Who's Doing What...

We are entering that time of the school year when they jam pack every little thing they can think of into the last six weeks. Our oldest two girls have joined the running club at school. I was happy and surprised to hear they were interested in joining. Alexys being blessed with running skills like her mother, I could understand why she would want to participate...NOT!! Apryl has started the infamous Growing and Changing unit we all remember so fondly. She was completely embarrassed to start this unit, but after talking with her numerous times about what she could expect I think she was slightly more prepared. I signed her permission slip and wrote her teacher a little "good luck" note and off she went to learn about "areas" as she says! "I was totally grossed out!" was her response when I asked her how it went. As hard as it is to talk to ONE kiddo about those things, I can only imagine what it must be like to have to talk to 25. Addysen has calmed down a little about the planets and has begun to like other stuff. She is extremely talkative, because obviously we needed a child that was not so quiet! For a while I was getting a break from the constant talking while Lexy is at school, but now, Addy just picks up where her sister leaves off! Yesterday she talked about the birds in the yard for over an hour. She talked about where they live and what they might be eating and also about how they use a toilet. That was when I said I had to clean the kitchen and that daddy wanted to hear about the birds bowel movements. Garhett is also starting to talk up a storm. Everyday he says something new, maybe even an entirely new sentence. He says, "thank you mommy." in the sweetest way I have ever heard. He and Brenden are very much into Toy Story still and watch the movie at least once a day. If I could put the movie on a loop, they would watch it over and over all day long. In fact, we have already discussed the boys being Woody and Buzz for Halloween. Both boys are definitely becoming their own little person. They are always aware of where the other one is or what the other is doing. Lately though Brenden has not been doing much. Yesterday I took him back to the doctor, I felt he had been sick long enough and I wanted to find out what is bothering him. Matt and I want our little man back. Brenden has lost weight and hardly moves off the couch some days or off my lap for that matter. So, as of now we are waiting for his test results and I hate waiting!! It is agonizing! Hopefully I get a call sooner rather than later. I am ready for Brenden to wreak some havoc again. I can not believe I thought that, I will regret those words!

Egg-tastic!!

Had a great time coloring eggs with the kiddos last night. I was prepared and had two of each color, paper all over the table and a wash cloth standing by! I had hard boiled 36 eggs and Grandma brought over 24 more and that just was not enough as far as the boys were concerned. Honestly, how many hard boiled eggs do they think we can eat after Easter is over? Both boys kept yelling, "egg, egg!" because we were not moving fast enough. Addysen did great also and for her as well as the boys, using the spoon to put the eggs in the dye was optional. We now have one little person with green hands, another with pink and another with blue. It will eventually wear off. Brenden found that in between coloring an egg his dye was a refreshing drink, hence the reason he has green lips to match his hands. During the egg dying session we did have to change the paper on the table and pull up sleeves a few times, but everything seemed to work out pretty well. When all the eggs were dyed the boys were not done and began re-dying the eggs. The two of them were still sitting at the table dying eggs long after their sisters had left the table. Neither of them seemed to care that the eggs were not white and went ahead and tossed them into another color. That process ended up yielding some pretty neat looking eggs!! Now it is up to the Easter Bunny to get here and hide those well dyed eggs!

Knock on Wood

I look at that little man in the picture (Garhett) and I only see a shadow of that little guy left. His somewhat chubby cheeks are more hollow now and those same p.j.s hang off his body. Same goes for the B-man. Brenden's rib cage is much more prominent and you can see his collar bones and his spine more easily than before. All that said I think they may be on the way to recovery. I don't know the exact virus that spread through this house, but it has wreaked so much havoc on my little people that I am sure somewhere someone at some high priced, hoity toity spa would pay good money for the chance to loose that much weight in such a short time. Living in this alternate "sick" world with my kiddos is so sad and strange. Our guys have not left their spots on the couch for seven days now, and Brenden has not done a thing for over two weeks. Our milk usage has dropped significantly since they have only been allowed to have water or Gatorade. Also, diapers have been is less demand. It is a money saver yes, but not how I was looking to save. You would think with the boys and Addy out of commission I would get somewhat of a break. Keeping in mind the other children that live here still want to have dinner ready and need help with homework, oh and the massive amount of laundry that comes with a stomach virus, I would rather chase my guys around the house any day. So far this morning they have managed to keep their bananas and some water down, I am keeping my fingers crossed. Hopefully by Sunday which is Easter, they will be up and running around looking for eggs. For now, they are happy to continue taking it easy watching Toy Story 1,2 and 3 again. I can hardly wait to get back outside with the little people, listening to "You've got a Friend in me" for the one thousandth time is like some form of torture. As much as I like the Toy Story trilogy, a person can only take so much! Here's to kiddos on the mend, knock on wood now.

Playtime With Addy

I have learned recently that if our boys had older brothers rather than older sisters they would probably play much differently. Addysen seems to be the ring leader for the three little people. I hear her talking to the boys and telling them what to do. "Come with me princesses." she will say to her brothers. Next thing I know she has both boys wearing dresses and high heels and they are both carrying purses. If she had access to make-up, I'm sure they would be wearing that as well. Then I heard her say, "We have a big day of shopping ahead of us!" I can't imagine an older brother looking forward to a pretend shopping adventure. The only problem is when the boys are finished wearing their dresses, Addy usually is not ready for them to return to being little boys. Boys are messy and loud according to Addysen. It is great to see them all playing together, soon enough the boys will be making Addy attend their truck rallies and pushing her into the dirt.

More Than Enough

Spending my days with my kiddos is wonderful. Spending my days with my kiddos while they are throwing up, not so wonderful. Whatever bug my hubby received from my brother, he shared with Addy. Addy then shared her bug with Garhett, who then shared his with Brenden!

We started out our morning yesterday pretty much like any other. Ten or fifteen minutes into our morning routine and Addysen was getting sick to her stomach. This hit her like a ton of bricks. She threw up from seven a.m. until around five that evening. I made a bed for her on the couch so I could nearer to her. She managed to throw up on everything a few times. Then I found an old waterproof crib sheet and put that underneath her with a beach towel covering the rest of the couch. Everything she drank came right back up, so I had to only give her very small amounts of water. I am always worried about the little people becoming dehydrated. Fast forward a little later to when the older two got home from school: The scene-Addy on the couch, and Alexys sitting on the floor next to the couch. Action-Addy projectile vomits and it ends up all over Lexy's head! Lexy then is running around screaming with blue Gatorade goo dripping down her head and into her shirt. I have to admit, even though I was once again cleaning up a mess, the comic relief was welcomed. Fast forward a little more to Garhett sitting on the back of the couch looking out the window, and suddenly he is also throwing up. Why not? All over the couch to boot! There is a point when he too is projectile vomiting and his victim would be their other sister, Apryl. She is yelling from downstairs as if someone has just shot her. Unfortunately for her, Garhett had eaten all day which made it a little worse! Right now they are all doing better, and I am almost done with being banished to the laundry dungeon. After all, tomorrow is another day~~thanks Scarlett!

Running on Empty

Just as I started to think we were turning the corner and our little people would be free from illnesses, BAM!! We get our shot at another go 'round. For an entire week Brenden had been feeling just awful. He started with that rash I mentioned before and then it turned into a wonderful runny nose and a cough to match. I decided a week is long enough and he needs to be seen. Poor little man has an ear infection and a nasty sore throat to go along with it. I have been up for what feels like two straight days. I am not certain why I am not a little more delusional, but I am thankful for being able to think clearly. Matt and I were both up with Brenden all night Sunday. Brenden just could not get comfortable. He can't breathe through his nose and because his throat is so terrible, he is having trouble breathing through his mouth. His doctor said his tonsils are so swollen they are touching, not to mention extremely red and a few other descriptive words I will leave out just in case you are eating! Yesterday was a long day for Brenden and me. He is very clingy and whiny, and when mom doesn't get enough sleep, I am also clingy and whiny. My husband then called to let me know that he too was not feeling well. He was sick to his tummy and left work at noon. "Great", I thought. "There goes my helper! " Yes, I probably could have been more sympathetic to his plight, but I wasn't! I can't remember how many times I have had to just suck it up when I am not feeling well. I had to leave with Brenden to go to the doctor which meant he was going to have to get up and be available for the other kiddos. I have to admit, he did surprisingly well. I even think he may have sucked it up a little! I was gone for three hours with the doctors appointment and then waiting for meds, and doing a little shopping while I was there. I needed to get something that Brenden would be able to swallow and I bought my hubby some Gatorade...see, I do care! Last night was no better than the previous, my littlest man was running an even higher fever and still in bed with us. Let's hope he gets some much needed rest today and starts to turn the corner!

Dinner Rush

When my hubby gets home from work it is typically close to dinner time. He is always very willing to help get dinner started or finished whichever it may be. Yesterday it was start. I was rocking the in rocking chair in the boys room while they open and slammed the door shut over and over. It had been somewhat of a long day with the boys having another round of colds. Brenden running a fever and sporting a neatly patterned rash. I have to say I have had enough with this damned cold season! As I was sitting and rocking I kind of started to feel overwhelmed and sad. I was thinking to myself how boring my day had been and all that was in store was a repeat of this day tomorrow and the day after that. Then came the guilt for feeling that way. As if actually having emotions about MY day at "work" is wrong. I have no actual co-workers of course, but when I feel indifferent about the people I spend my days with it feels like I am insulting my own kiddos. That was when I started to cry like a baby. Hence the reason Matt took control of the dinner reigns and poured me a glass of wine. I do so like wine! Dinner came with its own set of circumstances. If you tell the boys dinner is ready it had better be READY!! Last night was taco night and that generally goes over well with all the kiddos. Apryl, however, said her stomach hurt and did not want to eat. Addy will not eat any taco meat and had to have a quesadilla. Garhett and Brenden like to eat a mixture of everything with taco chips for dipping, and Lexy, well she eats any thing! She is like our "Mikey" of taco night. Dinner conversation was lacking a bit due to the fact that Addysen only wanted to tell us her solar system spiel for the 1,000th time. Garhett thought he was hilarious each time he spit all over his tray and then threw the food from his mouth on to the floor. I had the opposite opinion. Lexy then finished up her dinner by pulling her shirt over her head and doing some sort of dancing in the kitchen. Talk about wonderful dining entertainment. All of this lead me to want to cry again, but I settled for another glass of wine!

What Did He Say?

Just recently I and many other people watched the most adorable video with twin boys chatting it up like they knew exactly what the other was saying. Since then quite a few people have asked Matt and I if we could relate to that, and of course we can! The little guys in that video are about a year younger and almost as cute as our twins! Just kidding, even I will admit those little guys are totally adorable! Back to the subject, our guys do have a language of their own, but they also speak pretty well to others. It seems like the things they say to one another are almost telepathic. They share the same emotions and ideas about almost everything. That passion they share for similar things is what makes sharing such a difficult concept. Brenden and Garhett are very sensitive to one another. They both are very bothered when the other is hurt or upset. They also care when their sisters are upset, but not quite the same way. It is hard to explain how they are alike exactly, it is just something you get to experience when you have twins that live with you. I remember before we even were expecting with twins just how little I knew about them. I really had no reason to know anything at all about twins never having known any prior to our boys. Their bond is not something people who are born as a "singleton" can try to recreate with another person. I do not care how close or how connected one person may feel towards another, it's simply not the same! I find that I am very close with a few people and I think I could answer almost any question about them, but I still did not share a womb with them, and that is something no one can say unless you were born a multiple. Being a twin must be very neat, as an observer it seems like it would be pretty fun. Our boys have an entire life time to spend with their best friend and probably someone who is the closest to a soul mate they will ever know, I find that to be an awesome thing. Some people never get the chance to share such a bond with someone else. I wonder some times what it is like for people who are triplets or quads or even higher order multiples. Do they feel as close to their siblings as twins since there are more of them or do they divide into groups? The next time our little guys make you feel like a third wheel, just try laughing with them. More than likely they will look at you like you are crazy, but who isn't when you are at our house?

Gone Bowling

While we were away our girls heard there was a bowling alley nearby and really wanted to go. I think I must have left my brain at home since I also thought that would be a fun thing to do. Our little people had never been bowling, but anything that involves balls our boys are up for it. We got in and thankfully we were the only people in the bowling alley and had there been other people there, they probably would have wished they had ear plugs! Everyone who was bowling got their shoes and picked out their bowling balls. The boys also had little bowling shoes which were kind of cute. We put only the boys and Addy on one lane so I could help them and they wouldn't interfere with the other bowlers. Trouble began when they boys realized they were going to have to take turns and share a ball. They were not any better about keeping their hands out of the ball renturner thingy. All of these things led to a complete melt down from each boy screaming included! Matt and I tried to do whatever we could to appease them but to no avail. Even Grandma and their sister were trying to calm them, nothing made a difference. Eventually enough was enough!! Their mommy marched their little two year old butts right out of the bowling alley and out to the parking lot!! All the way to the door they were both sniffling and whimpering with tears running down their cheeks. It all made for quite a lovely scene straight out of Mommy Dearest! In the parking lot I sat on a curb and waited for the boys to calm themselves down. Looking at their little tear stained cheeks I just wanted to scoop them up and hug them, but I held strong because they were not being nice little boys. After only a few minutes they both came over to sit on my lap and I then gave them hugs and a kiss or two. I

gave them my motherly words of advice on how to behave in public and reassured them, all the time knowing they more than likely will not remember our chat as soon as re-enter the bowling alley. In the end, they did finish their game and so did the girls, so maybe they did take a little from their mom's advice!

April Fools!

Each year on April 1st, Matt and I always try to play a joke on our kiddos, like any good parent should. This year I had come up with a joke a few months in advance and tried my hardest not to forget it. There are the run of the mill jokes that everyone uses on occasion and jokes that will make people pee their pants due to being frightened half to death, and there are also the funny harmless jokes. I usually like the jokes that are harmless but funny, I am keeping in mind that someday these jokes will be done to me. I am not big on the scare factor thing unless someone is hiding around a corner, something simple. I have never been a scary, mask wearing jokester type. This year we got the girls so excited. They were going to get to eat their dessert first!! Since taking pictures is pretty much a normal everyday occurrence, they never questioned why I was taking pictures of them! They started to dig in...and nothing happened. They licked their forks and said the frosting was yummy. It took two or three tries to get a piece of cake on their forks before they finally realized something might be wrong. Apryl says to me very politely, "I think your cake is a little hard mommy." I just encouraged her to try again, "are you trying to insult me??". After a few stabs at the cake they were laughing and just wondering what the heck they were attempting to eat. Alexys was so close when she said it was paper towels. I turned the cake upside down to show them that it was a roll of toilet paper. They were both good sports and laughed about it. This prank then made Apryl eager to pull it on Addysen. Poor Addy did not understand at all what was wrong with her cake. She even asked me this morning for another piece! I kept telling her that it was only toilet paper, and she would just repeat, "toilet paper?". Now to think of a new joke for next year!