Hump Day

I know I haven’t been blogging as often as I have in the past. I don’t know what’s gotten into me. I guess I just feel like I don’t have anything to say. Not much is happening in our little world right now.

[Before I get emails on this post, let me just clarify that I have no intention on just abandoning my blog like so many others are doing right now. I love my blog and consider it a future gift for the twins once I print it out. Plus, it often keeps me sane and serves as my memory at times.]

The twins are doing wonderfully. This is honestly my favorite age so far. They are sleeping through the night, we are on a good schedule that seems to work for everyone, we are beyond the ear infections, we are in a much needed teething break, cold season is over and the clogged tear duct is ancient history. They are happy, growing fast, laughing all the time, and remind me a lot of frolicking puppies at this stage.

As much and as intense as they can sometimes fight, no one can make Kate laugh the way Carson does. I can’t remember a day that has gone by that I didn’t catch the twins having some private giggle-fest. For the life of me, I don’t see what’s so funny to them, but they will laugh and laugh for the longest time.

They have also started talking and playing together more this week. The playing part often ends in a fight, but at least the beginning part is good. The concept of sharing is still a long way off for them.

My back is doing much better this week. I would say I’m 95% back to normal. It is still stiff in the mornings and I can get sore if I sit too long, but life has gotten better now that I am not in constant pain.

I’ve been busy working around the house this week. I’ve started painting the kitchen, and plan on finishing it completely tomorrow while the kiddos are at Miss Jennifer’s. I love the color and will post photos once everything is done.

I have the whole month of May to get as much done as possible because as of June 1st I will no longer have twin-less time. This summer the twins will not be going to Jennifer’s house on the same day. It’s a long story, but essentially Jennifer is watching a new baby for the summer and there is a certain number of babies she is legally allowed to watch at the same time. Anyway. Kate will be going on Mondays and Wednesdays; Carson on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

On the one hand this completely sucks for me! I look forward to my Tuesdays and Thursday without the twins. I’m sure that makes me sound like a bad mom, but judge only after you’ve been in my shoes for a few days. I always have a list a mile long of everything I need to get knocked out on those two days — laundry, cleaning, errands, shopping, painting the house, take a nap if I want to, etc. So for the summer I will always have at least one of the tots with me, and I’m worried about how I am going to get everything else done.

I’m trying to look on the bright side though. This will give me an opportunity (which I think is becoming more and more needed at this age) to have some one-on-one time. It will also allow me to take each tot to social things that would otherwise be almost impossible for me to do with both of them at the same time — like swim lessons, music classes, Children’s Museum Toddler Days, story reading at the library, etc. I am going to try to make it as fun as possible for all of us.

 

Pasta Night = Bath Night

The twins and I had a nice day. Nothing special really, but we had a good time playing most of the day. Not much else to report. 🙂

Dough & Doh!*

• Our big garage sale was a bit of a dud (in my opinion, which is not shared by Mark) thanks to Mother Nature. We had intense thunderstorms the night before, and I think that kept folks away. We ended up making about a third of what we made at our last garage sale. What’s even more odd to me is how the hot baby items (that were marked obscenely low) did not sale — the car seats, and such. We did sale the swings and the bouncy seats, but a great baby bath tub that was marked at $1 was passed up.
• As usual, it was nice having my mom here for the weekend. She bought Kate a “big girl” car seat, and so far Kate seems to like it. (Of course she’s only been in it once.) My mom also watched the kiddos last night so Mark and I could go eat some Mexican food. It was nice to get out of the house, but it’s almost like we don’t know how to go out anymore. Not sure if that makes any sense, but perhaps folks who have been as home-bound as we have for over a year can understand. At times it almost felt like an awkward first date. That’s a big sign that we need to go out more!
• After years of trying to talk me into it, we finally got satellite and said goodbye to our absurdly over-priced cable. As luck would have it, on the very first night we had those bad storms and it got knocked out. Otherwise, it’s been great though. 🙂
• The kids tried some new foods over the weekend: watermelon, cauliflower, blueberry muffin, green bell pepper, red bell pepper, onion, and bacon. They only liked the muffin and peppers.
• While we were preparing for the garage sale, I’ve been parking my car in the driveway instead of the actual garage. Like a total moron, I completely forgot that I had left one of my windows down in the car. I remembered after about two hours of a flooding downpour! Doh! Mom and I made attempts on Saturday afternoon to shampoo the interior and vacuum out most of the water. I swear it still smells a little dank in there though. 😦
• I usually like to write about the crazy folks I seem to run into — especially at the grocery store — but today I had a great experience. While I was waiting in line to check out, a couple (about my age) with a baby in a sling were in front of me. They had three baskets full of food, and when it was all said and done their total was over $450. The dad pulled out a huge plastic bag full of coupons, and had over $200 taken off! I was so inspired. He told me that they only shop once a month and money is tight since he is finishing up his post-grad work. Anyway, I am going to make an honest effort to start cutting some coupons. Our monthly grocery bill is crazy, and it seems like a good way to keep a little more in the bank.
• Kate and Carson are doing great. They had so much fun with my mom. It’s amazing how they just immediately flock to her when she comes over. When they were younger, it took them a little while to warm up to anyone new.
• I know it’s been a while since I’ve taken some photos of my munchkins, but I’ve been too lazy/busy/tired/hurting to get the house clean enough to consider putting up for the world to see (even if two cutie-pie twins are in the photo). I will do better this week. 🙂

* I am obviously running out title ideas.

Morning Observation

This morning the twins were sitting in their high chairs as I finished making their breakfast, and for the very first time Kate looked different to me. She looked like a little girl sitting there and not like a baby sitting there. Kate is still small (18 1/2 lbs isn’t big), but I think her face and expressions are maturing lately. It stung a bit. As much I want them to grow up and start doing more and more things, I hate that I am losing all of the wonderful baby-ness at the same time. I am pretty sure that makes me overly emotional and perhaps a little nuts, but this has been such a wonderful age. I wish I could slow down time for just a little while. My babies are growing up.

More Encounters with Rude and/or Crazy Folks

After the twins woke up from their mid-day nap, all three of us were experiencing some cabin fever. So, I loaded us up and went to the pedi’s for a free weigh-in. (They let us come in when ever we like to use the scale.)

Kate… 18 lbs, 7 oz (almost 2 lbs gained in a month)

Carson…22 lbs, 4 oz (10 oz gained)

The nurses went on and on about how good the twins looked, and Kate even flashed her new teeth (that she didn’t have at the last visit) at them.

As I was loading them into the car, a cranky elderly woman was parked next to me and immediately (and without any prompting) started a rant about how much twins suck. She told me she is a twin, she has two sets of twin grandchildren, and twins run in her family. It was a very uncomfortable situation for me. How exactly do you respond to, “I wouldn’t trade places with you for all the tea in China!” I was in a good mood and not wanting to get into it with her, but I hate it when that happens. Social graces and tact are apparently a thing of the past.

After that I drove the twins up to Mark’s office for a quick visit. I haven’t brought the twins up there in a very long time, and I know Mark wanted to show them off. As I was waiting at a light of a busy intersection (MoPac & Parmer for you Austin folks), I saw a homeless woman panhandling. She held a sign that read, “Pregnant and Hungry. God Bless You.” I never give money at intersections, but I felt sorry for this pregnant woman. So I rolled down my window and handed her a full roll of unopened Ritz Crackers that I had just put in my purse before we left the house (the twins like to snack in the car). She gave me a horrible look , violently swatted the crackers from my hand and barked, “I don’t want your God damn food, bitch! I want your cash!” Lovely. So up goes the window and off we drive.

My mom is coming into town tomorrow evening to help us with the garage sale on Saturday. I am looking forward to seeing her. It seems like it’s been longer than it actually has been. Plus, I think Mark and I are going to a have a date night either Friday or Saturday night. 🙂