The Weather Man and Other Outings

Tuesday was a record high day here in Northern Colorado, so how could I resist packing up the cubs for another walk to the post office?  Dad came over in the morning to help out and that made the adventure much easier.  I was able to get baths done early, Dad and I got them fed and we were off in our stroller with baby sunglasses and all.

I've mentioned before how much I love Windsor, it's so friendly here.  Well on our way to the Post Office yesterday I cut through the park and ended up on a street coming home where this little old man was sitting outside in a lawn chair.  He had no yard, just rocks where a lawn should be so it had to be hot for him.  But as we passed by yesterday he smiled and started talking to me about the weather and how it wasn't as warm as they said it was going to be.  Today Dad and I passed by him on our way to and from the Post Office.  On our way there he had his little dog on his lap and again we smiled and said hello to him and he went straight into the weather.  On our way back he was still sitting out there and told us that he had just called the weather and they told him it was 77 degrees.  So from here on out when I pass him I'll refer to him as the weather man.  Sweet old guy.

Once we finished our walk we got the cubs fed and changed again and then we were back out the door.  This time to the used baby store.  A friend of my Mom and Dad's, Kelly, sent them over with a huge bag full of baby girl clothes.  So Calista is now dressed to the 9's.  However my poor little Alex didn't have much in the way of outdoor clothes.  And after all I can't really dress him in pajamas and sunglasses... I don't want the other babies laughing at him.  Dad and I each took a baby in a cart and I managed to get several pairs of jeans, shirts and a couple pairs of shorts for the little guy.  However his 'It's All About Me' sister was not a happy girl and cried through the entire shopping experience.  I figure it's because she's just like the rest of us females and it's just no fun if you're not getting any new clothes for yourself.  Since she was so fussy I decided to forgo the grocery store and just head home with them.

I should also mention here that the cubs are 4 months old now.  I'm amazed at how big they've gotten in such a short amount of time.  And the way they are learning is incredible as well.  We've been practicing our vowels still and Alex will just concentrate on your lips and try to mimic you when you say Ooooooo.  Calista is in such a hurry to hold her own bottle, she has her little hands on it most of the time and once it's light enough we can usually remove our hands and she'll hold it herself.  I think that both of them are going to be musical like their mommy.  Probably Calista more than Alex.  She just loves her musical toys.  One of these days I'm going to take her downstairs to our old very out of tune, Antique Player Piano and see what she thinks of it when I play it.  Luckily both of them have nice long fingers like their mommy so there will be no excuses when it comes time for piano lessons.  Unfortunately they are also moving their heads around a lot more now and bashing them into the unsuspecting adult that is holding them.  I don't know how it isn't cracking their skull as hard as they slam into us all?

Here are their 4 month pictures I took of them yesterday.  They sure look happy don't they?

Time for the Best and Worst of Motherhood:

The worst part of motherhood today is the black eye, bruised cheek bone and fat lip I have from my children head butting me.

The best part of motherhood today is buying new clothes for the babies.  I could just go crazy buying those cute new outfits!

Twin Rockstars

The day was just wonderful.  The cubs slept until 4:30 a.m., almost completely through the night.  They were a breeze to take care of in the morning and took a nice long nap on their play mats on the floor for me. 

To top it off, Monday was such a beautiful day we just had to get that stroller out and head to the post office for another walk.  After their nap I got them both fed and changed into stroller clothes.  I had already changed a poopy diaper for both of them so I figured I was safe and headed out the door.  But about half way into the walk I started to smell something foul.  I did notice some flies buzzing around Alex but didn't put two and two together until after I got home.  By the time we got to the Post Office I was sure I was smelling something, but of course didn't have a diaper on me... and if I did where would I change a child?  On the postage scale?  What else could I do but forge on to home.  Sure enough, once we were home I found another poopy mess on Alex.  Just goes to show you, you're never safe!

One thing we did get to do though was sport the new sunglasses that Grandma got them.  Oh My were they ever the hit!  Every one just giggled and loved them.  Kari at the Post Office couldn't stop slapping the counter and exclaiming how adorable.

The rest of the afternoon was sort of quiet until around 3 p.m. when they start their afternoon/evening fussies.  But amazingly enough they both went down in their own little beds by bed time.  However they didn't stay that way for long.  Calista was up at 1:30 and by 5 a.m. she was sleeping in our bed.

Time for the best and the worst:

The worst part of Motherhood today is being unprepared.  You think you have all your bases covered, but you just always have to plan for the unexpected.

The best part of Motherhood today the great 'high fashion' items they put out for babies these days.

ACK! So Far Behind

Ok, so I'm very far behind in getting my blog updated. I'll do what I can to catch everyone up on the last few days.

Thursday brought both Mom and Dad over to help out, but it still ended up being a crazy day. I was attempting to get my hair colored, Mom had a Dr. Appointment for her back and it ended up that I didn't get my shower taken until after 1 p.m. After that I did get a couple hours of work in, (not nearly enough), a quick run to the post office, put gas in the car and the grocery store and before I knew it it was 4 o'clock and Mom and Dad had to leave.

Friday I was just bound and determined that I was going to find a way to get some work done at the DJBeads bead store. Of course my twins had other ideas. If only I could somehow find a way for the cats to entertain the twins and vice versa. That didn't pan out so my plan then became to find a way to wear them out so I could come and work while they slept. You guessed it, adventure time! This was a trip to Target again. Our mission, find some sort of organization for the accumulating toys. I found a storage cube system with 9 cubby holes and bought 4 material drawers in pink and blue. They now have a place for all their toys and books. That is until Grandma and Grandpa spoil them some more with more toys and books.

While at Target though Mom and Dad did find these adorable bunny ears to try on Calista. Isn't that hysterical?

Friday was also a day that I started working on vowel sounds with the kids. When they are on the changing table I'll go through the vowels with them.... Aaaaaaa Oooooooo. I can see Alex really studying my lip movements and attempting to copy me. While Calista has no patience for one sound at a time, she wants to say them all right away. However by the next day Alex is really doing well making his Ooooo sound.
Saturday, oh sweet Saturday. In exchange for the long hours that Ed is having to work his boss got the entire department $100 gift cards for Outback Steakhouse. So again Mom and Dad came over to watch the cubs so we could go out. (And we do realize how very lucky we are that they watch the kids for us as often as they do so we can get out). We went to see Hot Tub Time Machine and loved it! Definitely a play on Back to the Future, it even had George McFly in it... but it was the kind of stupid humor that was right up our ally... 'Whisper' Great White Buffalo' Great White Buffalo'....lol

Outback was fantastic as usual and we ate like pigs, in fact worse than pigs, we ate like hogs! And I paid for it by having a case of gut rot all night long. Remember those days in high school and college when you could eat Tupperware, stay up all night and still feel good the next day? Gone are those days.

Sunday was one of my favorite days, Craft Day. Once a month I try to have a craft day with several of my friends here at the house. Everyone brings a project to work on; we have snacks and lots of laughter. I'm very close to being finished with a Christmas Ornament that I started back in Nov. Once I do get it done I'll put up a picture of it here.

I was amazed at how quickly the cubs calmed down last night. Calista was a good girl and went right to sleep in her own crib at around 9 p.m. Alex went to sleep for a few minutes then started fussing, then the fussing grew louder and louder until we were ready for it to turn to crying. I'm pretty sure his reflux is acting up again and I need to call the Dr. to find out if we need to increase his prevecid medicine. So he ended up sleeping with us last night. However, they both slept until 4:30 this morning!

Now for the best and worst of Motherhood.

The worst part of Motherhood is the unbelievable amount of time it takes to do the simplest of tasks, like run the vacuum or scrub a toilet.

The best part of Motherhood is watching your baby try to mimic you and work on talking.

The Hair that Caused Hysterics

We woke up so thrilled yesterday because the cubs slept through the night.  They got to bed late, but slept until 4:30 a.m.  We were both just elated!  The only bad part was that with this twist in our routine it became doubtful that I was going to get a shower for the day.  Luckily around 10:30 they both fell asleep and I was able to get my shower done.

Right after my shower Alex started to wake up so I put him on the changing table, changed his diaper and upon putting him back together I found a little fluff of toe jam on his right foot.  I kept pulling on it to try and clean it out but it just wouldn't budge.  What was worse is that the more I pulled on it the more Alex seemed to scream.  That's when I saw the top of his foot and his little toes turning red.  Remember when I told you all how my hair was falling out like a chemo patient?  Well in that tuft of toe jam was a long piece of mommy hair that was wound around 3 of his toes.  When I pulled on the tuft it tightened up the hair around the toes.

So began the excitement for the day.  I tried and tried to work that piece of hair out of his toes but all it did was make it tighter and tighter.  So I buttoned up his one leg and left the other one out of his pajamas and took him upstairs where there was more light.  About this time Calista started waking up and started crying on the floor.  With Alex on the couch I tried some more to work that piece of hair out, all the while watching my son's toes turn bright red, then purple and his cries get louder and louder.  Hysteria set in at about this time.  I ran to get a bottle for Calista warmed up, thinking at least I can get her in her car seat and prop up her bottle so there won't be so much screaming and I can think clearer.  I called Ed at work in tears and the words 'I can't do this myself' came out of my mouth.  That piece of hair was wound so tightly down to his skin I couldn't get anything in between it without cutting his skin.

I asked Ed if he knew our neighbors phone number.  The guy does our lawn for us and just a few weeks ago I had met his wife and knew she was a stay at home mom.  Maybe she could come over and help.  Ed couldn't find it so I hung up with him and called my Mom and Dad to see if maybe they were out and about to come and help me hold Alex's foot down.  They weren't, they were 40 minutes away.

So last resort, I wrapped Alex up in a blanket and left Calista on the floor crying and ran across the street to the neighbor's house.  Mike answered the door and I ran through my dilemma with him and asked if he or his wife could come over and help me out by holding Alex's leg down while I searched for the hair to cut.  We ran back across the street and started on the surgery of removing that miserable hair.  Alex just screamed and screamed, which made me cry so I couldn't see what I was doing.  And thank goodness cooler heads prevailed; Mike was able to get Alex's skin pushed down far enough for me to get my cuticle snipers in between that and the hair.  I had to make about 5 cuts before we finally got that hair out.

Such a relief once it was all over with.  Mike saw that I was rattled and put his hand on my shoulder and asked if I was ok...lol.

So I feel I should give his business a plug here.  He owns a company called Rocky Mountain Lawn Medic and they are the nicest people!  He does a great job for us every year and we were really sad to see them put their house on the market.  It's hard to find good neighbors sometimes.

The rest of the day went smooth, baths were given all around and Alex still is having issues with that.  However I was amazed that by 9:15 last night all little babies were in their own little cribs sleeping.  However they did get up at 1:30 for a feeding so they didn't sleep all the way through the night.  But we're getting there.

Today's picture is of Calista and Lucy one of our 3 cats... all of a sudden they discovered one another.

The best and the worst time.

The worst part of Motherhood yesterday was feeling so helpless when your child hurts.

The best part of Motherhood yesterday was getting those babies to sleep early and in their own beds.

An Ordinary Day

Yesterday was a very ordinary day.  The cubs ended up in our bed in the morning where I nursed them back to sleep and then was able to get my shower taken and a few things around the house done.  They did sleep until almost 10 a.m. in our bed, so I got a lot done at the DJBeads Store.

Mom came over to help out and when she got here the cubs were still sleeping.  Once they woke up we got them changed and fed then took off for a grocery store adventure.  I was out of formula and close to being out of diapers.... two things that should NEVER run low in this house!

The grocery store adventure went pretty good; both cubs fell asleep in the store.  Alex got a little fussy once we got back in the car, but the entire adventure was pretty quiet.

Of course I had to play with the camera on my new phone some more and got this picture of Alex and his Grandma.  And being the little ham that she is, you can see Calista's feet kicking away down at the side there.

The evening brought a snow storm and it just felt like a good night to hunker down and cuddle up with some cubs.  Alex fell asleep hard on me.  We gave them both their night time feeding and started the process of putting them to bed.  ARGH!  This is such a battle!  They were both crashed out, snoring away, but the minute you lay them in the crib the eyes pop wide open and after just a couple of minutes the crying starts.

So in an attempt to get them used to sleeping in their own beds I tried this approach.  I nursed them both to sleep in our bed, then slipped out and folded some laundry for about a 1/2 hour.  Once I thought they were good and asleep I put Calista in her bed where she fussed for a minute or two then fell asleep (against her will I think, she was trying to keep those eyes open).  Then I waited 15 minutes and got Alex out of our bed and put him in his crib.  He fussed for a couple of minutes as well then drifted off.  And low and behold, I went to my Baby Free Bed!

Time for the best and the worst of Motherhood....

The worst part of Motherhood yesterday was the never ending battle of getting the baby to sleep in the crib.

The best part of Motherhood yesterday was succeeding at this finally and sleeping in a baby free bed.

A Sunny Day

It was a beautiful day in Northern Colorado so I set my sights on a nice walk to the post office with the cubs. The morning had gone really smooth, so I anticipated that the rest of the day would go as well right? Obviously the thinking of a new mom.

I had two very fussy cubs on my hands, and how do you fix that? Go through the check list of needs... diapers changed, food given out, etc. etc. Still Calista was fussy. I put her in her chair so I could get Alex fed and changed and after a while she got really quiet. I just figured it was her chair occupying her, (yet another Rookie Mom mistake). I got Alex changed to find a huge poopy mess. Once he was cleaned up he was all grins. You've never met a baby that loves a clean diaper like Alex! Just look at those grins.

So Alex is now all changed and a happy camper. I get him in the stroller and it's time to fetch Calista. I start to pull her from her chair, "sniff sniff", "Is that residual from Alex or did she make a present for me as well? I check and yes, she has a massive poopy diaper now too. The light bulb goes on and I realize that's why she was so content.


Anyway, I got her all changed, packed up in the stroller and we were on our way.

I just love strolling my little babies through the town. Everyone just has to stop and look at them. Windsor is a friendly town anyway, but when you have a stroller wheeling in front of you they just seem extra friendly. The cars all stop and let you go through the crosswalks, people hold the doors open for you, and everyone is just really helpful and nice.

The cubs of course missed out on all this attention because two blocks down the road they conked out and didn't wake up until we got home.

Alex was a little angel for the rest of the evening, but his sister just had to be held. So when her daddy got home he got a baby shoved into his arms immediately. Especially since she had just deposited a large portion of her last feeding on my shoulder. So Ed changed her and I got myself into the shower and cleaned up.

We had a rather late dinner because we were trying to feed them and once again had the nerve to say out loud... 'Let's see if we can get them to bed a little earlier tonight.' They were having none of that. We gave Alex a bath since he had puke in his hair, and again he screamed bloody murder. I'm not sure why all of a sudden he doesn't like his baths, he used to love them. He was really sleepy after his bath, but once again it was 10pm before the last child was asleep. We started with both babies in our bed and I managed to get Calista asleep in her own bed. I tried that with Alex, but it didn't work. He kept fussing so much that I was afraid he was going to wake up his sister. So he ended up back in our bed. I figure his sister was claiming so much of my time that he just needed some Mommy time.

Alright, I can't believe I got this done while they are still sleeping. Hurray for me!

The best and worst now...I always like to end on an up note so that's why I put the worst first.

The worst part of Motherhood yesterday was being paranoid on our walk. Will the cars stop, what if a car comes speeding so fast that I don’t' see them in time. What if a vicious dog that isn't on a leash comes after us? Etc. etc. The worry wart mother I am.
The best part of Motherhood yesterday was parading my little ones through the town.

The Weekend

This was a really nice weekend, quiet and productive. Ed watched the cubs on Saturday so that I could get some work done at the Bead Store. I managed to get a lot of beads labeled and up in the shop that has been sitting on my desk for several weeks.

Ed had the cubs asleep in the living room when some idiot woman came and rang our doorbell. She had the misfortune of me answering that door and barking at her that she woke up my babies. She had some flyer in her hand to elect somebody to office and I just ripped her a new one and didn't listen to a word she had to say. So directly after that I came back to the office and made the following sign:

NO SOLICITING - BIBLE THUMPING - OR POLITICING
IF YOU RING MY DOORBELL I HAD BETTER KNOW WHO YOU ARE!

Grumpy? Maybe, but if you've ever had babies that have finally fallen asleep and you have precious time to get a few things done, well I'm sure you can sympathize with me.

So that was our Saturday, pretty smooth sailing. Today was also a smooth day with waking up with cubs in our bed again. I gave Alex his bath and he just screamed blood murder! I'm not sure why, but it put him in a bad mood all day. But we once again watched our Sunday morning politics shows, had some waffles and this afternoon went on an adventure to K Mart.

At K Mart we found a little sound toy and oh how it made my little girl grin and smile! Alex wasn't too interested in it; however he's been kind of grumpy all day today as I said. We couldn't resist taking a video of Calista with that little musical toy, so I'll post that to Facebook later on tonight.

Our last stop was at the Verizon store to get some cases and screen protectors for our new phones. The cubs were really good through that, which surprised me. I thought perhaps they would have a screaming fit, in which case we might get moved to the front of the line just to get us out of there...lol. But it all went smooth.

Ok, best and worst time....

The worst part of Motherhood this weekend is no longer having our bed to ourselves.

The best part of Motherhood this weekend is watching my children learn and being amazed at the speed that is happening. They also learned to hold a rattle this weekend and today Calista had both hands on her bottle and was almost holding it. I'm in awe at how fast they are learning things.