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!

It's Almost Over..

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

How did I get here?

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

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

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

Table For Eight..

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

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

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

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!