Purge..

I spent most of my day cleaning out the boys bedroom, trying to make more room for all the loot they got on Christmas. I successfully loaded 2 large bags of trash (old toys) and now have enough room for the new stuff.. when I say successfully, I mean without their knowledge. What good is a toy that they don't remember they have? Or that is broken right? They would have probably had a heart attack if they had seen all the shit getting tossed. They won't even miss it though.. It feels so good to get rid of it.. My husband was busy downstairs purging things of ours, mostly mail, and other junk we don't need. He had a fire going in the chiminea outside with all the old mail. It made him smell like he'd been at a campfire, and that smelled really good to me!

Dinner

Last night, I went out to Cafe Mirabelle with a good friend of mine. She used to waitress there, and this gave us the star treatment! First we got the best table in the house (aka the romantic table..) Then we got mussels, my favorite appetizer of all time.. and they weren't even on the menu.. (I did get a mussel with some shell in it.. yuck, but I ever so discreetly spit it out into my napkin, haven't had to spit out food in a while, but anyway..) For dinner I got the roasted pork tenderloin, and it was delicious! My friend got the salmon, also very yummy! Dessert was wonderful as well, and the best part.... the restaurant picked up the tab! Nothing like a fancy, expensive dinner for free!! We only had to leave a tip (which unfortunately means I owe my friend some $ since I was planning on paying with credit and had no cash on me, typical)
It was a good night, not only because the meal was free, but because I got to hang out with my very dear friend, who I don't get to see enough!

Thank God that's over!

I love the holidays, but man, are they a lot of work.. and adding 2 new babies to the festivities is simply exhausting! But they have come and gone, and my house has not yet broken at the seams from all the new stuff the kids got.
Christmas eve was spent at my house.. There were about 15 of us.. My brother in law cooked- and as always, there was way too much food, but it was absolutely delicious.. I've been enjoying all the leftovers since then! The kids got to open their presents after dinner, and then the adults did a Yankee swap. I ended up getting a new DVD player from the swap (my mom always brings something that she got at her work Xmas party, last year it was a vacuum- which I won briefly, but my father traded for some dumb wind chime..) Anyway, the opening of the gifts was literally a heart breaking experience for my 3 year old. My family had asked me what the boys needed.. well, they needed clothes.. so that's what they got. My son was freaking out every time he got a rectangular box.. crying! He ended up with one toy, and about 10 outfits.. Obviously I hadn't thought about how opening pants, and shirts would make him mental. Especially after all the hype about the "Christmas party" Poor thing.. and poor everyone else who had to listen to his whining!
The girls were less than thrilled too, only their issue was with all the people suddenly in their home. They screamed for a good 15 minutes or so, and soon everyone realized that looking at them was not an option. Anyway, a couple of my sister's friends came over later, and stayed til about midnight, it was a lot of fun.. The girl my sister invited spilled an entire glass of red wine on my carpet. She felt horrible.. I was psyched.. I just kept thinking one stain closer to wood floors!! And btw, we went looking at some today, so it looks like I'll have my wood floors soon!! I'm going to have to thank her for her clumsy spill! :)
Christmas day was spent at my in-laws, where I dreaded how the girls were going to react to yet another huge group of people that they don't know. Surprisingly, they did really well. I'm guessing it was because all those strangers weren't in their home, on their turf. My 3 year old finally understood the type of box clothes came in, and just brushed them aside. My oldest son was great, and very thankful for everything he got, even the clothes!
My husband is off all week (yea!!) This morning he cleaned up the basement, and my nephew moved back in.. He's off to Vermont for the week to see his girlfriend.. it's going to be very strange having him back.. but the rent money will come in handy!
So, we have officially called an end to the Christmas season.. we took down the decorations yesterday (I know, bah hum bug huh?) But we seriously needed the room with my nephew coming back, and with all the new toys to put away. I'm now looking forward to New Years Eve, we actually have plans (first time in years!) My husband has been playing in a band for a month or so, and the drummers having a party at his house. Should be interesting, I haven't met the guys that he plays with (aww, the guys he plays with, it's like he's 5!) But I'm looking forward to a night out.. :)

My kids hate vegetables, like any other kid on the planet. Tonight at dinner, I made them hot dogs and brocolli. Nice combo huh? But I knew they would eat the hot dog, and Santa would make them eat the brocolli.. It worked, and all through dinner between the whines from my youngest son, and the threats to call Santa, my husband kept hollering "chopping brocolli" from an SNL skit.. He's a mental case..

I miss sewing. I miss being creative, and having an outlet that I love. It's been especially hard since it's one of the only things that really relaxes me.
I found out recently, that the girls like sewing about as much as I do! In fact, this bag here was something I made the other day.. while they sat on my lap (for part of it) and napped for the other parts. I was thrilled that I could do it, and that I finally have that outlet again. I won't be doing too many projects, but this was for my son's teacher.. a nice thank you for being such a great teacher.. however, I found out they only wanted gifts for the classroom, and this cute little bag probably wouldn't fit into that criteria.. so.. now I have a new bag! Ahh, Merry Christmas to me!

Charlotte's Web..

I'm reading the boys their first chapter book.. Charlotte's Web.. They love it (well, the oldest one does), and can't wait to see the new movie that's in the theaters.. We read one chapter a night, there are something like 22 chapters, and we're on 7.. it'll be out on video before we finish it..but that's ok. I try to hide my excitement when we come to a rare chapter that's only 3 pages long.. it's not easy reading with an infant (or 2) in your lap!

Block Rockin Beats..

I don't know what it is about techno.. but my daughters love it.. It must be the repetitive beats or the way I bounce them around to it, but since they were born they have really taken to it. Their favorite is The Chemical Brother's album, Exit Planet Dust.. If they are having a fit of screaming (which they do at least once daily) It all stops the minute they hear the first song on that cd. It literally shuts them right up.. and usually puts them right to sleep.. but only if it's really loud.. The last time I left my mom with them, I had the cd ready to go.. and of course it worked.. funny little girls!

Here are my sweet baby girls.. looking all festive for their first Christmas.. I'm not sure I'll be taking them out with those "Little House on the Prairie" hats.. but I thought it was at least photo worthy!! I have to say, they are pretty damn cute.. I never thought I would like to dress girls girly, but after 6 years of dressing boys, it's nice to add some color.. and a flower or heart here and there!!

"Hello, xianfern?"
"Yes"
"This is the school nurse, and your son has just thrown up"
"Oh, does he have a fever?"
"I haven't taken his temp"
"Oh"
"You need to come get him"
"OH, I'll be right there.."

Poor kid.. on his way to the nurses office yesterday because he had a headache, he blew chunks all over the floor in front of his old kindergarten class.. He didn't have a fever, and in fact he was totally fine in about an hour after he got home. Luckily no one else at my house has gotten it, if there was anything to get. He was back in school today, only because there was this really fun thing that he absolutely couldn't miss, and because he was "totally fine" Ok, I just kept my fingers crossed that I didn't get another phone call.. it ain't easy packing up 2 infants and a toddler and rushing across town to get a kid who's puking!

I'm not that weird..

I was tagged by McPolack to list 6 weird things about me.. I'm afraid they won't be nearly as weird as what she's listed (pretty funny!!) But here's what I came up with:

1.) I have 4 kids. That is weird in 2006 (maybe it's more crazy, I don't know..)

2.) When I was 10, I used to get dressed up to watch the Dukes of Hazard. I mean, I dolled it up! Did my hair, put on my best duds.. and would pretend that Daisy Duke was not the prettiest girl in the room!!

3.) I have a thing for my children's snot.. I don't know why, I understand some of you out there might think this is totally gross, but I can't help it. My oldest son has these huge nostrils, and until recently, I used to love to take a tissue and just go on up there.. If anyone in my family sees snot in the babies noses, they know they had better come get mommy, and that that's my thing.. god, what's wrong with me??

4.) When I was 5, I made everyone call me Eric. I desperately wanted to be a boy.. I remember asking someone at a birthday party how I would go about getting one of those pea-knuckle things.. I think I really just wanted to pee standing up.

5.) I once quit a job I was working at on a Friday by just walking out. I returned on Monday and pretended like nothing happened. My sister and I were 19 and both employed at the same place (chamber maids at a hotel). I guess we thought about it over the weekend and decided that it wasn't necessarily the wisest thing to do. That may not be weird either, maybe just stupid.. there's a fine line though huh??

6.) When my sister and I were in the 6th grade, we joined a new school. We had recently learned how to do the alphabet in sign language. As a way to deal with our nerves, we signed constantly, with our hands by our sides. We looked like a couple of morons. The girls thought we were weird, but the boys thought we might make a good date! With all the hand action going on..

That's the best I got.. Not all that weird.. but in the spirit of being tagged, I guess I'll pass it along to Ctale, (when she's got a minute away from her new baby girl!!), christhadasister (who is way weirder than me!) and Lnotes.. haven't heard from her in a while! :)

Scratch Test..

I took my son to the allergy specialist today. They did a pft (pulmonary function test) and a scratch test.. Among other physical things (like listening to his lungs, looking in his eyes, mouth, etc) I had been dreading the scratch test the most, and hadn't at all prepared my son for this. He's the type of kid that doesn't need time to worry about things. It's better if you just spring it on him. I was like that as a child too. He panicked for a minute, but then I was able to distract him with stories from my childhood while they scratched away. He did a great job, and I was so proud of him.

The cough he's had for the last 5 months is not allergy related. This doctor thinks that he has a chronic sinus infection that the last round of anti biotics didn't clear it up. So he's trying another anti biotic, a stronger one, along with some nasal spray. We have to go back in 3 weeks and see how he's doing.. it looks like getting my wood floors might have to wait.. since that nasty carpet isn't making him sick.. Oh well.. I'm just keeping my fingers crossed that whatever is going on is going to clear up after this round of medication.

A Night Out..

Even though I still feel like crappioca, I'm still keeping the plans that my husband and I made 2 weeks ago. We've been invited to a Christmas party by a coworker of my husbands. She's a first grade teacher at his school, and a part time real estate agent. She's helped us out a lot in the past when we were flipping back and forth about selling our place. I was happy to find out that we were invited..I believe only the "cool kids" got an invite.. Finally! I'm popular!
My mom conveniently has the day off, so she'll be over to watch the kids.. I emailed the hostess and asked her what I could bring.. her response, "just one of the babies!" Ok, was she kidding?? I never replied, but I certainly hope that she doesn't seriously think that I'm going to be bringing a baby with me.. I did mention in the email that I was really looking forward to getting out, as a couple.. Not as a trio! Hope she understands when I show up tomorrow night with a crock pot of meatballs, and no baby!

Everyone except for my husband is sick.. The boys, the babies, and me.. what fun! I haven't had to call out of work (cause staying at home is way harder than coming to work) and my oldest only missed one day from school this week, he didn't want to get any of his classmates sick (how thoughtful, and, gee, I never would have thought of that when I was a kid..)
Anyway, I think we're on the mend, and I hope that being sick now means we won't be sick on Christmas! Speaking of Christmas.. I was hoping that I would be able to skip it this year (with the recent births and all).. but alas the kids are still counting on Santa to come down our very narrow chimney, through our wood stove, and into our living room.. I've finished all the shopping I can do on line, and now I have a few things to get at stores.. ick, I have really gotten into the on line shopping the past few years, I don't know why anyone would even consider going into a mall in 2006, what with the internet and all the wonderful options out there..but now all the packages are in my basement, waiting to be wrapped.. which my mom is coming over to do tomorrow.. It's unbelievable what little I can get done with twin babies! Well, not that unbelievable I guess, but it still shocks me on the occasion.
I spoke with my nephew the other day.. Looks like he's coming back home. One of his two roommates moved out over the weekend. He decided to take a semester off and bailed. The other guy wants to move into another apartment..so there's my nephew kind of left in the lurch. After talking to my husband, we decided he could move back into our basement (as long as he paid rent- there has to be something in it for us!) So it looks like that's the plan. I could tell he was relieved, seeing as how he didn't have the money for next semesters rent (you have to pay it in advance, and it's really expensive). We'll see how I'm feeling about this in a few months when the smell of his dirty room is lingering it's way upstairs! But for right now I'm happy that he's coming home, and I hope that he's going to stick to the plans he's making (going to trade school to be an electrician..) He does have a habit of telling me what I want to hear, but he's got a girlfriend now, a really nice one, and I think he wants to do well for her.. If not for himself right?

Tonight is the annual viewing of Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer at my house.. The boys are very excited about this.. They bring down their pillows, and blankets and we make a cozy bed on the floor. We own the DVD, and watched it last week, but it's just not the same as seeing it on t.v.

The commercials are when the boys can run around the room and get some of their excitement out, or get another snack (popcorn and hot chocolate are required..) That wraps up my night..

Tomorrow I'm going to visit Ctale in the hospital where she gave birth to her perfect baby girl last night.. I can't wait to meet her! When I talked to her today, and asked her how she was feeling, she said like a mack truck had driven through her ass.. I remember that feeling!!

My mom stopped by today.. she's lost 8 pounds on her diarrhea diet.. This would be why she hasn't called the doctor about it. That and the fact she doesn't want any bad news before Christmas.. so she'll just delay any treatment that might be critical until then. I wish she cared more about herself than that..

My son came home from school today and wanted to play out in the newly fallen snow, which ended up being just a dusting. They had a 2 hour delay this morning, and didn't get to go out for recess because it was too cold. After begging me for about 2 minutes (that was all I could take) I let them go out.. bundled them up good, and sent them out the back door. They made snow angels in the grassy snow.. and came back in when the neighbor's dog was let out.. about 5 minutes later. They're going to be sad when it's in the 50's over the weekend and that lame amount of snow is gone.. If they only knew how much they were going to get sick of the white stuff later!!

During dinner tonight, my husband thought my 6 year old had bruises under his eye. Upon further inspection, I realized that they weren't bruises, but dirt that had been smudged from crying.. When I asked him if he had cried at school today, he said in a very matter of fact way "Yea, Nick told me I couldn't talk, and I told him that he wasn't the boss of me, and that made me cry" Aww, it broke my heart.. My husband asked who this Nick kid was (of course I already knew who Nick was) and my son replied "My friend."
I love how kids at this age manage their relationships. It's all so simple. You cry when you're upset, someone says sorry (which Nick did) And then it's done. I wish life could be so easy all the time!

Here come my hardwood floors..

Well, maybe.. My oldest son is going to an allergist next week because the medication he was previously on for asthma isn't working.. I brought him back to the doctor's today and they did a chest xray, which came back negative, thank goodness. Now they think that he might just have allergies. In which case I'm going to insist to my husband that we get rid of the nasty carpet in our living room, and put down hardwood. In my opinion, not only is carpet rather ugly to look at, especially when you have 4 kids dropping food on it, spitting up on it, or just running around on it, but it's also just a breeding ground for all sorts nasty shit, from the above mentioned trauma it recieves.
Anyway, I'm hoping the specialist is going to be able to find out what is causing my son to have this cough for the past 5 months, and just maybe, get me some new floors!

When I was pregnant with the twins, my boys each claimed one of the girls as their own. My older son shows affection for both of them, and loves them pretty much equally. My 3 year old, however, will only pay attention to his "own" baby, and really snubs the other one. He even gets upset if my older son tries talking to "his" baby.

Well, since the babies look so much alike, he rarely knows who my husband or I are holding. Last night, my husband was holding one of the twins, and my youngest was kissing her, and holding her hand.. and then asked who she was.. when he found out that it was his brother's baby, he put his hands on his hips, scrunched up his little face and said "Damn it!" It was pretty funny.. I've been trying to explain that the babies are actually MINE, and that they are in fact his sisters, both of them! But he doesn't want to hear that.. he's only interested in "his" baby.. But like most things with him, I'm sure it'll pass, and he'll eventually accept the other twin too.. We'll just chalk it up to a phase.. another phase..

Better her than me...

This is what I overheard some crotchedy old cashier saying to a customer at my local grocery store.. One of the babies decided to start screaming at the checkout.. I know a crying baby isn't the most beautiful sound in the world, but c'mon, couldn't she have said it a bit lower?? I mean, cut me some slack!!

Rock, Paper, Scissors, Shoe..

My oldest son was teaching his brother how to play rock, paper scissors. He concluded the lesson by telling him that there was no "shoe" but you had to say it anyway.. Shoe, shoot.. same difference, right??

I keep having this recurring dream, and lately it's given me such a sense of peace that I look forward to sleeping.. like I don't anyway with two infants.. but you see what I'm saying. Anyway, it always takes place at my grandmother's house, where I spent much time in my youth, and she is always there. She died almost 6 years ago, and I miss her a lot. She was a huge influence to me growing up, and was more of a mom to me at times than my own mother was. In my dreams, she's always just kind of there.. I mean, the dream isn't always the same, sometimes there are other people in it, but mainly, she's just there.. not necessarily doing anything, or even saying anything. She's just there.. like I wish she was right now.

When my sister and I were born, she took care of us while my mom worked 2 jobs. We would be at her house until it was bed time, and she would drive us both home and put us to bed.. my dad would take care of my older brother and sister.. it would have been too much for him to deal with 4 kids. Men didn't do that back then I guess. I'm lucky.. thinking now of my own husband home with our 4 children while I work..

The dreams with my grandmother in it sometimes make me sad, and I wish she could have met all of my kids.. She did meet my first, and that brought her much joy. He was only 8 months old when she passed away, and only knows her from my stories. I think about how happy she would have been to meet my twins.. since she knows the work involved in raising two babies at once.. Somewhere she knows.. I'm sure of it.. I think that's why she shows up so much in my dreams.. she's telling me that she's still here for me, and that she loves me.. My sister and I were her favorite, and what speaks volumes about the kind of woman she was, is that every one of her grandchildren would have said the same thing (but we REALLY were her favorite!!:)

This picture is of her and her mom.. she's on the left..

All My Children...

This is the card I've chosen for our family Christmas card this year.. I couldn't get everyone to look "perfect" but I think this is pretty damn close.. Especially my younger son on the left, this pretty much captures his essence! doh!

How about a bowl of bitch slap??

This was my response to my youngest son who kept whining about how he was hungry.. but would not tell me what he wanted.. I know how bad this sounds, but I did say it with a smile, and he had no idea what bitch slap was, nor would he ever repeat it.. I basically said it under my breath.. but I tell you, the frustration this child inflicts upon me, makes me wish someone would bitch slap ME! I swear, a good swift slap across the face might feel better than his incessant whining! I'm just sayin'..

My mother is having a colonoscopy today, just for a screening. Last night I had a dream that during the procedure, they found that she had an inoperable brain tumor. I told my sister about the dream, and how bizarre to find a brain tumor when they were going up her butt.. she reminded me that's usually where her head is anyway! haha..

Anyway, Thanksgiving was nice.. I drank a lot of wine, and laughed too much at the antics of my 6 year old, which only made him do them over and over.. The babies are not very social, and did a fair amount of crying.. they definitely like being at home.

Saturday night my husband and I (along with the crabbier of the twins) went over to CTales house for dinner. She's about to give birth, and looks just wonderful.. another one of those women who only gets pregnant in their belly! Her boyfriend cooked, it was great, I had heard lots about what a great cook he was, and there was no exaggerating there! He's also got a lot of toys.. and not grown up toys like some of you perv's might be thinking, but kids toys! My husband spent a majority of the evening trying to solve the Rubik's cube.. Anyway, my sister in law stayed home with the boys and the other twin, who cried for a couple of hours then passed out. I can't wait for the day when going out with my husband doesn't require taking one of the babies with us.. although I'm expecting that won't be for a few years!

TURKEY DAY.. AND MY NICE BUTT

I was able to fit into my "nice butt" jeans today! Yee ha, victory at last.. I might just wear them forever! It's so nice to finally be out of all my maternity clothes and have my old wardrobe back (which needs some serious updating by the way!) I have no style though, as my friends would attest to. I'm just plain, and rather boring in every style department (hair, clothes etc) One of my good friends wants me to cut my hair, and get an actual style. However, long and straight IS a style of it's own, right?
Anyway, enough about that.. Tomorrow is Turkey day..my boys are looking forward to seeing their cousins and eating lots of crap. This will be the first Thanksgiving in years that I haven't gone to my in-laws. This Thanksgiving we're going to my older sisters place, and having it with my side of the family. I'm happy to do this for one reason- my twin sister. She's the one who really gave me grief about boycotting this particular holiday and always spending it with my husbands family. It's more important to her now because of her daughter. I'm looking forward to it though, family outings are a great way to get a break from your children, especially babies.. other people just love to hold the babies!
My brother in law, who is the culinary expert in the family, is making a bunch of food for the dinner. He's making some veggie sushi, and some kielbasa thing.. I can't wait.. My older sister won't eat any of it, and if she does, I'll be shocked. She's a buffalo wing, mozzarella stick kind of girl... nothing wrong with that, but she won't try anything new.
My husband and I are going to celebrate the conception of the twins too, as it was last Thanksgiving that we unknowingly expanded our family.. Thank the good lord that we won't, and can't do that again!! Happy Thanksgiving!!

I love my little sociopath..but he's making me CRAZY!!!!

I know that children learn best through repetition, god knows I get it! But my youngest son has taken this to new heights.. His thing is this, anything he sees, he has to tell me which one is his favorite. Anything. It could be something on a cereal box, on a toy, on t.v. Absolutely anything. I could handle that, but there's always a catch.. He needs me to repeat it. "Which one do me like mama?" Just to make sure that I'm paying attention. And if I don't repeat it right away, I hear this (in a very loud voice) "SAAAY IT" It is literally gnawing away at my soul, and unfortunately it doesn't end there.. He then wants to know which one is my favorite.. Let's take one of his favorite shows "Franklin" He's told me that his favorite is the beaver "Me like the beaver mama, who's your favorite?" If I even think about saying that I like the beaver too, he'll go nuts and insist that HE likes it, and I can't.. or if I pick something that his brother or father have already claimed as their favorite, then it's meltdown hell again.. I try. I really do, to be patient, and I'm not kidding when I say that for the past few weeks, this has been one long conversation about favorites. He does this from morning til night..I've been praying for more patience with him, I can see his little face contort when I give him the look that says "I know who your favorite is..you've already told me 50 times today!!" I know he's just trying to get some attention from me, and this is how he chooses to do it lately. But pretty soon I'm going to lose my shit.. Why can't he just kill bugs or small animals? Like other sociopaths?

Mrs. Sippy

My 6 yr. old is really into spelling these days. Which I think is great. But if I hear again how to spell my own name, I might have to hurt him.. Tonight at dinner I thought I would give him a bit of a challenge.. "spell Mississippi.." And that's what he came up with! Pretty damn cute!

She's still too little for the high chair and hit her head on the tray once..but it was fun to try, and she actually sat in it while I held her sister and got dinner for the boys.. oh, and she totally didn't even notice when she banged her head!

Len Cabral..

I saw this man read at my son's school the other day. He was amazing, and quite easy on the eyes (did I just say that??) Anyway, if you have children and want to get them a great c.d. of story telling, then get something from him. He has a fabulous kind of funny Rhode Island voice (the hahvahd yahd thing) But it sounded really good coming out of his mouth.. Anyway, I highly recommend it! www.lencabral.com

I brought my oldest son back to his doctor today. He had a run of anti-biotics a couple weeks ago, for what they thought was a sinus infection. It never cleared up, and last night after he experienced some shortness of breath and a nasty coughing attack, I called this morning and brought him back in. His doctor thinks he might have asthma. He's going on an inhaler that we'll need to use 3x a day, and hopefully in either a few days or a week, his cough will be gone. I can't imagine what else this could be, nor do I want to..
In other news (cause there's always other news in my life..) My brother moved back to town 3 days ago.. and then moved away again today.. That was music to my ears (the part where he left town) I haven't seen him in about 4 years (he only moved from Southern Maine, so less than an hour away) but we're less than close. I always make it a point to tell anyone who knows that we're related that he's my 1/2 brother.. Anyway, my mother met with him yesterday, it was the first time she had seen him in about a year. He's always been off doing his own ridiculous thing (which usually includes impregnating women-he has 9 kids!) My mom could hardly recognize him. He's gone from a lean 175lbs to almost 250, and has no top teeth! Must be a looker! I guess he was in the middle of having his teeth extracted for dentures and somehow lost his benefits. I can never believe a word that comes out of his mouth though, so for all I know he could have lost them all in a bar fight, we'll never know. But nonetheless, he looks the part of derelict drugged up alcoholic that he is.. He was out looking for work, making calls.. yada yada.. He told my mom that if he got an interview he was going to borrow his father's dentures.. ewh.. Anyway, I got word that he left town today (thank god..) and is back in Maine. Who know's where he is, or when he'll be back.. I'm content not seeing him ever again.. It's hard to pretend that I don't have a brother if I run into him in town!

The Fairy's A Coming..

Ok, I didn't do it, couldn't do it, and will not do it.. if you're confused, check below.. My son came home, took a huge turd, I tried with the plunger to move it around in the bowl, even took a wooden skewer and tried poking at it, but that's as far as I went.. yea, it was nasty, and I came away thinking it's a good story about how he swallowed the first tooth he lost, and there will plenty more for me to save.. He's slightly devastated that his tooth is lost, he's afraid the tooth fairy won't come.. I explained that the tooth fairy was like Santa and she was magic and could find his tooth no matter where it is (even if it's in his poop!) I think he'll be ok.. My younger son, on the other hand, is in a panic at the thought of some little fairy coming into his room while he's sleeping.. It's just like the Easter bunny, when both of them were freaked out about some huge rabbit walking around our house.. "what if he comes upstairs???" Someday they're going to be really pissed at my husband and I for all the tales we've told about these made up gift givers.. And all the times I said "you better be good, Santa's watching.."

My son finally lost his first tooth this morning.. it's been a month in the making, in fact his new tooth has already grown up behind it.. I've been begging him to let me pull it.. but he's a cautious boy and wouldn't let me have my fun. Last night before bed he let me get in there pretty good, it was hanging on by it's last root, and was just screaming for me to pull it. However, I was unsuccessful at this and had to send the boy to bed with the tooth fairy put off for yet another night.
I had been telling him that he didn't want to swallow it.. that would not make for a nice clean tooth to leave for the tooth fairy.. Well, where do you think it is right now?? Somewhere in his lower intestine I'm guessing, because I cannot find it anywhere in my house. He swore it was still in his mouth when he woke up, but soon after breakfast he noticed it was gone.. must have slid down with his sausage! So now I'm torn.. he wants the tooth to leave for the tooth fairy.. and I hate to say, but I'm leaning toward excavating his shit, and trying to find it. I'm a bit of a pack rat when it comes to my kids things.. this is gross (although not as gross as gloving it up and rummaging through his bowel movements) but I have all of my kids belly button stumps. I don't know why I kept them, and I certainly have no idea what I'll ever do with them, but that's just me.. can't help it..
I'm going to see how it goes.. maybe it'll turn up somewhere outside his body.. if not, I might just be doing something that will surely make me gag, and probably puke, but how can I not save his tooth?? His first tooth?? Ugh..

Grocery Shopping..

I hate grocery shopping, but my son loves it.. here he is in my kitchen playing a game we made up today.. see his little grocery carriage?? He shopped and I was the cashier!

Poop (again..)

I haven't had any good poop stories in a while, and having 4 kids, there's always one floating around (ha ha)..
My oldest son (age 6) has had the hardest time learning to wipe his own ass. I don't know if his dexterity won't allow it, or if he's just afraid to, but finally after months and months, I think he's got it down.. But it was not an easy road for any of us! Let's just say he wasn't sure what to do with the poop if it happened to get on his hands. yea, pretty gross, right? Sure as shit it was! I found little pieces of smeared poop on the wall next to the toilet (mixed in with some toilet paper, nice huh?) We also found some rubbed onto the toilet bowl itself.. very nice! After finding all this shit everywhere, we told him he needed to wash his hands if it got on him, or to call us for help. (btw, he was washing his hands, just not before he had wiped it off where ever he found it convienient) The problem was solved, he washed his hands and no more shit on my walls.. however, a few weeks later, much to the horror of my husband, he found all sorts of poop on our soap dispenser.. the poor boy, he was trying.. by then we were getting concerned with why he seemed to be getting so much poop on his hands.. I can see it happening every so often, but this seemed to be all the time.. Well, I guess along the way while we were teaching to wipe his butt, we weren't clear on how much toilet paper to use. Apparently he thought one little square would suffice.. he might as well have been wiping his ass with his hand anyway! jeez..
Here's a lesson for anyone that is going to be changing a newborn any time soon.. When putting a new diaper on, NEVER aim their little butt toward your head.. newborns have incredibly explosive shits, and you never know when it's coming.. but you can depend on it being frequently! And you can pretty much count on it getting in your face if you're holding it's legs up to get the new diaper on. It's some kind of scientific law.. it will hit you! Most likely in one of your eyes too.. (or was that just me??)
I never thought I would have so many thoughts on poop- of course this was before I had my litter of children. Nowadays, my husband and I have poop conferences "yea, she pooped twice, but the other one hasn't yet.. man, I hope she does, it could be a long night" Or "Was it mustardy, or runny?" or, "don't put her in that, it has shit stains all over the back" or "I hope you washed your hands young man.. Is that chocolate???" Gotta love the poop!!

I went and got my haircut today.. much to my husband's subtle objections "how much is it??" ugh.. I haven't had a haircut since February! It was time, and pulease, I'm soooo low maintenance! Anyway, the woman who usually cuts my hair has retired..total bummer considering she was my "first" But I went to the lovely girl who is seeing all of her clients. She's got a 6 week old girl (and looks like she's never been pregnant before- yes, I hate her) She did a good job, I was just happy to see some of the dead stuff fall to the floor! I will miss my old stylist Carla though.. boo hoo..
Recently, feeling nostalgic, I got out my wedding pictures. I don't think my kids have ever seen the photo album, at least I knew they hadn't seen the very back of it.. the pics of my bachellorette party and the STRIPPER!! My son had early release today, and the first thing he did after getting off the bus, was pick up the book. I was on an important phone call (really, I was) and he taps me on the back-totally ignoring that I'm on the phone and goes "Mom, why were the police there??" And "why is he naked??" Good lord.. does anything belong to just ME anymore? I guess not.. thankfully his little brother diverted his attention and I snagged the book and put it away.. I wasn't prepared to explain strippers to him just yet! Or why his mother had some guys privates gyrating in her face! Jeez.. who thought taking pictures at one of those parties was a good idea, and why the hell did I put it in an album? Oh, and he wasn't totally naked, he had a very tasteful blue and white striped thong on, K? ;)

I just can't stop posting their pictures.. I'm turning into one of those annoying parents who brag about their kids all the time.. sorry.. but they are just so friggin cute!!

SMILE!!

Here are my kids.. we went and had their pictures done over this past weekend.. it was easier than I thought.. except that the youngest twin (in red) puked all over herself before we even started.. but the automatic dryer in the bathroom worked wonders and everyone was still smiling when we left!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!

Here are my two power rangers, my cute little bunny (a suit borrowed from a sister in law) and some random red fleece snowsuit hand me down, because we're too poor to get another halloween costume for a baby that won't ever wear it again (and when I say too poor, I mean too cheap, and when I say we, I mean my husband..)
Anyway, Trick or Treating was a huge success, considering what a disaster it could have been. The girls slept the entire time, and my boys got a ton of candy.. which brings me to the worst part of this holiday.. the candy, and how much they are allowed to eat of it.. I've pretty much spent most of my morning telling my 3 year old that he could not have another piece of candy.. to which he replies, "buuuuttttt me hungry.." Ugh.. I've made a million suggestions on what he could eat instead (my last one being a poop covered sundae with cheese- he didn't laugh a bit!) I can't wait til his brother gets home from school and goes right for the candy bag! I've already weeded out the really good stuff anyway! haha

This is my god son (on the right) with my boys.. He's only 2! My youngest (who is 3 1/2) used to have a hard time sharing with him.. Not anymore!

"This isn't the beer talking, but you look really good"

This is what my husband said to me on Friday night.. after his second beer, while I was changing one of the babies.. this is as close to a compliment as he gets, and it usually takes at least one beer to get it!

This past weekend my oldest son was up during the night coughing. He sounded terrible, and of course it was messing with the sleep that my husband and I so rarely get with 2 babies. It wasn't until this weekend, that we really started thinking about this cough.. this is the first time that we've had to be up with him, so I suppose we've just gotten used to hearing it. I've been saying that he's fine, if he wasn't he'd have a fever. I called his dr's today, and when I said that he's been sick for about 3 months (sounds good huh?) the nurse said they wanted to see him. No shit. We hadn't even put it together that it had been that long. We are seriously in one big fog at home and I guess we're lucky that the boys are getting fed and bathed and some attention every so often.. ugh.. what a couple of losers!
His doctor thinks he's got a sinus infection and we're starting him on antibiotics... he should be better in a few days.. He's such a trooper though, and has no idea how bad I feel that it's gone on this long.. I'll get the hang of this some day..right?

Most people don't throw their own birthday parties, right? I mean, if you're a kid, your parents do, but then as you grow older, it turns into cake and maybe dinner with friends. If you have a romantic spouse, or even a thoughtful one, maybe they'll surprise you with a party or a nice dinner.. jewelry, whatever. Well, a good friend of mine turned 35 today. He's a friend of mine from high school who currently lives in Vermont. I don't get to see him much, but when I do, it's always a lot of fun, and usually requires a couple of days to recover from.
I called him this morning with birthday wishes, thinking that his birthday would probably just be another day for him, not much going on.. yada yada.. Well, I should have known! He's throwing himself a party tonight, at a club he rented with the d.j. he hired! He passed out flyers to this "event" and in order to get in, you must bring him a scratch ticket! He could potentially be rich at the end of this party! It's brilliant!!
Happy Birthday Tahdster!!

Here he is, my banged up little boy! The cut looks worse today.. only because he fell down the stairs last night and split it open again.. I didn't bring him to the ER, although I'm sure we could have.. I don't want to start looking suspicious! Jeez, they probably already think we're beating him! He's just going to have to ride this one out.. I'm hoping it won't scar too badly..

Quality time in the Emergency Room..

I got some alone time with my youngest son today.. it's hard finding time spend with all my kids individually, but my little one has found the perfect way to get me to himself for an afternoon.. It's called a trip to the Emergency room! That boy is sooo proned to accidents it's ridiculous! This will be the third time in his three years of life that someone in that ER has had to either glue or stitch his head shut! I'm starting to worry about brain damage at this point, jeez!
He was playing a game today after lunch, one that included him running, jumping onto a pillow on the floor and kind of launching himself off of it. The girls were both napping, and I was about to try to get a snooze in myself. That lasted about 10 seconds when I heard a thud, turned around to see his mouth wide open (about to scream) and blood dripping down his face. He had fallen face first into our entertainment center. I called his dad, then my mother in law. She came right over to watch one of the girls, and I took my son and the baby and headed to the hospital. My husband met me there, and took the baby home after we decided that having a 3 month old in the waiting room of an emergency room was stupid. Anyway, we were there a total of 4 hours, and my son was a trooper through the whole thing. They glued it this time (thank god) And he got to take home the coolest set of latex gloves blown up to look like a chicken ever! Thanks to his mom! He's now home, like nothing ever happened, racing around the house.. jumping off the furniture.. ugh.. it won't be the last visit we have with that one!

Work Work Work..

I've gone back to work.. it's a nice break.. but it's weird just sitting here typing, I feel like I should be nursing a baby, or doing laundry, dishes, getting someone a snack.. ahhh.. it's like freedom! My husband has been getting help from my mom the last two nights. He hasn't been alone with the girls yet (with the exception of last Friday when I was gone 10 minutes to run to the store) I'm sure he's going to do fine, it's only for an hour and a half. They are getting easier and aren't requiring quite as much holding as they did before. They slept through the night last night- they've been doing this a bit. It's amazing how getting a few hours of consecutive sleep makes such a huge difference!
But alas my 1.5 hours is up, and it's time to return back to my life.. my 4 kids.. and my frazzled husband!

Jack Me

These are the words I found on a piece of paper that my son was writing on. He was making a list of all the kids in his class, when he was interrupted and only spelled the first two letters of Jack's last name.. Pretty funny to see that on your coffee table in first graders handwriting!!

BABY GOT BACK

The word 'back' was one of my son's spelling words. This is the sentence my husband told him to use the word in..

I'm sure I only have a minute.. the girls are napping, actually one hasn't even gotten up this morning..except for once at 5 to nurse.. It was a good night sleeping, finally! We changed the formula that we've been using as a supplement, and it seems to have made a difference. We usually get two screaming babies at night, but last night they just drifted off to sleep.. I'm keeping my fingers crossed!
Tonight my husband and I are going to open house at my son's school. I thought I'd dress up in drag, and really make his teacher wonder!
I had a dream the other night that I had a free pass to cheat on my husband with Jesse Metcalf from Desperate Housewives. He's cute and all, but would not be my first choice for a free pass. Dr. McDreamy from Greys Anatomy, or Mike Rowe from Discovery's Dirty Jobs would suit me fine. Mike Rowe is an older guy, and not a total hottie, but he's funny as hell and apparently at my age humor is more important than someone's looks. Back to my dream though, I never ended up using the free pass.. I was way too insecure about how I looked, and randomly through my dream my husband and kids kept showing up. It was weird!
Anyway, here's a picture of me carrying the twins.. it's a killer on my back!!

This and That...

I've always known that it's good to know people.. and in this particular instance, it just so happens that knowing a secretary at my son's school gives me an inside scoop to what rumors are buzzing about.
The latest rumor milling about happened to be about me and my family. My sons teacher asked the above mentioned secretary if my son's father was gay.. I guess she was under the impression that because my name is one used by both genders (but mostly by men) that my son was being raised by a gay couple. What makes this particularly ridiculous is that I've met his teacher. In fact, we've both met her, with our 4 kids in tow. But people are going to assume what they want, even if they know better.
In other happenings.. I've had it up to here (just picture my hand way over my head) with my son's transformers.. not only are they the most annoying toys to "transform" and have the most sexist show with only 1 or 2 female characters who they insult constantly by telling them they should be at the mall shopping rather than helping the men save the galaxy.. but they are also a killer under one's foot. Last night in the dark of our house, I was on my way to change one of the twins when I stepped down right onto my son's favorite transformer. This sent me flying to my knees, which now have no skin on them. Under normal cirucumstances, I would have been laughing my ass off (people falling make me crack up, even if it's me) But at 1 in the morning.. while I'm carrying an infant.. not so funny.. Anyway, the girls are napping at the moment and some laundry is waiting to be folded..so off I go!

Smile!!

This is what makes it all worth while..

Chicken and Dumplings..

I love chicken and dumplilngs.. I made some last night for dinner, in between taking turns holding a screaming twin.. it was a labor of love to make this meal.. It came out great, and would have been even tastier if I could have savoured it a bit more.. however, the girls make sure that I spend little time doing anything else but hold them. Anyway, after dinner, and baths and putting the boys to bed, my husband and I picked a twin, and started our nightly ritual of walking around with them til they fall asleep. It's usually a contest, and last night he won. His twin was in bed early, before 8. I spent the next 3 1/2 hours walking around with the other baby trying to calm her. She didn't want to sleep and she didn't want me to stop moving. There was a lot of crying, and a lot of time spent in the kitchen with the water running (one of the only things that will calm her down) As I'm standing there in the kitchen, I'm getting totally annoyed by the mess that's been left. My husband had long since gone to bed thinking his twin would be up and ready for hanging out in the wee hours of the morning, so of course he did nothing to pick up the mess made by preparing my homemade chicken and dumplings. So, I'm start putzing around as I'm holding her, putting dishes in the dishwasher, throwing things away.. and perhaps the dumbest thing to do while holding a baby.. trying to put away the huge pot of soup. I almost made it to the fridge, with my baby secure in one arm, that is until she decided to flop her not so steady head back and almost come flying out of my arms.. I had no choice but to drop the pot of soup. All over the floor, and all over me. It was not a pretty sight.. unfortunately it had to sit there on the floor for over an hour until I got the baby to sleep. I managed to get changed as quickly as I could while she sat and screamed in her car seat. It was a fun night.. The good news is that the baby didn't get hurt while I was being so dumb, and I still have some leftovers.. not all of it landed on the floor..

My son found this cute hand me down sweater in the girls room and just had to try it on.. pink is his favorite color, and he's very independent (this is a cardigan..obviously backwards..) but he put it on all by himself, and we are very proud of our young man!!

Up A Cow's Butt For A Milkshake...

This is what my husband tells the boys whenever they ask him where he's going.. like if he's putting his shoes on to get the mail, or getting ready for work in the morning.. I just love how we're setting such good examples for our little men!

Here is my husband holding one of the twins in their new favorite position.. It's a killer on your arm, but it keeps them quiet. The days of them just sleeping the day away are over, and it would appear that being held is what they love best.. just like this, on our forearm, with our index finger in their mouth so they can suck on it. It's not something that I can easily do, in fact it kills my arm, but I'm getting good at holding them both this way at the same time.. I'm going to have some buff arms pretty soon!! My husband was holding her this way, and doing homework with my son.. he's been amazing with the kids! I can't wait for the end of the day when he comes home to help out. This is more work than I've ever done before.. I'm waiting for the day to come that the girls will entertain each other a bit.. right now they don't even know the other one is there. They don't like hanging out in their swings or bouncy seats (not yet anyway) it's all about being held, and being on the boob.. My mom is staying over again tonight, I swear, I don't know what I would do without her at this point.. pretty ironic considering how I had been feeling. At least all her pop in's now are welcome, and useful!
My husband and I went out last Friday night.. I had a great time, we closed the bar and didn't get home til close to 2.. I'm way too old for that, and have way too many kids to be out that late. The next day was brutal.. but we made it, and it was definitely worth it to get out and see some friends and be a couple again, instead of a couple of parents at home...

My 6 year old has learned a new catch phrase.... "Damn it!" I can't tell you how often I've caught him saying this.. He doesn't seem to understand the concept of swear words, even though I don't really consider this one a swear.. I don't say it however, and I'm not exactly sure where he's picked it up. I definitely don't want him saying this at school.. and I've put a lot of stress on that fact. He's trying to say "darn it" instead, but it really just doesn't have the same punch..

The girls had their 6 week check up this morning. It went well, except for all the crying and all the shots. They weighed in at 8.4 and 8.1 lbs. That's about a 3 pound weight gain in a month! I was thrilled about that! My mother in law came with me to help out. I love her dearly, but honestly I sometimes wonder how she raised 6 kids on her own! She started off trying to wake up one of the babies before we even made it into the office.. just by talking to her. Then moments later with the same baby, she tried shoving the pacifier into her mouth (while she was sleeping..) Anyway, it wasn't a total loss bringing her, she did watch my youngest son while I was talking to the dr. and came in handy when I needed to give one a bottle.
Anyway, we're home now and the girls are sleeping off the torture they endured.. This Friday my mom is staying over and my husband and I are going out! I can't wait! This will be the first time that I've gone out somewhere besides the grocery store! Well, one of the girls is up.. gotta go!!

My nephew has moved out. It was rather anti climatic, considering I've been looking forward to this day for months.. but I ended up feeling kind of bad for him, or rather bad for myself since I shouldn't have been so anxious to see him leave. Or at least that's what my inner mom is telling myself.. but hey, I'm not his mom, and quite frankly my husband and I have done all we can for him and it's time for him start doing for himself! Harsh, I know.. but I have my own huge family to worry about.
He's living in Durham, in an on campus apartment that is way too expensive. He does regret not holding out and finding something more suitable. It would make sense if he was going to UNH, but since he's working 25 minutes away in Exeter, and supposedly going to be taking classes in Stratham (another 20 minute commute) then it would have made sense to be a bit closer. I suppose it's a life lesson. He's learning, that's for sure.. I'm just hoping with all that he's learned that he'll apply it.. although I'll be surprised. I remember being his age.. and knowing everything!! Except for one important thing.... that I knew absolutely nothing!

We're in the process of having our house painted. Since we live in a duplex, we had to pick out a color with our neighbor. I gave up early on and let my husband (the artist) and our neighbor decide.. I originally had wanted a nice sage green. We are so far from that it's hardly a compromise.. but whatever, I let it happen. Our house looks like a combination of peanut butter and cornflakes. The official name is "mannered gold" Ick.. My husband loves it, but I'm not there yet. They aren't totally done though, so I'll reserve my final decision for then.. But gold?? jeez..

Me No Do It...

This is what my 3 year old said to me moments ago when I caught him drawing on my carpet. "Me no do it" Um, yea ok.. course he had marker all over his arm, and was actually holding the magic marker when I caught him.. Maybe he's lashing out.. jealous of the babies.. but then if that was the case he'd probably be drawing on them! I was in the bathroom (for a minute) when he did it. He told me that his brother did it.. right after he said he didn't. It doesn't matter that his brother isn't here.. Oh well.. at least they're washable, and it looks like the stain is going to come out..

Back to School...

My oldest son went back to school this morning. First grade.. We met his teacher last week, and she seems very nice.. and was dressed like you would expect a teacher to be dressed (not like his kindergarten teacher who dressed like a whore!) He was excited about going back, and not at all nervous.. unlike his mother. I had that familiar feeling that used to plague me when I went back to school.. Ugh.. He'll be there all day, unlike last year, and I'm sure he'll be exhausted and a bit crabby when he gets home. My youngest son is happy to have him gone, and be able to use whatever transformer he wants! The girls are napping at the moment. My mom stayed over last night and took care of them so that my husband and I could get a good nights sleep.. and let me tell you, we did! I had almost forgotten what it was like to sleep for a consecutive 7 hours! The girls have had a rough week sleeping.. at night anyway!!
I can hear one of them waking.. it's a never ending chore of nursing, changing.. nursing and more changing.. but I feel good today!!

Here we are.. me and my girls.. right after a feeding.. Last night they slept for 6 hours.. straight! I'm feeling great today! I'm hoping for a few more nights like that!

SLEEP DEPRIVATION..

This is the mood I'm finding myself in lately.. Did I really think that being pregnant with the twins was going to be harder than caring for them??

My oldest son doesn't miss anything, I'm just thankful that he's still innocent and what he comes up with is pretty damn funny!
When we first brought home the babies he was shocked to notice that they had no teeth. I guess he doesn't remember all the complaining I did about when his brother was teething! Recently while changing one of the girls, he was standing next to the changing table, watching. When all of a sudden he said "wow, look at her penis!" He apparently forgot about the talk we had about boys and girls and the "pagina".. We're all still learning!!

There is so much more I should be doing than sitting here blogging.. The girls are taking a quick nap, and the boys are playing with their transformers. The girls are slowly coming out of their "baby coma" This is what I call the first few days after birth where all babies just want to sleep. There's was extended a bit due to their prematurity. Anyway, they are having more awake time during the day (and night) And are wanting to sit with their mom, and latch on to my boobies.. which by the way are constantly in someone's mouth! Sorry for the graphic there..
I'm exhausted.
I'd still rather them be here than inside of me. I've healed up nicely from the c-section, and I've lost an astounding 31 lbs. since their birth. Only 12 more to go! Plus another 10 or so that I hadn't lost since the last one.. I guess nursing two babies is really burning up those calories.
I'm dying for a night out.. with my girlfriends or my husband..just a night out, and maybe some help on the following day..
Well, the dishes and the laundry are calling..

The girls are 15 days old today... it's hard to believe that only 2 weeks have passed since I gave birth. It's going remarkably well, much better than I thought. They are really easy going babies, and still spend most of their days sleeping. We've taken them out a few times, we are quite the sight to see! The boys are doing well, they love their babies! I'm currently holding one of the twins and typing with one hand.. I'm definitely improving my multi tasking skills!! Here's a pic.. the boys are really into holding their babies! Cutie pies!

The girls are here!! Finally!
They were born last Saturday July 22nd.. 4 weeks early. I guess the spicy Mexican dinner may have helped! I went to the hospital late in the afternoon last Saturday after much debate.. I thought for sure they would send me home, but much to our surprise I was actually in labor! Yee ha!
About 3 hours later, I was having a c-section, and the girls were born less than a minute apart. It's been a blur since then.. lots of visitors, tons of food being brought over.. amazing support from my family and friends... My husband and I are getting no sleep, which we expected. We've been out a couple of times, just back to the hospital for bloodwork (the girls were jaundice, but are doing much better) We are quite the attraction, with our huge stroller, and tiny bundles lost in the car seats.
The boys are adjusting well, they love their babies!! My time online is going to be limited.. the girls are currently napping, and the boys are watching a show.. Here a few pics from this past week...

Here's my husband suited up for surgery.. He looks like a terrorist in a haz-mat suit!

And here are the boys at the hospital for a visit. They were both getting over colds, but had no problem dressing up like doctors!

Here are the girls this morning.. exhausted from keeping us up all night!!

Last night the family and I went to Marguirita's for some labor inducing spicy food.. It was spicy, but has yet to start labor.. although I will say I've been contracting much more than I was before and am seriously considering calling my dr (again..they're going to get so sick of me!) Anyway, while we were waiting for a table at the restaurant, which wasn't long because we went early, my husband and I noticed 2 women in the bar, gawking at me. They were literally pointing and one I could see one of them saying "oh my god" Now, I know that my belly is huge, but c'mon. Couldn't they have at least waited til I wasn't looking in their direction to point at me?? I just laughed though, I guess people are going to gawk.. I do look seriously over due with what people assume is just one baby. I've gotten a lot of questions asking me when I'm due, last month?? haha..
There is at least a light at the end of this uncomfortable tunnel.. And I'm starting to see it.. I've started to dilate, which is great news. It could be this weekend.. let's just keep our fingers crossed!!

The baby shower, and recent hospitilization

This past weekend, my sister and friends threw me a surprise baby shower. It was very nice, and I have to say that I have the most thoughtful people around me! I got a ton of great gifts, all sorts of cute girly clothes, tons and tons of diapers and wipes, quilts, knitted blankets, a stroller and car seats. My brother in law made all the food (he's such a good cook!) including my favorite- scallops wrapped in bacon.. yum!!
It was a very nice time, and I was touched that they even did this for me.. it is after all the 3rd shower they've thrown for me!
In other news.. I just got home from the hospital.. I thought (again) that I was going into labor. Last night I started having some nasty contractions, called my dr and she had me come in. The monitored me over night, and despite all the contractions that I was having, it wasn't causing me to go into labor. More practice for my uterus.. should it really need this much "practice"??? I mean, I have 2 other kids.. doesn't it know what to do already?? Oh well. My dr thinks I'll go soon, either in a couple of days, or a couple of weeks.. great! It's going to be a lot of fun just walking around with these contractions, that are as unproductive as me!

The house hunt is back on.. We are the most fickle people on the planet.. This time it really wasn't our faults.. we had decided several weeks ago to stop looking and to just stay where we are until we're in a less hectic time in our lives.. I don't think that having 2 new borns and trying to move is relatively smart..but anyway, my husband's sister called us with this "great opportunity" and told us we just had to check it out.. It's a pretty good deal, and after much discussion, and much agonizing, my husband made an offer tonight. They accepted, and are waiting for us to sell our house. I should be jumping up and down, right? Our house isn't even on the market yet.. and our realtor friend is telling us that we should sell it ourselves, to save money.. And another thing, this house that we've made an offer on needs an awful lot of work before we can live there.. all new flooring, and some major cleaning. What the hell are we thinking????????

Free Stuff..

I don't know how she does it.. but my sister can win anything on the radio. She's won an amazing amount of free stuff, including tickets to a Patriots playoff game last year, numerous cd's, tons of concert tickets, dinners, movies I think.. just a buttload of stuff.. Half the time, she has to use my name because of the radio stations rule to be fair, and allow you to only win once a month. She calls from work, has a nice phone system in which she can do so, but to me, it's more than that, and I can't explain it.
This morning, she called me and told me to put the radio on. I guess she won tickets to a "Meet and Greet" with Fiona Apple and Damien Rice next Friday night, and had to use my name. I never did hear them announce my name on the radio, and god knows that I won't be going to meet good ol' Fiona, but my husband may get the chance to.. we'll see.. My semi-psychic friend has told me that she thinks I'll have the babies next Friday.. But I guess my sister and the dj had quite the conversation, about how she was pregnant with twins, and that she had two kids at home, and that yes, in fact this did make her legally insane. The dj asked her if she was drunk when the twins were conceived and her "hell yes" response could have been what kept their conversation off the radio, or the dj telling her that he would leave his wife for her..
Anyway, I hope that they mail me the tickets and that I can find someone who wants to meet Fiona Apple, or Damien Rice.. not that I wouldn't want to, but I'm going to be having my babies that night (I hope! ;)

Moo- Mama!!

Here I am this morning (on the bottom) at about 35 weeks. There I was at about 26 weeks on the top.. It doesn't look too much different.. but shit, it is! I can't wear those pants anymore, or that shirt in the top pic. And back then, I could show my bare belly without traumatizing too many with the stretch marks.. Yikes.. Anyway, I'm having contractions as I type.. I've been having them all day.. but it means nothing!!! It's just practice.. ugh.. it's driving me fucking crazy!!

The DNA results are in...

Finally, after 34 years of not knowing what kind of twins we are.. the mystery has been solved. No one will ever have to suffer through the story of our placenta ever again, or witness the annoyance on our faces when posed with the never ending question of identical or fraternal?
Much to my surprise, my sister and I are identical twins! I thought for sure because I was having twins myself that we were fraternal (it's much more likely to have twins yourself if you're fraternal rather than identical) Only 20% of all twins are identical, so aren't we just so special?? Haha!!
I'm so happy to finally put to rest the story I've told all my life.. now we can continue on with a brand new (even longer) story about how we never knew and had dna testing done.. and yada yada.. I promise I won't. My response to that one often asked question will now have a simple one word answer: identical!

And they're back...

Well, I knew 10 minutes after their return I would wonder why I missed them so much!! It's back to reality for me.. no more guilt free naps, reading, and watching movies.. back to making breakfast, lunch, dinner, and getting the boys to pick up their toys, among a million other things that I didn't have to do for 3 days.. I was certainly happy to see them though. They came back yesterday, all stinky from the campfire, and filthy from tree pitch. They looked so good to me! My husband promptly gave the kids a bath, and got some of the stink out of them. We went out for subs later, and then paid a visit to his parents. My mother of course had to stop in and say hello.. she asked my oldest son if he was happy to be home, or if he would still rather be camping. He told her he didn't know how to answer that question, and left it at that. He didn't want to hurt my feelings, but I knew he would have rather been camping some more.
Anyway, tomorrow I have yet another dr's appt. I've been feeling very crampy today, so I'm taking the medication to help stop any contractions.. If I can keep these babies inside me for another week and a half, then my dr won't try to stop labor (I'll be 35 weeks) a totally appropriate time for them to join us!!

Still Home Alone...

I thought for sure that my family would be home by now.. It's Monday night, and they aren't coming back til tomorrow, which is fine, but I must admit, I'm going a little stir crazy. I'm not used to having time to myself, not this much anyway. I've been looking around at my house, and seeing a ton of things I could be doing (if I weren't so uncomfortably pregnant) And that's driving me nuts! My inability to be productive..
I called my husband tonight, when I hadn't heard from him by 8. I felt like I was intruding on their vacation.. but that's just me being my ridiculous emotional self. I sent the camera, and camcorder with him and asked him to take plenty of pictures. When I asked him tonight if he had, and he said he'd taken a few, I kind of started giving him shit. But in a playful way. It ended up with me crying, and him feeling like shit for me crying. I know I'm just being this pathetic emotional mess, but I miss them, and really wish I was up there with them having fun.
I'm sure tomorrow when they come home, I'll wish I had some more time with my peace and quiet.. but for that moment when I was feeling sorry for myself, I wished that they were here right now.. poor me..

Home Alone

My husband and boys left yesterday to go camping til Tuesday.. I must say, it's awfully quiet around here.. I was quite disappointed before they left that I wouldn't be joining them this year, I love camping. Four of my husbands five siblings also went, with all of their kids. We did this last year, and it was a lot of fun. Unfortunately with my "condition" sleeping in a tent and being so far away from any medical care I might need required that I stay home.. Now that I've had almost 2 full days of peace and quiet, I must say, I'm loving it! I miss them like crazy, I really do, but I haven't had this much "me time" in years. I've been reading, watching movies, napping without feeling guilty, doing whatever I want! My sisters took me to breakfast this morning, and my mom brought me out for dinner tonight.
My sons don't even notice that I'm not there, which is great. Everyone thought my youngest would be devestated not to be with me but judging by our 2 second phone conversation tonight, in which he said "hi mom" and "bye", I can safely say he could care less. Anyway, I'm off for a long shower, and then maybe another movie.. ahh.. I feel like a single person!

Can you see the babies??

This is twin B.. if you look closely, you'll catch a glimpse of her nose, mouth, lips and eyes.. the bottom picture has her little finger near her nose..

Our trip to the city...

It was a long day.. it started at 4 a.m. when my oldest son woke me up (for about the 3rd time) to tell me that my bed was just so much more comfortable than his, and couldn't he come in for a snuggle.. course I let him.. I can never turn down a snuggle with one of my boys! Unfortunately, that was when my day started. I couldn't turn off my brain, and it just went ahead planning my very busy day despite the fact it knew that I was never going to make it through starting so early. My son never went back to sleep either, and by 5 we were both down stairs hanging out in the dark living room..
My husband and I dropped the boys off at his brother's house, we had our appt. with the pediatric urologist at Childrens Hospital in Boston at 10:30. They were thrilled to be getting to spend the day with their cousin, and to get out of the house. The drive in was much easier than I imagined. I drove because my husband is a terrible driver, and I'm a worse passenger. We parked and made our way to the hospital. I knew going that I was going to be saddened just by being there, seeing kids in wheelchairs, sick with many different illnesses. I think that's one thing that I just can't handle, sick children.. Anyway, we found our way through the maze of corridors to where we needed to be and waited our turn for an ultrasound. With my other boys I only had 1, maybe 2 ultrasounds. I can honestly say, that I've lost count with how many ultrasounds I've had with the girls so far. But today's ultrasound was by far the best, in the technological sense. We got a couple of 3-D pictures of one of the babies- of her face.. it was amazing. The other baby wasn't as cooperative and was facing my back making it impossible to image. I was happy enough though just to get to see a glimpse of the face that I'm going to soon fall in love with. It was unreal! She's a cutie (of course) and has the markings of her daddy's side of the family (a.k.a. the good smooshing nose!!)
But here's where we stand.. baby A has moderate to severe hydronephrosis, but they still can't tell exactly what's causing it, whether it's a blockage or reflux.. They are however, not worried, and tell us that we shouldn't be either. They'll monitor her some more, I'm scheduled for another appt. down there in a month.. if I haven't had them already.. and they'll do some further testing when she's a month old or so.. It's basically all good, and they definitely know what they are doing down there.
We were there almost 3 hours, and after emptying my bladder before the trip home, and validating our parking, we were on our way. We rode the elevator with a boy who was about the same age as my oldest son. He wore a mask, and his head was sparsely covered by thin whisps of hair. He was with his mom, grandfather, and his baby brother, whom he pushed in the stroller. His mother was careful not to let him touch anything, reminding him how dirty everything was.. It made me so sad to see this little boy like that. And so grateful at the same time that my children are as healthy as they are..

Assaulted at Daycare...

This is what happened to my precious little niece on one of her first days at a new daycare. The place that she goes to is nice, and seriously, for the price my sister pays, it had better be. I know how kids her age can be, they're really still babies..but none the less, you hate to hear that someone you love got pushed around by some punk in her class..
I guess my petite little 16 month old niece was standing in line with the rest of the other kids to go outside. Funny to imagine her still at all since she is one curious pup.. But anyway, she had her binky in her mouth (or pacifier, nuk, whatever you want to call it) when one of her "friends" comes up and tries to get it out of her mouth, and in the process gives her 4 scratches in the face. I'm sure my niece must have had a good cry over that one, who wouldn't? The teachers sent home an incident report, saying she had 2 scratches, even though it was 4.. I felt so bad for my sister.. her poor little baby.. Of course I was hoping that they would include the name and address of the little kid who did this to her.. her "friend" as they stated in the report.. Of course I'm over reacting.. this kid who took the binky was probably just missing his own, and why not take it from this cute little thing..
I'm sure that she'll get one or two more of those reports.. I wonder if the kid who scratched her got one sent home too.. I should hope so!!

Getting back to normal..

As normal as I can be I guess... And by "normal" I mean getting back to doing some things around the house, dishes, laundry etc.. As helpful as my husband has been, things are not done on the same level of cleanliness as when I do them myself. He'll load the dishwasher, but leave huge pots and pans in the sink. He'll make lunch for the boys, but leave crumbs everywhere.. He does the laundry, but I can't stand the way he folds the towels! How anal am I?? I am glad that he's picking up some of the slack. He really is trying his hardest. Unfortunately he's married to a former house cleaner whose standards could never be met by anyone..
He's at soccer tonight, I was feeling as though I could take care of the boys on my own. They'll be in bed soon, and so will I. Somewhere in the midst of all this drama, we decided we'll start looking for a new place to live again. This is what my husband does to me every 6 months or so. He'll get online and find some nice places, that we think we can afford, and we'll go see one of them, fall totally in love with it.. and try to figure out what our next step will be. That's what happened yesterday. I spent far too much time on my feet, walking around this house, but I absolutely loved it. We're going to take our time and think about it.. and see some other places. Right now I just want to get through the next 2 months or so.. and be happy where we are.
I'm waiting for next weekend.. it's the camping trip! I'll have the house to myself, and some much needed rest, uninterrupted!! I just hope it doesn't rain.. Ok, I have some kids to bath.. and get to bed!!

When it feels like the real thing...

I spent Wednesday night in the hospital, on an i.v. getting shots of terbutatline, a drug intended to help stop contractions (among other things). I got a taste of what labor with these girls could be like. It wasn't like anything I went through with the boys.. It was actually quite painful, and damn scary. I know I've been doing a lot of complaining about wanting this pregnancy over with, but after going through what I did, I definitely do not want it this early. I'm almost 32 weeks, and they would most likely be fine, but it's a scary risk to take.
Anyway, I spent the night there, getting woken up every 2 seconds by the roughest nurse I've ever met.. She was ok in times when I needed her to be, but when she got so frustrated that the babies wouldn't stay still for her monitor and she jokingly called them brats.. well, lets just say that I wanted the hell out of there! Luckily the other nurses made up for her seemingly lacking bed side manner.
I met with an ob today, the one who had been treating me Wednesday night, and she took me off the temporary bed rest I had been put on. I haven't had a contraction since I got home, and the shots of terbutaline are available in pill form, and I have to take them for at least a week. They suck. They make my heart race, and give me a slight case of the shakes.. But I'm not complaining.. I don't think I'm going to complain ever again!!!
Well, I'm off to lay down again, that seems to be the only thing I can do that doesn't make me feel like I might get sick. ugh.. was that a complaint?? sorry.

Help!!

I'm trying to come up with a new name for my blog.. since raising 2 kids in nh is going to be a huge lie soon.. I was thinking "Four and No More", or maybe just simply "WTF" I don't know.. but I'm up for suggestions.. anyone, anyone??

I am officially done babysitting! Yea.. I was not in the least bit sad about it either.. it's been a long time coming. I had only been watching my 2 year old niece for 2 days a week, but it's still nice to be done with that and just have to deal with my own children. That's enough in itself.
I saw my o.b. this afternoon. She's going to be squeezing me into her schedule so that I won't have to wait til my 37th week to see her again. I was relieved. She also discussed more about the position of the babies, and what it means to me.. basically it means c-section. This isn't how I wanted to go, but at this point, I don't care if they have to coax them out with a carrot on a string, ya know? I'm just sick of being pregnant.. and totally uncomfortable.
My dr did seem a bit alarmed that the neonatologist that did my ultrasound on Friday is sending me down to Children's Hospital before the babies are born. Usually they wait, but it may be because the fluid in her kidney had doubled since my last ultrasound a month ago.. She didn't want me to be alarmed if they suggested that I have the babies down there either. She said it's a possibility depending on what the urologist finds. I go down there next Wednesday the 28th. I'm sure it'll be fine.. I'm still not worried.. not yet anyway..

Hydro what???

I had my monthly ultrasound today. First let me start by saying, they are growing well, each of them weigh about 3.5-4 lbs. which is more baby than I've ever carried before, and I don't know how my body is going to take 9 more weeks of this growing. They are still both breech (total pisser!!) The tech told me not to lose hope, that they could change position, and that if they did, I wouldn't doubt for a second when it was happening.. great, more pain! When the tech was doing my ultrasound, she said "ouch" Yea, ouch for me, their position is such that they are more at an angle, with their heads up under my right breast, facing my back. Kicking the shit out of me!
The neonatologist always comes in after the tech has done the pictures, and goes over everything with me. They've been watching baby #1 closely the past 3 months or so for some fluid on her kidneys. It's been nothing that was too alarming, except that today she saw the fluid had pretty much doubled since I was there last. It's called hydronephrosis, and isn't all that uncommon. It's basically an obstruction in one of her ureters which is what joins the kidney to the bladder. This obstruction is not allowing urine to go to the bladder, and basically gets stuck in the kidney, and makes it stretch. She's sending me to Children's Hospital in Boston to see a pediatric urologist. The worst case scenario is that she could lose her kidney eventually if the damage is severe. I really don't think that's what's going to happen though. We'll definitely know more when we see the specialist- we don't have an appt. yet, but we should by Monday. It's possible that the baby will only need some anitbiotics when she's born, that could clear the obstruction.. but we'll know more, hopefully soon.
I'm really not worried about it, her other kidney is functioning just fine, so this isn't some sort of life threatening issue. I'm sure she'll be fine. I'm sure too that while I'm here at work, my husband is at home finding anything he can on the internet, and calling his own medical professional for some advice (aka his mutha!)
I see my o.b. on Monday.. I'm hoping that since these girls are breech, she'll consider scheduling my c-section, early!! We'll see...

Oh Britney..what the hell where you thinking??

I don't know if anyone caught the interview last night with Britney Spears..but wtf was she thinking? It looked as if the whole reason for the interview was damage control. She's been in the tabloids now forever, and not in a favorable light. It seemed like a smart move to be on with the squeaky clean Matt Lauer, and try to address everything the public has heard lately. Then why, oh why, would she dress like such a tramp in tight, low cut, see through maternity clothes, wear such unflattering caked on make up with too much pink it in it, slut up her hair, and chew gum through the entire interview?? The only thing I got out of the 1/2 hour that I watched was that she first needs to fire any stylist that may be helping her with her look, and get rid of the publisist who allowed her to get in front of the cameras the way she looked.
And where was kfed??? This is why I hate summer programming.. there's nothing on!! I did at least catch a re-run of My Name is Earl that I hadn't seen, and The Office.. but after that it was Britney or straight to bed.. I could only take 1/2 the show, I don't know what happened when they talked about whether she's a good mom or not, but she's definitely on her way to being the white version of Bobby and Whitney!! Lord help us!