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

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

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

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

My Weekend Reunion.. and this sucky cold!

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

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

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

Kyle Chandler..Is He Yummy or What??

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

There's one or two douches on EBAY!!

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

Spending money we don't have..

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

Sweet, Sweet baby boys..

Four eyes?? How bout 6??

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

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

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

Nothing like the love of a big brother..

How sweet is this??

Such a Drag..

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

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

Ugh..

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

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

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

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

TGIF!!

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

Baby B is home!

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

Halloweenie..

Halloween is upon us again, and the boys are having mixed feelings.. Well, at least my 4 year old is. He is refusing to come trick or treating with us because he's afraid he might see something, or someone that will scare him.. And despite telling him that he's not going to get much candy waiting at his Grammies, he still won't budge.. But I suppose it's for the best.. after all, he wasn't a lot of fun last year cowering in the wagon his dad pulled, and at least this way, I might get some sleep in the upcoming week if he's not totally freaked out by all the kids he might see dressed up scary. He's a wreck because his brother is dressing up like a vampire.. Although my oldest son has decided to tone it down a bit because blogless and her girls are coming with us, and he doesn't want to scare them... so sweet, but to be honest, he's getting a little nervous about being a vampire after all the freaking out his little brother has done, he would hate to be scared of himself!
The girls are going as a bumble bee and a lady bug.. If I can get them in their costumes.. My husband usually dresses up as Darth Maul, but I think it'll be too scary for the babies.. and he did get a long black wig to go as a mullet wearing dork, but they are scared of that too! Gee, maybe they should stay at their Gram's too!!
My husband and his band had another show this past weekend. It was an outside one, at a barn.. a really stinky barn, in the rain. But it was actually fun. It was a Halloween party (which I loath btw) Seriously, I hate dressing up in costumes.. but I stole a costume idea that blogless had used about 10 years ago and went as my husbands worst nightmare.. It was merely me with a pillow stuffed under my sweater.. Yes, a pregnant me. It would have been my worst nightmare too.. in fact, it was a nightmare for a few people who saw me drinking with a very real, quite large prego belly! haha.. "you're not really pregnant are you??" idiots!

Baby Update...

It's been a crazy week. My sister went home yesterday, with only one of her boys. The younger one was transported the day before to a neonatal intensive care unit in another town. He's doing ok, but he was having a hard time breathing on his own, due to his prematurity (they were a month early, just like my girls) It was a very scary time for everyone, especially my sister. It's hard enough recovering from a c-section, but to add a sick baby to it is devastating. She's been up to see him both days that she's been home, and today he was doing really well. The dr's were finally able to take him off of the oxygen, and he was doing great breathing on his own. He also started to nurse, which is a great sign. It can be a tricky thing to breath, and suck at the same time, so he's showing determination, and getting healthier and stronger with his mom's milk. The doctors have been totally optimistic about him being ok, but that's hard to hear when he's got tubes coming out everywhere, and when you can't take him home with you. They aren't sure when he'll be able to come home, it could be a couple of days, or a couple of weeks. My sister is just going to be busy making the 45 minute trek to see him everyday, and bring him pumped milk, and just try to bond with him. Her other baby is doing great, nursing like a pro, and thankfully keeping her busy enough to take her mind off her other baby, if only for a minute.
So, it's all going to be fine. He's going to be home at some point, and all the worrying that they have done this past week is going to be replaced with the chaos involved of having 2 babies at once. I can't wait for that! Neither can she!

The Boys are HERE!!!!

My sister had her babies today, they are beautiful! I was lucky enough to stand outside the O.R. and videotape the c-section.. it was amazing! Here are a couple pics of my new nephews.. oh, and the stats.. twin A weighed in at 5 lbs. 1 oz. and twin B was 6 lbs. 3 oz. Everyone is doing well!!

My Twin's Twin Update..

My sister is 35 weeks pregnant with her twins! I can't believe she's almost done growing those babies! I must say, I've been so impressed with how well she's handled the whole pregnancy, with much more patience, and grace than I ever did, that's for sure!
I delivered my girls at 36 weeks, she knows that she could too, and I think she hopes she does! I really can't wait to meet my nephews.. I know they are going to be adorable.. I keep feeling all nervous for her.. and I know I shouldn't even write about this, but man, her world is going to turn upside down for a while. If someone had told me how it was going to be at the beginning, I surely wouldn't have believed it. And she probably won't either. You don't really understand it, until you're in the middle of it. You only hope that the days of their infancy, go by as quickly as the days of their gestation. And they will. My girls are almost 15 months! It's absolutely flown by! And while every day is usually filled with lots to do, and several meltdowns, you are so happy that they are at least out of that infancy stage.. in my opinion, that is the hardest part. But my sister is a unique individual, filled with such patience, and a maternal knack that makes the rest of us look unfit! Seriously, she's going to do great.. Man, I can't wait!!!!!!

Life in the Fast Lane (or Lame Lane, I'm not quite sure which!)

It feels as though I have no time, and not much to blog about lately. But if I stop for a second, and try to think, I guess I have one or two items worth mentioning..
My youngest son's speech therapist has upped his therapy from once to twice a week, no big deal except that the only day I didn't have to drive him anywhere, I'm now driving him to the school, for 30 minutes of speech..which essentially means I can't do anything, not in that amount of time.. no trip to the store, not even a decent walk (if the weather permits). So, instead I sat in the office with the girls, and chat with random people walking through. It's fun.
My oldest son came home sick on Monday with a belly ache. Awhh.. poor little guy. I had just dropped off his brother at school, brought the babies back inside, when I got the call. So, back to school I went, gathered him up, went back home for about a half hour, then headed over the the little ones school to be there for the fireman that was coming for a visit. This fireman visit had caused quite a bit of grief over the weekend. He DID NOT want to see him, or his truck, or his stupid dog! end quote.
I talked to the school principal that morning, and she told me it was closer to the end of the day and that I could always come in for it. Great, seriously, that is SO what I did not want to do. But he's my son, and I love his little whining ass, so I brought the babies, the kid with the belly ache, and we sat through the fireman's movie and presentation.. My youngest didn't even notice we were there until the end, but I know it made his day. He sat clinging the fireman's teddy bear, on the lap of one of his teachers. It was cute.
So, that was Monday.. yesterday was the speech thing, and today was pretty mild.. except that I was supposed to meet Lnotes at the library for baby lap sit, and I knew the girls were just not going to go for that (another long night, with yet more teeth) And had to call her cell phone about 5 minutes before the thing started and bail (sorry lnotes, one of these days I'll make it!!!)
Tonight I made a fabulous, healthy dinner, and then watched all four of my kids cry when I put it in front of them. I love that! Soon I found myself telling them that people are starving in other countries, even in our country, and that there are mom's who don't even make their kids dinner! So shut the 'f up and EAT!!!!!
I love dinner time.. The boys hate eating at the kitchen table. They want to eat in the living room, so they can watch t.v. I allow that on Friday and Saturday nights, but during the week, we're at the table. It's like I am trying to torture them! If you came into my house during dinner, you would think that I was slowly pulling each hair out of their head, or poking them in the eyes.. I can't wait til they're older, and maybe they'll thank me for at least trying.. trying to be a family, trying to get some quality time together, trying to talk.. Someday.. maybe.

Another Open House..

My husband and I went to my son's preschool open house last night. I gotta say, I love that school. I love that we get to send him there for free (thanks to his IEP) I love that no one there knows that (I think..) and why would I care if they did? I don't.
We got to see a bunch of art work that the kids have done, mingle with some of the parents who I had never met (oh, and if you know me, you know I did NO mingling whatsoever, it was more like a rush for the door afterwards..) Anyway, all the kids made self portraits, and we were supposed to guess which self portrait was our child's. I couldn't wait to get to the wall and check it out. The teachers had written at the bottom of the page a sentence or two on how the kids described themselves. We had quite a hard time finding our kid. Turns out he was the one whose favorite color is orange, and he likes to ride his purple bike in the backyard. Cute. I knew the orange part.. but a purple bike?? I haven't seen the purple bike yet.. I suppose it's tucked away at his imaginary friends house!
So all in all it was good.. it lasted an hour, and when you have been to more than one open house, the hour usually drags by pretty good.. The teachers were very enthusiastic, they did an impromptu rendition of "Little Ms. Moffet" using a parent from the audience. I only found that mildly bizarre. But at the end of their presentation they read us a story, and actual LONG story. A story that I would love to read to my kids at bedtime.. I'm not sure that it wasn't lost on the grown ups.. but whatever..
Oh, and I got to meet Johnny Appleseed, who apologized profusely for scaring my son.. She happens to be the director (or principal) of the school! I didn't know that! Pretty funny.. I told her he was getting over it, and that I've only lost a few hours of sleep!
Well, I'm off to finish up my work, and get home to 2 really crabby babies! One would think that with all the sleep they aren't getting during the night lately due to teeth and yeast, that they would just be passing out in their tracks.. but it is so not the case..they have gotten pretty good at walking (at least one of them has) and man, do they follow me everywhere! And when I'm heading out to work for my 2 hours a night, they are frantically running after me, screaming all the way! It's a great send off!

Poor Baby..

I suspected a couple of days ago that one of the twins may have thrush (a lovely yeast infection in your mouth.. yum) I could see some white patches along the inside of her lips, but she was actually in a great mood, and I know that can make a baby really crabby (my youngest son had it at 6 weeks and he cried for days!)

Anyway, she woke up this morning, with her tiny lips baring resemblance to Angelina Jolie.. we knew something was up.. I made the call to the pediatrician (who I love by the way) and he called in a prescription! Thank you for not making me drag all my kids to the doctors office, and expose them to god knows what..

So, I've got the meds, it's called nystatin.. and I have to swab it on the inside of her mouth 3 times a day.. you can tell by this picture, that she just loves it!

Kiss my Ass Johnny Appleseed!

My poor 4 year old.. traumatized by a "visitor" to his school on Monday. They had a special Harvest Day.. which included going in early, packing a lunch (pretty big deal, except the kid won't eat bread, so all he got was some juice, a gogurt, and goldfish..whatever..) The day breezed by with all sorts of fun stuff, ie pumpkin bowling, painting pumpkins, stuffing scarecrows.. and a visit from Johnny Appleseed.. which was more than my son could take. She (yes, a female Johnny..) was dressed in overalls, with a pot on her head and dirt from her head to her bare feet. It sounds pretty harmless, but when I picked him up, one of his teachers told me he was "visibly shaken" by their visitor. Great.. If this kid is visibly shaken from anything, that means he's going to be calling me into his bedroom 25 times for the next 3 nights because he just can't get that image out of his head. Both my boys are like that.. it's been a real treat let me tell you!

So, as I suspected he slept like shit the past couple of nights, and today, when I mentioned school, he freaked out! He cried and cried and was refusing to go.. ugh.. Now this is where I ended up feeling bad, I probably should have made him go, explained to him that Johnny Appleseeds was long gone, but instead, I start thinking about not having to pack up the girls (who btw had a horrible night sleep as well, due to the 3 molars they are each getting-at ONCE!!) And thinking of not interrupting their nap time to bring him in.. you see where I'm going with this?? It would be a perfect time to get them to nap, and get a wee bit of sleep on the sofa at the same time (and who'll watch the 4 year old? that's what the t.v. is for! Duh!) So, that's what we opted on.. He's promised me that he'll go back on Friday.. however, he doesn't know that his big brother is off that day, and won't it suck not to get to stay home and play with him! Oh, but he'll go! That's for sure!

Off to K-Fed..

I don't know why I care.. but something about seeing Britney Spears spin out of control and lose these little boys just makes my heart ache ever so slightly. Maybe this is what it's going to take.. Dumb ass! I mean really.. ugh!!!

My Little Boy..

Today I got to my youngest son's school early and got to watch him on the playground from my car. It was such a nice moment. To get to see him playing with other kids, getting along so well (I thought that by this point I would have had some sort of phone call from his teacher saying that he had assaulted someone, or something) But clearly, he's doing really well there. He loves it, and he's always so excited about going. He brings his little knapsack with him (from the movie Cars...) which is about as big as a fanny pack (you couldn't even get a lunchbox in it!) But he wears it so proudly! It's always empty.. but if his big brother is bringing a knapsack, then by god, so will he! Oh, and it's actually called a "back pack!" jeez, my kids don't know what the hell a "knapsack" is!

Anyway, it was a brief moment where from afar I could really enjoy this wonderful little boy.. He certainly can be a handful at times, but as he gets older, a sweet, sensitive boy is slowly emerging.. Of course that pissed off little punk ass is still there, but his edges are smoothing out a bit!

Off the Market.. Officially..

Here's some guy taking down the for sale sign in front of our house.. So, it's official.. even though our realtor never took the "pending" status off of any of the websites, we are now done! It's kind of a crappy picture, but it was the best I could do from my kitchen window..

Outdoor plumbing...

We got a new toilet (about 2 months ago..) and my husband has yet to get any further than our back deck with the old one.. We're having a party next Saturday.. I'm guessing he might want to use it as extra seating! Nice..

3D ultrasound pics of my nephews..

I can't wait to meet them!!!

Finally!

At almost 14 months, the babies are starting to walk! Yea!! Here's one of them practicing her new ability..

My Own Life Party!!

I went to Portland today with my sister, her daughter, my mom, my nephew, and my girls to see her 3D ultrasound. It was truly amazing! The boys are adorable of course, and to get to see what they look like was even more amazing! They look just like their big sister! I can't wait to meet them! It won't be long now, my sister is 30 weeks, and scheduled for a c-section on Nov. 15th.. But she could go earlier than that.. if she's anything like her twin, then I think we'll meet them in late October..
On a sadder note, my husband and I attended a wake of a childhood figure in his life. A father of someone he grew up, someone who lived down the street from his parents. I didn't know him all that well, the only time I ever really saw him was on Halloween. Every year, we take our kids to their grandparents neighborhood, and do the rounds. This guy was always dressed up, always getting really into it. His wife always invited us in, and gave the kids each some candy, a dollar and a pencil. They always look forward to going there. He was only 65.
Going to the wake, I realized, yet again, that I NEVER want to be waked. I seriously find it gruesome. I don't understand the point of it. Everyone standing around commenting on how "good he looks" Folks, he's dead! No one ever looks good dead! My husband was quite adamant about not wanting any of that either, but he went as far to say that he doesn't even want a memorial. Nothing. Of course if he dies before me, you can bet your arse that I'm going to have one hell of party in his honor. That's just going to be part of my grieving process. And that's just what I want as well. A huge party.. all my friends and family getting together talking about what a great person I was (what else would they say at a time like that??) Of course the one thing that bums me out is that I won't be there to witness it.. A student at my husbands school has a father that is dying. Recently that had what they called a "life party". Celebrating with him, while he was still here. I like that idea.. However, how many of us know when our time has come? Ok, this is bumming me out.. time to enjoy the peace and quiet that rarely comes with having 4 kids..

Intermittent Exotropia

This is what my girls have been diagnosed with by the pediatric opthamologist that I took them to see this morning. This is a good diagnosis, as it means they will not have to have any surgery, or wear any glasses. Basically, as they get older the problem will hopefully fix itself through easy eye exercises..

It's funny that both of the twins are afflicted with this, and both on opposite eyes.. They may be mirror twins like my sister and I! This is what they look like after a nap, or first thing in the morning.. However, this cute kid is not mine..

The Bucket Olympics..

Here's a great way to kill a half hour before bed time.. The "Bucket Olympics".. The kids had a blast and were all exhausted by the end of it..

The Hoax I Pulled Off..

So, my last entry was a total lie (except for the part about John Edwards) I wasn't getting my nails done, the whole thing was a smoke screen to try and surprise my sister for her baby shower. It totally worked! We got to our destination, and even as we saw 2 of our good friends just getting there, she still didn't know what was going on! It was great! Finally, I got her! This will be the 3rd shower I've had for her, and the first time that she was surprised! That felt better than anything..

She got a ton of wonderful gifts from our very generous friends and family. A co worker of ours hosted it, which was so nice and I'll be forever grateful for her hospitality.. I missed the house party with John Edwards, but it was worth it to be there with my sister, and enjoy an afternoon with all my friends..

She only has about 9 weeks to go, if she goes that long. I can't wait to meet my nephews! And to share the whole twin thing with them too!

The Pedicure, and Presidential Hopeful..

I must say, I'm getting used to my youngest son being away at preschool.. sure, I miss him (am I fooling anyone??) hah! Of course when I pick him up, I go on and on about how much I missed him, and how proud I am of him- which of course I am.. but it takes a bit longer than 3 hours every other day for me to miss anything!
So, I feel like I'm living in the lap of luxury right now.. except for the 13 month old twins playing by my feet, but seriously, without the 4 year old, it's like cake walk, and anyone who knows that boy will agree!
I feel as though I need more pampering though.. so tomorrow my sister and a couple of co workers and I are going for a pedicure. Yes, I'm going to let someone touch my feet! Despite the wave of nausea that flows over me at the mere thought, I'm going to face my fear, and hopefully not vomit on the nice woman doing my nails.. good lord! I'm going to need a few drinks for this one! But anyway, tomorrow after getting my nails done, I'm going to a house party to meet John Edwards. Yea! I've been a fan of his for some time, and I'm really looking forward to getting to shake that mans hand! And his wife too! I will surely blog about that later.. right now I have a couple of babies requesting some attention..

So the high tea was lamer than lame, the idea of me "networking" to find someone to carpool with was a ridiculous thought, even more ridiculous because all these women stay at home and are in love with driving their Lincoln navigators. Oh well.. My dessert was a huge hit, NOT. It wasn't even sliced into, but not because it didn't look scrumptious, but because no one there ate anything! Including me because I am much more of a follower than a leader and wasn't about to start scarfing down their hor devours when everyone was sitting around drinking their water. Ugh.. But at least I went, I did my mom duty for my little guy, and then got the hell out of there, leaving behind my dessert for the hostess's husband to share with his fantasy football groupies who were coming later that day..
My son did great at his first day of preschool, I picked him up, rushed back to my house to get my second grader off the bus, and listened to my youngest son complain about all the injustices he encountered on the play ground.. so many for such a short period of time! This is definitely going to get interesting!

High Tea..

Today is the big tea party for the parents in my son's class.. Can't wait.. I'd be doing better if I was a little drunk, ;) but since I'm not I'm hoping that the dessert I made will help break the ice a bit.. Here it is.. too bad that I can't eat any of it (yea, the diet.. ugh) It's a chocolate mousse cake.. made w/lady fingers (which by the way were incredibly difficult to find, but 3 stores later, I lucked out!)

Me and my girls..

I just had my youngest son snap this picture of me and the girls.. Since my loving husband isn't into taking pictures.. anyway, here's proof that despite the absence of me in any pictures, I actually did exist! Oh and can you tell by the mildly annoyed look on my face that I'm just about to tell my son (again) that he has to HOLD DOWN THE BUTTON FOR MORE THAN 1 SECOND!!

NH Forts..

I've never been a huge fan of forts, I mean, I could care less about how our forefathers protected our coast, I know.. very unpatriotic, again- I don't care.. but when you have four kids, a limited budget, and nothing else to do.. they're actually pretty fun.. We went to two on Saturday...

Here are my boys in one of the towers..

And here's where I spent my time.. on the ground with the babies. But it was still fun, lots of sun, fresh air and some ever important memories for my boys!

Firsts..

My oldest son started 2nd grade today, successfully.. Here he is all ready to go!

He came home exhausted, and a bit crabby.. but he was in bed nice and early, and looking forward to another day at school..

My youngest son and I went to meet his preschool teachers today.. Here he is, all set with back pack. I had no idea what he put in the back pack until we got to school, and he showed his teachers. He had about 10 Happy Meal toys.. I wasn't quite so mortified when I realized that 2 of the 3 teachers had kids with the same toys.. I was just glad that I wasn't the only parent in the room who lets their kids eat that shit!

Last Day of Summer Vacation..

This is what I told my oldest son this morning when he woke up. I can't believe another school year is about to start. 2nd grade too, when he did he get so big??
I'm so blessed though, to have such a thoughtful and caring son. He is so excited about going back to school. This is an emotion that I'm not even close to understanding. The only memories I have of summer ending and the first day back at school, was dread. Total and udder dread. I'm so glad that he hasn't inherited that neurosis from me.. Instead he's all about the positive, and the fun. Such a sweet boy..
My youngest son, I am quite pleased to report, starts pre school next week! Grace be to the Gods (or whatever that phrase is..) I am seriously looking forward to starting the schooling chapter on that boy! It's going to be so good for him. I am, however, a bit nervous about how his teachers and classmates are going to understand what he's saying. He's barely intelligible (so says his IEP) so I called the school yesterday, per the advice of every ones advocate- blogless (love you dear!!) to ask them how they were going to handle communicating with him, since his translator (a.k.a. my oldest son) has plans of his own this fall and won't be accompanying his little brother to pre school. They invited me in to meet with his teacher and go over what they do. Which apparently is a lot of journaling to try and get a better understanding of his phonetic sounds.
Anyway, I've got to pack lunch for my big boy, and get to bed.. Oh, and did I mention.. we have a second showing on our house tomorrow.. ugh. Yea, I thought we were taking it off the market too.. whatever.. I'm sure I'll have plenty to post on that later!

Note To Self..

Next time I let the babies crawl around naked, make sure to tell my 4 year old, that it's NOT ok to for him to touch them, like they touch themselves.. How would he know? He sees them with a smile and thinks he should try to make them smile too.. jeez louise! Not to worry, we did have a nice long talk about private parts, and how it's never ok to touch someone else's.. He got it.

Boys vs. Girls..

Having raised two baby boys from infancy to ages 4 and 7, there have been only a few major differences in baby boys and baby girls.. The obvious being the whole gender, penis and vagina thing.. Which totally relates to the second HUGE difference.. Discovering ones "fun parts"
Now, my boys never did the whole "wow, look what I found" thing, and basically kept it in their pants. My girls however.. well, they have found their fun parts, and man do they enjoy exploring that region! Any time I change a diaper, their hands are down there in a flash. They have even gotten pretty good at taking off their diaper when they're bored, just to cop a feel. It's pretty funny, and of course totally normal.
Sometimes I don't even know they're doing it. Like the other day for example, when the girls and I were laying on the floor, having their bottles, and my husband happened by said "NICE!" I looked, and one of the twins, was laying down, knees bent with her diaper off, holding her bottle with one hand, and exploring herself with the other.. Nice indeed!

Good Parenting..

I bought Yahtzee a month or so ago for the girls camping trip with ctale and blogless.. Since then, I have become quite good at playing by myself.. Occasionally, my husband will play with me, but only in exchange for a back rub.. I've been teaching my 7 year old to play as well, and he's getting pretty good. But every so often, I just feel like playing by myself.. lame, but whatever, sometimes a simple distraction from all the chaos involved with have 4 kids is much needed..

So, here is where I discovered one of the babies during my game of Yahtzee.. In the hutch (directly behind where I was sitting I might add..) where we keep the games. I think if the other one could have squeezed in, she would have!

A Good Friday :)

It was a mommy/baby/whining 4 year old day at my house this afternoon. Lnotes and BBK of Kreblog came over, and Ctale, and her precious Miss S were there as well. It was so nice to see my girly friends.. ones I've had since high school.. We had lunch, and wine, and some more wine (or at least I had some more wine) and coffee.. it was so nice.. I swear, we have the cutest kids EVER! And that's not just me.. they really are adorable! So, I'm here at work, feeling a tad hungover.. wishing that everyday could be mommy/baby minus the whining 4 year old day!

Little Ponies wearing sneakers..

I stole this from another blog.. it's pretty funny.. check it out

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!! :)