One of those mornings...

Today was one of those mornings where everything seems to go wrong.  Actually maybe last night was one of those nights.  Lexi (who normally sleeps through the night without a problem) woke up like 5 times.  The boys are both teething and having growth spurts, so they were grumpy.  By morning, everyone was grumpy.  Lexi woke up just when the boys did, and she's usually ok with me giving her a stuffed animal and promising to check on her in a minute, but today she was totally freaked out by that.  So Kelly's trying to feed both boys and I'm trying to get Lexi to fall back to sleep.  Plus it was like 1/2 hour early so we loose that bit of sleep, but can't really go back to sleep after. 

Once I got up, I went to start laundry, and realized that I had clothes in the washer from Friday.  And clothes in the dryer.  So I did some forwarding, started a load, and came upstairs to get a bowl of oatmeal and empty the dishwasher (which we run every night).  No bowls in the cupboard, they're all in the dishwasher.   OK, no problem, I open the dishwasher - dirty dishes everywhere.  We forgot to run it last night.   So I wash a dish, start the dishwasher, and go back upstairs to weigh myself.  No good news there either - apparently that birthday cake I made for Kelly was WAY too good.  Then Lexi wakes, AGAIN.  Sobbing and shrieking in terror.  I go in, give her a stuffed monkey and she finally accepts that plan.  I hike back downstairs with the rest of my laundry, wolf down some breakfast, forward the laundry again, then guess who wakes up?  Edward.  Sigh.  Long day ahead...

Is it naptime yet?  6:45am must be naptime, right?

Nesting day.

Today was Kelly's Friday off of work.  So we had a "nest day".  We brought every pillow in the house into the basement, made a lovely little nest on the floor, and watched movies while snuggling the kids. 

It was a pretty nice way to spend a snowy Friday!

Quotes from the crown princess of cuteness...

It's ok mama, I'll hold the poopie inside my butt.

No, mama.  I'm not Lexi.  I'm lump.  You are mama lump.  Aren't you scared of your little lump, mama lump?

Papa's head is peeeeeking through the circle of his hair.

Mommy, When is baby Brianna coming out?

When my eyes light up I no cry anymore. (after peeling onions)

(While wearing Pajamas with green circles on them) "My 'jamas say 'go'!"

Come here, my big love. (Lexi is my 'little love')

(on Kelly's birthday)  Is it still Mommy's Christmas?

Playdough!

Lexi and I made some playdough yesterday before having some friends over.  Here is the proud kneader-of-dough....

Then of course, once you have all those lovely balls, the only thing to do is make a snowman:

And once you have a snowman, it is very important to protect him from harm:

Weight Loss Challenge

Just to make it official, I am posting that Angela and I have decided to have a weight loss competition between the two of us. Hopefully a little friendly competition will motivate the two of us to work harder at eating better and getting more exercise. We will have weekly weigh-ins, and post the weight changes on the blog. Winner for the week earns bragging rights. Wish us luck!!

Smiling Boys

Over the last weekend both boys have started to have social smiles. They actually smile at people!! Their little dimpled cheeks are absolutely adorable. They have also started to coo and make cute baby noises. I have now had silly baby-talk conversations with both my sons, and last Sunday Benjamin sang along with me during “Itsy Bitsy Spider.” I am attempting to capture these smiles so I can post them.

Monthly Cooking day!

So yesterday was my big monthly cooking day.  We've started cooking once a month for the whole month - and it gets pretty crazy.  Maybe next month I'll take a picture of how my kitchen looks after!  So this month, we eat:

Grandma's Pork Chops & mashed potatoes
Chili (4 times)
Mac & cheese
meatloaf
steak teriyaki stir fry
homemade pizza (4 times)
turkey noodle soup
bacon potato cheddar soup
spinach and eggplant lasagna
steak red curry
beef rice bowls
steak enchiladas
chicken pesto casserole
meat pies
pierogies & sausage
pasta primavera
spaghetti

A couple of these I already had in the freezer (the casserole and the meatloaf), but I put a few extras in the freezer too.  It feels great to stand in my now clean kitchen and know I don't need to cook again until late March!!

Only in the mind of a toddler…

A while back Lexi discovered Spiderman on Hulu. She was supposed to be watching Supernanny, which she likes because of all the kids, but she is becoming a wiz at navigating websites with the mouse, and found herself watching Spiderman instead. Because she has some random Spiderman toy, we don’t even know where it came from, she now loves Spiderman. Of course, she doesn’t really understand it, so we have to do lots of explaining. There are bad guys, they do mean things, and Spiderman has to stop them to keep people safe.

I thought she seemed to have a pretty good grasp of those concepts. But then the other day we start talking, and I realize that she is projecting these concepts in unexpected ways. She begins to tell me how sometimes her brothers scratch her. This is true, if she is holding them and we haven’t cut their nails recently enough, they can cause a few scrapes. But then she rolls into how she has to stop them, because she is like Spiderman, and her brothers are bad guys.

I really wasn’t sure exactly how to respond to that.

Getting out of the house

One of the fun bits of my day is the process of trying to GO anywhere with this crew.  So I thought I'd share a picture of the things I need to get together in order to go anywhere.   This particular pile is for a trip to the play area in the mall. 

I try to keep it to just the basics - the diaper bag has 6 prefold diapers, 2 covers, a spare snappi, a wetbag, wipes, a changing mat, spare sleepers for each boy, spare socks for each boy,  a full change of clothes (including shoes and underwear) for Lexi, an emergency stash of formula powder, a pair of backup binkys and a huge pile of spitrags (never enough...)   The blue cooler has two bottles, an ice pack, and two nursing supplementers.   Then the purple box is Lexi's lunch/snack box, and the pink sippy for her, too.  And the orange mass of fabric is a wrap to put the boys in.  

Not in the pile, of course, are the carseats, winter gear, blankets, and whatever random toys Lexi decides she can't live without for a couple of hours.  Also my pump was already in the car when I took the picture.  And I usually have a double stroller to add to the fun.  I can USUALLY get everyone & everything out to the car in 3 trips.  Sometimes 4 if I have extra stuff. 

Just in case anyone wonders why I can't ever seem to get anywhere before 11am. :-D

A Little Credit Please

These days, Angela and I are trying to each give the other at least one afternoon a week to run errands, work on projects, etc. while the other stays home with the three kiddos.

The other day after I got home from work, Angela left to go do some things. Our neighbor Judy (another Grandmother for Lexi) was watching as she prepared to leave. Judy forgot that I was only working half days, and therefore came to the conclusion that Angela was leaving the twins home alone in the capable hands of our toddler. She rushed over to offer to stay with the children. (Insult number one).

Then, when Angela clarified that I was taking care of the three, Judy immediately offered to come help me, implying rather stronger according to Angela that I was not capable of keeping everybody alive, if I was solely responsible for their care. (Insult number two).

REALLY!!!

Bathroom narration

Lexi loves to describe to anyone within earshot all the details of what she (or you) are doing in the bathroom. "I going poopy, but not peepee." Or describing after she is done. "That was a BIG poopy. Bye-bye poopies."

But tonight she had a new one. She was doing her little jig that indicates she needs to go to the bathroom, and when asked if she needed to go peepee on the potty, she declared, "No, only poopy. But its okay Mama, its still inside."

"No, mommy loves me more."

Growing up, my mom and I often played a game where we each claim to love the other more. I have started playing this game with Lexi, and it goes a little like this...

Kelly: "Lexi-bean, I love you."
Lexi: "I love you more, Mommy."
Kelly: "Lexi-bean, mommy loves you the most."
Lexi: "I love you the most, too Mommy."

Now, Angela has also started to play this game with Lexi, but it doesn't always go quite the way she planned.
Lexi: "I love you, Mama."
Angela: "I love more, Lexi-bean."
Lexi: "No, Mommy loves me more."

Hehehe.

MORE babies!!

Most of you already know, but yesterday (February 13th) at 6:33am Pacific time Kelly's little sister Katie became a mom - and Kelly and I became aunts!!  Then at 8:19am she went and did it all over again!

Gabriel Ryan was born in a rather dramatic shooting out before the doctor could catch him maneuver.  He weighed 5lb 5oz.  Ethan John was born posterior and folded in half, weighing 5lb 9oz.  Both boys had a brief tour of the NICU for observation, then stayed in Mom's room that night.  They are all doing well and expected to go home tomorrow. 

Valentine's day!!

Happy Valentine's day to all!  Last night Lexi & I stayed up late and baked peanut butter cookie bars in a heart shape with chocolate frosting and m&m's.  There is nothing healthy about this, but Kelly was impressed!!

Lexi had a blast "baking" it (she's a bit miffed that she can't do the oven stuff herself).

Lexi got a balloon on a stick and a box of 4 candies - which she promptly devoured without sharing a bite.  Such a sweet tooth!

re-vamped living room

So we rearranged and cleaned up the living room.  What it looks like now:

We still have to hand some more pictures and we're going to put a mini-crib where the bassinet is now.   And we're still de-cluttering books & toys.   But it's looking pretty good!

Snow!!!

I am sooo ready for winter to be OVER.  Here's what it looks like outside my house right now.

Backyard

Out the backyard - note the 3' of snow on the porch.....

Garage and porch.  The fence you can barely see on the left is 3' tall.

Overconfidence can be Messy

Last Saturday we visited some friends of ours... they have built an amazing snow fort in the front yard that Lexi and their daughter played in, plus it was the first time they had met the babies.

Anyhow, we (I mean I) got to chatting, and we got home rather late. Before we were in the door, Angela and I had a plan of attach for getting to bed arranged. These days, we have to have plans of attach, or we'd never accomplish anything. My job was the boys - change diapers, clean clothes, and bedtime bottles, in addition to getting myself ready for bed.

About 15 minutes after we got home, I had all three of us ready. I was sitting on the bed with the boys propped up in between my legs so I could give them both bottles at the same time. I was feeling rather proud of myself for how efficiently I had done all of those things. Unfortunately, I got distracted thinking about how terrific I was, and failed to notice just how quickly the two were drinking, or how much they had consumed without being burped. A few minutes later into my musings on my effectiveness as a parent, they both rolled inward and spit up significant volumes, right onto my crotch.

Angela walked in just in time to find me cleaning up myself and both boys, including changing some clothes, and she was forced to ask what on earth I had been doing all that time, and why we weren't ready for bed.

3 months!!

The boys are officially 3 months old today!!   Benjamin weighs 11lb 8 oz and Edward weighs 10lb 13oz.  Which are pretty good weights for their adjusted age (8wks).  Both are filling out, holding up their heads, and getting very strong!

Apparently Ben did not want to share the spotlight today. 

Flower Girl...

 Lexi is going to be a flower girl at a friend's wedding coming up in March, and she got her dress the other day.  Here it is!  

Lexi is thrilled out of her mind.  I had to hide it to keep her from wearing it 24/7.  She thinks the sash is a scarf, though, to "keep her from freezing".  That or a leash to lead people around with.  Do you think the bride would like to be led down the aisle by a long pink sash (and a cute little flower girl)?

To clarify - she won't be wearing socks, I will brush her hair, and yes the dress needs to be steamed.  Also, someone else will tie the bow.  I don't  know who, but I'm really bad at it. 

In theory this is supposed to be Ivory though, and I have to say - I don't see it.  The manufacturer's label says ivory, the box says ivory...  but damn, that dress looks white to me.

Gotta Love Security at a Nuclear Power Plant

Now that I have returned to work (part time) as a nursing mother, I am required to pump while I am gone in the mornings.

I will admit, I have it a lot easier than a lot of other professions- retail, waitresses, etc. I get to sit in an office by myself in a comfy desk chair, and can basically take all the time I need. However, none of these people have to bring their pumps through security at a nuclear power plant every morning.

For starters, its a good quarter to half a mile between my car and my cubicle, through two different security buildings. And when we go through access screening, its like being in an airport, except more intense. In addition to your basic metal detector, we have bomb sniffer machines, the guards have automatic weapons, and anything that looks metal must be removed and put in a little container all by itself to go down the conveyer belt through the X-ray machine.

This does not bode well for my nifty little sealed pump that is built into a "fancy bag." It doesn't come apart, and it apparently looks really funny on the X-ray monitor.

My very first day back at work, it all ready took me three times to get through the metal detector (I was a little rusty on all the clothing and other paraphernelia I had to remove, and then this crotchety old security guard has to rifle through my bag, because he's trying to figure out what it is. He then pulls out the power cord, all the little tubes, containers, etc. and lays them out on the dirty, muddy, germ-infested conveyer belt. This is not going well. He finally gives up and gives it back to me and I continue on my merry way.

This little routine has occurred every morning since I returned to work, the only variation is the security guard. Now, I have gotten smarter. Certain items are kept in clear zip lock baggies, so I don't have to wash them all again in the employee bathroom once I am inside (that definitely got me some funny looks on my first day, let me tell you!)

But this morning was extra special. After rooting around in the bag for the elusive metal internals, he walks back over to me and angrily asks in a rather loud voice, what is it!!

So I now feel obligated to reply just as loudly and angrily, that its a breast pump. He turns about three shades of red, turns to his coworker who happens to be female and mumbles "you got this." while he runs away. I thought it was hilarious. He then came back later when she was done inspecting it, and requested that I buy a pump to keep at work, so I don't have to keep bringing it through security every morning.

Ahhh, its good to be back. :-)

Hello Everyone!!

This is my first post, and I wanted to welcome you to our attempt at blogging. I seriously don't know what you people were thinking when you suggested it, but here we go. Lucky for you, I recently returned to work, and can therefore attempt to find little snippets of time to add posts from work. At least here I can type faster since I won't be holding a baby, giving a bottle, and trying to wrestle the computer away from Lexi who is desparately trying to steal the laptop in order to play more chess... or minesweeper... or watch the cat in the hat (AGAIN).

New Hair!!

As some of you know and most probably don't - I got a haircut a couple of weeks ago.  I had over 12" taken off.  Then I dyed it.  I LOVE it.   The first pic is what happens when I just scrunch it as it dries (I have curly hair, who knew?)  The second is what happens the next day if I brush out the curls. 

Chess makes you beautiful

So, lately, Lexi has had a thing for chess.  First she discovered she could play it on the computer.   Not well, mind you, she usually ends up in checkmate in about 2 minutes (on the "easy" setting) and is gleeful when her queen gets captured.   Then Kelly dragged out her old chess set.  Lexi loves it.  She "plays" against mama or herself or the pieces themselves.  

The chess set has a leather board with metal pieces with red felt stickers on the bottoms so they slide easily.  However it is old and the stickers come off...    And if there's something Lexi likes more than chess, it is STICKERS.   So when Kelly left her unattended with the chess set and Edward (sleeping in the bassinet nearby), this is what she found:

When she was asked what on earth she was doing, Lexi said "I'm trying to make him beautiful!!!"   So naturally, we had to take a picture before carefully explaining why we don't do that....

How to sleep in with three babies...

So normally I get up with Kelly at the boy's second night feeding - around 4:30-5am.   This morning I was exhausted, so I thought I'd take the boys back to bed with me and we'd all have a nice sleep-in morning.   Here's what it looked like. Very restful....

5:30am - up, pump, feed boys
6am - still feeding
6:30am - swaddle boys - Edward passes out mid swaddle, Benjamin looks toasted
Set boys together on the twin bed, sit next to them while they fall asleep
6:45am - crawl in with Lexi
7am - Edward looses his binky and wakes to protest the fact.  Refuses to go back to sleep, as it is no longer night.
7:15 - back in bed, switching sides with Lexi so I can reach the boys for binky-replacement purposes
7:30 - Lexi wakes up (her usual wake up time) I persuade her to go back to sleep foro a bit (ie let her nurse)
7:35 - Edward wakes up and needs a snuggle.  I now have Lexi on my right shoulder and Edward on my left.
7:45 - Ben decides it's breakfast time.  In spite of the 7oz he ate 2 hrs ago. I try snuggling and jiggling.  No luck.  I now have Lexi on my right shoulder, Edward on my left, and Benjamin on my chest with my pinky in his mouth, kicking and flailing.
8am - Lexi wakes up for real. I give up and get up with  Lexi & Ben.  Edward decides to sleep another 2hrs.  I am soooo jealous....

first post

So, several folks have told us that we should have a blog.  I have no idea when you all thought we were going to blog, but we're going to see if we can squeeze it in!

We are - two moms (Kelly & Angela), one toddler girl (2.5yo Lexi), and twin baby boys (3 month olds, Edward and Benjamin).  We live in the "snowbelt" in central new york, and have a long list of hobbies - that we used to enjoy.  Now we mostly are mostly trying to survive (and occasionally enjoy) our pile of babies.