Twin Engines

"I'm A Big Boy!"

2012-01-31T05:36:00.000-06:00

That's M's new phrase lately. As I lay here in hour two of insomnia, thanks in part to said child, I must admit it's so true. In just a month's time, it seems my boys have grown from a small destruction crew to a band of Big Boy Brothers. For example,
1. They're potty trained. Ok, not 100%, but now when I say it's time to go, they both run to the bathroom and cooperate! The last two days have been remarkably clean - compared to last week. I told a friend yesterday that I have to look at their weekly composite score to see improvement, but it's there! Our next challenges are pooping in the potty and those frustrating auto flush toilets in public. Any tips?

2.they each have their own room. Like some kind of fairy dust, separating them has given all of us peaceful bedtimes once again. It took us a bit to figure it our, but N needed an additional night light. He was turning on his overhead light every night! I was less concerned about the electricity than his body not making serotonin. The boys cooperating for bedtime has reduced my stress level greatly.

3. They like popcorn and movies! We aren't quite ready for a feature film, but we had a whole hour of family snuggle time on the couch Sunday night with Cars 2, popcorn, and a fire in the hearth. I think N ate half a bag by himself! It was one of the simple joys in life I've been waiting for with them - to do something "normal." There is so little normalcy in being parents of twins!

4. They are sitting through and eating meals. Again, I have to consider the composite "score" if you will, but it's getting better. The Fisher Price space saver high chairs were permanently removed and "professionally" cleaned by moi this week. (Oh my heavens, that was a whole day job! I almost wrote a post about the massively disgusting things I cleaned on Friday: two high chairs, poopy underpants, and the area under the dishwasher that was installed 11 or so years ago. Gross doesn't quite describe it.) M has been eating like a horse this week, too, cleaning his plate and asking for seconds and thirds. I fully expect a growth spurt from him very soon.

5.they are communicating better and using voice inflection appropriately. For example. While broiling chicken and tossing salad last night, N walked into the kitchen, shrugged his shoulders and turned us his hands. Asking, "seriously? Where's my lunch?" I burst out laughing before I told him he can't talk to mommy that way and needs to say please! He's also been saying "yumm-MEE" and "wow-WEE" in response to things he likes.

6. They are following directions better. I need to stop lifting them as much as possible, so I've been trying to train them to climb into their cars eats on their own. Sounds simple but it's not because our garage is full of amazing things they'd rather explore, like their summer outdoor toys and everything dirty covered in road salt. However. I noticed that more and more often, if I have a tiny bit more patience (ie, I give myself more time for van loading) they will do it and all I need to do is buckle and kiss. Small miracles.

7. They don't fight getting dressed. M rarely did but B hated it. Now I allow them to choose their shirt from the bottom rack of their closet 6 days a week and all is well. N picks a hoodie every day. No lie! He lives his hood and wears it all day. When he finds his sunglasses and sports them we call him the unibomber! He doesn't get his way on Sundays though. He has to choose between a button down and a sweater-he chose sweater. At least until we get home from church:)

8. They are beginning to understand that we're having a baby! The crib is up in M's room and sometimes he tucks his bear in there. Sunday when he was squishing my belly (a problem, I'm losing lap space quickly) I told to be careful of baby brother, he wanted to see him. So I lifted my shirt, then he kissed my belly and said , "sleep tight baby brother," patting it and pulling my shirt back down. It was the sweetest!

9. In one of the potty training videos we watched there was a song about becoming big kids. I would tell them they're big kids now and every single time, M corrected me and said, "I'm a big BOY!". Now he repeats it incessantly.

I guess it's true that we really can speak things that are not as though they are, because suddenly, in a month's time, We have two very very BIG BOYS!

Dishwasher Repairmen

2012-01-26T13:41:00.000-06:00

"Mr. Chuck" was here at lunchtime yesterday diagnosing the dishwasher. (Diagnosis: Dead) The boys were fascinated with his drill, and the "special night light" he used to peer inside the dishwasher's innards. It was cute and sweet, but Mr. Chuck didn't seem the type who'd like his photo taken by a nutty stay at home mom, so I didn't.

He did, however, spark a renewed interest in the Handy Manny tool set kept on the toolbench downstairs, and while I was fixing pancakes for breakfast this morning, the boys were ~~arguing over Squeeze~~ fixing the dishwasher.

The good news is tomorrow morning should be VERY exciting as Mr. Chuck will have two handy helpers to install the new dishwasher! Hooray!

Potty Training on Mount Carmel

2012-01-25T14:10:00.000-06:00

In 1 Kings 18:16-39, we find the story of Elijah defeating Baal on Mount Carmel. It's a pretty long and amazing story of the power of God, ending in verses 38-39, "Then the fire of the Lord fell and burned up the sacrifice, the wood, the stones and the soil, and also licked up the water in the trench. When all the people saw this, they fell prostrate and cried, 'The Lord-he is God! The Lord-he is God!'"

That was last night, after I gave the boys a bath. I was dressing N in his pj's and nighttime diaper and M was running around like a naked shivering little cowboy when he cried, "I need to poo-poo in the potty!" something I'd heard a dozen times already that day. (Not a surprise, though, since I'd been feeding them bowel movement inducing foods due to no BM's in days)

"Okay, go ahead, I'll be right there to check on you," N was almost dressed and I was heaving my giant pregnant self up off the floor when he came running back,

"I did it!" he cried. Mmm, hmmm, I'll see it when I believe it, I thought.

Lo and behold! A miracle! There it was, big and brown as it could be, right in the bottom of the little white potty! Praise the Lord! The Lord-he is God!

"Good job! Way to go!" The three of us danced, sang, clapped, dumped, flushed, and Clorox wiped when he asked, "I go poo-poo in the potty again?" Thinking this was his clever way of getting not two M&M's but four, but not wanting to crush his victory, I told him he could try. I stepped out to retrieve his pj's and nighttime diaper and when I returned,

ANOTHER MIRACLE! The Lord- he is god! It was as big as the first!

"Wow, that's amazing! Way to go! Good job!" The three of us celebrated again, danced, sang, clapped, dumped flushed and wiped the potty again, when I heard, "I go poo-poo in the potty again?" What was I supposed to say? He hadn't pooped in three days - maybe there really was more?

Of course, two huge poos had cleaned him out, but it took another 10 minutes of trying to convince him it was over, then we washed hands and I delivered the 2 M&M's he'd earned. We called the grandmas to celebrate, I texted Hubs in JFK and they went to bed quite late due to excessive celebration.

I felt like a million bucks. N and Hubs were recovered from their weekend illnesses and now M was pooping in the potty.

Then today. Read 1 Kings 19: 3, immediately after Elijah defeats Baal, he is threatened by Jezebel. "Elijah was afraid and ran for his life. When he came to Beersheba in Judah, he left his servant there," (but if I had a servant here today I might not quite feel this bad) "while he himself went a day's journey into the desert. He came to a broom tree, sat down under it, and prayed that he might die."

Okay, I think Elijah is a tad dramatic because I'm not praying for death, but seriously?

The two of them have had so many accidents this morning I've lost count. It's only 1:30 in the afternoon. We've reverted to diapers again, I've emptied the Diaper Champs, and I'm back to potty training day 3.

I kind of want to run away. Not die, but a vacation on a nice warm beach under a palm -or broom - tree would be okay, too.

But I can't. And I won't. I'll just buck up and put the underpants back on. Hopefully that will do the trick and we'll be back on track.

Back to square one

Play...Date!

2012-01-24T13:52:00.001-06:00

~~Before everything fell apart~~ On Saturday, our wonderful neighbors graciously offered to watch the boys for a couple of hours so that Hubs and I could have a lunch date - and shop for a new dishwasher at the local Sears, courtesy of me ~~opening my big fat mouth~~ asking Ms. T if she was having problems with hers which I noticed just so happened to be the same one. (And yes, they had problems with theirs - shocked? I think not.)

It took us 5 seconds to agree to the free babysitting, and I packed the boys PBJ's in their tiger lunchboxes for the long trip across the street. It was so adorable to see them all bundled up with their cute little backpacks on, I just had to take a picture! They are only two, but look like little gradeschoolers on their way to school!

Mom, seriously? Do you really need a picture NOW?

Our dishwasher shopping was somewhat fruitless in that our landlord is going to be either fixing or replacing it (hooray) but in the meantime....I'm washing dishes. And we're getting really cozy with disposable dining wear. Not that it matters when everyone is sick, though. So dishwasher is on hold for today. Hopefully he'll be calling me soon...like any minute. Anyhow, we had a fine time eating in a restaurant in one of those booths built for two (they're so much smaller than I remember!) and chatting about NOT POTTY TRAINING. (I'm beginning to think I have a serious potty mouth problem. I almost wrote a post dedicated to all things potty but decided you need a break because, when asked this morning, "What goals or dreams do you have for your life?" at our Mom's Group Bible Study, I blurted, "You mean, beyond potty training?" Yeah, I've got a problem.) And just like that, our date was over and we needed to retrieve them.

The boys had so much fun at Mr. L and Ms. T's that it took everything within us to get them dressed and come home. Our neighbors love the boys so much - it's such a blessing to have them in our lives. They are the same ones who bailed us out the very next day when Hubs was near death. (Okay, not really, but sort of.) God bless them!

My life is weird, but good.

2012-01-23T15:08:00.000-06:00

Potty training has stalled. All I can tell you is M is great at keeping dry, but doesn't get number two in the potty. N had 4 accidents Saturday and I was brainstorming a blog post called "progress, Regress," but then life got crazy. Hubs has been under the weather most of the weekend, so a sweet neighbor came to watch the boys last night so I could take a friend to an awesome women's ministry event at our church. Then if was freezing-raining, but we went anyway.

Everything was great while we were there and I was quite enjoying myself, knowing it was my last night "off" since Hubs was supposed to be going to JFK all week. Little did I know. In an hour's time:

My van battery died.
Friend's mom came to church to jump it.
It didn't jump.
Key stuck in ignition.
Hubs texting asking where medicine is because he's worse.
Another friend found church maintenance guy "Bill" who helped jump with his truck.
Hooray! Van starts!
Hubs textx again because he's even worse.
Roads are bad going home.
Poor neighbor stayed till 10:00 because he heard how bad Hubs was feeling. (need I go onto the details? Let's just say he was SICK.)
Find hubs white as a ghost and covered in hives.
NYC trip cancelled.
Wake up nurse M for consultation.

Everyone sleeps through the night.

I showered at 7am , lest I find myself taking Hubs to a clinic with 3 day old greasy hair.
N is whiny clingy and doesn't finish breakfast.
Taking care of Hubs and surreptitiously running to Target for meds while boys watch PBS, I come home to find N fevering.
Consult nurse M again.
Give N albuterol treatment, tuck all 3 in and go back to Target for more meds.
Did I mention our neighbors snowblowed our driveway so I'm trying to bake thank you cookies and make cute cards with the boys? No? We did that, too.
Toss more laundry in because sick people make more of it.
Sit down to eat a yogurt and check my email and blog this to you.
That's why potty training is at a standstill.
And, why my life is weird, but good.

Special Kind of Crazy

2012-01-20T04:27:00.000-06:00

When it happened 3 years ago I thought I was losing my mind. People warn you of kankles and fat, swelling and discomfort. But they don't read you the fine print: side effect may include INSOMNIA!

It's not like I don't have sleep problems to begin with, but in normal life, once I fall asleep, I don't wake until the alarm, and then, barely. Nowadays my alarm isn't set of twin toddlers, born to make me crazy all day.

Now I have a pre-born infant making me crazy at night. For the second time this week, I am awake at the wrong time. It went like this:

I was dreaming (they don't tell you about vivid weird dreams either) about M and N playing with a 17 foot python at my sister P's house. Apparently it was friendly, but wouldn't you know, they broke it into 4 large pieces. Of course I yelled at them for hurting their uncle's snake, and they put the carcass pieces onto the coffee table and crawled into a large chair together, pouting. As my sister and I were discussing what to do with the mess and how to tell her husband, I woke up (for real woke up)

To the sound of M crying in his room. I sat up listening to determine whether to go in there, but he stopped a few seconds later and fell asleep.

Begin insomnia. I tossed and turned trying not to wake Hubs for a half hour. I feel totally caffeinated, like I just had a Big Gulp of Diet Coke. All I can think about is turning Chicken in a Pot into Best Chicken salad for lunch, so rather than "waste" time tossing or wake Gibs eating crackers like I did 3 nights ago, I move stealthily (haha, right?) to the kitchen.

Quickly abondoning the chicken salad idea (too noisy, must chop things) I see 3 spoiling nana nas, perfect for bread. Mmmmm, I love banana bread and I even have walnuts in the cupboard...no, even noisier, must use Kitchenaid. Hi, Kithenaid, how are you? Haven't mixed anything lately, huh? Don't worry well make something tomorrow. (sigh)

Finger jello! The boys were mysteriously well behaved last night and each had just one no 2 accident yesterday so I decide to boil water and fix it for them. They can have it after they eat chicken salad for lunch.

Anyone want to guess what size my post pregnancy body will be this summer? The Lands End Overstock catalog arrived yesterday, which I browsed as I whisked with my quiet rubber whisk. There are some great sales and I love the LE suit from 2 summers ago.

"were you in the kitchen?" mumbles Hubs as I slip not so stealthily into bed.

"shh, yes, just insomnia, go back to sleep," I whispered. Fortunately, he did, and he's probably dreaming about cherry finger jello, which the house now smells of.

Seriously it's a special kind of crazy.

PS Happy 32nd Birthday, P! Love you sis! Quite obviously, I was thinking of you on your special day today. And I PRAY J does NOT get you a python. Pretty sure that came from our zoo visit Mon, not because I'm telepathic :)

Day 8: Hold Steady

2012-01-19T14:29:00.000-06:00

Whew, I'm exhausted. Potty training is not for wimps. I had an OB appointment this morning and Dr. C asked how I've been feeling. "we're potty training the boys this week," I answered.

As a father of 5, the youngest a set of twins, he just smiled and said, "Good luck,"

He did say his girls "got it" faster but the boys were slower, a theme that nearly every parent ahead of me repeats.

So I'm just grateful that M is doing so well and that we are seeing more cooperation with N, who has not had an accident today! We 're just holding steady today. No major problems, 1 accident, no major breakthroughs. I'll take it.

Here's a funny, non-potty training story. I had a "Julie and Julia" moment last night. If you've seen the movie or read the book, you know Julie gets upset because she has to bone a duck. When she finally does, she's dressing the duck in the living room, talking to Julia as she watches the same procedure and follows along. Because Cub did not have the whole cut up chicken I needed for a recipe, but had the whole chicken on sale for .99/lb., I decided I'd do it myself. I've roasted whole chickens before, but not cut them raw. How hard could it be?

Oh, gross. It was full of gizzards and guts! I had to look up "how to cut up a raw chicken" in my Better Homes and Gardens "Bible" cookbook, and read it aloud, following the photo guide! The crunching sound of the knife through cold chicken tendons made me gag! However, when I finished, it looked just like the "whole cut up" chicken I usually buy for twice the price! Now, I'm pretty proud and looking forward to our Chicken in a Pot" dinner simmering away in the crock pot right now. Yeah, I'm totally a butcher.

By the way, Baby 3 is healthy, strong, and doing well. My weight and blood pressure check out well, and I go back in 3 weeks for the blood glucose test. I don't feel diabetic right now, so hopefully I can avoid it this time!

Day 7: Roller Coaster

2012-01-18T14:10:00.001-06:00

It's only 1:30 and I'm already describing today as a roller coaster.
Low: cancelled today's playdate because we need more training time.
High: M has stayed dry all morning!
Low: N threw his worst temper tantrum EVER about sitting on the potty this morning, resulting in a diaper day for him.
High: M felt the poo coming and made it to the potty in time!
High:N sat with his brother in poop solidarity waiting for it, resulting in a pee pee hit!
Low: N pooped at naptime again.Update: Twice. Second day in a row of a double-poop no-nap day.
High: I've managed to get a tiny bit of housework done. Tiny. But I'm sitting here updating you because I desperately need to put my feet up for a few minutes.

I'm pretty sure potty training twins is some kind of cruel and unusual punishment. I've been brainstorming all morning, trying to figure out what I've done to deserve this.

1. I treated someone terribly. I did my fair share of dumping jerks and nice guys decades ago, but I'm pretty sure I was punished by also being dumped a few times, too, so I don 't think that's it. For the record, Hubs and I never broke up - so don't think I treated him badly! The worst I've done so far is make him help potty train (I hope!)

2. I was a horrible person in a previous life. I don't believe in reincarnation, but for the first time, it kind of makes sense- at least when it comes to explaining this cruel and unusual punishment.

3. I gave my own mother this kind of trouble when she was potty training me. She's been telling me for 2 1/2 years that N is my little clone and Hubs tells me all the time that N got his hard headedness (and fantastic good looks) from me. According to my calculations, mom was either hugely pregnant with my sister or dealing with a newborn around my age 2 1/2, as well as a pretty rotten marriage situation at the time (now she's married to Prince Charming and I've been potty trained for around 32 years, so her story has a happy ending). If I were trying to potty train N during all of that, I, too, would have prayed that God would "bless" that child with one just like her so she knows what she did to me.

Ah, yes, that's it. Today that prayer is finally being answered. That's what I did. I gave my mom a special kind of heck during my own potty training. That's how I earned this.

Hopefully all I'll remember in 30 years is how cute his tiny buns were. And that his own child does this to him.

Update: M kept his pull up dry ALL DAY! N earned his pull up back after nap and kept it dry the rest of the day and fell asleep immediately, resulting in me being able to finish some housework (expecting guests tomorrow). That's why the pull ups, even though I'd rather not. But I was able to catch up on non-underpants laundry today - yay!

Day 6: Setbacks

2012-01-17T20:03:00.000-06:00

Pooping in the potty is proving to be a real challenge. I'm seeing a pattern: the boys keep their underpants or pull ups dry all morning, (hooray!) then durin nap, N poops in his pull up. No big surprise there-he's been driving me crazy with this poop -at-naptime philosophy for over a year. So I kind of expected it and can deal easier with the mess.

M, our "model student," wants to get it right so badly. He understands that he's not supposed to go in his pull up, but apparently can't feel it until it's already on its way, so he has half an accident in the underpants and finishes the job in the bathroom. I know he's on a pretty steep learning curve, but I lost count how many number 2 accidents he had today. That's because Hubby got a few of them while I was attempting to fix dinner.

On a positive note, dinner was a surprise success. I breaded and pan fried tilapia and called them "fish nuggets," served with carrot sticks and ranch dressing. They both ate every bite an M asked for more. Wow, praise God! Guess I'll be making that again. It's hard to find an adult meal we and the kids both like.

Also, both boys went pee pee at the church this morning and kept their pull ups dry for the 30 min rides there and back, so we are still making progress. It's hard to remember that when I've got a pile of dirty stinky bottoms to start washing now.

Just tell me it gets better and I'm doing the right thing, even if it's the hard way. (won't be the first thing I've done the hard way.)

Day Five: Celebrate!

2012-01-16T16:27:00.000-06:00

We seem to have made it past the hardest part, so we made today a celebration day! Daddy has MLK day off, so we applied Pull Ups after a successful morning of pee-pee-ing in the potty, and headed out to the MN Zoo for a day of family fun. Besides going to church yesterday and for a short walk down the block, it was the first real outing we were taking with our potty trained boys!

And I did NOT take the diaper bag. Nope, just one oversized purse with 2 diapers, 5 wipes, 2 juice boxes, 2 granola bars, and hand sanitizer. I'm livin' on the edge here, people!

The boys were in heaven and so were we! I haven't been out of the house much in the last week, so to re-emerge (victorious?) in a very public place - more public than church, at least, was simply exhilarating.

N's photo of me at the dolphin show

N was refusing his photo this morning, so in an attempt to get one, I allowed him to hold the camera for a moment. The above shot resulted. I almost deleted it and then I thought, gee, I should show the world what I look like with make up from my kid's point of view. Not my best angle, but kind of cute because N took it and it's in focus, better than most of mine! (It's the Sony Handycam, if you're wondering. They're not allowed to touch the Nikon.)

M's first public pee!

I was SO EXCITED that M went pee pee in the little tiny potty at the kid's play area in the zoo I asked Hubs to take a pic. For the first time in my life, I understand why Kate Gosselin took pictures of her kids' first poos in the potty - I used to think it was disgusting, but now I understand it's a monumental accomplishment (we're still working on that one - prunes will be our snack this afternoon).

N busy as a bee in the honeycomb

He still wasn't digging my photography here, but was so happy collecting "pollen" (yellow bath poufs) in the "beehive" I couldn't help myself.

M and Daddy reading a bumblebee story in the "hive"

We visited the dolphins, the penguins, the Tropics Trail, made a penguin picture, and visited the potty again (of course) before heading to McDonald's for our celebratory lunch.

M is very very proud of his penguin picture. He hasn't let go of it all day!

Absolute JOY!

What it looks like to eat out with us!

N is simply in heaven!

McDonald's still holds its magic. When we were kids, we thought it was awesome, too. Back then they had Ronald and Grimace walking around and dangerous teeter totters and merry go rounds outside, so things have changed a bit. They could barely eat their favorite food, so excited they (okay, N was) to get on the "playground." M chose to spend most of it on my lap finishing his cold nuggets and fries, but N was climbing, screaming, and sliding with the best of them. He was the smallest on the play set, but was having the most fun!

Just when I thought it couldn't get any more perfect, Daddy took each boy to the men's room, one at a time, and they BOTH went pee pee on the big big potty!

Seriously wonderful.

Day 4: Progress Report

2012-01-15T20:39:00.000-06:00

If we were only training M, I would have no idea why potty training is a big deal. However, I do not have a big head with his quick success because I have twins.

M has taken to potty training like a fish to water. He's also highly motivated by M&M's and the faucet. Bingo! He feels it coming and runs to the potty, he cooperates when I tell him it's time to try-he loves his big boy underpants and says repeatedly, "I'm a big boy!". He's a model student. On days 2 and 3, he only had one accident, when he had a number 2, and today he kept his Mr. Incredible underpants dry all day! He's making our job easy.

N. He's got an iron will and a loose cannon. Yesterday he had me in tears and ready to throw in the towel. After the poop debacle he and M delivered- a triple punch - and his refusal to even try, resulting in multiple accidents, as well as getting sprayed myself sitting on the floor in front of him on the toilet ring...it was just too much. Only after they were asleep and I was eating Culver's chocolate custard could I begin to feel better about undertaking the monumental task of potty training.

Today was day 4, though, and I knew we were past the point of no return. N and I had it out in the bathroom this morning, but rather than giving in, I stood my ground and made him "try." wouldn't you know? He went! Tries 2, 3, and 4 were also met with initial resistance, but quicker secession and rewards, until by the end of the day, he was finally trying with just a reminder. Yes, there were still accidents, but just two, and the big news is he stopped when he realized he was going! Here's where I have to say we do underpants during the day in the house. Yes, it's messy, but I know my kid and that a wet diaper doesn't bother him. A wet pull up doesn't bother him, either. But wet underpants DO! I'd rather clean up accidents for a few days than buy pull ups for 6 more months. I'll use them for outings for a bit.

P.S. I don't recommend this method unless you're married to a Mr. Incredible like I am. Without Hubs, I would have quit midway through Day 2.

Day Three: The Poop Hits the Fan

2012-01-14T15:02:00.000-06:00

As for "emerging victorious Sunday morning," we haven't quite given up. We're just redefining "victorious." Parents have won many battles, but the war is far from over. Kids pulled ahead around 1:00pm this afternoon with a 1-2-3 poop bomb, rendering Parents speechless and exhausted but still standing (barely).

Since I can't drink, I've been self-medicating with a pan of brownies and leftover Christmas candy.

Day Two: Holy Crap!

2012-01-13T14:09:00.000-06:00

Potty training twins is not for the faint of heart. I'm not sure who it is for, though - maybe Super Nanny? This is insane. It reminds me of learning how to tandem nurse twins: nobody can prepare you for it, only a professional or another twin mom can even begin to teach you, and it's painful like all the bad words I cannot publish, making you think - there must be another way! Is this really worth it?

Yesterday exceeded my expectations. Here are a couple of cute pics from then:

N drinking juice, waiting patiently for the pee pee

In the above photo, you can see the back side of the book, "Everybody Poops," a gift from Aunt P. My nephew S was reading it to the boys at Christmas, screeching, "This is inappropriate! Who wrote this for kids!?" much to our delight!

N and M, watching a potty video, waiting for the big moment

By the way, I have an enormous master bath, in case you're wondering about my brilliant idea to lock ourselves in there (more coming on that). Embarrassingly huge, actually. That's why I did it - room enough for all of us, two potty chairs, a basket of toys, a DVD player, and best of all, a heated tile floor, making it a very toasty space! So the boys and I, and for quite a bit of it, my wonderful Hubs, were in there all morning, drinking, peeing, and basically "getting" it! Much dancing, singing and M&M consuming happened after each score and I was feeling pretty stinking awesome, albiet, exhausted.

Pull Ups for naps, and back to the lock in, but it was clear at 4:00 that it wasn't working anymore. Hubs took them and the potties to the playroom so I could fix dinner, which was interrupted by not one but BOTH of them filling their undies with a big load of poo. I should have seen it coming. We cleaned them up, ate dinner, and the rest of the evening was uneventful. (By the way, they're wearing overnight diapers until they start waking up dry - I'm not even going to begin tackling that!)

However, we did make it through the entire day in underpants with only Pull Ups at nap, so I was very, very happy.

Today - totally different story. We started out the same way, this time with Elmo, who, I've been told, is the master when it comes to potty videos. They are less impressed than they should be.

Begin Day Two: Cheese!

However, after just an hour locked into my brilliant potty training bathroom, it was very evident we weren't going to make it. I was about to throw them both out the window! So we moved back downstairs to the playroom like last night. But here's what's different: we introduced the toilet ring.

The problem with normal bathrooms is there is just ONE toilet that can be fitted with a toilet ring. Never mind we have multiple bathrooms - we are always all together for this. So, we've had more accidents today because they both are in love with the toilet ring (hooray, right?) but cannot "hold" it while his brother is on the ring!

Today I'm feeling less like the Super Toilet Training Mom that I thought I was yesterday. But they are still "getting" it most of the time AND they like the toilet ring, SO I think I'm still on the right track.

Correction: WE are on the right track. I couldn't do this without my supportive husband and I'm not just saying that to be nice. He ran errands yesterday so we could have Elmo and smoothies for more training today, he's right there showing them how to hold their pee-pee's down, and pretending it's totally normal to be wiping up pee and answering a business call at the same time. Seriously - BEST. HUSBAND. EVER.

Round One: Mannekin Pis!

2012-01-12T13:04:00.000-06:00

There is a statue in Frankfurt Germany of Mannekin Pis, the little boy who saved the town from a ravaging fire by peeing on it. I know because I've seen it with my own eyes.

And re-lived it this morning. N stood up next to his brother, who was innocently sitting on his potty chair playing a game on Daddy's iPhone, when WHIZZZ! He sprayed all over his brother!!

M was surprised, so was N, but no crying ensued, likely because M was so absorbed in the game! Daddy cleaned u M while I got N back on the chair to finish the job.

We count round one as a success: 5 hits for N, 4for M. Both passed out for naps and now I am, too. I've got to go disinfect my bathroom and switch out some toys so we can spend the afternoon there. Daddy's on his way to get potty time Elmo and some more smoothie ingredients. We are already exhausted, but getting a lot of participation and smiles from the boys. I think the Operation Potty Training Lock In is going well so far!

Operation Potty Training

2012-01-11T22:05:00.000-06:00

Begins at 8am tomorrow. I'm not taking it lightly, people. I'm locking us in my bathroom with 2 potty chairs, a box of books and coloring, a DVD player with brainwashing DVD's (maybe Elmo if I can get hubs to swing by the library - just got the email that it's in!), juice boxes, disinfecting wipes, potty stories, and a pair if rubber boots! Oh, yeah, and a boatload of M&M's in a gumball dispenser. We will emerge victorious on Sunday morning.

M is ready and so am I, so I'm not going to miss this window of opportunity. N is somewhat interested and went poo yesterday after watching a "go potty go!" movie. So, I think it's time. Not to mention my little bundle of joy (the next Karate Kid) is going to he using their diaper allowance in 3.5 months.

Pray for us, that we will survive the next 3 days! I'll update you on our progress. In the meantime, let the river flow!

Separation....Anxiety?

2012-01-10T14:18:00.000-06:00

On my part, not theirs. I thought they would HATE having their own rooms, the reason we were separating them to begin with - as punishment. But as the weeks, and the naughtiness, wore on, it dawned on me that they were TRYING to get separated!

They've been sleeping separately for naps since the fall. The second room wasn't set up as anything, so it was just a mattress on the floor in a mostly empty room. I erroneously thought that they would miss each other so much that they would shape up so they could be in each other's company again. Boy, was I wrong!

After several weeks of all-out naughtiness at bedtime, I finally convinced Hubs that we needed to give M the second room, despite that it also needs to be a nursery in four months (GAH!!!!) So, this weekend, we did it. N has the old room and M has the "new" room. Both rooms are mostly empty because they still screw around with everything in there, making them look sparse and bare.

But they love it. N still gives us a hard time when we put him down, but only for 5 minutes. Without M, there's no one to entertain with all of his goofiness and he passes out pretty quickly.

M is a chatterbox and sings songs and reads books well into the night, probably too late. But three nights in, I'm just happy he's staying in bed and not crawling the walls anymore - or bossing N around, telling him to do naughty things. Sneaky.

I, on the other hand, am a tiny bit sad. Weird, because I wasn't sad to see the breastfeeding go, cribs go, the highchairs go, the toddler beds (a bad idea) go when the big kid beds arrived. But separating twin brothers? It doesn't seem right. We want them to be each other's best friends, inseparable buddies, so I'm just the tiniest bit sad that they are totally okay with having their own rooms at just 2 1/2. I thought they'd share a room until the day one got married!

On the other hand, I'm totally happy to report that the last 3 bedtimes have gone (mostly) well. By that I mean the weeping an gnashing of teeth usually accompanied by bedtime is down to just minutes. Who are those people who say bedtime is their favorite time of day with the kids? The ones whose kids listen to stories quietly in laps, and drift off silently to sleep? Does that really happen, because I'm thinking it's only in the movies. Like love at first sight. Everyone wants it to be true, but it's just not.

We will still have to figure out what to do with the bedrooms when Baby Three arrives, but that's so far in the future, I can barely conceive it. We'll cross that bridge when we come to it. In the meantime, I'm praying for miraculous bedtime behavior so that we can "reward" them with moving back in together, and therefore giving the baby his own nursery.

Here are two snaps taken with my iphone yesterday. M "wanted to do a project," so I gave him the dyed noodles and some yarn. The project lasted all of 5 minutes, but he was very serious about it while he did it! The other is N, who found the baby sunglasses they refused to wear this summer or last, and LOVED them yesterday. He wore them all day and night, as evidenced in this photo, where he's playing with Grandpa A's iphone. You can tell it's dark because of the screen's light on his face!

Now that I've got that off my chest and I'm over the separation anxiety of bedrooms, I'll have you know that potty training officially starts on Thursday. So you might not hear from me for awhile. I'll be scrubbing the floors.

Lightning Horace Clay McQueen

2012-01-06T14:01:00.001-06:00

We still have no idea what to name baby Three! Last night, Hubs and I were chatting and he started looking up baby name websites on his phone. We scrolled through the top 100 baby names of 2010 (the most recent list) and through the Social Security website listing all baby names in 2010 as well. While they did give us some ideas, no decision has been made yet.

However, Hubs did tell me the following story, which made me laugh so hard I leapt from the bed (no small feat at 6 months prego) to run to the bathroom before I peed my pants!

He was a real stinker around 8 or 9 years old, a smarty-pants-know-it-all with a sassy mouth. He was giving his mom a hard time when she told him,

"If you keep this up, I'm going down to the courthouse to get your name changed. Tomorrow when you go to school, you will have to tell everyone your new name is Horace Clay!"

Poor Hubs was shocked and shaken to his core - that was the worst possible name he'd ever heard or could even imagine! Whenever he was naughty after that, my mother in law would just call him Horace Clay and he would straighten up.

Well, guess what? Horace Clay is a real name and there are a bunch of them. I spent exactly one minute googling the name and I found out he's currently a guy on Facebook, was a horticultural professor at Leeward Community College in Hawaii, was a Korean war veteran survived by his son, Horace Eugene Clay Jr., was a 1970 graduate of Capitol High School in Baton Rouge, LA, and many, many others.

So we're considering naming the baby Horace Clay.

When we asked M and N what we should name the baby, they said,

"Nose,"

"Tree,"

"Chicken Nuggets"

"Lightning McQueen."

They're on the list, too. What the heck.

Christmas Photos

2012-01-05T14:27:00.000-06:00

I know you've all been dying to see our families' Christmas photos from my amazing Nikon, and I finally got around to uploading it this afternoon. I've been busting my tail all week unpacking 7 pieces of luggage, washing countless loads of laundry, organizing a multitude of toys, grocery shopping and of course, trying to feed my family. There are times the blog has to take a backseat, I know you understand. Without further ado, in no particular order, here are a few of the 250+ pics:

Uncle A teaches the boys to play "Don't Break the Ice"

N eating a piece of candy, I'm sure, from the look on M's face!

M cuddling with Papa Santa

As close as N would get!

Fun snuggles with Mommy

S teaches the boys how to use a remote control car

Aunt M was very excited about the New Year's lobsters!

N thought they were cool

M was terrified!!

Group shot of our New Year's "feast!" Look at the boys' smiles!

N is a pretty pretty princess

We tried forever to get a cute family shot in front of the tree, and this is as good as it gets.

Yeah, a harmonica and a recorder. I'm totally getting paid back for buying my nephew a marshmallow shooter.

I'm going to make you crazy with this, mom!

N and M helping cousin E open some adult's gift!

M was thrilled with these "Cars" cars!

Another shot of the boys opening someone else's gift - grandma's TV.

They spent a lot of time driving their new cars together.

Happy 2012!

2012-01-01T14:31:00.001-06:00

We are looking forward to a very exciting year with the addition of baby boy number 3! We still don't have a name for him, but my in laws told me they are placing bets. On a side note, Aunt L slipped that her bet is Timothy, which made me laugh out loud in her face (sorry about being rude) because one of my many rules for baby names is no ex-boyfriends. "What? You had a boyfriend named Timothy?" she cried in disbelief. What a sweetheart. She was just 13 years old when I started dating her brother and since I don't talk about exes (there's no point in talking about all the frogs after you find Prince Charming) she had no idea!

I'm not going to do a year in review. It was a good year, but if you're a reader, you know all about it. We have a lot to look forward to in 2012: Hubs' travels should slow down a bit (he had a crazy fourth quarter), we have new big boy underpants for potty training (coming soon!), and of course, a baby brother to prepare for!

Last night we spent New Year's Eve with my parents, sister and nephews for the fisrt time in years. Because Hubs and I had so much fun with our at-home lobster boil last year, I talked my family into doing it with us! Papa wanted to show the grandsons the lobsters, so he dumped them out onto the counter. The bigger boys were interested, N didn't care, and M freaked! Trembling, tears, sobbing and clinging to daddy ensued during the 5 minutes the lobsters were creeping on the counter. (I'll upload the pics for you when we get home. It's pretty funny!) "No Crabs! No Crabs! No Crabs!" he cried. I'm certain he's only seen crabs and lobsters in picture books, so I'm proud of him for recognizing a crustacean when he sees one, but I don't have a clue what scared him so much.

After the little fellas were boiled, red and still, M was all smiles and even playing with the legs on Daddy's lobster. None of the kids would take a bite, but none of the adults cared - we wanted our lobsters to ourselves! The kids had noodles, shrimp, corn and biscuits. Eight year old S cried, "It's a feast!" "Yes, it is," I agreed.

My guys passed out around 9pm, but my 4 and 8 year old nephews were determined to stay up until midnight. We played Scrabble and Yahtzee, then watched the ball drop in NYC. We all counted down, then cheered and kissed at midnight. Four year old E said, "Just one ball? That's it?" I think the boys were a little disappointed that they stayed up for that.

Happy 2012, my friend. May this year bring you many blessings, much love and good health for you and those you love. Count your blessings - they'll always outweigh your tears.

'Tis the Season

2011-12-28T13:10:00.000-06:00

For fevers and snot.

I'm having this recurring dream where every Christmas, when we fly back to Michigan to spend the holidays with our families, the boys get sick with something, be it ear infections or nasty butt colds. Wait a minute, that's not a dream - it's reality!

What is it with Christmas, families, flying and kids? Am I doomed to repeat this every year? (Sigh)

The good news is, it's just a nasty butt cold this year, so far. Last year we wound up in the urgent care with the first of two ear infections! I think we've beat it as N has been fever free since he woke up this morning. I think we're through the worst of it.

I'm halfway through my second day of self-imposed solitary confinement with the kids and I'm about to declare them healthy jus to get it over with. Well, I'm about the declare M healthy so he can go have fun with his Aunty tonight. N is still not 100%, poor buddy.

I'm sure he'll be better just in time to go back home.

Honk-shoo!

2011-12-27T13:44:00.001-06:00

Grandma and Papa K. watched all 4 grandsons last night so that we could go out with my sister and her husband. We told the kids we were going out on a date and my precocious 4 year old nephew asked, "A double date?! You're gonna be kissing, aren't you?!" He cried, making a face. We laughed and laughed, first at the fact that he knows what a double date is, second at the idea of two sets of old married folks kissing in my sister's tiny Prius!

The four of us had a good time noshing on sushi and then yukking it up at my old stompin' grounds, the Bennigan's where I served my way through college and marriage. Eight years later, my favorite manager and even a couple of former co-workers were still there to greet me with warm smiles. It's like going home. And it makes me realize how easy life was in college when I thought it was SO HARD. :) I mean, wouldn't it be wonderful to put my kids through that giant dishwasher instead of bathing them? And wouldn't it be great to have the food magically appear in the "window," ready for consumption, rather than figuring out what to prepare, making it and a mess, only to be instantaneouly and simultaneouly rejected by both of my sons?

While our server was not one of my former co-workers - there's a lot of turn over in 8 years- he was a friend of my sister and brother in law, so when I ordered a brownie bottom pie for dessert (a totally legit thing for pregnant women in my family to order) he brought me this:

A double! Because he thought I was having twins again?! Sheesh. I'm not that big!

Me, sis, and Hubs hangin' out. Brother in law snaps the pic

We did some other things, but I won't bore you with the details....I'd incriminate someone. (She knows who she is.) A good time was had by all, and the big pregnant lady ended the fun at midnight because she was about to turn into a pumpkin.

What I'm really writing to tell you is the story I heard this morning from my mom. The boys were giving her a hard time going to bed. What? Your kids? They're so well behaved. Yeah, that's because anyone can behave for an hour, as long as it takes to go out in public! I'm relieved to have learned that they're not treating me or hubs with any special malice, however, and that they spread the wealth to all.

She finally separated them because of all of the screwing around and stood sentry between both bedrooms. Exasperated, fianlly, she told them, "No more talking!"

From one of the rooms, she immediately heard a loud, fake snore:

"HONK-SHOO! HONK-SHOO!"

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-26T15:39:00.000-06:00

Merry Christmas, my friends, from the great green state of Michigan. We did not have a white Christmas this year, but that's okay. It's actually in the 40's and quite nice!

We are having a grand old time with our families and the boys are in love with all of their presents. In fact, M has a favorite and insists on schlepping it back and forth between the grandparents' homes. We could barely pry the die cast metal Charger out of his hands for bedtime last night! They hardly quit playing to eat, sleep, or allow us to change their diapers. It's fun to see them so "into" Christmas for the first time.

Because Hubs' family and my family live just 11 miles apart, we have multiple celebrations to attend on Christmas Eve and Day. At the first party (below), the boys were digging into the gifts while we were all still eating, despite being allowed to open one of their own to keep them busy. They had a blast helping pass out the presents, then as we all opened our exchange gifts one at a time, they moved from person to person "helping" them open it up!

Grandpa and Grandma S. with the grandkids and the greats who are LOOKING at the CAMERA and SMILING!!

I supposed we inadvertently trained them that that's just what you do at Christmas - because they decided to continue passing out gifts and opening them for everyone at the remaining 3 parties! Fortunately, no one seemed to mind, probably because the boys didn't care what the gift was once it was opened...it was time to move onto the next!

I warned you that my blogging was only going be as good as my technology this week, so I must tell you that my Nikon's memory card doesn't fit into my mom's laptop, so all of my beautiful pictures (once Hubs changed the shutter speed for me) will remain there until we get home, so you'll have to make do with what I can pilfer from Aunt L's facebook page!

On a side note, I have to tell you a funny story. I spent an hour or so on Thursday cleaning out and meticulously repacking the boys' Thomas the Train backpacks, each with diapers, wipes, snacks, DVDs and a player and its charger. There was going to be a chance that Hubs and I would have to separate and each take a boy on a flight alone. We fly standby and every now and then, especially at the holidays, the flights inexplicably fill up and we have to change plans at the last second. As we unloaded at the airport, I disconneced a DVD player from the van, and asked, "Where's the Thomas the Train bag?" (to put it in).

A look of horror of recognition flashed between us as we both instantaneously realized

WE LEFT THE TRAIN BAGS AT HOME.

The fellas know now that the train bags are for flying and that there are special treats and toys in them. They were half packed and sitting on the kitchen counter charging the DVDs most of the day, but the boys have learned since our last flight that it's possible to drag the dining room chairs across the floor (eek!), so after hollering at them to get out of there several times, one of us who shall remain nameless, removed the bags and put them up high on a shelf. Where they remain, perfectly packed, for our next flight.

Those snacks are gonna be stale.

The good news is that our iphones were fully charged with "Lunchbox" aka Monkey Dance and we had one DVD player with one video and most of a charge, and we all made it on the same flight just fine. Whew!

Merry Christmas, my friend. May you find much love and peace enjoying Christmas with the ones you love.

Lost Boys, Er, Photos

2011-12-22T15:03:00.000-06:00

Just kidding about the Lost Boys. It's more like Lost Photos. Through the gracious gifts of both goods and services, in a year's time I've acquired both a beautiful new Nikon camera (you've heard me speak of it before) and the installation of Picasa 3 on my desktop, which is the best photo thingy that ever was invented, according to our wonderful techo savvy installer friend - and he would know - no, for real, he would! He's really really smart when it comes to both photography and technology. The problem is, my BRAIN is not the best it ever was, so I'm STILL having problems with my "new" technology. I keep trying to take photos with the Nikon, which does take MUCH nicer pics than our old Sony Handycam, but the problem comes when I need to upload, oh, about 900 PHOTOS at a time because I've been procrastinating. What? You? But you always have such cute up to date photos on the blog! Yeah, because I use my old Handycam, the piece of...uh, equipment...that I know how to operate.

So my new year's resolution this year is to learn how to use BOTH the Nikon AND the Picasa 3 AND figure out where the pictures go when I actually DO accomplish the upload AND how to get the photos from that mystery location onto Blogger.

Before Three is born. So I know how to get you good pictures of him.

I think that's a much better resolution than a clean house or losing the baby weight, because you and me both know that's not gonna happen!

So here are just a few of the efforts of nearly a day's worth of labor....pictures from the Nikon. Make that recent pictures. Enjoy! We are just hours away from our annual Christmas vacation, so Merry Christmas! Enjoy time with your loved ones and I'll be back soon, depending on how my technology works for the next week or so.

Last Saturday Hubs and I had Christmas with the boys, just the four of us, complete with homemade cinnamon rolls, a fire, and pj's all morning (yes, we all changed by afternoon). There was even snow on the ground...just wonderful.

M gobbles up cinnamon rolls for Christmas breakfast

N with his first hot chocolate the night of being a snowplow with Daddy

M helps decorate Christmas cookies

N decorates cookies, too

One for me, one for me, one for me, NONE for you!

Christmas "Eve" night they only left Santa one cookie!

N loves those cinnamon rolls!

Merry Christmas!

Clothing Battles No More

2011-12-21T13:19:00.001-06:00

We've been having clothing battles in our house for quite some time. What? You? Your kids are dressed every day, though! Yeah, and I have the scars to prove it. Some time ago, oh, around a few months of age, I decided that we should all get dressed every day to learn the difference between night and day, regardless of whether we leave the house. (Translation: I needed to snap out of my postpartum slobbiness!)

Everything went well until sometime around age 2, when N (specifically) decided that he did not want to wear clothes. He wanted to wear pj's every day, all day, and never take them off. Some people are okay with this. I, however, am not. The blinds are busted, the bathroom is a mess, and my plants are always on the verge of death, but pj's all day is where I draw the line. "Cozy pants" and sweatshirts, yoga pants and tees, whatever, I don't care - as long as it's never been sold as "pajamas."

Neither punishments nor rewards worked well or consistently. Many days, the only way I could get N dressed was to change his clothes in the living room while he was riveted to PBS shows. Even then it was a hassle. Most of the time, M is compliant, although he does like to copycat his brother, so some days it's a real chore.

Then a dear friend, a mom of four, gave me two giant bags of boys' clothes. She said I could have them or they were destined for the Goodwill. I took them but didn't open them right away because most were size 3T, still too big for the boys.

About a month ago, they must have had a growth spurt because suddenly their bellies were hanging out the bottom of their shirts, their sleeves were no longer ketchupy, and their knees were peeking out from their pants when I buckled them into their car seats. I finally got around to stashing away all the 2T stuff and organizing their "new" 3T wardrobe.

A wouldn't you know it? Our clothing battles are almost gone. Since almost nothing matches anymore (my mom and MIL love to buy them matching and coordinating stuff because it's so darn adorable and I love it too) I allow them to choose their shirt almost every day. And most of the pants are just some version of what we call "cozy pants" and they are all boy or neutral colors, so who cares?

They LOVE to choose their outfits! They have some favorites already, and most everything looks okay (but you must know I'm no fashionista by now) enough for our everyday adventures. But every now and then they strike a combo that is just so....striking...it's...well....here's what N is wearing today:

"Keep your eyes open this time," "Aaaaahhhh!" he said!

That's a pea-green choo choo train shirt and kelley green sweatpants with a stripe down the sides. It reminds me of an outfit that he once wore, a fleece top and bottom combo, what M called, "green bean" when he first started talking. So he's green bean again today.

Here's what M chose. For the first time, he wanted to wear his cousin's "Michigan" sweatshirt. Maybe it's the first time I told him what it said, I don't know, but he's so ecstatic about flying to MI that he's been talking about it and making the "shooooo" airplane sound all morning. And those are dragon jeans, and he's taking a picture of me with my beloved Razor phone, (may it rest in peace) the way we take pics of them with our iphones.

I also wanted you to see what a number they're doing to my tree. It's really lovely with next to no ornaments on the bottom 2/3rds! And to see how well N cooperated with the "let's take a picture of the brothers by the tree" idea I had in mind for you this morning.

For the Record

2011-12-20T21:13:00.000-06:00

For the record, I do not have it all together. In case there is anyone out there under that impression. (Like I heard recently from a very sweet person.)

Sunday went great - it was the kind of day that made me think I could have a dozen kids if every day was like that. But it's only the second day in my two and half years of parenting that I've said that, so I'm pretty sure that falls under the "once in a blue moon" category.

Monday went fairly well- fun playdate with twin buddies, but no nap, so everything went downhill around 5pm. And when I say downhill, I mean, like this:

What you don't see is that the curtain and its pole were long ago removed by my sons. One firm tug and down it all came. You also can't tell that the beautiful wooden blinds are lowered because the pulley is broken and can no longer be lifted. What you DO see is the handiwork my sons did around 7:30 last night when I heard some awful racket coming from the vicinity of their window. Yeah, two 33" kids weilding three 40" blind panels in the semi-dark, playing Star Wars, if they only knew what that was.

I'll spare you the details, but they got a pretty decent reminder to never touch the blinds again, and I listened to their howling feeling like worst mom in the world. However, need I remind you we don't actually own this house or these blinds? (Because never in a million years would I have chosen such beautiful and lovely window treatments for my sons' room.) Need I remind you that I have so many of these wooden blinds in the house I can't even tell you how many there are?.....(Minutes later)......11. I don't know what they cost, but I know they are not cheap. Someday I'll learn because someday I'll have to replace one...or more.

I took that photo this morning in order to show you how NOT together I have it. Then I took these just in case you were still doubting:

This is the second peace lily I've received from my wonderful in-laws as an anniversary gift. Second because the first is no longer with us. She knows I'm no green thumb, so I receive plants that require very little care, as in, it will still live even if you don't water it. Wouldn't you know, it was drooping on Monday night. It's in my dining room, so I watered it while the boys and were dining on mac n cheese and turkey sandwiches. I told them it would be feeling better in the morning. The first thing M said today at breakfast was, "It's awake! The plant is awake!" It was as if I'd raised Lazarus from the dead! Can't wait to show him that trick again...next month.

If you know me, you know I HATE cleaning bathrooms. I LOVE my new house, but having as many bathrooms as I do is...uh...well...a challenge. So let's just say it's a good thing I have guests as often as I do so that the bathrooms get a swipe every once in awhile. This one's in need today. I just can't get those kids to clean up their bathroom.

So now that my house is all put in order (snort, snort!) it's time for me to finish the laundry so I can start packing for our annual Christmas trek to Michigan! Christmas! AAAGGGHHH! I can't believe it's already here!

It's a good thing I have it all together (snort, snort!)!

Chatterboxes

2011-12-16T14:08:00.001-06:00

My boys are not only active little fellas, they are talkative, too! M started first, but N is never far behind and this fall, he's really ramped it up. They've been saying so many funny things I thought I would compile them into a post. Here's what comes to mind right now:

Banana: "Um-BLA-na" M says. When he doesn't want whatever we are eating for dinner, he sees the fruit on the counter and asks for an um-BLA-na.

Helicopter: "OWIE-clop-ter" We have these tinkertoy type building pieces and their favorite thing to build is a simply a circle with sticks stuck out of each hole. They call it an "OWIE-clop-ter," despite it looking more like a sunshine on a stick.

Grape Juice: It's a recent introduction to their diet and they love it, but they just don't connect that it's from grapes, so it's "Black Juice" no matter what we tell them.

When we are really desperate, like we are on airplanes, we allow them to play games on our iphones (did I ever mention that I got a new phone this fall? It's amazing how well things work when they work well!) One game is called Lunchbox, and there is a monkey that dances when the child gets the question right (i.e, which fruit starts with Q? That's qumquat, however, spell check is telling me that's wrong. Ironic?) However, since they see us using our phones daily, they now think whenever we use them, we are playing their favorite game, "Monkey Dance." So they dance around whining, "Monkey Dance! Monkey Dance! I wanna Monkey Dance!"

Update: Hubby says Q is for quince. He knows this game VERY VERY well, better than me, clearly.

Talk to me! Yesterday, M asked his Daddy a question but Daddy apparently didn't answer in the appropriate amount of time (like 2 seconds) so M grabbed his face and said, "Talk to me!"

What are you eating in the mouth? M's favorite question to determine whether it's worth asking for or not.

We used to read "The Going to Bed Book" everynight, but it disappeared for awhile. Now that it's back from the dead, they like to not only read it, but randomly recite it throughout the day. I'll be in the van and hear behind me, "They hang their towels on the wall/and find pajamas big and small" when the other brother chimes in "With some on top and some beneath/they brush and brush and brush their teeth!"

This morning M was upset because he couldn't find his lovie (at 6:30 am!) so N jumped into his brother's bed and rooted under the covers like a truffle pig, triumphantly jumping up and shouting "I found the lovie!"

When they are upset about something - which could be anything, like returning the correct nightlight to the correct bedroom, where it belongs - both boys put the offender in time out. They shout to me, their Aunt, their Daddy, their brother, their toys, their bears, their chairs, you name it, "You go time out!" Now we are working on a different tactic, reminding them Mommy and Daddy are in charge. So far, no good.

FOR-et: In an attempt to entertain them, I've been trying to build them forts in their play room. It's not going too well because they just want to rip the blankets off, but every now and then, they will ask me to build them a FOR-et.

BLOC-li the flowery green which went down the hatch so well for so long is no longer acceptable. Last night neither of the boys would eat their BLOC-li.

Cookie Dough: They boys used to be TERRIFIED of my hand mixer, then my ancient Kitchenaid, but less so of the new red Kitchenaid that Santa delivered early to me this year. Thank you Santa! I LOVE LOVE LOVE IT! I managed to keep them in the kitchen once by convincing them that what I was making in the mixer was cookie dough. They stood with their backs glued to the refigerator while I added ingredients - much better than when they would run crying from the kitchen. When the dough was finished, I allowed them to eat a bite off the spoon. While I solved one problem, I created two more: they both think anytime I touch the Kitchenaid, I'm making cookie dough! Does N look one bit afraid the mixer this morning? I think not!

N can't resist taking a peek at the cinnamon roll dough!

Celebrate Good Times, Come On!

2011-12-15T13:55:00.000-06:00

Remember that song? It reminds me of high school because that was the theme song for our end of the year...thing. Talent show? Is that what it was? I wonder if they still do "Celebration"? My sister graduated to that tune this week, but before I tell you about that, the boys have been very busy...and it's not Christmas yet!!

This weekend, we took the boys to see Santa at the Mall of America. It didn't turn out exactly how we expected, but what does? We got to eat free Cinnabon rolls and hear an elf read a story and stick stickers all over a coloring page, which was probably better than actually sitting on Santa's lap!

Yum! N gobbles up the Cinnabon.

With our friends coloring and listening to the story.

M's blond head running by Santa...as close as we got!

Listening to the elf story on Daddy's lap is more like it!

Woah! Roller coasters! Can we go, Daddy? Please?

M and Aunt L waiting while Daddy bought the ride tokens.

"Big Rigs," their favorite ride! Daddy and M in red, Aunt L and N in blue.

Even though we generally avoid the MOA in December, it was a fun outing because we started early in the day and didn't actually shop. It was so fun to hang out with our friends and cruise the mall - the boys gawk and gawk, taking it all in! They even behaved well at the restaurant for lunch despite it not being fast food!

Daddy and Aunt L took the boys to Macy's holdiay display in Downtown Minneapolis when I went to watch my sister graduate nursing school on Tuesday night. While they enjoyed the display, they again elected to NOT see Santa, despite hearing that he's the best Santa in all the world. Maybe next year.

Daddy said they were "mesmerized" by the singing trees!

N was so enamored with his fun day with Daddy and Aunt L on Tuesday, he refused to nap, then passed out in Daddy's arms right after dinner. So sweet.

Then I'm told he gave them trouble at bedtime! Haha, they were well taken care of and I got to see my baby sister accomplish her dream of finishing nursing school! Congratulations! Love you and see you again next week, when you'll be employed! I'm believing she'll make you and offer you can't refuse - way to rock that interview!

Me and my baby sis M at her "pinning ceremony" Tuesday night, right before she danced down the aisle!

Come on and Celebrate!

Baby Bump!

2011-12-12T15:29:00.000-06:00

Mommy and Three at 20 weeks

Friday was the big day - we found out what we're having! First, though, I have to tell you that Baby is healthy and active, measuring in the 63rd percentile and all is well. And there is still only one in there, praise God! Baby is kicking me all day and all night and he did not AT ALL like the ultrasound.

Oops...I let the cat out of the bag. You got it, we're having ANOTHER BOY! It's unbelievable! But I had a feeling all along that it was a boy. In fact, when the tech found 'it' I laughed aloud! She said a couple of times that she thought she saw 'it,' and we knew 'it' could only be one thing - his little man parts.

I know we kept the boys' names a secret, but that was mostly because we had no idea what to name them. We could only agree on girls' names until the very end. So we'll probably keep Three's real name a secret as well....because we are totally stumped again!

Here he is...Three!

Let it Snow!

2011-12-06T20:16:00.000-06:00

I have a to-do list that doesn't end this week. It's so long that I'd rather do nothing than attempt anything on it. So, darn the torpedoes, I'm going to blog tonight!

Grandma A was visiting this weekend and when she saw snow in Saturday night's forecast, she knew just what she wanted to do. The two of us headed out to pick up a few things during naptime: Papa Murphy's Take and Bake Pizza and two mini snow shovels.

That was our Saturday evening: pizza and snow shoveling because we got 6 inches!

FYI, I took 35 pictures of the snow shoveling extravaganza. The boys were SO EXCITED to be "snowplows" that they would not even look in my direction for one single second. So these really are the best pics of the lot. You've been warned.

N in green, M in blue, headed out the door

"This is my snowplow"

Daddy gives them a hand

"I'm cold"

"I'm a SNOWPLOW!"

Daddy slows M down for a snapshot

"It's cold!"

"Cheese!" My little hams just about to go out and shovel.

They stayed shoveling with Daddy until the entire drive and walk were done, then kicked and screamed when it was time to come in (you'll notice a lack of re-entry photos) and have hot chocolate. I thought they would love it, all lukewarm like they like all their food, but no. They only wanted to go back outside and snowplow some more! I suppose that bodes well for the future - I will always have a clean driveway!

Gummy Bear Math

2011-12-02T13:50:00.000-06:00

"Write what you think when I say we're going to be doing math all morning," the guest teacher, a mathematician, instructed the group of parents of two-year olds.

As long as we're doing preschool math, I'm okay with it. Counting, sorting... I wrote on my notecard. A guest teacher talking to us about math with our two year olds, I thought. At least mine can count to ten. That's pretty good for two and half, right?

We brainstormed together what "math" means when it comes to our kids, to learn her definition of math is very broad. B-I-N-G-O is math? Sure, it's a pattern of subtraction, she tell us. Okay....

Then we are instructed to arranged gummy bears any way we wanted on our paper plates. Well, it beats our previous weeks' discussions, I thought, and arranged my dozens of gummy bears into a rainbow on my plate. Our guest teacher then taught us that however each of us arranged the candies, it was math. Grouping, patterns (which is where my rainbow - the only rainbow, I might add - was classified), order, etc. were all considered math. Okay, we're getting the point. EVERYTHING is math. We all use math EVERY DAY.

Of course, we were encouraged to go home and do this activity with our kids. She was kind enough to give me and the other twin mom yet another bag of gummy bears. Thanks. I had absolutely no intention of doing this activity because I knew exactly what would happen, but M saw me stuff the candy into the backpack (thanks for reminding me to take it home when I was going to conveniently "forget" them on the shelf!).

He nagged me all morning to play the "game" I told him it was. He's no dummy. He knows what candy looks like, especially 2 big quart sized ziplocs full of gummy bears. I promised him after nap, and wouldn't you know, he remembered? (Speaking of memory, when I asked N what we were going to do yesterday morning, he suggested the fair! That was 3 months ago!)

Fast forward to this morning, 4 days later. We haven't touched the game since Monday afternoon, the kids haven't seen Hubs since Monday at breakfast. The first thing M wants to do? Play the game! Play the game! Play the game! He's nagging my husband all morning, and the poor guy doesn't have a clue what that means because I haven't had the chance to share this nugget (he came home at midnight). So I tell him the game is in the cupboard and hand him two cutting boards. It's a math game we got at school on Monday, I say.

"Oh." He says when he sees the bears. "You're supposed to count and sort them but all they do is eat them." Handsome AND smart! I picked a winner.

"Have fun!" I say, because now the munchkins are dancing and jumping around his knees at the sight of the gummy bears, screeching in delight at 9:30 in the morning, at the thought of inhaling dozens of gummies.

"Ugh! These are as hard as a rock!" he cried. They were on Monday, too, I said.

Let me tell you, I've never enjoyed washing the breakfast dishes and cleaning the kitchen as much as I did this morning, listening to my husband try to teach the kids how to count and sort gummy bears, how to create a pattern, then eventually, subtraction.

I love math!

Daddy, this morning's math teacher

Look, N actually paid attention for a minute! He made a row of yellow bears!

Cookies, Sweeties and a Funny

2011-11-30T14:17:00.000-06:00

This morning's adventure with the boys and a funny story about my mixer ensues:

M sneaking cookie dough, N posing like a ham!

What do you do when your hubby brings home a giant box of dates from his business trip to Dubai? Make cookies, of course! Well, not right away...we had to eat a bunch before I decided I needed to do something with the rest. It's nice to have a hubby who's thinking of me and the kids while he's running through airports and brings us little treats sometimes (better than tchotchkes to dust). I'll bet you're not at all surprised that my little helpers liked eating dates. I was chopping them for the cookies and kept feeding them pieces. N grabbed a whole one and chomped down, surprised to find a pit!

N, left, and M helping me clean the bowl after we got them in the oven. I had a LOT of help this morning. Lunch was a disaster, of course, but that's to be expected after sampling the product before, during and after, which took all morning.

Look again at the white Kitchenaid mixer in the top photo. Here's a funny story. I've always wanted a Kitchenaid, but have made do for 9 years with the little $10 hand mixer that cheapskates like me use instead because a real one is almost $300! I even had to buy a second one this year when my sister in law blew up the first one! (The poor mixer was 9 years old, how long are those cheapies supposed to last)? So my parents were here over Labor Day weekend and we were all piled in the van heading out to some escapade, when I noticed that someone in my neighborhood had a garage sale with a GREAT BIG KITCHENAID just sitting there on the table! I made Hubs stop, hopped out, checked out the mixer, and ran back to borrow a 20$ bill from my mom (we do not carry cash, in case you were thinking of robbing me. My purse is full of matchbox cars, coupons and smashed up crackers.)

I know, right? 20 BUCKS for a Kitchenaid? Well, it's not exactly brand new. It looks like a 1970's model (like me) but it works (also like me). A few weeks later, Aunt L and I were mixing Red Velvet Cupcake batter in it and I said, "I love my new mixer so much!" As the words came out of my mouth - literally, AS I WAS SAYING IT, the motor started SMOKING!

AAAGH! It's on fire!!

Okay, not on fire, but SMOKING! The kitchen was starting to smell bad from the smoke, so we finished the cupcake batter with the cheapie hand mixer (they were delicioso, by the way, complete with homemade cream cheese frosting).

I couldn't bring myself to throw away my garage sale treasure. It sat there for another month before I had the heart to test it out again, sure of another near disaster.

But it made pancake batter just fine. Then it made stuffed egg filling just fine. And today, it made Frosted Date Creams very well.

So I'm keeping it. I think it's just a little testy, and doesn't like big jobs, like mixing for more than a couple of minutes! I think it's got a lot of character (also like me) so it stays on my counter awaiting its next (little) job.

Thanksgiving Recovery

2011-11-29T13:32:00.000-06:00

That's what we're in this week - half back to normal, half recovering, and starting to plan The Christmas Trip. Fortunately, all went well on our whirlwind trip to MI to visit the families, despite being cut almost a day short due to full flights. Unfortunately, I did not take any photos. I'm really stinking it up lately with taking photos. We'll blame the baby, whom I've taken to calling "Three," because I don't like saying "it," "him," or "her."

Some highlights from Thanksgiving week:

This is N and M anxiously awaiting Thanksgiving at my in-laws. Their shirts say, "I like turkey with my game!" They were so hungry that they climbed into their booster seats and waited for food while watching football. This was taken by Aunt L and lifted from her Facebook page just so that this post wasn't completely void of photos. They ate a sliced apple, applesauce, sweet potatoes covered in marshmallows and two bites of turkey, then were excused to play so the rest of us could eat as the food arrived for us! Maybe someday we'll all eat together - maybe someday they'll eat a real meal.

Grandma and Grandpa babysat so Hubs and I could have Friday afternoon off to do some much needed shopping. Basically, we bought his Christmas gifts and not much else, but that's okay - like I'm going to get to shop for him without the kids sometime in the next 3 weeks? Highly doubtful. It was fun to just spend the day together, without the boys, when we were both wide awake and not dead tired, like we are every. single. night. when they finally fall asleep. And to eat in a restaurant like real adults - you know, in peace, without high charis and spilled milk and ketchup. It was lovely. (In case you were wondering, we did NOT shop Thanksgiving night, overnight, or Black Friday morning. We are not those kind of people, like some relatives we know. You know who you are.)

In five days, my twin boys usually take 10 naps total. Last week, there was only ONE nap taken by little M on Saturday afternoon. We have seen some SERIOUS sleep deprivation and I am now 100% convinced that my kids are not ready to give up naps. In fact, N pulled the covers over himself last night and this afternoon, turned over and didn't make another sound! (That's a miracle, in case you weren't sure.) What I despised last week (and nearly drove me off a cliff) is now my sweet peace this week. There is a silver lining to everything.

Sunday was kind of whirlwind because we attended our home church in MI, then wolfed down lunch at the food court in the mall. But I add it to my list of highlights because at the food court, we were able to share a meal with my parents and grandmother, Hubs' parents and siblings and us with the boys, all together. The boys were happy because they got nuggets and fries (what else?), everyone was happy because they got to see them eat them (and eat what they wanted) and I was happy because I was 6 seats away when the milk tipped over and doused my mother-in-law's purse. I warned them all to watch those milk cups, so I am absolved from ruining her Coach purse. See why I don't wear or carry anything new?

And we can't wait to do it all over again in 3 weeks!

Mystery Diagnosis

2011-11-21T21:12:00.000-06:00

Ever seen that show? I think it is/was on TLC. I'm not a devotee or anything, but I did like watching it at one time because it was so crazy - a person would have all kinds of bizarre symptoms that no one could figure out and years later there would be an expert who finally figured out what the crazy disease was and fix it with a miracle drug or diet. Strangely, I'd much rather watch bizarre real-life type shows than scripted sitcoms. Maybe that's why I blog, because truth is stranger than fiction.

It's been Mystery Diagnosis around here this week. You may remember N getting his tear duct surgery done in February? I thought that was going to solve our pink eye problems once and for all. But Sunday morning the dreaded eye goobers came back. I decided to play kind of dumb (because I wanted to believe that he couldn't get these again) and take him to church, where I'd be able to have my new friends, a husband/wife ophthalmologist/nurse combo team (if you're ever sick with eye problems, these are the people to know) take a look at him. N was diagnosed with pink eye at the church potluck by Mr. Gus (pronounced "Goose") over a plate of pulled pork and grape salad. We were allowed to use N's antibiotics from his surgery, given instructions and, voila! Eye goobers gone today! A bit bloodshot but getting better, probably because we caught it quick. Thank you, Mr. Gus!

M wanted in on Mystery Diagnosis action, so he's itching all over with tiny welts on his legs, shoulder and arms for two afternoons now. Yesterday he woke up from his nap itching so we gave him clear caladryl and a bath, which seemed to do the trick. He didn't appear to itch all morning today, but after nap he was itching like a madman! Same spots, same welts. More clear Caladryl, and this time a dose of children's zyrtec. Brainstorming over a table of homemade pizza (I kneaded the dough this morning! I'm really getting good at this homemade bread stuff!) we discovered two things happened:
1. I still hadn't changed the sheets since N's overnight diaper exploded disgusting diaper gel on Sunday morning. I didn't think there was any on the actual sheets, just N's pj's and the little changing blankie, but you never know. Seems like a long shot.
2. I added Oxiclean to the last two batches of boys' laundry, including the one that was just washed, dried, folded and PACKED INTO THE SUITCASE this afternoon. To get those stains I miss, I figured, couldn't hurt. Think again.

A quick online search reveals, yes, people do have allergic reactions to Oxiclean and to stop using it immediately. Have you ever heard of such a thing?

So while Hubby did bedtime in old pj's that haven't been worn in weeks and therefore not washed in Oxiclean, I stripped M's bed (the one he naps in), unpacked the suitcase of clean clothes and started the 100th load of laundry today, in hopes of relieving poor M's itchies.

Anyone else have a Mystery Diagnosis for me to solve? On second thought, never mind. I've got my hands full.

Old but Cute Pics

2011-11-21T16:08:00.000-06:00

These pics are about 3 weeks old, but since you haven't seen them I thought you might like them. When Aunt L was here last, we took a trip up to St. Paul to visit Choo Choo Bob's Train Store. If you haven't been there, it's a two year old boy's heaven; a model train store that is chock full of running model trains and train tables to play with! It's the second time we've taken the boys and it's all they talk about. I heard M talking to his cars about it today - maybe they were driving to Choo Choo Bob's together?

I love this one because it shows how the boys are understanding that we want them to smile at the camera when we point it at them and say, "Say Cheese!" Here we are at the Blue Door Pub, a restaurant that was featured on the Food Network's show Diners, Drive Ins and Dives earlier this year. (If it sounds familiar, we took my folks there in September because THEY are the ones that discovered it.) This time the boys shared a kids' meal of two mini cheeseburgers and loved it!

Hubs is eating a crazy Thai flavored burger and M is saying "cheese" with his mini cheeseburger. Hubs said it was good, but not as good as the first one he had: the Jiffy burger, one piled high with bacon and peanut butter. (Shudder)

When it comes to taking them out to eat, this was a just-okay dining experience. We're learning that while we'd like to be the super-parents that can take their well behaved kids anywhere, the only places that they actually behave and eat are McDonald's and Culver's. So that's where we went the last two weekends, and while the burgers weren't out of this world, we were much more able to relax and enjoy them. We just didn't take any pictures because, well, it just doesn't occur to me at that moment that you'd like to dine with us at McD's.

Hi, I'm still here

2011-11-19T22:26:00.000-06:00

Sorry I haven't updated this week. It's been one of those weeks where Hubs was out of town for most of it, I got a strange call from his grandpa who was getting a scam phone call but I didn't know that and made me wonder if Hubs was in serious trouble on the other side of the globe so I spent a good portion of the day trying to figure that out, the boys are waking up in the middle of the night crying hysterically, but I think we've narrowed it down to growing pains and not night terrors, and one of my dearest friends has been with her mother in the hospital for her mom's last days and had to say good bye last night, and all I did was drop off a lousy lasagna at her house. Not my best week, I guess.

Sometimes I just don't have much fun, sweet, adorable stuff at the front of my mind to tell you about, much less the time and energy to blog it, so I just don't write because all that stuff I just told you is crowding my thoughts out. But I guess I'm not keeping it real if I only tell you the cute and funny stuff. Lousy stuff happens to me, too.

What keeps me going is Jesus. He's the reason I get up in the morning, the reason I apologize to my two and a half year olds after I lose my temper with them, the reason I dropped off the lasagna in the first place and definitely went over my text message limit this month texting my friend (keeping her company) while she was with her mom. Jesus knows that I'm doing my best to please Him, to love Him, to serve Him in my current assignment to stay at home with my kids and raise children who love Him, to love my husband and others with the same love Jesus shows me.

Did ANYTHING good happen this week? Sure, it did.

I invited a new friend over to spend the afternoon with me and the boys. She blessed me with treats and prayer to calm my nerves.

The boys are making great strides in learning their manners. Grandmas, you'll be shocked to hear them say "please" and "thank you" next week!

They are also able to say the whole alphabet and count to ten by themselves - most of the time.

They are both asking to go pee pee in the potty more often - and actually going! My mom's M&M method seems to be working. It worked on me, right?

Another friend and I spent a day together with our four boys, and the BOYS PLAYED TOGETHER. There were a few skirmishes about a certain fire engine, but, hey that's to be expected. It was a cool fire engine. They are making a lot of progress getting along with other kids; i.e. sharing.

Hubs made it home from his European business trip in record time, and with treats for us to boot. He's such a wonderful man who works so hard for us. I think he's just the bee's knees.

I tried my hand at homemade bread. From scratch - no bread machine. And guess what? It was delicious. The whole house smelled wonderful, and we ate most of a loaf for dinner. Why have I never done that before?

What's the lesson here? I don't know. IS there a lesson besides we need Jesus every day, no matter how spectacular or awful the day is?

Baby Update

2011-11-13T21:01:00.000-06:00

Thursday morning was my 16 week appointment - 16 weeks! Unbelievable. The pregnancy is going so fast, but I don't have time to sit around and contemplate my bellybutton, so I've barely mentioned it to you.

Fortunately, I'm in my second trimester now so the Utter Exhaustion phase is lifting off. That's how I figured out I was pregnant- I was so tired at 1pm when I put the boys down for a nap that my bones hurt and I laid down on the living room floor! Not the couch, 3 feet away, or my bed, down the hall. I was nauseous - because what mom of two year old twins eats a healthy breakfast? - and nearly passed out. My brain said, wow, you haven't felt this sick since you were pregnant. I told my brain, yeah. My brain said, you haven't had a period since July. So I asked my brain what day it was. It said, September 8th. I was six weeks pregnant, I found out a few minutes later, when I peed on a stick. Thanks, brain, for not reminding me I was two weeks late!

I heard the baby's heartbeat Thursday morning - and yes, we know there is only one because I've already had an ultrasound to rule out multiples. I think I would have had an anxiety attack by now if I hadn't! My doctor didn't say how fast it was beating, but it sounded suspiciously like my boys' did.

I think my weight is doing ok. I'm definitely gaining more slowly than I did with the twins, so I feel downright skinny! (Haha) And that's with eating a lot of that leftover Halloween candy, so I think I'm alright for now. And my XL maternity clothes are still too big, so I'm taking that as a good sign. I'm not sure I'll be singing the same tune come January and February, after the holidays, when I'll NOT be in my first trimester and nauseous, like last time.

No intense cravings, but I'm preferring salts to sweets, again, despite the Halloween candy. I've been buying store-brand butter microwave popcorn and snacking on that at night - my non pregnant self much prefers ice cream. This happened last time, too, when I sent Hubs on a wild goose chase for Maui Onion flavored potato chips, so I'm not surprised! And I quit coffee, again. I quit it about a month ago, but I just couldn't function all day. So I started up. Then the constant peeing started back up and I suspected it was the caffeine, so I quit again and the peeing is slowing back down. Like you wanted to know that. But not having coffee explains a lot...of my grumpiness.

We're taking bets on the gender. Anyone? People seem to think we want a girl, but that's not necessarily true. We are already all ready for boys here, so a little band of brothers would be great. But I'm not getting any younger, so this might be it and a girl would be a lot of fun, especially with big blond curls. I know the Lord has just the right one chosen for us.

I still think we'll name the baby Surprise.

Crafty Mama

2011-11-10T14:45:00.000-06:00

It's cold here - as in, there was snow on the grass this morning! I knew it was coming - we live in Minnesota, after all, so I've been working on crochet stocking caps for the boys this fall. And they love them! Here they are playing in the backyard yesterday afternoon. Look at that cheesy smile on M! He used to be my serious one, now he's competing for biggest ham. But I know he's not, since they figured out how to weigh themselves on my scale this morning. N's got 3.5 lbs on him, as you can see.

And that teeter totter? They FINALLY figured out how to play on it by themselves - yesterday. Maybe I'll bring it inside.

Over heard Last night

2011-11-07T14:07:00.000-06:00

Last night, Aunt L watched the boys so Steve and I could have a date. This is the story she told when we returned:

The boys were getting out of bed, so she put them back in a couple of times and told them to stay in bed. Minutes later, from the kitchen, she heard both of them suddenly screaming at the top of their lungs. She rushed in to find out what was wrong. They had gotten out of bed and one of them (probably N because I know he has a fascination with it) turned off the night light, so they were both standing in the pitch black scared out of their minds! She tucked them back in and told them that the lights would go out again if they got out of bed.

While waiting outside their door afterward, she heard N tell M: "I get out of bed, it get really dark, they don't see me, I get hit by car and get a shot!"

See, when I'm alone with the two of them, trying to get them into whatever building we're about to enter, the first one out usually bolts for the door, which is often across a parking lot. Or they like to let gravity take them in their cozy coupes to the bottom of the driveway and into the road. So I tell them, quite often, that they are too little and the cars can't see them, so if a car comes, they could get hit by a car. If that happens, they have to go to the hospital and get a shot!

Apparently, when N couldn't see anything last night, he assumed NO ONE could see him and he was going to get hit by a car - in his bedroom! Poor kid!

Zoo Boo

2011-11-06T14:38:00.000-06:00

M's big smiles at the new penguin exhibit

It's getting increasingly difficult to take photos of my two and a half year old fellas if they don't want them taken - which is just about never! Aunt L and I took the boys to the zoo on Wednesday and try as she might, she had a pretty hard time getting any good photos, good being defined as both their faces looking in the direction of the camera. Still, we had a fun time running, jumping, and climbing through the exhibits. I threaten to leave them with the monkeys. Someday I will.

They love the tortise in the Tropics Trail.

N's turn!

The new Colobus monkeys on display, with their soon to be brother in red.

Aunt L, the guys and a giant bison they petted going in and out.

Watching the dolphin just before seeing the show for the first time.

They loved watching the dolphin do tricks - for about 4 minutes.

Happy Halloween

2011-11-02T14:28:00.000-05:00

M put the fireman costume on for trick or treating! Isn't he handsome?

N didn't believe us that he needed the costume for candy. Turns out he was right. He went as a volunteer fireman - as in, I'm not wearing the uniform unless there's really a fire! He did concede to wear the boots, which paired nicely with his Puma running outfit.

The boys were in love with Halloween! We trick or treated while it was still light, so we were the first kids on our street out. We even surprised Mr. Luigi, who didn't have candy, but gave us an even better treat - a jar of his homemade jam, the kind he sells at the Farmer's Market. Yum.

N raced from house to house, trying to beat his brother to ring the doorbell. Our next door neighbor even had special Halloween flashlights just for them!

Mr. J and Ms. V, our next door neighbors they're in love with!

The last house we visited gave the boys quite a scare - there was a motion sensor gravestone at the front door that opened up and screamed when you came near. (My grandma puts one of those motion sensor Christmas trees in the bathroom during the holidays- it scares the you-know-what right out of you!) Both boys screamed in terror, but Aunt L and I couldn't keep from laughing. When our neighbor came to the door, they relaxed a bit, knowing candy was coming, but then she set it off AGAIN! and well, that was the end of trick or treating! It took the whole walk home and the opening of the magic flashlights to calm them back down.

We talked up the handing out of candy to other kids when it got dark, and I'm glad we got one shot because we had just 7 trick or treaters the whole night! Good thing we bought 100 pieces of candy, right? Oh, well, Baby likes Almond Joy. Here are the fellas passing out candy to one of our guests.

Where are you, trick or treaters?

Deck the Walls

2011-10-29T14:01:00.000-05:00

This was at my mom's last weekend, when my sister and her kids were over. My four year old nephew came running into the living room where the adults were talking, (and Hubs was being killed on the Wii by our 8 year old nephew):

Day have markers!
Who has markers?
Da babies! Day marking da wall!
WHAT?!

I've learned from a previous experience that Magic Eraser will take this stuff off in a second, so after snatching the markers away (and they weren't the Crayola Washables, fyi) I cut a Magic Eraser in half and gave them each a piece. I wasn't going to let them off the hook this time!

My mom, of course, thought this was hysterically funny - read her comment on July's post - and wanted me to take a picture. I told her, no way! I don't want them thinking this is cute enough to photograph and give a repeat performance! (I was pretty hot - not seeing the humor WHAT.SO.EVER.) So she grabbed her cell phone and snapped this one because I refused.

I guess now, it's kind of funny, but that's only because it came off and now mom has stored the markers somewhere unreachable by two year olds. (Right, mom?)

If this happens again, though....

Veggie Victory!

2011-10-27T14:13:00.000-05:00

I'm not sure what to file this under: milestones, lightning doesn't strike the same place twice, Festivus Miracle, or it's about time.

Yesterday, M came right up to me at 10 am and said, "I want a bejabow snack."

Say what?

"Beja-bow."

Bowl of porridge?

"No. BEJ-A-BOW!"

Vegetable?

"Yes!"

(Stunned pause) Okay! Let's go! Upstairs! Vegetable snack, here we come!

It was grocery day, so I had exactly 2 bags of frozen broccoli and edemame, and 4 whole carrots other than the standard canned-green-beans for vegetables (the only one I can count on them to always eat). I've never peeled and sliced a carrot so fast in my life! The boys climbed up into their booster chairs with great anticipation of this vegetable snack, and with a flourish, both boys received a plate with 3 carrot sticks and what would become an unbelievable amount of ranch dressing. I suspected this might wind up being a snack of ranch dressing, where the carrots are used like a fun dip stick, but I figured it was worth a shot.

Look, Mom, I really am chewing it up!

N actually said, "I like carrots!"

Then, they asked for more. HUH?! Okay, carrot number two got peeled and sliced and it went down the hatch, too. My battery was dead or I would have snapped a shot of them covered in ranch dressing, but I was happy to have even one photo of the miracle that happened in our house yesterday. I didn't care what they ate the rest of the day because they each ate nearly a WHOLE carrot!

I swear on the Holy Bible this is true. If I were making up miracles, it would have been that they woke up potty trained.

Big Boy Beds, all made up with spaceship sheets, airplane comforters, teddy and lovie.

P.S. In old news, we are all sleeping better this week. The boys are settling down more quickly in their big boy beds and not banging their heads - much - N put a small dent in the wall jumping yesterday and has a bit of a goose egg to show for it. They both have blue hue as well since the new TWIN size navy blue spaceship sheets' dye is bleeding, despite a washing. I'll wash again in a day or two. In the meantime, we are calling them smurfs. And I'm sleeping mostly through the night since Baby has lifted off my bladder and out toward my front. Thank the Lord for maternity pants - and veggie miracles.

Halloween Rehearsal

2011-10-24T13:59:00.000-05:00

We spent the weekend visiting our families in Michigan, and since we're not going to be back at Halloween, I thought it would be brilliant to have them trick-or-treat at their grandparents' houses. Here's how it went:

N hated it, even though I tried the fireman costumes on them earlier in the week and it was fine. So I showed them how trick or treating goes: you know, wear a costume, knock on the door, say trick or treat, get candy.

Still, it didn't work. There was no trick or treating happening yesterday. Somehow, we still have a bag of candy for each of them -thanks, grandmas. But I'm going to make them earn it. Or it's mine! All mine! Bwahahahahahahahaha!

Delicious Spaghetti Sauce Recipe

2011-10-19T20:21:00.001-05:00

Since I just typed this out for a friend, I thought I'd share it with you, too. I LOVE my crock pot, as you may well know. This one is from my old "Fix it and Forget it" cookbook. It's so yummy that you may never buy jarred sauce again. And it makes your house smell great all day. And it makes a TON. Enjoy!

Italian Spaghetti Sauce

2 lbs. sausage or ground beef (next time I'm using Italian)
3 med. onions chopped
2 c. sliced mushrooms
6 garlic cloves minced
2 14.5 oz cans diced tomatoes undrained
29 oz can tomato sauce
12 oz can tomato paste
2 Tbs. dried basil
1 Tbs. dried oregano
1 Tbs. sugar
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes

1. Cook sausage, onions, mushrooms and garlic in skillet over med. heat for 10 minutes. Drain. Transfer to slow cooker.
2. Stir in remaining ingredients
3. Cover. Cook on Low 8-9 hours.

We Did It!

2011-10-19T13:34:00.000-05:00

Miraculously, we were able to accomplish yesterday's impossible task of Operation Bedroom. It took 4 hours, 2 adults, 2 "helpers," 1 trip to Ace Hardware, and 1 delivery truck with the mattresses. I had in my mind that I would take lots of photos to give you the virtual experience of such a momentous event, but alas, I could not. Sorry, readers, but I wasn't thinking of you between 3:30-7:30 last night. I was thinking: MUST FINISH PROJECT!

Which is no easy task when you're pregnant, your "help" is running off with parts, the dust bunnies are forming an army, and there are three essential bolts missing even though Mr. Nice-Guy-from-Craigslist assured us all the parts were there - oh, and there are no directions, not even the useless IKEA directions.

Thank goodness Hubs arrived shortly after 5, when I was literally under the first of the bunkbeds, attempting to screw the thing together with those pointless alan wrenches. Are we not smart enough to use real tools, furniture companies? We figured out together, because he really is my better half, and smarter, too, when it's 5:30 on a Tuesday night, which parts go where, and which 3 important bolts were missing. The fellas watched a record number of Handy Manny episodes on demand last night, but I didn't care - the beds were being assembled!

I arrived with the substitute parts from Ace (because of course they didn't have exactly what we needed, so we have 3 Frankenstein bolts instead of pretty brass ones but oh, well) just as the delivery truck was backing in and the wet babies were streaking to get a look out the window at the "Sheep Truck." I couldn't make this stuff up.

Much chaos and hilarity ensued as we finished assembly, dressed the boys, made the beds and attempted bedtime. And silly me, in my haste to score a great deal on sheets, bought TWO FULL SIZE sets of airplane sheets. Anyone need adorable full size sheets, used once, for just $12? I'm your girl. Needless to say, it was a very loooooooooooong bedtime, with much explaining of the New Big Boy Bed Rules.

Don't

Jump or Kick
Get Out
remove stuffing from the chair
play with the blinds or the lights

Read
Talk
Sing
Snuggle
Sleep

Thought that was simple enough, but immediately upon closing the door, N got out. I went in and plopped him back with NO kisses or hugs, as he was warned. So he kicked the wall. So he got a spanking. So he kicked the wall harder. So he got another spanking. He sobbed hysterically for many minutes, but the kicking stopped immediately.

I was folding laundry, Hubs was finding new homes for two cribs and their assorted parts, when we heard more noise.

Silly me! I forgot the "No taking stuffing out of the chair" rule. Out goes the chair, to N's cries of protest.
So I amended our rules, changes are in red, above.

About 9pm, we noticed all was quiet and upon closer inspection, both boys were asleep in their own beds.

PRAISE THE LORD!

Here's what they looked like this morning:

"Cheese!"

Cheese!

Begin Operation Bedroom!

2011-10-18T13:24:00.000-05:00

I just put the boys down for their last nap in their "cribs." Before I was a mother, I thought there would be much sadness and mourning at the passing of these baby milestones, but if you're a longtime reader, or a mom like me, you know there's not. When I weaned the boys, I was happier than I'd been in many many months - I got my boobs back! The kids are eating again! And now that we're about to put them in really big boy beds, I think I'll be much happier when this milestone is passed, too. Hopefully we'll all be sleeping comfortably again.

Last night we took the boys to the mattress store down the road and in what must be a record-time purchase - seriously, it took me longer to schlep them to Kmart today to buy the sheets - we dropped 200 bucks on two new Sealy bunk bed mattresses. Taking all your wisdom into account (thank you for your sage advice), as well as the time and effort it would take to maybe save money hunting around for deals, we decided to go the quick, easy, and definently bedbug-free route and purchase new with our trusty credit card. They will be delivered - FREE - this evening.

Today's schedule goes like this: get the kids to nap, wash the new airplane sheets, disassemble the cribs, clean their room (hello, dust bunnies!), reassemble the beds, make the beds, bathe the boys, and tuck them in. And feed my family some kind of food and maybe just maybe clean up the kitchen. But I doubt that will happen - the clean kitchen part. Stay tuned for our progress tomorrow.

Bigger Big Boy Beds? Advice!

2011-10-17T14:43:00.000-05:00

I'm beginning to think we need to move up to twin size big boy beds. People warned me that toddler beds may not work, but since they didn't cost us anything (the cribs converted) I figured we may as well try. Maybe they'll love them, I thought. I think it bought us 3 months' time. Here's why:

M and N in each others' beds. Note the BIG rail and the drawer?

N is stronger than his brother, so he has the heavy-duty crib rail. It clamps down and reduces the crib bedwith by about 4 in. He can rock it back and forth so violently that he can flip the mattress and bed rail upside down on top of himself. CRASH!
After that, he climbs into M's bed, which would, theoretically, be a little bigger if there were only 1 child in it.
After that, if we didn't respond immediately to the first CRASH (you kind of get used to it), chaos ensues. Last night they were playing inside the drawer underneath M's bed, which used to hold items, but now remains empty to keep the items from being flung about. However, with the empty bed-sized drawer, they were enclosing each other inside of it. It cannot hold the weight of two toddlers. CRASH! Again.
We've been separating them for naptime and at bedtime when they are very naughty, like last night. M seems to LOVE the full-sized bed we use for this. I think he knows the mattress is a better quality than the crib mattress.
With all this monkey business happening, the beautiful wooden blinds in their bedroom are now broken. Guess they're coming down.
And we are going to need M's crib for the new baby in May. Surprise!

Bedtimes aren't going well, obviously. I'm not sure that new beds will solve this problem, but it certainly can't hurt. We purchased a nice-looking wooden bunk bed set (stackable and unstackable, btw) off of Craigslist this weekend - it was a good price and close by. I didn't plan on setting them up till Christmas (look what Santa brought you!) when we actually got around to purchasing mattresses. (Some gift, right?) We'll leave it to Grandparents to buy the fun stuff I guess. So now it's looking like bigger big boy beds are in our very near future.

But how does one go about purchasing mattresses for two yet to be potty trained two year old boys, affordably?

Do we need boxsprings or just the mattresses?

Do we go used off of Craigslist?

Do we go inexpensive, but new, at IKEA?

Do we just get brand spanking new stuff from the mattress store down the road, despite not really wanting to buy it with our credit card?

What did YOU do?

P.S. If you are one of my darling friends of two year old twins who are still sleeping in their cribs, don't reply. Just count your blessing. Then bookmark this page, because your day is coming!

Update and Thank You

2011-10-11T20:05:00.000-05:00

Whew, we made it through last night and today! N's x-rays were unclear, like I mentioned, so the pediatrician and radiologist can't determine whether his wheezing was due to asthma or pneumonia, so he's being treated for both. We were discharged this morning with 4 prescriptions - antibiotics, steriods, nebulizer and albuterol. What a load! We're going to take it easy at home the rest of the week now.

There is lots of good news to be heard, though. N responded well to the nebulizer, and by that I mean his breathing, NOT his behavior. I endured the strongest toddler tantrum from him on record yet trying to give him a nebulizer treatment at urgent care last night and have the bruised shins to prove it. Fortunately, the ER nurses were compassionate and helpful, so he actually got the meds in the second and subsequent times by NOT using a mask.

He was a real trooper and enjoyed having a "super-arm" once the IV was put in and wrapped up - putting it in is another story altogether. He especially enjoyed all the treats and attention he was getting. At one point, our night nurse told us everyone was talking about him and his curls at the nurse's station. I guess it's pretty exciting to get a two year old on steriods in the middle of the night on the old people's surgical wing! Whenever she would leave, N would ask, "Where Nursie go?"

Yeah, steriods. I thought my kid was busy, but now I know he's just regular-kid busy, not a hyperspaz in real life. The drugs not only kept him up all but 4 hours last night (he usually sleeps 11), they made him a spazzoid! YOU try keeping 31 pounds of boundless energy in a hospital bed all night. Eventually I just let him climb up to the top of the incline and "slide" down the bed. It was easier that way, until our morning nurse arrived. (You know, the not-young-and-sweet-ones with all the seniority to have the day shifts. Yeah.) I was really glad he was feeling better and we were outta there by 9am.

I got about an hour of sleep during his 4 last night, so it was a rough day, but I have so many people to thank for their kindness during our emergency situation last night. Our pastors' wives helped me out by encouraging me to take him to urgent care when I wasn't sure what to do, then stepped in to care for M most of the evening, when I thought it would just be an hour. Then our next door neighbor relieved her and told me how much she enjoyed listening to M sing and tell stories to his bear while she waited for him to fall asleep and Hubby to arrive at midnight, who cut his business trip short and headed home asap when he heard the news. Then all our family and friends who called and texted with love and support and offers for a nebulizer loaner when I thought insurance wasn't going to cover an expensive piece of medical equipment - thank you. (By the way, a phone call cleared the confusion and it's covered :)

It was a crazy first trip to the ER with my kid, and while I thought that I would be a nervous wreck when (not if) the time came, I felt the peace of God and the presence of all of you supporting and praying for us from afar. Thank you.

Prayers, please

2011-10-10T23:24:00.000-05:00

Prayers please. I'm spending the night in the hospital with N. First urgent care for wheezing and shortness of breath, then ER, now admitted for observation with possible pneumonia. Thank you, friends, for watching M. N has had 3 nebulizers, 3 x-rays, 1 iv, antibiotics, 3 stickers, 1 applesauce, 1 jelly toast, 1 chocolate pudding, and 1 Thomas the Train movie (he chose it over Elmo, can you belivw that? Ugh). Wheezing is better, temp is low grade, but still breathing shallow. We are in good hands and I feel the peace of God here, so I know all will be well. Just hope I catch a few zzzzzz's tonight. Thanks all.

Overheard Today

2011-10-06T19:45:00.000-05:00

While I was folding laundry upstairs, I heard the following conversation take place between N and his Aunt L:
N: Whassis, Yins? (His name for her)
AL: It's a maraca.
N: No it's not. It's a shaky!
AL: That's what it's called - a maraca.
N: IT'S A SHAKY!!

I laughed right out loud!

M has been funny today, too. I don't know where he got it, but all day, he'll get my (AL's, Daddy's, our friend's) attention, then hang his head, sometimes putting it down on the nearest table or piece of furniture, and say morosely, "I'm so sad." We've been asking him all day why he's sad - because other than saying he's sad, very sadly, he's behaving quite happily - but he just keeps repeating it. I guess he does it because it's making us laugh, now, but I have no idea where it came from!

3rd Annual Fall Family Photo Shoot

2011-10-03T14:56:00.000-05:00

How many college educated adults does it take to shoot a family photo? Answer: more than three! We took the fellas to nearby Nerstrand Big Woods State Park because Daddy had the day off, we had our amateur photographer auntie, and it was a beautiful sunny 75 degree stunner today. Could it get any better? You decide.

I ain't lookin at that camera, Dad. This is just the beginning.

Man down!

Overexposed underbelly shot

I hate family photos, Daddy! Don't make me take another one!

Cutie little N is happy to play Boy Scouts, as long as we're not trying to photograph him

All I need is a flint to make a spark...

What a lovely family...meltdown

Huh? Camera? Whassat?

Two mountain goats make a crazy mommy

One, two, three...RUN!

So organic.

School Days

2011-09-30T13:13:00.000-05:00

The boys are loving their new class, Terrific Two's! Aunt L is with us here this week, so, OF COURSE we have pictures of their Monday Morning class. Thanks, Aunt L - you're a great photographer.

N and M bedeck themselves with the jewlery, then thread beads

N LOVES the activity table - colored popcorn was this week's media

Wee!

Pop! Pop! Pop!

They are learning to wash their hands themselves in this class - yay!

N doing art - I wonder what he'll call this piece?

Aren't I a pretty kitty?

Mommy lends a hand

Pizza Party

2011-09-28T15:14:00.000-05:00

I had a brilliant idea to let the boys help make pizzas for dinner because, theoretically, kids will eat food they help prepare. It started out great! The boys had a lot of fun

N spreads the sauce on ours

M spreads the sauce on theirs

N's photo of M sprinkling cheese - it's pretty good!

N tests the pepperonis before adding them...ick.

The making of the pizzas was fun! Even the watching of the pizzas in the oven was fun. The actual eating of the pizzas? No, thanks. We barely got them to taste one slice!

Maybe it's because M burned his finger on the stone and insisted on wearing these all night afterward.

And then I turned 34 yesterday. Here's my birthday snuggles with my little boys last night. They love this book, "My Little Train," and ask for it every night. They know all the words. Here, they are shouting, "To my pocket! To my pocket!" which is where the little kangaroo wants to be dropped off by the train. They are so fun (when they're not testing my patience)!

Orchard Apples

2011-09-25T21:01:00.000-05:00

We told the boys we were going to the apple orchard after dinner, and M repeated a thousand times, "Orchard Apples? Orchard Apples? Go to Orchard Apples?" It's actually called Fireside Orchards, and it's adorable! We wanted to find a new orchard nearer to our home, and we love "our" new one, even though they've been around 40 years!...because they MAKE apple cider donuts where you can watch the batter drop into the hot oil and puff up as they float along the little oil river to their bath of sugar, temporary home of a white paper bag, then their ultimate demise: my stomach. I had to share with the others, though. They made me.

They sell other awesome apple-y stuff, too, so we picked up some Cortlands for applesauce (I learned how to make it the crock pot - SO DELICIOUS! Who knew applesauce was so yummy?) and Honeycrisp for snacking. It was difficult but we passed on the pies, fudge and HUGE array of canned and jarred goods - this weekend.

Then we strolled through the gardens and took a walk through the orchard with the fellas.

Always taking care of each other

N looking pretty guilty - he picked ONE apple from a forbidden tree, and we got caught! (Sound familiar?)

Aunt L and her nephews

Having twins is like a walk in an orchard

Best part of the orchard by far! N drives the antique tractor

Outta the way! M at the wheel of the John Deere!

Another awesome toy - a VERY LOUD bell to ring over and over and over...

We'll see you again, soon, Fireside Orchards!

NOT a rock star, just a regular MOM

2011-09-19T13:17:00.000-05:00

Everywhere I go with the boys, I'm treated a bit like a rock star.
Are they twins? Wow.......
You nursed them for how long?

How do you do it?
I couldn't even imagine having two!

Everywhere, that is, except MVMOM, my multiples' club. There, I'm no one special. I have "only" my twins, no additional singletons, no multiple sets of multiples, no special needs - in fact, I have it easy compared to my colleagues!

On Saturday, I worked our bi-annual Used Clothing and Equipment Sale, our humongous fundraiser where we all sell our stuff and buy "new" stuff from each other. It's open to the public, too, so you should check it out next spring. It's fun and furious!

The women who are part of the club are supermoms. Seriously, I don't know how THEY do it! For example, the woman who cashiered to my right for three hours has two sets of identical twin girls (5 and 2). She's incredible. Our vice-president, who worked behind me all morning, has quintuplet boys, three of whom have special needs (age 7). One of our members, whom I'd never met and checked out at my cashier station, has five sons - one singleton and two sets of twins! Her youngest are two, and when she noticed my nametag (for it displays your childrens' names and birth years) also had two year old boys, she asked, "Are yours crazy?"

"They're very very busy!" (I try not to use the word crazy because I don't want it to stick - or for them to get any ideas!)

"Mine were eating my organic raw eggs out the fridge the other day!" she exclaimed.

Gulp, maybe mine aren't crazy. "Mine got into the fridge, too - they ate a bunch of grapes." Grapes? That's the best you could come up with?

At the end of our shift, my cashiering neighbor and I were in the breakroom, and she was discussing the delicate situation that I hope never to be in - announcing your second twin pregnancy to your families - with yet ANOTHER multiple multiples mom! Both women expressed disappointment when their families were less than enthusiastic.

I also had the privilege of chatting with a new twin-mom-to-be, a pregnant member I met this summer. She was just 8 weeks along and had learned three days before we met that she was expecting twins. I was able to share with her what an incredible club I belonged to and she joined! I'm so happy to have a connection with her - and very excited that she'll share in the joys of boys with me. Now she's 20 weeks along with her guys and doing well.

Needless to say, every time I gather with these mighty women, I am humbled and awed by their strength and fortitude. And reminded that I am NOT a rock star, I'm just a regular MOM.

Gotcha!

2011-09-16T13:51:00.000-05:00

Two nights ago, it was very quiet, and not because the boys were sleeping. They were missing.

Okay, they weren't GONE, nor were they where I'd left them while I attempted housework. And I couldn't hear anything, either.

Are all the doors locked? I wondered. Yes, but N has learned how to undo the deadbolt in the mudroom. However, he can't reach the garage door opener or open the van door (that I'm aware of, that is) so the furthest he could be is getting into Daddy's tools or other dangerous garage items.

Are they in my bathroom, unrolling the toilet paper? Splashing in the toilet? No, I'd hear that.

They were in the kitchen (on my freshly mopped floor!) stuffing grapes into their faces as quickly as they could, lest they get caught and Mean Mommy takes the grapes away!

So I let them. For heaven's sakes, they were hungry! And of course they were, because they'd refused most of their dinner. We ate grapes on the floor, then changed into new fall pj's and brought out the snuggle blankets to watch a "movie" before bed, which turned out to be just one episode of Imagination Movers, but they loved it!

Naptime

2011-09-13T14:16:00.000-05:00

Two little monkeys jumping on their beds
One filled his drawers
The other got naked.

One tired mama sitting in the chair
So the monkeys stay put.

First Day of School!

2011-09-12T12:56:00.000-05:00

It finally arrived, the eagerly anticipated first day of school! We were in a big rush to get out the door, so I didn't get a cute little pic of them standing next to the door like I'd planned. What goes like I plan, though? The class starts at 8:30, so I had to wake up N (early bird M was up at 7) at 7:30, which did NOT go well. Ok, the dressing and eating did not go well. Guess I should take notes from those experienced moms who do practice mornings before school starts. Nah, that would be even crazier! Fortunately, Hubs was here to be "action chugger" and get the boys to eat their frozen chocolate chip waffles and dress the flailing baby alligator for me. Thanks, honey.

We are in a new school district, so everything was new for me today, too. New building, new teachers, new classroom - yes, I missed the "meet the teacher" day last week, which would have been useful because I parked at the wrong side of the building and walked through the entire senior center and community center wings before reaching the 'youth' wing!

M and N, above, are playing with flaxseed. N LOVES this activity table and spent much of the morning pouring the flaxseed into the cone which made the paddlewheel spin. So that's it, our official first day of school picture. As a "new" parent today, I didn't feel very comfortable taking a dozen pictures right away on the first day, but I'll try to take more in the future.

And of the 12 or so kids in the class, there's only ONE girl! Apparently, there will be another next week since someone was ill today, but it looks like there was something in the water 2 years ago. Their class is nearly all boys! And two of them are ALSO fraternal twin brothers. I'm so happy to have run into yet another twin boy mom in my new town. There's just something about having other twin mom friends that makes my weirdness more normal.

I'm also happy to be starting our fall schedule. Summer is great for the first two months, but I guess I'm not the supermom I thought I was because I LOVE that school is back in session! Know what's also back in session? Signing up for snacks! My calendar is already filling up with food dates, and as a matter of fact, I need to assemble an egg bake today because my church's Mom's Group starts tomorrow and - you guessed it - I have to take a dish to pass.

But I love the first day of school, even though now it looks different than it used to - you know, flaxseed, eggbakes, and long walks through the senior center.

Where's Papa?

2011-09-06T14:43:00.000-05:00

"Don't touch the trains" at Choo-Choo Bob's! Not the model trains, anyhow.

At Blue Door Pub in St. Paul, featured on the Food Network last month. Guy Fieri was right - the Blucy's are delicious!

He went home to Michigan.
Where's Grandma?
She went home to Michigan.
Where's Daddy?
He's working in Miami.
Where's brudder?
He's right next to you, silly!

The fellas aren't quite into the "why" stage yet, but they are definently into "What's that?" "Where's this?" and "I want more ______!" which basically sums up our entire lunchtime conversation today. The guys are reminiscing about our fun weekend with my parents, occasionally saying, "Don't touch the trains!" because they were grabbing the model trains off the tracks at Choo Choo Bob's, and "pet the piggie oink! oink!" because we visited the birthing barn at the fair, and "I want donuts!" because we bought apples and apple donuts at the orchard yesterday.

Our visitors have gone home, Daddy's gone to work, even the neighbor kids have returned to school and it's me and the guys today, cleaning house and doing laundry. I get a little sappy on the first day of school, when my teacher friends go back to work and my mommy friends send their children off to school and enjoy an entire day of SILENCE. Honestly, I'm envious. Do you KNOW how much housework I could (theoretically) get done in 6 hours?! Only three years until I have a clean house - when I send them off to kindergarden.

But how can I complain? I had coffee, a sunny morning, and two busy boys completely occupied by their red cozy coupes this morning. Best of all, the mosquitoes are gone! There was an occasional argument over whose rock was whose, since they were filling the cars with landscaping rocks and leaves in order to transport said items to a different area of the yard, but who cares? Well, Daddy does, but they are entertained for hours doing this, so I don't stop them.

Sharky's been put away and fall has officially begun. I'm off to fold laundry and start packing the boys' summer clothes away and creating an inventory of fall clothes so I know what I need to buy at the MVMOM sale in two weeks. Hurray fall!

Minnesota State Fair Fun!

2011-09-04T20:55:00.000-05:00

Boy oh boy are we having a good time with Grandma and Papa this weekend! I'm just going to put up a couple of State Fair pics right now, though, because today was a blast! Hubs and I started going when we moved here in '04 and made it a 'family tradition,' which we've missed for two years now, so it was extra special today. I haven't had my Dairy Barn ice cream in three years - yikes! Here are some highlights:

We started the morning off right - with N's first ever fried cheese curd.

More cheese! More cheese! M was begging until they were all gone.

Mom and Dad with Hubs and the guys, also enjoying their first fried cheese curds - at 10:30 am!

We went straight to the Miracle of Life barn, where the baby animals are on display.

M was trying to catch the piglet's tail!

Our cute little piglets!

For lunch, what's better than a corn dog? N didn't like sharing it.

M was in HEAVEN driving the tractors on machinery hill! We could've stayed there all day.

They didn't like sharing tractors much, either, but we made them.

A great place to relax - the lactation station, where we changed diapers and just lounged around, playing with the toys set out for the older siblings. Who cares that no one was lactating?

Farmer N collects his eggs at the Little Farm Hands display.

Noshing on Sweet Martha's Cookies and 1919 rootbeer before heading out

Me my little piggie at home

What we didn't take a photo of, but should have, was the big bus we rode from the park and ride. To the delight of our fellow riders, we sang "The Wheels on the Bus," all the way there and back - the guys were just thrilled to actually see and touch wheels of a bus and then ride on it! They talked about it all the way home. We'll be talking about their first trip to the Minnesota State Fair for years to come - or one, until we go back next year.

Happy Labor Day Weekend

2011-09-01T10:44:00.001-05:00

Labor Day weekend, as a kid, meant going back to school on Tiesday. (the letter after "t" does not work on my iPhone). Since I chose a profession in teaching, it meant going back to work. Now, I'm a stay at home mom of two year old twin boys and it means returning to the fall scedule: back to school, in other words! More than ever, I know why moms love school so much, despite mine being only two.

Soon, the boys and I will attend ECFE, where they play with other two year olds while the other parents and I attend class together. Even though it's a new clas, we don't have any first day jitters- only excitement for a separating class. We'll also be going back to my chirch's Mom's Groyp once a week, another welcome break to talk to real, sane adults while the boys play in the nursery.

Those two 90 minute events each week keep me sane, and whenwe need another activity, we can pop into the library's toddler storytime, which has also been on hiatus.

While I thoroughly enjoyed Jine, Jly and the first half of Aigist(seioisly too many you) the last two weeks are just crawling by? I think many moms of school aged children feel tis way, bit am I the only toddler mom looking forward to "school" starting?

We do have some fn planned with parents, visiting MNfor the first time since the fellas were born: the state fair, the zoo, and maybe even choochoo bob's train store. So things are lookng good for smmer's last hurra, then school starts. I can't wait. :)

Vote For Maria's Taco Hut!

2011-08-30T14:43:00.002-05:00

I love Food Network. I watch it a lot. I haven't seen much of the new show called "Great Food Truck Race," but I plan on watching it now, since I learned a local woman, who is also battling cancer, is in the running to be on the next season of the Great Food Truck Race!

Yesterday, I read an article from our local online newspaper about Maria - click on the link here to learn how she's the only food truck in business south of the Metro, how she's beating cancer, and how I can't wait to meet her at Jesse James Days in two weeks! Okay, I'm not in the article, but I think she's a pretty neat lady and I don't even know her - yet.

Here's how you can help: you register on the The Food Network site - it's free, you just need a valid email address - and cast 10 votes a day for her. I did it yesterday and today, but she needs more than my help! Yesterday she was ranked 169 (of what, I don't know) and today she's 161. We've only got till Sept 12 to move her up, readers! Let's vote for Maria's Taco Hut!

Update: 161 of 225.
Update: Here's the Food Network Link (duh) http://foodtrucks.teamdigital.com/

Fast Kids At Play

2011-08-29T13:17:00.001-05:00

I never knew I needed a racing track in my yard until I got one. Now I don't know how I'll ever live without it. It's really a walking path, laid by the city when this neighborhood was built, that separates our yard from our neighbor's, going the length of the properties from the street to the woods. But that's where it ends - at the woods. So it honestly goes nowhere! We've heard that there were plans to connect it to another path on the other side of the woods, but that idea has been abandoned, apparently. So now we have our own personal racking track for the boys' cozy coupes.

This morning's racing was like a scene from "Grease," where Sandra Lee stands between the cars (makes me wish I had a pair of leather pants - okay, that I looked like HER AND had a pair of leather pants) with the starting flag. The boys would push their cars to the top of the track, which has a bit of incline, and would shout random numbers together:

"One! Two!"
"Free! Five!"
"Seven! Nine!"
"Eweven!"
Then M would push off without shouting "Go," and run to the end of the track, just a little ahead of N, who couldn't catch up.

Trying to capture this event on film proved nearly impossible, what with the incredible racing speeds and my almost-dead camera battery, but you get the idea that this event is totally awesome, don't you? It's actually one of my favorite backyard activities that we've done this summer, and I do all I can to encourage it when we're outside. Because it knocks them out. Oh, the sweet sounds of silent napping, I do love thee.

Thank you, silly city, for laying this walking path to nowhere in my backyard. It's totally worth the random confused bikers and walkers who wander back here from time to time! Maybe I should put up some kind of "FAST KIDS AT PLAY" sign (as opposed to those slow kids).

I Love Sharky

2011-08-25T20:16:00.000-05:00

Last time I had Sharky the shark pool out, a couple of weeks ago, the boys were B.O.R.E.D. with it, so I haven't filled it. It's not worth the effort of dragging it out to the backyard and refilling it just to breed mosquitoes (have I mentioned them?!). However, we've stayed home much of the week and have played every toy to DEATH, so in a what I thought would be futile attempt to entertain them, I dragged Sharky back out. You'd have thought they'd been reunited with their long lost triplet!

I love you so much, Sharky!

And the cozy coupes never get old. They actually drove these over to Sharky and sat side by side in the grass "driving" them for quite a while - long enough to dry off! The funniest is that they actually were climbing into each others' cars Dukes-of-Hazard-style, switching back and forth! I love that they are finally FINALLY starting to play TOGETHER, rather than just side by side or by snatching each others' toys. It gives me hope!

Need For Speed

2011-08-24T13:40:00.000-05:00

Do Boy Moms die sooner than Girl Moms? I found myself wondering as I drove home from the most nerve-racking playdate I've attended yet. A twin mom friend oraganized a playdate for us moms of twin two year olds at a park, so I went, based on my boys' recent good behavior at our neighborhood playground.

I almost turned around when I saw the Valleyfair/Cedar Point/Six Flags/Disneyland playground. Had I not given my word I'd be there and driven a half hour to see my friends, I would have. The few snapshots I was able to take will not do this park justice. There were HUNDREDS of kids RUNNING at BREAKNECK speed, DOZENS of (very calm) moms milling about, water fountains spraying water onto the acre-sized playset in the the stiff wind that nearly blew us away.

What had I gotten myself into?

The boys googled the playground like it really was Disneyland because it could have been - it was the biggest park they'd ever seen - as I packed up the stroller with our diaper backpack, bag o' water clothes, and lunch. It took a few minutes to find my friends, amongst what was obviously another mom's group gathering (based on the giant sign that said APPLE VALLEY MOM'S GROUP, of which none of us 7 moms and 15 kids belonged).

They couldn't get out of the stroller fast enough to join the throng of children in the labyrinth. I tried greeting my friends while surveying the land for the best lifeguard position, so as to scan the area for my (thankfully) red-clad children. My boys chose to divide and conquer, each darting a different direction, climbing heights I'm afraid to mention, lest you think I'm a careless mom. My heart was racing as giant 8 year olds tore about, leaping over the 14 two year olds scrambling beneath them. I moved to the center of the play system when the fellas chose to climb its opposite side, so I could better ~~watch my children tumble down the dark side of the moon~~ keep an eye on them. I'm sure my blood pressure would have been sky high had you taken it between 10:30-11:30 this morning.

I tried to small talk with my twin mom friends, whose obedient girl-girl and boy-girl twins played together, buddy-style, even posing for adorable pictures through the bars. Only one other mom there had boy-boy twins, and I know she understands what I'm saying - one of hers went MIA, she parked the known boy with our gaggle during snack/lunch time, and found the missing one wandering the parking lot!

N attempting escape in the bottom left

We kept up a frantic pace for about a half hour, ate a picnic lunch (kind of) and dove back into the playground with a Need for Speed. They found the fastest, steepest slide on the system - nearly straight down, and slick with the spray from the water fountains nearby. (M was a bit unhappy with me that I wouldn't let him in the sprinklers, so I think that's why he chose this one - so he could still get wet and I would, too, standing nearby.) They couldn't get up the stairs, across the bridge, and down the slide fast enough. Over and over and over again. I told myself that at least they're working together on the same side of the structure, which was better to keep an eye on them than their previous tactic, Disappear Into The Tube Slides With Lots Of Big Kids.

A little before noon, there were signs of slowing down, and I knew I had to make a hasty retreat before the puppet wagon arrived (for which the Well Behaved Twins got to stay) and I missed my window of opportunity to beat it home and get them in bed before they fell asleep. Because if they fell asleep on the ride home, just 30 minutes, I'd have two grouchy two year olds by 5 pm because they didn't get a "real" nap, a risk I'm not willing to take today.

I also wanted to get out of there before Anything happened. Anything being, well, anything. When the fellas get tired, Anything can happen, which is usually Something Not Good.

So we left, and as I listed to the Veggie Tales DVD entertaining my very exhausted boys to keep them awake, I wondered if Boy Moms die sooner than Girl Moms. If I were to reflect on the life expectancy of the women in my family, who primarily have birthed girls for the last 100 years, I'd say, yes, Girl Moms live longer. Because none of my Girl Mom friends looked like they were about to have a heart attack today. Just me and the other twin boy mom.

Marshmallow Mama

2011-08-22T20:30:00.000-05:00

I've been sneaking the boys greek style yogurt when I think they'll eat it because they're not the greatest with protien - unless it's a nugget. So this morning, things were not going well in the toast department, so as to avoid making second breakfast, I gave them each a serving of vanilla flavored greek style yogurt. They both gobbled it up and asked for more, but there was no more (Monday is grocery day) except for an also-vanilla flavored Yoplait light container. So I split that one between them, too.

"This not yogurt, mama. This MARSHMALLOWS, Mama!"

I made sure to buy more vanilla yogurt!

More Staycation Fun!

2011-08-21T15:12:00.000-05:00

Sadly, the fam has been gone just over a day. The fellas are asking to drive Grandma's car and wake up their uncles and auntie. Oddly, they don't ask to wake up Grandpa and Grandma - it must be because they're always already up. But here are a few more pics to wrap up the rest of the adventurous staycation we had last week. The first is the funniest one of M that's been taken yet! Aunt L told him to say "cheese" for their self-portrait and this is what he did! I'm pretty sure it's her new facebook profile, we all love it so much!

Here we all are chowing in my dining room. I'm so happy to have room to feed nine people at the same time now! You can see N's fuzzy head behind my Hubs, who deserves thanks for grilling up that yummy chicken (that I prepped)! We make a good team.

Thursday was busy. TheBig boys went to see the Twins lose to the Yankees at Target field in the evening. We girls stayed home and did girl things, like paint toes, eat pizza and ice cream and watch Food Network and put Little boys to bed.

Valleyfair picnic lunch - the fumes from the old cars ride behind gave it just the right touch.

Oh, yeah, Wednesday! Grandma and Grandpa watched the boys so that Hubs and I and his sibs could go to Valleyfair, which is a huge amusement park owned by the same company that owns Cedar Point, for you Michiganders. I took my anti-puke medicine and did allright, but at 33 I already can't keep pace with those 20-somethings! Maybe it has something to do with my poor body being wrecked by carrying twins? Or (sigh) maybe I'm more out of shape than I thought? Either way, I got dumped on a WHITEWATER RAFTING water ride, and "rode" it the whole way down without my raft! I have a bruised shoulder, a scratched forhead and a wounded ego to show for the ordeal. I think that's why they humored me and rode the ferris wheel at the end of the evening - made *slightly* less romantic than I'd envisioned with the presence of my three siblings-in-law seated across from me and Hubs, but, hey, it's better than riding alone.

The Original Six volunteered their Thursday Morning at Feed My Starving Children, a local ministry that packs food for needy people around the world. Their group packed food for a missionary in Africa that morning. I'm really proud of them for going along with my crazy idea, as I knew they would love it once they got there. They even got to meet a Hatian missionary who also distributes the food at his location, something that hasn't happened in the times I've worked there! And don't they look classy?

Valleyfair dudes

I forgot to mention that Hubs' family is serious about games! We stayed up past midnight finishing an intense game of Trivial Pursuit one night, and we played Apples to Apples so many times that the cards started to repeat themselves! They're very polite, too, and continue to invite me to play even though I can kick their tails. :)

Friday was pretty low-key, spent hanging out in our historic downtown, making an airport run, visiting our favorite pizza place, Punch, and hitting up a playground and ice cream shop along the way. Yum, more pizza and ice cream!

Bonus Pic: I had to get one of N in here, shown on Tuesday leaning over the edge of the paddleboat. Those scratches are from his fingernails, not a catfight, although that would be appropriate since he fights me like a cat when I have to cut his nails, leading to less nail-cutting than should be done, leading to him scratching himself with them. Of course. Oh, well. Much fun was had by all. Now I'm going to go enjoy the rest of my Sunday because a regular Monday morning is coming soon.

Staycation Adventures

2011-08-19T16:05:00.000-05:00

What a week! Please excuse my absence, readers - I've been on wonderful adventures with my in-laws during our "staycation." Everyone made their way to our place to spend some family time together - by car, by plane, and by semi-truck - no joke! It was so much fun to be a tourist in our own area - we got to do some activities that we haven't done yet in all of our seven years here in the Twin Cities. You know what the best part of vacationing at home is? You guessed it- sleeping in your own bed!

Here are a few shots of Sunday and Monday, our first Staycation days spent in our town and then a few hours at the Mall of America, because what Minnesota vacation can be had without that?, after picking Mom up at the airport.

Grandma and M play the bongos at the Best Buy MOA

They didn't heed the "Please Don't Feed"

Dwinka wadda?

Aunt L and N play at the Legos store at the MOA

We kind of took over the joint

My in-laws amazed our server with their Bubba Gump trivia knowledge!

M was amazed only with the ping pong paddle

Okay, and Forrest's shoes!

Tuesday was a special day because we drove up to Stillwater and took a paddleboat luncheon cruise down the St. Croix River. Not only was the weather perfect - and it has been all week, praise the Lord! - but the food was good and the boys were well-behaved, something I was a teensy bit nervous about. What nut takes all of her in-laws and twin toddlers on a humongous 18th-century, two-hour paddleboat ride? Me.

Cool boy N, Grandpa, and M

N was quite snuggly and silly with my sunglasses!

All Aboard!

exploring the boat before we lift anchor

Don't kiss me, Aunt sheeshee!

Boo hoo! N spent a bit of time on the deck howling about something - like he can't jump overboard.

Upstairs, downstairs! The boys can talk Grandpa into anything!

I said the weather was grand, didn't I? So that evening we surprised Grandpa with his favorite cake, Pineapple Upside Down cake, which I'd never before made but everyone ate it so I guess it was ok, for his birthday (next week) and all settled down for a bonfire with s'mores.

There were grey clouds overhead but it looked like the weather was to the north of us and was going to miss us. Hubs had a nice little fire going when we brought the fellas, freshly bathed and covered in long sleeves and socks to protect them from the evening skeeters, down the fire. They were so tickled and thought that being outside in their pj's was the funniest thing! We were outside for maybe 15 mintues, M was aways off "mowing" the lawn when

BOOM!

The loudest crack of thunder any of us have ever heard rattled the trees and our ears! We all dropped low to the ground as bright lightning flashed all around us for a few seconds. Then we grabbed our kids and our cameras and rushed inside to watch the downpour! We were a bit rattled and had to watch an episode of "Imagination Movers" to take our minds off the fact that we had been nearly killed by lightning!

Who Fed My Son Catnip Today?

2011-08-13T21:57:00.000-05:00

That's the only logical explanation for M's behavior. He was seriously bonkers today! He would NOT sit still for even one minute to eat his breakfast, lunch, or dinner. He was talking a hundred miles an hour:

I want pancakes! I want coffee! I want milk! Help you, Dada! Read da book, Dada! Bwow on da pancakes Dada! Phooo! Phooo! Bruder's pancakes! Bruder's milk! Where da truck book? Read da truck book, Dada! Meow! Meow! Meow! Drive da Jepp, Dada? DRIVE DA JEEP! DRIVE DA JEEP! I WANT DRIVE JEEP!..........Mama's van? Mama's van? Drive Mama's van? Wissen to KTIS! Go get da keys! Go downstairs, Dada, play trains! Go downstairs! Go downstairs! GO! DOWN! STAIRS!

He's crazy about his Dada, who, bless his heart, took the both of them to get haircuts today. So for about an hour, N was an only (perfect) child, who sat obediently in the NORMAL cart while I strolled the aisles at Target, even shopping for things not on my list (gasp!). I seriously think having one kid is a joke. It was unbelievably easy to run an errand.

I hear M was a good boy at the salon, and both my fellas look very handsome today, but he kicked it into high gear again tonight. I'm pretty sure the nursery workers at church tonight fed him catnip-laced-Mt. Dew because the entire 30 minute ride home was:

Tractor book, mama? Wilson? Brewster? Thomas? Percy? (He was asking for the random train-part toys strewn about the van, which were reached after becoming a contortionist from the passenger seat.)
Cookie?
Whatssat?
Cornfields
Whassat?
Cows.
Whassat?
A car.
Whassat?
Another car.
Whassat?
What are you looking at? The sky? The trees? It's book-reading time. Here.
oooooo...look...a chicken. Kiss da chicken! Mwooah! oooo...a bear. Kiss da bear! Mwoooah!
Cookie? Cookie? I want cookie!
Pizza? Pizza? I want pizza! I want pizza! I want pizza! I WANT PIZZA! Meow! Meow! Meow!
I was ordering pizza for dinner - did you guess that already?

He didn't stop until 9:00. I'm going to pass out now.
Meow.

Belated Bathing Beauties

2011-08-11T14:36:00.000-05:00

Seven days ago we began the Big Boy Bed Bonanza. (Yesterday was better and today's nap has been the best yet. I think that's because my fantastic twin mom friends wore them out a the twosies twinsies playdate today! I'm grateful whatever the reason.) My genius brain concocted a plan: take them to the pool so they are absolutely exhausted come bedtime.

It worked! Aunt L was visiting and snapped some really cute shots of the fellas at the city pool. Next time we'll take lifejackets and swim toys so the fun lasts even longer.

My favorite shot of the day!

My other favorite - I can never pick just one, you know!

There you have it - our belated bathing beauties.