The Girls..

They are getting so big! One of them had what appeared to be their first nightmare last night.. That was fun.. I'm looking forward to the day when they can find comfort in each other.. I remember many a nights when I was a kid, crawling into my sisters bed to sleep after a bad dream.. I look forward to seeing that special twin bond blossom.. There is something very unique about a twin relationship.. They did after all begin their tiny lives as one..

Toast

I made my 7 year old toast this morning.. this is the faith that boy has in my cooking abilities..

"You don't have to burn that do you??"

Nice.. come on, I can do toast!

NOSES!!

The babies are getting so smart! They know where their noses are.. If you ask one of them where her nose is.. she sticks her finger right up it! Sometimes she pushes it up so far that her eyes start to water.. She's going to be my over achiever! :)

Gammator and the Digital Natives..

My husband has his own (solo) music thing going.. He put this up on my space.. I love it! The first song he used to play to my belly when I was pregnant for the first time.. when I had time to just sit around and listen to him compose music.. Anyway, have a listen.

Tea Party..

I got an invitation to a tea party today. Yes, a tea party.. It came from a parent at my youngest sons new preschool, someone I've never met. It's a get to know one another thing.. In a swanky neighborhood down the street from me. I'm not sure I'm going to go.. First, I don't drink tea (sure I know there will probably be other things besides tea, duh) second, homes that I could fit my cute little condex in four times are intimidating.. and people with the money it takes to own one of those homes intimidate me as well. This may stem back to my late teens, early twenties where I spent my summers cleaning for rich people, in their big houses..I always despised their good fortune.. I know, envy sucks..
Anyway, I'm guessing I'll muster up the courage and go.. for my boy. I'm also hoping to find someone who would like to car pool with me. We'll see.. Lots of new things are heading our way.. should be interesting (to say the least!)

The yard sale wasn't a total bust.. however, we did manage to unload more shit when we put it on the curb for free (surprise surprise) We made enough money to take the family out to breakfast Sunday morning.. so about 40 bucks.. totally worth all the time and effort! Hah!
The night of the yard sale was spent with me juggling the 4 kids, while my darling husband slept soundly.. oh, and btw, he never did go the ER Friday night, and miraculously woke up Saturday morning feeling tip top. For some reason all 4 of my kids slept like shit Sat. night. My four year old was the worst. His first wake up was so that he could change his perfectly clean, perfectly dry underwear.. I have no idea why, but I did it without asking questions.. it's definitely not worth arguing with that one in the middle of the night.. Anyway, it proceeded from there, with constant "MOM" or babies screaming.. I haven't had a night like that in ages!
Anyway, we spent yesterday at a memorial service for a great uncle I don't remember.. It was held at the same place my husband and I were married.. I tried being all nostalgic with the boys, telling them how this is where it all started.. yada yada.. they didn't care.. they were more interested in sliding on their knees on the very shiny dance floor. Yes, this place was not a church, but a ballroom.. very romantic! Anyway, I was happy to see other kids there, my dad insisted there would be some there.. as I was a bit nervous about bringing 4 kids to a memorial service.. but it was definitely more of a party atmosphere than a funeral.. which I guess is what my great uncle would have wanted. Not that I personally know that, because I didn't even know what the man looked like! I think my dad wanted to show off his twin daughters, his twin grandbabies, and the twin boys on the way.. There was a moment during the service when we were ALL introduced.. and the whole "twin" thing, got a collective gasp.. I love when we turn up the freak factor! jeez..
All in all, it was a decent weekend.. I'm happy that the yard sale is over, and happier still that the kids slept much better last night!

Yard Sale..

We are having a yard sale tomorrow.. I hate yard sales..I hate going to them, and I hate having them even more.. so, why are we having a yard sale? Well, when we thought we had sold our house, and were moving, we decided we would gather up some of our shit, try to sell it, and maybe make some money that we could put toward the movers, then whatever we didn't sell, we would just toss in the dumpster we were planning on getting..
So here we are, the day of what was to be our closing, and we have a bunch of "stuff" that we've put into boxes, that now either need to be sold, or tossed.. So, since we're poor, and since the boys have been quite excited about the prospect of making a little money of their own, we are set to go.. btw, the boys have gathered up bits and pieces of toys, and games that are missing most of the parts, or that they got free in Happy Meals.. nice.
Here is what I hate most about having a yard sale: Strangers rummaging through your shit, saying that it's in fact shit. I know, why do you think I tossed it out on my lawn for you idiots?? If it wasn't shit, it would be in my house! Or, people trying to offer you 10 cents instead of a quarter for that random plate. C'mon.. But then, there's all the work you have to do getting ready for it.. which I have done none of, like pricing stuff, and bringing it out of the basement. Ugh. If I wasn't on this stupid diet (that I haven't mentioned) then I would be buying the biggest bottle of wine I could find, and try to get it all done as I chug a lug. But since I'm trying to be good, and shed a few pounds that I so unwillingly gained, then I guess I'll try to do it while sipping on my 15th bottle of water.. ugh.. this is going to be such a fun weekend! Oh, and my husband is quite sure he's dying (or at least afflicted with some sort of nasty infection that is causing him to blow green and orange snot- nice!) So, he'll be off to the ER when I am home from work.. so I'll be doing all this yard sale stuff alone, oh, and getting 4 kids to bed.. ugh. Screw the diet.. I'm really gonna need a drink!

Another Anniversary..

For my husband and I..9 years today! My parents were married for 9 years.. I beat my mom's record!!! That was her longest marriage (her other 2 only lasted a few years combined..) Congrats to ME!!!!! And yes, I am being a smart ass here.. It's my way of blocking out the pain from all those divorces.. (seriously, just kidding!) Here's my wedding pic (again) And what a pretty bride huh?? Yes, I used to be attractive! haha..

Last Day..

Tomorrow is my last full day of work.. My husband returns to school next week, so I'm all done getting out of the house for 8 hours at a time.. yes, this IS depressing.. I've been trying to think about what my life is going to be like in 2 short weeks, when my son goes back to school (the 2nd grade, holy shit, when did he grow up??) And my youngest is going to be starting pre school the following week.. which means a lot of driving (no, the short bus WILL NOT pick him up..) meetings with teachers, volunteering (what little volunteering I do anyway..) packing lunches, doing homework, getting everyone in bed at a reasonable hour.. just a lot of insanity that comes when the school year starts, when my husband goes back to work, and when it all depends on me, pretty much anyway..
My husband is thrilled to be going back to school (he hasn't officially said this, but every so often I catch him just smiling.. for no apparent reason) I don't blame him.. I think I'll have a lot more interesting blog posts in a month or so.. with the little one starting pre-school, oh I can only imagine the stories that are going to spew from that experience! It should be good.. make sure to tune in! ;)

I was telling a male co worker of mine today about the stripper at my bachelorette party some 9 years ago.. I forwarded him this picture.. and the insensitive 25 year old said "Wow, did you used to be attractive?" jesus.

Our lovely little weekend...

We had our 3rd annual camping trip with my husband's family this past weekend. It was a lot of fun, and I wish we could have gone for a longer time.. I didn't make it last year as I was about to give birth to the twins, and my son loves to remind me every time he can, how I cried when they called me at home.. yes, I was a bit emotional and sad to be missing out on our family trip.. But I didn't miss it this year.. although the twins did.. My mom stayed home with them, as they are too young yet to enjoy camping.. not to mention the amount of work it would have been having them with us! I did miss them (just a little, seriously, just a bit) But man, we are paying for it now.. they were soooo clingy today, I couldn't leave their sight for a minute without them having a total meltdown. Payback for leaving them behind!
So, anyway, the boys had a great time. Their older cousin (she's 10) was there with another friend. The boys adore her. Their younger cousin was there too, she's 3, and her brother, the newest member of our family, who is almost 5 months old. I got an extra treat in that blogless was there with her family, so I got to hang out with them too... On a pretty funny note, something that would happen to only blogless... she was returning home today with her girls, and her very fancy, wonderful pop up tent, when approaching her house, coming up a hill, she heard a snap, and looked in the rear view.. there goes her camper, right down the hill! Into her neighbor's driveway, stopping nicely on a tree stump, and luckily not in their house! I don't know how the tow guy got it out, but I'm looking forward to that story as well!
Anyhoo, I'm now at work, and should probably be doing some workly things.. Oh, and I've decided that my husband and I need a new mattress. I can sleep on the ground in an air mattress or in my youngest sons twin bed (which I had to do last night because the older one on the top bunk had nightmare and freaked out) but I am rather comfortable on all those surfaces
but when I get into my own bed, my back ends up killing me.. Ugh.. Of course I'll NEVER get a new mattress.. $$$$ unless someone gives me one.. Ok, gotta go!

Ok, I'm not crazy..

There is nothing like getting a diagnosis and realizing that you're not nuts, that in fact it's a MEDICAL condition!! I do indeed have hypothyroidism.. which means I'll have to take a small white pill FOREVER! And honestly, I'm ok with that.. my mom has it too, and I guess it's more hereditary than anything.. so there ya go.. I'm not crazy, I'm just off balance (thanks Mom and your f'd up genes) and here's to a pill that just might help me lose the weight I've been steadily gaining.. yee ha!

10 lbs. of sugar in a 5 lb. bag..

This is how I'm feeling today (and yesterday..) I still haven't found out about my lab work and my thyroid.. I'm seriously hoping that I've got a problem, and some pill is going to help regulate it, and let me drop the weight I've gained.. I don't want to buy new clothes that fit me better, and my sister has all my maternity clothes (not that I would dare put them on again.. I would rather walk around naked, although NO ONE would want to see that! Trust me..)
ugh.. I suppose this huge bag of candy sitting next to me isn't helping.. or the huge bowl of potato salad that I had for lunch.. I loathe my love handles right now, and the twin skin that my girls gave me.. I know having a little belly is supposed to be sexy (right ctale?) but this old flappy thing is just gross.. ok, I've abused myself enough.. time for a kit kat! ;)

Wart vs. Cancer..

I love having a good friend in nursing school.. that way, she can tell you to check things out with your doctor.. like this weird lumpy thing on your eyelid, that's been there for months, and doing harm to no one (except for the poor folks to have to look at it and wonder what the hell it is..) Ctale thought it was zit, and that I should just pop it.. blogless advised against this, and since she is practically a doctor, I went with what she said.. I also called my doctor and went to see her today.
I first have to say that I love my doctor. I've been going to see her for 10 years now, and even though she's moved to another town, about 25 minutes away from my house (which is located about 5 minutes from a gazillion other doctors) I have stayed with her because she knows me, and it's worth the trip. So, as I'm waiting in her office, thinking the last time I had been there was in May for my cankle, I start getting a little panicked. Mainly because the first thing they do is weigh you.. I hate that! I'm one of those people who only weigh themselves first thing in the morning, before breakfast, and after a good crap.. so anyway, off go the flip flops (yes, they must weigh a good pound or so.. right?) and I've gained 12 pounds! WTF? In 3 short months? Ok, I know I had put on a couple of pounds, but 12? But whatever. I wait, and finally she comes in.. always happy to see me, always remembering every detail of my life.. how are the babies, how is your ankle.. is your husband on vacation this summer.. everything.. so I always ask her how she is.. the last time I saw her she was gearing up for a trip back to her homestead in Montreal with her mom and sister.. How was your trip? This is when I find out that during her trip she discovered that her mom has inoperable lung cancer, and how frustrating it is to be a doctor and not be able to save your own mother... and here I am with my 12 extra pounds, and some zit like looking thing on my eye.. but nonetheless, she is there for me, and doesn't ever forget that... So, she looks at my eye.. under the light.. commends me on my patience as she pulls and prodes at my eyelid.. then says.. "Well, I don't think it's cancer.." Um, ok. Cancer? "but let's send you to a dermatologist" She's leading more towards a wart.. lovely.. anyway, she's also concerned about my fabulous weight gain.. and then we start talking, and yes I am tired a lot, even though the girls are sleeping solidly through the night.. and no, I haven't changed my diet and yes, I do think I'm relatively active.. with 4 kids..yes.. so she thinks I might have hypothyroidism, I'm having blood drawn tomorrow.. My mother also has this affliction, which isn't a big deal, they just put you on a pill for the rest of your life.. I can live with that.. but this stupid thing on my eyelid.. I have to wait til October to get it looked at.. Unless it spreads.. maybe then they'll squeeze me in! Ahhhhhhh....

Camping..

I have felt like I'm in a bit of funk the past couple of days.. perhaps it's because I went camping this past weekend with ctale and blogless, totally free of children and husbands.. and had a fabulous time.. the weather was great, blogless cooked some really amazing food, I kicked ctales ass in uno and Yahtzee (although I think she did beat me maybe once or twice..) and we had many many cocktails and couldn't get over the fact that we were in our mid 30's.. mainly because we're still smoking hot and the guy in the campsite next to ours couldn't help but come over and try to rescue us on more than one occasion. His name was Roy, although I honestly have no idea what his family or friends call him, or what his mother named him, but to me he looked like a Roy.. ctale only glared at him while he wasn't looking, and blogless kept talking about our husbands who were "on their way to the campground.." I could have gone the weekend without hearing his story of how a bear had just been spotted at the campground, getting into someones cooler for their kielbasa.. It's always the kielbasa.. but seriously, that did put somewhat of a damper on our nightly walk, which ended up being more of a run because I was so scared. Not a trait that I am used to having.. it was weird. And no doubt annoying because our leisurely stroll ended up with me insisting that even though ctale was short, that I knew she could move faster.. and that blogless had better not start screaming if we did in fact see a bear.. I should have stayed back with Roy.. Anyway, it was fun.. really fun.. and now I'm home, and while I love being home, and my kids are the best.. I still wish that things like this happened more than once every 4 years! It had better! Ok girls?? :)

Here are the girls after I kicked their ass in Uno!

Thank God That's Over!!

So, it's done. The house deal fell apart like the ground above our leach field.. the douche bags (which in my opinion no longer deserve the title of "the people with average shoes") withdrew their offer last night. I found this out after having dinner with my good friend.. Apparently, they don't want to have to replace the septic if it fails in a few years.. My realtor's last ditch effort was to offer them a warranty on the septic for a year.. something I wasn't totally comfortable with. They wanted no part of that, and only wanted us to come down on our price.
Basically, we told them to fuck off.. which felt really good! I guess they forgot that we had come down almost $20,000 already! I'm not desperate, we don't have to move right away.. I loved the house we found, but we're going to bend over any more for these douche bags! The only thing that is giving me comfort, is knowing that those asses spent way more than we did with all their inspections.. and that of course is non refundable! hah! I'm partially relieved.. I was NOT looking forward to packing! ;)

This is not about our house! just kidding, of course it is!

It would appear that after our septic inspection yesterday, that we shit, and shower a lot.. Our leach field is saturated, which could mean we need a new septic.. or it could mean we just needed a good pumping, which they did yesterday. They're coming back in a couple of weeks to re-inspect it. Ugh.. the agony! And the douche bags with the shoes that spent an entire afternoon in my backyard in our shit, are getting "squirmy" per my realtor. Fuck them!
Anyway, I'm off to dinner with a dear friend visiting from the Big Apple.. I'm looking forward to talking with an adult (that isn't my husband) about something other than our house! If this sale happens (and believe it or not, I'm still optimistic) then I am never moving again!!!

We were out yesterday getting an ice cream and as we were leaving, a really pretty girl crossed our path.. My husband is trying to check her out subtly, without me noticing, but of course he can see the smirk on my face..
"I can still look at the menu" he says
"But what's the point when you've already ordered??"

Hah!

Kids..

Here are my kid's and my twins daughter (in the middle) Hard to believe that this picture isn't complete yet, and that pretty soon 2 more will be added..

One Year...

A year ago today, almost to the minute in fact, our lives changed forever.. Two adorable little babies were ripped from my womb and thrust upon us. We had no idea what we were getting into those first few moments. Even though my husband and I are seasoned parents, having 2 at once was an entirely new adventure.
A part of me is amazed at how quickly this year has flown by. Yet another part of me, the part that is forever changed with the love and joy my daughters have brought me, feels like they have been a part of our family forever.
Your birthday is never really your own, I never understood that until I became a parent.. I never understood completely why it was always so important to my mother to see me on my birthday, it was after all MY birthday.. But of course I know now that it was her day too..
Happy Birthday Girlie's!!

The Roller Coaster Ride From Hell...

Ok.. so I can breathe now... if you haven't read the post below, read it first.. Our realtor called this afternoon, and it looks like we are still good to go, and those douche bags with the average shoes still want to buy our house. The reason they cancelled the septic inspection was because they had a few things that they wanted us to fix here after the home inspection (nothing major at all) and they wanted to make sure we were going to do it before they spent any more money on the other inspection.. Ugh.. couldn't someone have called us, and told us that?? My realtor really let the other realtor have it too, about how unprofessional it was not to let us know about the inspection being cancelled.. Anyway, I have started slowly moving back into the new house.. just in my mind of course.. And I swear, if I have to move out again.. I'm going to seriously go postal! But thanks for the finger crossing, and any prayers made to the real estate gods!

The people with the average shoes, can suck it!

Our realtor was here at the house yesterday to meet the buyers for the septic inspection. They no showed. When she called the septic company, she was told that the buyers had some issues with the home inspection done on Wednesday, and didn't want to spend any more money until they knew what they were going to do. Douche bags! Their realtor never called mine, so big waste of time.
I'm going with the assumption that the deal is falling apart. Just so I won't be surprised when it actually does.
My husband and I thought the inspection went fine, with a few things here and there, but no deal breakers. I'm really starting to loath these people. Do you know how exhausting it is to mentally move in and out of a home?? Probably as tiring as physically doing it.. well, maybe not. But I can't help but to feel so low.. it sucks. Compounded with the fact that I didn't get enough sleep last night, and probably drank one too many drinks at my husbands show last night.. which btw was great! He did such a good job, he really is a talented musician. I was quite proud of him! I ended up going with my oldest son's best friends father. Looked like we were on a date.. but whatever.. All of my friends were busy, and he happened to call yesterday, and agreed to come with me.. it was fun.
Well, one of the babies just crapped.. so I had better drag my tired ass away from this computer and do something about it... someone out there keep some fingers crossed, and pray to the real estate gods that those a-holes buy my house! please..

We had the house inspection at our new place today (or what we hope will be our new place..) It went great, there were no major issues, and the guy was extremely thorough. This had made my husband very nervous because we are having our house inspected tomorrow.. he's been in a frenzy all afternoon, caulking this, and tightening that.. We had no idea what the inspectors looked for.. now we do.. I'm not worried.. but that's just my wonderful laid back nature.. My husband on the other hand tends to get very stressed. I'm working tomorrow, so he's got to get the kids out of the house for 2 hours so they can do their job. Hopefully everything goes ok.. We've decided to offer the people with average shoes some of our furniture, trying to sweeten the deal a bit.. maybe they'll ignore the bathroom closet that was never tiled, or the window's that stick in the playroom.. we'll see.. anyhoo, here's a picture of the back of our house, and the yard.. hopefully our house!

Lake Day..

I went up to see blogless at her very nice lake front home (well, almost lake front..) and the boys had a great time.. here they are with her two beautiful daughters (maybe my future daughter in laws!!) I also got to visit with lnotes, and her new baby, who is just the most beautiful baby! And ctale was there with miss S, another cutie! I swear, my friends and I have got the cutest kids! Really.

In two weeks, ctale, blogless and I are going camping, with no kids! I can't tell you how much I am looking forward to that.. my husband?? Not so much, but my mom is going to come by and help out with all the kids. It's been 4 years since we've had a girls trip. So we're due!

Anyway, here's Miss S.. hanging out at the beach.. I didn't get my camera out til after lnotes was gone, so no pics of her cutie.. next time though!

We're Moving!!!!!

At least that's what it looks like!
The people with the average shoes came up on their price, and the owners of the house we want came down... so it's all good! As long as the inspections go ok, and every one's financing goes through, then we'll be moving by mid August.. I'm excited, and nervous, and mostly scared shit less.. I can't help wondering if we're doing the right thing.. I worry mostly about my son, and having to go to a new school, although he says he wants to, and he really likes the new house. The school he's going to is a good school, and he likes the fact that I spent some time in that same school when I was a kid..
My other son doesn't want to move because he's afraid that we won't take everything with us (like him maybe) And after the past few days with him, I'm wondering if the new owners would consider including him in the deal! so kidding.. but really, he's been a tirade.. maybe he's freaking out a bit too! Poor little guy..
Anyway, that's what's up..we have an inspection next Tuesday at the house we want to buy..hopefully nothing comes back negatively.. like someone buried in the backyard.. or under the house.. haha! And hopefully the perspective buyers of our house don't find anything at our house either, and the hardest part of this whole ordeal is over (besides the actual moving itself)

The counter offer..and some other things..

We've counter offered to the people with cheap shoes, and are now waiting. We went down $10,000 in our price, but we won't be going much lower. I'm not expecting to hear anything from them for another week, since it took them so long to put together their first offer. I don't care at this point. I've come to the decision (again) that we can totally stay here.. it's so annoying! I wish we had never put it on the market, and that we could just be done with this. I hate being consumed by something. My husband was happy yesterday to get out and go to band practice, and a soccer game just so that he could stop thinking about it.
We had another open house yesterday, at the request of our realtor. Of course no one showed up. But my house is spotless, and I guess that might just make it all worth while. My husband wants me to see if I can go full time for the summer.. after reviewing our finances, and the fact that he's got no more landscaping jobs lined up, we really should do something. But honestly, I don't want to go full time. I love going to work, it's way easier than being here, but I also love having some of my summer to do summer things with my kids. And what if we end up moving? it's going to be all up to him to get us packed if I'm working.. we'll see..
Anyway, the girls both slept all night! Yee friggin hah! Actually, they both woke up once, but they only cried for a few minutes.. They're going to be 1 in a couple of weeks! Hard to believe that a year has already passed! But I'm sooooo grateful that is has! I don't know what we're going to do for their first birthday.. I guess blowing it off this year because they'll have no clue isn't an option (according to the grandmother's anyway).. oh well just one more thing to do.. I'll put it in the list!

I know it's a buyer's market..

But come on folks! Would they like us to just bend over and let them have their way with us?? The offer finally came in from the people with nice shoes.. Apparently those shoes must have been pretty cheap.. They have offered us $32,000 less than our asking price.. nice.

We haven't counter offered yet, but there's no way we can afford to go that low, or do we think our house is worth what they're offering. I don't know what will happen, but our luck on 07/07/07 has not been great so far!

Oh, and a funny thing on their offer letter, they want us to include our riding lawn mower! The funniest part- we don't have one! hah!

This waiting is killing me!

ugh.. Ok, here's the update on the "house.." We have yet to receive an offer from the couple with nice shoes.. although my realtor is still under the impression that we'll be getting one from them.. but she still thinks we should have an open house this weekend.. ok, makes sense.. My husband got a call yesterday from our realtor telling us that the house we wanted, was being negotiated.. they had gotten an offer. We knew that was going to happen.. and I was pissed! I had asked our realtor if we could make an offer, and was told that we couldn't make one until our house was under contract. That to me made no sense, but hey, I'm not the expert. So, I mulled this over for a few minutes, and got on the phone. I was quite proud of myself for doing this. I called my realtor, who asked me if I was "sad" about the house, and I said no, I was pissed. I then told her this was what we were going to do. We were going to make a full price offer, contingent on the sale of our home, in a week (since we're just waiting for that offer). She didn't hesitate, or tell me that she didn't think it would work, she just did it. Several hours later, we were under contract with the house! They accepted our offer, and now we just have to sell our place (in a week..) maybe.. Anyway, at least we tried.. if our house doesn't sell to the people in the nice shoes, then at least I'll know we did what we could. I think I should get a cut of our realtor's commission.. maybe?? I'm keeping my fingers crossed.. I've already mentally moved in.. decorated.. inside and out.. Hope it happens.. Oh, and thanks to blogless, who grew up across the street for telling me that she thinks someone died in that house.. great! Now I know why the price was so right.. you can really get a steal when a house is spiritually occupied!

The second showing went well.. we're supposed to be getting an offer pending a couple of things that the interested buyers wanted (master policy info, and crap like that) I'm literally dying to hear.. we went to see another house on Saturday, and this is the ONE! The only house so far that would make me ok with selling ours.. the price is right.. so right that I'm afraid it isn't going to stay on the market long.. ugh.. I hate this real estate game! Hate it! I'm hoping to hear something from my realtor this morning.. if this doesn't happen, then we're done! I go from not wanting to ever move and leave my lovely, wonderful home to not being able to wait to sell it.. Anyway, here's the house..

Growth Spurt..

Here's my sister in the pink pants 2 weeks ago, at 17 weeks. Here she is in the brown pants at 19 weeks.. Poor girl.. she can't wear the pink pants anymore, and she spent most of Friday feeling like crap because her belly hurt from stretching. I hate to see her feeling like that, but I know exactly what she's going through, and I know it's only going to get worse (sorry hun!) I'm just glad that she's over half way there! Yea!!

We took the kids on a little nature hike today.. It was really fun.. except when my husband kept saying "what's that??" whenever he heard a noise.. that made both the boys run to my side, and grab a hand.. He really is such a tool!

But it was a great time none the less!

A Couple of Dorks turned 35 this month..

Here's my sister and I at Margarita's Friday night. Our girlfriends took us out for our birthday.. Like the sombrero's?? Our overly excited waitress brought them to us in celebration for our special day.. I wasn't nearly drunk enough to wear them longer than a minute to get this pic.. but thank you ladies for a great time!! :)

Here's something that I never realized..

Until I started working again.. I FART a lot! I guess being at home, with my boys, just letting em go whenever.. did not prepare me so well for being in an environment where I just simply can't do that.. I never realized either how gassy I am. Jeez, what's up with that? Nor did I realize how many times I would start laughing (and I do that a lot here, my sister is with me, and we pretty much crack each other up on a regular basis..) and have to squeeze those glutes and hold it in! It's horrible! I guess if any good comes of this it will be that I'm exercising my ass more than ever! Hah!

Second showing, and the house that I want to buy..

We have another showing to the cool couple with nice shoes tomorrow.. My poor husband has to get the house ready without me as I'll be working.. I'm still not sure if I want to move, but I did find a house that I could live in.. Here it is..

Douchebagastino..

There's a new guy at work, yes a guy! There are actually 2.. it really cuts down on the drama having men here.. I like it.. But this poor schmuck gets to be picked on by more than one of the females here.. just because it's fun. This is the new guys nickname.. although he doesn't know it yet.. He also happens to be a relative of mine.. twice removed by marriage or something like that! They're everywhere!

Work Day #1..

Well, my first full day of work in over 3 years, is almost over.. and let me correct myself here, and say the first full day of work outside of my own house! Work that doesn't involve changing diapers, or doing laundry, dishes..etc.
I must say it's been a wonderful day.. It's about 95 degrees outside, yet I'm cool and comfy in my air conditioned office. I got to hang out with my sister for the day.. she was a big help to me in getting me readjusted to everything that I don't normally do during my night shift.. I only got one phone call from home, where it sounded like my husband had everything under control. He woke up bright and early this morning and made a schedule for the boys. It went a little like this.. 7-8 am breakfast, and cartoons. 8-9 computer games, 9-10 arts and crafts, 10-11 free time.. and so on.. I thought it was pretty clever.. and the boys were really excited about it. Especially my oldest son who is so used to schedules from school. I dont' know if at some point he just tossed the schedule and let them have the remote.. we'll see when I get home!
I'm interested to see what shape my house is in.. I'm hoping it's as clean as when I left, but I'm doubting that. I'm not going to expect too much from my husband on the first day. So, anyway, I think I'm going to do just fine working part time.. It was sad leaving this morning, but by about noon, I felt just fine! ahhhhhh..

Diarrhea..

I don't have it yet, but my stomach has been butterflies all night.. I'm working an 8 hour day tomorrow.. and it's been a while.. I've never left the girls for that long, although they'll be in the capable hands of my husband.. but I'm freaking out just a bit.. Ugh.. I'm off to bed, hoping to get some good sleep, and manage to get out of here in the morning without crapping myself silly! nice huh?

Best Friends..

Here are my 2 nieces, who I used to care for when they were babies.. They now go to the same day care and are in the same class... They are best friends! It's so cute..

The many faces of my niece.. Here she is finding out that her mom is having 2 babies..And moments later finding out that they're 2 boys!

Love Notes...

To my husband on his first day of summer vacation.. and me returning to work next week!! Love you Buddy!!

Pooped..

This is how I'm feeling today.. we showed the house yesterday and I spent a good 4 hours cleaning.. we hadn't had any interest in about a month, so I had really let the cleaning go.. I still don't want to sell, but neither my husband or I can seem to grow a pair and tell our agent/friend that.. the people were here for a good 40 minutes.. I saw them as I was leaving.. young, cute couple.. nice shoes, someone I would want to hang with.. 40 minutes is a good sign, and I guess if we could afford to buy another house in this town, I'd be thrilled at the prospect.. but we can't, so I'm not! ugh..

Summer's Here.. and new summer doo's..

Here they are.. the pride of my existence.. along with my niece in the top photo..the boys have their brand new summer hair cuts.. keeping them nice and cool.. and the girls hair is long enough now that I can put a tiny pony tail on the top of their heads (like Pebbles..) so cheezy, but after 7 years of just boys.. well, let's just say they are going to be in pink A LOT!

This girl was on the front page of our local newspaper.. Apparently she's going to be getting some jail time for driving drunk, getting pissed, and grabbing the arresting officers crotch! She'll only spend 3 days in jail.. just enough time to make some friends.. she's an aspiring model (um, no kidding, are those lips real??) She also was ordered to live with her mother, get a job, and be home by 8 pm every night! Sounds like an exciting life for a 21 year old model wannabe! Bummer..

Ultrasound results for my sister..

My sister had her ultrasound today.. and she's having 2 BOYS!! I knew it.. of course I know everything ;) The babies are looking really good, everyone's growing just fine.. and now we have to start buying boy clothes! Yea for boys!

Duties..

My poor poor constipated pregnant sister.. Anyone who's been pregnant, knows that having a regular, easy going shit, are a thing of the past. One would also know that if you gotta go, you gotta go..

So this is what happened to her yesterday, at work.. Into the bathroom she goes, does her business.. flushes, and yes, clogs up the toilet that is right inside her little cluster of offices.. Poor girl! What makes it worse, is that she now has to call maintenance, since plungers are not readily available, and have some poor schmuck come over and unclog her very clogged toilet. I do think she was able to maintain some anonymity, when the guy came over to do his job, but she was no doubt horrified that this man had to view such a private, and yes, disgusting part of her..

This bathroom is literally steps away from my sister's desk, and all the while, she can hear the sounds coming from the bathroom, mostly made by the maintenance guy, groaning about the job he is performing.. It's only made worse when the man is about to leave, and in a rather smart, snide way, says to the ladies in the office "Well, I'm off to take care of the rest of my duties" (get it, doodies??) I'm guessing next time, she'll find a more private bathroom, and possibly just leave any clog she might cause.. I'm just guessing!

STRAWBERRIES!

A friend of mine gave me 4 strawberry plants when this guy was born.. They have more than quadrupled since then and each June we get a ton of yummy juicy berries from my yard.. My husband hates them (something about the seeds, and his ass..) they are spreading like crazy.. The best way to eat them: dipped in sour cream, and rolled in brown sugar! Sounds rather bizarre, but it's delicious!

Hard to Believe..

Today is my son's last day of 1st grade... He told me last night it was kind of sad because he didn't know if he'd be going back to that school next year (in case we sell our house) I told him not to worry about it, and that I didn't want to move.. My husband was on line this morning, and wants to move to Houston. I told him we'd miss him..

My son and I waited for the bus this morning, for the last time this year, and just as the bus was pulling up he said to me "It's hard to believe that I'm going to be in second grade.." Yes, it is!

Success!!!

The first successful #2! Even though the only reason I knew it was coming was because he was giving himself a major wedgie (trying to hold it in), and even though he still needed a change of clothes because it had emerged ever so slightly, I'm still so proud of him! He's on his way!! Good job Turd Ferguson!

Twin Belly..

Here's my sister.. all prego with her twins.. she's about 17 weeks here, and looking just wonderful! That is seriously what I looked like at about 10 weeks, and she's not even in maternity clothes yet (beatch!!)

She finds out Tuesday what the sex is! I'm guessing boys.. so is she!

The girls are going to be 1 next month.. Hard to believe.. Here's my little man, who today, while out shopping, dragged me to the bathroom so he could do #1. No success with #2 yet, unless you consider success when the shit doesn't drop on your foot, and stays nicely in his tighty whitey's.. We'll get there.. eventually!

My Clematis..

We planted these 2 years ago (maybe 3) and they bloom beautifully every year.. It makes me laugh whenever I see the name of the plant.. I'm not quite sure how to pronounce it, but it always sounds like some sort of disease!

Before the Crash...

My husband and his band have a spot on my space.. check it out!

June 12th..

On this day..



-George H.W. Bush was born, in 1924
-Anne Frank was born, in 1929
-Jim Nabors (or Gomer Pile) was born in 1930



-In 1965, Sonny and Cher sang "I got you Babe" on American Bandstand"



-In 1994 OJ killed Nicole Brown and Ron Goldman (allegedly..)



-and most importantly, on this day in 1972.. I was born.. 4 minutes before my wombmate and dear sister.. Happy Birthday Sistah friend!

He had no idea what he was saying..

Today my 4 year old was telling me his favorite characters on his favorite shows. He has stopped incessantly asking me who my favorites are, so for that I am very pleased.. But here is what our conversation sounded like..
"Do you know who I like on Dora?"
"Who?"
"Boots. Do you know who I like on Spongebob?"
"Who?"
"Patrick. Do you know who I like on me?"
"Who??"
"You."

It took me a second to figure out what he was saying.. but it dawned on me that he was telling me that I am his favorite, on the show that is his life.. awhh.. for something that sounded so inappropriate, it was actually very sweet!

DNA Results..

I just got the DNA results on the girls, and they are identical! I don't know why I'm so excited about this.. maybe because I'm an identical twin, and my twin is pregnant with her own set of identical twins.. I didn't want my girls to miss out on how truly special (and yes freakish) this whole thing is..

Yeah for the miraculous splitting of an egg!!

More Poop..

Why must potty training be so difficult.. especially when it comes to the pooping?? My poor little boy.. he can totally control the peeing part now, he's a pro, and even goes in by himself, stands up, shakes it off, and even gets his clothes back on.. But for some reason, he can't quite master the poop.
I mentioned earlier that he was on his way to the potty a couple of days ago, with a turtle head emerging.. Well, it happened again tonight, while I was on my way to work, already running late. This time, I thought I would be proactive, and get him to the toilet myself. So, I picked him up under his arms, and ran.. We weren't 2 feet away from the bathroom door, when I felt something warm and squishy hit my foot. UGH!!!!! And of course there is a baby heading down the hallway following her mommy..
And where is my ever so helpful husband? The guy whose always there in a pinch? In the living room, covering his mouth with his t-shirt, trying not to gag. Nice.
My poor poor shitting himself silly little boy. He just can't seem to manage to know when to get to the potty for number 2! I'm sure he'll get the hang of it soon.. I'm just glad that I was there to handle it, if my husband had been the one to get shit all over his foot, I'm guessing he would have just passed out or something! good lord..

We love the sprinkler.. especially this little guy! So happy that summer is almost here!

Drinking on a Budget..

I found this wine at the local drug store.. for $2.99! Seriously, you can't beat that.. and ok, it tastes better by the second glass.. but with 4 kids, and a teacher's salary, it's a damn good find!

Tuna Talk..

What is the big deal about telling your 4 year old that his sister's don't have a penis.. that in fact they have something called a vagina? Of course the poor kid can't say such a big word with so many consanents, and is calling it "tuna" (I know.. I know..)
But so what?
I can't remember when I told my older son about our girly bits, but it was right around this age.. And it's not like I sat him down and decided that it was a good day to tell him that boys and girls are different in many ways.. But when he's talking about his sisters penis, and how it looks different than his, then it's time to tell the truth!
My husband thought it was in bad taste to be telling him.. But seriously, like anyone is going to know that when he says his sister has a tuna, that he's really talking about her va-jay-jay, right? Ugh..

Mr. Poopy

My youngest son is trying so hard to master the potty. He hasn't had an accident since he peed all over my mother in laws bathroom.. He's got a good clean record.. with the pee anyway..

Today he was outside playing with 2 cousins that were over visiting, when he ran inside, well, more like waddled.. "I have to pee.. but I think I have to poop too.." I already knew, despite his efforts, that he was already in the process of having his crap, right there in his boxers. So, as he's strutting down the hallway, and I'm running to the bathroom to get the toilet ready, I hear him moaning.. "Oh no, oh no.." I peek out the bathroom door, and see two huge turds sitting on my hallway runner.. and one baby crawling as fast as she could towards the wonderful dropping her brother had just left for her! I did manage to get the boy and the baby, and clean everything up in record time.

He was quite devastated though, mainly because last night I had just baked him a strawberry cake for doing so well on the potty, and he was afraid this was going to cost him his share of cake.. poor boy. Living for his sweets.. I reassured him that everyone has accidents and that it was ok.. he could have some cake for dessert.. phew!

One more..

This is one of my favorites.. I just finished it this morning, the last one for my son's teachers.. Damn, it's cute!

Long Lost Friend..

My son found one of the only binkies that I have not thrown away.. He asked if he could suck on it for a minute.. for some reason this prompted him to hike up his boxer shorts and go all Erkel on me.. funny little kid!

I'm hoping my sons teachers don't soon forget what a great kid he is.. especially when they're toting around their new bags! :)

Stump..

Working at a hospital, I see a lot of medical terms. Sometimes I wonder why they don't just simplify some of their jargon, so that maybe the rest of the world can understand what they're talking about. However, this order for a test passed my desks moments ago, "ultrasound left lower extremity. Diagnosis: ulcer left stump"

Stump?? Isn't there another word that more professionally describes an amputees leg? A word that didn't sound so.. rude?? It just seemed very bizarre to me that a doctor couldn't come up with a better word to describe this disability...

Potty Training Update..

My youngest son is almost officially, all the way potty trained.. and boy is he proud of himself! As he should be, it's a big deal! I'm very excited that he's finally doing his business on the potty! It has been a bit tricky this week going anywhere.. but of course I can't be a recluse.. I have to get out.. things to do.. pick flowers..visit old people.. ya know.. So, today when we were at my mother in laws, he had to go.. but he said he would wait til he got home. He refuses to pee on the toilet, only on his little potty at home, which he places wherever he likes.. But it's becoming apparent that he isn't going to be able to hold it, and I remember one other place he will pee.. Outside. So we run out to the back yard, strip him down, and there he goes..
Now, this kid has a bladder of steel, much like his brother. He has had days that he hasn't gone til lunch time.. I don't ever remember having a bladder like that! So, I think we're in the clear til we get home.. well, it's not even 20 minutes later, and he's running around like he's got to go again.. and I tell him he's going to have to use the toilet (which by the way is new, and one of those high standing ones for older people who can't squat like they used to..) So, I run him into the bathroom, where he sees this gy-normous toilet, and just pisses right there.. all over her bathroom floor, his shorts, and shoes.. oh well.. accidents happen.. So, I guess outside would have been a better place to go, since it worked before.. I don't know why I try to control that boy! Sorry buddy!

Lily of the Valley..

I went flower picking this morning.. my favorite flower of all time is the lily of the valley.. A friend of mine has parents with a huge patch of them hidden away on the side of the road.. After visiting the mom at work, and asking if I could pick some, I drove the kids out there, parked them on the side of the road and picked a huge amount of them. I should have been there last week, as they are on their last leg, but I don't care.. they are beautiful, and smell delicious!

After dropping a bouquet off at my mother in laws (such a kiss ass..after all these years!) I came home and started making bags.. My son's teachers (all 4 of them- including the aides) are each getting one for their "end of the year, thank you for being so nice to my kid" gift. I love getting to be creative.. ahhh.. and it's beautiful out, and the girls are having a LONG nap! Damn, it's a good day!

I'm such a fruit!

Spring in New England..

I'm waiting for the non stop rain.. that's what we've been used to this time of year in New England.. but we're enjoying the new stroller that my mom got the babies.. they are loving the outside! It's great!

My sister ROCKS!!!

I found out today (albeit it was mistake I found out) that my sister got me an early birthday present.. I got a phone call today from Mark at Proactive Genetics.. to ask about my zygosity testing order.. (to see if my twins were identical or fraternal). Poor schmuck didn't realize that he had just ruined a surprise from my beloved twin sister.. She bought the d.n.a. testing for my girls to find out if they are in fact identical or fraternal. I was soooo touched that her and her husband did this for us! I would have eventually gotten to this.. once we had some extra money (in maybe about 20 years..) But she totally beat me to the punch, so by the time my birthday rolls around next month, I'll know what kind of twins my babies are..
This may not seem like a big deal to anyone, but if you're a twin, or a parent of twins.. it's something you want to know. If only for the simple reason that everyone constantly asks you what they are.. If you're comfortable lying, then great, but if you can't then this is the way to go.. Thank you thank you thank you.. for being a sister that rocks!!

The 3 Piggy Opera was so much fun. My son did such a great job, as did all of his classmates. It only lasted a half hour (perfect amount of time) The girls sat on my lap through the whole production, and were just mesmerized. It was great.
This morning, I dragged the girls and my youngest to Kohls.. they were having yet another sale, and I needed my fat girl shorts (aka capris). I also got my husband some "rock style" shorts (they're plaid) I don't know if he'll like them, but I think he'll look pretty cute in them..
My mom took my youngest son to the beach this afternoon. They left in her little convertible v.w. and he looked really cute in the backseat with his hat pulled down over his face.. Oh, and big news on him.. he's pretty much potty trained! Yea! I was trying to be patient, and letting him do it on his own time, but jeez, he's 4, and I said enough is enough.. I told him he was going on the potty, and that was it. I can't believe it worked! I'm very proud of him!!
Anyway, both the girls are napping, so I need to do some much needed cleaning.. Hope everyone has a wonderful Memorial Day weekend!!

Another night out, and the 3 piggy opera

Last night went a lot better with the girls, and this morning I woke up rather refreshed.. thank goodness..
Tonight I am meeting a friend of mine for dinner in Portsmouth. I feel like I'm cheating because I just went out.. like I don't yet deserve another night away from the kiddo's.. although clearly, if we were to keep track on who goes out more.. my dear husband would win hands down.. He was happy to see me off tonight..with the girls screaming about my departure, and the boys rolling around on the floor, and poor mr. fern just starring blankly.. left alone to watch the season finale of American Idol alone..
Tomorrow night I have the night off from work, and we're all going to see my first grader in his class play "The 3 Piggy Opera" I can't wait. He's the pig in the straw house.. and he has a solo!! They did a production of it today for the rest of the school, and he got off the bus this afternoon in almost all of the face paint for the play, but smudged terribly. At first glance, my heart sank, as it looked like my little man had been in his first fist fight.. But alas it was just his pig makeup.. Anyway, I'm off to enjoy a quiet night without my family.. ahhhh... that sounds so nice!!

Tired..

It's been a while since I had such a sleepless night.. when I had to walk around my house with an inconsolable baby.. It's been quite a while.. I'm hoping it's going to be a while before it happens again.. I can't handle my day when I wake up and my eyes hurt from being open.. ugh...

My Weekend..

I had a great weekend..even though it rained, and was miserable out.. it didn't damper much.. I went to dinner with my bestest girlfriends in Portsmouth.. Ctale's birthday celebration.. we went to The Flatbread Pizza Company, my first time, and it was delicious! We usually go to really swanky places, but since I've been so poor, I had to bow out of something really expensive, for something more casual. And it was great.. Ctale told us her engagement story.. which made me wish mine was a little more like hers.. ahhh.. Lnotes is bursting with baby!! Due in only a couple of weeks! My sister is in her 2nd trimester with the twins, and looks great! She's not even in maternity clothes yet! douche bag.. I was in them at 8 weeks! Perhaps she'll avoid the "twin skin" too (the attractive shape your belly takes after birthing two at once!) And our two friends without blogs were wonderful as well.. It's always good to see the girls!

My husband and I saw a house on Sunday.. it was gross.. another house we dont' like..we've seen plenty of those.. no one has been to see our house in a few weeks.. but I don't care.. I still don't want to sell it!

I mowed my lawn today. My husband came home while I was finishing it up.. gave me a few pointers, and then waited for me to finish, so he could mow it again. Yes, we have time for things like re-mowing an already mowed lawn. Whatever!

A good friend of mine called me yesterday. He currently lives in Montpelier VT, but he's moving to Ogunquit ME on June 1st! I'm very excited about that! He's a lot of fun.. unfortunately, I used to be a lot of fun, but with 4 kids, the amount of fun, and the intensity of the fun has somewhat diminished.. Oh well.

I offered to work more hours this summer at my job.. I'm not sure if I'm going to like that or not.. but with my husband being off for the summer, one of us has to be bringing in some money. He's got a few landscaping jobs, but nothing that's going to keep him busy very long. I'll hopefully hear back from my boss relatively soon.

Ok, gotta get some shit done.. can't wait to get to bed tonight..like most nights.. Later.

I found a long lost relative yesterday.. My dear cousin.. one that I haven't seen in almost 9 years.. He was a huge part of my life growing up.. his parents lived with us for some time back in "the day" and he's been like a brother to me.. a brother that has all of his teeth, and that doesn't have a gazillion children, like my very own blood brother (ick)
I don't know why I hadn't found him sooner.. Life happens, and people lose touch.. His father and my mother are siblings.. they haven't spoken in over 17 years (the lovely dysfunction that is my family) But we have always remained in contact.. however, I don't know what happened in the past 9 years for us not to communicate, but that isn't as important as the fact that I know where he is now, I have his email address, and he is going to get so sick of me!
He's married.. and lives in Micronesia (a place I had never heard of) It's far far away, near the Philippines.. He's currently in the Peace Corps and has been for several years. Him and his wife are trying to have a baby..
He was just in NH visiting, but didn't know where I was, or how to contact me. I think we've both just grown accustomed to our own lives, and how much easier it was to be a part of the isolation of our extended families rather than to step on any ones toes.. It's been ugly in our family over the years.. but like he said, it's our parents bullshit, not ours!
Happy to have him back in my life! And he had better stay there this time! :)

Cankle Update...

I saw the orthopedist today.. a young man, probably late 20's early 30's.. he seemed a tad surprised when he came in and saw me.. His first words "I thought I read something about you having 4 kids??" Yea, that's right.. hard to believe, right? Such a young thing?? So pretty.. Hah!

Anyway, after a few xrays, and questions, and him touching my foot (which, btw, I hated.. nothing grosses me out more than someone touching my feet, your feet, or anyones feet..) He determined that I've got high arches and for that reason, my ankle turns out, and over the years (and pregnancies) it has put a lot of pressure on my tendon, in turn giving me tendonitis.. I'm now wearing an insert in my shoes (which I hate.. it's almost summer, and I can't wear my comfy flip flops..instead, hot smelly sweaty sneaks!) Yuck..

I have to go back in 6 weeks to see if it's improved.. It already feels better, more stable I guess. So, lets see if I wear sneakers til the end of June! doubt it!

The Agent Tour..

My realtor is having an agent tour of our house tomorrow. She's got about 15 agents from different real estate companies coming over to see our place, in the hopes that they might know someone who wants to buy it.. When should I tell her that I don't think I want to move? ugh.. I guess if we could find a house in our town, I might want to sell it.. but honestly, the thought of going to another town, and a new school.. and my mom living in our basement, it gives me the shits! (not really, but you know what I'm saying right?)

We'll just have to see how it goes I guess.. no use shitting over a house that isn't even sold yet!

No appointment needed (apparently it won't matter anyway)

This morning we had our 3rd speech therapy appointment at the house. I love the woman who comes over. She's got a really down to earth personality, she's funny, smart, and my son adores her...she's also mother to four kids, 2 of whom are twins! So, there.. I like her.

There's just one thing.. that kind of irks me.. She is consistently late. All 3 of our appointments, which have been scheduled at 9, she has called about 10 minutes after 9, and says she'll be there in 5 minutes.. Another 20 minutes, and she's usually here.. I appreciate the phone call, but what I would appreciate even more is if she was here when she was supposed to be! Right?

Anyway, the weather is beautiful today.. although a bit toasty for my taste. I have discovered the girls absolutely love to be outside. They sit ever so happily on their blanket, with their basket of toys, and let me wander around weeding in my flower beds.. I love it! They don't seem to be bothered by any bugs, like my boys are.. Here's a picture of them soaking up the sun and the fresh air.. and hats are not an option as they will not keep them on!

What's that smell??

One of the babies (the one on the left here) is always making this face, like someone just farted.. it's pretty funny!

My Cankle..

I don't know what I did, but something is wrong with my right ankle.. it's swollen, a tad bruised, and just basically hurts. I'm heading to my doctor's this morning to see what's up. I don't have time for stupid shit like this.. but my mom is coming over to watch the kids, so even if I'm only going to my doctor's.. I'm still getting a break from the never ending task of mother to a gazillion kids.. two of whom are crawling all over the place.. and starting to pull themselves up onto our very dangerous, very sharp edged coffee table.. it's nerve racking!
Yesterday my youngest son (a.k.a. my emergency room enthusiast) thought it would be funny to get into the girls backpack.. it was pretty funny, that is however, until he tried getting out of it and landed chin first into the above mentioned coffee table. No blood thank god. But plenty of tears, plenty of blaming me for letting it happen, and a nasty nasty bruise under his chin.. Poor dub.
Anyhoo, off to the doctor's I go.. fun fun..

Opening Day..

Here is how we spent our weekend. My oldest son had his first baseball game.. This was about as into it as he got... I have other pictures of him sitting on the field.. let's just say I don't think he's going to be the athlete in the family!

It was his 7th birthday on Saturday, we started out our day by taking him to breakfast at his favorite bakery. Then the rest of the day was spent getting ready for our open house, and more baseball opening day events. It was crazy! We had a small birthday party for him yesterday, with a few friends from school.. that went surprisingly well. With the exception of my youngest son, who's birthday is next Sunday, everyone was very well behaved. My poor toddler, having to sit through gift opening and not be getting a bunch himself. It was unbearable! I gave him the only gift I had gotten for him so far, a pair of spider man sandals.. he seemed pretty happy with those.. he's a tough nut let me tell you!

My husband took my son to work with him yesterday. I was happy he went, and much to my own surprise, I missed him! Although I didn't get to miss him too long because my husband called me right after he got to work and asked me to come for lunch, and maybe take him home with me, apparently he was the only teacher that brought his kid to work.
He had a great time with his dad, and loved getting to see all the kids that he teaches. When I got there with the girls, he couldn't wait to tell me everything he did.. he brought home things he painted in my husbands art class, and some rather phallic looking clay sculpture. We spent the rest of the day visiting with my mother in law.. which was very nice, right up until the last minute, when I was packing the kids up in the car, and we somehow got on to the subject of racism.. I can not for the life of me remember how we stumbled upon this topic, but it was about 2 seconds into it that I wished we hadn't. I love my mother in law, she's a great grandmother, but man does she have some pretty fucked up views on race. Let me first say, she's 76.. which doesn't excuse her from her racist views, but I think a lot of racism is going to die along with these people.. not saying that it won't always be here.. because of course it will be, but maybe eventually it won't be as prevalent as it is today. Anyway, she's against interracial dating.. she feels bad for the children of those relationships.. And those Japanese! They are just so rude, you wouldn't believe how rude they were to her and her husband when she was at Universal Studios. OMG. I was trying to keep my mouth from dropping to the floor, and only said that she should remember that whoever was rude to her wasn't the ENTIRE race, and one shouldn't be so stereotypical about things like that... and that love knows no color.. and what if a twin had been rude to her one day, would she say that all twins were rude?? I was trying to make it easy for her to understand how insane she sounded.. I don't know if it worked.. I know she was embarrassed by what she had said when she asked me not to tell anyone she felt that way.. ok. I won't tell.. Especially my children..
I guess the funniest thing about this, and not funny in a ha-ha sort of way, is the fact that her husband, is 100% Portuguese, and she's almost 100% Irish. Wouldn't that fall into the definition of an interracial couple? I mean, half of her 6 children are fair skinned, and the others are darker.. hmm.. I don't think anyone ever felt bad for her kids..

Enough complaining..

I've got to stop complaining.. especially to my sister. It's always a big "wahh.. poor me.. I'm so tired.." And here she is trying to be pregnant with her very own set of twins.. and all I'm doing is giving her an earful of how hard it is. But really.. it's not that hard.. sure there's two, but when you think about it, in the long run, it's going to be easier. You're finishing your family, and getting all the hard baby stuff out of the way at once! Right?
I do intend on being honest with her.. she knows that it's been hard, but I don't think I talk enough with her about how wonderful it is too. How much fun I'm having with my girls (and my boys of course!) She was meant to have a big family, if she stops at only 3 kids, I must say, I'm going to be a bit disappointed. (haha) My sister is the type of woman, who has amazing patience. If you see her upset, you know that something is wrong, really wrong. She just never gets riled. She was the peace maker in our family, a position that she probably didn't want, especially in a family that had more issues than Newsweek! But she was always calm, and collected, thoughtful and considerate. That's just her.
So, from now on I'm going to try to keep my dumb mouth shut, and quit my complaining.. I want her to enjoy her pregnancy, and look forward to the birth of her twins.. Not be freaked out by all my horror stories!

Open House #2

My realtor wants to have another open house this weekend. Our last open house was a total disaster, with not one single soul coming to see our cute little condex.. I just emailed her though, and asked if we could get a sign out in front of the house advertising for it. I hate the thought of busting my hump cleaning all week, for no one to show up. Anyway, should be a fun week now that I've got my plans made for me.. UGH!