Monday's Musings

Giving up.

You know that point where you acknowledge that your house needs to be cleaned?

Badly.

VERY badly.

But you just don't have it in you.

Because you just don't know where to start. 

Its overwhelming.

Maybe not in the grand scheme of life.

But in my life, I can't function effectively if my house is a disaster.   Essentially, I see it as a sign to bury my head and be a sloth.

This weekend, my husband and two of our awesome friends installed the electrical and mounted our TV. Holla!

That process? 

Woah. 

Holy Big. Fat. Mess.

On Sunday, I woke up with some renewed energy after a few days in bed with sinus and ear infections.  I started going at it.  But with crap literally everywhere (discarded entertainment unit. tape measures. CDs, photo frames, wires - lots of them, electronic components just tossed on the shelves hither and fro), I just gave up.

And so it sat.

And when I say "gave up", I mean it literally. I let the vacuum sit here all day, as I laid on the couch watching back-to-back-to-back episodes of House Hunters and other HGTV shows.

In other musings, I spent tonight watching one of the best movies ever, Reality Bites, since there's nothing good on TV and in my typical ADD fashion, I have 3 half-done sewing projects sitting on the dining table that I don't feel like finishing until tomorrow. Or the next day.

As I was watching, I was perusing Pinterest. My new crack.

I came across this photo

via

Beautiful girl. But damn...that outfit? I had that outfit. 1993 (pre-Reality Bites). I distinctly remember wearing it on a blind date! Black Esprit leggings, men's denim shirt from Eddie Bauer.  Unlisted boots.

Its come full circle, people.

Granted, this is a bit more chic and I was a bit more grunge, but hey.

I still listen to my Reality Bites CD. I'd listen to my Singles soundtrack, but my husband threw away my tapes.

I totally aged myself, huh?

And this is controversial, why?

Source: sfgate.com via Suzette on Pinterest

I interrupt today's episode of WIWW with this breaking news....

The Pink Toenail Controversy

{also, I didn't take any photos this week. But I did get dressed}

This morning, on the Today Show, the newscasters talked about this ad and whether or not it was anything to get our undies in a bunch over.

Seriously?

A 5 year old is getting his toes painted pink by his mom.

What's the big deal?

People are saying this will scar him for life. 

He'll be made fun of.

His mom is creating a "gender confused" boy.

Or even worse...society celebrates and pushes the gender confused boy who wants to "act like a girl."

Wait. Let's back up here for a moment, ok?

This child is 5. FIVE.  FIVE YEARS OLD, people!!

Would it be an issue if it were a girl in that ad, posed in boyish rubber boots with a dump truck and mud on her body?

I am willing to bet money on it that the answer is a big, fat "NO".

Its so sad that people get all up in arms.

These are children. They learn through exploring.  They learn through play.  They learn from society's reactions, too.

As you can see from these 2 (of many over the years) photos, we have no issue with our boys dressing up.

We also have no qualms with our daughter dressing up in her brother's clothes (son: left. daughter: right)

Am I worried that by allowing them to play as they wish, I will foster "gender confused" children?

Heck no.

But if, somehow, my children do end up being gay, I will love them just as I do now.

Sweet Memories

Is there anything specific that evokes a wonderful memory or memories for you?

For me, its a cheap flour sifter.

When I was a little girl, for the first 4.5 glorious years of my life, I was the only child, the only niece, and the only grandchild. On all sides of the family. Holla!

My parents worked, so I spent a lot of time being cared for by my gramma (my mom's mama) and my auntie (my mom's sista), who still lived at home at the time.

I have such wonderful memories of the time I spent at my gramma's house and it makes me sad to think that perhaps, now that my papa is gone, she may move out of the house.

But I digress.

I spent a lot of time baking with her. One of my jobs was to sift the flour.  A very important job, you know.

Another important task that she taught me early on was how to iron. She had me ironing tablecloths, napkins, handkerchiefs (her pretty embroidered flowery ones and my papa's plain white ones), and sheets. Come to think of it, I am not sure if my gramma was anal retentive or trying to keep me busy.

Their house was always a place that brought me instant comfort.  I loved spending the night there.  I loved all the attention that was bestowed on me. Me me me (that's right, baby).  I am so appreciative of that time I got to spend.  And I am so grateful that my kids got to meet their great-grandparents (Aidan, especially, establishing a  special bond with my papa) and that both my grandmas are around for them to this day.

I hope that someday, my kids look back and have some fond memories, too. Not just memories of electronic crap. You know?

Mindless Musings

I am thinking of buying a pair of TOMS.  My frugal side won't buy them because they are over $15 and I don't know what the quality of them is like, I don't know how they fit, and I don't know how comfy they are.

Insight?

I found these at Target today. They were comfy! What? Come again?!! Of course, they were not in my size. Sigh. I need to find $50 worth of crap to buy online because I refuse to pay shipping. Hrm.

My 7 year old daughter has an obsession with lifting up the skirts and peeking down/into the shirts of mannequins, checking to see if they are wearing panties or bras. They never are. She wonders why.

Speaking of mannequins...what's up with Forever 21? Is there a method to their orgazational madness? Because, crud, I just want to go in and find a small, white button down shirt. Why can't they all be in one place? WHY? Why must they have 5 different locations? Perhaps, if it was better organized, then they could afford to have more sales associates at the register, instead of 1 and a long line. Because that's annoying. Or is that only my F21? 

And did you know that F21 has a 90210 tank top?!! Fo reals.

via

I love me some old skool 90210.

While I am on the subject of TV, tell me I am not the only Teen Mom 2 addict? Why am I drawn in to that garbage? That's the only 'reality' show I watch.  And man...  its trash.  Like, when will Jenelle "get" it? And why do Jo's parents allow him to talk to Kailyn like he does? Make that boy have some respect for the human kind! For women! Shiz...for his baby mama! Step up!

Peace.

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.

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 :(

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.

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.

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?

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."

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.