5/28/10

May

May. Where ever did it go. Time is passing far too quickly. It is just about June....and then only 3 months until the new baby. My husband and I both crawled into bed the other night and said, "I am not ready for another one." Of course, when the time comes, we will be elated and just go with the flow, but for now the anticipation is a weee bit scary.

I haven't updated the kids accomplishments in awhile so I thought I would give it a try.

The toddler is finally starting to grow. He has now progressed into 12 month pants and can even wear some 18 month ones, rolled at the bottom and top. He seems to have a long torso and arms, though. He is now saying some more words: crackers, milk, blanket, night night, shoes..... He is a constant babbler. This is very different from the twins who used sign language and grunts until they were 2 1/2. The toddler is an outdoor enthusiast. The other day it was raining and he kept standing at the patio door longing for the freedom of outside. He loves to climb anything dirty and does not care if something is wet and cold before sitting in it. His favorite outdoor toy is definitely his ride on horse, although a shovel is a close second. He is still an extremely and poor eater, but he has started to eat some protein now.

The twins are in a world of their own. Everything is make believe: Bob the Builder, Mom and Dad and Baby, Dog, Duck, Monster, Cooks, Firemen.... Whatever they can think of. It is quite wonderful. They have moved beyond needing a real look-a-like of an object and can not pretend that something is the required tool, food... Their vocabulary is growing daily. It is still difficult to understand all the time, but they can usually explain what they are saying. They have started chores. We started them with putting their shoes and jackets away. Now we are working on putting the dirty clothes in the hamper. Of course, they are great at cleaning up spills or getting the vacuum for larger messes. And we have already discussed window washing in a previous post. Soon - dishes?! I am not sure I am ready for that yet. They are starting to listen to instructions quite well, although twin1 is easily distracted and twin2 is sometimes out right defiant. It is no longer a handful to take them to the store and they are awesome in restaurants. (I wish I could say the same for the toddler) Their problem solving skills are getting quite interesting.

The other day, my husband asked twin2 to find his bike helmet in the house. About 15 minutes later, he returned with two suitcases full of toys. I am not sure how he intended to pull these on the bike. Although, the usually answer is, "Mommy do it!" He was unable to find his helmet, however, and opted for a round plastic container. My husband questioned the container, but twin2 knocked on it with his fist and said, "Good, see." Hmm.

5/22/10

Thanks Dad, and of course Mom

I am enjoying a much needed day of relaxation today. My Dad called early and asked to take the kids for the morning. Well it's 1pm and he's still got the twins. I picked the toddler up around his nap time.

I just haven't been myself of late - cranky, tired, run down, just plain exhausted in so many ways. I am sure that I experienced this with my other pregnancy's, but this one just seems to be a little more difficult to get out of. Perhaps because this is the first pregnancy where I am not working? Who knows. The worst part is the guilt over how I treat my kids when I feel like this. I hate not being totally involved, helping create adventures, and heading into out for walks... Don't get me wrong, some of this still happens, just for shorter bursts of time. Instead, I would much rather lay (I mean lay down, not sit) on the couch surfing the web or watching season finales.

I need to get out of this rut and self loathing... Speaking of which here come the energy. Dad just pulled up in the drive with the twins....

5/21/10

Dress Up


We have a new dress-up enthusiast in our house. Specifically, he loooooves to wear hats. He wore this one for 3 hours the other day. He kept tapping his head and smiling that it was still there.

5/19/10

Tired

It's official. I have hit the 3rd trimester slump. Does it matter, though, that I am not yet in the third trimester? Close? I am tired all the time....Ug. And this is the way I will feel for the 8 months. Wahoo. Time for some Hot Chocolate. Yum.

5/16/10

Beautiful Day
















We had a beautiful hot day yesterday, s0 out came the pool and in went the slide. Too much fun. There were giggles all around. We even trekked down to the lake. Fun, fun.

5/12/10

Score


Ya, Olympics. We scored this leather 2 seater beauty the other day. It was used during the Olympics, but is pretty much brand new. Now here is the kicker - it was only $150. The only problem is that only a few are released for sale each day, so you have to be at the auction when it opens. We are going back tomorrow for a sofa - again only $150. They are not the most comfortable, but with 3, soon to be 4, kids jumping all over them and spilling food, they are a score for us.

5/11/10

Contentment

Despite the fact that the kids are all still recovering from colds, the laundry is piled up needing to be put away, and walking on the floor barefoot feels like walking outside, I have a wonderful feeling of contentment tonight. I am starting to feel like I may just be competent as a mother. The twins, and the toddler, are growing into such loving, curious, imaginative, daring, observant boys. I am finally starting to see some respect for rules and routines: shoes off at the door and put away, dirty clothes in hamper, making sure the toddler doesn't get run over riding his horsey, wearing helmets when riding bikes..... The list is actually much longer and keeps growing.

Today, the toddler was crying because we came inside to get lunch ready and he could no longer ride his horse, so twin1 went to him and gave him a kiss and hug to cheer him up. We also spent some wonderful quality time reading books - about an hour. We planted and watered together. I watched the twins dawn hard hats and safety vests and then inform the toddler that it was not safe for him to be around the play tools because he didn't have the right safety clothes. We went for 2 bike ride/walks. I put on music while we ate lunch and all 4 of us dance in our seats - yes, we all eat lunch and dinner together.

What a privilege to get to spend all this wonderful time with my children watching them grow and develop. Yes, content and proud is how I feel. Lucky me.

5/9/10

Burnt

Burnt. Yup. I got burnt today. We had our first wiener roast in the back yard today using our new fire pitt. There is nothing like hot dogs cooked over the fire. Yum. But boy was it hot. Every last one of us got a sun burn - or perhaps too much vitamin D!! What a beautiful day, though. It was nice to have the sun back.

5/8/10

Sick

Yup. We are sick again, the kids I mean. Although thanks to our new diet, it has been quite some time since we were last sick. I think that the change in seasons with all the pollen combined with a cold just sent things over the edge. So, needless to say, twin1 and I spent one-on-one time at the glorious Fraser Cascade Hospital. All is going well now, though, so no need to worry. Just the remnanats of a nasty cold left.



The night after the hospital visit with twin1, twin2 experienced his first bought of croup. He found it very scary. Having watched my brother battle this as a child, I was sympathetic and immediately pulled out the humidifier. Poor little man. He was very scared which made him cry and provoked more croup. Thankfully, that only last a few (4) hours.



Last night was the toddler's turn. He was restless for several hours with a cough. A little tylenol and the humidifier seemed to work for him. He seems to be feeling better today despite an extremely runny nose.

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On a lightler note, we have made major progress with the backyard. I can't believe how things are coming together. We have about 5 large projects on the go: removal of gravel in preparation for grass, fire pitt, large garden in back, wall to hide ugly shed and grow climbing plants, fence along final side of back yard. I love all the progress. In a month or so, I will be able to sit back, watch the kids play and finish growing the baby in a beautiful private backyard. Wahoo.

5/5/10

Horsey

The toddler's new favorite (old) toy. If we dare to leave the backyard, the horse has to come with us. He rides it all the way to Grandma and Grandpa's house. He has even figured out how to pick up his feet and coast down small hills.

TV

So we have officially been without TV for 3 weeks. This was a decision that was a long time in the making. There always seemed to be something that needed to be watched - Olympics, Play Offs, So You Think You Can Dance.... Then when the decision was made, we had to wait out our contract for another month.

The twins were becoming addicted to TV. They would watch for several hours in the morning, after lunch, and after dinner. Sometimes when I got busy doing something I would find them sitting in front of the TV, which they had craftily turned on.

Now don't get me wrong, they still watch TV, but they have gotten bored of the PVRed shows and they now lose interest quite quickly with movies. Some days we have watched as little as 20min of TV. Wow.

I believe I have even witnessed some changes. They play a lot more and this is not just with toys, but is imaginative play. It is very interesting to watch. We read books more. Spend more time outside - the nice weather helps with this. Frequent the library more often. Cuddle :) And I think I am starting to see a pattern of improved sleep. They play more and seem to be sleeping longer at night: 12 - 13 hours instead of the previous 10 - 11 hours. All in all, I am very pleased with the decision.

I still enjoy my down time in the evening with shows downloaded from the internet, but I no longer find myself turning to the TV to veg during the day when the kids do play nicely downstairs. Also, my house is quite a bit cleaner. Although this will soon come to an end in a few months!!