Bathing 4 kids..

Here's how I do it.. All at once! It works now.. but I do understand we're on a time frame.. Oh, and are you lovin the yellow tub?? yea baby!

Shoo Shoo Blues..and other news...

My girls have been wearing baby moccasins since they could walk. They're called shoo shoo's or robeez.. They're great, and they love them dearly.

The only problem is that they will not wear regular shoes. I can't put on a pair of boots, or sneakers or cute little dressy shoes. They freak out, screaming and crying.. it's such fun! I haven't been too concerned because we haven't spent too much time outside in the past 5 months due to the horrible New England winter we've been having.

However, it was nice out today. Nice enough to put on a sweatshirt, and head outside. I let the girls wear their shoo shoo's because of course I have no choice. The minute I put them down, and they feel the earth under their feet, there's more freaking out. I swear, I don't know what scaredy cat gene my kids inherited, or from who, but wtf? They refused to walk on the dead grass. They refused to move anywhere, instead they just stood there and screamed. God help me.

Our venture outside lasted 20 seconds.. They ended up playing on the deck instead, they were more familiar with how that felt under their feet.

In other news.. I have a meeting at the school tomorrow to update my youngest son's IEP. I got a copy of the draft today, and he's made great strides since last fall. I gotta say, I'm so proud of him. He works so hard at his speech and he's so proud of the accomplishments he makes. One of the babies has mastered saying her older brothers name, but not the youngest of the boys, which has slightly broken his heart. I tried explaining to him how hard it is for her to say the "L" in his name, and he totally understood that. Such a smartie!

Time for the Soaps!

I have 5 kids in my care, 3 and under, and they have all been asleep for over an hour! I just had to post that... This NEVER happens! Oh, and my youngest is at school.. yee friggin ha!

My April Fool..

The last two April fools days I have told my husband that I was pregnant. He bought it both times. I'm not even going to try that one this year.. if I remember correctly, sex is required for a pregnancy and unless I'm the second coming of Mary, I couldn't ever make him buy that one!

So, this year, I'm trying to decide how to pull one over on him this year. It's between telling him that I met someone while he was gone, or telling him that some skank has filed a paternity suit against him. I know they're both really harsh, but that's why I love them! I'm leaning more towards the paternity thing.. I'll post on that later!

His plane is delayed tonight, so I'm going to have another night with the remote... big deal. Ok, I'm off to put the girly girls to bed..

I guess I really don't do it all..

Having my husband absent from the daily running of our household the last 4 days, has given me a new appreciation for what I never realized he was even doing.

Like holding a crying baby, while I held the other.

Bringing in buttloads of wood and getting up at 2 a.m. to stoke the fire.

Doing homework with our oldest son (which turns out to be why I miss him the most..I'm REALLY bad at 2nd grade math.. I was actually shocked! I mean it's SECOND grade!)

Getting up at the crack of dawn with our oldest.

Brushing about a hundred teeth.

Making popcorn on Friday night.

Giving the boys their vitamins (which I just remembered I forgot to do!)

Getting the mail.

Taking out the trash.

Lots and lots of stuff. It's been busy, and I'm looking forward to him getting home tonight. I miss him.. Here's a video of the babies dancing to their Daddy's music.. they miss him so much, I never realized how devastated they would be.. It's not like I left.. haha. Hearing his music put them in a great mood though..

I Have 4 Kids, and NO Band Aids..

At least I didn't until this morning. It's not like I just ran out or anything, I haven't had any in months. We don't buy them because the kids are scared of them. Yup, we're raising some pretty brave individuals over here!
However, it is kind of a crucial thing to have in a household this big. Someone is bound to step on the General Grievous action figure from Star Wars and bust open the bottom of her toe. And it's bound to bleed a little, and maybe even get on the floor. A well organized mother would have band aid after band aid on hand for this minor emergency.
But we're talking about me, and the fact that I have all my kids even dressed this morning is a miracle.
I did get the band aids though, and my toe is feeling much better, so thank you!

When the Cat's Away.. the mouse has to do everything!

My husband is en route to New Mexico. He forgot his airborne, so I'm sure he's freaking out on the plane thinking about all those germs stewing in the cabin. Poor neurotic putz. And I mean that in the most loving way, I feel for him, and how worried he gets over things. But he's a big boy, he'll be fine.

He left for 4 nights, and packed everything he needed in a knapsack. Funny. On our over night trip a couple of weeks ago, I packed an entire suitcase! What if I didn't like the clothes I brought?? He's lucky not to be burdened with low self esteem!

I'm dreading our morning tomorrow. I hear we're getting snow, which could mean a delay or a cancellation. I would be fine with this. Mornings are insane, trying to get my oldest son on the bus, getting breakfast, starting the fire. It's much easier to do all this if we can all stay in our pajamas! Dressing 4 kids, and myself is not something I enjoy doing at 7 a.m.

Anyway, I'm planning on getting the kids to bed at a reasonable hour tonight, enjoying a nice glass of wine, finish up a sign that I'm making, and watch all the TLC and HGTV that I want! That is one lame ass plan, but I'm going to love every second of it!

100.3 WHEB | The Rock Station

100.3 WHEB The Rock Station
Here's my husband and his band.. He's the second one from the left (yes, Osama Bin Laden's double!) Check out the guy in the wife beater.. ugh, what a douche!

Rocking out at the BBQ

My husband is leaving next week for 5 days to New Mexico. His band thing.. it started out as this huge deal.. 50,000 seat venue, Hannah Montana (remember??) And now, it would appear that they are playing at a barbecue! Yep, a frickin barbecue. Ok, first of all, whatever. I only found out about this because I saw the itinerary, not because he told me. And second, um, we have barbeque's here! Do you need to go to New Mexico to play at one?
I guess they are all feeling pretty duped right now, and they still aren't totally sure what to expect. I guess this barbecue is a pretty BIG one (good lord) and I know my husband is really looking forward to being with his buddies for a few days.. Although, I'm predicting right now, he'll wish he was home by the 2nd day. He's not much of a traveler, and all 5 of them are sharing a hotel room! Cozy! He's also the only one of the band that is married.. so I'm sure the other guys are going to be on skank patrol.. it should be pretty interesting to say the least! And no, I'm not worried.. not one bit!

Mmm.. steak..

Getting my kids to eat is a total pain in the ass. Unless of course it's deep fried or covered in chocolate. My husband made dinner last night. Turkey burgers. His version of a healthy meal, which is ironic because he continues to bitch at me constantly over the pop tarts and chicken nuggets I feed our 4 year old, but sees nothing wrong with giving him the leftover ground up bits of a turkey.. anyway the 4 year old hates hamburgers, or turkey burgers or any kind of burger you might try to feed him. He does however love steak, and pork chops. When I saw my husband serving up the burgers (minus the buns because none of my kids are big fans of bread..) I asked him what he was going to give the youngest one. He shrugged, and I said f* it, give him a turkey burger, and we'll tell him it's steak.
My son took one look at the cut up "steak" on his plate, and asked if it was a hamburger, to which I said "No, it's steak" He took one bite, then two, and before I knew it, he had finished his entire burger before anyone else! Now I have to figure out how to make fruits and veggies look like steak..

My youngest son asked me the other morning while having a nice cuddle in bed, if he could have my bed when his father and I die. Sure. Why not.

Dressing Up is Fun to Do!!

A good friend of mine came to visit me the other day. It was nice to see him, it had been a while, since him and his wife live down in Mass. I had all the kids that day, and he had taken off the day from work because his job was stressing him out. I wasn't sure if hanging out with me and 6 kids under 4 was going to be less stressful, but he came to visit anyway.

He brought his camera, and got this great shot of my youngest son. I'm not sure where his desire to dress in women's clothing comes from... perhaps it feels good on his skin, although, he says he's dressing like a baby, and not a girl.. ok, they ARE baby clothes, but GIRL baby clothes.. Anyway, what a cutie! I love this outfit he's in here.. if you look closely, you'll see two bucks in the front pocket of the shirt!

Frickin Leprechauns!

My son built a leprechaun trap last year in first grade, and I almost blew it when I questioned their existence. I had no idea he really thought they existed. He was very upset, to say the least. This year, the second graders didn't do any traps, and I thought that we had escaped the farce. Until Monday night, when I discovered him in the kitchen making a trap. Good lord. It went fine, he made the trap, put some "gold" in it (a.k.a. pennies) and a cookie, in case the money wasn't enticing enough. So, imagine my surprise, at 5 the next morning, when I hear him crying, calling for me because he's afraid he may have caught one, and doesn't want to go downstairs and find one in his trap.

After telling him to go back to sleep, at least for another hour, I just brewed in my bed. Thinking that this is ridiculous! Seriously, I don't mind the whole Santa fabrication, or the tooth fairy.. but when leprechauns are waking me up in the wee hours, I start to get pissed.

Luckily, he didn't catch one.. Then last night, at bedtime, he asked me if I had thrown away the trap. I said that I would.. He was afraid that the leprechauns might come back and try to get his money, and the cookie (which had already been eaten by his little brother, who in my opinion is way scarier than a leprechaun) But I told him not to worry, that leprechauns only come out on St. Patty's day, and that they were now with their pot of gold at the end of some rainbow far away from here. I also added that they aren't scary, they are jolly old men who are just greedy, and want to be rich.. I thought this was enough.. but then 10 minutes later, I can hear him crying again, calling for me. He thinks that he spotted one. On his bureau. It was little and green, and it may have had claws. Well folks, that was enough for me. My mom thinks that I ruined something for him by telling him the truth, that imaginations are important for children.. Duh. I know that, but this is part of some adults imagination.. and when it starts making my 7 year old cry, then the jig is up! I'm not sure he totally believed me, when I told him that they aren't real. He seemed genuinely shaken up by thinking that he just saw one. But it did allow him to settle down, and get to sleep. He hasn't mentioned it at all today. I'm hoping he won't. I don't want him to start wondering about all the other "stories" we've fed him, like Santa and the Easter bunny, although he may be outed too as both my boys have expressed concern once again, about the life size rabbit roaming around our house.. it's never ending!

Good Morning NH is now River Life..

My brother in law has changed his domain name, It's now Riverlifeonline.com
Just in case anyone wondered where he went..

Blocked.

I did the worst thing a mom could do. I forgot to do something that I had promised my son. He cried, and cried, and my husband just sat there and gloated. He loves it when I look bad! It takes the heat off of him.
I had told my oldest son that I would print something at work for him, because our printer is dead (has been for many many months). Last night it totally escaped my mind, and when I walked in the door empty handed, his heart broke. Tonight he made me a note reminding me what he wanted printed, and put it in my purse.
Here's the kicker. The website, webkinz.com, is restricted here at work. It must be all those filthy animals that they don't want us viewing. I called home and I'm letting my husband break the bad news. Hopefully he'll be done crying when I get home.. jeez..

Air Time..

My husband woke me up last night at 11:30 so we could listen to his band on the radio. It was pretty cool.. A local radio station has been playing tracks from their demo this week on a show called "Local Licks"
The D.J. said he was going to play another track tonight, so if anyone is awake at 11:30, listen to 100.3 (wheb) maybe you'll hear them.. they're called Before the Crash.. And this makes him look cuter than any house cleaning or wood hauling ever could!! ;)

I told my husband he looked cute tonight. He commented that it was only because he was on his way to get wood for the stove, and had just swept the floor. Damn, I hate it when they're right!

FREE TO GOOD HOME..

4 really cute kids. The oldest boy practically takes care of himself, he loves to talk, mostly about webkinz or pokemon and has mastered the computer. The younger boy can be a bit of a whiner, but he's tough, and athletic. Going to make quite a manly man someday. The girls are adorable, love to pretend to cook, clean, fold laundry. They can also pull each other down to the ground by their hair, so they're tough. Only serious inquiries please, and please don't tell their dad as he is quite attached.

Another Birthday..

My older sister turned 40 today.. Jeez.. I told her she'll be 50 before she knows it, then she'll be dead..
I was the only one of us laughing.. Anyway, Happy Birthday..

Wood..

We got our third cord of wood delivered today. We were down to the last few pieces of the 2nd cord, so when the "wood guy" called me back today, I was thrilled.
He actually calls himself that. The Wood Guy.. that's not the name of his business, but just how he addresses himself. "Hi, this is the Wood Guy.." Ok.. He's a nice guy, although the last time we got wood from him (which was actually the first time) he showed up to our house totally hammered. In his defense, he wasn't driving.. he doesn't have a license, I guess most hardcore alcoholics don't!
Today however, when my husband went outside to meet him, I guess he was sober. Good for him! Although considering he only delivered the wood an hour ago, and he's already cashed the check, I'm betting he's not out buying groceries! Anyway, the wood was dumped in a much more convenient location for us this time as there wasn't 10 inches of snow on the ground. That might make it easier for my husband to stack it. He didn't stack the last cord, and it sat under a tarp in our driveway, and we hauled it inside piece by piece.. it was a pain in the ass!

River Life...

My brother in law has started a blog.. And my sister has finally updated hers..after a year.. But they now have a p.c. at home, so the kids are being neglected, and their blogs are getting a shine.. :)

Our Big Night Out..

Was fun.. and went by too quickly..
It started late, as my husband returned from work 2 hours later than he should have.. and since I had been packed and ready to go since noon, I was chomping at the bit to get out of the house when he got home. I gave him 5 minutes to get ready, he took 20 and we left..
We checked in, I gave him his gift (see below) he loved it, we got ready and met our friends for dinner.
All in all it was great, I wish we could have stayed for a week, but my mom was ready for a break, that was clear when she let our 7 year old call us at 8:15 the next morning.. yes, thank you.. Anyway, we're now back home, enjoying our kids, half of them are still sick.. I'm feeling better, getting over my cold, and thankfully the biggest baby in the house (yes, my husband) has not gotten it yet..

Happy Birthday..

For my husband's birthday, I took photo's of all of his art work, and had them put into a hardcover book. He loved it, and it actually choked him up a bit.. It was lovely.. The website is blurb.com and they do amazing work! Here are just a few samples of his incredible work..

Experienced Toy Finder..

This is something that I can now officially put on my resume. (If I had one..) My kids think that because I clean the house (sometimes) that I know where every single random stupid toy is. Our house was referred to recently as the black hole of toys.. my brother in law told this to his daughter one day when he was picking her up at my house and she couldn't find the toy she had brought with her. He said if she wanted to keep a toy, then she shouldn't bring it to my house. I couldn't agree more. Our house is cluttered with toys, although really, I have them all hidden very well. Our coffee table is a chest.. of toys. Under a bench in our playroom, are two large wicker baskets, full of toys. In the living room is a hutch, displayed nicely with nick knacks on top, where it's visible, and full of board games, and more toys underneath, where it's not. The kids rooms are stacked with toy boxes, and baskets.. all stuffed with TOYS. Our basement has more or less become the graveyard for toys.. most of them, they don't play with, or are missing parts, or have just been snuck down there by my husband in an attempt to live as a minimalist. He really thinks we can do that, with 4 kids.. sure.

So, today when my oldest son was feeling a bit blue about not being able to find something, he said to me "I've been looking for this toy forever, and I'm going to look for it some more" Giving me the old "Help me Mom" look.. to which I reply "Ok, well, good luck with that" Not appreciated one bit, especially when my husband starts laughing.. and then I start laughing.. The poor boy.. Of course I end up looking for it.. He told me that the last time he saw it, it was on his brothers bed. So, we tear apart the bed, and pull it out, and look behind it.. and finally I ask him "when exactly was the last time you saw it?" "A few days after Christmas.." WTF? Sure, I'm looking for a toy that he saw on his brothers bed 2 months ago?? good lord. We ended up finding it in the play room in one of the wicker baskets, thank god.. I then told them that I had officially resigned as the resident toy finder, and if they don't want to lose their toys, they should really take better care of them. There. I'm sure that'll work!

I'm getting it..

The fun cold that has been spreading around my house is hitting me! This is soooooooooo not fair! I never get sick (hardly ever anyway) and it would appear that this time I am.
I'm going to be hitting the drug store this afternoon for anti cold remedies.. Worse case is that I'm going to be sick on Friday, and fighting my cold from the comfort of the hotel room, with no kids to care for.. I guess it could be worse..

It's only Tuesday?????

I am literally counting down the days til Friday.. I can't wait to get out of here, and head over to the hotel. Turns out my husbands band isn't playing (I guess they over booked the entertainment and they got bumped) This suites me just fine as I was hoping to have some more time with just him.. oh, and we are having dinner with one of his band mates and his girlfriend, but I draw the line at going back to our room for a nightcap.
I am also so excited to give him his birthday gift, which I can't blog about yet, but it really is something he's going to love. I hope..
Well, my 4 year old is stretched out on the couch and just asked me to turn off all the lights, his head hurts.. The twin who has been sick is still in a funk, although she hasn't had a fever since yesterday.. She did get out of my bed around midnight, throw herself on the floor and have a full on temper tantrum, of some unknown origin.. maybe I was hogging the blanket. The other twin is still healthy, so am I.. I'm just begging the gods not to let her get sick, or me for that matter!

Mondays suck.

School vacation has come and gone.. it sucked. One of the twins was sick (and still is) with a fever all week. She's been glued to me for 6 straight days! It's been exhausting. Today my youngest came home from preschool with a fever, and I'm sure the other twin will be getting it any second now. It's just the kind of family we are.. we like to share!
Today I started getting back into my routine.. which I am totally sick of. I can't believe I have another 3-4 months of hauling my kid to school, and to his speech.. seriously, I don't know how I'm going to do it! It wouldn't be so bad if I didn't have to haul the babies with us, but since the law frowns on you leaving your children unattended at home, I really have no choice.
I decided to try and be productive while my son was at his speech appointment, so I drove to the next town over to get a copy of his birth certificate so that I can finally enroll him in kindergarten for next year. I got to the town hall, practically parked in a snow bank, got the babies out safely, despite being parked near a two lane road and having to maneuver through the snow. Got inside, and found out that they don't take debit cards (and of course I didn't have my check book with me). WTF? Who doesn't take debit cards?? Dunkin Donuts will, for my $2 coffee, and so will the drug store for my $3 prescription. But the town hall.... NOOOOO.. The town clerk told me that I could use the ATM across the street. Which would mean loading the babies back in the car, driving across the street, and then coming back and trying not to kill myself and the kids to get back inside. I guess I'll be registering him another day!
Other than that, I'm hanging on to Friday.. My husband and I are going away for the night, in honor of his birthday (and really, I just need a straight 8 hours!)

Duped...

Here's an update on the post I wrote and then later deleted about my husband and his band.. No, they are not going to be opening up for Hannah Montana.. god, that sounds sooo ridiculous! I guess the meathead/douchebag of the band was told this by one of the organizers as a total joke, and everyone fell for it.. They are still playing at a huge venue, with another band, but no one knows who.. no one was more disappointed than my son, who really thought my husband was the "coolest" to be sharing a stage with the teeny-bop queen!! Thankfully he's on vacation this week, and wasn't humiliated by sharing this with any of his classmates! jeez..

Parents Night Out..

My husband has a birthday next Friday.. and a show with his band as well. I just booked a room in Portsmouth, and we are spending the night there. I can't wait! I have a very special birthday gift for him, which is not in any way sexual (dirty birds..) but I can't wait to give it to him.. I can't blog about it yet in case he stumbles across this.. But yea, a night out.. no kids, no driving, and a king size bed with a beautiful view of downtown Portsmouth!!

Going outside is not always good for you..

It was in the 40's today, so this afternoon, I insisted that my boys get on their snow gear and go outside, and have some fun. My husband went out with them, and about 10 minutes later, I can hear my youngest son screaming. Great, I'm thinking his brother must have done some benign thing that has thrown him into a tantrum. That is until I see him at our slider with blood dripping down his arm.
He had been playing in the snow near a pile of crap that my husband has outside, and in the process he sliced his ring finger, right through his glove, on our old toilet. My husband had smashed it with a sledgehammer this fall, and put it in a box and just left it there. I'm not blaming him, I'm just saying.
So, after we mopped up the blood, and got his finger to stop bleeding, he asked for a cup of water. Warm water. Ok, he then placed his entire hand in the cup, to make it feel better. About 20 minutes later, when he finally decides to take his hand out of the cup, he freaks out because his hand is a big prune. I had to remind him what fingers and toes look like after being in water for a while (like how it looks after a bath)
Anyway, I guess we lucked out today because the cut wasn't bad enough for stitches.. While we were sitting on the kitchen floor with a paper towel trying to get it to stop bleeding, my son is wailing about not wanting to go to the doctor.. at that point I had no idea what the cut looked like because there was so much blood. I thought for a bit that we'd be taking him to the E.R. and there was no way they were going to be able to glue this one!
I worry about that boy.. He's always falling, or tripping, or cutting something open. He does know how to milk his injuries though.. when he asked for pretzels, I gave him some, and then for orange juice, and then goldfish, and when I told him he was going to have dinner soon, he freaked out and I just gave him some more goldfish.. My oldest son thought he would jump on that band wagon too, and started whining about how it wasn't fair that his brother was going to have goldfish for dinner, and I said that when he slices his finger open, he can have whatever he wants for his dinner.. After thinking about that for a minute he comes to me and says he doesn't think he'll ever slice open his finger, and for that reason it's not fair that he should have to eat dinner that isn't goldfish. ugh.. When I left for work, all four of them were sitting on the couch with their goldfish..

Bad Words..

My sister is a huge Howard Stern fan, and owner of a satelite radio. I'm guessing she won't be listening to it too much on the way to daycare since she heard her daughter chanting "Bababoui"

And just this morning at the gas station, while getting the pump she had been waiting for stolen by someone else, she heard herself echoed in her 3 year old when she yelled "Douchebag!"
Oh to be in the car for a minute without your kids.. at least there you can curse freely at those morons on the road.. but alas, there are few moments like those, so for you Christhadasister, watch your god damn mouth! jesus!

Would it just stop f*#@ing snowing already? jeez louise. Seriously, I was just starting to enjoy the look of the dead grass on my lawn, and now it's covered (again) by the white stuff. I'm just so tired of it. ugh...

3 Things Guaranteed to Ruin Your Day..

1.) Getting word that your house isn't going to sell because the buyers financing didn't get approved..therefore seeing the house of your dreams drift away..
2.) Visiting your mom in the hospital, who is there for a blood clot in her lung (she's going to be fine, but it's nerve wracking none the less)
3.) Attending a wake of a 20 year old boy who died far too young..

I haven't cried like I did yesterday since I gave birth to my twins and couldn't help it.. I'm better today, but man, yesterday was NOT fun.

Here We Go Again..

We made an offer on a house yesterday. Ours isn't on the market, nor did we think we wanted to sell, but a few weeks ago, our neighbor called and said if we decided to sell our house again, to let her know because she was interested. That didn't do much for me, as I'm not about to take my kids out of their school in the middle of the year. However, on my way to their school on Friday, I drove by the house of the woman I used to babysit for many years ago, and saw she was selling it. Later that day, when I thought of it again, I looked it up on line to see what she was asking for it. Surprisingly, it's in our price range. I couldn't believe it, and all of a sudden the wheels started to turn. I tried frantically to get in touch with her to see what was up, why she was selling so cheap and so on. But I had no luck, as our town seemed to be having some phone issues on Friday. Anyway, on Saturday I called the realtor and he showed it to us about an hour later. I already knew what to expect, part of the reason it was so cheap was because it needs some cosmetic work, new carpets and such. She's an avid animal owner, and the pets have almost ruined the house. But nothing we couldn't fix. We made an offer right there. The house has only been on the market for a week, and already had some offers coming in.
My whole thought process at this point is that once she comes across my offer, she'll take it because it's me. I've known her for years.. her daughter was in my wedding! But later that day I learned that the reason the price is so low, is because the bank is trying to do a quick sale, and she's trying to avoid foreclosure. This made me feel a bit shitty.. I mean, if I was being foreclosed, I'm not sure how psyched I'd be for someone I knew to buy it. It also means, that the bank is going to decide who gets it, not her.. although at this point, we're in the lead as far as offers (at least that's what her realtor is telling us..) Anyway, it's still up in the air.. I called my neighbor, but she's in Florida for a few days.. I did manage to get a hold of her cell phone, but I haven't heard back from her yet. If it's meant to be, then it'll work out..
The funniest part of this whole thing, was seeing my boys at the showing FREAKING out because there was a dog upstairs (just sitting on the bed, totally harmless little boston terrier) and the nicest, fattest cat that we discovered in the basement. All the while, as we're writing up the offer, my oldest son is whispering "Mom, I don't want to buy this house.. I don't want to live here.." Poor thing.. He's ok with it now, once he realized that the animals wouldn't come with the house, and that he'd probably be on the same school bus as he is now.
So, I'm not getting my hopes up.. although honestly, I've already moved myself right in.. but I'm just going to see what happens.. We are still happy here, and not yet desperate!

My nephew called me yesterday with some sad news. His best friend from middle school, a boy that lived at our house during these years, passed away while studying abroad in Austrailia. I can't quite describe the sadness I feel, or the even grasp the sadness his parents must be feeling right now.. all I can think about is that time.. the time he spent at our house, brightening our days with his warm smile, and his wonderful sense of humor. He was the kind of kid that you would want your kids hanging out with. He brought endless fun to our house, and although they lost touch through their high school years, he still remained someone that my entire family was fond of..
A tragedy like this, when someone so young dies so young, generates a gratefulness for what you have.. and what you don't ever want to lose. I haven't been able to stop thinking about his parents.. they were both teachers at my old high school, and very well liked. He was their baby, the youngest of 4.. and far too young to leave them behind.

You can't always get what you want..

A tough lesson for my baby girl to learn.. She found my camera, brought it to me, and then freaked out when I took it away.. poor baby!

Shoe tying..

He's 7, and it's finally time to get him to tie his shoes.. Is that really old not to know how to do that?? I don't know, but I guess Tuesday is gym day, and he has told us that he either wants velcro shoes, or to learn to tie them himself.. I guess the teacher and aids are getting tired of doing it for him.. He got a lesson from his dad tonight, and went to bed with a book on tying shoes..

Black and Bluish..

Can you see the bruise? He fell out of a box (yes, out of a box) right into the corner of a chair. Thankfully the bruise is the worst of it, it doesn't hurt (anymore) and he has decided that boxes are for storing stuff, not for little boys to try to navigate around the house...

Accidents..

I avoided a messy situation with my 4 year old today. We were in the drop off line at school, and he frantically says he has to pee. I beg him to wait a couple of minutes til his teacher gets him out of the car, but I can tell by the sound of his voice that there will be no waiting. So rather than let him piss his pants, which would have been our only other option, I get him out of his carseat, pull down all the snow gear, and made him whiz off the side of the loser cruiser into the snowbank. I thought he would be a bit more modest, as there were about 20 cars in line with us, but he didn't blink.
Boys are so lucky that way, being able to just whip it out and go. I guess that's why I wanted to be a boy when I was his age, and made everyone call me Erik (I did, really!) Anyway, my girls and I had our 3 hours minus the 4 year old and head back to school to pick him up. You can imagine my surprise when I see his teacher approaching my car with the familiar plastic bag. The bag that you only get when your kid has pissed his pants! ugh. How? How did he have an accident? But that's ok. Of course I didn't make a big deal about it.. I don't want to traumatize the poor kid. He simply told me that he had to go again, but it was too late by the time he got to the bathroom. No big deal..

Oh to be organized..

My husband and I talk about getting organized one of these days. We even bought a file cabinet once. It's got old utility bills in it and every owners manual from every appliance, big and small, that we own. Some of them we no longer own, but we've got the manuals, just in case!


I spent a good part of my morning looking for my youngest son's birth certificate and immunization record so that I can register him for kindergarten. Once I found out that it was time to register him, I immediately started getting my shit together to make sure he gets in. I am not missing the deadline for this child to be out of my hair for 6 hours a day, 5 days a week! I'm horrible, I know.. Anyway, of course I couldn't find half of what I was looking for.. I found my marriage license (I have no idea when that's going to come in handy, perhaps at the divorce.. I don't know) I found my birth certificate, laminated. I found the stumps to all my kids belly buttons (yea, ewww is right!) I found every card I've ever gotten.. almost. And yes, most of these things were in the filing cabinet (with the exception of the umbilical stumps). But no birth certificate, so apparently, I'm going to have to lug all my kids to town hall and cough up the 12 bucks and get a copy. Then, maybe I'll get some organizing done.. I have come to a point in my life where that old saying "Not enough hours in the day" is totally how I feel. At 10 pm, when I'm off to bed (actually, it's usually earlier) I am walking up the stairs, thinking of all that I still need to do.. but I don't. Nothing ever gets totally done.. the laundry gets folded and sits in baskets in our hallways for weeks. The sink is never quite empty. I get stuff half put away.. it's a relentless never ending chain of crap to be done. Oh, and the other day my husband said he wanted a dog! I guess because having 4 kids isn't enough work, why not just throw in a mutt that's going to shed all over our couch, and shit in our yard. Sounds like something we should take on! Good lord...

Cuties..

I keep telling my sister that her babies are soooo good! And they are.. sweet, content, and so mellow! I love it.. I'd be so screwed if they were anything like my own twins were at this age.. thank god they aren't.. I would never want to relive their infancy again (sorry girls.. but you were tough!)

Jerry Rigged..

The chain on our downstairs toilet broke the other day. This is the toilet that we use all the time.. it's been quite a pain in the arse for my boys to have to go upstairs (considering they're scared of going up there alone, and I don't have time or patience to go up with them) So, today, I took some garbage bag ties, and jerry rigged the broken chain.

When my oldest son got off the bus today, I knew he'd be asking his brother to go upstairs with him, and stand guard against all that is evil up there, and I told him that I jerry rigged the toilet downstairs and he could use that one. "Who's Jerry?" was his completely serious reply.

While this was a pretty funny reply, he understood what I meant when I explained the expression to him. He's a bright bright boy. My younger son, who is equally as bright for his age, had a much harder time understanding the idea of an expression. I gave him examples of different expressions, like how when someone says they're on cloud nine means they're happy. Or when you say someone is knawing at your soul, that means they're annoying you.. But he could not get past the fact that someone named Jerry unknowingly came into our house and fixed our toilet. He wanted to know if Jerry went into other peoples houses and fixed their toilets too, and did he fix other things, like your sink. Why yes, I believe you can jerry rig anything.. oy vey! That boy is too much! He finally let it go when I just said there was no Jerry coming to our house without us knowing, and that I had fixed the toilet, and PLEASE can we just drop it??

Safe At Last..

It's not brain surgery, but man, when I thought of this today, I felt like I had saved 2 lives.. My twin nephews. My girls are relentlessly trying to love them, and smoosh them, and basically do whatever they can to them. It's exhausting telling them no, and trying to keep the boys out of their reach. Here is how I fixed that.. Notice the car seats in the pack n play??

Choppin Wood..

"If you chop wood today, don't do it on the deck"

This is what my husband said to me recently before he left for work one morning.. Yea, I'm going to be chopping wood! I had several issues with this request.. First of all, it was a on a day when I had my sister's kids, so 6 kids under 4.. I'm lucky if I get time for lunch, never mind wrangling an axe. Second, does he think that I am that blond, and would actually chop wood on our deck?? And finally, does he really believe that I have the upper body strength required for swinging an axe successfully?? Here's an example of what happens when I try to chop wood, because I did today while the little one was in school, and my girls were napping.. yea, I don't think I'll be trying that again any time soon!

21..

My nephew turned 21 today. He came by the house this afternoon to tell me all the drinks he had just after midnight last night. My heart just swells with pride! He knows about all the good, important things in life.. like the legal limit for Long Island Ice Tea's, and what an Irish car bomb is.. although, I suspect he's know about these things for quite some time. I'm not so worried about him being stupid when he's out.. I know he will be. We all were. I just hope that he'll get tired of it soon, like we all do.. and realize that being 21 is fun when you're 21.. but life moves pretty fast.. and if you don't sober up and try to live it, then before you know it, you'll be all dried up, without any teeth, weighing 300 + pounds... (that's a reference to his father..clever, I know..)
Anyway, Happy Birthday.. and btw, did I mention how old this makes me feel?? frick.

Bird Watchers Take Notice..

The last two days there have been cars parking by our house to catch a glimpse of a rare, small flock of birds. Pine Grosbeaks are what they are called, and they are loving the berries on a tree in front of our house. It's pretty funny to see a mini van full of people with binoculars getting their rocks off for some birds.. One lady that I met yesterday was very sweet, and I told her she could park in our driveway, I was afraid she was going to fall into the street with her binoculars on! Here's a picture she took of the bird in our tree.. Honestly, it doesn't look that special to me, but I've been doing some googling, and there are some really die hard bird lovers out there, who are psyched to get a shot of this bird!

Twin Magazine..

I emailed the editor of Twin Magazine last night. I told them how my identical twin sister and I both have identical twins, and I wanted to find out if they knew of other people who that had happened to. Surprisingly, she emailed me back this morning and wants me to send her our story, and some pictures. She's interested in possibly putting it in their magazine.. pretty funny! I have no idea where to start "our story" but what the hell.. I'll make sure and link the magazine if we ever end up in it!

I never thought this would work..

But it totally did!
My 4 year old was having a meltdown in the car today, flipping out about something. And do you know what snapped him out of it? When I told him that if he didn't stop behaving like that, that his imaginary friend Rena couldn't sleep over tonight.. (he's been planning this for a few days) It shut him right up! Yes, apparently at 4, I control his imagination as well! Who knew??

6 Kids 4 and Under..

The only thing missing from this picture (besides my 7 year old son) is me.. hanging myself in the background.. haha.. seriously, it couldn't be going better! Even though I knew I could do this, I still feel kind of like a kid learning to ride a bike.. a part of me wants to shout "I'm doing it, I'm doing it!!"

Crafts at the Nut House..

Yes, it is possible for the 2 older kids to have some fun while the younger ones are napping.. Today we made rain sticks.. which my niece loved! More rice fell on the floor than actually into the stick, but I didn't care.. it kept them both nicely entertained for quite sometime.. until my son got quite annoyed with the constant shaking of my nieces rain stick, that he pretty much freaked out.. But such is life in our nut house..

We Survived the First Day..

My niece and nephews were with us today, and I'm happy to report that I didn't once want to run from my house screaming. It actually went very well. With the exception of my own girls, everyone behaved beautifully. My poor girls have got their most painful teeth coming, and 18 months is always a tricky, tiring age.. They are polar opposites too, one is the mother hen and just wants to touch the babies, and feed the babies and generally smother them with her love. While the other one just wants to be the center of my world, and not move herself from my lap all day.. which naturally is difficult when you have 2 three month old babies that require more than just a mere propped bottle. But alas, I did it. And I must say, there is a certain pride that I feel knowing that everyone ended their day happy, no one was seriously hurt (my mother hen did toss a light children's book at one of the boys head when I refused to let her take his binky out of his mouth for the umpteenth time.. he only cried for a second!) And I'll be ready to do it again tomorrow.. and I imagine by the end of my first week, my Friday nights are going to be something I look forward to more than ever! Anyhoo, here's a pic of the newest additions to my daily chaos!

Giving our kids to God.. or something like that..

Here we are.. today we had the girls baptized at my husbands parents church. They hated every second of it, including having to wear these dresses.. Of course they were most devastated when the priest had to pour water on their heads, and then rub oil into it. It was fun, and all the church goers got a kick out of our big screaming babies..

My 4 year old is on a mission as of late.. to fix all of his broken matchbox cars. And there are apparently a lot of them. I was curious what he wanted the Elmer's glue for.. turns out that the hoods were all broken, as they just popped right up. Well, he's been gluing them shut, and setting them out to dry, far from the reach of his little sisters.. I couldn't help but ask him if he thought it might be fun to have hoods that actually open, you know, so that he could look at the engine.. but nope. He just wants them fixed. Ok.. he's going to be pissed when he realizes that Elmer's glue probably isn't going to hold his little metal hoods shut.. I'm going to have to hide the superglue, as this boy can be quite persistent!

Banana Poop Sauce..

This is my 4 year olds new catch phrase.. and what is more charming than hearing him say that, is when he says it to his new talking parrot toy, and hearing the toy repeat it twice in a high pitch bird voice.. It's too cute for words. Really.

And the award for the lamest mom goes to...

ME!!!!!
Or at least that's what my son's school nurse, and my husband are probably thinking after not being able to find me this afternoon when my son needed to be picked up at school because he was sick.
And where or where do you think I was?? Well, napping of course! With the babies.. Nothing gets you out of that nap funk like seeing your answering machine blinking away with messages from the school.. your husband.. the school again.. your husband.. Oh, and of course there's a bunch on my cell phone (none of which I can retrieve because I don't know how to get those messages.) grr.. not only am I lame, but I'm an idiot too!
Anyway, it all worked out, turns out he hadn't been in the nurses office too long, and I managed to swing over, pick him up and still get to my youngest sons pre school in time to be the last parent in the pick up line.. so, maybe I'm not totally lame, but it was pretty close today!

Making my skin crawl..

Has anyone else seen that Kia commercial, using the song "Maniac" from the movie Flashdance? I gotta say, when I first saw it, I thought, this could be funny.. but then nothing funny ever happened. And it left me feeling awkwardly uncomfortable.. especially when the guy practically dry humps the front bumper of the car.. I'm also confused as to who they are trying to sell their cars to, the affordable Kia.. to younger people?? People who may not understand the Flashdance reference (although, really, who hasn't this movie?? young or old, right? it's a classic..)
I'm just sayin.. it was a weird visual experience, and makes me scramble for the remote every time it comes on..

What happened to Ween?

I've been hearing the most annoying song on the radio lately.. at first I thought it was David Bowie, and instantly thought, man, he's getting old. Then later (much later) I found out it was Ween.. the funky fun loving weird Ween of my mid twenties.. and then I thought, man, am I getting old!
The lyrics (in case you haven't been burdened yourself by hearing it) are bizarre, to say the least.. "we had the best time at your party.. the wife and I thank you very much" (over and over) and "the meat carved was drawn from succulent juices served on platters on the purest gold" And the worst part.. I never change the channel.. I don't know if I'm secretly loving it, or if it's like a train wreck and I just can't believe what it is I'm witnessing..

"A" is for...

Underdog of course! These are my youngest newest Webkinz.. Santa discovered they actually sell clothes for these stuffed animals, and made the mistake of buying each the boys an outfit.. Actually, that wasn't the mistake, the mistake was when I said "gee, I could totally make those clothes" Yes, and this is what I spent my New Years day doing.. Notice the scarf on the reindeer (yes, that's a reindeer, not a moose) and his pants? Am I just wasting my talent or what?? jeez.. and the cape on his Underdog?? My 4 year old insists that the name "Underdog" starts with the number A! So there you go! My oldest son only has a scarf from me, I have yet to stitch any apparel for him yet, although I suspect that request is coming soon!

My daughters got dozens of hats for Christmas this year.. yet this is what one of them prefers to wear.. It's most upsetting to my 4 year old, the owner of the underwear, but like I tell him, we made concessions for him when he was an infant, and we're doing the same for his sisters.. suck it up little boy, suck it up!

Let the insanity insue..

My sister is going back to work from her maternity leave in just over 2 weeks. Her 3 children are going to be coming to my house 3 days a week... Many people have been asking me how I am going to do this.. 2 sets of twins, under 2.. a 2 1/2 year old, and my 4 year old.. My response has been that I can pretty much do anything for 3 days a week.. and I think that people who know me, know that I can handle this.. or at least that's what I'm thinking.. I'll let you know if I've checked myself in anywhere! ;)

2 Years Ago Today..

I found out that I was pregnant with twins. I remember seeing the look on the doctor's face as she moved the ultrasound wand on my belly, a rather suspicious look.. and then when she said "Well, I see one.." And then the panic my husband was thrown into.. and the sheer excitement that I felt.. twins! Holy shit!

And here we are, 2 years later, countless nights with no sleep, hundreds and hundreds of diapers, what seems to be millions and millions of bottles of milk.. about a ton of spit up on and over my shoulder.. hours of crying, days of rocking and bouncing babies up and down.. I don't know how we survived.. but we have.
It won't be long when I'll be reminiscing about the girls being toddlers.. And all the great stories.. Like today when one of the girls pulled her sister down to the ground by her hair just to get the plastic spoon she was playing with. Or how this morning, I woke up with both of them in my bed and found one of them laying right on top of her sister. Just cuddling. They are sympathetic to each others pain as well. One was having a tantrum the other day for some unknown reason, and the other one went over and just put her arms around her and gave her a hug. Unfortunately this only incensed the twin having the tantrum, and she rejected her hug and basically body slammed her to the ground.. Yes, I have become a referee! I'm thankful to know that these times are so fleeting.. I can't imagine what my life is going to be like when these babies are no longer babies, and are instead 2 more kids in my family.. talking to me non stop!

Lots of Wood..

We got a cord of wood delivered today. It's a lot of wood, and our wood stove is toasty and roaring! We're going to see how long this lasts us, then we might opt for the recycled cardboard logs, or possibly another option.
My husband spent almost 4 hours outside in the rain moving it from the driveway to the backyard. I felt terrible for him. Seeing him soaking wet with our wheel barrel going back and forth.. But then I looked around at our house, which looks like a toy store threw up in my living room, and my 2 baby girls who aren't finding any peace or joy this holiday season, and the 2 boys who are most certainly old enough to understand the concept of an indoor voice, but can't seem to apply it, and I thought.. lucky fucker!!
Oh well.. at least it's going to be warm and toasty and we can have that campfire feel all winter!

Now I can celebrate..

Christmas is over, my tree will be coming down shortly, and I won't have to wrap another present until next year! Yee ha!
The kids had a great holiday and my husband and I are trying to figure out where in our house we are going to fit all the stuff they got. Last year when people asked me what they wanted/needed, I told them clothes. Big mistake considering my then 3 year old was beside himself with every rectangular shaped box he got passed his way, which was many. This year, people just asked me what kind of toys he wanted, because there was no way they were going through that hell again. So, they both got a gazillion toys. Toys that their sisters just want to get into, explore and basically see if it'll fit into their mouths. The girls got toys too, but what do they want with a baby doll when their brothers have gameboys and cup stackers??
My husband and I just did stockings for each other this year. Although he cheated a bit and got me a digital picture frame, from the kids. In my stocking he stuffed it with socks, a candle, a book, a dunkin donuts gift card, mittens, shampoo, and a serrated knife (because we don't have one!) Hope everyone got what they wanted/needed.. or just didn't have!

Paper Cutter- It's genius!

You will never want to use scissors again while wrapping gifts. This dumb little thing is the handiest little gadget going. It's super easy to use, it just glides over the wrapping paper (like butter) it's safe, and you can let your kids play with it in between cuttings.. Although the last part isn't particularly recommended because then the kid will lose it, you'll spend 10 minutes trying to find it, resort back to scissors, only to find it 2 hours later tucked nicely under your fat ass.

Anyway, if you don't have one, get one!

Who Made Me?

My youngest son asked me this last night. I told him that his father and I did. Yes, but HOW?? Good lord.. Luckily, before I could defer this to my husband my oldest son chimes in "You used to be an egg, and then you hatched."
Ahh, thank you buddy! He totally bought it, and holy shit is my 7 year old going to have the surprise of his life when he finds out how that egg turned into a baby, and how mommy "hatched" it..

When your memory escapes you..

Here are just a few things that I've forgotten in the past few days:

-to get a gift that I had said that I would donate to a needy family (nice!)

-to call my son's dentist (the husband thinks that his loose front tooth isn't falling out quick enough..)

-to return the retakes for my youngest son's school pictures. The first ones were kind of cute, except that 1.) I had forgotten it was picture day and he was in this random t-shirt and shorts and 2.) the photographer had him posing on a rock, with his little leg bent, exposing the family jewels.. no one ever said that "Pedophile Portraits" were taking the pics..

-and finally, that Christmas is only 5 days away.. frick.

The Wood Whore..

That's what I've become.. and not in the sense that would please my husband, but the wood burning whore. My older sister brought me some wood yesterday, and I've had a fire going ever since. We're about to run out though, and I feel like an addict needing to get a fix. I offered to run to the grocery store to buy a bundle of over priced campfire wood tonight to which my husband laughed and told me that I would get my wood, but probably not til the end of week, or sometime next week. It won't be in the budget til then..
I am loving the whole wood burning atmosphere having a stove going creates. I've lived her for over 5 years, and we've had a fire here and there, but for the majority of the time, I've honestly just wanted to get rid of it. Fear of chimney fires and children burning their extremities on it just made it seem foolish to even have one. However, some good friends let us borrow a gate, so the kids can't even get close to it. And I can totally rock it out when it comes to getting it going. I came home from work tonight and my husband was having a hard time getting it to burn.. I blew on it for like 20 seconds, repositioned it slightly, and there you go.. Wow, I really do sound like a whore! Haha!! Good night..

You've got to be kidding!

What is this child thinking? I mean, I know shit "happens" or whatever, but man.. It's sad, and pathetic.. and a total WTF situation.. I have no idea what I'm going to tell my kids when one of their favorite shows gets the boot. I wonder if this girl has any idea that her career, as well as her life are pretty much over..

Moist.

What is it about this word that makes me throw up in my mouth just a little bit every time I hear it? My sister and I were trying to think of other words that have the same feeling when you hear them, but came up with nothing. I know they're out there, but nothing is worse than MOIST. ick..

Enviro Log..

Kind of sounds like something that might come out of ones ass, but it's not. It's 100% recycled wax cardboard, like cereal boxes, and other food type boxes. We got this over the weekend to burn in our wood stove, just in case we lost power.. and I gotta say, I loved it! It burned hot, and once you got past the initial waxy smell (that really didn't linger too long) then we were in heaven! I went back to get more today, but the store was out (effing home depot!) We've decided that with the cost of fuel these days to try and use our wood stove. I was afraid that it wouldn't heat the whole house, but it does.. and warmer than our furnace! It was nice to sit in our living room and not be bundled up in blankets!

Snowed In..

Yesterday was one of the suckiest days weather wise this year.. and it's not even technically Winter yet.. We made the best of being shut-ins all day with cookie making, homemade snow flakes (thanks for my husband for teaching my boys how to do that..you don't suppose he was the one sweeping up all the scraps!) And this wonderful snowman that my youngest son so originally named "Frosty"

What do ya think?

Tonight is my third night of being at home alone with all the chillen. My husband is at a gig tonight, last night it was soccer, and Monday night it was band practice. I'm going out with the girls Friday night.. I'm thinking I don't even have to come home at this point.. am I right folks or what??

Is it just me???

Or does anyone else want to throttle Rachel Ray? It could be the way she tries to be hip with her cute little acronyms, like e.v.o.o. (extra virgin olive oil) or the way she so wittingly says delish, or the way she exaggerates in the new dunkin donuts promos "I always have like a million pounds of this stuff" referring to, of course, their coffee.. well, No you don't! You suck, and I'm tired of seeing your stupid face on my t.v. My kids even know I can't stand her, although there is some confusion because we buy Ritz crackers with her picture on the box.. well, duh, if I could find a box without her picture that would be one thing. Anyway, I feel better, and I guess now I can go to bed!

Everyday News..

I like this girl. I don't know who she is, but she's funny.. Anyway, she's always got a nice comment for me, and I think her blog should be checked out! (Heidi, I hope you don't mind :)

Breakfast with my mother..

And my sister, and her twins, and my twins, and the non stop barrage of people commenting on how many kids we have.. And the echo of my mother's voice saying "They're all twins!" The last time my sister and I went to breakfast (at the same restaurant) nothing was said. I don't think anyone even noticed us. I don't know what changed this last time, maybe it was the fact that my sister's boys were out of their car seats. It must have been more obvious that there were more kids there than before.. But having my mom there to tell every person that glanced our way that my sister and I were twins, and that we each had a set of twins was a tad nerve wracking. Nothing like being shoved into the "spotlight" for lack of a better word, while trying to devour my eggs benedict and feed two toddlers at the same time. Some people just don't know what to say, after my mom's spiel, an older woman looked at me perplexed and said "So, are you two sisters?" It's just too much for some people to absorb. And of course we always run into someone we know at this restaurant, who just have to look us over for a good 30 seconds in disbelief. Yea, I know, we really are a freak show. And my poor younger son, and niece are sitting there wondering what the hell the big deal is? They're just a bunch of crying babies that have changed their lives forever. Why does anyone care??

My good nights of sleep come and go. One of the twins sleeps like a rock, for about 11 hours. The other one is up every other night, screaming at the top of her lungs until I go in and get her. The boys (especially the little one) have been doing great.. Until last night.. The first time I heard my youngest one crying for me, he wanted to change his underwear. Yes, that's right. He awoke me from a lovely slumber to tell me that he wanted to take off his tighty whitey's in favor of some boxers. Of course I just do it, because arguing with this one when he's not half asleep usually gets me no where, so I just got him changed, did the usual hugging, kissing, and going back and forth with "I love you" and "But I love you more" the entire way back to my own bed. Which I am only in for a moment, because the drama twin has heard all the commotion and has decided to dust off her vocal chords and try to wake up the entire street. So, she comes into our bed... all the while, my husband is fast asleep (or at least appearing that way..) Well, I'm not back into my dreams for 5 minutes when my youngest son starts crying again (he's 4 btw, a little old in my opinion for these pathetic outbursts.. but whatever..) So, I grab my pillow, as I know it's going to be much easier to just get into bed with him, and try to sleep there... which of course makes him smile ear to ear as he snuggles in.. Soooooo.. the longest night of my life continues when my oldest son (yes, the angel child) starts bawling in his bed on the top bunk.. WTF?? He thinks he's got a bloody nose, turns out it's just congestion and for some reason has begun to run. I get him a tissue, and tell him to blow. This only freaks him out, because blowing his nose is something he absolutely loathes doing. So, I tell him to lay back down, stop crying and go back to sleep.. 2 minutes later, little miss dq is awake down the hall in our bed, screeching because she has awoken, and not found her mommy right there.. Her daddy is right there, but of course he's still sleeping (bastard!) I run back to my own bed, which leaves my youngest son extremely upset, but I tell him I'll be right back, hoping that he'll just fall back to sleep and forget about me for a little while.

Well, he forgot about me for about 30 seconds and starts crying again.. this time, dear old Dad grabs his pillow and finally starts to help out. So, now I'm just getting ready for the best 3 hours left of the night, alone in my bed (with the exception on my little drama queen) when I hear the other twin start screaming.. OMG! Was it a full moon last night?? So, I let her cry for a minute or two, and she finally dozes back to sleep.. for a minute or two, and then she's at it again.. and when this baby cries, it's not so much a screeching like her sister, but a rolling of her r's.. She sounds just like Chewbacca when she cries.. Which makes listening to her amusing, but then it becomes just pitiful. So, she comes into bed with me too.. And there I am, at 3 in the morning, with 2 babies smooshed next to me, and a husband sleeping comfortably down the hall..

Ho!Ho!Ho!

Here are my sister's beautiful children.. I gotta say, we make some pretty cute kids! ;)

More Scary Shit at Preschool..

My poor poor youngest son. He just can't seem to get a break from everything dreadful. Today at school, an Elf, Mr. Bingles came to visit. His teacher had forewarned me, and had even talked to him about it last week. However, his little 4 year old brain had totally dismissed it, until this morning, while in the middle of my shower, he asks me if anyone is coming to his school today. I thought for sure he was testing me (yes, he's made me as paranoid as him) So I said, "yea, remember the Elf, Mr. Bingles?" And that was the end of my hot shower, my morning calm (yea, like there's ever any of that) And basically my patience.

He pretty much cried until I promised to get him a Happy Meal for dinner tonight. Then the rest of the morning was just a barrage of questions about what Mr. Bingles was going to look like, whether or not he had pointy ears, was he just in a costume, and so on and so on..

So, I get him to school, and he gets out of the car, and the teacher kind of gives me a look, like she knew exactly what was on his mind, and that was that. I leave, and for 3 hours, no one is asking me questions over and over, and the babies could care less about what the rest of their day would be like.

I went back to pick him up. I watched him from my car, and he looked really happy. He did look however, to be wearing someone else's clothes.. Hmmm... His teacher brought him over to the car, with a plastic bag in her hand. She's said he did great, he really enjoyed Mr. Bingles, and he even enjoyed the story that Mr. Bingles read. Then she says, as she's handing me the bag, "I think he might have been a little nervous.. he had an accident." Oh. I had no idea what kind of accident she was referring to (#1, or 2) so as we're driving home, I asked him about it. He said it was only pee, and he just forgot that he needed to go.. I don't know what to think sometimes.. about this little boy who so frequently tries my patience, and drives me insane. I would have thought that something like that, peeing in front of his peers, would send him over the edge. But apparently, it was no big deal, yea, he just forgot that he needed to pee. Good lord. At least he didn't lose his shit with Mr. Bingles, and perhaps we're one step closer to getting him over all that terrorizes him.. perhaps.

Christmas Lists..

My kids have written letter upon letter to Santa this year. My oldest son has them everywhere, some of them are long and lengthy, other's are just random questions, like "how are the reindeer doing?" or "are the elves working hard?". My youngest son is keeping it pretty simple, due to his inability to read or write and is just drawing pictures of what he wants. Mainly consisting of Christmas trees, snowmen and stars. Yes, this is what he wants.
Yesterday my oldest son told me that he wanted an ipod for Christmas. I told him that he could have one, if he could tell me what it was. Yea, he's not getting one.
I asked my mom the other day what she wanted for Christmas. Nothing. Of course. So, then I hypothetically asked her what she would want.. if I was to get her something, and she finally said underwear (I think we all know why she needs those) and duct tape (?) I have no idea where her need for that comes from, but it's been noted. And then last night, she called me and told me that if anyone wanted to really know what she wanted, it would be a bottle of Kahlua. I'm not sure I want to give my already depressed, out of work, on pain medication mom alcohol..but we'll see.. I got her a sweater already, maybe I'll just duct tape some undies and Kahlua to it..
Now I just have to finish up my dad (who the hell knows what he wants..) And then I might just be done.. I love Christmas..

The Elf on the Shelf..

My sister's mother in law, who is such a sweetheart, sent my kids an Elf on the Shelf.. It's this vintage looking little elf who sits at our house, and keeps tabs on them. Then each night, he reports to Santa on how they're behaving.. it's a helpful tool when they're running wild..

Each night, the elf returns, and sits in a different spot. The next morning, the boys wake up and look for him. Sounds like a nice little game right? Well, it would be except for the fact that since we got this thing last week, my youngest son has been the first one to find him, every morning. Which is really pissing off his older brother. Each morning all week, there have been some sort of melt downs and outburst because of who did or didn't see the stupid elf first. This morning, when they came screaming up the stairs waking up the babies, I told them that I was going to have to ask the elf to go back to the north pole.. if they couldn't find a way to have fun with it. We'll see how tomorrow morning goes, they might just wake up to find a note from that little elf saying he couldn't take the tantrums anymore and that he hopes they have fun with all that coal Santa's going to be bringing them!

Nothing much..

Things are getting back to normal at my house.. as normal as it can get anyway. My oldest son woke up early with a nose bleed. My youngest son woke up and said he was sick again (he does this when he knows he has pre school) And my girls woke up and had totally peed through their pajamas. Yet this is what I call normal.
We're nearing the holidays, and I'm mildly freaking out. A woman that saw a hand bag that I had made for my mother in law a few weeks ago has asked me to make her four of them for the holidays. I'm more than happy to do that, but she's currently in Phillie until next Friday, and wants to meet me before she commits to buying anything from me. I'm not sure what meeting me will do for her.. I sent her pictures of my work, and she saw the bag my mil had, so wtf? Just order some bags, and let's get on with our lives. I can't imagine having time to make 4 bags 10 days before Christmas, which I told her, but she said she might not want them until the spring. I suppose I should just be happy that anyone would want one of my bags.. but this is certainly not how I want to do it.. Then again, I guess I could tell her that.. I could say, sorry, I don't know you, and you're not about to come to my house with me and my children.. but that would require using something I don't have.. which is a backbone. Damn, I gotta get me one of those!

At least my couch is clean (now)

I got home from work last night, sat down with my 4 year old who had crashed on the couch, only to be puked on moments later. What is it about being a mom that involves someone ALWAYS puking on you? And shouldn't I be seasoned enough in the mothering field that I know when it's coming? Ugh, one would think. But the silver lining to all that is that he was in bed really early (yeeha!) And it forced me to wash the sofa cushions, which were sooo disgusting.
His brother woke up this morning, wanting to stay home from school because he was convinced that he had "caught his brother's sick" And I was too cold, and maybe too tired to argue so he stayed home and neither of them got dressed today.. Luckily no one else has caught the "sick" and they are more than prepared for the viewing of Rudolph tonight at 8.
Oh, and I must mention the fact that I live with Mr. Obvious. My oldest son. As my 4 year old is upchucking dinner, and the water I had just made him drink (because his throat felt funny) My oldest son is screaming "He's puking, mom, he's throwing up everywhere!" Just what I want to hear as I'm literally trying to scoop up the vomit and keep the babies away at the same time.. Thanks for the update buddy, I wasn't sure what he was doing until you told me! oy..

Winter Wear..

It's not even officially winter yet, and today was our first snow storm, and snow day. And of course I brought the kids out and built snowmen, and snow forts, and then we laid down in the snow and made snow angels.. This was all followed by hot cocoa and warm brownie sundaes. Then we all snuggled up by the fire and read some poetry.. and then yes, pigs flew right through my house, followed by the monkies that came out of my ass! ;) It was more like pop tarts and cartoons.. and mom doing buttloads of laundry, and not one of my kids asking to go outside. Almost a perfect day!

The Hair on my Chinny Chin Chin..

I am no stranger to chin hair. I'll admit it. Ever since I had all those babies, and my girly hormones were compromised and partially replaced with some male ones. I always knew this was coming, we come from a long line of women with beards. It's so very attractive.. but whatever, I take care of it, and I never look like the cave woman that I am describing..
However, as much as I wish I could get rid of it forever (like with electrolysis or something) I'm not one of those people who could a.) afford it and b.) opt for it.. any "procedure" that really isn't necessary, really isn't for me. So, there are those days when yes, I have a bit of stubble (I hope my husband is reading this..jeez) Well, one of my babies has discovered this, and can't help but rub my chin like it was a genie in a bottle. I swear, anytime she's sitting on me she's got her hand up there searching around for something to rub. It is becoming her blankie of sorts. I saw her tonight sitting on my husbands lap, doing the same exact thing with his goatee! Nice. I bet she thought she had hit the mother load! Maybe electrolysis wouldn't be such a bad thing.. hmm...

What's the name of the bone in your wiener?

This was the question posed to me last night by my 7 year old during his bath. I tried explaining to him that there is no bone in your wiener, but since he's been learning about all the bones in the human body at school, he was quite convinced that there was in fact a name for the bone in his wiener.. (and can I just tell you how HARD it was for me not to name that bone- boner, just for a laugh.. but my better judgement luckily took over..) We finally agreed that the bone he must be thinking of was his pelvic bone, which is of course directly behind behind the wiener.. It was quite the amusing conversation, and I'm sure it wasn't lost on his brother who was soaking it all in.. now he too knows the name of the bone in (or near) his wiener!

doh!

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

Twins and more twins..

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

Tonight's T.V. Viewing..

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

Here it is..

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

Ho Ho Ho

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

Giving Thanks..

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

Irish River Dancing..

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