"I'm A Big Boy!"

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!

We Did It!

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

Do

• 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!

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!

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!

Big Boy Bed Update

I was going to tell you all about the fun time we had last week at the pool and show you the cute pics.  And I still will.  But I can't think about that right now.  Because I'm home with the munchies by myself and it's naptime. NEWS FLASH: NAPS AREN'T GOING WELL IN BIG BOY BEDS. 

Yeah.  Today is day 5.  They've taken a "nap" two of the four previous Big Boy Bed days.  I am still clinging to a shred of hope that Big Boy Beds does not mean than the afternoon nap is over - that they are just temporarily derailed due to the absolute funness off Big Beds.  Because I just don't think I can handle that.  I NEED naptime.  My family needs me to HAVE naptime!  Or they won't eat or have clean clothes.  EVER. 

I put them down at 1:30 today, about 30 minutes late, but I have my reasons.  (Like an airport run, impromptu visit and Sam's Club.)  I figure that it wouldn't matter because they just mess around the first hour or two of nap anyhow. 

I hear a lot of talking, giggling, then squealing and jumping.  Things are escalating in there, not winding down.  So I check on them around 30 minutes.  They are both in their beds, but they both have their pants off!  The room reeks of poo, too.  Immediately, my mind floods with stories told of kids who "decorate" their bedrooms with poo during naptime, like my mother-in-law, who LOVES to tell me this!  (It wasn't hubby, but one of his sibs.)  N's diaper is hanging like a plumber's pants and I know he's been trying to take it off.  And I don't blame him.  It's nasty stuff he's got in there.  As I approach, I see it.  On his sheets, his comforter, his legs, and the rug.  The RUG!  That can only mean one thing - he's been escaping!  Which is confirmed by the presence of the Children's Bible in his bed.  Maybe he was praying and interceding that I would arrive to change him? 

Hasitly, I change him, change his sheets, digging out new sheets and blankets to the chorus of M saying, "Poo too!  Poo too!"  because he, of course, was also poopy.  Thank goodness it was...uh, firmer, and did not necessitate and entire change of bedding.  Still, the whole twins-pooping-simultaneously isn't so cute anymore.  Not that it ever was, but it's...getting old.

(Sigh) It could have been worse.  Nothing was truly "decorated," although I think it could have happened if I hadn't arrived when I did. 

Now we're well into the second hour of "nap," headed toward the point of no return, since I can still hear the monkeys chattering and kitties meowing (that's M's new thing) and generally still NOT settling down.  See, the point of no return is the moment when I give up on nap and resign myself to a cranky CRABBY night with the munchies, which is exacerbated by the fact that Hubs is out of town and I'm solo tonight. 

There is a silver lining, however: no-nap days end peacefully and quickly with a relatively easy and early bedtime. 

I often wonder how our parents survived toddlerhood?

Big Boy Bed Bonanza!

Last Friday, I found N howling like a hyena on the floor beside his crib.  He was crying because he'd gotten himself out and couldn't get back in (to avoid a spanking like he received on the previous escape).  Wednesday, he was found balancing the length of his body on the three-inch rail of his crib, teetering four feet in the air, as if trying to decide whether to jump off a bridge.  That was the last straw. 

He'd been escaping occasionally for six weeks, he'd taught his brother how to escape from a pack and play, and the two of them had made some horrific messes in both Aunt L and my friend E's bedrooms after doing so.  After his trick on Wednesday, I decided that changing the cribs into toddler beds HAD to better than taking both boys to the ER in the middle of the night next week when M tries to copycat his brother balancing on his ONE inch crib rail - by myself.

So Thursday morning, the front sides came off and the bed rails went on.  The boys had a heydey in there for a couple of hours playing!

Daddy tickles N in bro's bed

If you say jump I'll say how high!

Brudder's bed!  Brudder's bed!  Brudder's bed!

I consulted my experts - those twin moms who have gone before me - before embarking on the adventure.  I was prepared for the worst, especially after reading the horror stories posted on the MVMOM's club website.  At naptime, I told them the rules, then parked myself outside their door with a book.  I was ready for some Super-nannying.

Naptime started at 1:00 and they gave me a run for the money.  See M in that last pic?  The only thing he wanted to do was get in his "brudder's bed!"  So I quietly removed him and placed him in his bed, taking a lovie item each time.  About 20 times.  An hour and a half after beginning, he was asleep, followed by his bored twin.  I was in the hallway accompanied by 2 teddy bears, 2 lovie blankets, 2 board books (bad idea) and a Barney, and snuck away around 2:45.

Both boys were sleeping in their own beds on the first day, so I called it a success!

They slept only an hour, short for them, and we exhausted them after dinner with a visit to the city pool - on purpose!  Aunt L took some great shots, so look for them in another post.  They were rubbing their eyes on the way home, to my great delight!

However, my little munchkins can be quite deceptive, so I didn't think they'd go to sleep without a fight.  We did our normal bedtime routine and I parked myself in the hallway again with a book. 

Guess what?  The one time I went in there last night - because I thought I heard little feet - it was really a seahorse toy bouncing across the floor.  They were both in their own beds! They passed out shortly thereafter and slept quietly all night.  M even called me to come get him in the morning.  I'm okay with that.

Seriously, I have the greatest kids in the world.  Maybe I'm bragging, maybe I'm putting the cart before the horse, but maybe I'll just beat this dead horse and say we've had another Festivus Miracle!  Thank you, God. 

Bottoms Up!

No More Keebie-Eebies!

They threw away their keebie/eebies (pacifiers) last night!  In exchange, the boys got "big boy" bedding - star sheets and pillows and a spaceship comforter.  They were very excited about climbing in bed and playing with their new stuff...for awhile.

The complaining went on for about an hour and a half - an hour of chattering is not unusual if we put them to bed close to seven o'clock - with M complaining the loudest and longest.  About 8:45, we noticed it was quiet upstairs - Hallelujah!  Hubs and I were able to enjoy the rest of the evening in peace, reveling in our parenting awesomeness.

Then it was 1:00 am and M, the keebie lover, was out of his mind with frustration and loneliness, crying and reaching toward the bathroom where the keebie was resting in peace.  I made a mental note to be sure to empty the trash before they got out of bed in the morning.  Although he refused to be comforted by mommy, lovie, teddy or his new spaceship bedding, he did wind up falling asleep before two am.  So much for the awesomeness. 

We heard him again around 3:30, but let him be since we weren't any help the first time.  He must have gotten the hint. 

This morning, we were all exhausted and let the boys sleep in until 9:00.  Here they are waking up for the first time with their big boy bedding:

I will always love you, Keebie!  But I love my pillow, too.

Eebie?  He's missing?  Oh. Look at my spaceships!

N took it in stride and slept through his brother's hollering.  He didn't seem to care at all that his eebie was gone, although he DID run straight to the bathroom looking for it!  All he found was a clean can liner.  "Eat?  Eat?" were his next words. 

I was worried a bit about naptime but M fell asleep in minutes!  Guess he was up too late last night to worry about keebie for naps.  We'll see how it goes tonight.

Big Boy Seats

Like so many other milestones, I knew this day would come.  I was (somewhat) prepared for it in that I own Fisher Price Spacesaver High Chairs (no, this is not an ad nor will I receive any compensation for this blog entry - I just think they're cool).  They attach to your dining room chair and also serve as a booster seat without the tray.

After nap, I give the boys juice and a snack.  So, like nearly every day, I made their juice cups up and gave them to them first - because they are always "sir-see" when they wake up.  I decided on a cheese-and-crackers snack for them, and as I was slicing the cheese, they each pulled out a dining room chair, climbed up, and sat there with their juice cups, like they were waiting for a snack!

This may sound quite mundane and boring, but I assure you, I did not teach them how to do this, ask them to do this, or expect it in any way, shape, or form!  I was going to lift each kid into his high chair when I got the snacks on their plates and feed them off their trays like I do every day.

So this was their snack time yesterday:

They were so proud of themselves!  I've allowed them to eat like this just a couple of times when visiting others' homes, but never here!  So I spent a portion of my afternoon scrubbing down the high chairs, wiping down the walls, moving the table and finding new chairs to make the seats slide underneath the table ledge for dinner.  Here's what I came up with:

That's chicken nuggets being dipped in Chick-Fil-A sauce (again, I just think it's awesomesauce and Daddy brings it home for us every time he flies through ATL, so you can imagine we have a stash) and green beans with milk for dinner.  It was a moderately successful meal.  I say "moderate" because N figured out how to push off the table and tip his chair back (is he my kid or what, mom?), which is going to be a challenge. I remember falling backward and whacking my head a couple of times.  Why do kids do that?  I can't explain it even though I was one of those kids. Also, I knew we would need a cover for my oh-so-beautiful-but-impractical-yes-mom-you-were-right-when-we-bought-this-seven-years-ago-that-it-wouldn't-be-good-for-kids table ASAP.  I bought a lovely vinyl tablecloth and clips last night.  It is bee-you-ti-full!

We officially have Big Boy Seats at the table.

And I like it. :)

Backyard BBQ Birthday Bash (Number One)!

Today we celebrated the boys' first birthday with both of our families with a backyard barbecue picnic theme!  It was a perfect birthday party, right down to the sunny, warm weather with a gentle breeze. 

Instead of ordering a cake, Aunt L and I made these with blue and green buttercream icing - so delicious!  Who thought cupcakes could be so fun?

Nathan does!  It took a minute, but once he got a lick of that homemade icing - he was all in!

Matthew was a bit more tentative, but still managed to eat the whole thing!

The boys had help opening their presents by mom and dad and big boy cousins, S and E.  What a lot of loot!  The boys didn't seem too thrilled to open the clothes, but I sure was! 

THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU to all of our family for making today so special for us and the boys.  Our little fellas will only turn one once, you know!  We had so much fun force-feeding you all our cupcakes and hot dogs, playing "horseshoes," pushing you in the hammock, and whacking wiffle balls!  I've been told there are "plans" for next year's Backyard BBQ Birthday Bash, and I can't wait to do it all over again!

P.S. Here's a cutie patootie bonus pic of me and Matthew communicating about getting some milk to wash all that cake down:

Readers, I'm going to take a few days off of blogging to spend some time with my family, so I'll see you next week.  Just had to get a few birthday shots out to you because it was SO MUCH FUN!

Crafty Thursday

What do you do when it rains the entire week Auntie L comes to visit?  Pack a picnic?  Zoom around the zoo?  No, you make crafts and bake more goodies!  Here we are at ECFE this morning, making a handprint for the boys' baby books:

Matthew chose blue for his print

Nathan had to dip twice to get it right...his left arm was yellow until bathtime!

Here's where we weren't so crafty: Nathan head-butted Matthew right in the mouth (by accident, I'm sure), where my poor little guy is teething.  His mouth was bleeding a tiny bit and he was UP-SET!  So Aunt L put on Yo Gabba Gabba while Matthew and mama snuggled (a rarity!) chewing on a frozen teething toy.  You'll notice that we've broken down and purchased the Play Yard XL gate to keep the boys out of our technology...classy, no?

Here we are making more sweets...clearly, too many food network shows!  However, L and I had to redeem ourselves after an unsightly, but quite delicious, anniversary cake for her parents back in March - remember this photo?

Thank goodness my in-laws love me!  They gobbled up this gooey, messy, white-cake-with-lemon-filling-and-marshmallow-frosting-experiment and said it was fabulous!  But L and I knew, deep down, we could improve. Sooo....

We're practicing our buttercream icing skills for the boys' birthday party!

Whaddya think?  And check out my roses, still blooming!

We're Big Boys!

I'm not sure how they did it, but since they turned 10 months old the other day, both my fellas have turned into Big Boys!  That's what we've been calling them this weekend because they graduated from the ducky tub to the big person tub.

Matthew celebrates the "big tub" with a mohawk!

Nathan can almost make the new big toy car move - almost.

 And look how big they are in jeans and a t-shirt!  They are officially wearing 12 month-size clothes, which don't look babyish at all! 

The days sometimes go by slowly, but months are flying!