That's Me!!!

The other day, we were watching the holiday episode of Handy Manny for the 3,267th time this week and one of the characters was talking to Manny about Hanukkah and what a menorah was. Norah perked up and said, "a Norah? a Norah! That's me! That's me, mommy! A Norah!"

Imaginations are a wild thing

Well who knew?
Elliott wanted his black froggie, but I was tucking him in bed. I asked where it was, and he replied, "in the cave." I said, "where's the cave?" and he said, "down 'dere." Because I wouldn't allow him out of bed, I never did figure out where "down 'dere" was.

A few days later, I called "NAPTIME!" to Norah and Elliott. I went upstairs and Elliott was nowhere to be found. I asked Norah where her brother was and she said, "Ellie in da cave."

Ok. Now I was perplexed. So I called him and out he came from under the bed.

THE CAVE! Silly me! Duh!

who said TV is bad for kids?

Today at lunch, Aidan said, "mommy, did you know that christmas is about being together and helping others?" Chris and I looked at each other and I said to Aidan, "wow. Very good Aidan. It sure is. Where did you learn that?", thinking he'd say that he learned it in school. Nope.

"I learned it from the Wonder Pets, Mommy!"

Ode to Napolean Dynamite

Yesterday, I hauled my non-morning self to Kohl's early in the morning to get the twinadoes some winter boots so that they would stop looking so sullen and would be able to play in the snow, like they had been dying to for the past 24 hours.
Much to my dismay and attempts to convince them how cool the other boots were, they picked the princess boots and the spiderman boots, both with flashing lights. Tackiness in its finest! (if you know me, you know how much I hate character wear on my kids, unless its PJs)
But alas, it made them happy. So off we went with the boots.
And I don't think they've taken them off since.
Their cousin Sara babysat for them last night, and when we got home, we were informed that yes, they were in bed with their boots on. When I went to take Norah's off, she woke up and groggily said, "no! da princess boots. da princess boots on." I've got to think that it can't be comfy?

I thought I was being a good mom by not letting my kids watch crap like Spongebob, Calilou, and Rugrats (no offense to moms who do, I just think its sassy and too potty-like for us), but low and behold, Aidan managed to memorize some lines from Shrek II. Guess I really need to screen and watch what we say!!!

Aidan: "mommy, whose your one true love?"
Me: "wha? Where'd you learn that?"
A: "Shrek II. Shrek is Princess Fiona's true love."
Me: "oh. That would be daddy and you, peanie and belly."
A: "Mommy, do I have thick, curly locks?"
Me: "well, you have thick locks, but they're not curly."
A:" Do I have a cute button nose and tight, ample buttocks?"
Me: " WHAT? Tight WHAT?"
A: "buttocks. You know, like on your butt."
Me: "nice. Maybe you should take a break from watching Shrek II so much."

All About Me

I did it! I made my first hat!!!! And I have two people who I really need to thank - Lynn, for being patient with me last week at Stitch n Bitch, when I was all f*d up and she set me straight, and Sheila, for showing me the video on the mattress stitch. Now hopefully Ryan will wear it and the matching scarf :)

She's a character, that's for sure!

Tonight, I was tucking her into bed, and I said, "goodnight, Princess." and she said, "I not princess, I Peanie." and was giggling hysterically. So I said, "goodnight, Peanie." And she said, "no, I a kitty." and added her purr and meow noises. I tell ya, this girl is 100% obsessed with cats. She's going to be like Angela on The Office who has the cat 'Hang in There' poster hanging up, along with all other cute cat paraphanalia. She'll be that freaky cat lady. Oh dear Pete, I hope not!! The other day, she was walking around, strumming her guitar, singing, "meow meow meow! meow meow meow!" Next thing you know, she'lll be singing "Smelly Cat", a la Phoebe Bouffay.

Oh yeah....you can just call her "fragile" Frankie Murman (of Seinfeld). He's the character who, when upset, runs into the woods and digs a hole and sits in it. Like Frankie, Norah, when upset, runs under a table and hides and cries.

I've got some chock-o-lot in my pock-o-lot

Yesterday when we were at Michaels, I tried to sneak a candy bar into my purchases to help curb my chocolate craving. Unfortunately, Aidan saw me. I got off the hook by telling him he had halloween candy left at home and could have some after lunch.

So we're in the car, driving home, and he says, "hey! what's that smell?"
I said,"what smell? I don't smell anything."
He said, "I do. It smells like chocolate."
Meanwhile I am stuffing little pieces of Take 5 into my piehole.
Still in denial, I say, "Nope. I don't smell it."
Aidan said "Yes, I do. I smell delicious chocolate. "

All About Aidan

All boy.



Seriously?
Is this something in their genes?
I mean, WTF?!

If anyone is reading this and even *thinks* for a moment that my boy is going to be gay because he is feeding a doll, I will kick your ass. He is merely practicing his parenting skills early on. He will be a great daddy someday. Boys can play with dolls.









Friday morning we had our conference w/ Aidan's teacher. We got his report card on Thursday and were pretty pleased with it...it was what I thought it would be, for the most part. No surprises. So we went over that, then we went through an assessment she gives all the kids in Oct and in Mar. We got to see a cutting sample that she has them do in Oct/Mar and then also his "me" book....he draws a picture of himself and writes his name every month. He even narrarates it.
Overall, he's doing great...socially, he's thriving. He doesn't have favorite friends and can play with boys or girls and seems well liked by all the kids. He chooses his 'center' during center time by his interests instead of by the kids who are playing there, which is awesome. He's recognizing his numbers. Basically, doing everything he should be. The only issues we have is that he can't seem to answer more abstract questions. Like if she dumps a box of blocks out and says, "how many blocks are there, Aidan?" he'll just look at them and look up and smile. Since preschool, we've had some issues w/ Aidan following directions. Its like you have to restate what you're asking, sometimes showing him what you want him to do. After seeing this show up on the eval in several different areas, we all decided that he should be evaluated by the speech therapist for a possible processing issue. He certainly doesn't have issues expressing, but it would be on the receptive end. Oh well...better to nip in the bud....we can figure this out and how to deal with it. Frankly, I think he's just like his mama....half off in la-la-land 50% of the time.

And now I leave you with the words of a wise man...

Giddiyup!

November is Prematurity Awareness Month

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November is Prematurity Awareness Month.

Please....
Give Hope...
Watch Miracles Happen.

Every year, nearly 500,000 infants are born prematurely. That's roughly comparable to the population of Cleveland.

Preterm delivery can happen to any pregnant woman. And its happening more and more often. And in nearly half the cases, no one knows why.

The March of Dimes is taking on this devastating problem, to find out what causes it and how it can be stopped.
( from www.marchofdimes.com)


All three of mine were wanting out earlier than they were supposed to. Thanks to drugs and some wonderful doctors, Aidan stayed in. The twins managed to hang in there for 4.5 more weeks due to the same amazing doctors, awful meds, and a really uncomfortable hospital bed. They arrived on October 26th, at 30.5 weeks gestation, weighing 3lb 4ozs each.


Call your US Representative today and urge immediate action on the PREEMIE ACT.

BANDING TOGETHER! Purchase a virtual band in honor or in memory of a child who was born prematurely. Your donation will go toward life-saving research.

Good Luck, Baby Sean

We'll be thinking about you tomorrow, Baby Sean.

xoxox

aidan and the twinadoes

Ode to MOMS Club® International

Just in case anyone random out there is reading this, I would like to say this to MOMS Club_{® International}

Name Recognition

Norah drew this beautiful picture (a blue seal, or so she said) and Aidan asked me how to spell her name and I spelled it out for him. He wrote it!!!!! I am so stinkin' proud of him. He seems to be able to write out most of his letters with minimal help. KINDERGARTEN ROCKS!




Target.
God love the place. I guess we go there too much, because my kids know where it is ("Tah-get dat way!"), point out every Target we see, and every time we run out of something, I get the comment, "got to go to Tah-get and buy some more."

The Twinadoes at Turbo Three

Stats:
Norah
Height 37.5" (60%)
Weight 29.5# (36%)
BMI 18%

Elliott
Height 36" (15%)
Weight 28.5# (15%)
BMI 32%

Healthy as larks, declared Dr. Dorothy!
Elliott is having a hard time with his 3rd year of life (he needs a lifetime supply of cheese to go with his whine), but its all normal.
Potty learning? Fuhgeddaboutit. They want nothing to do with it and I have no desire to push it. Buying diapers sucks ass, but its certainly convienent. Hell, I am still dealing with changing Aidan's sheets several times a week because he is "too tired to get up and go pee pee." Nice. NOT an acceptable excuse, bud.
But I digress. We'll hang onto the dipes for a bit.

And we'll hope that the whining winds down a tad.

Birthday kiss, denied!

Trick or Treat, Smell My Feet!

The kids had a great time trick or treating this past Saturday. Surprisingly, it was my first ToT I've spent with them (bedrest-vacation-vacation), so I've never seen just how nuts the neighborhood gets. People and libations everywhere!
Norah and Elliott got much further than I thought they would. At first, I wasn't sure they'd make it, because they were trying to go into people's houses and were dejecting certain types of candy given to them, demanding other kinds in the bowl instead. They would also sneak a handful while the treater was sticking a treat in their pumpkin. Little stinkers!
Aidan and Taylor took off running and were gone till they could get no more in their buckets. You could say they had a good time.

Lance Armstrong Jr she is not...

Houston - we've achieved biking! WOO!

Now we just need to work on the breaks....

Photo Sharing - Upload Video - Video Sharing - Share Photos

left to their own devices, take II

This morning when i got home from my run, I spotted some lollypop wrappers. I asked Aidan about them and he said, "I just gave some to Peanie and Belly when daddy was in the shower."
Thanks, bud. Awesome way to start the day. Kickstart my morning by feeding your brother and sister and yourself a dose of sugar.

Maybe it was the sugar that caused them to do it? Maybe not. But an hour later, Norah and Elliott were caught red handed by Aidan, who came running and tattling to me. They were filling up the upstairs bathroom sink and it was about to runneth over. By the time I sprinted up there, Elliott had gotten the hell outta dodge and Norah was hiding in the shower.

Inheriting daddy's sweet tooth

They're into everything these days. Just yesterday, I was downstairs changing the laundry and came back up to the dining room to find that Norah and Elliott had pulled Elliott's chair over to the buffet and climbed up and gotten their hands into the thing of jellybeans.

Additionally, I was gone yesterday and daddy was outside putting the storm windows on the house and came in to discover that the kids had found the suckers that I use to bribe them. He figured Aidan ate at least 3 and Norah and Elliott 2 each. Yikes.

This morning, I was in the shower and it was way too quiet. I came out and found Norah and Elliott digging in my purse, hastily shoving their hands in their mouths. Apparently they found the open bag of PB M&Ms that were in there.

Left to their own devices, they sure can get into stuff.

Too much of a good thing

Milk party, anyone?

They crack me up. This was a much more enjoyable thing to see than to hear one of their hourly rounds of,:
Norah: "don't talk-a me!"
Elliott: "i weeeell talk-a you!"
followed by a shove to elliott from norah.

Sibling love.

Growing Up

Oh how I was so not ready for this. I hate potty humor. Hate it. I didn't think it would enter our house this early. Yet here it is, live and in the flesh, streaming loudly from my son's animated mouth. So *this* is what he's learning at school? How to substitute the words "poop" , "butt", "testicle" and "pee" into songs, rhymes, and sentences so that he (thinks he) sounds funny? This is truly something I can live without.

On the flip side, it seems like he's old enough to start using as slave labor. Is that a bad thing? He's enjoying it, really, he is. He loved talking about how only boys can paint and how boys are strong and how he needed to help paint his sister's room. While I was happy to see him excited to roll up his sleeves and pitch in, I am not quite sure how to handle the 'boy' comment. That ain't gonna fly in this household.

Out of the mouthes of babes

"Mommy, out of mouf! Yucky! Dat not food!" , said Norah to mommy when I had a chip clip in my mouth b/c my hands were full with busying myself getting her snack.

"Mommy, I just can't believe that the twins are going to be three! Can you?", said Aidan to mommy as he was going pee last night, 9/29.

They sure can crack me up sometimes.

Artist in Residence

Aidan has really blossomed when it comes to his drawing abilities. It just amazes me with the things he's been drawing lately. They're so cool!
Take for instance these two recent doodles. The first is Cinderella's carriage with a horse pulling it, and sun and clouds in the sky. The second is him riding his bike.
WOW.

Reality Bites

This morning, the kids were watching 'Little Einsteins' before school when it was interrupted by an Amber Alert. Immediately, all 3 freaked out, screaming and whining that something was wrong and that mommy needed to fix it and that they wanted their show back. I explained to Aidan that this was an emergency message alert because a little kid was stolen from their parents and needed to be found. This message was very important, because it let grown-ups know that they needed to watch out for this bad person who took the kid and if we see the kid, we need to call the police. He thought about it for awhile, and then came the barrage of questions: why would someone steal a kid? what makes people bad? what do we say when we call the police? do you call 9-1-1? what was this little kid doing? was he being naughty - is that why? ....and so on.

Later on, after school, Aidan was playing in the playroom with his pirate ship and Little People pirates. I was cleaning up lunch in the kitchen and overheard him acting out his own scene where a child (a parrot) was taken by a pirate and the other pirate was calling 9-1-1 to get the police to come and take away the 'bad guy' pirate. Wow. It gave me an icky feeling that he had to learn that so young :(

Swiper, No Swiping!

Dearest Norah,
One would assume that given that Dora the Explorer is one of your favorite shows, and that you love to say, "fiper, no fipin'" and that, on occasion, you've even accused your brother Elliott of swiping and yelled at him for it, that you would not partake in any swiping of your own. But alas, I guess that is certainly not the case.
This past Friday night, while at the Fun Fair with your daddy and brothers, you apparently wanted this little purple ball that was a door prize. When you were denied said ball, you got angry and tried again and he denied you again and a tantrum ensued. Later on, your daddy found you with the hot goods in your hand.
One could go so far as saying that you are a very persistant little girl.
But gee....maybe you should think about taking a lesson from Dora and Swiper?

Blah Blah Blah...(a big fat update)

This past Friday, Aidan started a 5 week stint of library time that goes for 30 minutes without mommy in the room. Because it goes from 1:30-2:00 (aka, naptime), two of the moms from his classroom are alternating picking him up and taking him with their daughters. When we first talked about it, he wanted to sign up for the library time. But then, as the day approached, he got quite nervous about it. He did NOT want to go without mommy.
Friday came, and I was actually gone that afternoon, but Chris said that once he came home, he was so happy and excited about it! The mom that took him had gotten him a video from the library, as well. He said, "I want to go again!" Hooray!! He's growing up!

Tonight is Parent's Night in his classroom and he chose to take his daddy (only one parent can attend, due to the classroom size). This afternoon, he's clearly excited about it, talking about how he's going to get to play with daddy in all the centers, as well as eat a snack with daddy. They're actually doing a mock-day (cramming their 2.5 hr day into 45 mins). So this will be really neat.

School is still going super well. Aidan's taken great interest in writing. Every day, he likes to get out a pencil and paper and practice his writing. We need to branch out from writing his name, though, as that is all he's writing as of now. I also notice that his drawings are maturing. He's adding 'blue sky' to his outdoor drawings and paintings and his people are becoming more round and more complex. He's also starting to copy things he sees. Like yesterday I drew an apple and a pumpkin for him to cut out, and then he drew and apple and apumpkin and did a pretty damn good job at it. Very cool.

In Norah and Elliott news, I am still amazed at how well they've done with the room split. We thought for sure that Norah would have a hard time, but nope. Not at all. When they wake up, they do ask for each other, but that's about it. Last night, Norah took some time going to sleep and it sounded like she was having a private party in her room. She was singing the A-B-C's, Itsy Bitsy Spider, and Twinkle Twinkle, and having a conversation with herself. But not once did she get out of bed.

As much as they love each other, they love love love to fight with each other. Ugh. Today we got home after walking Aidan to school and I told them to go up to the front porch while I put the stroller in the backyard. Norah turned around and for no apparent reason, clocked Elliott in the bean with Skarloey. Elliott started bawling and I went to soothe him and turned to tell Norah to sit her little butt down when Elliott turned and charged Norah, pushing her down to the ground. I actually had to turn and giggle, because its rare that Ellie defends himself. :) Granted, he's taken to doing it more often, but he still whines and cries and runs to me more often than not.

My Littlest Shitbird

Elliott. You are such a little stinker. You have that smile that you flash that anyone can take a look at and just immediately know that you're up to something. Its also a smile that makes anyone forgive you for the trouble that you get into and the shit that you've done.

Take for instance the past two evenings and today at naptime. You're now in your big boy bed, in the new bedroom with Aidan, preferring the top bunk over the bottom (hey...whatever works!). You're so stealth. We thought that you were sleeping, but an hour later, a small noise will give it away and we'll go upstairs to discover you wide awake, playing. In the case of nighttime, both times it was with the light on and Aidan was sound alseep just inches away. And Norah was sound asleep down the hall in her big girl bed, as well.
You know you're not supposed to do it. Every day, you get into bed and say, "I stay in bed. I don't get up...dat vewy naw-nee." Yet, you still do it. Aye.

Today you tried bringing a dead worm into the house. Now that is just gross. You and your sister are just loving all the worms, dead and alive, around here lately from all the recent rains. I guess I wasn't paying attention when you picked this dead crusty up and tried bringing it in. I saw something foreign in your hand and asked you to leave the stick outside. You threw the worm out the door and dropped it in front of my feet. EW! Gross! Boys. Yuck.

Kids are so cruel!

This morning we were at school, playing on the playground as usual, as we waited for the bell to ring. Aidan, Norah, and Elliott decided they wanted to go down the 'firepole' thing and there were some older kids there.... I am not certain how old they were....maybe senior kindergarten, maybe 1st grade? Anyway, Aidan went down the pole by himself and was so proud of himself and then the twins needed my assistance and these two boys had the nerve to make fun of my kids! They said, "look at him! he can't do it right" and snickered. And when the twins did it, they said, "they can't even do it alone!" ha ha ha ha. The mama lion in me wanted to lash out and punch them in the face for making fun of my kids. But I took a deep breath and said, "hey - they're little. Don't make fun of them - that isn't nice!" and then I took my kids and walked over to another play area, mumbling under my breath, "you little f*ckers."

The Toy Store

Earlier this week, Aidan called me into the playroom, saying, "mommy, come see what I made!", with utter pride in his voice. I went in to find this.

My initial reaction was to gasp, but then I giggled. He said, "Its a toy store, mommy! What do you want to buy?" He was just so proud of himself. Never mind he emptied off 2 shelves worth of toys. Aye. Creativity, right?

Proud Moments

Sometimes my babies can make me proud and make me laugh. Like last week, when we had to run into Old Navy to get their older brother a jacket and I realized that I forgot the stroller. I explained to them that I forgot the stroller and that they needed to stay by mommy and not run away and listen to me. If they were good, they'd get a popscicle when we got home. Low and behold, they actually listened. At one point, I looked back and there was Elliott, dancing like a little white boy, to the music Old Navy was playing. He cracked me up.
Of course, they got the popscicle when we got home.



And then there are times like this....when they go from smile to tantrum in under 2.3 seconds. I haven't figured out how to curb that one yet.

My babies are growing up!!!!

My twinadoes had their first day away from mommy yesterday. Like Aidan's first day of Kindergarten, it was bittersweet.

In our town, we've got a sort of drop-in preschool type deal that we've got a membership to. Yesterday I decided to utilize it for the first time. After dropping off Aidan at school, I made sure they had room for the dynamic duo, and then hauled them on over. Once we were in the door, they immediately took off to play. I signed them in, handed over their stuff, and left to go enjoy some quality 'me' time.

2.5 hours later, I went to pick them up. I was assured that Norah cried a little when she realized I left and she went to hide in a tunnel. They sent Elliott over to hug her, and not 30 seconds later, the two of them were giggling and happy as larks!! When they saw me, I asked if they had fun, and Norah emphatically said, "YES, Mommy!" :)

That was their first time away from me, out of the house. They've been in kid care at the gym, but I am there. They've had babysitters, but they're at our house. So this was a big step for my little babies. One step closer to preschool. Its just so surreal, because it honestly seems like just yesterday they were these teeny tiny little things that were so fragile. And now, well, they are not. They're healthy, vivacious, typical little toddlers who are about to turn 3 next month!!!!!!

I need some cheese to go with all this whine, please

My boy Elliott sure loves to whine. This boy whines about anything and everything. And he doesn't need to be tired to whine. He whines if he needs a napkin. He whines if he wants a toy. He whines if he wants a snack or beverage. He whines if there is a fuzz or hair on his hand. One would speculate that it would be so much easier to instead say, "milk please!" or "napkin please!" or even, "mommy, get the hair off me!" I mean, sometimes it takes me a good 5 minutes to figure out what he's whining for. I am wondering if he secretly enjoys whining. Hrm.

Mindless Musings of a Tired Mama

As I was laying in bed with my sick Ellie this morning, Aidan was in the playroom, playing. Or so I thought. When I got up, I found that most of what had been on the shelves was now in a pile in the middle of the playroom floor. I commented on the mess and Aidan looked up at me and said, "Its not a mess, mommy. I made an accident scene."
Oh...so that is what they're calling it these days.

Bedtime with Miss Norah was a total success last night! I couldn't be more happy!!! She actually slept until 8:30 am today, which is completely unheard of! Definately her mama's girl....loves sleeping in!
I hope this is a sign of things to come. How nice would that be?
Of course, I am sure Elliott will be a total pill to go from crib to bed. Isn't that how it works?

Elliott came down with some odd virus last night....fever, shivers, puking. Yuck. This morning, he was eating a popscicle and looked at me and said, "mommy, I shaking." And yup...poor baby was totally shaking. :( So pathetic. When he talked to his grandma on the phone, he made sure he mentioned that he puked in mommy's bed and that he just ate a green popscicle. Whether or not she understood him, is another story.

They all keep me on my toes. I wonder if there will ever be a day of boredom?

one giant step for a little girl!!

Tonight after books were read, I went to put Norah in her crib and she said, "no! I go big girl bed, mommy!" I explained to her that if I put her in her big girl bed, she had to stay in there and if she got up, she'd go in her crib. Well low and behold....Miss Princess went right to sleep!!!!

Holy shit!

We've made it through the week!

Morning #2... yeah....that didn't go quite as smoothly. He was equally excited to go to school, however, I neglected to tell him that I would not be allowed to go into the classroom with him and would be saying my goodbye on the playground. Oh yeah...that went over as well as ketchup on a white shirt. The teacher ended up dragging him and another equally distressed boy by the hands into the school.
Apparently he wasn't scarred by it. When I picked him up, he was all smiles again.

Morning #3 was fabulous. Aidan got in line, gave me hugs and kisses, and waved goodbye with a big smile. Crud - I almost cried. He's officially a big boy now.

Funny thing, though. Every day when I pick him up and ask about his day, the first thing he tells me about is the snack they had. Odd kid.

Tomorrow is the end of the school week. Wow. That flew by. And already we're being bombarded with PTA stuff, fundraising crap, book orders, etc. Its a whole new world....

Off to school...

What a bittersweet day it was. In some ways, I feel like I've been looking forward to this day for 3 years now. And in other ways, it feels like this day has snuck up on me too quickly. Where has my baby gone? It seriously seems like just yesterday that Aidan was this little stubborn bundle in my arms, making his "eh eh" noises and thrashing his head around. This is the little dude who slept with us for years on end because he didn't want to leave our sides. This is the little man who cried when I took him to preschool every morning, and chased me down the hallway, unless his teacher was holding him.

Boy have times changed.


Aidan was so excited for his first day of kindergarten. He practically ran to school. Watching him walk to his classroom in his class line....wow. That is my 4.5 year old. He hung up his backpack and went and sat down on the carpet with the rest of the kids. I hugged and kissed him and he didn't shed a single tear. I left.

I can't believe it. I really can't!!
When we picked him up later, he said he had a fun day. He talked about the popcorn snack, about the book they read (something about animals and underwear), and said that they played. We let him pick where he wanted to go to lunch as a treat, as well (even though daddy tried to sway him to mexican. Aidan had his mind made up! )

Tomorrow: day 2. I still can't believe it.
Oh well....at least he still crawls into our bed in the morning to snuggle. I still have that. :)

Her mommy's daughter; his daddy's son...

We set up Miss Norah's big girl bed this weekend. Once the cool new bedding was on it, I called Norah in to show it to her and her reaction? "No, dat not Norah bed. DAT [pointing to her crib] Norah bed!" Uh oh.
Yep - she's her mama's girl. She's strong willed, stubborn, and feisty. She is *not* a morning person. She wakes up and needs time to acclimate herself to the world before she comes out of her crib. If you go get her prematurely, hell hath no fury like Norah.
Norah loves her fruit and could likely live on fruit and the occasionally piece of chocolate. She shuns all meat.
Her mama's girl? You betcha!

And Aidan....he may look like his mama and her family, but he's his daddy's boy through and through. He's a morning person...up early, in a good mood, and ready to play. He loooooves carbs. If I gave him a warm baguette loaf, I would venture to guess he'd eat the whole thing. And watch out! If this boy naps, there is nothing more ornery than Aidan (or his father) when they wake up. Its best to stay at bay for a good 30 minutes post-nap. They are real grumpalumpaguses.

All About Elliott

At the dinner table yesterday, Elliott was studying the school bus cookie he was eating, prior to taking each bite. He's very serious about about his sweets like this. He does not eff around when it comes to eating things like ice cream, cookies, cupcakes, and popscicles. Every bite must be studied and examined before sinking the chompers in.
Anyway, as I was saying, he was eating said cookie daddy brought home for him and he said, "where'd da wheels go?" we both said we didn't know and he looked at and said, "in my tummy!" and laughed.

Today, I was asking the kids about their impending trip to the zoo with their daddy. We were talking about what animals they were going to see. When we got to the penguins, Norah said that they "waddle waddle" and Elliott exclaimed, "they bite me!" I said, "no they don't, you goofball!" and he emphatically declared, "yes, vey do!"

Oh - he is on a kick. Everyone bites him right now. ( *insert a big rolling eye face* )

Parenting Woes

Isis, Great Goddess, oh Mother, save me....I am turning into my parents.

As I was driving the car today, I could hear my children bickering behind me. I glanced long enough in the rearview mirror to see Aidan purposefully irritating Elliott, who was whining and screeching. And Norah was back there, screaming for me to, "no! go DAT WAY! NO DAT WAY!" and Elliott, in betwixt whines, would contradict his sister for the hell of it, and say, "no, Norah, NOT dat, way, DAT WAY! "

I immediately had a flashback to my youth, when my brothers and I would provoke each other and my dad would scream, "do you want me to pull this car over to the side of the road..." It took all of my might not to say a damn thing and to just keep driving (and turn up the radio adn drown them the hell out).

Then, at lunch today, all 3 continued the whine/fight/scream fest and I couldn't resist. I let out a "I can't take it anymore! You are all driving me nuts! Knock it off! All of you! Just knock this crap off!" As I stared at their little faces, I thought to myself, "son of pete. I am turning into my parents."

My little old married couple. Crotchety. Disagreeing for the sake of disagreeing. That is Norah and Elliott. Its cute, but its getting ridiculous. Disagreements sound like this:

N: I go outside
E: No go outside.
N: go outside!
E: NO go outside. NO NORAH!

E: I play train
N: No play train. Play trucks.
E: No orange truck. Play train.
N: NO Eddie. No truck. No no no.

or this one. I thought this was the best.

N: I farted
E: No fart
N: yes fart
E: NO FART
N: Yes! Norah farted, eddie!

I can only imagine what the teenage years will bring.

You did WHAT?!

Aidan, my darling 4 year old. You're about to start kindergarten in 2 weeks. You're smart as a whip. You can crank out 100pc puzzles faster than I can change a diaper. However, I have to question your line of thinking when you put that penny in your mouth. I've got to ask you, "WTF were you thinking?!"

Wednesday, 8/23, Aidan came rushing into the living room with a worried look on his face, saying, "oh no, mommy! i just ate sumfin' that was money." I started freaking out, thinking it would mean a call to 911 due to a coin being stuck in his windpipe, and asked him what he ate. He said, "it was gold like the water" (what kind of water you lookin' at, boy?! ew!). I asked him if he could breathe and he said yes, and said the money was now in his belly. Ugh.

Little Sponges

Friday morning, Aidan greeted me in bed.
A: "Mommy! Quinn [our cat] puked on the living room carpet! I saw it and I said 'geez!' and daddy said, 'jesus christ'!"
From the other room, I hear "I DID NOT SAY THAT!!!"
Well, whether he did or didn't, I am guessing Aidan picked that expression up, in its correct context, somewhere!

I guess I've called Norah a big girl enough times for her to decide that is what she is. So now if I see her climbing on something and I make an offhand comment like, "are you my little monkey?" she will say, "No. I a big girl." Or if she is purring and meowing (like she was in the car yesterday for about 15 minutes) and I ask her if she was a cat in a past life, she responds with, "No, I a big girl." If she's being goofy and I say, "you're so silly!" I bet you can guess her response! Yup.... "No, I a big girl!"

Yesterday we were driving home and the radio was on, but I could hear Norah singing something to herself. I turned it down and yup.... she was singing the ABC's. It was quite cute. Of course, she stopped once she caught me sneaking a peek.

Aidan's line of questioning seems to be neverending. Man. I thought maybe we skipped the "why" stage. No such luck. And the worst part is that I have no answer for some of the questions, like "why does red mean stop and green mean go?" But then there are the other questions. Questions like, "why do trucks and buses have big engines?" and "why do babies say mama and dada and why do they cry?" and "why do old people drive slow?" and my personal favorite, "daddy, why did you drive the wrong way that one time?" (he wont let him forget about it! ha ha!). Or this weekend it was, "daddy, why do you keep doing things wrong?" (not sure where that one came from!).
And there is nothing worse than getting scolded by your 4 year old. We were bickering in the car and he said, "would you two just stop it!" errrrr. oops.

Thankfully his kindergarten teacher will absorb some of his whys in 22 days. Whew.

And just a little misc. to end this entry: One of Aidan's favorite things to do right now is to re-enact the 'Hot Chocolate' scene from Polar Express. Its quite funny. He also likes to sing and dance a number from Jungle Book. But the boy has no rhythym. He's white through and through.

Potty Talk

Stop the Press!!
Norah asked to go potty!

I think my heart almost stopped. Normally, when asked oh-so-casually if she wants to use the potty, she will shake her head and heartily say, "no!" But not tonight. Nope. I didn't even have to ask her. She demanded that she go potty! Then when she was sitting there, she said, "I hear it!". Too funny, girlie. Too bad she was hearing things, because she didn't produce a thing.

I am just happy that she's actually sitting on the damn thing. Its a start.

The Age of Independence

And we're off...
Norah is insisting on picking out her own hairbow, her own outfit (often a pink dress, a blue dress, or a combination of pink and blue), and always, always the pink shoes. I think we're going to have to get many styles of pink shoes for fall.
Her most recent thing is putting her shoes on herself. She asks, "right feet?" and holds out her sandals, pairing one with each foot. She'll then slowly and methodically put them on, including threading the strap through the thingey and velcroing it shut. If we're in a hurry and I try to help her along, I get an emphatic, "I DO IT! I DO IT!" Crap. I guess I have to learn to give myself extra time now. Between her independence and Aidan's dawdling....
The independence is a new thing for me. Aidan never really got into it. Maybe its because he's a boy? Maybe its just his personality? He's just now picking out his own clothes, and that is because I ask him to. Needless to say, if it doesn't match, I don't send him back. I have to encourage every ounce of independence I get from that kid :)

On another totally separate note, Norah had a followup appt at the GI Clinic today at Children's. Her weight and height are both up....1# and 1"! Holy man! My girl had a massive growth spurt!

Someday, I hope we'll all look back and laugh....

About 30 minutes ago, Elliott let out a blood curdling scream and was crying like he was hurt badly, and I took off running upstairs at warp speed. I busted open the door, thinking that either his leg was stuck or his crib collapsed or something equally as bad. Nope. What I saw was him cowering in the corner in his crib, practically climbing the net. Why? A bug. A crumb sized bug. He was crying hysterically and shaking and screaming, "bug! bug!". Gee. I know I am afraid of bugs, but crap, Elliott, I try not to show it in front of you guys! You've gotta chill out, little dude!

Today I took the twinadoes, sans Aidan, to visit my grandparents. Maybe it was because the older brother wasn't there that Elliott felt the need to lay down the rules, so to speak. He had this little plastic figurine that the kids call 'fireman' in his hands and laid it down on the picnic table and looked at Papa and firmly said, "MY fireman. Don't touch it. Leave it alone." Wow. Obsessive, aren't we? Again, he exerted his ownership when we got in the van to leave and Nana went to buckle Norah into her carseat. Elliott stood there and said, "No! My car! Not your car!" Geez, Elliott. Chill.

Often times, we wonder where Aidan inherited his gift of gab from. I mean, his daddy certainly can talk it up, but not like Aidan. We joke and say that he got that from his Uncle Ry. Aidan's nickname is "sir talks-a-lot". To put it meekly, the child never.stops.talking.

Yesterday, I was driving to the mall and I had a terrible headache and said that he could talk to himself, but asked that he not ask me any questions, because mommy just needed to chill and let her head rest till we got to the mall. Yeah...no such luck. I really wonder how a 4 year old's mind works....how they can go from one string of thought to something totally and completely different. The little dude was talking non-stop, all 'why' questions. It went something like, "why do we drive everywhere? why am i lazy like my daddy? why do we start out as babies and not grownups? why did grandma crush up my vitamins in my ice cream last time i was over there? why do i pee at night? when will the twins stop wearing diapers? what kind of backpack can i get for school? why... " O. M. G.....

Miscellaneous Miscellany

Life With Twinadoes
Double the trouble, but double the fun. We try to focus on how cute they are to get through the tantrums and the taking off in opposite directions and the egging each other on and.... well, the list could go on forever.

Norah is the mother of the two. I guess its appropriate, given that she is the older sister. Heck, even in-utero, she was the bossy one. Thankfully, she's toned down on the bossiness and has started to exude some cute motherly instincts. For instance, she insists that every morning when they get up, all of Elliott's stuffed animals (doggie, puppy, bunny) and his "D" (blanket) come downstairs with them. The other day, they must have gone to sleep without bunny without E realizing it. When they woke up, we could hear Norah over the monitor, all worried, "Eddie! Da bunny! Da bunny, Eddie! Da bunny!" over and over and over again. When daddy went up there to get them out of bed, Norah ran into the train room and got bunny for Elliott. Whew!

I am not sure where Elliott picked this one up, but he loves to pretend play with Norah and say, "here come choo choo! open wide baby!" It cracks me up every time I hear it.

Yesterday, both of them had speech together for the first time. Normally, its just Norah. It was interesting watching them together. Norah almost did a bit better, because she was repeating Elliott, who is much better with his expressive skills than she.
Elliott has been improving leaps and bounds in his speech. We just filled out the paperwork to go forward with an IEP for both of them with the school system. It was surreal for me to read the word "disability", over and over again. I don't view either of them as having any disability.
Anyway, I have a feeling that by the time it happens (about 90 days from when they receive my 'ok' ), Elliott won't need it. He's doing great. And he'll continue to receive speech about 2x/month through birth-to-3 until his 3rd birthday.

Off to School?!?!
September 5th is coming quicker than I anticipated. I can't believe that Aidan will be in public kindergarten!!!!!!! My baby!!!! He's really looking forward to it and he really needs it. I can tell that he's getting bored at home. Its hard to meet everyone's needs. I am excited.

I hate to wish time away. I really try to enjoy every day as it comes. But I remember last summer and how hard it was with these 3 kids, and I just couldn't wait till this year. I knew it would be easier. And it totally is. They play in the front yard and know not to go in the street. I can take them to the pool and they have a ball! I never thought I could take 3 kids to the pool! Yesterday I took them to the wading pool and I just sat there and was able to chat. Last year, i couldnt even leave their sides...not even a foot away! What a change...what a pleasant change! I can only imagine what next summer will be like. But like I said...I hate to wish time away.

"Sharing", as defined by a 4.5 year old

Let's set the scene:
Aidan is quietly playing with Lightning McQueen, driving him down the streets of a play city.

Elliott asks for some cars. Mommy picks out the cars that he requests.

Aidan spots Elliott having fun with one particular yellow car.

Aidan: "I want to play with that car."

Elliott: "No, my car. Ay-yee-yit pwaying wif it."

Aidan whines. Mom tells Aidan to patiently wait his turn.

All is quiet and suddenly, Elliott comes running to mommy, screaming. Aidan isplaying with the yellow car.

Aidan: "Look mommy. I am sharing. I gave Elliott the helicopter. See? I am a good sharer."

Um, not even close, bud.

Deep Thoughts, by Jack Handy. er, Aidan, age 4.5

"Mommy, why do chairs, couches, and airplane seats have arms, but pottys don't?"

...of doodles, sandwiches, and safety man!

I can't believe it! He wrote his name!!! WOO HOO! We've been working on it for a year now and he's had either no desire to even try, or he's demanded "help" (which essentially means that mommy is doing it for him). But not today. Today we were driving in the car and Aidan decided that this was the time to write his name on his magnadoodle.
Could I *be* any more proud?

Last night, Norah did her usual (what we like to call) "pean-o-clock-howl" at 11pm. I went up to soothe her, and Elliott started thrashing and screaming, "i need sandwich! i need milk! i need sandwich!" Upon closer inspection, I realized he was still sleeping and talking in his sleep. And boooooy was he angry!!!! It was a tad difficult to soothe him because I was laughing my ass off at him. Who knew that was what 2 year olds dreamed about? Not I.

A week ago, Aidan completed his "Safety Town" course that was 2 weeks long. To say he learned a lot is an understatement. The boy absorbed every ounce of information they dished out in there (except the part about not bothering mommy when she's driving the car. That was pretty far fetched). He's currently obsessed with matches and when will he be old enough to touch them (answer=never) and poisons: identifying them, labeling them with Mr. Yuk, and asking what will happen if we eat x or y. To say we've got our $56 worth out of this course is an understatement. But now I think the boy needs a lesson on money. Because he commented that if our house burns down, he can "just take some money from his piggy bank to build a new one. But not all my money. Just a little." Yeah...that whole $5 is going to go a long way, babe.

The Wonderful World of Breasts

Is it normal for a 2.5 year old girl to be obsessed with breasts? Not her own, but other people's? Norah is constantly pointing out, "mommy's boobies!" to everyone. Often times, it is the first thing she says to me in the morning when I greet her in her crib. Noooo....I dont get a good morning. I get a, "mommy's boobies!" Somehow, that just doesn't seem normal. I've had friends and neighbors come over and they will say hello to her and she will respond by pointing to them and saying, "[color of the shirt they are wearing] boobies!"
Nice honey. Nice. When your older brother was your age, he was spelling his name and doing complex puzzles.

Fresh, sparkly, and brand-spankin' new!

A blog! Dedicated to my 3 little shitbirds, oops, I mean my 3 little darlings. One of which seems to have ingested a large quantity of glitter in the past 48 hours. Earlier today, we experienced an emergency poo-vacuation of the swimming pool because of Elliott. It was up his back, down his legs, and covering his belly button. Oh, and it was all sparkly. That is exactly what Aidan said, "oooh! Its sparkly!"