down with his sausage! So now I'm torn.. he wants the tooth to leave for the tooth fairy.. and I hate to say, but I'm leaning toward excavating his shit, and trying to find it. I'm a bit of a pack rat when it comes to my kids things.. this is gross (although not as gross as gloving it up and rummaging through his bowel movements) but I have all of my kids belly button stumps. I don't know why I kept them, and I certainly have no idea what I'll ever do with them, but that's just me.. can't help it..
I'm going to see how it goes.. maybe it'll turn up somewhere outside his body.. if not, I might just be doing something that will surely make me gag, and probably puke, but how can I not save his tooth?? His first tooth?? Ugh..

Grocery Shopping..

I hate grocery shopping, but my son loves it.. here he is in my kitchen playing a game we made up today.. see his little grocery carriage?? He shopped and I was the cashier!

Poop (again..)

I haven't had any good poop stories in a while, and having 4 kids, there's always one floating around (ha ha)..
My oldest son (age 6) has had the hardest time learning to wipe his own ass. I don't know if his dexterity won't allow it, or if he's just afraid to, but finally after months and months, I think he's got it down.. But it was not an easy road for any of us! Let's just say he wasn't sure what to do with the poop if it happened to get on his hands. yea, pretty gross, right? Sure as shit it was! I found little pieces of smeared poop on the wall next to the toilet (mixed in with some toilet paper, nice huh?) We also found some rubbed onto the toilet bowl itself.. very nice! After finding all this shit everywhere, we told him he needed to wash his hands if it got on him, or to call us for help. (btw, he was washing his hands, just not before he had wiped it off where ever he found it convienient) The problem was solved, he washed his hands and no more shit on my walls.. however, a few weeks later, much to the horror of my husband, he found all sorts of poop on our soap dispenser.. the poor boy, he was trying.. by then we were getting concerned with why he seemed to be getting so much poop on his hands.. I can see it happening every so often, but this seemed to be all the time.. Well, I guess along the way while we were teaching to wipe his butt, we weren't clear on how much toilet paper to use. Apparently he thought one little square would suffice.. he might as well have been wiping his ass with his hand anyway! jeez..
Here's a lesson for anyone that is going to be changing a newborn any time soon.. When putting a new diaper on, NEVER aim their little butt toward your head.. newborns have incredibly explosive shits, and you never know when it's coming.. but you can depend on it being frequently! And you can pretty much count on it getting in your face if you're holding it's legs up to get the new diaper on. It's some kind of scientific law.. it will hit you! Most likely in one of your eyes too.. (or was that just me??)
I never thought I would have so many thoughts on poop- of course this was before I had my litter of children. Nowadays, my husband and I have poop conferences "yea, she pooped twice, but the other one hasn't yet.. man, I hope she does, it could be a long night" Or "Was it mustardy, or runny?" or, "don't put her in that, it has shit stains all over the back" or "I hope you washed your hands young man.. Is that chocolate???" Gotta love the poop!!

I went and got my haircut today.. much to my husband's subtle objections "how much is it??" ugh.. I haven't had a haircut since February! It was time, and pulease, I'm soooo low maintenance! Anyway, the woman who usually cuts my hair has retired..total bummer considering she was my "first" But I went to the lovely girl who is seeing all of her clients. She's got a 6 week old girl (and looks like she's never been pregnant before- yes, I hate her) She did a good job, I was just happy to see some of the dead stuff fall to the floor! I will miss my old stylist Carla though.. boo hoo..
Recently, feeling nostalgic, I got out my wedding pictures. I don't think my kids have ever seen the photo album, at least I knew they hadn't seen the very back of it.. the pics of my bachellorette party and the STRIPPER!! My son had early release today, and the first thing he did after getting off the bus, was pick up the book. I was on an important phone call (really, I was) and he taps me on the back-totally ignoring that I'm on the phone and goes "Mom, why were the police there??" And "why is he naked??" Good lord.. does anything belong to just ME anymore? I guess not.. thankfully his little brother diverted his attention and I snagged the book and put it away.. I wasn't prepared to explain strippers to him just yet! Or why his mother had some guys privates gyrating in her face! Jeez.. who thought taking pictures at one of those parties was a good idea, and why the hell did I put it in an album? Oh, and he wasn't totally naked, he had a very tasteful blue and white striped thong on, K? ;)

I just can't stop posting their pictures.. I'm turning into one of those annoying parents who brag about their kids all the time.. sorry.. but they are just so friggin cute!!

SMILE!!

Here are my kids.. we went and had their pictures done over this past weekend.. it was easier than I thought.. except that the youngest twin (in red) puked all over herself before we even started.. but the automatic dryer in the bathroom worked wonders and everyone was still smiling when we left!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!

Here are my two power rangers, my cute little bunny (a suit borrowed from a sister in law) and some random red fleece snowsuit hand me down, because we're too poor to get another halloween costume for a baby that won't ever wear it again (and when I say too poor, I mean too cheap, and when I say we, I mean my husband..)
Anyway, Trick or Treating was a huge success, considering what a disaster it could have been. The girls slept the entire time, and my boys got a ton of candy.. which brings me to the worst part of this holiday.. the candy, and how much they are allowed to eat of it.. I've pretty much spent most of my morning telling my 3 year old that he could not have another piece of candy.. to which he replies, "buuuuttttt me hungry.." Ugh.. I've made a million suggestions on what he could eat instead (my last one being a poop covered sundae with cheese- he didn't laugh a bit!) I can't wait til his brother gets home from school and goes right for the candy bag! I've already weeded out the really good stuff anyway! haha

This is my god son (on the right) with my boys.. He's only 2! My youngest (who is 3 1/2) used to have a hard time sharing with him.. Not anymore!

"This isn't the beer talking, but you look really good"

This is what my husband said to me on Friday night.. after his second beer, while I was changing one of the babies.. this is as close to a compliment as he gets, and it usually takes at least one beer to get it!

This past weekend my oldest son was up during the night coughing. He sounded terrible, and of course it was messing with the sleep that my husband and I so rarely get with 2 babies. It wasn't until this weekend, that we really started thinking about this cough.. this is the first time that we've had to be up with him, so I suppose we've just gotten used to hearing it. I've been saying that he's fine, if he wasn't he'd have a fever. I called his dr's today, and when I said that he's been sick for about 3 months (sounds good huh?) the nurse said they wanted to see him. No shit. We hadn't even put it together that it had been that long. We are seriously in one big fog at home and I guess we're lucky that the boys are getting fed and bathed and some attention every so often.. ugh.. what a couple of losers!
His doctor thinks he's got a sinus infection and we're starting him on antibiotics... he should be better in a few days.. He's such a trooper though, and has no idea how bad I feel that it's gone on this long.. I'll get the hang of this some day..right?

Most people don't throw their own birthday parties, right? I mean, if you're a kid, your parents do, but then as you grow older, it turns into cake and maybe dinner with friends. If you have a romantic spouse, or even a thoughtful one, maybe they'll surprise you with a party or a nice dinner.. jewelry, whatever. Well, a good friend of mine turned 35 today. He's a friend of mine from high school who currently lives in Vermont. I don't get to see him much, but when I do, it's always a lot of fun, and usually requires a couple of days to recover from.
I called him this morning with birthday wishes, thinking that his birthday would probably just be another day for him, not much going on.. yada yada.. Well, I should have known! He's throwing himself a party tonight, at a club he rented with the d.j. he hired! He passed out flyers to this "event" and in order to get in, you must bring him a scratch ticket! He could potentially be rich at the end of this party! It's brilliant!!
Happy Birthday Tahdster!!

Here he is, my banged up little boy! The cut looks worse today.. only because he fell down the stairs last night and split it open again.. I didn't bring him to the ER, although I'm sure we could have.. I don't want to start looking suspicious! Jeez, they probably already think we're beating him! He's just going to have to ride this one out.. I'm hoping it won't scar too badly..

Quality time in the Emergency Room..

I got some alone time with my youngest son today.. it's hard finding time spend with all my kids individually, but my little one has found the perfect way to get me to himself for an afternoon.. It's called a trip to the Emergency room! That boy is sooo proned to accidents it's ridiculous! This will be the third time in his three years of life that someone in that ER has had to either glue or stitch his head shut! I'm starting to worry about brain damage at this point, jeez!
He was playing a game today after lunch, one that included him running, jumping onto a pillow on the floor and kind of launching himself off of it. The girls were both napping, and I was about to try to get a snooze in myself. That lasted about 10 seconds when I heard a thud, turned around to see his mouth wide open (about to scream) and blood dripping down his face. He had fallen face first into our entertainment center. I called his dad, then my mother in law. She came right over to watch one of the girls, and I took my son and the baby and headed to the hospital. My husband met me there, and took the baby home after we decided that having a 3 month old in the waiting room of an emergency room was stupid. Anyway, we were there a total of 4 hours, and my son was a trooper through the whole thing. They glued it this time (thank god) And he got to take home the coolest set of latex gloves blown up to look like a chicken ever! Thanks to his mom! He's now home, like nothing ever happened, racing around the house.. jumping off the furniture.. ugh.. it won't be the last visit we have with that one!

Work Work Work..

I've gone back to work.. it's a nice break.. but it's weird just sitting here typing, I feel like I should be nursing a baby, or doing laundry, dishes, getting someone a snack.. ahhh.. it's like freedom! My husband has been getting help from my mom the last two nights. He hasn't been alone with the girls yet (with the exception of last Friday when I was gone 10 minutes to run to the store) I'm sure he's going to do fine, it's only for an hour and a half. They are getting easier and aren't requiring quite as much holding as they did before. They slept through the night last night- they've been doing this a bit. It's amazing how getting a few hours of consecutive sleep makes such a huge difference!
But alas my 1.5 hours is up, and it's time to return back to my life.. my 4 kids.. and my frazzled husband!

Jack Me

These are the words I found on a piece of paper that my son was writing on. He was making a list of all the kids in his class, when he was interrupted and only spelled the first two letters of Jack's last name.. Pretty funny to see that on your coffee table in first graders handwriting!!

BABY GOT BACK

The word 'back' was one of my son's spelling words. This is the sentence my husband told him to use the word in..

I'm sure I only have a minute.. the girls are napping, actually one hasn't even gotten up this morning..except for once at 5 to nurse.. It was a good night sleeping, finally! We changed the formula that we've been using as a supplement, and it seems to have made a difference. We usually get two screaming babies at night, but last night they just drifted off to sleep.. I'm keeping my fingers crossed!
Tonight my husband and I are going to open house at my son's school. I thought I'd dress up in drag, and really make his teacher wonder!
I had a dream the other night that I had a free pass to cheat on my husband with Jesse Metcalf from Desperate Housewives. He's cute and all, but would not be my first choice for a free pass. Dr. McDreamy from Greys Anatomy, or Mike Rowe from Discovery's Dirty Jobs would suit me fine. Mike Rowe is an older guy, and not a total hottie, but he's funny as hell and apparently at my age humor is more important than someone's looks. Back to my dream though, I never ended up using the free pass.. I was way too insecure about how I looked, and randomly through my dream my husband and kids kept showing up. It was weird!
Anyway, here's a picture of me carrying the twins.. it's a killer on my back!!

This and That...

I've always known that it's good to know people.. and in this particular instance, it just so happens that knowing a secretary at my son's school gives me an inside scoop to what rumors are buzzing about.
The latest rumor milling about happened to be about me and my family. My sons teacher asked the above mentioned secretary if my son's father was gay.. I guess she was under the impression that because my name is one used by both genders (but mostly by men) that my son was being raised by a gay couple. What makes this particularly ridiculous is that I've met his teacher. In fact, we've both met her, with our 4 kids in tow. But people are going to assume what they want, even if they know better.
In other happenings.. I've had it up to here (just picture my hand way over my head) with my son's transformers.. not only are they the most annoying toys to "transform" and have the most sexist show with only 1 or 2 female characters who they insult constantly by telling them they should be at the mall shopping rather than helping the men save the galaxy.. but they are also a killer under one's foot. Last night in the dark of our house, I was on my way to change one of the twins when I stepped down right onto my son's favorite transformer. This sent me flying to my knees, which now have no skin on them. Under normal cirucumstances, I would have been laughing my ass off (people falling make me crack up, even if it's me) But at 1 in the morning.. while I'm carrying an infant.. not so funny.. Anyway, the girls are napping at the moment and some laundry is waiting to be folded..so off I go!

Smile!!

This is what makes it all worth while..

Chicken and Dumplings..

I love chicken and dumplilngs.. I made some last night for dinner, in between taking turns holding a screaming twin.. it was a labor of love to make this meal.. It came out great, and would have been even tastier if I could have savoured it a bit more.. however, the girls make sure that I spend little time doing anything else but hold them. Anyway, after dinner, and baths and putting the boys to bed, my husband and I picked a twin, and started our nightly ritual of walking around with them til they fall asleep. It's usually a contest, and last night he won. His twin was in bed early, before 8. I spent the next 3 1/2 hours walking around with the other baby trying to calm her. She didn't want to sleep and she didn't want me to stop moving. There was a lot of crying, and a lot of time spent in the kitchen with the water running (one of the only things that will calm her down) As I'm standing there in the kitchen, I'm getting totally annoyed by the mess that's been left. My husband had long since gone to bed thinking his twin would be up and ready for hanging out in the wee hours of the morning, so of course he did nothing to pick up the mess made by preparing my homemade chicken and dumplings. So, I'm start putzing around as I'm holding her, putting dishes in the dishwasher, throwing things away.. and perhaps the dumbest thing to do while holding a baby.. trying to put away the huge pot of soup. I almost made it to the fridge, with my baby secure in one arm, that is until she decided to flop her not so steady head back and almost come flying out of my arms.. I had no choice but to drop the pot of soup. All over the floor, and all over me. It was not a pretty sight.. unfortunately it had to sit there on the floor for over an hour until I got the baby to sleep. I managed to get changed as quickly as I could while she sat and screamed in her car seat. It was a fun night.. The good news is that the baby didn't get hurt while I was being so dumb, and I still have some leftovers.. not all of it landed on the floor..

My son found this cute hand me down sweater in the girls room and just had to try it on.. pink is his favorite color, and he's very independent (this is a cardigan..obviously backwards..) but he put it on all by himself, and we are very proud of our young man!!

Up A Cow's Butt For A Milkshake...

This is what my husband tells the boys whenever they ask him where he's going.. like if he's putting his shoes on to get the mail, or getting ready for work in the morning.. I just love how we're setting such good examples for our little men!

Here is my husband holding one of the twins in their new favorite position.. It's a killer on your arm, but it keeps them quiet. The days of them just sleeping the day away are over, and it would appear that being held is what they love best.. just like this, on our forearm, with our index finger in their mouth so they can suck on it. It's not something that I can easily do, in fact it kills my arm, but I'm getting good at holding them both this way at the same time.. I'm going to have some buff arms pretty soon!! My husband was holding her this way, and doing homework with my son.. he's been amazing with the kids! I can't wait for the end of the day when he comes home to help out. This is more work than I've ever done before.. I'm waiting for the day to come that the girls will entertain each other a bit.. right now they don't even know the other one is there. They don't like hanging out in their swings or bouncy seats (not yet anyway) it's all about being held, and being on the boob.. My mom is staying over again tonight, I swear, I don't know what I would do without her at this point.. pretty ironic considering how I had been feeling. At least all her pop in's now are welcome, and useful!
My husband and I went out last Friday night.. I had a great time, we closed the bar and didn't get home til close to 2.. I'm way too old for that, and have way too many kids to be out that late. The next day was brutal.. but we made it, and it was definitely worth it to get out and see some friends and be a couple again, instead of a couple of parents at home...

My 6 year old has learned a new catch phrase.... "Damn it!" I can't tell you how often I've caught him saying this.. He doesn't seem to understand the concept of swear words, even though I don't really consider this one a swear.. I don't say it however, and I'm not exactly sure where he's picked it up. I definitely don't want him saying this at school.. and I've put a lot of stress on that fact. He's trying to say "darn it" instead, but it really just doesn't have the same punch..

The girls had their 6 week check up this morning. It went well, except for all the crying and all the shots. They weighed in at 8.4 and 8.1 lbs. That's about a 3 pound weight gain in a month! I was thrilled about that! My mother in law came with me to help out. I love her dearly, but honestly I sometimes wonder how she raised 6 kids on her own! She started off trying to wake up one of the babies before we even made it into the office.. just by talking to her. Then moments later with the same baby, she tried shoving the pacifier into her mouth (while she was sleeping..) Anyway, it wasn't a total loss bringing her, she did watch my youngest son while I was talking to the dr. and came in handy when I needed to give one a bottle.
Anyway, we're home now and the girls are sleeping off the torture they endured.. This Friday my mom is staying over and my husband and I are going out! I can't wait! This will be the first time that I've gone out somewhere besides the grocery store! Well, one of the girls is up.. gotta go!!

My nephew has moved out. It was rather anti climatic, considering I've been looking forward to this day for months.. but I ended up feeling kind of bad for him, or rather bad for myself since I shouldn't have been so anxious to see him leave. Or at least that's what my inner mom is telling myself.. but hey, I'm not his mom, and quite frankly my husband and I have done all we can for him and it's time for him start doing for himself! Harsh, I know.. but I have my own huge family to worry about.
He's living in Durham, in an on campus apartment that is way too expensive. He does regret not holding out and finding something more suitable. It would make sense if he was going to UNH, but since he's working 25 minutes away in Exeter, and supposedly going to be taking classes in Stratham (another 20 minute commute) then it would have made sense to be a bit closer. I suppose it's a life lesson. He's learning, that's for sure.. I'm just hoping with all that he's learned that he'll apply it.. although I'll be surprised. I remember being his age.. and knowing everything!! Except for one important thing.... that I knew absolutely nothing!

We're in the process of having our house painted. Since we live in a duplex, we had to pick out a color with our neighbor. I gave up early on and let my husband (the artist) and our neighbor decide.. I originally had wanted a nice sage green. We are so far from that it's hardly a compromise.. but whatever, I let it happen. Our house looks like a combination of peanut butter and cornflakes. The official name is "mannered gold" Ick.. My husband loves it, but I'm not there yet. They aren't totally done though, so I'll reserve my final decision for then.. But gold?? jeez..

Me No Do It...

This is what my 3 year old said to me moments ago when I caught him drawing on my carpet. "Me no do it" Um, yea ok.. course he had marker all over his arm, and was actually holding the magic marker when I caught him.. Maybe he's lashing out.. jealous of the babies.. but then if that was the case he'd probably be drawing on them! I was in the bathroom (for a minute) when he did it. He told me that his brother did it.. right after he said he didn't. It doesn't matter that his brother isn't here.. Oh well.. at least they're washable, and it looks like the stain is going to come out..

Back to School...

My oldest son went back to school this morning. First grade.. We met his teacher last week, and she seems very nice.. and was dressed like you would expect a teacher to be dressed (not like his kindergarten teacher who dressed like a whore!) He was excited about going back, and not at all nervous.. unlike his mother. I had that familiar feeling that used to plague me when I went back to school.. Ugh.. He'll be there all day, unlike last year, and I'm sure he'll be exhausted and a bit crabby when he gets home. My youngest son is happy to have him gone, and be able to use whatever transformer he wants! The girls are napping at the moment. My mom stayed over last night and took care of them so that my husband and I could get a good nights sleep.. and let me tell you, we did! I had almost forgotten what it was like to sleep for a consecutive 7 hours! The girls have had a rough week sleeping.. at night anyway!!
I can hear one of them waking.. it's a never ending chore of nursing, changing.. nursing and more changing.. but I feel good today!!

Here we are.. me and my girls.. right after a feeding.. Last night they slept for 6 hours.. straight! I'm feeling great today! I'm hoping for a few more nights like that!

SLEEP DEPRIVATION..

This is the mood I'm finding myself in lately.. Did I really think that being pregnant with the twins was going to be harder than caring for them??

My oldest son doesn't miss anything, I'm just thankful that he's still innocent and what he comes up with is pretty damn funny!
When we first brought home the babies he was shocked to notice that they had no teeth. I guess he doesn't remember all the complaining I did about when his brother was teething! Recently while changing one of the girls, he was standing next to the changing table, watching. When all of a sudden he said "wow, look at her penis!" He apparently forgot about the talk we had about boys and girls and the "pagina".. We're all still learning!!

There is so much more I should be doing than sitting here blogging.. The girls are taking a quick nap, and the boys are playing with their transformers. The girls are slowly coming out of their "baby coma" This is what I call the first few days after birth where all babies just want to sleep. There's was extended a bit due to their prematurity. Anyway, they are having more awake time during the day (and night) And are wanting to sit with their mom, and latch on to my boobies.. which by the way are constantly in someone's mouth! Sorry for the graphic there..
I'm exhausted.
I'd still rather them be here than inside of me. I've healed up nicely from the c-section, and I've lost an astounding 31 lbs. since their birth. Only 12 more to go! Plus another 10 or so that I hadn't lost since the last one.. I guess nursing two babies is really burning up those calories.
I'm dying for a night out.. with my girlfriends or my husband..just a night out, and maybe some help on the following day..
Well, the dishes and the laundry are calling..

The girls are 15 days old today... it's hard to believe that only 2 weeks have passed since I gave birth. It's going remarkably well, much better than I thought. They are really easy going babies, and still spend most of their days sleeping. We've taken them out a few times, we are quite the sight to see! The boys are doing well, they love their babies! I'm currently holding one of the twins and typing with one hand.. I'm definitely improving my multi tasking skills!! Here's a pic.. the boys are really into holding their babies! Cutie pies!