At last, the Crackerbarrel

A momentous occasion, my first Crackerbarrel meal. Everyone in sorority was dumbfounded that I'd never eaten there, so that was where we went for social this month. I took the twins, but not Laney. She stayed home to watch a movie with her dad (he still can't walk and carry a baby, so they went with me).
The twins had a first this week: first bath together. Sooo cute. They are deeply into their bathtime. I realize that most babies are, but seriously, they are just hilarious they get so excited about it. Hopefully bathing them together will start to streamline the process. But regardless, I've really been enjoying the bath time.
We went to Phoenix yesterday to see my uncle Phillip, who had a layover on his way home from Costa Rica. Sounds like he had a good trip and since his house still has over a foot of snow on the ground, a little warm weather was probably good for him. It was a really long day though for the kids and since his plane was an hour and a half late, we spent a lot of time in the car. I felt kind of bad because I had to pee so bad by the time I picked him up that we just randomly chose someplace to stop (yeah, seriously, I really needed to go). He was starving so I don't think he cared either. Then we went to a cool park in Scottsdale, but we didn't really see much of it before we needed to go.
Today we went to Pump it Up with playgroup and then to Costco where I had the rudest checker. The more I think about it, the madder I get. When I went to check out, I had coupons and told the guy that I hadn't ripped each piece out--I was trying to ask if I needed to or not and he said "well, who do you think is going to do it, then?" in a really flip way. So I figured, ok, he's just thinking he's funny. Then after I checked out, I realized that I'd forgot that I had a second purchase to make on a separate receipt so I went back to get it and said sorry, three kids under 2 makes me a little loopy (or something to that effect) to which he replied "well if you are looking for compassion, sorry, you chose to have them". What a jerk.

Welcome home David

David came home on leave on Saturday, so we went over to Debbie's for a bbq. The weather was great. The kids also did a pinata to celebrate February birthdays. David arranged for a 50th birthday cake for Debbie too, since he won't be home for her birthday in July.

Laney woke up having bad dreams yesterday morning (due in part to the life size animated TRex at the museum the day before I'm sure) and complained that her ears hurt. I gave her some motrin and she slept on the couch all morning before we left for Debbie's. She seemed pretty good for the rest of the day, but she was still a brat about sharing. She told Marissa not to hit the chairs with a toy hoe because it made her sad. Bossy little thing. Charles was sort of appalled at her behaviour, but I guess he doesn't see her play with other children much.

Children's Museum

We had a really good time at the Children's Museum on Friday. There was a lot to do and see there. I tried to get Laney to pose with the Tucson Electric bucket and lineman gear, but she wasn't interested. Maybe next time. The museum is downtown and I can't say I enjoy going down there. But we'll definitely be going back despite the neighborhood.
The twins had a good time too. There was a room for the rainforest and since it was small and padded I let the twins out to explore. They thought it was pretty cool. Kenna crawled in and out of the little house and Griffin played with the toys. Another mom came that had a daughter who is a few weeks older than the twins. She was huge in comparison, but she was a month overdue compared to the twins month premature, so I guess it all works out. Laney's friend Ella whacked her a good one on the eyebrow with a toy magnifying glass.

Sand and Snot

I thought the snot thing was improving, but noses are running freely again and now I'm sick too. Good times. In other news, we have another tooth! Kenna popped one through on Wednesday. Weaning seems to be going pretty well too, though it makes me sad. It is also a lot more work to feed bottles. On the other hand, it is work someone else can do. I have three more weeks before my trip. I'm leaving the kids with Charles and going to Seattle for the weekend. I'm excited about seeing everyone, but wish I could bring everybody--it is kind of a bummer to go to a big family get together without my family. It will be fun to get away, but it might have been more restorative to go to a spa for the weekend.
Laney has been incredibly 2 this week and we've gone round and round.
What can you do? We went to the park for playgroup on Wednesday and the babies ate sand and sticks. Another mom with a 2 year old daughter and 8 month old twins came to the group but I didn't get much of a chance to talk to her yet (she has boys). Laney climbed the dinosaur again and she and Griffin went on the swings. We went out to lunch with Jamie and her boys and with Mary and her daughter Logan at Burger King. The kids seemed to have a good time, but I had to break up a slap fest between Laney and Nathan (who is almost 4) and threaten them both with time outs. Laney met another boy and she wouldn't come out of the play structure. He was 5, an older man.
Today we're off to the Children's museum with our Friday group so I need to get hopping.

weekend update

Valentines day we took the kids in for pictures. I can't say they are the best pictures ever. All the kids were sick and grumpy, though Kenna was feeling photogenic and hammed it up. Most of the pictures featured Laney and Griffin looking drunken or mad. After pictures, we went to Ernie and Diane's for a while and they invited us for dinner (it was Ernie's 51st birthday). We had a good time and it was good to see them--it's been a while. We hadn't seen Ernie and the boys since before Christmas.
Sunday Debbie was supposed to come over, but she was tired from her ordeal on Saturday (she was a chaperone for the drumline on a trip to Phoenix and I don't think they got home until around midnight). So we had a lazy day and Charles actually felt good enough to make lasagna. I did laundry and lowered the cribs since the babies had been greeting me in the morning standing at the waist high rail.
Yesterday I went out to preview preschools (sortof). Laney can't go to preschool until 2010, since her birthday is in November. I think that's stupid. I think she's going to be ready to go to school long before she's able to. Anyway, she'll be able to do a 2 year old preschool. I just have to get her into it. I'm going to have to camp out the day of registration to make sure she has a spot. There are only 24 places and church members and families with children already at the school get first dibs.
It's playgroup day, so I've got to run...

Teething

I thought I'd written another post, but I must not have saved it. Dang. Sunday Griffin got a second tooth! They have all got head colds too, so my life has been joyous this week. It turned really cold here suddenly, which I hate. I don't mind cold weather but I like to adjust over time. From 80 to 50 in one day is just too much for my body to take. So anyway, the snot is flowing and it has been cold and windy so we've been home. Kenna was playing with Laney's trike yesterday and can get up on her knees behind it and push it along the floor. She pulled herself up to a stand at the bottom of the stairs today too. That little devil is going to be walking too soon. Yesterday we went to the mall for a couple of hours with our friends Richelle and Ella. We went into the bathroom to change diapers etc and Laney announced that she needed to use the potty. And she did. Today she pooped on the potty, though that took a lot more initial encouragement on my part (I made her go try when I saw what she was doing). She also fell into the toilet upstairs yesterday morning, but without any adverse affects I guess (she didn't hit the water, just got stuck). I'm trying to up the frequency of our attempts. We'll probably go "live" in another week or so. I need the practice of reminding her to go though. Of course, she spent a good amount of time buck naked today and that really was a definite reminder to me! She just decided clothes were not for her today for some reason.
I'm crabby again and can't decide whether it's hormonal or lack of sleep or a combo. Both babies have been up a lot the last couple nights and I'm tired. Also, I'm trying to wean them, which makes me both sad and uncomfortable. Breastfeeding is a burden in a sense, but it also gives you a lot of closeness with your children that you just don't have bottle feeding. But since Kenna bit me yesterday, the time is coming to move on to bottles. I just think I'll miss it more with the twins in some ways, because that time is my special one-on-one time with each baby.
Babies are crying again. Gotta go.

Our weekend

Yesterday we went to Gymnastics World again and out for bagels with our playgroup. It was a good time. Griffin's new tooth also made its debut! It popped out in the middle of the night. Which probably explains his wakefulness. I finally got Kenna to sleep through the night just in time for G to start waking up.
I spent yesterday afternoon working in the backyard. I got the lantana repotted finally (it's pot exploded months ago and it's been holding together by roots and goodwill), mowed the lawn, and pruned the roses. I got a little carried away with the rose pruning. They are just stubs now. But I didn't get a chance to prune last year since I was pregnant and they were wild. Besides, I'm not the daughter of Agent Orange for nothing. The only thing better than chopping something down is chopping it down and burning it. I'm thinking about ripping out the roses eventually. They use a lot of water and require a lot of work for very minimal pay back. They are so huge now that I'd need some pretty heavy duty hardware and labor to remove them. Everyone came outside with me while I worked. Laney played in the sandbox and was completely coated by the time we were done.
We went out to dinner for the first time since we got home last night. It went ok, but Laney didn't take a nap yesterday and went into meltdown mode by the end of dinner. C'est la vie, n'est pas?
Today Kenna was the cutest thing ever. She sits and laughs and claps. Heartmelting. Seriously. She's also pulling up to stand on her knees. She was looking into the bathtub while I filled it tonight. I need to drop her crib down tomorrow since I keep finding her looking over the railing at me.
Griffin was busy busy busy today. He played legos with Laney and explored all the nooks and crannies he could get to. I keep having to remove him from the laundry room. I tried cleaning me carpet today while the kids were down for a nap, but my carpet cleaner isn't working right. It looks better, but not great.

There might be giants

Hmm. What to write about today? It was an important day filled with tasks like hiding under a blanket with Laney and Kenna because a giant was coming. We read stories together. We sang songs. We ate Cheerios. Laney peed on something. We had grilled cheese sandwiches for lunch with a side of grapes. Basically, I meant to get things done today but I just played with my kids. While I showered this morning, the twins were ranging through the bedroom and upstairs hallways together. Griffin crawled all the way to Charles' office. When I got out of the shower, I panicked a little because I couldn't find him. I've decided that having twins is a lot like having puppies--they crawl around together and follow me places now and they crawl all over each other and chew stuff. It's cute until someone gets poked in the eye. Even then it's still cute, but someone is crying.
As I came downstairs this evening after the last one was put into bed (I love putting Laney to bed because she tells me "goodnight mommy. I love you" ah), that I had been in constant motion and work mode since 3:30 and it was 8. There are a lot of tasks compressed into that small time frame.
In other news, my mom (hi mom) says she's coming to visit in April! That should be cool. Now I just need to figure out where I'm going to put them. We really really need to move into a house that suits our needs a little better, but who knows if we can do it this year. sigh. Anyway, it was a good day today and I'm counting my many blessings.
I updated my pictures in the slideshow tonight too. The new pictures are from before Christmas.

Desert Ducks

Different day, different park. Same climber ;-) We went to Riverfront Park today and Laney was climbing everything in sight. I wrote that name and giggled a little. That cracks me up that they named a park riverfront here. Please. It's on the edge of the wash. Which has water in it very rarely. Anyway, we had a good time. Lots of moms were there that I haven't seen in a while--especially moms with younger kids. Then it was off to the grocery store. I need to make a more organized list to shop from. I spend a lot of time criss crossing the store with my two carts and it gets a little crazy. If you ever want to feel like your kids are really something else, shop on senior day. On the other hand, if you want to get around the store, don't shop on senior day. The old people always shop as a couple and are always standing in the middle of the aisle. Today this little bitty old lady was making her little bitty old husband crawl around on the floor to get a 97 cent cake mix.
This afternoon I cooked for one of the mom's who just had a baby. I made pot pie and I make the ugliest crust. Someone needs to teach me to roll a crust. Possibly I need a different rolling pin.
Kenna is up and crawling on all fours now. She was so excited that she could go fast that she was all over the living room--zip here, zip there, zip back. Griffin was really working on the teeth today. Laney refused to take a nap and took her pullup off and peed on her pillow. She had it off this morning too, but in that case she opted to use the potty. She's also discovered fart jokes. Ask her about a desert duck sometime...

Look ma, no vomit!

We had a good day today. No one fell or vomited or anything. Amazing. We went to playgroup at the park this morning and had a great time. It was great to see everyone that I haven't seen in a long time. The weather was really warm (I got kind of hot towards the end) and the kids were mostly pretty happy. Laney scared the crap out of me though. She was really busy pulling this little wagon around (note to self: buy one of these pronto) and was taking it around the playground structures and out to this jungle gym thing that is shaped like a dinosaur. I was nursing a baby and did my periodic Laney check and didn't see her, so asked if other moms could since sometimes the play structure will obscure the view from one angle or another. Another mom said "yeah, I see her. She's on top of the dinosaur". I about had a heart attack. She was walking over the top of this monkey bar dinosaur, just like the big kids. My friend Tenisha went running over there and I did up my bra and was right behind her (Thanks Tenisha!!). This thing is quite tall (6 feet at the center? Its taller than I am) and has probably 18 inch gaps between the bars. It is notorious for bashing the front teeth out of kids at the downward sloping ends. And there was Laney walking over the top. I was sort of proud of her that she was so brave to try it. She didn't fight with anyone that I'm aware of today and shared her goldfish--she literally poked goldfish into the mouth of one of the little boys. The babies used their play time to attempt to eat their weight in grass clippings and playground detritus.
After the playground, we went to lunch with my friend Jamie and her two boys at a sushi place. Again, Laney was on excellent behavior. Jamie's boys are on the more boisterous end of the spectrum, but I really like her and they are fine for the most part. And when they aren't fine, I tell them to behave (which perversely means they think I'm awesome. yeah, I don't totally get that either but it's a boy thing I think).
The only downside of going out is that the babies fall asleep in the car and catnap a lot, so their regular sleep patterns get a little disrupted. This wouldn't be a big deal if I had a single baby, but it means that the two of them don't sleep at the same time the whole day...which means I don't get any downtime either. Oh well.
We all watched The Little Mermaid tonight before dinner. I bought it on Sunday. Delaney loves it. I guess they are putting it back in the vault or whatever they do, so it was really hard to track down a copy. Stupid Disney.
Anyway, we all had a good day and I'm feeling the love for my children and husband.

A note from the trenches

Ok, I said I would start writing again, but it has been really hard to work up the energy by the end of the day and I haven't had access to my laptop during the day (or time). Also, by the end of the day I'm getting pretty tired and cranky, so I feel like my posts aren't as positive and upbeat as they could be.
We went on a whirlwind visiting trip yesterday: saw Bob and Raye, Olive and Don, and Debbie and Angelica. Bob is looking pretty good all things considered (he had a major, life threatening case of pneumonia). I always enjoy going over there. They are the nicest people. Laney got attacked by a tangelo tree while we were there and has a massive scratch on her face now. Then we went to Olive and Don's for a short visit. Ollie has a problem with her second eye healing from the cataracts surgery and I guess they have diagnosed her with arthritis of the eye. Yeah, I didn't know you could get that either. After that it was on to Deb's for some football. She bought a massive tv. We could have sat on the other side of the house and had a decent view. I think it's 52 inches. Huge. She's looking forward to David coming home in just a few more weeks.
Laney was sick in the middle of the night again and puked all over. After I cleaned her up and was rocking her, she puked on me, the chair, the floor and a blanket. I cleaned her up and put her in bed with us (armed with something to puke in this time) and she puked a third time, but with less disasterous consequences. With the resilience of youth, she started feeling better and wanted to talk. I sent her back to her bed with a couple crackers.
I'm deeply annoyed with my husband tonight. I told him I wanted my laptop back this week, so while I was doing puke laundry, mopping, running errands to the store to FedEx his stuff, etc. he went in my office and installed his video game on the desktop computer in my office too. While he was at it, he threw out all my icons on the desktop and hosed up god knows what else. So I changed his account to a limited and put a password on my computer. It's petty, I know. But sheesh!
In other news, Kenna has a tooth and Griffin is crawling at warp speed. I accidentally fell on the stairs carrying Kenna last week and dropped her. She bounced her head off a step and flipped on to the landing. I completely lost it (we were both fine). Yesterday, I left Charles on the floor in our bedroom with Griffin and Laney. I asked him to put Laney's shirt on while I went to get K. While I was getting Kenna, I heard thumping and G started crying. He crawled out of our room and fell down the stairs while Charles was putting Laney's shirt on. He was fine, but it scared me. I just don't know what the deal is with all this falling. G is exploring everything so fast, I can hardly believe it. The other day he made it into the kitchen, got into the pantry, and was eating a rice cake when I found him. He's also been making forays into the laundry room and trying to get to the cat box. I'm going to have to install a lot more gates. Kenna started out strong on the crawling, but has stalled out somewhat. Tonight, I was doing the dishes and Griffin started crying in the family room. He crawled all the way into the kitchen and started tugging on my pant leg. Poor baby. Tomorrow we have playgroup at the park and it is supposed to be 77 degrees out. Crazy.