Diarhea pffp, pffp. Diarhea pffp, pffp.

It all started Wednesday after "Disney on Ice." Twin2 awoke screaming in the middle of the night, "Mess! Mess!" He had vomited in his sleep. The next day, still vomiting, he went to Nan's while I took Twin1 and the baby to our first Naturopathic appointment. My Grandparents, Nan's parent's, visited and Twin2 continued to vomit. We all thought he had food poisoning because no one else was sick. Boy was I wrong.

Nan got sick Friday, during the day. The baby started at 6pm Friday. My husband started around midnight Friday. Twin 1 started around 3am Saturday. I held off, thank goodness, until Saturday night at 9pm. If I had gotten sick any sooner, I do not know what we would have done. I was able to take care of everything while my husband slept and then we switched. We were all so incapacitated. I don't think that my husband has been that close to bodily fluids like that since the twins were first born and vomited up all their meals.

Thankfully, the flu only seemed to last about a day and a half altogether with aching muscles, chills..... Unfortunately, my grandparents, in their two hour exposure to twin2 on Thursday also got the flu. Sorry, everyone.

Hooligans

In the matter of 4 hours on Wednesday, my children were wild enough for 3 days worth of energy. We were finally well enough for swimming this week and because my husband and I were taking the twins to 'Disney on Ice' (Which was awesome. I can not explain how great it was and how much the twins loved it.) I was flying solo with the swim lesson.

Usually, my husband or myself run into the coffee shop after swimming and pick up banana bread for the twins as a treat. Today, as I was on my own, I decided to go to the coffee shop first because I knew the baby would be very ready for his nap by the end of the swim lesson. I finally coaxed all the kids in the car and attempted to explain what we were doing. They did not understand the concept of acquiring the banana bread pre-swim lesson and not getting to eat it until post-swim lesson. So, they were confused and frustrated about not getting to eat the banana bread.

They fought with each other the entire time in the car: hitting, crying, yelling. I threatened no swimming, or no Disney on Ice, but they knew that that was not going to happen. Oh, wait a second... it all started when they locked me out of the car... Oh ya. What a wonderful phase this is. As soon as they get in the car, they climb all over it and lock all the doors. Yes, I still have keys, but they just don't seem to work when one child is physically holding the lock shut... I should have known to forgo banana bread at this point, but I was really hoping for the best. You know, that they would turn things around, have a great lesson, sing 'Kumbaya' on the car ride home. Who am I kidding, though. This is my group of hooligans.

So, eventually I get the car open, kids strapped in, they fight, and we all arrive outside the coffee house. Once at the coffee house, the twins are enthralled with the doors: one opens in to let people in, once opens out to let people out. You would think that this was a boring everyday occurrence, but to twins it is hours of fun. Oh, and I should mention that we arrived just before 10:00am, coffee time, so the place was just starting to fill up and we had an audience. As the twins played with the doors, letting all the heat out and getting stares for the group of ladies already gossiping, I attempted to corral the twins over to the cash register. The twins ordered their banana bread and I made the mistake of ordering a 'Chai Tea'. While we waited for the tea, the twins ran all around, knocked over the posts that create the line (which are actually quite heavy), pummeled each other a few times, and both burst in to loud obnoxious tears. Why oh why do I even attempt to do anything for myself? I finally got each twin seated on either side of a table, each said apologies to each other, I received my drink, and we started to head out the door. After more hitting, yelling, crying, discussing, apologizing, we are back in the car heading to the swim lesson.

At the swim lesson, neither twin waited for me to get the baby out of the car and ran through the parking lot into the recreation center. Fortunately, once of the receptionists kept their eye on them while I got everything together and ran in after them.

During the lesson, with a new instructor, the twins were awful. They didn't listen at all, swam all over the kiddy pool, causing the instructor to physically have to pick the twins up and plop them down at her desired location. Ug. I think the twins completely wore her out for the remainder of the day. Sorry.

Once dried and dressed, each twin ran out of the change room in different directions. (Please remember that this entire time, I am holding the baby) We got their shoes on and headed out to the parking lot, where they once again ran around dodging in and out of cars. Uuuuuuuh. We had another discussion about cars/parking lots/ holding hands..... Nothing. They continued to run away from me. Finally we were back in the car,...after they locked me out again, and were heading home. More yelling, crying, hitting, fighting because I had now told them they could not have their banana bread. They did not deserve it.

At home, after putting the baby to sleep, I fed them a nutritious lunch and sent them to bed telling them they needed to sleep to get ready for McQueen and Mator. Both actually went to sleep and I got an hour and a half to myself. Twin2 awoke from his nap and said, "Ready McQueen, mom." He was ready to see McQueen because he napped. The remainder of the day was wonderful, but oh the morning.

Fantastic

Fantastic day so far. We went to 'Strong Start' this morning. The twins always have a blast there. Although, there was a bit of a tussle over the tool bench. This resulted in the second ever time out that I have had to give at school. Ah well. Lesson learned, I think.....

My nephew was dropped off at school for me to watch while his parents were 'in transition.' For once, I think he had a great time visiting. He ate all his lunch. The kids played hide and seek. We made 'Scotch Shortbread' cookies courtesy of 'The Cookbook.' Then his mom came and picked him up. Great, great morning.

Now, I think the twins are downing an entire bag of animal crackers. I can hear them saying, "Lots. Need, lots." I am sure to find a pile on each of their plates in the kitchen. But, at least they are sitting at the table and not sneaking off to make a mess that I will find in a few days once it starts to smell.

I like days like this. Busy, low stress, fun filled. Now, do I venture to the library..... Nope. Better not to push my luck.

Twin1 has started wiping his face after I give him a kiss. He is still too young to think it is gross. I hope. I guess I'll just have to give him even more kisses. He, He.

We have a crazy busy week ahead of ourselves. We are off to Disney on Ice tomorrow night with the twins, thanks to 'cuz' for the tickets. Speaking of tickets, we seem to have lost them. My husband and I will have to do an all over house search tonight. I have a sneaking feeling that I may have thrown them out. What to do?

On Thursday, I am taking Twin1 to see the naturopath. I hope to discover some wonderful things and get some insight.

Then on Sunday, my husband and I are going to have a much deserved date night at the 'Four Seasons Hotel.' I can't wait. My husband won a gift certificate in a golf tournament - $150. I have no idea how we will spend all of it. Perhaps we will get 2 nights out of it. The twins will spend the night at Papa and Nan's, and the 'cuzes' are going to watch the baby. Thank you everyone.

Well, the twins just ran down stairs giggling and the baby has turned on 'the robot' and turned of the computer power, so I had better run.

Week in Review

This was a very long week. With hospital visits, illness all around, lack of sleep, and in ability to leave the house for fear of passing illness on, by Thursday I was ready to scream/cry. Just let myself succumb to the tension. I was ready to put myself into 'time out' (of which, I think twin2 spent almost an hour altogether in 'time out' on Thursday).

Fortunately, Friday happened. We awoke to fewer sniffles and cheerful attitudes. I even got to sleep in a little bit - 6:30am wooohoooooo. We have finally adjusted to the time change around here, by the way. So, with a smile on our faces, I packed us all up and ventured to 'Strong Start.' We had a great time. Then I had a visit from a good friend in the afternoon and our kids played together as good as can be expected. Friday ended with a dinner that the kids gobbled down and continuously said 'Thank you, mom. Thank you, mom. Yum. Yum. Mmmmm." It's about time I made a hit and didn't have to fight with them once about it. Friday managed to make the entire beginning of the week seem so far behind us. Thank you, Friday. I leave you with some pictures of the pleasant dinner. Oh and I have to say how great it feels not to be 'old' like my husband today!! He, He.

I think kabob's may have to be a weekly dinner.

Teamwork

Can you guess what they are doing?





Yup. Bum wiping 'A la Twins'

I was feeding the baby in the kitchen and could hear quite the commotion in the bathroom - "ooh. Yuck," was uttered a few times. Don't worry. They both washed their hands after.

Words of the Day

Twin1: "Aw white, mom." (Trans: All right, mom.)

Twin2: "Sowy." (Trans: Sorry. And there have been a lot of them today.)

Baby: "Ma, ma, ma, ma, ma, ma." (Now no longer to the tune of a growl, but sung when he cannot find me. I like it much better. Although, the growl was really funny.)

A Day in the Life...

We awoke to snow this morning. It was very pretty. There was only a couple centimeters and most has disappeared, but I think there will be more tonight.

I had a great morning. My mother took the twins and I got to have a nap while the baby slept. Aren't mothers great.

During their absence, I took it upon myself to clean the couch cushions. They were in dire need of it. While the cushions were removed, the baby discovered that he could climb onto the couch. He crawled back and forth having an 'extreme' adventure, squealing with glee, sporting a huge smile on his face.

(Sorry, I didn't get a picture of it. I thought this was a cute picture, though.)

After lunch, the twins ventured downstairs for some play time. While I thought the twins were playing nicely downstairs, they had quietly opened the door to the 'under construction' baby room and pilfered my husbands tools, including many items that could have seriously hurt them. I guess we will have to bolt that room shut.

We ended the afternoon with a craft. Here are some pictures. The twins enjoyed themselves and I got dinner ready. I made curry. Thanks for the inspiration, cuz.

No, he didn't? Yes, he did!

So I was sitting in the big lazy chair, just finishing feeding the baby when I heard a knock on the door. I looked out the front window to see an RCMP vehicle. I open the door and the officer says, "Did someone call 911?" Um. No. Um. Ug.

***********

My mother had stopped by for a short visit earlier to see how twin2 was doing after his follow up at the hospital. (His oxygen level was 95, which is okay, but could be better. He is still on the nebulizer every 3 hours until he is looking and feeling better, plus a number of other medications.) As my mother and I talked about twin2, she needed to use the phone and did so. The baby of course, is into everything and screamed about wanting the phone. I said sure. And she handed him the phone after she was finished. Well, I guess he dialed 911 and then hung up. Ug. Don't I feel like a twit.

***********

Sorry, officer. I wasted tax payers dollars to appease my child for a few seconds. I guess the phone is now off limits.

Craziness

So, so much has happened in the matter of 2 days. First of all, Twin1 is sick. Sick, as in, in the hospital with an asthma attack, sick. My husband took him in to emerg last night around 8 and he was released this morning at 8 with specific instructions to do nothing but take his medicines and to go back to emerg at 1pm to be reassessed. To facilitate the 'do nothing' portion, Papa was nice enough to watch twin2 for the day. I am not sure that twin1 is getting any better. I think he may be getting a little worse. We'll have to wait and see. If he does get worse, it looks like we'll be in for a transfer down the valley and a couple nights in the hospital. We did manage to go a year with out an attack. We are doing better.

At the moment, twin2 has a cold and we have started him on all his meds. The cold has not progressed into an asthma attack yet.

In the midst of all this, I have begun to make a quilt and it is almost down. I copied a lovely quilt that was given to the twins when they were born. It is pretty easy, so it is a good one to start with. I never thought I would have the desire, but now that I have so much time in the evenings because all the kids go to bed at 7pm, I find that I am getting to let my creative self out once again. Quilts, though? I guess this is because my mother just gave me her old sewing machine and flannel was on half price at the local fabric store. Why not?

Yesterday, the twins had their first dentist apt. It did not go well. Twin2 went first and screamed the entire time. Thus, nothing but sitting in the chair was accomplished. Twin1 held his hands over his mouth. We were told to reschedule for 6 months from now. I guess we had to start sometime, though.

I made pasta the other night. My sister and I had taken a pasta making class the previous Monday and this weekend I decided to give it a try. My first 'flour well' was not large enough. When I added the wet ingredients, the dam broke and all the liquids escaped. On my second try, I made the well large enough, but some how measured wrong. I ended up with way too much liquid and kept having to add flour. Several hours later, with the help of my husband and the twins, and a cranky/stuffy baby, we ate past dinner. It was delish. I don't think I need to give it a try again for another 6 months, though.

In an effort to provide shade and privacy in the back yard, my husband planted 4 more trees this weekend. That now makes 8 trees in the back yard. I think it will all look beautiful when it grows in.

How is that for a crazy few days.

Around the Breakfast Table

Grr

Grrr. I had a post almost all finished and my hand hit the mouse pad on the lap top and deleted it all. Grrrrr. I guess I'll write it tomorrow. Re: pasta and trees. I know you just can't wait. I'm off to drink some wine and cuddle with the hubby for now.

Dentist appointment for the twins tomorrow morning. Lets hope it goes well.

Natural Medicine

My mother and I went for our massages yesterday. We thought we were going to have to take all three kids with us and then would have to figure out what to do with them as we took turns with our massages in the middle of the city, but my Dad offered to watch the twins for the day. So we just had the baby with us. No biggy. He quite likes his time spent with his Nan.

The massages went well. My back is quite a bit looser. I now just need to keep it that way with some warm showers and stretching because I won't be able to get another massage anytime soon. My mother saw much relief this time for her extremely painful neck. Last week, she and my sister went for three days of massage in a row and the RMT suggested some enzymes for my mother to take. My sister already takes them for her digestion and feels they work wonders. Within a few days, my mother has benefited from the enzymes. She says that her neck is no longer extremely painful, but just a bother. Isn't that great. With massage, hopefully she can see some relief finally. Now I have my sister looking into whether or not I can take these enzymes while nursing the baby. It would be great if I could start feeling some relief from something that is natural. I sometimes resort to anti-inflammatories and feel very guilty when I do because of the baby.

So, now I wonder. Why do doctors not prescribe more natural medicines when they seem to have such great results? Is it just the lack of study/research or is it $$$? My mother and I had this discussion in the car yesterday and she believes doctors are prejudiced.

My twins suffer from allergies and asthma. Currently, twin2 is on a steroid puffer daily and steroid cream as needed. Both of these are harmful after long term use and he has now been on them for over a year. The steroid cream, specifically, is known to suppress the immune system. I am in the process of making an appointment with a Homeopath to see if there are natural remedies for these problems. Hopefully I can get some answers. I have heard Vitamin D and Colloidal Silver can produce results, but just how much is needed/when do you take it? I don't feel comfortable just going with the advice of the health food store owner, but would like a guide to keep an watch on our progress. I have the number for a high school friend of my sisters. I will have to give here a call Monday.

Oh, speaking of Monday. The twins have their first dentist appointment!

We made some hobby horses for the twins the other night. They are quite taken with them at the moment. Sorry about the picture quality. My camera is on some sort of setting that is not conducive with my photo taking abilities.

And look at this cute bottom. I couldn't resist.

Hide and Seek and Cheerios

My husband and I played hide and seek with the twins the other night. However, it went more like, my husband or I help the twins hide and then they yell, "I'm over here." They didn't quite get the idea of hiding and keeping quiet. They did have a blast, though. And so did my husband and I.

This morning, the twins decided to practice some dexterity by cutting out some pictures I had printed off the Internet. Twin2 was very excited and asked for help putting his fingers in the holes of the scissors (child scissors) and did a great job cutting out each of the pictures. Twin1 started out with the right intentions. He didn't want help with the scissors and once he got started decided that ripping was far more efficient.



The baby has finally moved past the Cheerios only stage. He has been very slow with his eating of solid foods. A lot of foods have given him digestive troubles: gas, constipation. We were feeding him a jar of prunes a day and were not seeing much of a result. And he hated it, too. We were resorting to suppositories, which are so much fun. Until, I decided to start feeding him the hemp seeds that I eat in my yogurt and then everything was fixed. As long as he eats a 1/2 tbs. of hemp seeds everyday, he is a happy camper. He sleeps much better and is far happier in the middle of the night, which really is the only time he gives us any sort of problems. Anyway, once I figured out his digestive issues, he started eating more solids. Until, I introduced Cheerios. Then he refused to eat anything accept yogurt and hemp seeds, and Cheerios. When he saw the Cheerios he would get a huge grin on his face. When I put some on his tray, he would dive in with both hands and shove the cheerios in his mouth. My husband and I tried to get a video of this, but his love of Cheerios is starting to waver a little bit. I think he is headed for another growth spurt and has realized he may need to eat something of substance to do this. It is pretty amazing how the body works. How it know what it needs even at the age of 10 months old.

I think the baby has actually started to speak his first words. I am quite in awe because the twins didn't really start saying anything that we could understand until they were about 18 months old. They had the whole twin speech going and could understand each other well enough to strategize their next onslaught. The baby, though, is clearly saying 'Da' and today said 'Ma.' When my husband comes through the door from work, the baby starts yelling, "Da, da, da, da." So, we figured that he new who his Da da was. Today, I was in the bathroom drying off the twins from the bath and the baby was shut outside the door screaming at me. When one of the twins opened the door to get let out, the baby came crawling in still crying, climbed to a stand on me and stated yelling, "Ma, ma, ma." Wow. Now he even knows my name. Astonishing. There truly is a difference to raising twins vs. singletons.

Oh the Power of TV

So I purchased this cool icing decorator bottle set from Pampered Chef and my husband has been itching to try it out. Also, he had purchased this neat silicone car cake shape a few years ago. Today he decided to give both items a try by making and decorating a cake to look like Lightening McQueen.

When the twins finally got curious about what my husband was doing and he told them he was making a cake, they got very excited and started yelling, "Party, Daddy. Party, Daddy." I was in the office ironing the new drapes in preparation for hemming and perked my ears up at this exclamation. As my husband proceeded with the decorating, and the cake was about half finished they both started excited yelling, "Happy birthday. Happy Birthday." At this point, I was in the kitchen mixing up the colors my husband would need for the icing and we both looked at each other with eyebrows raised.

The twins have never experienced a birthday for themselves. They attended their cousin's birthday last January, but I didn't think that they really even noticed any of it. It was just another family dinner. And, in fact, only one of the twins even ate the cake - Twin1. I mean, if you ask the twins how old they are, they couldn't even tell you. They have no concept of age = birthday. Or so I thought.

As the twins jumped around the kitchen yelling, "Happy birthday. Happy birthday!" I began to really realize the power of TV and cartoons. There was really no other place that they could have picked up the idea that a cake = Birthday. Very interesting.

I tried to explain what a birthday was, but as far as they are concerned. Cake = Party = Birthday. Ah well.

,

Potraits

Here are some portraits the twins made of a couple family members. After they finished making them, I asked them who there were. They each picked all the colors and glued everything on themselves, even choosing where to place each item. I did the cutting. Here they are.

Aunty C by Twin2

Daddy working by Twin1

Weekend

I missed a day. Gulp. And here I was trying to blog everyday this month. I guess that is out the window! If I blog twice in one day, will that right things?

The weekend is over and it is time to pick up the pieces once again. It doesn't even feel like we had a weekend. We were crazy busy. We had dinner with family both nights. I attended a cooking class on Monday and then had a facial. I got some much deserved 'me' time. But what was missing - oh, time as a family? Yup. Last night, as my husband and I cuddled trying to wind down for a few minutes before bed, we discussed how busy we were this weekend and both came to the conclusion that we missed the weekend because we missed spending time as a family. Isn't that nice. It's so wonderful that we love each other so much.

My cooking class yesterday was fantastic. The class was instructed by Chef Dez who was very funny, entertaining, and knew his stuff. I learned how to make pasta from scratch with a variety of sauces. I have always wanted to make fresh pasta and now I know how. We tried to make pasta as a family in the summer. The twins had a blast, but the result was awful. Looking back, we did almost everything wrong that you could possibly do. I will have to try it out on the weekend.

We had Turkey Dinner at my mom's last night. It was delish. She sent me home with left overs, so I am going to try to make Turkey Pot Pie from scratch. I always make the insides from scratch, but this time I am going to try the pastry crust too!!

Twin1 didn't want to put his rain jacket on this morning, so I explained that he needed it because it was raining out side. He replied with, "All right, mom." It struck me as a very grown up response. He actually understands my explanation and responded with more than a one word answer.

Well, mom's got the twins this morning, so I am going to try and nap while the baby is asleep. Maybe I can still fight off this cold. I think it has finally won the battle, though.

Joke of the Day

Q: When do kids adjust to the time change?

A: HA. Never. They wait another 6 months for it to change back to their schedule.

4am came very early this morning. And, yes, I did manage to not return the huge smile the baby was using to provoke me out of bed. All he got was a grumble from me and a snore from his dad before I whisked him upstairs to play. I finally got him back to sleep at 5:20am, got myself to sleep, when I heard the pitter patter of little feet and the yell of, "Daddy, Mooooom," at 5:40am.

My husband thought I was still up with the baby, so he told the twins to go upstairs. Resulting in the baby once again sitting up and giving a huge grin, as if to say, "Finally, it's time to wake up. Enough of this sleep thing. Lets play." This time the grin was received by a groan from me.

Twin2 is showing a few signs of his asthma emerging once again. It has been over a year from our last attack. We have got him totally drugged on all his puffers. So far the cough has not turned in to a wheeze. We are hoping to keep it that way. He is so like me. If he misses out on a little sleep, as he has done with this wicked time change, then he immediately gets sick.

I told my husband about this night lite I found on line. He told me to buy it right now. So I did. I hope it works.

We are off to the cuz's today for dinner and to pick up our new (old) couch. My brother and parents are also going to join us. Should be fun. I also plan to hit the sale at the Fabric Store and see what gems I can come away with. My husband wants to pick the twins up some hockey gloves. I am not too sure how this is going to go, since they still refuse to even venture onto the ice for more than 3 minutes. (Snicker, snicker) I am still hoping they take to skiing before hockey!!! My husband of course is trying to push the hockey - hence the gloves. Perhaps the gloves will remain dress-up attire. I'd be okay with that.

Toddler Independence

Twin2 put his own jacket on yesterday. The right way and everything. He, specifically, has become very independent as of late. His now favorite saying is, "All my self." Or, "My do it, mom." Or, "My try." Which when translated means that it now takes us 30 minutes to get ready to leave the house, you know with potty stops, arguing over whether or not they have to pee and which jackets/shoes to wear and which toys they are not allowed to bring with them, boots, jackets, and all this independent dressing.

Grey

I feel a little like the weather today. Grey. We went to Strong Start this morning. There were only 6 kids there. It was really nice to have such a small group of kids. Yesterday, we went and there were about 20 kids. With that many kids, I tend to spend the entire time with my back clenched waiting for one of the twins to barrell one of the other kids over.

Yesterday, at Strong Start, I witnessed a sad moment with my twins. I am sure that some would look at the incident with pride, but I was quite saddened. After gym time, the kids always sit around the table and have a healthy snack. The twins tend to stick together like glue. They line up behind one another to wash hand and they sit next to each other at the table. Yesterday, though, was different. They each got in two different lines to wash their hands. Which resulted in my jumping back and forth between the lines, saying excuse me, excuse me, as I bumped in to all the other parents with the baby in my arms. Twin1 was already seated at the table and Twin2 joined him. After a few seconds, Twin1 got up and found a seat at the other table where he stayed to finish his snack. Today, as there were fewer children and only one table to sit at, they did not sit together, but apart. This has never happened before. I don't know if they are starting to seek independence from each other, or not. They did not seem to be unhappy with each other, but there was definitely a conscious choice to sit apart.

I always envisioned that they would be joined at the hips and would do everything together. Although I new they would eventually develop different interests, I certainly didn't expect them to start so soon. They just grow up too fast.

Good Night's

Night, night is one of my, no, is my favorite time of the day. It is the time when all of the days hustle and bustle, meltdowns and messes can be put to rest. It is the time when all is forgotten and love abounds.

Night, night is usually right around 7pm for all three kids at the moment.

The baby
I place him in the crib and say night, night. The first thing he does is lay flat on his blanket and give it a hug, as if to say, "Ah, I'm home." Then he sits up, plays and sings for a bit, whines for a bit and eventually falls asleep hugging his blanket.

The twins
We walk down stairs with our milk. Both organize their bed for the night - toys placed in the correct spot. For twin1, he puts a machine on the bottom shelf of his side table and a stuffed animal in his bed, usually one of my husband's old bears. Twin2 collects as many things as he can fit in the three drawers of his night stand and then strategically stacks a few items on the top, careful not to let them fall, and a stuffed animal in his bed. Twin2 then nestles himself into the corner of his bed because he doesn't want to hurt Thomas, by sleeping on him (He has a Thomas the Tank Engine Pillow Case). Blankets are pulled up around their chests and my husband and I alternate kiss. Sippy's are handed out. At the door, we give a round of, "Miss you. Love you. Miss hockey (or which ever sport is on their minds at the time)." Sometimes they list off family members and say they miss them, sometimes they list off toys.

My husband and I always head up stairs with a big sigh of contentment knowing that we are doing the best we can and they still love us.

Shots

I am listening to twin2 and the baby mimic each other in the other room. I love it when they play together so nicely. It brings a smile to my face.

We all got our H1N1 and Flu shots yesterday. Consequently, or coincidentally, twin2 developed a fever last night and still has it. All of our arms are very tender. The baby was in a lot of pain last night and needed to be given Tylenol. He is still uncharacteristically crabby today and I continue to give him Tylenol. And, to think, we get to do all this again in a month. Because the baby is young, he received a half dose and needs to go back in 1 month. The twins need to receive a booster in 21 days. Yahoo. That was something I was not prepared for.

The decision to get the shots was a very difficult one. I have never taken the children for flu shots in the past because of skepticism over the preservatives in it. My husband and I discussed it and would not be able to live with ourselves if any of them did get sick.

They all did very well getting the shots. The twins are well versed in the area of hospital treatment and medications. They know that medicine makes them feel better and choke it down or deal with the pain. We had a few tears, but nothing compared to some children.

My husband and I still are up in the air about whether we made the right decision to vaccinate or not. I guess, only time will tell.

Self-worth

I have an odd sense of entitlement now that I have earned some money. I know that I have been contributing via maternity leave, but it never really felt like I was an equal part in the financial contributions of the house.

I always felt a little guilty when I bought something for myself knowing that my husband had worked so hard to earn it and I was just at home 'playing' with the kids. I know that I have the hardest job in the world - er, at least that is what is said about SAHM's -, but when people ask if I am working and I say 'no,' I feel like I am copping out on 7 years of education and hard work.

This morning I woke up and felt like it was okay if I spent some money at the fabric store or the outrageously expensive Pampered Chef catalogue - I earned it.

Hmmm. I wonder what this says about my feeling of worth as a SAHM. I had no idea I felt this way. However, it doesn't change the fact that I think we have made the right decision for me to stay home with the kids; instead, it makes me realize that I have not fully acknowledged my contribution as a mother, house wife, maid, cook, mender, personal shopper, nutritionist, teacher, chauffeur...... Just because there is a monetary value attached to working a day as a teacher, it shouldn't demean all that I do for my family.

Mommy's Gotta go to Work

"Mommy's gotta go to work," rang through the house this morning. I awoke at 5am thinking I this was just another weekend Monday. No plans really. Just a nice day spent as a family.

At 8am I received a call from the school that I offered to TOC for. The principal said, "It's November. Can you work today?" I couldn't think of any reason not to. My husband was home today. I had been away last Monday at a cooking class, so really I couldn't use the baby as an excuse. I was ready and heading out the door in 20 minutes. I mean, there isn't much to do when you have been up since 5am already. All the kids and husband had already eaten and the baby was down for his 1st nap.

I had a great day. The class was easy. No problems. I even came home at lunch and fed the baby. I guess all the stress and anticipation wasn't all that necessary. I was, however, asked to work tomorrow and I politely declined. Two days in a row is a bit much.

The twins had their daycare trial this afternoon. My husband dropped them off at 1pm. They didn't even turn around to say goodbye. They just barreled into all the toys. I picked them up at 3pm after work and they didn't even notice me. Twin2 actually asked if he could stay longer. "More time, mom," he pouted. To refer to the Staples slogan, "That was easy!"

Why do I make things so much harder than they have to be? I guess all the worry is really me. I need to get over myself.

Joke of the Day

Q: How do you get 3 kids to shift their routine 1 hour?

A: HA. You don't. Or, it certainly doesn't happen over night.