Thoughts from SuperMom

{I'm writing this post in response to a friend's request for advice for her friend who is also going from three kids to five.  I feel ill-qualified to give advice...I'm just figuring it out as I go along...but here are some of my thoughts that I've had lately.  It's a little rambly, but that's how my brain works these days.}

I get called "SuperMom" a lot.  It's pretty funny, really, and it's all in perspective.  I get called "SuperMom" for getting through a door unassisted while carrying two baby seats, or for being out in public with my kids, or for doing any number of things for two babies at once (really, you just get used to it!)

Anyhow, the point is, it doesn't take much for people to say it.

Some days I feel like the name fits.  Not for getting through a door, but for not yelling at my kids when they've been particularly naughty.  Or for fixing a healthy dinner. Or for remembering to keep things in perspective, or to go to bed early, or for paying attention to a particular child's behavior and thinking about the WHY instead of just the WHAT.

I'm firmly convinced that "whom God calls, He qualifies." 
I was very concerned during my pregnancy that I would NOT be able to take care of five children.  I remember being on the verge of tears a time or two while confiding that fear to friends.  But you know what?  I'm as good (or as bad) of a Mom as I was with three.  We are no later (and sometimes less late) to church now than we were with one, two, or three children.  We do have to try harder to maintain our usual standard of tardiness, but we are able to manage it (most of the time).

{I will admit that I wouldn't have as much Super Mom success under my belt if it weren't for support from family and friends.  I like to think that I'm independent and strong, but it's been humbling to see that I need help so often...but I think being able to admit that is part of my "qualification."  When the neighbor offered to take my daughter to the bus stop each morning my first answer was no...and then I had to talk myself into accepting the offer, which has been a HUGE help to me, and probably not a huge sacrifice for her.}

I try to remember that most things that I worry about don't really matter.  A clean house doesn't matter when compared to getting enough sleep to be a better mom.  A few unhealthy meals when babies are little and you are in "survival mode" won't matter.  I've thrown out quite a few "ideals": I've had to do a lot of things with the twins that I never would have dreamed of with my other children. 

But it hasn't really mattered, honestly.  Right now I'm sitting in a messy house, overdue for a shower.  My kids went to bed happy, though, and I managed to get a healthy meal on the table (freezer cooking helps, when I'm organized enough to manage it!).  I even went grocery shopping!  Today I got through with a little bit of superness intact.

Some days I am not a Super Mom.  Some days I'm so tired that I drag myself through the day, yelling at my kids, hanging out on the couch while they make messes around me.  We eat whatever I can find at 5:59 p.m. (ok, lets be honest, sometimes it's well after 6:00), and it's lacking in veggies.  Some days there is at least one child crying at any given moment in the day (but not the same child all day), and my children fight with each other.  Some days I'm so frustrated that my husband has to suggest that I take a couple of minutes to walk around the neighborhood just to catch a breath.

My goal for now is to have more good days than bad ones.  That magical 6-month mark after having the twins has made it easier.  We are slowly able to pick up where we left off, and everyone is settling into the new routines and roles.  Many days are beautiful, and at the end of the day I have only thankfulness in my prayers.  Some days, still, end with prayers that are more along the lines of, "I know.  I'm sorry.  I'll try again tomorrow."  But it's ok, because I do keep trying.

just because I don't want a picture-less post.  and because they are cute and this picture makes me laugh.

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.

This, That, and Cute Kids.

Ok, here's an update on happier things than yesterday....

Last night I made three pans of beef enchiladas--one for dinner (but by the time I finished it was too late for last night's dinner, so we'll have it tonight), and two for the freezer.  I have leftover meat filling, so I think I'll mix it with beans and cheese and freeze some burritos too.

I just tried a new muffin recipe (Cinnamon Raisin) that is really good.  It has a sugar glaze on it, but I think they'll be fine with just some butter....maybe cinnamon butter?  The recipe only made a dozen, so I'll have to multiply it and make more for freezing.  I did half wheat flour.

Today I scheduled the ultrasound for next week, and I can't wait.  I'm a worry wart, so I'm looking forward to seeing the babies and making sure things are good.  We had what we THINK was two good heartbeats at my appt on Monday, but they were very close together so it's hard to be sure that they were different babies.  I've also started having contractions...I hear it's common to get them earlier with each subsequent baby, and especially with twins, so I'm trying to just ignore it...but I'll feel better to be checked out.  In most of the stories that I've heard the problems don't really start this early anyhow...and my previous pregnancies really have been wonderful.....

I've done two hats on the knifty knitter.  Two isn't so great considering how quickly the knitter goes, but I was trying new things.  On one I did a coordinating band of purl stitches, and on the other I did a knit-purl alternating pattern and had it come to two points with two pom-poms. The pom-poms didn't turn out so well, so I think I'll be redoing them.  Anyhow, it's been fun : )

(Both hats are for the Relief Society service project at church, but I'm planning to do some for my kids soon)

This is a picture of the new bunk bed.  The girls seem to be alternating who sleeps where.

My sister, Laura, gave us this awesome congrats gift.  It was so clever and fun that I had to share:



Nametags, for when we are so sleep deprived we need some extra help remembering who we are.  Matching flash cards.  Juggling balls.  Doublemint gum.  He or she, what will they be.  D&E candles...which set will we need?  There was also a box of Mike & Ike's-- to help us start thinking of names (This present was given to us a couple of weeks ago and has been sitting on the counter waiting for me to take the picture...I can't blame HH for eating the Mike & Ike's in that time!)

Chick:

I can't believe what a good helper she is these days.  I think if I let her she'd bring me breakfast in bed each morning.  She is looking forward to helping with the babies, but in the meantime she's great with Monkey and Moose.

Dance class is going well, as is preschool.  She did a great job reading me a book last night-- the contractions threw her for a loop since she'd never seen them before in her reading, but she took it all in stride.

She's set a good example of imaginative play for her siblings.  There's a recurring theme of wars and people "firing" other people (which is catching them on fire)...I think it's because several American girl stories are set during war times.  We just finished reading the entire Addy collection, and it was a good way to discuss civil rights, etc.  I don't think I made it through a single chapter without getting choked up, but I did a good job of hiding it.

Speaking of American Girls:  I've mentioned before that my girls love the Molly movie.  The other night Monkey must have asked Chick something, and Chick's response was, "The food which is on my plate is..."  I smiled and said, "Did you just quote the Molly movie?"  "No, Mom.  She says 'THAT' not which.  'The vegetable that you are lucky enough to have on your plate is...'"  HH and I had to laugh: no, she hadn't quoted the movie, but evidently she could quote the whole thing if  need be!

Monkey:

My goodness this girl can really crack us up.

Whenever she sees a pregnant woman she asks if the woman has "two twin babies in her tummy"...I'm trying to help her understand that USUALLY babies come one at a time.

Monkey likes to pretend to have "two twin babies" in her tummy too, and I love hearing their names.  "Faltelana" and "Christiana" are common ones...anything ending in "ana" is popular with her.  She's a good little Mama with her baby doll, too.  She feeds her the bottle, and then walked around holding and bouncing her carefully and saying, "shhh, shhh, shhh, shhh" softly and lovingly.  It melts my heart every time.

The other night the girls learned the phrase "female" and "male." Monkey said "Mama and Chick and Me are female."  "Moose and Daddy are mailboxes."

Monkey outgrew calling the "hospital" a "hopsital" but she still has funny little ways of saying things.  One of my favorites is getting "she" and "her" mixed.  As in: "She's going to she's house."

Playing with an awesome new toy from her birthday party.

 Moose:

Ah, dear little stinker Moose.  He throws more tantrums than any child ever, it seems, but he's also very loving and sweet, and plays well with his sisters.
He sometimes goes potty in the potty seat, and I think we'll ramp up the effort in the summer when he can be outside more.  (he'd probably do really well if we consistenly gave him the opportunity...I'm just not up for the effort and possible mess right now!)
He says a lot of words now...pretty much anything you ask him to, if he's in the right mood.  My favorite is "BaLaLa" for Banana.

He's obsessed with "truck!" and "woof" and "neigh!"  (the animal sounds are always instead of the animal name, but paradoxically it's always "kikky" and not "meow")

A less positive thing: he never goes voluntarily to timeouts.  Any suggestions?  I'm trying to not pick him up (the kid is a TANK, and I can REALLY FEEL IT when I do pick him up, which can't be good), but I have to be consistent in disciplining him...he already seems to think he can get away with anything.

Oh, another funny thing: he was looking at a picture of himself from before he cut his forehead, and he touched the picture on the forehead and acted concerned (obviously wanting to say something).  My guess is that the cut is part of his definition of himself right now, so it was weird for him to see a picture without the cut.  He points the cut out to people a lot....

sorry about the red-eye.  It matches his sweater, at least....

My Crazy Roller Coaster Day

When I think about things that happened this morning, it's hard to believe that it was today...so much has happened today.

Well, first of all, let me tell you that I am expecting!  I'm 11 weeks along, and have known since week 4, so I've known for a while now.

This morning I was having some cramping, and then at lunchtime I started bleeding.  More than spotting (which I don't do anyhow). 

Of course I freaked out, cried, called my Mom, my Husband, my Midwife.

My midwife set up an ultrasound, I took the kids to a friend's house, and off I went.

And I sat.  In the radiologist's office for two hours.  waiting.  Trying not to think about what was probably happening (I didn't want to cry in the waiting room, you know?!!)

Finally it was my turn.
"Let there be a heartbeat!" I though as I lay down on the table.
And then the picture appeared on the screen. 

Beating hearts.  Two of them! 
Two active, kicking, wiggly babies!

All I could say was, "Oh my goodness!  Oh my goodness, are you serious?!  Really?!!"

I'm excited, and terrified. 
I can't keep up with three kids, let alone five.
We'll need to get a mini-van. 
It'll be my first hospital birth (but hopefully not my first c-section). 
We had D names picked out, but now we need E names as well.

Crazy realizations keep popping to mind.

I don't feel like I've really had a chance to process it, and I'm sure the coming months will be quite an adventure (for that matter, the coming YEARS are likely to be an adventure!).

But there you have it.  My roller coaster day.  And my big news.  times two.

Bastyr

My oldest sister is studying nutrition at Bastyr, and stays with us some nights (because our home is closer to Bastyr than her home).  It's been very fun having her-- she often comes home and tells me things that she's learned, which is fascinating (more often than not).

Anyhow, she invited my Mom and me to the annual Herb & Food Fair recently.  I thought I'd write down a few of the things that I found most helpful/interesting...most of it pertaining to feeding children.

They had a booth with some activities for kids--one of the activities was making trail mix.  They had bowls of various trail mix items, and each child was given a baggy to fill.  I thought that was a brilliant idea.  Lately we've been out and about more, and would often need to eat while we were out.  To avoid fast food, I was resorting too much to bars (like Kashi, etc), so I love this idea of letting them make their own trail mix.

There was a lot of discussion in one of the classes about introducing new foods to kids, and how to be more successful at it.  I commented about peer pressure: having one child like something seems to make it easier for the other kids to like it.  I have a funny video of Moose making funny faces as he kept eating brussel sprouts.  Clearly he didn't like them, but his sisters were happily eating theirs, so he just kept trying it.
Other ideas were to make it fun and appealing.  One thing that I wrote down was to get a nice washable tablecloth for the kitchen table--our nicer tablecloths fit the dining table, not the kitchen, and ANY tablecloth will be dirty in minutes.  I think that's something that will make the meal more enjoyable for all of us, though. 
other ideas:

• muffin tin Mondays, or bento boxes, or anything that "markets" the food for you
• let kids help select food at the store
• let kids help prepare the food
• honor mealtimes (keep to the schedule, and all sit down together at least for some meals)
• provide choices (but make sure they're all good ones)
• have a "what's served is what's served" policy-- no short order cooking
• include a winner with every meal (so if they like nothing else, at least they won't starve!)
• refrain from bribing, punishing, or rewarding with food

One of the highlights of the day was hearing from Cynthia Lair, one of the keynote speakers.  You should check out her site http://www.cookusinterruptus.com/ which has wonderful, wonderful videos.

She talked about the importance of stopping eating in the evening so that your body has time to get hungry by breakfast.  Breakfast like a king, lunch like a duke, dinner like a pauper.

Anyhow, it was a really fun day, and gave me some girl time without my kids, but it also gave me so many good ideas on how to better nourish my children.  Thanks for the fun outing, L!

Salt & Sugar & Moose.

I've decided that Chick is Salt and Monkey is Sugar.

Chick adds life to whatever she's doing.  She's full of it (life, I mean).  She is strong-willed sometimes, but she'll be good as new if you give her a hug and tell her that you love her.  She's a name rememberer.  A "who can I walk with to class" kinda gal.  I think she'll be a swing dancer someday.  She is always pushing herself to learn new things.  She NEVER wants to go home, regardless of where we've been. 

Monkey has always had a special sweetness about her.  From birth.  Noticeably sweet.  She's a peacemaker, a toy sharer, a cuddler.  She's shy.  She does like to go out if she's with a loved one, but also likes to come home.  She likes people, but takes a very long time to warm up and show them that.  She is curious and gets into everything.  From the time she could walk she was pushing chairs up to the counter so that she could get into things. 

The line from the "Sisters" song in White Christmas is them: "there were never such devoted sisters."  They love each other.  Despite their differences, they are best friends.  I hope it continues.

And then there's Moose.  I was thinking what ingredient he'd be.  For me, he's the flour.  One of those ingredients that you rely on.  You don't often want to go without it.  That's Moose.  I'm crazy about him.  Three girls in a row would have been really fun, but I can NOT imagine our family without that adorable, happy guy.  He's all boy (the gender difference is striking--there's just a different aura or something).  He's an eater.  He's a lover.

And me?  I'm happy to be around them (most of the time).  Breaks are needed, of course, but after a little while I'm anxious to get back and find out what adventures they'd had in my absence. 

Cute Little People Today

Cute Chick: watching "Annie" and doing her best to immitate the moves of the Rockettes. (Next time they watch that one I'll have my camera ready and try to get a video of it).

Cute Monkey: she'd pulled all of Chick's dresses and skirts off their hangers. I asked her why and she said, "cause." I looked sternly at her, and she picked one up as if to hang it up and jumped (about 1/2"). The she turned to me, and shaking her head said "Reach it." Then she handed them to me one by one while I hung them up.

Cute Moose: in his exersaucer, and Monkey was sitting on a stool next to him. It looked suspiciously like Monkey was feeding him homemade pizza, and when I told her not to Moose turned and GRINNED at me, as if to say, "Whatever, Mom." That boy has us all eating out of his palm, I'm afraid.



(They weren't quite so cute when Chick and Monkey used Wilton's red and green food coloring as makeup...or when a DVD got broken...or when Moose cried for what must have been an hour and never DID take a nap....  Everyone has their moments, I guess.)



The girls thought it was wildly hilarious to have CHICK sitting on MONKEY's lap, rather than vice versa.



All sorts of fun things.

Some of the great gals in my ward threw the Little Man and me a shower. Yummy food and some fun visiting (sitting around gabbing with the girls...does that really still happen?! I need to get out of the house more often!).  And great presents.  It was nice to feel so supported and loved. Thank you to all who helped out & who came! I loved it.

I love the ACTION of this picture.  So much living going on in one snapshot.

I guess this is where I eat crow for my last post.  I got some DARLING DARLING boy things that I'm so excited to use!!

I never did post pictures of the 4th of July, so here are a couple...starting with my flag jello.

These are just some everyday living pictures.  I love my family.

Today on the drive to church Chick commented on a "pretty car" next to us (a fancy convertible).  Then she was saying that she wants a pretty car.  I told her that she could get herself one when she got older.  She agreed and said that lots of other people could buy pretty cars when they got older too (she was naming names...lots of people get to buy pretty cars....).  I was in the list, and I told her that yes, I could buy a pretty car when I got older, but not right now because I want a car that can fit lots of carseats because I'd rather have my family with me than drive a pretty car.  Even when they are twits.  They are so precious to me.

Monkey's turn first...she's thrilled.

Chick's turn.  Monkey is NOT happy...we had to pry the little man from her clutches!

I think this is one of my all-time favorite pictures.

Catching smiles : )

BTW, the Little Man, as of Tuesday (5.5 wks), is at 24" length (2" growth since birth), and 12 pounds, 5 ounces (3+ pounds gain).  One thing that I love about him is his wavy upper lip.

The makings of (hopefully) somethings beautiful.

The fabric in action: Chick's interpretation of the Dance of the Seven Three Veils.

It's the Little (and big) things.

First off: baby update. Still waiting. One more week. I'm still at a 2, baby was at 0 station at my last appt, and I still have a soft cervix but no real effacement.

Today I'm thinking that maybe it's a girl...I might be thinking that just because I thought of what I would want to try for a blessing dress : )

But also, a boy is problematic. We don't have a solid name for a boy. The name that we've had written on the white board in the kitchen for months now is falling out of favor with me, and I found out that HH isn't completely sold on it either. Unfortunately HH doesn't like any of the other names that I suggest. I just called and left a new suggestion on his voicemail, so we'll see what he has to say about that. A girl would be easier because I LOVE our girl name. I even love the crazy nickname that Aunt Becky would give her (Chi-chi. Crazy but cute!).

Anyhow, this morning I was toasting bagels, and bagels made me think of "Have you heard about the Morgans" which I saw the other night. If you haven't seen it, they're a NY couple who witness a murder & are put in the witness protection program. I was reminded of this one scene and it had me laughing semi-hysterically for several minutes...so I'm sharing.

They've just arrived in the little Wyoming town that they're hiding in, and they are in the car with their host. They're talking about a store there (Bargain Barn)

Meryl: I've never been to a Bargain Barn.
Host: You're kidding. (or something to that effect)
Meryl: No, I've never been to a Bargain Barn. There aren't any Bargain Barns in New York.
Host: I don't follow you.
Meryl: Well, there aren't any Bargain Barns in New York, so I've never been to one.
Host: I still don't follow you.
Meryl: (totally exasperated, and enunciating every word) THERE AREN'T ANY BARGAIN BARNS IN NEW YORK, SO I'VE NEVER BEEN TO ONE.
Meryl's Husband: There aren't any in Chicago, either, which is where we're from. (because of the new identities).
Host: Oh, you don't say.

Anyhow, I'm sure that didn't translate to funny on my blog, but just hearing Sarah Jessica Parker trying to get him to understand her as she keeps saying the exact same thing (because, really, how do you say it any more plainly?) was pretty darn funny. And anything that gives me a good laugh when we're late for preschool has got to be a good thing, right?

So that was the "little" thing.

The "big" thing is a quote that I heard in church on Mother's day. I don't want to forget it, so I'm putting it in here. The speaker told the following about Peter Buffett (son of Warren Buffet):

Though $90,000 was the only inheritance Peter Buffett received from his father for personal use, he and his siblings have received an enormous sum of money -- $1 billion -- to do charitable work. That money came as something of a surprise, and Peter was taken aback by the "awesome responsibility and opportunity."

He says he and his wife spent several years researching how to be most effective as philanthropists. Ultimately, they settled on a charitable way to "invest in undervalued assetts," which Peter Buffett admits is a "page out of my Dad's book."

"We found that young girls, adolescent girls-- in the developing world in particular--are the greatest undervalued assett we've ever seen," Buffett says. (NPR. To read more about it, here's the link)

My Chickadee.

Some things about Chick:

• She always says "gonna" twice. i.e. "I'm gonna gonna get you!"


• She recently went from saying "yeyyow" to "lellow" but very rarely can say "yellow" (at least she doesn't ever say "leyyow").


• Yesterday she had the hiccups and said, "I can't get the hiccups out of my body!"


• She is constantly singing. Often the same line or two over and over again. She surprises me by singing songs that I didn't know that she'd learned, but most often she sings songs from Mary Poppins.


• She likes to match. She likes to match her clothes to her sister's. She likes to match her clothing to those being worn on a show that she's watching (meaning that the white dress gets worn a lot because Mary Poppins & Hello Kitty & anyone getting married all wear white dresses. The blue dress gets worn for Cinderella).


• She is extremely sweet with her sister (within reason...she's still a stinky little 3 year old sometimes) and is SUCH the first child & wants to mother Monkey. It really bothers Chick that Monkey only wants Mama or Daddy when she first wakes up from a nap.


• The other day I was lifting something that was a little bit heavy, and she reminded me that it could hurt the baby.


• She says "P starts with Please" instead of the other way around.

(Chick reading her magazine to her baby dolls)

She's a caring little soul. This story is a little more personal than I usually share on this blog, but I want to get it written down.

The other day she stepped on a caterpillar that we'd been watching/holding. She did it on purpose, and I was horror-struck. Honestly, pregnancy hormones are raging. I started crying, and I'm afraid I made her feel really bad. I don't know why she stepped on it, but I'm sure she didn't really think about the ramifications of such an act...she's not a vicious little person. Anyhow, her grief-stricken mama explained to her that the caterpillar was fragile and we had to be careful with it, and now it was going to die. She walked away and wouldn't come back to me...and then she burst into tears. We hugged and talked about how the caterpillar would be happy in Heaven, and that she didn't mean to hurt it... but the first thing that she told HH when he got home was about the caterpillar.

She seemed normal, but then when she had been in bed for a while she started crying (SOBBING) and saying "I hurt the caterpillar!" over and over. I gave her hugs and repeated that she hadn't meant to do it, and the caterpillar was happy in Heaven with Heavenly Father and Jesus-- but I could tell that my words weren't doing much for her. Then I thought of all of the great moms that I see around me & the teaching moments that they have, and I decided that I had a good teaching moment in front of me.

So I explained about repentance. I told her that we all make mistakes sometimes, but that we can pray and ask Heavenly Father to forgive us. I helped her with just such a prayer, and she went to bed pacified.

Then I went back out to the kitchen and said my own prayer. That she'd have a confirmation of the peace that comes through heartfelt prayer. That she'd not be haunted by being a "caterpillar killer" or anything like that. That she'd understand that Heavenly Father was real and was listening when she talked. That I could be a better mother and not traumatize my children, who were innocent anyhow...kids are kids, after all.

I don't know what she felt or learned from her prayer (I know she liked it, because the next night she asked if we could say the "caterpillar prayer" again. lol). But I know what I felt and learned from MY prayer.

The answer to my prayer was that I really didn't even need to be asking Heavenly Father to "be sure and listen to my child", because my dear little Chickadee is HIS child. He knows her better than I do. It's hard to imagine, but He loves her far more than I EVER will. He wants her be be at peace and to know that she can pray to Him, even more than I want it for her. He knows that I'm not a perfect mother, but that I try. And He knew that I wouldn't be a perfect mother all along, but He still trusted me enough to take care of these precious little people.

Mostly I felt relief, though, that HH and I aren't the only ones looking out for Chick.

Getting some Closure

Friday evening/night I had a lot of contractions. They weren't especially strong, but they did persist regardless of change in activity, and in the early morning hours they were pretty regular & seemed stronger than earlier. The tricky things had me fooled--I even called my midwife at 4 in the morning (she'd rather be called with a false alarm than not have ample warning since she has to drop everything that she had planned).

Anyhow, it was a false alarm (and I'm SOOO glad it was because all of my family was going down to my uncle's memorial-- 2+ hours away, and who would come help out?!!). I was pretty excited thinking that the baby was coming, but I had one thing that really bothered me to not have done: the closet doors.

After that night of poor sleep, HH gave me my Mother's Day breakfast in bed a day early : ) and then I fell back asleep and slept until almost 10:30!! Unheard of. It was wonderful.

Then, to make the day even better, HH spent the whole day painting and hanging the closet doors for me : ) They don't have handles in yet, but here are some pictures (complete with a crazy baby).

HH thinks that the room is boring now, with "nothing to look at" ...as if I want to look at clothes hanging in the closet & storage boxes on the shelf! To remedy the "boringness" I ordered prints of some pictures to finally get that photo arrangement finished. Stay tuned.

So yesterday was really the great mother's day, but today has been a lovely, sunny Sunday. Chocolates and a cute framed picture of chick that she decorated in nursery at church : ) A stop at the park to watch the stream for a few minutes, a very refreshing nap after church, and HH took the girls out into the yard while I made dinner (plus extras for freezing) in much appreciated solitude.

Little Happy Things (rather a long posting)

This is layout week, and yesterday was really busy & stressful & my eyes were wiggin' out from staring at the computer ALL DAY LONG...but right now I have no work to do & the girls are playing happily together, so I get to take a minute to update you all on the little happy things of this week.

On Wednesday I bought lighting. Recessed lighting for the living room (YAY!), a new chandelier for the dining room, and a chandelier with a dimmer switch for the bedroom. And, even better than buying it, HH INSTALLED the bedroom chandelier & dimmer switch THAT DAY! It'll be a while, I think, for the rest of the lighting, because he is dreading having to work through the insulation & mess with wiring. But in the meantime, I love my new chandelier. And we tested out the dimmer switch & liked it, but that's all I'll say because a lady never tells ; )

(Please ignore the maternity clothes that weren't put away properly under the bed...and the lack of crown moulding...Rome wasn't built in a day, you know.)

I won a giveaway! I won a book, and a coupon for free Yoplait yogurt (Now that all four of us are eating yogurt, we go through it like nobody's business), and a Yoplait yoga mat (which I TOTALLY need & am excited about, even if it does say Yoplait on it)! The giveaway was on the Super Healthy Kids blog. Amy has lots of good ideas & I find it helpful & inspiring to be reminded that some people are trying to actually nourish their children still. So refreshing.

I never got around to posting about Muffin Tin Monday on Monday, but we did it, and I wanted to share it because it was the "all about me" theme.

So for Chick:

• blueberries because she has blue eyes,
• a fruit cup because she's sweet,
• a cheese "2" because she's 2 yrs old,
• chocolate milk because at our house that is a special thing & she's special,
• fettucine because it looked like her white-blond hair (spaghetti would have been a better shape, but I only had wheat),
• and lastly, peanuts because she's a little nutty sometimes. : )

And for Monkey (She didn't get a muffin tin, but she did get "all about me" foods):

• blueberries because she has blue eyes,
• banana because she is a Monkey & that's her favorite food,
• fettucine because she has an Italian name,
• and 10 pieces of cheese because she's 10 months old.

I have some simplified Bee costume plans tumbling around in my head...thanks to all who have offered suggestions. I hope to get to start work on it next week, so stay tuned.

The last little happy thing is actually a collection of happys. I just KNEW that people kept having kids for a reason. That reason, of course, is that eventually they get old enough to work. Well, finally, I now get to sit back & live off the sweat of my children's brows.

Specifically, Chick washed dishes the other day, and is ALL ABOUT setting the table (though clearly we need to work on the technical details some more). She also tells me sometimes that my hair looks pretty, and she looks after her sister ("Monkey! No, honey! Don't climb up on that!").

And Monkey has learned to share her sippy cup with me, as well as to put things away (yesterday she got into the box with the spice packets & was strewing them around on the floor...but then she put them all back in! Plus she helps put blocks in the block basket when we're cleaning up). And she gives great sloppy open mouth kisses, and you can never get enough of those.

And, if all of that wasn't wonderful enough--Chick has been sleeping in until 8:30! Monkey wakes up to nurse at around 6, but then we both fall asleep in my bed & even though she wakes up before me she just looks around, lays on my neck, scratches my teeth, etc...but she does it quietly so that I can "keep sleeping."

So, despite being congested & sniffly during layout, and having a teething baby & a messy house, there have been some lovely little happy things this week to get me through.

Lately...

...Monkey is taking a step here and there, and she's so great at standing unassisted, but she still likes a hand to hold.

...Chick is old enough for longer story/picture books. I'm thrilled. All along the path of parenthood there have been little, "THIS is what I love about being a parent" moments...storytime is one of those things. We've read some good books lately:

"In a Blue Room," which has beautiful illustrations & a nice soothing lyrical quality.

Though I didn't appreciate this one until we'd read it 2 1/2 times, I liked "Rain Makes Applesauce." While we were out for a walk Chick was repeating, "You're just talking silly talk" which is kind of a fun phrase in and of itself.

...I haven't done any sewing. I had layout, and then I opted for reading a book ("The Romanov Bride" - the second that I've read by Robert Alexander) which made me very grateful that we are not having a revolution in this country right now. Both of his books (the other was "The Kitchen Boy") do have some swearing & inappropriate parts, but were fascinating nonetheless. Another revolution/ communist "must read" is "Wild Swans." It's hard reading, especially because it's not fiction, and much of China's history would have been better left in the realm of fiction/horror.

...My only project has been to reorganize the girls' clothing. Out with the summer clothes, in with the warmer fall & winter wear. Darn kids, just seem to keep growing. Anyhow, it's fun because it's like getting to wear new clothes myself : )

...We got our plane tickets for the cruise, which makes it feel very close. Which is good, because it is giving me motivation to get moving. I went for a jog a couple of days ago, a walk yesterday, and am considering joining the local YMCA. (I'm also going to play biggest loser with some friends, starting Aug 30th...I'll keep you updated).

...I've had fun grocery shopping--this is my favorite time of year for groceries because of all the "back to school" promotions. We've gotten a ton of pantry items for very little money. Some of it, like Skippy PB, isn't as healthy as we usually eat, but it's good to have on hand for when we run out of Adams. Anyhow, I love free food. Last night I spent $8 out of pocket and got: 2 cans of olives, 2 6-packs of Dole fruit cups, 8 boxes of cereal, 1 pk of M&M's for HH, a pkg of bacon, and 3 bananas. I have our year supply of pop tarts, totally unhealthy, but I like to have them on Sunday mornings as a special Sunday treat...and at 30 cents a box, who could resist? We also used coupons in combination with the Kraft promotion at Albertsons--so I got over $30 worth of Kraft products for $0. Yay!

...I thrifted.

The first pic is the rest of my $50 trip (I returned some). I didn't read the coupon carefully, though, and so when I returned it I forfeited the discount on the additional stuff. Oh well. The arm and the turtle weren't included in the purchase...she just wanted to help with putting things in the picture. (the items pictured are what I got for free--it's not $50 worth, but free is free)

I used a second "spend $100, get $50 back" coupon and got this: (Not pictured are 2 chairs, a stool, and a Little Tikes bike for Chick). The Halloween dress is for Monkey's costume this year--she's going to be a Halloween fairy. Chick is going to be the cutest little bee you've ever seen, but I'm making that one, so don't hold your breath. In the back are 2 red blankets to use in the living room. Better than the purple that we had that didn't match at all : )

It's What I Signed Up For

Let me paint a picture of my house right now:

tv is on (Clifford on PBS), the living room is strewn with sundry toys. Chick is sitting in her nightgown on a blanket covered couch, sipping watered-down apple juice from her ladybug plastic mug. On the table next to her is her water bottle (and mine, which she drank out of & now it's hers too). On the floor in front of her is a huge metal bowl, placed on a towel from the rag bin. The bowl has seen a lot of action lately. (By the way, so has HH. I'd rather mop the kitchen floor than get puked on ANYDAY).

Babe was crying in her swing, but I took pity on her, and now she's crying on my lap. She's freshly diapered & clothed because her diarrhea got all over her clothes & started getting on my carpet when I put her down there to make the bed. hmmm. Chick was recently bathed for the same reason...the bed IS made, though.

I, after spending most of the night sleeping cuddled with sick Chick on the couch and after having had a migraine all day yesterday, am wearing my pajama pants and an old painted-up t-shirt. I expect to remain this way for the duration of the day. I got the garden half done on Saturday & had planned to finish today...but maybe not now...maybe it'll be tomorrow. Either way, it looks like I have a bumper crop of plastic milk jugs : )

My sincere apologies to anyone that we've been in contact with...we went to church yesterday like normal, and it wasn't until partly through that Chick started acting suspiciously mellow. She came home and told HH that it was time to go to bed. When she got up she threw up. Fun times.

Well, I gotta go cuddle with my girls & tackle the laundry mountain (which is complete with bed sheets, extra towels, and things that it would be indelicate to mention).

Here are a couple of pictures of Chick in her former health.

Frustrations in Motherhood

I recently have been relieved to find out that I'm not the only mother that wants to (all-too-frequently) throw in the towel. Around 4:00 p.m., when HH could get home (if there's no traffic & he doesn't work late or stop at the store) and when I don't see his blue jeep rounding the corner, is when I call him to say, "Uhhh, HH, what's your ETA? Because I'm about to run away."

Chick's lack of naps last week really had me ready to bolt at the first opportunity, and then I remembered my Great-Great-Grandma Bertha.

Grandma Bertha had two daughters, ages 3 & 5 (One of them was my Great Grandma, of course). One day, while her husband was at work she left the girls in their apartment and ran away. When the husband got home & found out, he packed up the girls and left them at their grandma's (his MIL).

They didn't see grandma Bertha again for about 40 years. She'd run off with another man (married with 6 kids) & lived in California. She stayed with him until he died, and then breezed back into the lives of her daughters (who now were grown women, mothers themselves).

Evidently she was a very attractive woman (and of course we know it's better to not be), and was vain. After she came back she bragged about what a handsome couple she and her man had been--when they walked down the street people would turn to look at them.

I'm sure that's just what her daughters, motherless for so long, really cared about hearing. Actually, my great-grandma thought it was the greatest thing ever (to have her mom back), but my g-g-aunt Blanche was a little more disdainful (in the best possible way, because I hear Aunt Blanche was a really cool woman).

There are a lot of different perspectives in this story. The Grandma in the story--who lost her daughter & suddenly was starting all over with two young girls, the husband whose wife left him, the daughters that had their lives drastically altered, the man that she ran away with, his family...

And of course my great-great-grandma. I wonder a lot about her. Did she miss anything about her old life when she was in California? She must not have loved her husband, but what about the girls? She came back as if it was no big deal to run out on your family, but surely she realized the impact that she made on all of their lives? Did she wonder what her girls were doing & who they had become? Did she realize what she missed out on each day?

The more I think about the story the more I'm grateful that I love my husband and love my daughters so intensely that I could never leave them (though I'll probably still threaten).

As frustrated as I may get from Chick being a 2-yr-old, or Babe always wanting to be held, or HH not doing whatever it is that I want him to do... I know that those annoyances are nothing compared to the thrill of seeing these girls learning new things, hearing Chick sing as she plays, watching Babe trying to crawl, and cuddling with HH.

So, in celebration of the little joys that I get to experience because I am here being a mother, here are the highlights of yesterday's motherhood:

Chick, watching me get dressed, looked at me and said in all sincerity, "Hey! Dat's mine bra!"

Babe decided to progress from sucking her thumb to putting her whole fist into her mouth.