Weekend Wrap Up

Well, I wouldn’t exactly call this weekend the pinnacle of excitement but these days, I will take dull over drama.

There is a very cool second-hand store in town and I managed to find a bathtub ring for the kids for a whopping $1.90.  We were hoping to get at least one for the kids birthday, but then were concerned that Daniel (Chunk-A-Monk) was too big for it.  Well, I cleaned it up and we tried Melissa in it first…..

He seemed to enjoy himself well enough and that means that Mommy or Daddy don’t “have” to get in the tub anymore.  Keep in mind, sometimes, the best part of my day is the bath with the kids.  That means the hubby dries them up, gets them diapered, slathers them up with their eczema meds and puts them in their cribs.  I soak in the tub……It’s not really a fair trade off, but I do take the risk of being in a tub with a little boy who seems to think that peeing is an Olympic event.

 

She seemed to love it.  So then, we tried Daniel….

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I also have a couple of finicky eaters all of a sudden.  I am guess that since they have colds, they can’t really taste the food.  I mean, think about it, when you are all stuffed up, you can’t taste anything…..Well, that and the teething…..

So Melissa has entered the stage where she wants to feed herself.  By that I mean, she wants to grab the spoon or just knock it away just to make a mess…

Exhibit A:

Exhibit B:

Oh…and she discovered that her finger fits nicely in her nose…

Yeah, gross!  I know! But not my boy…….Ok…he does have a snotty nose but nothing like the mess his sister is…..

And in some very sad news, we had to take Daniel’s jumpy-jump down.  All of his crazy antics actually started cracking the plaster in the doorway.  So, no more jumpy jump.  He was funny last night.  I was like he was going through withdrawal.  He was just bouncing and bouncing on his Daddy’s lap.

But in some great news….My girlfriend Angie and My neighbor, Steve got engaged on Saturday night.  I am over the moon happy for them.  Angie is Colin’s mommy and Colin is Melissa’s “boyfriend”.  They are both such great people and deserve all the happiness in the world.  I know Angie reads this blog from time to time…(Don’t be mad at me for posting your news…there were actually a few people on the planet that didn’t know he was going to pop the question!!!)

The hubby finally put up the Christmas lights outside.  That is going to be the extent of the decorating around here.  We aren’t going to be home for Christmas, we will be at my parent’s house.  They will have a tree.  I just can’t see putting up a bunch of stuff that the twins will just tear down…..  I hope that doesn’t make me a bad parent…….

So Much Happened…..

Ok, just so I don’t ramble on toods much, here is the wrap up of our “surprise” trip to Western PA.

Wednesday:

I spent the day packing and loading the car with 2 pack.n.plays, a walker and our suitcase.  We decided that instead of cooking and making a mess in the kitchen, we would go to Son.ic.  I found one not too far from our house (about 14 miles or so) and off we went.  The hubby had never been to one and I think he really liked it.  There are very few things that cost less than $3 that make me happy, but the Butterfinger son.ic blast is pretty much at the top of the list.  We came home and put the kids to bed and tried to get some sleep.  I had this idea that if we travelled overnight, there was a good chance that the kids would sleep.  So, we woke up at midnight, loaded the kids, and off we went.  I drove the first leg of the trip….about 12:15 am to 4:30 am.  Most of that time, the kids did NOT sleep.  They fussed.  And fussed.  And fussed.  The hubby saw most of the state of PA looking out the rear view window.  When my eyes finally gave out and I started to see double, I asked the hubby to drive.  He hadn’t had much of a chance to sleep as the kids didn’t putter out until nearly 3:30 am.

Thursday…(the wee small hours)

The hubby drove and I woke up about 5:45am after a much needed nap.  I have always had the ability to fall asleep anywhere…(I used to train software and travelled nationwide….I slept on airplanes…sleeping through take offs and landings)  We arrived at 6:15 am.  I called my mother and asked her if she saw any turkeys in her front yard.  She was perplexed.  Then I told her, “you have two big turkeys and two little turkeys in your front yard”.  Again, she had no idea what I was talking about…. (please keep in mind, my mother had surgery on her foot in October and has been in a chair since the surgery and is forbidden to bear any weight on her foot until January.)  Then I asked her if she saw any headlights in her drive way.  And then she got it!!!!!!!!!  She squealed with delight!!!  My Aunt was visiting and helping Mom out and knew we were coming…Mom was really surprised!!!  We got the kids unloaded and despite them wearing overnight diapers, they were SOAKED!  So, we changed them into pajamas.  We set up the pack.n.plays (one in each of the gues rooms) and prayed the kids would go back to sleep.  Yeah right………..no such luck.

Thursday….

The hubby got a nap.  I dealt with the kids.  Daniel was extra fussy….he managed to pick up a cold….go figure….he was just at the pediatricians office, of course he would come home with a cold….(I swear they do not wipe down the toys in the waiting room…..and why should they….they are in business too….)  And Daniel was also cutting two more teeth…. Yeah! So a cold, two teeth, chicken pox and eczema.  He was a real delight.  Melissa was just crabby because she was tired.

Thursday Afternoon…

Dinner was a treat. (please note sarcasm…..) For whatever reason, my aunt decided to throw the traditional menu out the window and do her own thing…..so, we had turkey, potatoes and then she made stuffing from a box, Sweet potatoes from a box, and brussel sprouts.  OMG………….yucko!  We have ALWAYS made homemade stuffing.  It is a tradition.  And no one eats sweet potatoes.  And brusselsprouts…..is their a yuckier food out there?  If there is, I have never tasted it.  We also had an apple pie and my aunt’s version of a chocolate pie.  It was no where near as good as my mother’s cooking and not to brag….but I could have made a tastier meal with one arm tied behind my back.  ( We are going back from Christmas and I have made a deal with my Dad that I will do the cooking, make the coffee, etc…..)  There is always a coffee war at my parent’s house.  Dad makes it too strong, my aunt makes it too weak…..I normally try to just leave the house and go to the coffee shop around the block so no one’s feelings get hurt.

 

The kids had some turkey and some potatoes and seemed to enjoy making a mess.  I was just exhausted by this point and wanted to do nothing but sleep.  The rest of the day was kind of a blur….

Friday:

It should have been a nice relaxing day, but Melissa managed to pick up Daniel’s cold so we had two sick babies.  It was a rough night for Daniel (who slept in bed with his Daddy in one of the guest rooms while I slept on the world’s most uncomfortable single bed while Melissa slept in her pack.n.play)  The hubby went out and picked up a nasal aspirator for the kids (the one item I did NOT pack).  The day flew by and we decided that we would have Chinese food for lunch….(again, not a tradition….what the heck ever happened to turkey sandwiches?)  The Chinese food was kinda yucky…the fried rice was YELLOW!!!!  I ate my sesame chicken and some of the yellow rice and tossed the rest in the trash.  Well, Miss Melissa, who was tooling around in the walker, found the trash can, and the Chinese food container…and well, she liked the yellow rice…

Saturday:

We got up and got the kids dressed and loaded and hit the road.  I am glad that we left on Saturday instead of waiting until yesterday like everyone else.  We had a nice drive home, in bright sunshine, but it was cold.  We stopped once to change the kids and were like a nascar pit crew.  We each grabbed a kid, a diaper and a wipe, put the kid on the front seat, changed, redressed and put them back in their carseats.  Wham, bam, thank you ma’am!  We got home and the kids were so happy to see their doggies and more so, all of their toys.  Melissa crawled into the toy box………

And the best part……….

Saturday night the kids S L E P T   A L L  N I G H T  L O N G!    FINALLY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yesterday, we just relaxed.  The weather was crappy.  We were going to do some Christmas decorating but I think we were all just too wiped out.

 

So there you have it…..

Strawberry Puree…the kind you find in the refridgerator….(sing it like Prince!)

Yeah, been up since 4 am.  Kids were fussing but have gone back to sleep.  Then the hubby got up for work, then wanted me to look at a rash on his neck so turned on the bedroom light (gee, thanks honey…)so I am up.  So, I have to call his doctor today because the last thing we need around here is rash covered hubby (being miserable, or more miserable if the truth be told) and rash covered, teething, crawling, drooling, pooping, bouncing babies.  I am going to try to get him in to be seen tonight.  That means that I am probably off the hook for making supper.  Oh well, maybe I will anyway.  I mean, I gotta eat too, right?  (Oh, by the way, now within 6 lbs of weight in high school…and again, no exercising or really dieting.  Don’t ask me why this is happening.  Maybe I have a tapeworm or something.  Good little tapeworm, awwww…..)

Last night wasn’t too bad.  Yesterday afternoon, our friends (Keith, Steve and Angie….oh and Melissa’s boyfriend Colin) stopped over.  We had a nice little visit.  Keith and Steve are brothers and their parent’s live three doors down from us.  It was their Dad’s birthday and they were doing the whole dinner with dad thing.

Colin was very kissy with Melissa.  And then he was huggy with Daniel.  Then he went back over to Melissa and tried to cop a feel.  It was too funny.  Colin is 19 months and has had a serious thingfor Melissa since they met way back when he was only 8 months old and went by a different name, FRANKENBABY.

Fed the kids while the hubby was in the shower.  Then each of the kids got a bath.  Once they were in bed, they were out until 3 am.  I went up to go to bed at 8 but then was channel surfing and stumbled upon raw video footage of 9/11.  I watched for a while and told myself that I shouldn’t watch.  I should have learned my lesson after I watched “Inside the Twin Towers” a few weeks ago.  This was actual footage, some of which I had never seen before.  So, you know I didn’t sleep so great.  And I know it is going to be a long day.

We broke down and bought our baby jail.  It should be here in a week or so.  I am now investigating play mats.  I’m not sure if I want to go with just colors or the alpha numeric ones.  I found a couple of websites that have them for great prices.  I think we will go with this one, but I want to also check out this one and may even go over to toys.r.us to see what they have.

In other news…the Phillies won both games yesterday and I am very happy.  And…..and…..and….tonight, my Eagles play Dallas.  (Like I am really gonna be awake to watch….stupid Monday Night Football!) Sorry, in case you didn’t figure it out…I love my teams.  I really don’t get into hockey and basketball as much as I used to…but a day without Football or Baseball is like a day without sunshine in my life.

 

POST SCRIPT…

The kids just got up.  Melissa has 2 new teeth and Daniel has 1.  SINCE YESTERDAY!

HOLY CRAP

Oh…and the kids had rice ceral and strawberry puree for breakfast….

sorry for the cheesy title to blog post….

The day to day in Babyville

The kids are doing really well. Most nights, they are sleeping straight through. Sometimes, they are awake at 4 or 5 am but after a diaper change and a bottle, they go right back to sleep.

They are finally on regular formula which will be a huge money saver for us. I can get the store brand of enfamil big can for $20 instead of paying $15 for a 12 oz can. They are still getting a mix of formula and breast milk although it seems my supply is starting to dwindle. I am trying to keep myself rested and hydrated and pump every 2-3 hours. We’ll have to see how that goes.

Mom and Dad have given us their old car (a 2002 Camry). This will replace our 1995 Jeep Cherokee with 156,000 miles on it. The jeep was on it’s last legs and needed to have the entire exhaust system replaced in order to pass inspection. That would have been a $1500 repair bill. We would have done it because $1500 is still cheaper than a new car or a car note to pay every month.

The piles of laundry are daunting. The 15 bottles that need to be washed are ever present. I am managing… somehow…

I just had to run out to the post office to mail some documents to Mom and Dad to get the car thing taken care of. I was hoping that our neighbor could pop over to watch the kids for a minute but she had to run out. So, I loaded the half sleeping kids into their carseats and then the car. It is a sight to behold to see me walking out to the car with both carseats. The kids are 15 lbs and I swear the carseats are 10 each. It’s not really a walk, more of something like you would see on one of the “Worlds Strongest men” competitions when they are carrying beer kegs under their arms.

I get to the post office and for half a second considered leaving the kids in the car. Daniel decided that he would not let this happen and started screaming. So, into the baby trend we go. I get inside and fill out the express mail form and get back in line. Daniel is STILL screaming, not just whining…SCREAMING like he is being stuck with needles. Meanwhile, the lobby fills up and I can feel the eyeballs on me. I finish up and try to negotiate my way out of the lobby. Lucky for me, there are still a few nice people in the world who will hold the doors for me. I heard one lady remark that “that’s a lot of work for one person”. Yes, lady, it is…. and I do it everyday….

Melissa is fussing so I guess that is all I will get to write today.