Trying to Catch up: Halloween stuff.

Last Halloween we went down to Arizona to visit Mr. Fox's family.  We had a fabulous time, but I never got the pictures sorted through and blogged!  Oops.  I'll try to do a little catching up soon... but in the meantime, here are the kids in their costumes from last year.

Chick as a ballerina

Cute Sir Cousin in the background

Monkey as a bee

Moose as a homeless bum.

This year, despite the poor job economy situation, I'm happy to report that Moose got a job as a builder and is no longer homeless.

To continue the trend, his costume next year will be Bill Gates ; )

Monkey was a monkey.  It's funny that what originated as a funny little nickname to use on this blog has become rather a defining thing in her life.  She likes all things "monkey" and took her monkey collection to preschool for show-and-tell.

Chick was Fancy Nancy.  It was a fun costume...but Chick is all about comfort and was not happy to wear an itchy wig (and mean Mama that I am, I insisted that if she wanted to get any candy or go to any parties she had to be wearing that wig!).  This is her "but it's ITCHY" face.

Owl was a zebra.

Otter was an elephant.

We did a group pumpkin (mostly the two bigger girls and me), and I thought he turned out pretty darn cute.

I dressed as a pirate for the ward Trunk or Treat, and had fun putting together stuff for our trunk decorations.  I made a fabric sign that said, "Ye must first walk the plank, lest ye be cursed" and Fox made a little platform plank that the kids had to walk to get to candy.  I had a full-sized Jolly Roger hanging, and a "treasure" with the bowl of candy in the middle.  When I hung the flag up, Moose said, "oh, pretty!" 
1. probably the first time the Jolly Roger flag has been called pretty.
2. that boy has too many sisters!

The last time I dressed as a pirate was 2002...the year that Fox and I were getting flirty
but had yet to go on a date/engagement/marriage. 

 

Anything shiny, gold, or silver that we own got put into the trunk.

By the time the kids came out for the trunk or treat it was dark and cold, and the parking lot was poorly lit.  So really my efforts were for nothing, but it gave me a creative outlet for the day I guess.  I do so like doing that kind of thing.

Before we carved the pumpkin we played around with putting the babies into it.  Otter was fascinated, but Owl was not amused.  at all.

Anyhow, it was a fun holiday.  I have always loved costumes.  This year I had to keep everything pretty simple (because I'm still in survival mode) but enjoyed it anyhow.  On the actual day I was sick, so I stayed home with the babies and passed out the candies.  I prepared jack-o-lantern quesodillas and sent Mr. Fox and the older three out for trick-or-treating and to our friends' house for a party. 

I thought I'd have a nice relaxing time watching old episodes of Bewitched, but two hungry babies and a bunch of trick-or-treaters thwarted that plan.  The kids came home happy and excited...and then Moose had a meltdown because I didn't let him start eating candy (or something...I don't remember exactly now) and peed in his clothes.  good times.

Have I mentioned that we abandoned potty training?  I can't keep up with laundry that comes with willfully wetting one's clothes.  When everyone has settled down and are not showing signs of new-baby-stress (including especially me) then we can resume.  You know, when he's not such a two-year-old.

Double the Blessings

(the coordinated pacifiers were just a happy coincidence)

Owl and Otter were blessed at the end of September.

 

To be honest, I was pretty stressed leading up to it, because I'd procrastinated making the dresses mostly.  I also had planned to have a housecleaning service come clean the house for me, and then wasn't able to get them scheduled in time.  Also I got sick the week before.

 

All that said, I think that it was the nicest blessing day of all of the kids.  The stress continued up until we got to church ...late... and they had to switch around the meeting to do the blessing after the passing of the sacrament rather than before (with all of our visiting family looking around anxiously..."where are they?!"). 

 

But then the blessings were beautiful, and after that I enjoyed everything.

 

A funny thing about the blessings.  First of all, I can hardly remember any of either one...trying to remember one blessing is sometimes hard enough...two is too much for my tired brain!  But I had my sister tape it for me (hopefully she hasn't taped over it, since I haven't gotten it from her yet).  I know some feel that taping a blessing is taboo, but I'm ok with it in this situation.  Anyhow, the funny thing is that during Owl's blessing Fox called her Julia.  It's her middle name, but there's never been any discussion about CALLING her that, and he's never called her that before or since.  He denied it and says he doesn't remember calling her that...I think he just likes to give people something to wonder about ; )

When Mr. Fox saw this he said that he looks old and tired. 
I will admit that these few months have helped us both to FEEL old and tired,
but I still think he's a handsome devil.

Anyhow, then we finished out the meetings and everyone headed to our house for a luncheon.  There were Grandma and Grandpa J, Grandma and Grandpa N, my sister Laura, Fox's uncle Mark, and my sister Judy + family.  It was a much smaller group than for the others, but the food was delicious, the conversation interesting, and the happiness abundant (at least for me).

LOVE this picture of Owl with my goofy nephew Ben : )

Grandpa and Grandma N

Grandpa and Grandma J

Anyhow, the dresses.  I completely revised my plans for the dresses, because I'd procrastinated sewing them.  I decided to go with a simple shirred-top dress style.  I didn't use a pattern, and I made the dresses from an eyelet bedskirt that I'd bought at a yard sale for $1.  I love repurposing : )  Anyhow, I am happy with how they turned out, though they weren't as quick and easy as I'd expected.  And they aren't even the same, because I did one and then tried to improve upon it for the second.  There are things that I like better in one, and things that I like better in the other.  But I am happy with how both turned out.

Dresses with matching headbands and booties.

matching booties that didn't stay on well,
but were super adorable anyhow.

I know this isn't the best picture, but it shows Otter in her dress.
I love the sweet, innocent feel of white eyelet.

A note about the colors for the dresses:  I love both colors.  I kind of felt like the peachy color was more "Otter" and the bluer one was more "Owl"...but I don't want to type cast the babies before they've even had a chance to say what they like...so when it was time to get them dressed I just grabbed a baby without looking to see who it was, and I grabbed a dress, and that was that.  But it was contrary to how I had originally thought to do it...so I was confused for a lot of the day trying to remember.

 

It's enough to have to identify someone based on their clothing, but to have to go through the thought process of "that one is wearing peach, which I had in mind for Otter but today they are switched, so that is Owl" ...well, it's exhausting.  And I'd stayed up late making baby booties and headbands, and was recovering from being sick, so my thought process was a bit sluggish anyhow!  Long story short, I need to hurry up and get the babies' ears pierced, and when I do it, I need to make sure the earrings are what I really think fits that baby and not worry about it! sheesh.

I suppose it fits that Otter had the more watery color
and Owl had the more tree-ish color.  Right?
How much can I read into things?
wanna come over-analyse things with me?

 

Anyhow,  lunch was very nice and low-key, and then it was over and everyone left and I got to take a nap : )  and we ate leftovers for dinner.

the end.

Otter Pop.

Owly.

Showered with double the love

Back in September the gals in my family threw a shower for me and the babies.  It was really fun. We played games (that I did poorly at, but enjoyed anyhow), ate a yummy rich chocolate dessert, and of course admired the babies.  Owl and Otter got some fun new clothes and things, which I am really excited about! 

The outfits that they are wearing were a gift from our wonderful neighbor, Sharon.  They are one of my favorite sets : )

My sister Melinda gave the babies darling Halloween costumes, which we had fun trying out on them : )  you'll see more of them when I get caught up and can post Halloween pictures!

I didn't get a picture of my Mom or my sister Judy, but here's everyone else...

Owl smiling at cousin Emily. 
Emily was a bit of a baby hog,
but it's ok because she's expecting a baby of her own
and needed a bit of baby time : ) 
Plus they matched.

Otter with cousin Katie

Otter with Aunt Marlene

Otter with Aunt Melinda

Owl with Aunt Laura

Thanks for the love and support, everyone!

I forget that I'm so short.
All pictured here except for Melinda

Twins: the good, bad, and in between

I've been meaning to blog about this for a while, but haven't had a chance.

But this morning I found out that my SIL Katie is expecting TWINS!  I'm so excited for her!!!  So I thought that it was the perfect day to write this post.

My favorite thing about having twins: when they are hungry they suck on each other.  Seriously it makes me giggle EVERY TIME.  Here's a little video, not the best, but the only one that I have.  And I love saying, "Don't eat your sister!"



My least favorite thing about having twins: equality.  favoritism.  If they aren't dressed alike (which is most of the time, since I only have a few matchy-matchy outfits), then who gets the outfit that I think is cuter?  They're both crying, who do I pick up if it can't be both?  etc.  There are a lot of these little questions that crop up throughout the day, and it drives me crazy that I have to analyze whether I'm showing favoritism (which would just be superficial, since I don't have a favorite child at all).
 

What I'm undecided about: being a celebrity wherever I go.  Seriously, EVERYONE is interested in twin babies.  Sometimes I like the attention.  It also helps restore my faith in people-- like when some grumpy-looking man comes over and is in awe of them and is cooing.  That's pretty neat.  But sometimes I just want to buy my groceries and get out of the store, rather than chatting with strangers.

They were pretty interested in the camera...Owl (R) is always especially captivated by it.
And since I mentioned Owl specifically, I need to also say that Otter went CRAZY for my sister's cat (as did I...it's an especially awesome cat). 

ME as a mama of twins: if I'm out and about with just one of the babies, and someone is admiring her, I almost always feel the need to say that she is a twin.  Somehow it's not ok to let her be admired just for their own cuteness, but also for the fact that there's another cute one at home.  (4 more cute ones, actually, but not all babies).
Now that I've written that, I realize that it is wrong to not let that baby shine by herself for a moment...so I'll try to stop doing it.

And as far as baby updates go:  they've grown out of the small newborn clothes that they've been wearing, and are into 0-3 month clothes now.  I'll find out weights next week.  They are smiling and cooing a lot more, and like to look around and stand (assisted of course) and try to do sit-ups.  They sleep pretty well--sometimes Owl sleeps through the night, but most of the time they each wake up once in the night.

New Scholastic Endeavors

Chick started Kindergarten!  Aside from getting lost on the first morning (why wasn't there someone to help the kindergarteners get from the bus to the classroom? I called and only felt more frustrated by the "we should have someone out there by next week" answer...seriously, I think she'll know her way by then.  It was the first day that mattered!). . . Anyhow, aside from that, all went well.  She seems to like it and be learning new things.  Her reading has really taken off lately, and her teacher puts a lot of emphasis on proper penmanship.  She's made new friends, and her favorite part of school is recess (but really, isn't that always the favorite?)

She takes the bus to school, and it was a major stress as I realized that the bus stop was around the corner.  Which meant that I'd have to take all five kids to the bus stop at 8:20 every morning...and on rainy bad mornings I'd probably need to drive there to keep the babies warm and dry.  I'd chosen to stick with our assigned school (which is probably the worst around) because I knew that I couldn't get drive her to school this year with the new babies.  So to have to drive to the bus stop seemed to nullify any benefits of bussing.  But long story short, there's a neighbor boy and his mom who volunteered to walk her down for me.  So every morning Landon comes and knocks on the door, and Chick opens it, and Landon says, "Hi, are you ready to go?"  (sometimes it gives me visions of when she starts dating) and then they run off down the road with their backpacks bouncing.  cute stuff.  Anyhow, that has been a HUGE help, and she only missed the bus once (pre-Landon).

Monkey started Preschool!  She goes to our friend Jill's preschool, where Chick went for two years.  Monkey LOVES preschool.  She loves playing outside, and singing songs, and reading stories, and playing with her new friends, and painting.  So far there isn't anything that she doesn't like.  I love that she has something all to herself. 

In lieu of paying tuition, I make random stuff for Jill.  One thing was composition books for the students (using Lia's tutorial again...thanks, Lia!). 

In addition to preschool twice a week, Monkey and Moose go to my Aunt's apartment about twice a week while Chick is at school.  Part of the time is spent doing preschool-type stuff, so Monkey is working on her letters and doing art projects there (Moose usually does them too, but they aren't geared toward him).

On the days when both Chick and Monkey are at school:  Moose doesn't know what to do with himself.  Hopefully he'll get over that soon. 

At any rate, it's been very exciting to see everyone learning new things and loving their new school experiences.

***
The story of the chalkboard: 

I saw someone else's cute chalkboard online and got all covetous.  So I bought a fancy board at the craft store.  Driving home I had buyers remorse.  $5 (after coupon) for a piece of wood that I plan to use once a year?! I decided to take it back.  The next day I'd swung back the other way-- I really wanted a school day sign, and of course could use it for other days too, and what's $5 anyhow?

So I mentioned to Mr. Fox that I couldn't decide about keeping the board.  He said, "there's tons of wood in the backyard, use some of that."
I responded with some comment about wanting it to be pretty, and he said that it could be cut into any shape. 

So I picked out a board from the back yard, drew a shape onto it, and he cut it for me.  I already had chalkboard paint, so we were able to make the cute chalkboard sign for FREE.  I like free.  And my sign is cuter than the one that I'd gotten from the craft store : )  Plus I did a little bit towards decluttering the back yard (ok, very little, but something).

My husband is awesome (and a penny pincher).
True story.

Muddling through

A woman that I correspond with for work wrote in an email (in response to seeing our most recent family picture):

"You must be VERY busy all the time.  I don't know how you do it...."

I responded, "I rarely feel like I'm "keeping up"... but I try to remind myself that it doesn't matter. Happy kids do, but a messy house doesn't. It's pretty hard when I have layout--I was up until 3 last night working-- but a couple of friends came and helped with kids and cleaning today while I got a nap : ) I guess that's really the only way that I muddle through...with lots of help."

And it's true.  Thank you Becky R. and Shannon. 

And thank you to all of the other helpers.  (this is not an exhaustive list...please don't be sad if you are not mentioned specifically.  I DO still appreciate you!)

Thank you to our neighbor Landon and his Mama who walk Chick to the bus stop in the morning so that I don't have to pack everyone out at 8:20 a.m.  and thank you to all of our other great neighbors (especially Sharon) for being understanding and kind with my children.

Thank you to Aunt Diana and Mom for taking the kids as much as you do (they love the time with you!).

Thank you Heidi and Judy for email support (and occasional phone calls) when I need to vent.

Thank you Becky J. for pinning hilarious stuff on pinterest, because often your pins give me a much needed laugh at the end of a potentially hard day.

Thank you Maria K, Shannon, Becky R, Kira, for continuing to come help (and helping me to feel ok about it.  I wish I was able to keep up with my life by now, but thanks for not making me feel bad that I'm not).

And thank you to my visiting teachers, who have given me great perspective:

Becky R-- "You look fantastic!  Your body has had five babies in just over five years!" (I hadn't thought of it like that, and now I remind myself of it when I start to feel discouraged.  That is a pretty awesome accomplishment)

Heidi-- "I think you're doing great if you get out of the house with a bra on most of the time."  (Finally, a set of requirements that I can actually live up to! Hooray for success!)

Moose's 2 year Photoshoot Date

Moose must have woken up on the wrong side of the bed.  We got a late start, because he was busy throwing a tantrum about what shirt to wear, among other things.

We went to a nearby park and looked at the water, played in the woods, climbed on the curvy tree trunk, and explored.  By the end of that, Moose was in a better mood and I had a COUPLE of good pictures (but admittedly it's much easier the older they get...two year olds aren't an easy shot!).

Moose LOVES his backpack!

These pictures have crummy lines on them (which has something to do with how the light was hitting the camera, I guess...it's happened before).  I'm sad, because I like both of them.  Any tips on how to fix it?

After the pictures we went to "Ice Cream" but really we went to Skinny Dip frozen yogurt...which I had never had and which I LOVED and am already thinking of reasons to go again.

The older girls were both at school.  A special THANK YOU to Aunt Diana who babysat the babies!

This is my fave...but I don't know why--his face isn't even showing.