Half Trained.. Staple Guns.. and a Stranger..

It's official! I have a potty trained girl! Well, except for the pooping (we all know that comes a bit later) One of my girls is going like a champ..she's totally aware when she has to go, and lets me know the instant she needs to. Last night was the first night that I let her wear her underwear to bed, and she woke up dry! yay!! I'm guessing the pooping is on it's way..the last time she went in a diaper, and the time before that, she had an accident in her underwear, when we had company over. She was walking around with a little tail, and was not pleased one bit.
It's only half a victory though, considering her sister has yet to even tinkle the slighest bit on the potty. I guess that when my sister and I were potty training, I was 6 months behind..That's ok though..she promises me that she'll do it on Tuesday..(even when it is Tuesday, she promises to go NEXT Tuesday) and if I only have to change half the diapers that I've been changing for the past 3 years, then I'm good with that!
I have been struggling with keeping my 2 year old twin nephews in their cribs at naptime this week. I'm out of duct tape, and forgot to get some at the store (it was working pretty well on the crib tents that they have practically destroyed). Today was a shining moment, one where the light bulb in my dim little head shone so brightly.. I borrowed my contractor's staple gun and have successfully (and safely) contained them in the cribs, and they are snoozing away!
My youngest son is home sick today.. he's got a bit of a cough, and couldn't imagine having to go to school with it. He hasn't missed much since his elbow surgery in September, so I let him stay. This was very upsetting to my older son. How unfair that he had to go to school, and his little brother got to enjoy the chaos of a house filled with children. I reminded him of what he refers to our house when I'm babysitting.. He calls it simply "madness" Yes, it is. And he quickly got over it and got his butt on the bus.
I also got a lovely email today from a father of 4 who found my blog after doing a search on having 4 kids. I guess we have many similarities (as far as the insanity of it all goes). It truly made my day. He said he laughed outloud, more than he could count, and that my stories were well written and refreshing.. oh, and that I'm a total smoking hot babe! (well, maybe I just threw that last part in..but for future emailers, it wouldn't hurt to include that as well.. oh, I keed..I keed)  I just love a good pat on the back! Even from a total stranger! So, dude, thank you..

Corn Blasting.. it's as ugly as it sounds!

Last week we had these guys come out and corn blast our house. I couldn't imagine what exactly they were going to be doing, until they came by and gave us a demo. It's like sand blasting, except they use ground up fine grains of corn, and spray it on the house.
It's amazing how quickly the stain comes off. What's not so amazing, is the amount of a corn like substance that ended up in our house. I was told I could put plastic up over the walls, and that would help, but honestly, I didn't think much of it. Duh. Big duh.
By the time they were blasting the front of my house, I smartened up and ask the guy for some plastic. My kids rooms were covered in corn dust. I spent most of Friday vaccuming the walls, and everything else in there. It was gross. I still have to finish the girls room because I spent the weekend doing other things.. like seeing my husbands band on Saturday night (something I haven't done in a very long time) and spent Sunday recovering.. I'm too old to be out til 2 am.. and apparently not smart enough to know this.. whatever, I made my annual appearance at his gig, and next time he has one, I'll stay at home..

So, I'm spending my Monday cleaning up more corn. Which is literally still seeping in through the walls.. The guy doing the blasting is really nice.. but the gear he dressed up in had us all laughing, and we dubbed him the corn trooper.. Here he is..

Can you see the corn dust on the deck? yea, this is what ended up in my house as well.. creeping through the logs.. ugh.. They're coming back Friday to stain it.. I wish we could keep the natural color, but giving the fact that we live in New England, it would be more expensive to maintain..whatev's..it's going to look wonderful! as soon as I get all this frickin corn out of my house!

Leprechauns..

So my youngest son is in first grade, and part of being in first grade is getting to build a leprechaun trap and trying to catch one of these 2 inch beings. We knew about this project for 3 years (since my oldest son had to build one too when he was 6). Of course it didn't get built til the day before (what I like to call college drop out style) but it did come out fabulous! Course my youngest had very little to do with it (yes, I totally helped with this project because getting this one to do anything is like pulling teeth, and I'm so over that..)
The only problem with his trap was that it was too inviting to leprechauns, and they are sneaky little shits, and would most likely only visit it if there was sign on it specifically telling them not to. Whatever.. apparently they liked his trap so much, that while the kids were at recess, his trap almost caught one, but only ended up fetching one of their green little sparkly hats. He was elated.

And unlike last time with my oldest son, I pretended to believe that leprechauns were real and perpetuate another lie (you know, like Santa, the tooth fairy....nothing wrong with adding one more tall tale to the mix, right?)

Here's his trap.. see the pot of gold?? What dumb little leprechaun wouldn't want to check that out??

Mumford and Sons..

Mumford and Sons.. Little Lion Man

My husband and I are going to see this band in May at the Middle East in Boston. I can not wait! It has been so long since I've seen a show. And even longer that I've found a band that I would sacrifice a nights sleep to see..

You know it's going to be a great day when...

-you are awoken by the sound of the smoke detector (again) at 6 am, which only throws all of your kids into a panic. We have yet to figure out what the problem is with the smoke alarm..but basically, we're teaching our kids to cover their ears when it goes off..never mind running out of the house, stop, drop and roll..nope,  just cover those ears!

-you're in the middle of a power crap, and your wonderful carpenter who has shown up at 7 am, starts using one of his really loud saws and wakes up your already skittish 3 year old twins, who come flying up the stairs crying "I scared Mommy, I scared" So much for the power crap.

-when your first grader comes to you 10 minutes before the bus is due, and shows you 2 more sheets of homework that he didn't complete. Even though the night before he said he had nothing (totally more my fault than his.. I know he's only 6)

-reassuring the boys that yes, EVERYTHING is in their backpack, and then realizing moments after the bus has gotten them, that I forgot 2 very important things for my older son, and had to drag the girls to the school to drop it off..

-when you wake up and find that the 30 pound raccoon that lives under our shed (with the skunk) has torn into another garbage bag on the deck, because someone forgot to put it in the bin.. and yes, that someone would be me because I pretty much do everything around here.. and sometimes I just suck.

So, when a day starts like this..I have little hope for the rest of it. I am however hopeful that the work on our house is going to be done in a few weeks, and we can get our lives back to normal a bit..

The girls have been finding Christmas gifts that we had packed away in their closet..for a rainy day.. or for a new distraction.
Yesterday it was a beautiful day, but after being outside for hours, they needed a distraction inside..so that they might not pull each others hair out (which by the way is so hard to take care of, their hair that is..it's a rats nest as you can see.. I've completely given up on getting it to look cute or managed..)

Anyway, here they are with some glitter glue, purple hearts and alphabet stickers... A much easier craft to play with than the paper doll book we found over the weekend.. that was a toy required a lot of mom's help.. the distraction only works if it distracts them from me! right?

40..

My husband turned 40 yesterday. Unlike his 30th birthday, there was no big party. I had initially decided after he refused to let me have a New Years Eve party, that I would plan a big surprise party for his 40th (just to spite him really) But then life got busy... with the construction... and just having 4 kids.. so I did nothing. The kids and I planned a little surprise for him. Well, it was more the boys and I, and the girls just acted really excited.
We all got up yesterday  morning, showered and had baths, all the while he had no idea what we were doing, or where we were going. Of course it didn't take him long to figure it out once we got in the car..but he acted surprised for the kids when we got there, and even more surprised when my youngest son informed him that they had an ALL YOU COULD EAT buffet! We took him to one of his favorite restaurants where they have a wonderful brunch..and all the bacon you can eat! The biggest reason my youngest son was so happy!
We are usually the last thing anyone wants to see in a restaurant. A family with 4 small kids.. even more so when you enter the lobby with your party of 6 and your young daugther that you are holding hurls all over you.. She ended up being fine, and we both cleaned up in the bathroom and met the family at the table just as my husband was telling our waitress that he wasn't sure if we'd be staying. We did stay, and the upchucking little girl ate her heart out.. Kids are weird.
So, I spent the rest of my day feeling bad that I hadn't planned some really big party for my husband.. I did make him his favorite strawberry birthday cake (yum) and then listened to the daughter that had puked earlier in the day cry because she didn't want just a piece of cake, but she wanted ALL of the cake. She actually cried herself to sleep about it. Can you imagine?
I do plan on taking him away somewhere in a month or two.. just us for the night.. Life will fit it in eventually.. anyway, Happy 40th to my sassy, handsome man! I love you!!

Babies..

A good friend of mine from work came over to visit me today. She's a new mom. She had her first baby 9 weeks ago. It was so nice to see her, and her cutie pie. This baby, by the way, is probably the best baby EVER (not including a couple of my kids, and all the rest of my friends and relatives children who are shining stars and compare to no one - just so no one gets jealous! ;)
Anyhoo, I so enjoyed holding this teeny tiny baby.. First, she's adorable (duh) second, she has these eyelashes, that really, are to die for! Usually the boys get the eyelashes, all thick and long (maybe that's Gods apology for the prostate exam, I dunno). But this little girls eyelashes were perfect. They looked primped and curled, and curved up slighty to her eyelid. I think it's safe to say I could have eaten her right up. I told her I might.
For a second, well, a millisecond, I wanted another one. Then one of my kids bitchslapped the other, which in turn bitchslapped me back to reality. It's nice how life works that way.
Let me explain the picture below, because it's cute, and I'm feeling cute tonight (maybe it's the 12 pounds I've lost not eating everything in sight, including adorable teeny little babies.. I dunno)
When out shopping for my friends baby shower, I picked up two cute outfits to go with the stunning quilt I had already made (that's right) It was only when I got home, that I realized I had bought two of the SAME outfits. You know I was born a blond.. Anyway, I kept the extra outfit and packed it away for someone else who would eventually get knocked up.
I had this outfit, for 6 months! On the hanger, tucked away.. waiting. Surprisingly, no one got knocked up, and  my daughter found it in the closet, and just HAD to try it on. Just a simple two piece outfit, that on a 3 month old would look very sweet, with a polka dot top, and cute little stretchy pants. But on a 3/12 year old, she got a cute belly shirt and some Daisy Dukes. It just so happened, that when the before mentioned adorable wad of baby showed up, her mom had packed the same outfit I had given her in the diaper bag (and yes, I think she probably had the outfit with her because she knew I had given it to her, she's just a very thoughtful person like that! I love this girl!!)

We couldn't resist the photo op (or I couldn't..) and I snapped away.. Here's one of my babies, with her's..munch munch!!

Construction..

Our house is under construction, with the new in law apartment. It's coming along great. One of the perks of having a friend do the work for you is having some adult conversation during the day. My contractor can talk.. and he would.. all day! But I love it.. he's really fun to hang out with and have around. Occasionally his wife comes by to help him out, and she too is a friend, and someone fun to hang out with.. I'll miss them both when they're done!

Potty Training..

I thought girls were easier to train.. Maybe they would be if there was only one of them, but with 2, it just seems to be an impossible task that I don't have the time for. They want to wear underwear, and sometimes I will let them. But they NEVER make it to the potty. They always just start screaming that they've peed. It's frustrating to say the least. They are 3 1/2, are definitely almost there, but not quite. I'm not going to sweat it, it'll happen someday.. I just wish it was sooner than later..

Looking Smart..

I made an appoinment to get my eyes tested. I've never had an eye exam before, but earlier this week, I tried on a coworkers glasses, and couldn't believe how much better I could see. My twin sister wears glasses, but she is nearsighted. I think I'm farsighted. I have no problem seeing things far away, but up close is difficult. It's fitting too that I would be the opposite of her (we are mirror twins after all!)
I'm actually excited about getting some glasses.. I've secretly always wanted them..I guess I'm looking forward to looking smart! I'll be sure to post a pic if in fact I do need some specs! Happy Friday!

Another Exciting Saturday Night..

It's Saturday night. My husband has gone out with some friends, and I am home. With our kids, and my niece (my sister and her husband are off for the night to NY, and my  mom is at their home with her boys)
Currently, 5 kids are in my boys room, watching a movie, and playing their ninendo's. I'm watching HGTV.. Candace Olson's Divine Design.  I never would have thought that this would be what I considered a perfect night, but it is.. well almost perfect, I would love to have my husband's company, but it's early, and I don't suspect he'll be too late.
When on Earth, did I get so grown up?? So content with a quiet evening at home watching home improvement shows? I did get more than one thing accomplished tonight, including coloring my hair the fabulous shade "ginger ale" and having a long hot shower.. it's the small things..
Today I dragged my husband, and the five kids to Target. And when I say I dragged my husband, it's quite literal. He was content staying home (duh) but I insisted that he join me. The boys have had some money they wanted to spend, and have been begging me for weeks to bring them to Target to spend it. It actually came to the point, that when my husband reluctantly joined us in the car after everyone was in, I told him to go back inside.. I didn't want a grumpy gus ruining our fun. Of course he refused, and insisted that if he did in fact go back inside, he would pay for it the rest of the weekend. He really doesn't get it. I don't roll like that. But I guess he thinks I do.. whatever.
Anyway, this is the excitement that is my life. I can hear giggling from the other room (and I love it!) My niece is having the time of her life with her cousins. I love that they are growing up together.. I love that they are having so much fun doing something so small like just hanging out with each other.. For about an hour earlier, they were all crawling around on their hands and knees, pretending to be dogs. Sure, it was annoying (imagine a pack of dogs in your house, barking as loud as they could) but I did nothing to stop it. I quietly colored my hair, had a long hot shower (with the door open of course) and just reveled in their bliss..

Twins in the News.. yea right.

So, my twin story has been published.. well, sort of. Here I am thinking that the fact my identical twin sister and I, who have both given birth to identical twins ourselves, are in fact very special.
Well, I guess we are only special enough to get a letter from me to the editor asking about other id twins having their own id twins. Not even a mention of all the other cool facts that are involved here: Like how my sister and I are mirror twins (identical twins who are mirror images of each other, she's a lefty, had braces, wears glasses) Had boys.. That both our twins were born on the 22nd day of a month.. that her twins were due on Thanksgiving, while mine were conceived on the same holiday.. And that genetically, having identical twins is a fluke. It hasn't been linked to genetics.
But whatever. It's pretty cool anyway to see our twin pic in an actual magazine.. too bad I didn't know it has been in there since December, even though the editor of the magazine asked me if she could run the story, I should have wondered when she didn't respond to me if she would let me know when it was coming out.. whatev's.. Here's the link... http://www.epaperflip.com/aglaia/viewer.aspx?docid=94f462df6e014e8788df30bf3e23a3b2&page=8&#

New Years, a little late..

Two weeks into the new year, and I have a post! We quietly rang in the new year playing games with the kids. We played pictureka, uno, and yahtzee. I won most of the games! And I'm pretty sure my family was as happy as I was about my winning streak, I am ridiculously competitive (even with the little ones) so no one wanted to see mommy lose!
The kids have had their first week back at school.. which has been great, and much needed.. I have managed to get almost everything put away from the holidays (with the exception of some collectible Rudolph house's of my husbands) and my house is in it's usual state of "as clean as I can get it."
I started doing the south beach diet this week.. Nothing like hopping on the scale after a few months and seeing it way higher than I thought it would be. It's rough not having sugar, and it's made me tired as hell.. but I've lost 4.5 lbs in the first 5 days. I'm just trudging along, and hoping to get some more energy soon.
My girls have been asserting themselves in our household lately. A lot. I don't know if they are struggling to find their place, or to see how far they can push me, but most nights when my husband comes home, I'm almost in tears. They are 3 1/2.. old enough I would assume, to be a bit more decisive, and a bit less dramatic. Is it just girls? Or just my girls?? They have moments when they are just the most adorable little creatures, saying the cutest things. Then in the same breath, they are screaming at the top of their lungs, insisting that I wait on their every need! Needless to say, I am longing for the days ahead, hopefully free of being bullied.. we shall see!

Thank God that's Over!!

I love the holidays, I really do. But once Christmas day has passed, I am ready to clean up the house, and make it look like Christmas was never here. Luckily, no one cares that I feel this way, thus enabling me to just pull it all down and pack it up til next year.. I actually waited 3 days this year to get it put away (but only because I was in an ugly, after Christmas funk- much like my husband was..) But I woke up this morning, had a meeting with our builder, found out that he's starting work tomorrow and had to clean out some clutter in the lower level, and just went nuts from there. It feels good in here.. I can breath again.
The kids had a great Christmas, and got a ton of stuff.. one of the main reasons I felt the need to purge. The girls finally got into it this year..after each gift, my oldest twin would come up to me and say "just one more mama" it was cute. They have had endless hours of fun with their new toys. All which are doll, or princess related. It's funny to have girls in the house, especially such girly ones. Being a recovering tom boy, it's hard to understand the love for everything pink, and glittery. But I love it anyway.
Well, I'm currently cooking dinner (noodles..) I did enough cooking over the past week that I can get away with something simple..and something that won't make any one of them cry. I'm heading back to work in a few as well.. I  miss it.. mommy needs a break!

This and That..

Well, I finished my Christmas shopping this morning.. as least I think I have.. I'm sure I'll remember something and have to run out again, but the bulk is bought, and wrapped.. Now I'm trying to nail down the menu for Christmas Eve.. and will have to eventually do some more shopping for that.
My boys are beyond excited. It's been a countdown for the past month.. they are good counters let me tell you! My girls (who are 3 1/2)  pretty much haven't grasped the concept. They are far too busy bossing me around, and clawing each others eyes out. It's heart warming, really.
The plans for my mothers in law apartment are pretty much a go. We should hopefully see some work started within the next couple of weeks. I know she's looking forward to having more space than our playroom, and I'm looking forward to a new master suite.. we've never had our own bathroom before!! I will be banning my boys from using it, that is unless the little one gets better aim and can hit the bowl rather than the floor, or the radiator (that's leaving a wonderful smell in my bathroom!!)
We were invited yesterday to our neighbors house for their annual cookie decorating party. It was a lot of fun. They are really nice people. The girls pretty much lost their shit when their very cute, little dog, got too close. I ended up bringing them home and asking my mom to watch them.. she didn't mind, and again we reaped the benefits of having her living with us..
Anyway, I have a ton of stuff that I should be doing, rather than blogging.. I would kill for a good nap, but that is exactly what I would have to do to get one. Kill. So, instead I'll do my dishes, and my laundry and get more bricks for the fire.. and then decorate a gingerbread house when the boys get home, make dinner, go to work, get home from work, get the kids ready for bed.. and eventually pass out. Sounds good, huh?

Fabric Buttons..

Something new for the holidays.. plenty of my family will be getting one of these pretty little fabric buttons.. to either put on a coat, a purse, shirt.. whatever.. My niece has her very own, which she was thirlled to get.. her only concern was whether or not her mom knew how to use a safety pin! haha.. she may not be the most domestic of people, but I'm pretty sure she can swing pinning it on!

The kids can barely wait.. Santa is coming, even if I've threatened them within an inch of their lives. He'll still be popping down the chimney in less than 10 days.. much to the concern of my younger kids about the space issue (how will he fit down our small chimney? and what if we forget to let the fire go out??) Poor dubs.. I'm not nearly as ready as I would like to be.. I started out with a bang, then flopped hard! That's ok though, like every year, I'll be ready.. dammit!
My youngest son (who has been cast free for almost 3 weeks) has grown new hair on his arm. Really, dark, long hair. It's weird, and kind of gross. I found out it's from having the cast on for so long, and the hair folicles growing to help with the irritation of the cast. My husband wondered if he should put a cast on his head, and grow some hair up there.. Not sure it would have the same effect.. of course he's not going bald either, just receeding a bit. But I've assured him that I will still love him when his hair is only growing out of his ears..
These pics were taken with our new camera (an early gift to my husband and I, from my husband and I) I've wanted a good camera for a long time (so I can take pictures of my kids toes..) and yay, now I have one! I have some reading to do, and lots of practice,  but so far I'm loving it! Merry Christmas!!!

New Sewing Machine..

I got a new sewing machine over the weekend. My old one died.. which I was quite happy that it finally did. It's amazing how much better, and how much easier my sewing has become with a new machine. I also got a sweet deal.. this bag is for my nephew's girlfriend..who btw, does not read my blog (at least not that I'm aware of) Anyway, I hope she likes it..
I'm also thinking of opening an etsy shop in the spring.. maybe. The thing about doing that means I'm really putting myself out there. I'm not sure if I want to do that. Rejection is not something I'm good with..

We have been busy here getting ready for the holidays.. Our elf on the shelf has returned, and once again my memory is put to the test. It would seem a simple task to remember something that you have to do every night (moving the elf to a new hiding place) but surprisingly, I've already forgotten once. I'm determined to do better though..

I've also been busy making gifts.. my mother in law has asked me to make my sister in law a new bag.. paid of course. Which I've already finished. I love the new bag. I've also almost mastered making wallets. My last one had a zipper. It's a big deal for me... to put a zipper on.. and no, I'm sure when I turned into my grandmother, maybe a few years ago.. I also learned how to make these cute little fabric flowers, thanks to miss crafty pants and her tutorial. Here's how it turned out..