Ugh. I forgot how hard it is to survive on 4 hours of sleep.
Saturday morning, we took the kids to our local library for Family Story Time. It was our first time and we didn't quite know what to expect.
We were pleasantly surprised. One of the librarians had 5-6 books picked out and she was awesome. I think she missed her calling as a pre-school teacher. She was very animated and even sang 2 group songs with the kids. It took about 15 minutes for my kids to warm up but once they did, they were dancing fools.
Right before it started, a couple walked in with a little girl who appeared to be slightly older than my twins. They also had 3-month old twin boys.
We struck up a conversation with them and compared "twin notes". I told them there is a light at the end of the tunnel. We survived the first 4 months and we were still smiling.
And, then I got payback last night.
I went to bed a little later than usual (10:00 pm). Christopher woke up at 2:30 am and wouldn't go back down until 4:00 am. And, then my alarm went off at 5:20 am.
All day long, I kept asking myself, "How did we do it"?
There were days, weeks that went by where I literally survived on 3 hours of sleep a day. And that wasn't even consecutive hours.
And, I still had energy to clean the house, do the laundry and take care of the twins.
What the hell happened to me?
I drank 3 cups of coffee and a soda today and could barely keep my eyes open at my desk. It's 7:20 pm EST and I am counting the minutes until the kids go to bed.
One little sheep. Two little sheep. Three little sheep.
Monday, April 30, 2012
Tuesday, April 24, 2012
Potty Training Update
We've been potty training for over a month now.
Contrary to every book and piece of advice I received, Christopher has trained the easiest. He is exclusively in underwear all day at school. On the weekends, we're trying really hard to be consistent but I will admit that it's challenging sometimes.
Everyone always told me that getting out of diapers will provide more freedom and a cost savings. I currently find myself between a rock and a toilet.
We are usually pretty active on the weekends and there are some days when it almost seems easier to put him in a Pull Up instead of worrying about whether he needs to go pee pee and where the closest toilet is.
(and let me tell you, there's nothing cheap about Pull Ups).
I know, I know. Consistency is key.
When we're at home, we are doing a better job of keeping him in underwear. I set the timer on my iPhone so it "barks" like a dog every 45 minutes. I bought 2 of the Potty Time watches but that didn't go so well. Both kids wore them for half the day and I never heard them go off.
My sweet Kendall started the potty training experience with such excitement and tenacity. She was the first to show interest and asked to sit on the potty. Over the last few weeks, her interest has started to wain.
Their teacher asked me if I noticed it too and we both feel that Kendall is getting discouraged. She sees Christopher and her other classmates using the potty and she still hasn't.
She will sit, sometimes for a second and sometimes for a few minutes, but we haven't had any "action" yet. I'm hoping that once she finally does it, she'll be off and running and we'll never look back.
By the same token, I'm almost happy that both kids aren't training at the same time. Looking into the near future, the thought of traveling, trying to get out the door, etc. with 2 kids who are using the potty seems awfully frightful.
One will go and the other one will say, "no".
10 minutes later, the other one will have to go.
A 5 hour trip to the beach could turn into a 12-hour nightmare. Yikes! I'm totally tempted to buy one of the portable potty's so they can go on the side of the road if we have to. So much for modesty, huh?
Contrary to every book and piece of advice I received, Christopher has trained the easiest. He is exclusively in underwear all day at school. On the weekends, we're trying really hard to be consistent but I will admit that it's challenging sometimes.
Everyone always told me that getting out of diapers will provide more freedom and a cost savings. I currently find myself between a rock and a toilet.
We are usually pretty active on the weekends and there are some days when it almost seems easier to put him in a Pull Up instead of worrying about whether he needs to go pee pee and where the closest toilet is.
(and let me tell you, there's nothing cheap about Pull Ups).
I know, I know. Consistency is key.
When we're at home, we are doing a better job of keeping him in underwear. I set the timer on my iPhone so it "barks" like a dog every 45 minutes. I bought 2 of the Potty Time watches but that didn't go so well. Both kids wore them for half the day and I never heard them go off.
My sweet Kendall started the potty training experience with such excitement and tenacity. She was the first to show interest and asked to sit on the potty. Over the last few weeks, her interest has started to wain.
Their teacher asked me if I noticed it too and we both feel that Kendall is getting discouraged. She sees Christopher and her other classmates using the potty and she still hasn't.
She will sit, sometimes for a second and sometimes for a few minutes, but we haven't had any "action" yet. I'm hoping that once she finally does it, she'll be off and running and we'll never look back.
By the same token, I'm almost happy that both kids aren't training at the same time. Looking into the near future, the thought of traveling, trying to get out the door, etc. with 2 kids who are using the potty seems awfully frightful.
One will go and the other one will say, "no".
10 minutes later, the other one will have to go.
A 5 hour trip to the beach could turn into a 12-hour nightmare. Yikes! I'm totally tempted to buy one of the portable potty's so they can go on the side of the road if we have to. So much for modesty, huh?
Wednesday, April 11, 2012
Easter Wrap Up
We had a busy but very fun Easter weekend. We left Saturday morning to head down to my mom's future retirement home just outside of the Outer Banks, NC. I had to make the trip alone last year and it didn't go that great on all fronts so I wasn't quite sure what to expect this time. Daddy was able to go with us this year so I knew it had to be better!
We arrived a little after 2:00 pm and my sister, BIL, niece and nephew were already there. We got settled and let the kids explore their new surroundings. We decided to let the kids dye their Easter eggs before dinner and my kids understood the concept but definitely didn't care about how they went about it. There were broken eggs and dye spilled everywhere. Thank goodness my BIL suggested that we put the table in the grass outside!
We had burgers and hot dogs for dinner and before I knew it, it was time to get the kids ready for bed. My niece is 3 1/2 and my nephew is 18 months old so you can imagine the chaos of trying to get 4 kids under the age of 4 ready for bed!
I was anxious about bedtime because it was the first trip where the twins would be sleeping in twin beds. They've been in toddler beds at home for almost a year but new surroundings + new beds could = no sleep. They went down fairly easily and I decided to sleep on a blow up mattress in their room just in case one of them woke up. The last thing I wanted was to be responsible for one of my kids waking up the entire house! Chris woke up first and I was extremely happy when I looked at my phone and saw that it was 6:40 am. Success!
I made a delicious breakfast casserole (recipe on my Meals for Moms blog, link in my blog roll) and the adults enjoyed mimosas while the kids searched for their Easter baskets.
We got the kids dressed and then it was time for the Easter egg hunt!
After the egg hunt, we had lunch and put the kids down for naps. My mom, sister and I enjoyed a glass of wine by the pool and caught up with each other.
The kids all took 2-3 hour naps and then it was time to head to the beach! The day was warming up and close to 70 degrees! We loaded up the cars and drove down to Nags Head.
Last year, Christopher took to the beach but Kendall would not put her feet in the sand for anything. This year was completely different. It took them about 15 minutes but once they got used to the sand, they had a blast! Christopher was completely mesmerized with the boogie boarders and surfers.
Doesn't he look like an Abercrombie model? LOL!
We stayed at the beach for about an hour and then stopped at a local brewery/restaurant for appetizers and drinks. This place also had a fenced in playground/picnic area in the back so it was great to let the kids run and play while the adults chatted.
We got back home after 6:00 pm and then it was time for Easter dinner! Yummy roasted chicken, ham, mac 'n cheese, deviled eggs and green bean casserole. Delicious!
My birthday was the day after Easter so we celebrated that night with cupcakes, ice cream cake and presents!
The next morning, we had to get packed up to come home. It was a quick trip but we all had a great time! It was a fabulous weekend!
We arrived a little after 2:00 pm and my sister, BIL, niece and nephew were already there. We got settled and let the kids explore their new surroundings. We decided to let the kids dye their Easter eggs before dinner and my kids understood the concept but definitely didn't care about how they went about it. There were broken eggs and dye spilled everywhere. Thank goodness my BIL suggested that we put the table in the grass outside!
We had burgers and hot dogs for dinner and before I knew it, it was time to get the kids ready for bed. My niece is 3 1/2 and my nephew is 18 months old so you can imagine the chaos of trying to get 4 kids under the age of 4 ready for bed!
I was anxious about bedtime because it was the first trip where the twins would be sleeping in twin beds. They've been in toddler beds at home for almost a year but new surroundings + new beds could = no sleep. They went down fairly easily and I decided to sleep on a blow up mattress in their room just in case one of them woke up. The last thing I wanted was to be responsible for one of my kids waking up the entire house! Chris woke up first and I was extremely happy when I looked at my phone and saw that it was 6:40 am. Success!
I made a delicious breakfast casserole (recipe on my Meals for Moms blog, link in my blog roll) and the adults enjoyed mimosas while the kids searched for their Easter baskets.
We got the kids dressed and then it was time for the Easter egg hunt!
After the egg hunt, we had lunch and put the kids down for naps. My mom, sister and I enjoyed a glass of wine by the pool and caught up with each other.
The kids all took 2-3 hour naps and then it was time to head to the beach! The day was warming up and close to 70 degrees! We loaded up the cars and drove down to Nags Head.
Last year, Christopher took to the beach but Kendall would not put her feet in the sand for anything. This year was completely different. It took them about 15 minutes but once they got used to the sand, they had a blast! Christopher was completely mesmerized with the boogie boarders and surfers.
Doesn't he look like an Abercrombie model? LOL!
We stayed at the beach for about an hour and then stopped at a local brewery/restaurant for appetizers and drinks. This place also had a fenced in playground/picnic area in the back so it was great to let the kids run and play while the adults chatted.
We got back home after 6:00 pm and then it was time for Easter dinner! Yummy roasted chicken, ham, mac 'n cheese, deviled eggs and green bean casserole. Delicious!
My birthday was the day after Easter so we celebrated that night with cupcakes, ice cream cake and presents!
The next morning, we had to get packed up to come home. It was a quick trip but we all had a great time! It was a fabulous weekend!
Monday, April 2, 2012
Funnies
My twins are constantly cracking me up. I know every parent thinks their kid(s) are the brightest, funniest, cutest, etc. Bear with me on this one. I need to keep track of these so I don't forget them.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Christopher (playing with his farm animals): "Mommy, my horse is drinking water".
Kendall: "I'm drinking like a fish".
Christopher: I want "purple bunny" pizza. (translation: pepperoni)
Kendall: "Mommy, where all the cookies"?
Me: "Daddy ate them all gone"
Kendall: "Daddy is Cookie Monster".
The twins were pretend shopping one Saturday morning. I gave them each a dollar from my wallet to play with. A few minutes later, Kendall came over and said, "More money".
Christopher: "I want to ride an airplane"
Kendall: "I want to ride the sunshine"
(Dream big, girlfriend)!
One afternoon, we were talking about farm animals and the kids were saying their favorite animal.
Kendall: "I like cows".
Christopher: "I like horsies"
Me: "What does Mommy like"?
Kendall: "Mommy likes pigs".
Me: "And what does Daddy like"?
Kendall: "Daddy likes chicks".
I love, love, love those kids!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Christopher (playing with his farm animals): "Mommy, my horse is drinking water".
Kendall: "I'm drinking like a fish".
Christopher: I want "purple bunny" pizza. (translation: pepperoni)
Kendall: "Mommy, where all the cookies"?
Me: "Daddy ate them all gone"
Kendall: "Daddy is Cookie Monster".
The twins were pretend shopping one Saturday morning. I gave them each a dollar from my wallet to play with. A few minutes later, Kendall came over and said, "More money".
Christopher: "I want to ride an airplane"
Kendall: "I want to ride the sunshine"
(Dream big, girlfriend)!
One afternoon, we were talking about farm animals and the kids were saying their favorite animal.
Kendall: "I like cows".
Christopher: "I like horsies"
Me: "What does Mommy like"?
Kendall: "Mommy likes pigs".
Me: "And what does Daddy like"?
Kendall: "Daddy likes chicks".
I love, love, love those kids!
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