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.

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.

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Library

I decided it was time to get the twins library cards. Yesterday afternoon, once the baby awoke from his nap, ate, and the twins had peed, we headed off to the library. The twins were quite excited. They like books. We had the talk about how we share books at the library with lots of people, so we have to keep them nice looking and be gentle with them. We were prepared and eager.

The librarian processed all our information as quickly as she could while the twins played with the handicap button on the door and the baby squirmed and squealed (not happily) in the sling. I chose the sling because I new I would need my hands free at some point. The twins were busy and I was trying to keep the baby happy when I heard a little squeak, "Mom?" Twin1 had peed all over the library floor! I apologetically told the librarian that my son had peed on the floor. I mean, really, what could I do? It's not like I was going to run to the bathroom with three kids, get paper towel and start cleaning it up. The librarian was nice about it. Once she was finished processing the info, I packed all of the kids back into the car to head home for new clothes and another pee break. I hadn't thought to bring a change of clothes because they had only just visited the potty. Finally, we were clothed and back in the car. I was determined to check out the library with the kids.

At the library, I showed the twins the kids section. They ran around liked crazed animals looking at the different books and stuffed animals yelling at the top of their lungs, "Horsey - Neeeee; Dog - woof, woof; Birdy - quack, quack; Sharp-tooth (shark) - Grrr...." Yes, I am not kidding. I forgot to have the discussion with the twins about how the library is a quiet place. I finally corralled them into a spot, picked out a book and sat and read it together while the baby checked out the place. The twins each picked out a book, I gave them their library cards, and we checked out our books. No more pee incidents.

Twin1 picked out the 'horsey' book and twin2 picked a 'wolf' book. It was neat to see what they chose for their first books. They nicely looked over their books on the car ride home. Until, of course, they were finished looking at them and the books immediately turned into weapons with which to beat each other. So much for the discussion about being gentle with the books!

Daycare

Urg. Daycare. So, my maternity leave is over and I now have to think about how I am going to supplement that income. If I substitute teach, I only need to work 3 days a month. Big deal, right? Well not right. I told myself it would be no big deal. I talked to a lady that has an in-home daycare. She is great with the other kids and she has experience with twins. We went to her place for a look-see and things are great. They know most of the kids and the daycare provider from 'Strong Start'. Familiarity is not an issue. I don't even think the twins would have an issue with anything. It is all me. I am not ready. I have no idea how other moms do it, the thought of actually having my kids cared for by someone other than family makes me want to cry.

Now, I never even contemplated the baby. I always assumed that the baby would go to my mother's for the day and the twins would go to daycare in order to relieve some of the burden on my mother. I had everything worked out, until the evening after the look-see. Then, I melted. These are my children, mine. I want to keep them in a nice, safe bubble that revolves around the love of their family.

Lets face it though. I have had it great. If I have ever needed to do something like an appointment, or when I went back to work after the twins, my mother was always there for me. I saw what this did to her, though. She was exhausted and deprived of her own freedom. She has already raised her kids and shouldn't be doing it again. Besides, the twins were 14 months old when I went back to work, not 10 months old. Yes, 4 months makes a huge difference at this age. 4 months makes a huge difference at pretty much every stage of development.

So, I bawled all my fears to my ever understanding and compassionate husband and he told me not to worry, he would figure it out. I could head back to work when I was ready. I have now begun the process of weaning the baby. I guess, I will have to wait and see when I am ready. I am going to go through with the daycare. I do need a place where the twins can go for a morning or afternoon if I need to do something. But, the baby is coming with me!

Just Another Day

Ah, fall weekend mornings: a cup of tea, couple sippy's of milk, and cartoons. I love weekend mornings. Especially when they are lazy ones in the fall - it is still dark outside and you can hear the rain dancing (he, he...not on my tongue) on the skylight. No phones ringing, no children screeching...just peace and quiet and the rain.

Moments ago, the twins took it upon themselves to help feed the baby cheerios. A snapped a photo while the baby giggled with glee.



I am off for a little 'me' time today. I am taking a cooking class down the valley with my sister and then I get to do some child free shopping at the fabric store and Costco. I am a little nervous about leaving all three kids with my husband for so long. This will be his first time. I am sure that he will do great, but I am nervous nonetheless.

It's time to refill the freezer with meat once again. This seems to need doing about every 3 months. Costco is the best deal around here. I take a cooler, buy in bulk, then get it home and repackage it in dinner sized portions. The portions seem to be getting bigger and bigger with the growing twins. Twin2 is in feeding frenzy stage at the moment. Another growth spurt is on the way.

At the fabric store, I am picking up some essentials for making curtains in the kitchen. I am finally going to use the fabric that I purchased 3 years ago to recover the $20 sofa we had purchased at a garage sale. My cousin is giving us their couch because they have purchased new ones, so the musty garage sale find is outta here. Ya. Now I have a tonne of fabric and nothing to do with it, so drapes it will become. Finally, I can enter the kitchen and not have to look right at the lady who lives behind us standing in her kitchen window with a cigarette in one hand, beer in the other and the telephone in the crook of her neck. Some days she is on the phone at 7am **** Funny story. My husband was replacing the back fence this summer and this same neighbor called him over to look at it from her deck view. She thought she was helping by telling my husband the fence was really crooked. The fence was not crooked, she was very drunk.... Hence the tall fence being built.****

Well, duty calls.

"Mane Event"

We went to an equestrian show this morning at a near by town. My mom requested that we go in order to get the twins some cowboy outfits. We arrived early because we were up early this morning and we wanted the baby to sleep on the drive. Thank goodness farm people are also early risers. The twins were enthralled the moment we entered the exhibition park. "Horsey! Horsey!," could be heard for miles. We quickly scouted out the best deals and very quickly spent all my mother's money. We walked away with 2 cowboy hats, two horse decalled rain jackets, and three pairs of cowboy boots (Yes, a very cute pair for the baby once he starts walking). Twin1 wore his hat all the way home. We went straight to my mother's house to show off our wares. I think she was pretty pleased with our purchases. She said, "Every kid needs cowboy boots." After putting his cowboy boots on, twin1 has not taken them off. I am afraid he may sleep in them tonight!

After sitting on the potty, he immediately put his boots back on and nothing else!

My tape measure is his lasso.

A Kitchen Renewed

We had a busy weekend. Finishing the baby's room downstairs has hit a stall while we wait for an electrician to fix some stuff and get a heat source in there. So I took advantage of the repair lull in the house. We painted the kitchen a dark sage green. My husband's aunt, a room designer, came to visit a month ago and made some suggestions for our house: paint colours, furniture placement, finishing touches. As a result, I was inspired and just itching for a chance to get started on her suggestions. My husband hates, despises painting, so he was a bit of a bear to start with. He quickly warmed to the idea once he saw the drastic change between the old dirty ceiling and the new painted one. It was truly disgusting. I have spent the last 2 years in this house trying to get rid of the smoke residue and the only things left are ceilings in various rooms. This winter, I plan to finish the ceilings.

It took five hours and the kitchen was completely painted. It looks great. The twins were wonderful. We let them paint a portion of one of the walls, which they thought was a blast. They are in to painting/drawing circles, so they painted circles around the light switches and plugs. While we finished up, we banished them from the kitchen. I gave them a couple rolls of painters tape and they unravelled them throughout the living room creating a maze of tape. I will have to remember to pick up a few extra rolls the next time I paint.

The baby was not quite so happy with the situation. He has had free rein of the house since he started crawling. Rightly so, he was very put out with not being allowed to play in all the plastic floor cover and green goo. He let us know very loudly that he was unhappy with the situation.

My husband and I made a great team, finishing the kitchen quickly. After, we all headed out for a bike ride/walk, which allows leads to a stop at Grandma and Grandpa Erickson's, and off to Rolly's for dinner.

Boys are so NOT Girls

Potty training is going fairly well. They can now pee on demand. Which is great because trips to the potty are now seconds long, as opposed to hours (literally). Twin1 spent the better part of a day on the potty once. Potty's are now in the bathroom, instead of in front of the TV. The twins are now no longer scared of the big toilet - although the toilet at my in-laws still gives me a freight every flush (Wooooosh). We have had several nights of pee free pull ups. We have had several trips out of the house and even some longish car rides with no accidents. So all in all, I am very happy with their progress. It definitely didn't take the week that I thought it would take - more like a month and a half. That being said, we are no where near poop trained.

Today, I ventured out of the house and off to school. I noticed a pee grab at one point from twin2 - the signal that a potty break is needed. There is still no verbal sign given. So, off to the toilet I go. He successfully got himself up on the big potty only to pee all over his pants and the floor. He was pretty good at trying to redirect, but with no success. Aim was just not there today. As the pee kept shooting higher and higher, all I could do was giggle. Boys are so not girls. This would never happen to a girl. I told him not to worry about it because he sat on the potty. I proceeded to clean up the pee that was all over the floor, got a new outfit and off we went. Twin1 thankfully did not have this problem.

Shopping

I went shopping with the little man this morning. Mom watched the twins for me while I redeemed the gift card I had won for losing the most weight during a monthly challenge at Herbal Magic. I went into the store and found a few items that I liked, picked out size 'M' in all only to discover that they were all too big. Wahoo. I really didn't think that I would ever be 'S' again. I also wanted to pick out a dress for my husband's work social this year, but all were too big. A problem that I am quite happy to have. I came home with a few new shirts to add to my ever expanding wardrobe. I now find myself changing clothes several times a day because I have so many. I went from having 3 pairs of pants to about 25. Thank goodness pants haven't changed too much in 5 years. Shirts, on the other hand, are a different story. All of my previous shirts are way out of style.

The baby was wonderful. He played very nicely with the clothes hangers. He did, however, pee through his diaper and on to me. But, at this stage, I am pretty used to being covered with all sorts of body fluids. I rarely even change after this happens. Just par for the course as a mom.

When I picked up the twins, they were flushed with glee. They had a fantastic time with Nan, doing all the crazy and wild things that they do there - hockey (inside and outside), gardening, watering plants, breakfast at Rolly's (with paper planes flying all over the restaurant into other people's food). We got in the door and they were ready to veg, allowing me time to feed the baby lunch and put away purchases that needed putting away before little hands got into it all.

Another great day around here.

Three

I have to say that I am thoroughly enjoying the age of three. The twins have been three for a few months now and I love it. After a great breakfast this morning where the twins chatted away with us about things only children think of, I said to my husband, "I love this age. I wish I could freeze it."

The twins now play together for extended periods of time. They are developing imaginations to facilitate their play. They can manipulate things to build trains and houses, or put together great puzzles (Thanks Aunty and Uncle). They can go outside and play in the sandbox, building roads and digging holes, loading the dump trucks. They even play with Play Doh for hours or turn cookie dough into dinosaurs and tools.

They have started to play dress-up. They, especially twin1, wear a variety of hats (Thank you Aunt) throughout the day, for days on end, or wear various uniforms pretending to be firemen, police officers, doctors, nurses, or veterinarians.
They can now take direction. Although sometimes they choose to ignore it. I can ask them to shut the door to make sure the baby doesn't escape and they are quick to respond with a "Whew, close!" They can help me put dishes away or bake bread. Twin1 loves to help clean and he is really good at it.

The first three years with twins were extremely trying, but now I feel as though the effort is starting to pay off already. My mom was just telling me the other day about when they were one and a half and would gang up on her and pinch her. Those days seem to be over.

Exhaustion - Part 2

The Twins cont'd
The twins were not good sleepers. For their first year, they were each up about 4 times a night. I never did manage to sleep through my Husband's feeding turn. Which meant I was up 8 times a night the entire first year. In their second year, we were up once or twice a night for each twin. I can count on one hand how many times they did sleep through the night.

Prior to my returning to work part-time, when they were 14 months old, we tried to sleep train. We had several nights of crying it out. Which really means that they cry so hard they never get to sleep and the lack of sleep eventually turns into a full blown cold. And a cold for us meant the possibility of a viral induced asthma attack, a trip to the hospital, ride in an ambulance and a few days of disgusting hospital food, no sleep, and a dent in the credit card. Needless to say, this method did not go over well with us. So we tried watering down their bottles - Nope. Putting water in their bottles - Nope. Using sippy cups, instead of bottles - Nope. It was easier for us to get up and get them a bottle a couple times a night, than to get no sleep.

At 18 months, both twins started climbing out of their cribs. We put a child lock on the inside of the door handle so they couldn't get out. This was the end of nap time for a few days as they discovered all the great things they could get into in the bedroom. Dresser drawers were emptied, closets were ransacked, and pictures were knocked off walls. Eventually, the closet doors were toddler proofed, top and bottom, and every piece of furniture removed except their beds. We installed a high shelf so that we could still have a fan and air purifier in their room. On that shelf, I stored some of the creams they needed for eczema, butt paste... One of these afternoons when they were supposed to be napping and I was ignoring the noises because I needed an afternoon break, they discovered they could throw their socks at the lotion on the shelf and knock it down. I opened the door after an hour to discover two completely white children covered in butt paste, every rung on their crib, the carpet, everything was covered.

Soon, we transitioned to a toddler bed because we were afraid they would figure out how to get out their window. They did manage to open it on several occasions, but did not get the screen removed. Once in toddler beds, the evening bed time got pushed back farther and farther. We started sleeping in their beds to get them to sleep at a reasonable time, which often resulted in my husband falling asleep too. We thought we would slowly move out of their beds, closer to the door, so that they would fall asleep on their own - Nope. We tried just leaving and letting them scream - Nope. This resulted in endless screaming, lack of sleep, colds, viral induced asthma, hospital stays.... Soon we just put a twin mattress on the floor of their room and my husband slept their, or one of the twins would be brought into our bed to sleep. At some point, with my mother's help we weaned night time bottles and allowed only water. At least we no longer had to go get bottles in the middle of the night.

Somehow in the middle of all of this and with neither my husband or I sleeping together in the same bed together, we managed to conceive another child. With the birth of our third boy, my husband was now the one to take care of the twin's sleep, or lack of it. He pretty much slept on the twin mattress in their room for 6 months. With the arrival of summer, we decided to move our bedrooms downstairs to keep cool and have quieter sleeps. Now at 3 years old, one twin would sleep through the night about twice a week, but never on the same night. So, my husband continued to sleep in their room on a mattress on the floor. He wasn't too upset about this because at this time, our new baby began to never sleep. The twins were still having an afternoon nap each day, which meant they didn't go to bed at night until 9:30pm. I really didn't want the naps to end because I needed that time in the middle of the day to rest. One day, half way through August, my husband asked the twins if they would like their milk in a cup or bottle - yes, there were still drinking from bottles - they said, "Cup." We gave them their milk in a cup and quickly removed all bottles from the house that instant. They asked for a bottle a few times, but they were gone, so their was little protest. That day, they stopped napping in the middle of the day and bed time moved to 7pm. My husband still continued to put them to sleep at night by lying on the mattress in the room. My husband then had to work late a few nights, resulting in my having to put them to sleep. I was not able to lie with them because the baby was still awake, so they put themselves to sleep. A few nights later, we removed the mattress for good

At 3 years and 3 months, they regularly sleep through the night. Who new. No sleep training at all. Sometimes, they just know when they are ready. I wish potty training was that easy, but perhaps that is the problem - training. Maybe I should just let them do it on their own........

Exhaustion

I always thought I was tired and so busy before I had kids. Little did I know. I have not slept through the night in 4 years. I am not even sure that I could if I was given the opportunity. Thankfully, my parents have taken the twins overnight and given us that chance. Now that I am nursing, however, I can't ask my husband or my parents to take a night. It's all up to me. There are certainly aspects of nursing that I enjoy. Mainly the convenience of whipping out a boob any where that I am when the little man gets cranky. I don't have to find somewhere to warm a bottle, or bother with keeping it cold while out and about. But that is all for another time.

Sleep - yes, as a parent, sleep is a luxury. And don't tell me about how your child slept through the night at 3 weeks, or 5 days old. People who have kids who don't sleep do not want to hear stories about how other children slept through the night. I really don't want to hear it. What I want to hear is that I am not alone. I want to hear that you child was up multiple times a night until he was 4. That's what I want to hear.

The Twins
I don't care what parents of other twins say about the glorious days of having two babies simultaneously. It just isn't true. Sure there were definitely moments, although I can't remember them now because my brain has been fried from ammonia fumes from all the diapers, but mostly twin babies are plain work. The joy of parenting doesn't really begin for about 18 months to 2 years. Then the fun begins. Endless cleaning and guilt. Guilt that I am not able to hold both babies when they are crying. I remember one day that I sat and bawled, while my twins screamed at me. I was trying to feed both babies at the same time, but one kept falling off the pillow. Then when I got him on, the other would fall off the other side. Ahh. It sounds funny now, but the memory of it still makes me want to pull my hair out.

I haven't even mentioned the sleep. And my time is now up - the baby is now awake and the twins are starting to roam. I guess there will be a part 2 of this blog.

Words

I love all of the new words that the twins are learning.

Twin2's favorite phrase right now is, "Later, mom." And he doesn't just say it, he says it with attitude, "Laater, muum." Like he is trying to tell me to leave him alone and give him some space. Another one from Twin2 is, "OOkaaay, Mum." I have no idea where they pick these things up. I don't talk to them like that. And the few TV shows they watch don't have characters that talk like that. I have no idea. A new one that I heard today from twin2 is, "Yup." Not, yes or yah, but, "Yup." To the opposite of that, he has also added, "Nope," into his repertoire.

Twin1 isn't quite as quick to pick up on new words, or slang. But one that I hope I never forget is that he now calls me, "Mumma." I love it. It sounds so old fashioned, but so genuine.

Both the boys say I love you the same way, "La, La."

If you ask twin2 his name, he replies with, "me." Although, my sister says that he clearly told her his name on the phone the other day when she asked who she was talking to. Twin2 has also added a new pronoun into the mix - us. He asked twin1 and dad to wait for him and I, "Wait us." I love it. The 2 or 3 word sentences.

As with many twins, however, the sign language that they develped at such an early age has not disappeared. They still manage to communicate the most complicated plans with just a few gestures. They were trying to teach their cousin to throw a ball the other day with just gestures and the cousin didn't get it. Their gesture language is all their own.

I wish I had a recorder to capture all of these great first, and sometimes I wish last - especially the attitude, bits of verbiage.

Toddler Hair Cutting Tip

I refuse to spend $10-20 on haircuts for the twins, so I decided I would give it a try. I've watched my hair get cut 1000's of times. Should be easy.

It took a couple of tries, but I now think that I have an okay technique down. I get things pretty even. My boys do have wavy hair, though, so I have a little forgiveness.

The trouble, however, lies in getting the child to sit still for long enough to get the cut done. The first few times, the cut ended up spanning over a few days. I tried putting them in a chair with a favorite toy. I tried a favorite treat - which they do not get very often at all. I have now discovered an even easier way that invovles no bribery. Place the child on the potty, in front of the TV, with some milk. This works wonders. I managed to get some pretty good cuts out of the twins using this method.

So, I decided to try this out on my nephew who I watch on Tuesdays. He was suffering from a very uneven cut. He truly hates to get his hair cut and like the twins, the last time he had his hair cut it took a few attempts, people, and bribes. Also, I wanted to see how my hair cutting techniques faired on straight hair.

I sat him down on the potty (he is not potty training yet, but has shown some interest since his cousins are training), put on a new movie, gave him some milk and went at it. He didn't last as long as the twins, but I did manage to get things evened out. I didn't account for a slight cowlick in the front, but all in all an okay job I thought.

Now, what am I going to do when they refuse to sit on the potty in front of the TV?